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Listened to this last night. I thought the guided meditation at the end was really nice. When he was talking about butterfly meditation i was like hmmm... but when he actually guides you through it the energy response is really big. The healings he did were really cool, distant diagnoses and energy transmission.

Same for me, Stillness movement and Dzogchen are my main interests by far. I think you can say S-m is more on the energy side while Dzogchen is mostly to do with mind (nature of). So i doubt the Dzogchen master will be projecting energy like we see in some clips of Michael in the workshops. Chogyal Namkhai Norbu is doing a direct transmission via live stream on the 24th Feb, they say you can't practice Dzogchen without this direct introduction to your natural state. So both S-m and Dzogchen have a distant transmission but Michael is projecting energy specifically to people whereas the Dzogchen transmission is just being in the natural state at the same time as the teacher. I'll be doing some preparation and tuning into that web cast so we'll see what happens .

Oh man I always laugh when i notice that i've picked up some verbal style or phrase from someone i've watched a lot. Happened a bit when I was watching a lot of Sadhguru's videos - he has a distinct style of talking.

Thank you!

Feeling cool in a refreshing way is fine, but the waking up very cold and getting sick indicates it's either a side effect of the cleansing, or you've gone wrong somewhere in practice. What are you practicing? Do you have a teacher - they should be your first port of call.

Taomeow, could you tell us something about spiders? (Assuming you will give us some interesting knowledge as you do with most topics)

It is the mind that is one pointed. For example one time I was practicing vipassana, just being aware of the body and whatever arose- sensations etc. After a while i just instantly made my mind one pointed and in that instant shot directly into a concentration jhana. There wasn't any particular object that i concentrated my mind on, i just made the mind concentrate rather than pure awareness like vipassana. So what i'm trying to communicate is that it's the quality of mind rather than the object that is important. I've also entered the jhanas with mantra - Om Mani Padme Hum, Namo Amituofo, Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa. As you can see there are multiple syllables but it is the quality of mind focusing that can lead you into these states. ^ Just my personal experience not a qualified teacher, so feel free to correct me anyone ^

Yeah doing some intellectual stuff at the same time would definitely hinder you. If you're trying to deepen concentration keep it one pointed.

If you use the breath like an object that you are just deepening your focus on then it's concentration. If you are being AWARE of the breath, it's sensations etc. this is like directly investigating which can lead to insight. As White Wolf said if you deepen your concentration enough then once you enter a jhana state you can investigate this state with awareness rather than strengthening it further with more concentration.

I found that post very interesting TI, just one point if someone could clarify. ". When the mind begins to engage in thinking and conceptualizing again, that subtle mental grasping is enough of a contraction to cause the very delicate Light Channels to close." From my reading about Dzogchen and it's practice my understanding was that the thoughts arising didn't really matter as one can be in Rigpa while thoughts are arising or not arising. I think I even read that when lots of thoughts were arising the awareness of natural state can become even stronger! Thanks

Have you tried selling your paintings? Personally I thought they were good. Become the next big thing in Trance Painting!

Cultivate until food and exposure are no longer an issue. Good luck. But really, it's going to be tough in our countries. In Tibet in the past for example, wandering yogi's would be taken care of and respected, not so easy for us today. Being a bum is very risky if you are still at the level where you need a lot externally to sustain you. Personally i've decided to finish my uni course, work for a while (9-5 has plenty of time to do formal cultivation) and make sure to save plenty of money. During this time will have resources to travel around a few times a year to train with masters should it be necessary. After a while maybe move to a cheap country and just cultivate there - or go to the US and do Ya Mu's healer certification training, hope the opportunity opens up. Genuinely hope you find your path Sinan .

If what he's saying is simply the truth, maybe there isn't a big ego behind it. OR maybe there is, I don't know Bruce Frantzis. What I do know is that sometimes being "modest" can be a subtle (or not so subtle) form of ego clinging. Either way, I enjoyed the interview, and from my feeling he is legit. The dissolving technique is great too.

Is rushan described in Heart Drops of Dharmakaya? I think it was where you fall back after holding that vajra posture.

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Anyone else watched this? I thought it was really great. Trailer:

Ooh I just found it This is part 1 I think part 2 focuses more on the tantrism, part 2 is in the related videos on the side if you go to youtube. Enjoy!

Haha he said a bit more in the full thing I think but I was surprised he decided to talk to them too. One thing I've noticed with these yogis is their eyes look really brilliant and vibrant. Yep I've watched that documentary quite a few times, it's great. Here's another cool set of clips I think there's a full documentary that this is from but I can't find it right now.

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Personally I just let one breath release out the mouth (just like the 3 preparatory breaths before starting s-m). Then smile from the heart and just LET GO. The whole chest and heart energy opens and expands. I too sometimes feel like it can get a bit stagnant around there but this works like a charm for me. Devotion also seems to increase the flow around here, if you feel some connection to a deity or master, opening a sincere connection and using a mantra is powerful. Heart & crown seem intimately connected. The connection to the natural energies within the Taoist/ Buddhist prayers found in the Light Warrior book are amazing.

This is marvelous, i love these clear and practical instructions that can instantly help ones practice.

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Yeah this works for me, can feel much more gathering and storing when not trying to get to a more specific location. When the whole area that you stated is embraced with awareness and relaxation it seems very effective.

I can feel it in the center of the chest more strongly than solar plexus. Though based on their physiological locations both have very big effects on the body. There's definitely a pleasant fire in the core of the body at the middle of the nipple line. It's different to the fire at the lower dan tian which feels more watery. As you said Seth i wouldn't recommend storing at the MDT directly. It seems to grow stronger just working on LDT. However opening MDT with deep pure calmness and smiling from the heart is really good IMO.