forestofclarity

According to who?

Yes-- there are similar experiences that can occur in Christian, Buddhist, and Shavite contexts. Probably more. Swami Tadatmananda looked at traditional sources: Transcript: https://advaitaprakarana.com/swami-tadatmananda-kundalini-yoga/

I can give you a list of questions people have asked here in the past: What is kundalini? Should I raise it? How do I raise it? What is the most effective method to raise it? What are the dangers? Can I do this on my own without a teacher? How does one find a teacher? What are the benefits? Are there are dangers or drawbacks? I had an experience, is this kundalini or not? I heard that person X raised their kundalini and suffered mental illness, what is this all about?

Yoga Vasitha, 1:18, trans Swami Jyotirmayananda

Resources related to Buddhist/Bon Dream Yoga. Feel free to recommend your own resources to be added. The resources here are made by members in their individual capacity and is not an endorsement by TheDaoBums. Damdao: This one is from the perspective of Tibetan medicine and has a concise practice of dream yoga and dream analysis. The Tibetan Art of Dream Analysis by Dr. Nida ForestofClarity: Dream yoga is one of the most compelling practices I have come across. Andrew Holocek teaches a mix of modern and traditional styles, a syncretic teachers with a traditional Mahamudra background. https://nightclubcommunity.com Dream Yoga: if you only want one dream yoga book, this is it Dreams of Light: daytime illusory body practice Tenzin Wangyal is a well respected Bon resource. https://www.glidewing.com/twr/dreamyoga_home.html Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep: a traditional presentation Lama Lena is always pragmatic and down to earth. https://lamalenateachings.com/dream-yoga-3-part-series/ B. Alan Wallace's course is a fairly comprehensive overview of Dudjom Lingpa style with a focus on strong shamatha (some say too strong). https://meridian-trust.org/video/333-dreaming-of-reality_d1s1_pm003517a/#:~:text=During this retreat organised by,nighttime practices of dream yoga. Dreaming Yourself Awake Lala Nila: Has had success with: ttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/316781.Exploring_the_World_of_Lucid_Dreaming

I have similar sleep issues. The methods I use are a combination of dream recall, daytime illusory body and reality checks, and mnemonic and dream induced lucid dreaming. So the first thing is to work on dream recall, by thinking about it first thing and/or using a dream diary. The second thing is to implant the suggestion as you are falling asleep. The third thing is doing "reality checks" through the day to test whether you are dreaming. A few common examples is jumping, looking at the hands; reading something, looking away, and rereading it; switching lights on and off; blinking too long; asking where you were before, etc. Finally, we should have a lot of confidence that it happen if possible, and refrain from dwelling on the negatives. Eventually, this will culminate in doing a reality check while you are dreaming. This is the basic pattern set out in the resources. Doing these things without any lucid dreams is also very helpful IME. It gets more difficult when the dreamlike nature of the waking state is more revealed, and the mind creates more solidified dream states. For instance, I used to use the reading one, but now I can read in my dreams.

I am not. If I work full bore, I may have 1-2 per month. Another way to work with it is to lay in bed and drift in and out of sleep during the liminal phase. It won't necessarily be a lucid dream, but seeing different states of waking, sleeping and dreaming arising and passing is very helpful as well.

Usually, confronting dream characters shuts the dream down or takes it off script. However, one time, I encountered some one who claimed I was a character in their dream. I told them no, they were a creation of MY dream. I demonstrated this by flying around. They then flew around also, and we both started to manipulate the dream. Who's to say? A lot of the dream world, like life generally, reacts according to beliefs and expectations. There ARE certain dreams that have a very unique flavor, what my old teacher would call a dream of clarity. In these dreams, it certainly feels like there are divine beings and divine realms. Stephen LaBerge's techniques have been incorporated into Dream Yoga. Nearly every modern dream yoga teacher teaches them because they are so effective. A lot of people like Michael Raduga, but I lost all interest once it came to light that he drilled a hole in his head to implant a "dream chip": https://www.newsweek.com/russian-implants-chip-brain-control-dreams-hospital-1814256

I'll link the article. A good thing to work with non-conceptually. Another part of the same excerpt: https://www.lionsroar.com/dzogchen-mahamudra-two-great-paths/

Have you tried reaching out and explaining your situation? Michael Lomax used to post here and always struck me as a compassionate, reasonable person.

According to Dzogchen instructions, there are three points to remember. First, track down the dualistic mind or normal attention. Second, discover the mind’s secret identity, what dualistic mind has hidden away. Third, reveal its vanishing point. To track down means to investigate how the attentive quality of dualistic mind behaves, where it comes from, where it is right now, and where it goes. The second point, discovering mind’s secret identity, is actually finding out what mind is, namely, a seeming presence—there is no thing there. It is just some behavior that is mistaken for being a real thing while actually there is no thing there whatsoever. It is only when we investigate that we discover that this attentive quality is not a thing, that it has fooled us. It is called a nonexistent or seeming presence. The last point—revealing the vanishing point of dualistic mind—refers to the fact that the moment you look for this attentive quality and what it is made of, you discover that there is no actual thing. It simply vanishes every time you look. This is the Dzogchen approach: finding out what dualistic mind really is. --- Adeu Rinpoche, from Freedom in Bondage

I think some of the tech billionaires think AI is going to save the world. Either way, I guess we're about to find out.

Over my lifetime, there have been endless predictions about the imminent end of the world. I know someone who brags about having studied the end times for 30+ years now. What is certain is the end of this body-mind's life. It seems more fruitful to prepare for this as it is certain to happen (excepting the Daoist Immortals to be).

Mod note: TDB is not a substitute for medical/psychiatric treatment. Thread locked.

Mod note: It is now--- it was previously in the Buddhism section. I would concur with the Bums--- this may require professional help. Locking the thread.

Mod Note: not sure what this has to do with Buddhism.

I feel these may have different goals. For many people, it is difficult to relax and open with a lot of pain and this may end up causing people to "harden" in a way that may be inconsistent with certain styles of practice that focus on opening, relaxing, and listening. On the other hand, this harder style may be just the thing for someone who wants a high pain tolerance and/or wants to be a fighter.

Hopefully you do now. Let us know if there are any issues-- it's buggy on my end right now.

I've actually been listening to Mark's stuff on the side. My plate is pretty full with practice stuff, so I'm not sure how far I will be able to incorporate his stuff or if it conflicts with my own practices. However, I thought I'd make a few comments to possibly promote some discussion. It sounds like his stuff is very Tantric. Bardon was one of the first paths I tried way back in the day, so it is interesting to see how someone has incorporated it into daily practice. I'm not sure if it is reasonable to segregate out the Elastic Force qigong stuff or not, because to practice his system would really be a commitment. I do like how he emphasizes the fundamental point of feeling into the various energies as opposed to just imagining them. I'd be curious if he has been able to demonstrate any external energy emission as opposed to body mechanics/fascia. The book is more of a skeleton than a set of explanations. I've noticed that each exercise listed in the book does have a correlating Youtube video that explains it. If I keep at it, maybe I'll start a list of videos that walk through the order. His marrow washing exercise is interesting because Waysun Liao teaches a similar method (which one can find in the Tai Chi Classics, or at least the older editions, not sure if it has been removed). I'm not sure if it is exactly the same, I would have to review the methods. Mark says it is for a short term boost, while Master Liao seems to indicate it is for storage. Bruce Frantzis claimed it came from White Crane and is used for power and can be destabilizing. I think it is interesting how Mark looks to store energy in the "akasha" which I haven't heard of outside of Tantric circles. A bit of a side note, but it seems both Damo and Adam Mizner studied with him. Damo seems to have scrubbed away any mention of him, and as far as I know, Adam acknowledges him as a teacher. I wonder what this is all about (or if it is just in my own imagination).

One thing I wish I knew earlier is often you will think of a teacher who gives you a practice. When I take refuge, I still think of my initial preceptor. In that case, I held out for 1) a monk; 2) I respected; and 3) who offered it in person. To my surprise that turned out to be Bhante Gunaratana, whose book actually got me started with meditation. I'm glad I did because I think about him a lot. When I practice formal and informal meditation, there is a flavor of my primary teachers in there. I also hear their voices, their teachings, their advice. Hearing the description is interesting. A lot of people with energy shake their legs like that when sitting, and I used to get reprimanded for it. "But I'm NOT doing anything," I would protest. "It just happens!" If I had to guess, it is a natural involuntary movement of the muscles that may trigger further involuntary movements (i.e. zifagong).

And to add on to this excellent statement, sitting in the view of no view doesn't mean doing nothing. It actually allows the space for dynamic expression or spontaneous action from a place of greater alignment as opposed to the haphazard habits of ego-mind.

You are going to get different answers depending on who you ask. Many say they are compatible, and many teachers and masters have been recognized across multiple traditions (such as Master Nan). Many Vajrayana teachers, lamas, and students also do taiji, qigong, and/or practice Traditional Chinese medicine and other modalities. Some of these people are very serious and some of them are new age mix-and-matchers. Less common are people who say they are incompatible on both sides. They also tend to presume their specific line/teaching/tradition is correct and all others are wrong, so it would make sense. These tend to be more serious practitioners in their specific tradition. Usually, it is said that Buddhists go from Xing to Ming and Daoists from Ming to Xing. I think this is on point in certain ways considering Chan and Daoism. However, it is also not really so clear cut. I don't think the three groups necessarily follow the same development pattern. I don't think even within the three groups there is the same development pattern or even widespread agreement. For example, a Gelugpa Tantric practitioner is going to have a different path than a Dzogchenpa. A lot of Daoists cannot agree on basic things such as what a dan tian is or what the elixer is. Between the groups, Vajrayaya people don't usually develop external qi emission and I haven't heard of people outside of Vajrayana going into thukdam. Classic Zen shares some with each, such as the development of the hara (with Daoism) and the focus on Xing (with Vajrayana). I think different people have different karmic links that will bring them to different schools. I think that each school has its batch of authentic and inauthentic teachers, but at core they are living traditions with established lineages.

If anyone is interested in learning about tummo, the information is becoming more open. It is not a stand alone practice, but one part of a larger whole.

Sam Bercholz, the founder of Shambhala publications, had an NDE where he went to hell. In one location, there was a terrible and cruel tyrant who, during his life, has killed and tortured countless people under his reign. He was reborn in the shape of a mountain who was undergoing tremendous suffering due to the fires and discomforts of hell. Part of this was that his body was writhing and alive, composed of his followers who participated in the terrors. In addition, his body was ALSO composed of all the people who hated him, fusing together with him in their human life and the next life. In other words, hatred fuses us to the object of our hatred as much as devoted glee. Not saying this should be taken literally, but feeding negativity for negativity's sake seems pointless. If anything, the faults of samsara should fuel renunciation from its promises, compassion for those in ignorance, and a stark determination to seek enlightenment so one can truly benefit sentient beings. The knowledge of the suffering of samsara is presented as the first step of the spiritual path, not the last.

That is definitely an issue with increasing the power to the system. Whatever is there-- good, bad or ugly, tends to get amplified. This is likely one reason why certain traditions don't teach these openly without initiation and taking ethical vows and so on.