dwai

I’m assuming there’s a level of familiarity with the deity/being already. In Indian traditions they are called “ishta devata” (deity of your choosing). One is supposed to pick their ishta devata — it used to happen in India organically when I was a kid. We will find that we resonate more with certain deities or teachers. That is our cue. Having a mantra practice is a good way to introduce oneself to the deity. But really the deities don’t discriminate on who they allow to share their presence so long as the intent is pure. If it isn’t, it won’t work anyway. incense and mood setting etc are good too - but imho they’re more for us and the get us to loosen the left brain more.

Try this out — when you sit down to meditate, in your mind’s eye, visualize some higher being you want to connect with, as sitting in your heart center. With as much detail without obsessing over it as you can. When it clicks, you will feel your heart vibrating, like it’s filling up with the presence of the being (some deity or Great master). Stay with that for a while, letting that presence wash all over your body. observe what happens with the tone you’re hearing. next, switch your attention to a spot approx 18” above your crown. Do the same process — feel the presence there and this time, you feel yourself flowing upward and filling up the ‘body’ of this deity or being. Stay with whatever happens for a while — observe what happens with the tone. VERY IMPORTANT— if you feel tired or feel any pain while doing this, you are overdoing it. Stop immediately. It should come easily and naturally. If it is hard, don’t try it until you feel drawn to it again. not sure what level 2 or 3 means. One of my kriya yoga friends said his guru says these sounds are sounds of the divine talking to us. To try and discern what is being said. yes it has been like that for me for years now. It is not tinnitus — tinnitus is very unpleasant in my experience. The sound freq varies from 10K - 18-20K Hz for me. Try what I suggested above if you like. Not sure what your background is, but it seems like you have a tantra/yoga practice based on what you’ve written.

When it started happening to me, the cicadas in my backyard would start singing their symphony in sync with i — when I did taichi in the backyard. Then I started hearing them inside the house, which is almost 100% soundproof from outside sounds. Haha 😂 I thought there was a cicada factory in the walls.... Then I connected with my friend remotely one time and the cicadas and wind chimes —- thousands of them going off at once - but not loud, started. He said, “do you hear the cicadas?” I said, “all the time!” I said, “do you hear the windchimes?” he said, “all the time!” Then when we interact with other “higher” beings in the astral and causal planes, the tone changes. I think everyone has a “different signature tone”, if we pay some attention. Iinm @Spotless used to mention the “tone” of different people...

I’m not so sure that Dantien is physical body. Why is it so? Where ‘in the physical body’ is a Dantien. Yes they do seem to have some correlation with physical locations , but they are themselves not physical.

Very perceptive it is the mind that the Self uses to both veil and then again find itself — it is a peculiar game of hide and seek 😃😃

I don’t really think specific threads are the issue I was pointing at. I think the general tone & tenor of the forum has declined (imho). What used to be a source of quite deep (though often heated) discussions has now descended to name calling and ad hominem.

yes there was a brief period of catharsis and then we truly descended into anarchy. I think that’s as much as we should expect on an Internet forum. I quite liked the old way of OP owning their post, so they could close conversations out or hide comments which derailed from their original intent. Maybe it could be revived. I hope it runs its course and then there is healing sooner rather than later. I must admit that under Karen and siva, much autocracy had been unloaded on us lowly bums. But that’s done — time to let it go? If we are in the laissez faire mode, we need to be equipped to ‘turn off the noise’. Not sure what the solution could be.

this is a very insightful observation. there are other dantiens outside the boundary of the physical body. There is one above the crown (~ 18” above it) - that is the one that connects us to the “higher Self”. Think of it this way — our body is the physical body. There is an astral/energy body which contains the physical body — that’s where the Qi etc are moving. Then there is the causal body, which contains the astral. Our experiences and destiny etc are determined in the causal plane — which has to deal with karma. When our inner vision develops to a point where we can know the causal plane, things become very clear. This 8th center above the crown and higher are the gateway to increasing clarity etc. But I suggest that even if you haven’t developed those capabilities (ie accessing the astral or causal), you can still be awakened — by first realizing what is it that gives us the ability to know. By simply holding on to this essence, little by little (or all at once) a clarity will arise and we can see through all phenomena. Not horrible at all — sound is an interpretation of the mind. This sound can take us deeper into our Self, like a thread rising out of silence — we can track it back into silence.

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Lovely poem -- but not very complete in terms of understanding. Trying to add another verse here -

bump! The giveaway is still open on goodreads.com. Sign up for a chance to win a free copy if you've not already done so https://bit.ly/36Zokt8

Entry into the Troll Hall of remembrance is a trophy every troll wishes for. Can you imagine the legendary status they would have acquired...now they can fly across the universe riding their third eye AND be immortalized on the internet!

In my experience, when awakening occurs, energetically the dantiens fuse into one super-dantien. So really, while it is possible to operate from each of these different dantiens (and we do it from application perspective, especially in the martial context), the awareness is unconditioned and prior to association to anything in the physical or the energy body. Actually there are other 'dantiens' which are outside the boundary of the physical body as well -- all of those fuse into one.

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. So which one is the Daoist awakening? Awakening of the LDT? And the awakening of other traditions is that of the Heart? Or the Forehead? Maybe I didn't understand your answer entirely.

What is death? P.S. Looks like no one bit at that one. P.S.S. I meant it as a real question, not a rhetorical one. Have you (reader) actually thought about what death means? Does it mean that the 'individual' ceases to exist? Or is it just the body that ceases to function? A little investigation will lead us to realize that we can't say for sure if the one who animates the body ceases to exist when the body dies... In the Bhavagad Gita 2:22, Lord Krishna says -- I modified the translation a bit to be this --

What do you think Daoist awakening is? And why do you think it differs from awakening in other traditions?

I can totally relate to the highlighted part. usually it takes more effort to argue about stuff than it does to ignore something (and in some extreme cases, outright dismiss some clueless folks). I usually say that I bow out of such discussions as it doesn't serve any purpose, and that such folks clearly don't have the experience to understand what I've said. It is not so much about "I'm better than you" as it is "you need to walk a mile in my shoes to know what I'm saying" -- but people being people will usually misconstrue it to be the former case.

It is a constant companion. The Anahata sound is ringing in my inner ear 24x7. The Daoists call it the sound of Dao (my master calls it the sound of emptiness) -- sounds like a waterfall or thousands of windchimes going off at the same time, or thousands of cicadas buzzing at the same time at a very high pitch. I'm not pitching right now, but if you get a copy of my novel and read it, I cover a lot of these topics in it.

I'm used to the 'love'...though usually the more intense (and unintelligent) critics are put on my ignore list. However, I am always open to civilized exchanges Yes breaking down structures is letting go of conceptual constructs. When we start observing the mind with detachment but great focus, it becomes apparent that every bit of identity that we have is a story that is propped up based on memory and a combination of narratives (social, cultural, religious, educational and so on). Even our gender itself is a story, albeit a more body-based one. Some people have retained enough of what they were born with (due to karma -- but can be attributed in certain cases to proper upbringing) that they don't need to do the ming work. Their minds are naturally tranquil that with minimal practice they are way ahead of others who have to do a lot of work. Not at all...makes perfect sense to me

not me..,but many do. You only have to know how to look for such worthies

Its been an interesting process of understanding where overeating happens from. Mainly from the habit of feeling a certain way in the stomach. The way the stomach feels can levitate or ground us (finally getting back to the OP )

You don't even know but you yourself are a Higher dimensional being You know what a mirage is? It is something that isn't there, though it looks like it is there. When you go closer it disappears. Again, step backward and you see the shimmering waters in the horizon. Go closer again, and it disappears. Such a phenomenon is said to both exist as well as not-exist. There is no real water there. But it seems to be present. All it takes is proper investigation. Similarly with Samsara's illusions -- they seem to be there...but when we look closely, there isn't any illusion. Get distracted, and the illusion bothers us, deludes us. Again get focused, and the illusion disappears. Seeing the illusion and knowing it doesn't exist -- both are on us. When we know that the illusion doesn't exist - we ARE the Higher dimensional being. Get deluded by the 'illusion' and we're normal. It's readily available, hidden in plain sight -- it is your own Self

To be clear - I wasn't laughing at you, but at the plan of eating a carne asada taco...it hit too close to home (though I don't eat carne asada)...

I still stand by that -- developing the immortal fetus is a great liberation if you see it from the perspective of what @Small Fur posted in It can also be a great prison if you're looking to be a universe traversing 'literal immortal' who can do magical deeds of great power. All genuine spiritual traditions will take the student to a point where they will be given an option -- "Become a 'master' of the universe (or a spiritual overlord/protector of a particular world or realm) -- ie become a deity (in essence), or cut through the allure of such power-trappings and become forever free by realizing your True nature. Anyone who chooses to become that 'literal immortal' will come back to a karma-land to have to work through their karma, and eventually become free, however good that kind of 'immortality' might be -- see @silent thunder's beautiful post on it here -- Those who have seen this/been offered this will know. But then again there are those (like my Master) who keep choosing to come back again and again for the sake of the sentient beings who are stuck in samsāra, due to their compassion. These are called Bodhisatvas.

I think we are in need of a *facepalm* emoticon PS. I'm not making fun of anyone's perspective. I think for those who are energetically sensitive, a 'laugh' can be a taunt, which is what @shazlor is alluding to iinm. But do I think we need to do away with the laugh emoticon? I don't think so. Maybe a more benign emoticon would be good (like )