dwai

One day a friend and I were doing a mediation session. We decided we will try to go to Neem Karoli Baba. He responded to our call, and we stayed in his presence for a while. We saw this infinite beam of light flowing through us (taiji pole). And then we saw two points on that beam and a sphere manifest between the two points. We understood that the beam of light was awareness and the two points as the duality. With duality manifested the field of appearances (or the world). We asked him non-verbally, what should we do with this knowledge? He indicated - "Dive into it and swim.."

All points conceded as perspectives in duality. Yes I agree it is prudent to cross the street after looking left and right. It is good to look before one leaps and so on. personally I don’t have a problem either way (if people want to do it or not). I was curious as to the reasons why one might not want to do this type of work.

That’s soemthing I’d not heard before. And this dwai unit is Brahmin by birth

There are some very interesting responses - thank you all for that. A few key points that stand out for me are -- All interactions are "remote", even those in close physical proximity. In essence we are observing our own reactions/actions are predicated on own reactions. These reactions are brought about by our own mental patterns (fears, desires, likes, dislikes and preconceptions). There is a risk of negative impact on the energy body from energetic sharing of presence There is no risk of negative impact on the recipient if there is sharing of presence (already done via sharing satsangs, etc) but for healing we should be very circumspect as to whom we allow access to our energetic selves. Trust in the "other" person or the person sharing presence seems to be a critical factor For the dualists, I can understand that there is concept of separation, so there is fear. My question is, there are many here who are Nondualists by practice and philosophy. If our conviction in Nonduality is sound (irrespective of what we subscribe to -- no self or no separate Self or Only One Self), then who is afraid of these negative ramifications? What is the reason to be so wary and afraid? From your nondual insight (yes, I'm speaking to all of you, who are my own Self) -- Do you not know that see that there is no separation between beings? Do you not see that it is the same consciousness that manifests as energy? Do you not see that there is no fear of anyone stealing or losing their "energy" because the energy/awareness is infinite and always present?

Please elaborate

How true... Well said. There are subtle emotions and triggers lurking in our psyches that energetic exercises such as sharing of presence can bring forth. Stuff we may be aware of or perhaps be totally unaware of. They rise to the surface so we can release ourselves from them.

Is that possible? I don't know...never happened to me. Can someone who doesn't know what they're doing, even manage to do anything at all that'll make them harmful to others?

The truth (non dual) is ineffable and the ordinary mind cannot go there. The methods out there are dualistic paths to drop the duality. Some people might get to the chakra unification idea first and that would lead them to the unified life knowledge. It is not a uni-directional linear progression, imho. The bottom can lead to the top and the top to the bottom, the in to the out and the out to the in.

Using Ayurvedic/Yogic parlance, vegetarian food without onions, garlic etc are sattvic in nature. They will make you feel light and you will find your mind is less disturbed and clear too. This type of diet is good for meditation and spiritual practices of a certain kind. Nothing wrong in eating meat imho, just that Meat is tamasic (like alcohol, tobacco, etc) and will ground you. If you eat a balanced diet, you can stay balanced (all 3 gunas - Rajas, Tamas and Sattva).

iinm the Gift of Tao folks - @Ya Mu et al also mention this merging of the chakras or creation of a unified super-heart.

Yes. But do read the Aparokshanubhuti (I've posted a link to a good translation) here -- Aparoksha Anubhuti Sounds like names of my family members

@s1va have you read Aparokshanubhuti by Shankaracharya? In that he maps the Ashtanga Yoga path in terms of Advaita Vedanta sadhana. Wonderful.

The Heart is what expands

When the 8th chakra is reached and opened, all chakras will merge into a unified field. For me it was first felt in the heart, as the heart expanded to encompass the crown and above.

Found a very interesting (albeit tangential) article... https://hvsrcsharmaoccultsciencesuniversalhints.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/mantras-science-of-sound-and-vibration/ CAVEAT EMPTOR - I'm not endorsing it. Just found it interesting

Hi CT, My teacher has told me about these chakras too (completely independent of what Jeff/Jonesboy et al have said). Mostly people don't go beyond the chakra above the crown, which my teacher calls "The Chakra to connect to your Higher Self". He also told me that there are many more chakras above that as well. My experience is that these charkas are just points of reference but useful points of reference, because who we are is not limited to the confines of the space-time that the body-mind entity exists in. Really the Awareness is neither in space, nor in time. But when the "I" consciousness arises, it also gives rise to space and time. This "I" consciousness is a complete, self-contained unit from which the universe-appearance manifests. Each individual being therein is like a subset/strand of the field of consciousness that emanates from this "I" (or Mind). These chakras give a way to go beyond the boundaries of the body-mind apparatuses. It is not for everyone perhaps. It took me a while to understand the implication of this going beyond the 7th chakra, aka "Going Light". What it does is allows one to expand their mind field to beyond what we know as the constraints of space-time (or newtonian physics), which in this parlance is called "local-mind". By going light (or re-connecting with the Higher Self in this way), one get's access to more dimensions of manifestation. It sounds very "new age" but this is where the deities, divine beings, immortals become "real". It's like crossing the threshold of not knowing one's Nondual nature (from dualistic beings) to being in Nondual awareness alone (Nirvikalpa Samadhi) to operating in duality while abiding as the Nondual awareness (sahaja samadhi).

Just fun to exchange such ideas.

Actually they are all Brahman. First part of Jnana is to know that none of this is real. Only Brahman is real. Final part of jnana is to know that all this is nothing but Brahman.

Really I am referring to Yoga a-la Patanjali - aka Ashtanga Yoga. It is perfect. It does not interfere with the pursuit of the purushārthas, of which moksha is the most important one. Outer Practices - these can help with the following (dharma,artha, kama). These allow a person to be physically and mentally healthy, remain dharmic and not go overboard with these outer pursuits. Yama - The restraints or restrictions one should follow. Such as ahimsa, astēya, aparigraha, etc. These are things one should NOT do to live a simple and unfettered life. These are not contrary to pursuit of the purushārthas. Niyama - The things one should be doing. Such as santōsha, śauća, tapas, etc. These are not contrary to the pursuit of the purushārthas. Asana (everyone knows these) Pranyama (everyone knows these). Inner Practices (dharma, moksha) -- these help the individual work towards moksha per the dharmic way. Pratyāhāra - Sense withdrawal. To pull back the senses from external objects to internal objects. This begins the process of self-inquiry dhārana - To undertake the task of attaining single-pointed attention. dhyāna - When one attains single-pointed attention samādhi - When one's mental modifications have settled down, allowing one to countenance one's true nature. By attaining samādhi repeatedly, one develops the conditions for mōksha.

But if you look at the etymology, Yoga is also the goal. The union with the Supreme Consciousness.

We can also tell by connecting to someone remote and scanning them No need to look at pictures even. I don't subscribe to the "Bhumi" or Buddhist concepts, so I'd look at it differently. Any framework (buddhist, daoist, vedantic) we use is just a dualistic model we use to to map the non dual insight (so not the real thing anyway). Nothing romantic. It is experientially verifiable. We project our conceptual biases onto these things. My Master says what he says and doesn't employ parables, similes, metaphors, etc. Many people don't understand what he's saying because they say "Hmm...it can't possibly be what he's saying literally...let me use my intellect to find out what he *really* is trying to say!"... No...it is exactly what he said. If he says you have to develop internal power as a gate for spiritual refinement, that is exactly what he means. That is what I found out too. My wife asked him once - "Master...why do we need to develop power to grow spiritually?" To that he replied "when your power increases, your prayers become more powerful. Your intent becomes more powerful. You manifest in your life what normal people only wish for but are not convinced those things can happen to them." Absolutely. Do anything with single-minded focus. My experience is that internal martial arts training tends to develop that (like Yoga practice might do that). The added advantage is that you are turning your mind from outside to inside (towards internal objects) in internal cultivation. You are not doing that with cooking or gardening. Different people have different proclivities and pre-conditions that bind them. Some need to purify their mind before they can do "Direct cultivation". Others can do it "directly". I'm sorry you felt there was ad-hominem. That was not my intention at all. You said you've not seen IMA folks exhibit certain qualities. I said then you must not have met a high-enough level person in the IMA. I'm not into dzogchen or buddhist concepts, so I'm going by what I've picked up along the way in terms of descriptions/language. Let's talk about Alaya-Consciousness and actual open awareness. From what I hear, alaya-consciousness is considered to be a dull void type/cessation experience whereas open awareness is an "alive and vibrant" silence. It is not possible to do martial arts without maintaining active awareness. So if you are in a dull, cessation, then you are not going to be doing anything, period. The IMA allow us fall back inward and reside as open awareness, letting action spontaneously manifest and de-manifest. It cannot be anything but active. Also, it is a fact that one is, always and already, that "open awareness", so it is not a "state" that one attains per se. It is more a deep enough falling back in (from objective consciousness) to remain as that open awareness.

In terms of being "awake", I find that there could be someone who is awakened but unable to articulate what being awake means. Being able to talk/write about this stuff and being awake are related but not one and the same. Sometimes trying to organize and rationalize the "awake-ness" can drop one out temporarily My Master transmits energetically. He doesn't talk much about it. He often doesn't have words to express what he is showing us. We have to become receptive to learn this way. Many don't, get frustrated and leave.

Knowing one's Self nature (as not the body, not the mind, but as being awareness). He hasn't met the right people I guess...yes many don't get it. But many do get it. Like I disclaimed, my finding many "awake" IMA folks could be because I spent a lot of time in the IMA. Doesn't have to be Chinese IMA only. The finer aspects of martial power (going beyond high-school level stuff which is fajin) is predicated on non-dual understanding. By then of course, martial power becomes a side-effect more than the goal. My Master told me this - "Power is a gate we have to walk through to get to the "real thing". The real thing is love. It is the cultivation of the spiritual heart, the heart-mind." Power is not just yang. Yin is far more powerful than yang When we give up the desire for power, true power (empty power) manifests on its own. It is the power of wu-wei, not-doing. Yes. You have not seen a high level IMA person.

For @Shad282 — I recommend you read this. It is pertinent to your questions