Bindi

This page describes something very similar to your description of awakening from a psychological perspective, the authors compare their experience which they refer to as ‘loss of the affective ego’ with Depression. http://www.innerexplorations.com/chmystext/isit.htm

Is it correct to describe kundalini symptoms as Qi? Does kundalini energy cultivate the dantians?

Apparently Ramana didn't try to stop thieves from attacking him when they broke into his ashram, nor did he try to stop them from stealing, and when St Seraphim of Sarov was physically attacked and beaten he didn't fight back or try to defend himself, though he was crippled in the attack. The actions of the truly enlightened are incomprehensible to the unenlightened it would seem.

A couple of points your article brings up for me, the neo enlightened seem to have no connection to the wisdom from the old texts as they seem to invariably believe they have surpassed this wisdom, they do seem on the other hand to promote the neo advaitan doctrine of 'nothing needs to be done'. This doctrine is completely perverse to me, though clearly not to many as it has thoroughly invaded Western spirituality. It does seem to be one of the most common traps that a spiritual seeker can fall into, thinking they have attained more than they have, I think it just reflects our tendency towards egoic thought, and ego can operate invisibly no matter how intelligent or well intentioned the person is unfortunately.

I thought this was clearer than any information on the Granthis that I've previously come across, and I was particularly interested in the concept of having to overcome even the socially laudable qualities at Vishnu Granthi. It was also news to me that the knots were in Sushumna nadi, does anyone know if this is true even of Brahma Granthi?

Though I agree that compassion is an indication of spiritual achievement, I question whether deliberately acting compassionately is the way to actually become compassionate. Deliberately acting compassionately might appear to be a positive action that makes everyone concerned feel better, but because it is a choice, which therefore comes from duality, what is to stop ego from viewing this as proof of ones spiritual nature, from thinking “I am doing better, I was so selfless and compassionate today” – isn’t this just congratulating oneself and spiritualising ego? The only way I can see to becoming compassionate is to remove the mental and emotional and egoic restrictions on allowing our true compassionate nature to shine forth, isn’t anything else just adding to the structured self that we have created?

Apu’s lament “He slept, he stole, he was rude to the customers. Still, there goes the best damn employee a convenience store forum ever had!”

I can see what you’re saying, but I will always prefer the removal of limiting conditions versus the cultivation of the positive. I like the sense in Advaita that we can only truly know what is not Self, and by stripping away what is not Self which is the only possible platform I can work from, then ultimately what will be left is the unknowable Self that for me can not be imagined. This is the only logical way for me. But then because of my almost absolute insistence on this via negativa, the issue of cultivating compassion did become a real question for me, though a solution was pointed out through your earlier question and subsequent link as I mentioned above J

Perhaps Buddhism resolves my issue though, by cultivating compassion in this particular way - 'Equalizing self and others’ means recognizing the equality of yourself and others in wishing to find happiness and wishing to avoid suffering. ‘Exchanging self and others’ means giving your own happiness to other sentient beings, and taking their suffering upon yourself. ‘Considering others as more important than yourself’ means setting aside your own benefit and accomplishing the benefit of others. Then compassion can be cultivated. But it becomes 'skillful' compassion, without sinking into ego strengthening. BTW, I'm not Buddhist, and my interest in compassion is not from a particular perspective except perhaps it is buddhism that has seen a way through this issue. I had a dream a long time ago where i was sitting in between 2 twins, the one on my right said 'when i think I think of others, the one on my left said 'when I think I think of myself'. I looked towards the one on my right and said 'I'm trying to be like you' and edged a bit closer to her. This seems like a personal version of the Buddhist practices above which T_I pointed to in his link, and something for me to contemplate on further to resolve my question.

Or if everything is already perfect just as it is, then this trying to change the world must also be perfect

Untouched, undisturbed, This life is perfect just as it is, but still we try to change the world. ~ JETSUN KHANDRO RINPOCHE ~ I assume a statement like this must be referring to the Natural State, but to me it is unclear, as it seems to be saying that the obstructed state is perfect?

I don't really get this, Bodhichitta would entail wisdom mind + compassion + no ego already wouldn't it? I think my issue is with relative Bodhichitta, and the oft proposed method of achieving the compassion component of Bodhichitta - 'Do something nice for someone to make yourself feel good' versus the method from your link of practicing "meditations on equalizing and exchanging yourself and others, and consider[ing] others as more important than yourself". 'Equalizing self and others’ means recognizing the equality of yourself and others in wishing to find happiness and wishing to avoid suffering. ‘Exchanging self and others’ means giving your own happiness to other sentient beings, and taking their suffering upon yourself. ‘Considering others as more important than yourself’ means setting aside your own benefit and accomplishing the benefit of others.

T-I, Is your quote above basically saying the same or something similar to the non dual state of advaita and the duality that precedes it?

What is the difference between bodhicitta and relative bodhicitta?

I thought Buddha counselled against belief in God or reliance on deities. That he saw such beliefs as a religious crutch and limitation. Of course I might be wrong about this as I am not Buddhist, but I do recall reading this sort of perspective in Buddhism.

Like annoyingly smug neo-awakening actually.

Seems a bit nihilistic, I'd definitely take enlightenment and put your theory to the test

I'd like to respond to your question in my ego thread so as not to disrupt 3Bob's enlightenment

Is ego the sum total of our karmic momentum? In overcoming ego are we freed of our karmic ballast?

The Dalai Lama's quote is very interesting, engaging in "analytical meditation, reflectively analyzing with reasoning" would be an interesting state to define further, is this discernment level normal in meditation? I love the quote anyway, so precisely my interest at the moment, thanks for sharing it T_I

You refer to the LDT and the MCO 'opening', do the MDT and the UDT fit naturally into this process for you at some point? I also am interested in your answer to 小梦想's question, as I was also under the impression that the LDT needed to be deliberately created by us, if your experience is different to this it would be of interest and expand my understanding.

Medical Qigong adds a practical perspective to Qi that might start to answer these questions, try this article - http://keystohealing.ca/?p=791

To utterly enjoy the moment sounds fine, and is clearly satisfying to you, but it is not my aim. And neither high doses of drugs, nor your realisations from taking them, are actually relevant to me. Let’s say I wanted in essence to be a highly effective medical Qigong practitioner. Simply enjoying the moment with my patients, and perhaps teaching them to embrace the pain and deterioration of their disease in that moment would not be appropriate. But accessing information relevant to their disease through highly cultivated subtle energy fields and bringing in the necessary energy through those fields to effect healing would be a much more appropriate activity for me to engage in. I know without any doubt which approach the patient would prefer.

At least on a practical energy level it seems clear that engineering needs to be done - to push prana out into the 5 koshas or sheaths one by one (which include the mental and discernment levels), or from a medical Qi gong perspective, to shift Qi into the wei Qi fields which extend progressively further out from the physical body, achieved by filling the 3 dantians - when all of these sheaths or fields are completely and permanently full of energy, this may be seen as the end point in subtle energy terms, but to generate the prana or Qi out to the 5th kosha (the bliss sheath), or the third wei Qi field (which manifests from six feet out from the physical body to infinite space), requires some very specific engineering. Without a doubt to experience these energy fields as full is neither worthless, nor can I see how it would just happen by doing nothing.

Why is "incredible effort and bravery" needed suddenly? Isn't it just a simple choice to appreciate the moment for you?