Nuralshamal

Dear Dao Bums, Qigong and astral travel... Let me ask you some questions 1) Have you astral travelled? If yes, could you elaborate how you got to be able to do that, as well as share some experiences 2) Do you know any trustworthy stories (about friends, teachers etc) about astral travel? If so, please share 3) Do you know any qigong or meditation methods for astral travelling you could share? 4) Do you know any qigong or meditation teachers (trustworthy and authentic) who teach astral travel? Let me share some of my own answers to the above questions a) I'll start with SKY (simplified kundalini yoga). b ) After, I'll share about my sexual qigong and daoist lovemaking teacher. c) Then, I'll share from my indian-village-mountain-cave-yogi guru, who has a student who has shared stories about "sukshma sharir ki yatra" (subtle body travel or subtle body pilgrimage). d) Subsequently, I'll share the story of a white, atheist european boy, who accidentally got the power of astral travel through tibetan buddhist mandala visualisation meditation. e) finally, I'll share a short story from a qigong master from Australia SKY In SKY (Simplified Kundalini Yoga), Vethathiri Maharishi (the guru and founder) was taught astral travel by one of his own gurus. In the beginning of SKY, astral travel was taught as one of the meditations, freely available to everyone. Later, they changed it so only masters would learn it during the masters course. Latest... they completely stopped it. Therefore, alas, I have not been able to learn it yet.. However, I've heard face-to-face trustworthy accounts of high level teachers and masters in SKY, personally telling me about their experiences. The method used is meditating on the navel chakra. After that, I don't know what the next step is (yet.. I hope to learn someday, somehow). Other things they said: how they used to learn it. It would be on full moon morning. They would all have eaten a light dinner the night before, and meditated on the navel chakra before bed time. They would then meet at 4AM. They would all lie down with white sheets on top of them. Vethathiri would be seated, guiding it all. They would meditate on the navel chakra while lying down, and Vethathiri would use his yogic power to take them out of their body, one by one. Once all were out of the body, he would take them to the moon, all together. After returning to the meditation hall, he would stay there. He would then allow everyone to go and do what they want to try; e.g. visit their families, visit mountains or faraway lands, go on pilgrimages to temples etc. Lastly, he would put everyone back in their body. They could then practice this meditation on full moon mornings back home, whenever they wanted. They should just follow the same instructions; light dinner the night before with navel chakra meditation before bed etc. Sexual qigong and lovemaking teacher He told me that the end goal of all daoism and qigong is astral travel. "The One" spoken about in alchemy is actually our spiritual fetus, spiritual body, whatever you want to call it. "Return to the One", "Merge three into One", "From spirit to the One", "Merge with the Emptiness and attain the One" etc. He said the couple would do their qigong and meditation. They would then make sweet, sweet love. They would then leave their bodies. Once out of the body, they would use all the energy from the lovemaking to heal the physical bodies. They would then travel to another planet in our Galaxy, the one from where qigong originates. Here you can be taught higher teachings and achieve higher levels of mastery than using the qigong physically available on Planet Earth. Teachings which have slowly been lost over time, since given to the Planet Earth by "the Gods". Indian Village, another student of my guru He got the siddhi of sukshma sharir ki yatra through the following steps: 1) attain mantra siddhi of a kavach mantra (tantric protection mantra) 2) tratak on the sun and moon to build the energy sufficiently strong 3) meditating on the navel chakra with neck lock until prana and apana merge, after which they rush up through the sushumna, naturally break your neck lock, and go to the crown chakra 4) the prana will then pulse in your crown chakra. You meditate on this pulse of energy for 60 minutes with no other thoughts in your mind 5) then you will feel your sukshma sharir leave your physical body (don't become shocked, then you will have to restart the 60 minutes) 6) after the first succesfull leaving out the crown, you can do it very quickly (because the path has been opened) 7) then you can lie down on the back more comfortably and simply leave out the crown 8) then you will see your physical body sitting or lying there, and you will see spirits around you, trying to mess with you, trying to get you to freak out. Don't let them distract you from your goal, remember that you have put the kavach and trust in it 9) go to your destination, do what you need to do, come back (just by thinking about your body, you automatically return instantly, no matter where you are or the distance) He himself personally went to "Vaikunth", the planet or place where Lord Rama resides. He then did puja to Rama and Sita. Then he returned. After this first journey, he would venture out and journey, doing pilgrimages or simply visiting interesting places, every night during his sleeping time. White atheist boy At one point in my life, I stayed 6 months in a Hindu Ashram in Europe. The resident indian swami told me the following story about this swiss boy, who came to ask for advice. He was a white, swiss, atheist boy, who had never been interested in religion nor spirituality. In his 20s during his university education, a girlfriend of his convinced him to try to meditate, as a way to cope with stress. He agreed (I think he liked the girl ) He was taught a tibetan buddhist mandala visualisation. He would visualise the mandala in 4 steps: lower part of the mandala, middle part of the mandala, upper part of the mandala, the whole mandala together. If you lose the visualisation, you start over. He actually felt some stress relief from this method, so he continued it all throughout university, and also after starting work. After 7 years, one day while meditating, he heard a huge pop. He opened his eyes and saw the wall moving towards him. He was very surprised. As he tried to move, he noticed it was actually him, flying towards the wall. He turned around, and shockingly saw his body sitting in the chair. He was out of his body! He didn't know what to do, so he decided to go visit his dad back home in the countryside of Switzerland. He flew slowly all the way, following the roads and signs. He found his dad out in the garden, working. He tried to talk to him, but his dad didn't react. After some time, he flew all the way back, and went into his body again. He called his dad and asked "dad, did you work on the kale in the garden around 3 o'clock this afternoon?", "Why, yes son, I did". The swiss boy was shocked. The leaving of the body would then happen every single time he meditated. As an atheist, he was so confused by this experience, that he stopped his meditation, and went on google to try and find some hindu or buddhist centers in his city. He found the ashram I would later live in for 6 months, and asked the resident swami to explain what was happening to him, how it was possible, and what he should do. Qigong Master from Australia He was born into a chinese qigong family. At 4 he was forced to do long standing. As a teenager, his teacher took him astral travelling. He took him all the way down to the "realms of hell", and all the way up to the highest levels of "divine realms" they could go to. Conclusion I have heard many bogus and untrustworthy accounts of astral travel in my life. However, the ones above, I can all vouch for. They were told to me by trustworthy friends, in a natural and unforced manner. There were no reason or anything to gain for them, cooking up these stories. It was simply a natural part of the conversations I shared with them during my time with them. I consider them quite "juicy" and interesting I hope to also learn astral travel someday Now please, what do you have to say about my 4 initial questions: 1) Have you astral travelled? If yes, could you elaborate how you got to be able to do that, as well as share some experiences 2) Do you know any trustworthy stories (about friends, teachers etc) about astral travel? If so, please share 3) Do you know any qigong or meditation methods for astral travelling you could share? 4) Do you know any qigong or meditation teachers (trustworthy and authentic) who teach astral travel?

There are: 1) Simplified Physical Exercises (exercises for hands/arms, legs/feet, eyes, breathing/lungs, spine, acupressure and relaxation), 2) Meditation (all 7 chakras inside the body, 2 chakras outside the body, five senses, five elements and 9 planets, lamp meditation, mirror meditation, Divine state meditation, nityananda meditation), 3) Introspection (analyse thoughts, moralize desires, neutralize anger, eradicate worries, realize true self, harmony in relationships), and 4) Kaya Kalpa Yoga. You can read more here: https://www.kundaliniyoga.edu.in/s/pages/skyyoga

Almighty God has given us several tools to bring us into union with the Divine Energy: 1) Body methods (including asanas, bandhas, mudras), 2) Breathing methods (including pranayama & mantras), and 3) Mind methods (including dharana, dhyana, samadhi). All traditions, all religions and all spiritual practices use a mix of the 3 above categories. Under the body method we have mudras. Different hand gestures or "seals" which command the pranshakti (life force energy or qi) to circulate in a particular manner. Simply by putting your body in a specific position (standing, sitting or lying) and employing a particular mudra, you can command your pranshakti (or qi) to circulate in particular manner. I have been experimenting with all kinds of cultivation methods (body, breath and mind methods - from hindu, sufi, daoist, buddhist, christian, muslim and many more traditions), and I can personally vouch for the power of mudras. Christians pray using a mudra (hands clasped, fingers interlocked). Muslims and sufis pray using a mudra (open hands towards the sky). Hindus and Buddhists pray using a mudra (their palms joined together). I recently stumbled upon this wonderful online list of 50 different hindu mudras! https://www.fitsri.com/yoga-mudras You can check it out. If you want to experiment with mudras to: 1) gain peace of mind (shunya mudra), 2) circulate your pran (prana mudra), 3) attract more wealth (Kubera mudra), 4) become fearless (abhaya mudra), 5) heal your entire head from headache, congestion, eye strain or any other problem (mahasirs mudra), 6) or any other issue, you should give these mudras a go Just sit for 5-15 minutes every day for a week, and you can see for yourself what works for you. Trust nobody experiment and see for yourself God bless you!

Thanks for your post bro! Yes, when I was at the SKY Temple of Consciousness, one of the big things on my list was to get a Nadi Astrology reading. Several of my dad's friends told me about theirs (when I was growing up). It sounded so magical But alas, when I was there, everyone I asked simply said it's all fake, and that it's "forever lost", and no one can be trusted etc. etc. So, we didn't manage to get it done. I even texted and called my friends from all over the world, who have told me they've been to a Nadi reading, but somehow no-one remembered the place, name etc. So, didn't get it last time I was there. Do you know anyone?

Dear Dao Bums, I would like to ask you, if you can help me crack this nut (get ready for a mystery hunt!): 1) The year is 1991. The month is between the end of October and the beginning of December. The place is Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. 2) The exact month, day and time is unknown 3) How can this be found? (the correct birth month, day and time). There are no available birth records, as there was war between the Kurds and Iraqi arabs at the time of birth. The mother cannot remember, as she is old, and her story changes each time we ask her. I have tried I Ching consultation with a world famous I Ching practitioner, and it didn't help. The I Ching simply implied the birth was during a time of "thunder", which made sense as there was a war at the time. I also asked another qigong master, who ascertained that through I Ching calculation, the birth day and time could be find, but it didn't work either. There remains (from my point of view) no more "normal" options for ascertaining the birth day. All living relatives have been tried, their info's have been cross-examined with each other and with the historical records, they don't match up, so they've been deemed "untrustworthy". There are no available "official records" from Kurdistan because of the war. The person in question is registered, but the official registry is notoriously untrustworthy. They deem only the amount of people born as the important information, not they day, time etc (this opinion is shared by medical staff). That's why everyone in Kurdistan is either born on the 1st of July or the 1st of November (back in the day). The registering office simply put 1st of July for everyone born in the first half of the year, and 1st of November for everyone for the second half of the year. This is something I've been battling with for about 1 year, trying to find the birth date through logical deduction and analysis, interviews etc. After so much research, I've reached the temporary conclusion, that it's time to try spiritual ways of finding out the birth date. That's why I've tried 2 qigong masters and 1 hindu swami. The hindu swami actually managed to make 2 years of prediction for her (the woman in question), which has actually been true so far (about 1 year has passed). But when I asked him about the birth day he found, he couldn't find his calculations (he is 78 years old). I think he found the day of birth using tantric methods of communicating with and controlling spirits (disembodied souls), because he asked for a picture of the girl, birth name and current name, as well as her mother's name. This thing with the mother's name is something I've learnt from sufis is a way to use spirits to find the information for you. I saw him recently, as he visited my country, but I could tell he was very tired from 1) his age, 2) how much work he was doing here during his short visit and 3) tired from traveling, jet lag, food changes etc. So we had about 1 hour session with him, where he mostly used palmistry and numerolgy to give us advice (free of charge.. he's a good man! He's been the most loving, helping, compassionate and useful "spiritual guru" of all the qigong masters, hindu masters etc. I've reached out to for help the past couple of years). So he didn't have the time nor energy to get up at night at 3 o'clock and do whatever black magic ritual was needed to re-contact the spirits and find the birth info. So he simply used palmistry and numerology to advice her, and then gave us some blessings (mantras, water, flowers and fruits). Now my question to you guys: 1) Do you know a spiritual way of finding out the correct birth month, day and time? 2) Do you know someone, who knows a way? Then I could reach out to them Thanks for your help! Be blessed by the Divine

Thanks for the suggestion! Checking it out now

Thanks for sharing! And thanks for the suggestion I sent you a message

@Cheshire Cat Thanks for sharing!! Checking it out now @Earl Grey Great idea Do you know someone you trust, who could help us find it through the Akashic Records? @Dao Bums Thanks guys for chiming in, I appreciate your help

Dear Dao Bums, This post is about sexuality and spirituality, and joining these two together (which may mean different things to different people). Three parts: 1) Intro 2) A newfound discovery (link to interesting stories!) 3) Inviting you guys for sharing knowledge, experiences and helping me answer some interesting questions Intro Sexuality and Spirituality has been my own two main interests in my life. This has made me venture into many interesting things, including: Sri Vidya which I've written about here: https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/53122-sri-vidya-yantra-mantra-tantra-mudra-guru-karunamaya/ Genital weightlifting and daoist lovemaking, which I've written about here: https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/52045-my-experience-with-genital-weight-lifting-sexual-qigong-daoist-lovemaking-and-meditation/ https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/52880-healing-in-different-systems/ I feel like I've managed to a certain degree to blend and understand both domains (sexuality and spirituality), but I am still searching, looking, living, exploring and experiencing. Lately I've been very fascinated by the power of ancient Sri Vidya rituals (including mantra, yantra, tantra, mudra and nyasa used in rituals). While researching online, I discovered that Sri Vidya has been kept secret until very recently, where my own Sri Vidya Guru's Guru (my paramguru) made it open to the public. My Sri Vidya Guru is Guru Karunamaya. His Guru is Amritananda Saraswati Natha. Amritananda has build a small place for the practice of Sri Vidya called "DeviPuram" (city of the Goddess). While reading and researching more on my paramguru, I came across this very juicy and very amusing story! 2) A newfound discovery In Devipuram, sex rituals are a very big part of their practice! This really surprised me, as India is known for being extremely conservative. The spiritual abstain from alcohol, meat, sex etc. You can read this very interesting story here: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/05/sex-messiah-the-virginal-monk-adult/ https://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/05/sex-messiah-breaking-the-master-adult/ In short, it's about the son of two western hindu converts, who grew up in a puritan hindu ashram in the US. He was celibate and trained to be a religious leader, however, in his 20s he rebelled and went to India. He came to Devipuram. And was involuntarily immersed in all kinds of sex stuff. You can read his amusing and interesting take on it in the links above. 3) Invitation for you guys' participation and questions 1) Have you been to Devipuram? 2) What was your experience? 3) Do you know anyone who's been there? 4) Do you know where one could obtain the way to conduct "yoni puja"? (worship of the woman's "bab'ul-jannah" or doorway to paradise ;)) 5) Do you know where one could obtain the way to conduct "linga puja"? (worship of the man's lingam or sexual organ) 6) Do you know where one could obtain the way to conduct "maithuna" or ritual lovemaking? After having experienced the power of Sri Vidya rituals and mantras on my life, I would be very interested to give it a go, and try to say these mantras while worshipping the Divine in another's body. It's cool, fun and interesting to sit and worship a turmeric cone or pyramid with water to get money and happiness, or worship a yantra with milk and ghee to heal yourself... but imagine how much fun it would be with your partner It sounds fun and exciting and if it works, even better! I look forward to hearing you guys' reaction to the stories, thoughts on this whole subject, and hopefully some who can share some experiences or point towards manuals explaining the rituals. Be blessed by the Divine!

Hey @JohnC, Thanks for chiming in Thanks for clarifying about Zhang and Chunyi Lin! It could definitely be related to different schools for sure I too feel Zhang is very powerful and qualified

Dear Dao Bums, I have searched and read all of the stories about Master Yuanming Zhang on this forum. I read some stories/reports/controversies, which stated that he was actually one of the teachers of both Master Zhongxian Wu (Master Wu) and Spring Forest Qigong founder Master Chunyi Lin. Supposedly, they then took some of his teachings, went to the west and became big stars using his teachings. I personally know nothing about this, but it's a pretty juicy story. I hope to engage with you on the following three points (regarding Master Yuanming Zhang): 1) can you either prove or disprove the idea that both Master Wu and Chunyi Lin copied Yuanming Zhang? Or share some stories related to these reports. 2) do you have any personal experiences or stories about Yuanming Zhang ? 3) if any of you are interested in his teachings, he hosts a 2 hour zoom meeting this Sunday (17th of July 2022) on meditation. I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say Be blessed!

Dear Dao Bums, A small update Some of my ideas about Sri Vidya so far regarding: 1) Gods and what they represent 2) The types of rituals used in Sri Vidya 3) Some of my recent experiences with mantra and rituals and their effect on my life Each God represents: Microcosmic level: your chakra and it's related energy channels, body organs, emotions, capacities etc Mesocosmic level: which areas of your life are connected to that particular energy (e.g. finance, romance, sexuality etc) Macrocosmic level: supernatural beings of a higher order, some living in the astral world of planet Earth, some living on other planets or starsystems in our galaxy Ganapati, Ganesha or "The Elephant God" represents the muladhara chakra, root chakra and the related nadis (down the leg, up the back into the brain). Bala represents the swadistana chakra, and the related nadis down the leg and up the torso. In your life it's related to pleasure, creativity and the sense of self. Chamunda or Durga represents the navel chakra, which is connected to all the nadis around the navel, and it gives you "ego" power and the ability to achieve in wordly life. You have the power to defend yourself verbally and energetically, and go after what you want and achieve it. Raja Shyamala represents the heart chakra, and all the nadis around the heart and chest area, and the sense of love, acceptance, joy and power of attraction in your life. Varahi will give you protection from black magic, and also heal each layer of your body (flesh, blood, muscle, organs, bone, marrow and sexual fluid). Rituals There are 3 types of rituals: Tarpana, which is done using water (a kind of offering of water with mantras) Puja, which is done using food, incense, lamp, bell etc (representing and embodying the 5 elements during the rituals) offered using mantras. Homa, which is done using fire (offering into the fire with mantras). Under these general types, nyasas are used to activate certain points of the body, and mudras are used to represent or activate specific energies. My recent experiences The Raja Shyamala mantra and tarpana has profoundly changed my life. There is no comparison between now and before! It's really insane. For all of my life, people that know me tend to like me, e.g. family, friends, collegues etc. However! Strangers have always had a completely neutral, sometimes sceptical (slightly negative) attitude towards me at first. Only if they got to know me, or after they got to know me, would their attitude switch from slighty negative or neutral towards positive. After the Raja Shyamala mantra and tarpana, even complete strangers will have a positive attitude towards me. Strangers have even begun to approach me for small talk in the supermarket, gym or even in the street. This has never happened in my life before! (it's not a natural part of my country's culture to do that, like it would be in the US for example. Talking to strangers outside of practical matters or politeness is considered weird). It's really noticeable and quite peculiar to experience such a switch. Especially the opposite gender is visibly more attracted to me than before. Before I would say about 60% of girls would be open to me romantically if I approached them. However, now it's about 90%! They all smile, look at me, try to get eye contact, and feel like talking to me. It's crazy! I really feel more and more that Sri Vidya is similar to the magic we all heard about growing up. There are mantras, meditations and rituals, and they effect not only your physical body, energy and mind, they change your outer life too. I'm steering clear of anything that could override other people's free will (e.g. attraction or sexual magic directed at specific people), and also of course any a-dharmic action (that hurts myself or others, physically or mentally, now or in the future) like cheating. What I've read is that this "attraction" power should be used for good, guiding others towards the right path (e.g. vegetarianism, being good to oneself and others and all living beings, being loving and compassionate, not stealing, hurting, cheating, lying etc, respecting parents and elders, taking care of family and serving society, giving charity etc). I just wanted to share with you, that Sri Vidya could potentially allow you to become like the wizards, sorcerers or magicians of the adventures and fairy tales we grew up with. Or have seen in video games You can heal yourself and others, you can remove black magic and evil entities (at higher levels), you can attract the opposite sex and much more. I was told that at the last level, when you finally get the highest mantra and the rituals for the Sri Yantra and the Meru, you can achieve any thing you want. You can worship the specific part of the Meru or Sri Yantra which gives more money, makes you more fertile, produce better offspring, gives you power of clairvoyance, changing the weather etc. There are 64 parts of the Sri Yantra or Meru, and each can give you a particular power or benefit in your spiritual or wordly life. It's like a catalogue, you can "order" what you want more of in your life: money, love, sex, romance, spiritual powers etc. I look forward to reaching that level, God willing Be blessed by the Divine!

@cloud_hidden Hey Dan, thanks for chipping in I'm glad to hear about your very postive experience with him! I'm definitely thinking about doing or trying a retreat with him at some point. That could be cool

Dear friends My post will be in 3 parts: 1) Introduction to the lineage of Vethathiri Maharishi and his different gurus 2) Interesting information about one of his gurus 3) Questions for you and invitation to further research on one of his guru's guru (paramguru) 1) Introduction to the lineage of Vethathiri Maharishi and his gurus Today, I researched a bit about Vethathiri Maharishi, and I found that he himself had 3 physical gurus and 1 astral guru: 1) A religious Guru called Balakrishnan Naicker (when Vethathiri was 14, he learnt hindu devotional worship using songs, mantras and puja as well as the importance of ahimsa and vegetarianism) 2) A Guru in indian herbal medicine called Vaidya Bhoopati S. Krishna Rao (in Vethathiri's 20s, he was employed in Chennai as the apprentice of this traditional doctor in herbal medicine and learnt Ayurveda, Siddhar Medicine and Unani Medicine as well as indian philosophy) 3) A Guru called Paranjyothi Mahan who opened Vethathiri's muladhara and sahasrara chakras and taught him astral travel (in his 30s) 4) When he was 42 the astral form of the Great Saint Ramalinga Vallalar came to Vethathiri and then stayed with him for a period of about 10 years, helping, assisting, teaching and blessing him. As you know, SKY completely changed my life, and I am very grateful for the teachings of Vethathiri. However, as you might have read in my other posts, the astral travel method has been removed from the official SKY system. To me, that's a great tragedy. I am personally very interested in learning it, hence I am continually researching on it. 2) Interesting information about one of his gurus Seeing that Paranjyothi Mahan was actually the guru who opened Vethathiri's chakras, and taught him astral travel, I thought I would research some more about him. There is an organisation he established, which continues to this day: Universal Peace Foundation. One of Paranjyothi Mahan's students is the current leader of the organisation, as Paranjyothi passed away in 1981. So, one possibility for me is to contact this organisation and see if they still teach astral travel. However, from what I can see, they teach something which is very, very similar to SKY (the master opens the students' chakras one by one). Well, what about the guru of Paranjyothi Mahan? This is where the new piece of interesting information comes in. His guru was called Haribullah Kamil Syed Ibrahim! This is a muslim name, or it could very well be a title. "Hari" refers to Vishnu in Sanskrit, however, in Qur'anic arabic, "hari" means dawn, morning or sunrise. "b" is short for "bi" or "bi'l" which means "of" or "of the" "ullah" is Allah. So Hari-bi'l-Allah means "Morning/dawn/sunrise of God" (as you know, sunrise is symbolic of the rays of the sun dispersing the darkness of night, and instead bringing light, warmth and life. As you know "guru" in sanskrit means "darkness/light", someone who takes you from darkness to light. So, the Arabic meaning of "Haribullah" could be a clever muslim/sufi way to say "Guru". This in itself is (to me) extremely interesting, that the paramguru of Vethathiri is possibly a muslim or sufi! Kamil or Kamel means "perfect" or "perfected". Syed or Sayed/Sayid means "noble" and usually refers to descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. Ibrahim is the muslim variant of Abraham, the first "hanif" or first rightly guided monotheist (in the 3 abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam). As you can see "Haribullah Kamil Syed Ibrahim" could very well be a title, refering to a guru or master safeguarding and passing on the true, perfected and noble teachings. In this case, the true teachings include kundalini and chakra awakening through touch, as well as astral travel and prayers for world peace. It being an honorific title could very well be the reason, that nothing really comes up when you search for it online. Maybe his given name was different. You also can't find any pictures of him. This leads me to the last and final point. 3) Questions for you and invitation to further research on one of his guru's guru (paramguru) 1) Do you know about or have experience with UPF (Universal Peace Foundation) and their teachings and practices? 2) Do you know about or can you through research find anything about this mysterious Haribullah Kamil Syed Ibrahim? 3) Do you know about or do you have experience with the astral travel methods of Vethathiri, Paranjyothi Mahan or Haribullah? May there be sufficient rain, crops and sustenance for all living beings. May the whole world enjoy prosperity, happiness, health, wisdom and peace. May Peace reign within us, may Peace reign around us and everywhere we go, may Peace reign in the whole word. Be blessed by the Divine!

@Vajra Fist Thanks for the heads up! I just read through the article. I too have seen this tendency (personality cult, politics, clique-like social dynamics, sectarianism and "we-are-the-chosen-ones") in every single organised spiritual/religious gathering I've ever been involved with. It's simply a matter of degree (from a tiny bit, all the way to the violent extreme). It disappoints me every time. But I myself try to stay clear of it, think independently, and take what is useful and leave the rest However, there are often times still solid techniques and methods in many of these traditions, so it takes some skill to balance between the political BS and sectarianism and learning beneficial techniques for benefitting oneself, one's family, one's community, and in the end all living beings May we all steer clear of group-think and mass-suggestion, and instead think independently and be a blessing to all living beings! Be blessed by the Divine

Dear friends, I've managed to obtain a tiny bit more information about the astral travel method of Vethathiri Maharishi (founder of Simplified Kundalini Yoga, known as SKY). Yet I haven't managed to learn it in person yet, so there might be lacking some information. Here are the hints and clues I've obtained: 1) You should have completed all levels of SKY (including brahma gyana, 9 center meditation, lamp & mirror gazing), so you have sufficient power and energy in your body, and have purified your mind and energy as much as possible 2) On the evening before full moon day, have a light dinner and meditate on your navel chakra 3) On the early morning of full moon day (4-6 in the morning), you should lie down flat in shavasana (flat on your back) 4) You should meditate on your navel chakra 5) You should visualise Vethathiri Maharishi grabbing your hand and pulling you up slowly 6) You should visualise this, until you detach from your body and actually hover above it 7) Look back at it, and realize you're out from your body, and that you are an immortal soul 8) Go about your astral journey 9) Come back to your body, reconnect and finish the meditation< If any of you have any information about genuine and authentic teachers, teaching effective and safe methods for astral travel, please share them with me I'm still researching and searching for a teacher to help guide me in astral travel

Hey guys, thanks for the heads up Sure, let me share some of my experiences. Some similarities: 1) Using the body 2) Using the breath (including mantras) 3) Using the mind 4) Using energy 5) Going into Being 6) Going into Non-Being Let me say a few words about each. The body Muslims pray using their physical bodies. It's very similar to yoga postures or qigong postures. When you go through them (if you have knowledge of meridians, energy centers etc), you can feel the qi and blood moving in different ways. Daoism puts great emphasis on taking care of the body through qigong, herbs, diet, sexuality, living in harmony with the seasons and the astrological energies. Breath Many sufis use breathing exercises, including holding the breath. The use of mantras are extensive, recitation of the Qur'an, dhikr, du'a and salawaat. Similarly in daoism, breathing exercises are very heavily employed. So are mantras and prayers. Mind In sufism, you have different ways of using the mind. A small tip which completely flipped my practice was, when I was told to "imagine God is watching you". It seems so simple, but it completely changed and supercharged my practice (Qur'an, Du'a and Dhikr). In Daoism you visualise different things as you pray, do qigong, breathing etc. Visualise the sun, moon and stars etc, in order to connect with them and exchange energy. Energy In daoism you employ the three dan tien and the meridian system in order to work with your own personal energy. Later you work with the energy outside yourself (connecting to masters, "deities", nature (rivers, trees, mountains) and celestial objects (sun, moon, stars). In sufism you have the "lata'if" or "subtle centers". They are directly empowered through transmission from the shaykh, through touch, through mantras and through the eyes. Being & Non-Being Pure being, a state beyond the mind. It's shared with minerals, plants and animals. In Islam the word "Allah" itself contains many interesting facets. "Al" is the article in arabic, e.g. "Al Qur'an" (THE Quran), "al kitab" (THE book) etc. By taking "al" by itself, just the article, not adding anything, it could be anything. This symbolizes everything in manifest existence. "La'" in arabic means, "no, nothing", it's a negation, it's symbolises the state of "non-being" before manifestation, or "behind" manifestation, holding it. The last "hu" is our life breath, our energy, the workings of the "non-being" (la) in the world of being (al). Al-lah also means "THE GOD" the one and only supreme source of creation. Al-'ilah means an individual God/deity. This is the unique and individuated soul of individual beings. We and God are one. All together it means that the life breath (hu) of the one and only creator (Al-Lah) is the ground of Being holding everything but being transcendent (la), yet circulates in all of existence (al), and is part and parcel of each individual being (Al-'ilah). Allah is also related to the verb "waliha", meaning to loose yourself in love. This means that Love permeates and is the ground for all of existence. God loves us, and we love God. In Daoism you have Dao (the beyond), then Wuji (non-being, infinite potential) and Taiji (being, the world of energy and manifestation). Conclusion As you can see, there are many similarities in the principles behind creation, as well as the principles behind spiritual practice. The need for a master, the need for continous and daily spiritual practice as well as the need for virtuous living.

Hey @effilang I read through this whole thread the past couple of days, very interesting! I sent you a message with a personal question I also have some general questions I'll post here 1) When is the next initiation in Europe? 2) I read several times, that people requested testimonials from experienced practitioners, and you seemed to have that on hand. However, I couldn't seem to find them. Were they posted? It sounds very interesting 3) What are the views of XYP on vegetarianism? 4) What are the views of XYP on sexuality? 5) What are the views of XYP on sexual cultivation and sexual practices? Be blessed by the Divine! Look forward to hear from you

Yes, SFQ can indeed help clear issues with black magic and dark spirits, up to a certain level. I got some help in this area at one point. It helped a bit, but it didn't solve the issues completely. From my POV SFQ is a "shared energy bank", consisting of the accumulated qi of Chunyi Lin and all practicioners from since SFQ began. When you practice SFQ, you tap into that bank.

@hierundjetzt Yes, of course. You choose a Master, someone you love, look up to, who embodies your ideal, and has strong healing qi. A person that should evoke all your strongest, positive feelings when you think of them. Many Americans choose Jesus, because they grew up Christian. Buddhists might choose a buddha that they grew up worshipping (depending which country they're from). But yes, Chunyi Lin does strongly suggest that you choose him as your master in the higher levels A Buddhist would say that the Master is simply "the best part of yourself" that you evoke, as all is simply Mind. "Spiritual" people might say that a dis-embodied soul, who actually possesses these qualities will come and help you. Others might say it's your guardian angel, that stays with you. And of course, the simplest explanation, you simply connect with the energy field of your master, which then helps you.

"Most people sit in asana for 30 minutes with their eyes closed and believe they have meditated... They haven't!" This was a truthbomb and a shockingly hardcore quote from an otherwise friendly hindu monk. It was only 2 years later I truly understood what he meant from personal experience. He gave a second follow up quote right after: "If people even meditate for a few minutes per day, true meditation, that person will be a great saint with supernatural powers in a few months". It was like a one-two punch in boxing: the first quote breaks your ego beliefs about yourself as an expert meditator... You think "oh, could I be in that category? I just sit with my eyes closed, yet I'm not truly meditating?" The second quote gives you hope, awe and inspiration about the glory of true meditation and motivates you to keep going. All in all, it's a great quote So, what is true meditation? According to Patanjali Yoga Sutra and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, there are 3 levels: 1) Dharana (12 seconds of your attention resting unbroken on an object - no wavering of your thoughts or attention) 2) Dhyana (12x12 seconds = 2m24s of unbroken attention) 3) Samadhi (12x12x12 = 28m48s of unbroken attention) These are translated as concentration, meditation and absorption respectively. Doing all three one after the other is called "samyama". I had heard these quotes and definitions for many, many years, and never quite understood it experientially. Because I was taught that "meditation is a state", and that "meditation happens spontaneously and naturally when the conditions are right", "the most important instruction is: relax your mind and body", "if your attention wavers, don't mind, simply bring it back gently, it's ok", "if you fall asleep, realize you're thinking or going along with an emotion, don't mind it, as soon as you notice your attention has wandered, simply gently bring it back". These are all expert level instructions helping the mind to relax. If you tell a newbie to focus, he will never be able to go into meditation. He will actually strain and maybe even get a headache. However, if you follow the above instructions, you'll naturally start to set the right conditions for meditation to occur. I mastered the above instructions in the sense that I could achieve "presence". I would be mindfully aware of inside and outside, the senses, my reactions etc, yet neutral about these sensations. However, I couldn't connect the above with the definitions given by the rishis and yogis in the shastras (scriptures). I meditated in the above way (through sufi, buddhist and hindu methods) for 5 years daily. After this I learnt SKY meditation by Vethathiri Maharishi. After about 2 months of SKY meditation, suddenly I experienced dharana. In SKY meditation your chakras are opened and empowered by the master, allowing you to actually feel a tangible vibration in your chakra. No more visualisation, guess work, imagination etc, it's a tangible sensation. Your meditation is to simply observe this vibration in the chakra. After about 2 months of twice daily practice, something incredibly happened. As I was meditating, suddenly the vibration increased about twentyfold from one moment to the next. I was shocked! But I didn't mind, I just simply brought my awareness back to the vibration. Shortly thereafter, it happened again. Now the vibration was 40 times stronger than normal. This happened 3-4 times in that one 20 minute session. I just thought I had increased my level of energy (pranshakti) in my chakras. However, after about 2 weeks of this continually happening, one day I remembered dharana, dhyana and samadhi. That day, I noticed it was about 12 seconds for this incredibly boost to happen. It would happen within the very first minute of my meditation. Then I realized, that after more than 5 years of daily practice, SKY had now in two months permitted me to reach the very first (and most basic!) level of meditation! It was about one month after that I started going into dhyana from time to time. After 6 months of practice, I could enter into dharana and dhyana on each chakra in every single meditation within my usual 10-20 minutes. I wanted to test if this was really true. Had I actually reached dhyan, and does dhyan truly confer the benefits mentioned in the shastras? So, as a test, I would meditate on certain things, and see if dhyana truly permitted you to know about these objects. I meditated on different herbs, teas, foods etc to know more about their effect on the body. I was shocked. After about 2-6 minutes, I would suddenly know and feel in my own body, exactly how this herb, that herb, this food, that tea etc would affect me. It is truly like they say in the shastras, if you can do dharana on something, you will connect to it. If you can do dhyana on something, you can know about it. They say that once you can do samadhi at will, you can know EVERTHING about that object. I have touched upon it a few times, but I haven't mastered it yet. What I wanted to share in this post is the fact that true meditation can be measured; dharana, dhyana and samadhi. It's scientific and measurable with tangible and observable effects when mastered. Anyone can train themselves and reach these states with the guidance of a true meditation master and of course daily practice. I am looking forward to mastering samadhi as well. The few times I managed it, I sat for around 1-2 hours to get one unit of samadhi. When it's mastered, you just sit for the 30 minutes and you'll go into samadhi - however, I've yet to reach that level And samadhi on different objects of meditation produces the siddhi associated with that object. You can meditate on a mantra, a chakra, a healing qigong talisman, a yantra, the sun, etc. When you master samadhi, you can know all things in the universe. You just look up in the different shastras which kinds of objects produce the results you're seeking in you life. Then you can do samadhi on it; say you wanted to heal yourself or others, attract wealth, attract love, acquire the ability to see and read auras, foresee the future, see your own previous lives, see your future lives, anything It's truly fascinating, and I look forward to continuing this journey of mastering the power of the human mind in order to draw closer to Almighty God and be a blessing to all living beings. May you all be blessed!

He has devised a very systematic approach to healing. It's simply a couple of simple steps you follow. I feel his approach is leaning towards being a "psychic/clairvoyant", simply with the qigong exercises on top. You pray to your master every time you practice. If you need something, you simply pray to your master about it. If you need to know something, you ask your master about it. This method is used for money as well "I would like to make more money for me and my family, could the universe support this? Tell me how I can serve the Universe, and make more money" could be an example for the prayer you would say for money qi. Similarly for black magic and curses, you would do the usual detecting, and then maybe ask your master "is there black magic involved? Is it within my power to heal it?" as you see, yes/no questions. For past lives, during the healing you ask your master "when did this blockage form?" then if it's from past lives, you will get a vision of the person you're healing, yet in a different time and different body. Then you will see what happened. Then you will start healing their old body, in order to erase the traumatic memory from the soul. ADHD was healed using a special mudra and talisman on the brain. You can see an overview of the steps involved in healing in this thread:

My friends! A small update I gave the mystery hunt for the astral travel mandala from Geneva a go again.. I came to some french sites. I found a very old lama, which supposedly has spread buddhism in Geneva for many decades, establishing the centre there. This makes it possible that he could have been around at the same time as the hindu monk and the story of the swiss boy. Furthermore, his strand of buddhism heavily employs mandalas It's not a 100% closed case, more like 20-40% of the facts fit the story, but it's worth a shot The lama is: Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche (as you can see, he's very elderly) Among other things, they heavily employ the "Herukas Body Mandala". The mandala fits the meditation technique described about meditating on the lower part, middle part, upper part and all together. Because when you see the mandala, it clearly has 3 sections: I will investigate further, buy some of their books and check things out Feel free to join in on this exciting investigation

I was told as a child that dharana was equal to 7 seconds of continous awareness, meditation 30 minutes and samadhi 3 hours. Then in my twenties, I read up on it. That's where I found the dharana=12s, dhyana=12x12s and samadhi=12x12x12s. However, I just lightly skimmed the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Patanjali Yoga Sutra to check up on it. I couldn't find any times given there. I think maybe the 12x12x12 is from a particular teacher, who shares his personal interpretation? However, the Kurma Purana gives 1 x dhyana =12 x dharana and 12 x dhyana =1 x samadhi. However, it uses "1 x pranayama" as the time unit, and not seconds. It's stated in Kurma Purana chapter 11 verse 42. But like Ajay0 stated, many of the ancient yogis were a kind of scientists. The science of energy, prana or pranshakti, as well as the science of consciousness. Back then science and spirituality were more intertwined than today. You can read how they classified breathing in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, as measured by fingers' length. If you're in a normal state, your breath is "12 fingers long", meaning if you hold your hand under your nose, at which distance can you still feel your breath. If you're calm, it goes to 6 fingers. And if you're meditating, it goes to 1 to 2 fingers or less. So, they measured the interconnectedness of mind (your state of mind and emotions, like angry, sad, happy etc) and your breath/energy (how many fingers). A science of energy and consciousness. So, they did indeed measure "spirituality" scientifically, with the science that was available in their time, e.g. finger's length. They used a loth of math and calculation for astrology, alongside their access to "yogic knowledge" through meditation.

This lucid dreaming thread is really taking off! Thank you everyone for taking time to chip in and share your experiences and insights