Eviander

So anyways..I noticed this in myself quite awhile ago and took up some practice in personal yoga..which hasn't really done much. What I am noticing though is a almost rote tendency for me to suck in my stomach or dan tien ( believe) and clench my jaw from sex appeal/t.v programming. I notice this also with many people while in the mall or school ect. Anyways I could go into detail..but I tried some asanas for this purpose and I always undo it because of masochistic habit (a peculair human tendency). Anyways I was looking for some exercises that are specific to jaw/clenching /dan tien or stomach sucking in. Since this seem to be my major problem..whatever asanas I am doing now do not help very much..and some discussion on this and practices to undo it would be helpful.

Since I hear that a comfortable full lotus posture is the ultimatum for meditation, I have an interest in doing yogic stretches or other exercises pin pointed to allow me to get into full lotus comfortably. I have been doing hatha yoga for a little bit, but my second instructor said he was not able to get into lotus even though he was at an advanced level. This being said the yoga postures that I have been practicing have not been targeted at the full lotus posture and I would like some recommendations onto what routine I should pursue specifically for the purpose of getting into full lotus comfortably.

Have been having kundalini experiences for the past two years now and they have not been well to say the least. My third eye is starting to open and I am having semi-clear visions of snake entities, snake eyes, and sometimes a blue eye (I have brown eyes) that is in the center of my head. I also am developing clairvoyance outside of my inner eye. Anyways..I would like some people to share their kundalini experiences they have had and share some good ways to deal and develop the energy.

I sort of agree here. Meditation is much more intuitive and it seems like the breathe is sort of the natural root of existence. In reality however western mystery tradition students such as Benjamin Franklin, da Vinci, Isaac Newton and many more have pushed the world to new heights. It is essentially the western mystery traditions that invented math, science and music, which are the foundations of western civilization. Are these forms of meditation similar to say, Buddhist Vipassana, or are they a branch of there own making?

I have been dabbling in the occult for awhile. I actually joined AMORC and have been trying to understand if western mystical traditions make sense at all. I cannot vouch for the validity of western mystical practice, I myself am still confused with various philosophical paradigms "IE. Buddhism, Vedanta, Rosicrucianism. But AMORC for example, insists on mastering artistic and scientific disciplines as a means of enlightenment opposed to say eastern mysticism which insists on mastering meditation.

So before about a month ago I can not say I was trained in meditation. I tried it myself but I never had the atmosphere or the proper instruction to say I knew what I was doing. I attended a 10 day course under the guidance of S.N. Goenka and learned 3 forms of meditation. The first one they taught for the first 3 days was anapana, the technique Goenka instructed in was focusing on the sensation the breath gives you in a small triangular area above the upper lip and on the lower nose to achieve samadhi. The next technique taught during the remaining 7 days was Vipassana,the method he instructed in was the scanning of body sensations from head to foot, then from foot to head, in different speeds and patterns with equanimity so to root out sankharas. Then the third method technique I learned was Metta, which he instructed by feeling body sensations of love, and then thinking about things that promote love, to others to in general. I can say that I received noticeable effects from the 10 day course and am still receiving them by practicing Vipassana for 2 hours a day as instructed. Now as much as Goenka tried to market this technique as the only one out there that was directly passed down from Siddhartha because of its unbroken lineage in Burma thus being the only road to liberation, I am interested in trying other meditation techniques and other varieties of Vipassana. So, I am requesting that users share the technique they use, with a quick description of its name, who taught them it, and how it is done and what is its purpose.

Yea the terminology used here is very similar to what Goenka teaches about anapana, though he stresses a lot on being equanimous to the painful sensations while sitting cross legged, and I however did disagree with that (that pdf does as well) but other than that it is the same technique minus the Vipassana, which is actually the technique that will change your emotional-reaction patterns. Sounds cool, I am interested in Chinese techniques, though I am a strong believer that an oral transmission of the technique is necessary for proper success in it. Yea, the first thing that you will notice if you practice the technique with determination is a subtle change in your emotional/reactional behavioral patterns. Before I took the course I was a very jealous and tight individual, getting angry emotions when people around me got praised for things instead of me, or when other people got noticed more than me. I also felt aversion for people who I felt where trying to "take my spot" or my field of talent. Now I feel more accepting to my position in society and more confident in my ability to succeed in things. Alot of my negative thinking and vain psychological patterns have been exposed. The first day out of the meditation retreat I felt like a completely different person. I did get back into partying abit, which I think took away from some of my development, but now I am completely sober, and usually don't even take caffeine. Don't expect to become enlightened or anything, but it is something that will help you succeed in the material world with day-to-day activities and it will gradually quiet your mind as well. The whole philosophy is that we have this negative mental volition embedded in the framework of our mind/body physiology which Siddhartha labeled as "sankharas" which depending on how deep you go, have been creating the ego which has been causing us to incarnate into misery. The whole structure is maintained by our constant craving and aversion which is basically done unconsciously. It is through observing the sensations in our body as they are without judgement in which we are able to root out these sankharas and find an end to this suffering. Now I had the whole nine-yards at this 10 day meditation but beforehand I had already been having visions and clairvoyance ect. which is what got me interested in meditation. I had kundalini experiences, moments of shifting perception, and all sorts of inner visions (the perception of hidden dimensions, endless tunnels, hexagrams, the ying/yang, serpents, and unexplainable ones) but I learned that ultimately they are all impermanent just like the sensations so they are ultimately not the purpose of meditation, though in my opinion they can be signs of a successful one. It is hard work though, if you are going don't be expecting some sort of pleasureful meditation, because it doesn't start out like that, but I wish you the best of luck in getting a spot, I had signed up twice before this time and it was always to late. Though you can sign up for one in a different town if your willing to travel.

You know as much I respect spiritual achievement I respect material achievement as well. I think using your prospects of enlightenment for things such as scientific, artistic, musical and even diplomatic achievement are just as good, if not greater outcomes then using it to become a recluse, therefore mastering the material world instead of becoming dominated by it.

Actually I just forced the universe to extend its destruction of this earth until March 23rd of 2023 by my awesome Dragonball Z like Chi abilities.

Doesn't this kid claim to be Maitreya? Here is a section from his site of his teachings http://paldendorje.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=3#oct8 "This mahayan or maha Ampa dharma is not only for myself but it is for the liberation of all helpless beings. I have been meditating with lot of difficulty and I have become the Guru of all dharma or the first dharma of all which is srawan dharma. Second from among the dedication dharma Bodhisattwa which means I have become the Guru to liberate all helples beings. Hundreds of Jimphen Buddha means the Maitry Buddha.Hundred Jimphen Semkoi means all the sentient beings who have the feeling of Maitry. The second form philosophy Maha Ampa dharma or mahayan yanik. While looking at the form philosophy of the whole world from meditation philosophy point of view the instance form will be improved and changed. While changing the whole sentient beings don't be unsatisfied evil. This is the form philosophy of the whole world which keeps changing. If properly guided, if helpless sentient beings are liberated, if proper guidance for liberation and siddhi is provided for the worldly knowledge the helpless sentient beings the worldly knowledge that liberates the helpless sentient beings this is the non soul maitry knowledge which liberates and gives miraculous power. Riddi Siddhi May all beings be happy." Sounds like he needs a high school education to me (no pun intended)

In a capsule set to orbit the earth

I am researching a Volunteer Retreat center I wish t go to to learn meditation. Though I have to wait until I can pay off my college loans I have found a few Buddhist ones that seem pretty nice. http://www.shambhalamountain.org/ http://www.odiyan.org/ http://www.nyingmavolunteer.org/ Was wondering if any of the bums here had experience with such a retreat center. I know there are many ones you have to pay for, but I like the idea of doing volunteer work for your food, shelter, and teachings as opposed to paying lots of cash. If anyone has any other ones they would like to post, or would like to comment on these, please provide.

Just wondering if any of you bums who are well read in the Hindu, Buddhist, taoist, and Jain texts know what this means. For awhile now, when I close my eyes, I occasionally get visuals of light beings in full lotus, with large radiant crowns. From my understanding of this, I believe it is my inner being telling me to start meditating in this position to achieve enlightenment. I have not heard of this, but my knowledge is fairly limited. Would appreciate some opinions on to what this means if any bums have had similar visions or have read of them

It looks nice, but I did not see anywhere where it stated free room and board. Under the visiting section it showed you needed to deposit a certain amount of cash.

Forget about the guides or the psychotherapist. This is a rogue field and their are not many reliable people to trust as a superior regarding psychedelics. I would say get a few buddies and create a nice sacred place to have the trip and eat some mushrooms for a start. A trip sitter who isn't tripping is sometimes advised but they would be bored and the trippers would not be able to communicate with them properly...which might make things awkward. Personally I enjoy it when everyone is tripping and there is no one analyzing outside of your trip and trying define your experience from his far off point of reference. Overall though this is a good thread and provides plenty of links for further research, but my two cents is that set and setting make or break the trip

Entheogens have taken me quite far intellectually, have shown me things on the trip that have brought me to tears, changed my outlook on life, and have brought visions that the greatest artist could not remake. Many have relied only on entheogens for success, but for others it has shown them their path as simply a step. Ram Dass is one of the most famous examples of what entheogens can do, he went from a Harvard Pyschology Professor to a Hindu holy man. I doubt anyone could have access to the wide array of chemicals a Harvard professor had when all of it was legal and distributed copiously in prestigious universities, but Terrence Mckenna is another famous example as well, who I would highly suggest if you are interested in the view of entheogens as being "the way"

Well here is peter russel, who is currently trying to explain the two. science and consciousness and a good video about the primacy of consciousness...which basically explains how science is about to have a huge paradigm shift because of the unexplainable discoveries coming up in physics http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7799171063626430789# ..Michael Talbot also speaks of the two in his two books, The holographic universe and Mysticism and the new physics..Another good book is radiant minds by Dean Radin and others. Dean Radin is a physicist, but essentially it is about groups of scientists exploring consciousness Radiant Minds..DMT the spirit molecule by Dr. Rick Strassman is another great example.The list goes on and on..with many psychologists and physicists now finding this link between the two. It is a relatively new thing which is probably why you haven't heard much about it, and many scientists deem it as "New age Science" This statement is a bit more subjective, essentially here if you havn't experienced it..how do you even know? Concepts are usually attributed to being verbal, as for it depends on the word concept to begin with does it not? Clear enough Well it is how the universe works. Mathematics can program computers to simulate the physical world, so we see now how the universe actually coordinatess with certain equations. And if Buddhism purports something different then how the universe functions you are better off depending on something that can be verified through a few equations rather than believing some monk that you have to reincarnate 20 more times before you get anywhere. You can't possibly know how deep your realization is compared to someone else's besides the inflated "me" and "my" part of it. As for no self, I did think it meant no ego which makes more sense now. As for the realizations, I still hold that they all are inherently the same cosmic energies received by different mediums such that they produce different results. Because the word dependant is defined as needing something independent to even exist. As for Buddhist go, I have heard very clearly that the point of Buddhism is not to theorize about the things we speak of now because it is past the point of the Dharma and has nothing to do with suffering?

Even buddhism is in seperation. I have heard from one side that Buddhism is more like a pyschology, but yet it seems to have a set of metaphysics aside from simply the Dharma, which some buddhists ignore, whilst other deem essential. The more science evolves, the more it overlaps with metaphysics. The future of science is a unification of the spiritual and the scientific, and phenomenology is a very important branch in physics just as it is in psychology. We can only surmise now that a time will come when computers will beable to simulate consciousness at a quantum level. When this happens, science will have a solid explanation of many metaphysical tenets that religion will be forced to oblige to. Not everything in science directly connects to metaphysics, but the nature of consciousness, or the nature of awareness and the nature of phenonomen are all topics of interest in the scientific world just as they are in buddhism and any other meditative tradition. The only difference is, science finds universal laws, whilst mysticism and religion deal with subjective realizations..when the two become one and are explained in depth.. Essentially, even feeling a mystical oneness with reality is beyond any concept, and is only transmitted through a conceptual bases because that is a requisite for linguistical communication. Language is but a map, the territory is beyond the concept and must be seen for oneself. What buddhists experience is but a semantical difference in philosophical terms. In the end language can be seen as the best and worst invention of our species. I really do not see the difference between no self, and the self being the whole. They both point at the same destination which is the breaking of a barrier between the perceiver and the percieved. I do not see how this is not the same goal with different semantics. One comes before two so it need not depend what comes after it. Better yet, the two depends on the one because it is two components of the first number. This is simple arithmatic. The one is independant whilst all other numbers or emanations after it and depand upon it. Like you say though, it is beyond concept because language is based on duality. You cannot explain things logically without it..in fact duality manifests as a measurable law in science that is uniform throughout the universe. Saying ones realization is any more "on" than the realization of the other is full of self and egoic delusions though, so if as a buddhist you really are lacking self you would not have such distinctions now would you? Even further Lets see if I understand it now By the way you put it. D.O. states that any sort of existence is dependant upon something else for its sustenance ad infinitum which ultimately leads to nothing? Still confused a bit here, because the dependant perfume by definition requires an independant variable or else nothing could have created it.

Like I said before, Buddhism has many similarities with other mystical traditions, formless realities exists in almost all contemplative traditions. Interesting...I am only on the fourth degree and have stopped because of school and previous degrees, did you get your monographs from amorc or another branch? Also, did you get through all the degree work? I am compelled to see how amorc fairs against eastern originated traditions

My opinion is far from from solid. I am currently studying Rosicrucian material however, and it has taken precedence over my previous Buddhist studies. The major problem here is the paradigm and the definitions you speak of being strictly Buddhist, while not being universal to all. Though I agree that within form nothing in and of itself exists (electricity requires two charges) I don't see how that goes into any sort of deep meaning of relativity..besides all of our perceptions being Dependant upon our frame of reference (Einstein) The point is we are both seeing a perception from a different frame

I think you are just surprised to see the two terms combined. Science and god, how can that be? And no, I am not appealing to authorities, there are more modern scientists to this day who hold the same stance, and of course, I never said scientists where enlightened, I am saying science can lead to ones own illumination. I do understand it, but Stephan hawking's is not the only guy out their. I am speaking from a newer school, that leans more towards the unified field theory. hawking's just happens to be the most renowned. Their are plenty of quantum physicists who are not atheists and have combined the two in better formats than what hawking's huge media coverage allows him to do. Lets try to focus on the argument and not the ego

Science is not just proving buddhist claims, but it is proving mysticism in gene No I havn't read it, but I understand what its essence is. That what we see is not out there, we are projecting a sort of hologram. The point is that something is out there and it is measurable..or else there would be no shared reality..our world would be such as a lucid dream. As for infinite regress, I don't see how that has anything to do with such discoveries..but of course I am only familiar with Aristotle definition of infinite regress. And if one says they found it, then they have the knowledge of the particles that create life.. Just like buddhism Sorry, but I used the term god, I don't see how that defines what your speaking of. Well I now realize it is a Buddhist definition only. Well the second half before Buddhism is quoted describes what I am purporting.. Buddhism however might be the most accepting religion..but as a system of spiritual philosophy in general, there are better (imo)

I have no blocks against what you say. I have been saying this whole time that the word god is a choice in semantics. You can call it the cosmos if you will. I am stressing that no metaphysical model, Buddhist or not, can be adequately explained without it. It has not with what you say but by the way you say it. I have heard people explain Buddhism more clearly..thats all I'm trying to point to. Sorry, your using words that have only been defined within Buddhism, and do not mean the same in the general english language. I don't understand what you mean by 'no static being' Thats good, the title also points to general spirituality, not just Buddhism.. Lol thats fine I have read about Buddhism, and I am telling you what I took from it. I have already, likewise, I have studied other things that make more sense. I actually used to lean towards Buddhism more than anything.. Well the material world is not material, it is simply a series of vibrations. I've heard of those who eat without food, though the others could very well be mythology, which is present in large amounts of Buddhist texts, (at least ones I have seen). Karma ect, all that I know of, of course emptiness I don't know if that is legitimate..since what is their is a frequency..though very small..its the .000001 percent of the atom that actually exists..