A Yoga Science Memoir How yoga science appeared as the unexpected fruit of a life lived in both yoga and science Scott Virden Anderson 2/3/17 v2 1 © 2017 Scott Virden Anderson – all rights reserved Apart from quoting brief passages for the purpose of review, permission to quote from this publication should first be obtained by emailing the author at [email protected] with request for permission. Cover art: The Yoga Science Brainstorm © 2017 Scott Virden Anderson – all rights reserved. This image was generated by a contract graphics designer in ~2009 under instructions “to create with mathematical precision, a double logarithmic spiral” and then “to have a set of vivid visible spectrum color bands running from red to blue starting on arm 1 of the spiral to arm 2, and then from blue back to red from arm 2 to arm 1.” Although far from perfect as a graphic, with the current revision of the websites of the Yoga Science Foundation and the website devoted to the Yoga Science Project, this will henceforth be used as a symbolic representation of the “brainstorm” that produced the “yoga science” of the Yoga Science Project whose story is told in this volume. 2 Dedication This book was inspired by my dear friend Wolfgang Lukas. It is therefore dedicated to him with the heart- felt wish that he and his work flourish for the benefit of countless beings, both soon and into an indefinable future. 3 Table of Contents (NOTE: each listing here is an active link to that section) A YOGA SCIENCE MEMOIR ..................................................................................................................................... 1 DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 TABLE OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 FACING QUOTE ............................................................................................................................................................. 8 PREFACE...................................................................................................................................................................... 9 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 10 DISCOVERING EIGHT KEY EVENTS IN MY LIFE AND THEIR DECADAL RHYTHM ........................................................................... 11 ZEROS—0 – 9 YEARS ............................................................................................................................................ 14 BIRTH IN MANHATTAN AND EARLY YEARS ........................................................................................................................ 14 “HEY, SCOTTY CAN’T READ!” ......................................................................................................................................... 16 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................. 17 TENS—EARLY PREMONITIONS OF YOGA SCIENCE ................................................................................................ 18 FALLING IN LOVE WITH SCIENCE ..................................................................................................................................... 18 DISCOVERING THE “INNER NATURE” AS WELL .................................................................................................................. 19 DOING WELL IN SCHOOL! .............................................................................................................................................. 20 EARLY RELIGIOUS TRAINING, AND “SCIENCE VS RELIGION” .................................................................................................. 21 WANDERING IN D.C .................................................................................................................................................... 21 A MAJOR “CONTINGENCY EFFECT”: SUMMERS AT UCLA WITH LOWELL LINCOLN WOOD .......................................................... 22 FOUR YEARS AT HARVARD ............................................................................................................................................ 24 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................. 27 TWENTIES—DECADE WITH SWAMIJI AND THE INTEGRAL YOGA INSTITUTE ......................................................... 28 FIRST MEETING SWAMIJI .............................................................................................................................................. 28 TRANSFIGURATION IN THE ARLINGTON STREET CHURCH ..................................................................................................... 30 SECOND TRANSFIGURATION AND A SECOND INITIATION ...................................................................................................... 31 HARVARD GRADUATION AND SUMMER JOB AT LAWRENCE LIVERMORE LABORATORY ............................................................... 32 PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH SWAMIJI AT SFO ...................................................................................................................... 33 FROM BOSTON’S WINTER… .......................................................................................................................................... 35 …TO CALIFORNIA SUNSHINE & WORK IN ELECTRON MICROSCOPY ....................................................................................... 37 LIVING IN THE IYI ASHRAM ON DOLORES STREET ............................................................................................................... 39 THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA “SPIRITUAL SCENE” .......................................................................................................... 41 MEETING OF THE WAYS RADIO SHOW ............................................................................................................................ 43 MOVE TO YOGAVILLE WEST .......................................................................................................................................... 44 KEY DECISIONS IN BOSTON ........................................................................................................................................... 46 MOVE BACK TO CONNECTICUT ...................................................................................................................................... 47 GRADUATE SCHOOL IN GENETICS ................................................................................................................................... 48 CLOSING YEARS OF MY TWENTIES ................................................................................................................................... 49 4 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................. 50 THIRTIES—MY FIRST TEN YEARS WITH BUBBA FREE JOHN ................................................................................... 51 CONTEXTUALIZING BUBBA ............................................................................................................................................ 51 A VERY BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE COUNTER-COUNTER-CULTURE, NEO-LIBERALISM, AND THE PRIVATIZATION OF SCIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE THE 1970S .................................................................................................................................. 52 PART 1—“ROMANCE PERIOD” & MEDICAL SCHOOL ......................................................................................................... 55 BUBBA AND I MEET AGAIN ........................................................................................................................................... 55 “GARBAGE AND THE GODDESS” & “THE GORILLA SERMON” ............................................................................................... 57 MY THIRTIES BEGIN, & MY “CONVERSION” WITH BUBBA .................................................................................................. 57 LIFE AS A DEVOTEE OF BUBBA FREE JOHN ........................................................................................................................ 59 MOVE TO FARMINGTON & BEGIN MEDICAL SCHOOL ......................................................................................................... 59 LOCAL DEVOTEES: THE SPRINGFIELD LADIES ..................................................................................................................... 63 THE YOGA SCIENCE “KOAN OF NO TIME” ........................................................................................................................ 64 ELECTIVE ON THE PHYSIOLOGY OF FASTING ...................................................................................................................... 65 “ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE WHOLE BODY” ......................................................................................................................