A four-part talk/workshop that takes a look at one of the obstacles we encounter along the path:

All of us, to a greater or lesser degree, are familiar with the frustrating - and humbling - experience of giving our all to 'climbing a mountain' only to realize later that it's the wrong mountain(!) And unless we learn where we fell short (which is not the most interesting thing for most of us), we're bound to find ourselves up a few more 'wrong mountains.'

There is a word in Sanskrit that speaks to this lack of clarity: AVIDYA. It means ignorance, delusion, unlearned, unwise; VIDYA is a word for knowledge, A+VIDYA is that which runs counter to Vidya or knowledge. There is, however, a difference in how it sees 'ignorance' which we generally associate with lack of erudition; instead it points to a limitation that is natural to the human sensory or intellectual apparatus. Yes, pretty much like the optical illusion images that you see on this page ;)

In Yoga practice (which looks a lot like life), it's relatively easy to 'get going' until we realize that without any real understanding, we're really just going around in circles, forced to take consolation in the thought that at least we're moving. This takes us to the importance of cultivating understanding and discernment, in which it is essential that we become familiar with our ignorance. So the many forms of not-knowing/seeing are what these talks and explorations are dedicated to, as well as the practices that address each limitation.