Dear all,

My name is Laurent Brasseur and I live in France (near Paris). I'm 31 and work as an R&D manager in a chemical company. Before that, I did a PhD in brain sciences. I chose these studies because I was philosophically looking for a solution to what we call the "hard problem of consciousness" - even if it wasn't the direct subject of my thesis. Although my studies were passionate, I couldn't find any worthy explanation for the origin of consciousness in modern scientific theories. A few years ago, I found accidentally a book about Buddhism philosophy. It was my first insight into the unknown continent of Indian philosophy. I was struck by the fact that Indian thinkers had developed such profound answers to the question that obsessed me - that of consciousness. Although I had learned a lot from reading and meditating with Buddhists, I felt much more attract by the Hindu philosophies of Advaita and, more specifically, Shaivism - where consciousness is identified with God and lies at the very heart of everything! I was a little sad to see that Shaiva traditions had almost disappeared until I found this fascinating platform.

I would like to warmly thank Acharya Sthaneshwar Timalsina for making these profound teachings and practices available to us.

I'm very happy to be here with you all!