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as it were—yogis describe an energy system ascending upward to heaven, whose function is to enable the individual to transcend the material world of duality and separation. Both psychoanalytic and bioenergetic therapy seem to me to confine their interest to lower stages of organization of energy and personality development, whereas yoga describes and defines the dynamics of the individual’s unfolding energy, personality and consciousness as higher centers are activated: what might be called “transpersonal” parts of the self. For a more detailed account of these dynamics please refer to Appendices III and IV.
Dr. J. had been a bioenergetic therapist for a number of years and was now experimenting with new techniques, but he questioned their validity. He was hoping for clarification and was also wondering about the unusual sensation in his brow, as if his brow chakra (third eye) was opening but cloudy. His wife, B.J., had no questions. She felt life was full and happy and would let happen what would happen.
On the morning of the third day when feelings were at their lowest, we met for breakfast in the East-West Hotel. By this time my friends hardly spoke to me. They had had enough of my optimism and just wanted to ventilate about their discomfort. Dr. H. spoke at length about his dissatisfaction working with the county mental health system. Hoping for new insight and direction, he was disappointed at not getting what he wanted from his visit with Baba. As he opened to the others, they responded by sharing their own concerns and difficulties. The conversation grew distant from Baba; there seemed to be no thought of the relationship of their lives to this moment, even though we were about to meet with Baba for the much-anticipated interview. I knew this would be an extremely meaningful and important meeting for them, but they had lost hope for such an outcome and their minds were elsewhere. Even though my relationship with them was strained, I thought I’d try once more.
“Excuse me, but we’re about to have a real important meeting with Sai Baba. It might be wise for us to think about it and what we might want to ask of him, what we might want from this interview.”
They cut me off quickly. B.J. said, “Don’t you ever just let things alone—why this need to always bring up your Sai Baba?”
I was quiet during the taxi ride to Brindawn. The others told me their feelings plainly enough: they thought Baba looked nice, that he