CarsonZi

Hi SereneBlue..... There is no "final enlightenment".....despite what I'm sure Vajrahridaya says (I don't know for sure as I have him 'ignored' and didn't read his post...so I guess I am being egotistic in assuming....sorry Vaj). Only the Buddha himself could answer that question Knowingly. What I myself Know is that for me, there is always more to drop. Enlightenment is not an "on/off" thing. It is a process......the journey never ends it only changes "forms" (? not sure if 'forms' is the best word to use here....words are always inadaquate). In my experience/opinion, enlightenment is a "flawed" concept because it is just that; a concept. When it becomes experience it is no longer "enlightenment" it is just another step along the path. Love, Carson

Hi SereneBlue..... No...people who have an opened ajna chakra are not necessarily "enlightened". Your question of "So people's who's 3rd Eye have opened are now Enlightened?" is fundamentally flawed because of the need for a definition of the word "enlightenment".....enlightenment can not be defined...it is an ever evolving process....there is no being "fully enlightened" (let the arguements begin ).....there will always be more ego, more conditioning to drop. Enlightenment is something that perhaps can be measured in "degrees" or in "milestones".....but no two journies are the same, so even that is not a very effective way of "measuring enlightenment". Compare the journies of say: Paramahansa Yogananda to the journey of Byron Katie.....similarities? Yes. Differences? Hell yes. Basically, all my blabber is can be summed up in saying, everyone who is enlightened has an open third eye, but not everyone with an open third eye is enlightened . Basically, people with an open third eye percieve things differently....they can "See" energy, they percieve form as "light" and they have heightened intuition....at least that is my experience and the experience of some friends of mine with opened ajna chakras. Hope this clears things up a little. Love, Carson

Ah, but if you read my post, it was said that the interest is in spreading, embracing, feeling and being Love.....I am not interested in "getting" Love.....I too have all the Love I can handle....now I am interested in sharing Love, Carson

Haha...and now you CAN!?!?! Love, Carson (hopefully we are talking about LOVE here and not SEX! )

Hi Magitec..... Not sure...it was a free one on Metcafe I believe. The video was just one of Tao explaining Nauli and showing it. I didn't pay for anything. I have a very hard time paying for spiritual practices. It could be for some people (maybe people with high blood pressure or some other ailment, I don't know) but it hasn't been for me. I think if you remember to keep jalandhara bandha engaged it is easier to hold the breath long enough. Can't help you there. I found that nauli toned my abs quite nicely....don't konw much about baby bellies or why you would want one....please forgive my ignorance Love, Carson

Oh but I am not wishing for anything.....the question was what are you interested in.....I am interested in Love and only Love.....spreading it, embracing it, feeling it, being it...... Love, Carson P.S> I LOVE Love stink

Love (but of course I voted for "awakening" )

Interesting.... ....I managed to meditate my way out of an accidental LSD overdose in about an hour, but I doubt I could make someone ELSE not be high. That must have been quite an experience. Love, Carson

Hi magitek.... I have been using nauli kriya in my sadhana for a littel over a year now. I use it for two reasons: 1. as a shatkarma....an intestinal cleanse. I was addicted to opiates for several years (see "Taoism and Alcohol" thread as a short history) and when I first got clean I had a kundalini awakening....these two things combined gave me serious digestive issues....basically diarhea thrice daily in the mornings. It wasn't until I started using nauli kriya that I started to see my digestive issues work themselves out (acupuncture started about 6 months later has helped a bunch too). 2. as a wicked kundalini stimulator....I do it right after my asanas and right before I sit for pranayam. It gives me a wicked "lift" on my way into pranayam space. I learned the practice by reading this lesson here: http://aypsite.org/129.html Good luck! Love, Carson Oh, ps. I have seen several videos of people doing nauli on the internet and the only one that even comes close (that I have seen) to doing it well is Tao Semko (I haven't seen Santiago's videos if there are any so perhaps he is just as good, I can't say) so perhaps he would be a good teacher if the free AYP lesson doesn't take you there.

Not to contradict you Old Man Contradiction but this isn't totally true with all drugs....opium (and all opiates) being one of these drugs. Take it from someone who knows from experience. Several years of opiate experimentation leading to 4 years as an IV heroin addict and 4 more on the methadone program, and I can say from experience that even if you can rid your mind of the craving for opiates, once you hit a certain point physically, it doesn't matter anymore. The body requires it to function. If you do opiates with consistancy in order to further oneself on one's Path, it will soon no longer matter whether or not your mind desires it.......your body will require it. Take it from one who knows. Love, Carson

You gradually make the shift with the aid of daily meditation to connect to the inner silent core. A daily meditation practice will get you in touch with your inner silence and over time this Silence will start to leak out into your daily life giving you SPACE to react how you choose and not how you would instinctually. Eventually you will be fully absorbed in Silence and the world is your oyster so to speak Love, Carson

Namaste Old Man Contradiction....great question! For me, the motivation behind having sex is what has changed. I used to want to engage because it felt physically good, because it was a good way to connect to my wife (or other partners before I was married), and because a well-sexed individual is usually happier then someone who is searching for sex. Now, I engage because I love my wife more then I can express and this is a wonderful way of sharing myself with her and herself with me....the physical aspect is totally secondary now. Also it has now become a "union" of energies that expands my awareness to new levels that I had never experienced before. To me sex is now an integral part of my yoga practices. It is not an activity engaged in purely for the fun/pleasure of it (although there is a great deal of both still involved) but because of the spiritual connection derived from it. I should mention that my wife is not a "yogini" persay and does not actively practice yoga or tantric sex. But that doesn't really make much of a difference to me or her. Our sex life has dramatically changed for the better since I started practicing Tantric Yoga (both right and left hand practices). Sex IME is not necessarily an obstacle, but is instead a tool.....it can be used wisely or not. How you use it is up to you. Demonizing ANYTHING is never productive....there are no absolutes. My opinion, nothing more. Thanks for starting an awesome thread...I think this is an important topic. Love, Carson

I personally find that I miss the perineum stimulation that is an effect of siddhasana when I sit in padmasana. I prefer siddhasana for pranayam especially. It was a little sexually stimulating during meditation for a while, but that was just a phase, and now I only use siddhasana. Personal preference nothing more. Love, Carson

I didn't vote due to my pick not being on the list. My pick (which would not be Taoist specific and would apply to any religion) is: "Dropping the need to label and define Life/experiences according to one's tradition". I'm pretty sure this could be considered the biggest obstacle for most on ANY spiritual path. Just my opinion. Love, Carson

The less you know the less you have to let go of. I voted irrelevant. Love, Carson

Hi abramelin.... Christi on AYP wrote something this morning about awareness that fits in here and I thought I would share incase it resonated with you....here's a link to his post in case you want to read the whole thread: http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6274#56259 His post says this: Question posed:Christi, Can you really say awareness is an object? This is not just a nit-picky point, IMO. But fundamental. Christi's answer:Yes... it becomes the point where object and subject merge into one. Language fails us (once again!). This is the transition from being merged with the witness, to the direct experience of Oneness... also called, abiding in the non-dual state. What is it like? Paradise on Earth... even as the Earth is dissolving all around us. Love, Carson

Is there any possibility that you are having automatic uddiyana bandha and jaladhara bandha happening? Jalandhara isn't really jaw "clenching" but it does involve some of the same muscles....and what you are describing about the sucking in of the belly sounds pretty much exactly like uddiyana bandha. What makes you feel this is such a "bad" thing that needs to be stopped? Love, Carson

Love it! I have always been a believer in "True Anarchy", as opposed to "gutter-punk anarchy" or whatever most/many people view anarchy/anarchists as.....My definition of "True Anarchy" is "exercising self control and mutual respect". If everyone lived by these "virtues/values" there would be no need for a controlling government/police system etc....ideally Love, Carson

Ah......what a boring Life it would be if it weren't for the Paradoxes.... Love, Carson

Hi SereneBlue! In general I agree with you, and I especially agree when using the word "trumpet"...BUT that said, I do believe there are a few enlightened folks out there who have stated that they are enlightened and IMO, are. Definitely NOT trumpeted that they are enlightened though. One well-known example that I am thinking of particularly is Adyashanti....he has said that he is enlightened. I believe he is. But I would say him (and a few others like him) are more the exception to the rule then the rule in general. Love, Carson

"You feel that sting, big boy, huh? That's pride FUCKIN' with you! You gotta fight through that shit!"

I haven't read the "Children of the Law of One" but I have read "The Law of One" and it was chalk full of revelations for me! Love, Carson

Namaste All.... I posted this topic this morning at AYP but thought it would be nice to see if I get some advice from those here at TTB's also...... Just wondering what the consensus is around here as to how "bad" an idea it is for someone on a spiritual path to discard all maps and "run blind".....I realize that there are multiple cultural maps of the "upcoming territories" and that although the wording may be different they are all maps of and/or to the same place. I have in the past used many of these "maps" to my advantage, but recently I have had almost an "aversion" to them. I used to read religious doctrines with a ferver...I used to compare my experiences and milestones with the ones talked about in these books, and I used to validate myself based on these things. I used to be very attached to specific "maps" that resonated with me over other "maps" that didn't. But I have recently found that I have no desire to "know where I am", and no desire to read these spiritual maps. It is almost like a loss of bhakti but in other ways is a letting go. I'm not totally sure how I feel about this "aversion" to reading and relating to the spiritual maps. Is it an unwise idea to set aside these maps in order to "forge my own way"? I am in danger of getting really lost if I do this? Thanks for any advice! Love, Carson P.S. What I mean by "maps" are basically "maps of consciouness", "maps of the path to enlightenment" etc etc.... I used to read anything and everything I could get my hands on.... And some of it I became quite attached to because I felt it validated my own experience. But then I found myself looking for/waiting for the next "experience" that is supposed to happen according to the "map". This has been creating expectations and disappointments in me that I end up having to overcome. I feel it is time to discard those oh so validating "maps", grab my machette and start hacking my way through the bush, trusting Source that I will find my way without putting myself in situations that I can't or don't know how to handle....or without sending me spiraling into situations of "chasing my tail". I think that is what I most fear when thinking about dropping my maps.... that I will end up running in circles for the rest of my life. What do you think?

Namaste All and thank you for the wonderful contributions to this thread.....many great posts in here. @innerspace_cadet...... Glad you have resonated with this thread.... I personally don't have a problem with bouncing from map to map (tradition to tradition)....my childhood was spent searching as a Christian, my adolescence and early adulthood spent searching via the path of entheogens, and the past few years via "yoga" (mostly AYP, which has been my stand alone practice set for about a year and a half now)....but my main issue is that I use these "spiritual maps" as validation for my personal experiences. In the past if I can't validate my experiences with someone else's experience I begin a process of second-guessing myself and "spinning my wheels" often resulting in a time of going in circles. Time to drop the need for "experience validation" and time to just Be here Now. Wise advice for sure. I definitely have a practices set that works for me....it has manifested many "miracles" in my life, some of which are physically impossible....there is no issue there, for me. I can let go of searching for more and better practices. Yes, this is exactly my issue. I do do my practices, but I end up living my daily life trying to relate every experience to someone else's experience and in the end, end up missing out on my own life. Not very intelligent. Yeah I have read all about the pitfalls...and pretty much every other aspect of the "spiritual journey", but I am learning that avoiding pitfalls like the plague ends up taking a lot more time then just walking straight into them, refusing to deny they exist, and dealing with them right then and there. Once you have made a mistake and learned from it, it is easy to see it coming up the next time and avoid it. No need for a map. Sometimes we need to just make our own mistakes just so that we can truly learn from them....learning from other's mistakes can help sometimes, but in the end we all have to get our hands dirty at least every so often. Thanks for the input everyone! Love, Carson

Namaste hyok... So what you are saying is that you would try this, try that, and once you had an experience with a practice you would ask around to see if others could validate this experience and then if they could you would adopt this practice as part of your system? Am I understanding you correctly? Well, everyone is different so we should be careful about stating anything as fact....I DO feel that I Know who I am, (and even better who I am not ) but I often find myself needing to know that others feel the same way....if they don't, then I feel I am perhaps confused. It is time for me to stop looking for validation in books, on forums and from others, and time for me to Trust what I Know regardless of validation from outside sources. Very true...time to Surrender to what Is. Or perhaps UNdiscover! Totally agree....we always seem to get just what we need....especially in hindsight. Thank you for your insights! Love, Carson Namaste joeblast... Yes, balance is important to me, and for every up there is a down. I do feel that it is time to walk the Path without the map in hand....time to lift my head and BE where I am instead of LOOKING at where I am on a "map". Hahaha.....complete opposite of myself. I was a certified piano teacher by age 15, but I also moved out at the age of 15 so I lost the opportunity to play (they are expensive). So I bought a guitar from a pawn shop and taught myself to play by writing songs. I absolutely REFUSED to learn someone else's song. My how that pendulum swings You couldn't see me over the past few years without some "yoga" "self realization" book in hand...Time to stand on my own two feet once again. Life, and the lessons it brings are such a blessing. We should all be truly thankful for this opportunity at a human life. Beautiful....Time to strip my mind of the shackles of other peoples experiences and time to be liberated into my own experience. No better teacher then Life itself. Thank you for your advice. Love, Carson Namaste Marblehead... (hahaha, I love that moniker....I have such a funny mental image of you in my mind's eye) Neither have I quite honestly .... I resonate deeper with Adyashanti then I do with Lao Tzu.... No offence to anyone who is the opposite, that is just me. But either way, I still need to let go of Adyashanti and his experience in favor of my own. Yes, it is always nice to have guides. But sometimes the hardest (yet the most valuable) lessons in life are learned when you are broken, confused, lost and utterly alone....these lessons have to be learned and by clutching to our guides we continue to step over these lessons missing them entirely. Or at least that is how it seems to me right now. Yes, probably good advice. Thank you. Yeehaw!!! Love, Carson