Tibetan_Ice

Gurudeva says here that the ego is actually a form of dualism: From Merging With Shiva:

From Kundalini Tantra - Saraswati. From "Merging With Shiva" In this text it also refers to the "death of the ego".

The next time anyone would like to cite Osho as any type of spiritual authority, pleas watch this documentary all the way through...

Well I can't stand this anymore. I don't believe in AYP's customizing of practices and pandering practices as Divine, but for the sake of knowledge, if you want to know about the AYP version of kechari, try this link: http://lightworkers.org/blog/142946/ayp-lesson-108-kechari-mudra-giant-leap-humankind Note: I cut my frenum a few times and it grew back.. When you touch your tongue on the soft pallet, it produces a current or magnetic charge from the center of the brows to the tip of the tongue. Try it. Lightly touch the tip of your tongue on the soft palate. Can you feel a kind of electricity or charge at the point of contact? If you can get your tongue far enough back, the current's pathway will intersect the sexual stimulation center near the top of the nasal cavity, which is hard wired for smell and smelling hormones (causing sexual stimulation). You don't have to do kechari to activate the sexual center behind the eyebrows, you can simply activate it by concentrating on that area. Perform samadhi on the area at the top of the nasal cavity, about 1 inch behind the brows. When you find the spot you will know. Caution: doing this type of meditation will activate your kundalini. Without proper training and preparation, you are asking for trouble. Kechari is not the next phase in human evolution as Yogani states. Touching the tongue at various places on the roof of the mouth completes a circuit, as in the MCO. It is also a good method of releasing a buildup of charges in the head. It is also part of the practice of sambhavi mudra, which you can also check out.. Also, be forewarned. If you get caught up in AYP many of the practices have been altered from classic yoga, and there is no support once you advance beyond what the "one size fits all" viewpoint you will find there. Further, sexual stimulation for the sake of ecstasy promotes grasping, reification and is not how to find the divine, in my opinion. A good book is http://www.amazon.com/Kundalini-Tantra-Re-print-Golden-Jubilee/dp/8185787158 And you may ask, isn't the purpose of kechari to release the Amrita? Well, yes. However, without heat, and the ability to open the central channel, Amrita will do you no good. In Buddhist tummo, you learn how to generate the heat mixture, take it up the central channel and melt the white drops in the crown, then slowly take the drops down the central channel producing great bliss and other realizations. These are advanced practices and you have to know what you are doing and have much experience before attempting them. See "the Bliss of Inner Fire" or The Six Yogas of Naropa" http://www.amazon.com/The-Bliss-Inner-Fire-Practice/dp/086171136X

http://christiesheldon.com/users/editorialdisp.php?mn=110377&fn=privatecoaching Yes, I'll bet $he has a lot of joy...

I have been seeking for 45 years: Casteneda, yoga, Catholicism, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, kriya yoga, new age, Robert Monroe, Rosicrucians, Self Realization Fellowship, raja yoga, AYP, Buddhism, Alan Wallace, Dhyanyogi, Sri Anandi Ma, kundalini, Samuel Sagan (Opening the Third Eye), Kunlun, astral projection, Eckart Tolley, Mark Griffin, Ajahn Brahm, hypnotism, channeling, gazing, CNN, And more... I've also read hundreds of books along the way. Sri Ramana Maharshi was my guru in my previous life, when I was a Hindu. This August makes 7 years that I have been meditating/practicing at least twice a day, every day. (I've missed three days in all due to no fault of my own during that whole time). I've logged over 3000 hours on my Insight Timer! I have never believed that one method of seeking God or no God is right and that all the others are wrong. Each religion/teaching/method has merits for the individual seeker because all seekers are different and at differing stages of evolution. If I had to choose, I would pick all of them. Even if I was enlightened, which I am not, I would say each piece played a part in my development (or lack thereof) so I owe a debt of gratitude for the lessons learned and the many varied experiences. How about you? What is your personal history?

Hi Bindi, In Paramahansa Yogananda's Yoga, the third eye is a construct that spans from the medulla to the region between the eyebrows. As such, it could be said to be very close to the 'ego'. Yogananda says that the medulla is the 'mouth of God'. I do not view the third eye or ajna as a level of consciousness so much as a bridge between different levels of consciousness. It is said that with the third eye, you can pull up any other chakra and view it. For me, the third eye projects images towards the brows, but you can also reverse the sight and look inward with it. Perhaps, as you mention, there are two levels of mind, one normal and one slower. But maybe, there are more than just those two. Gurudeva, in his book "Merging with Shiva" (love him), talks about the conscious, sub-conscious, super conscious and super sub-conscious. This is an excellent book, which I've read a few times.. https://www.himalayanacademy.com/view/merging-with-siva What you've said about 'slow mind' reminded me of a time when I was performing my Butta Shudhi Mantra during regular meditations. It is a very long mantra, over 100 words long, in Sanskrit (I learned the pronounciation from a recording). I was repeating the mantra when suddenly, it became super easy to repeat the mantra. It was like a super-consciousness took over and it was shear delight to repeat the mantra. The words were crystal clear and I could recite (silently) the whole mantra in a split second, over and over again. I have never understood completely how that could happen, only that perhaps I was starting to gain control over some subconscious or super conscious mental processes. So it wasn't a 'slow mind' but a very fast mind. Lately, during my prayers before my meditation sessions, if I pray from the heart, this wonderful eloquent voice comes up from the heart and up into my head. The voice is very clear, bright, super intelligent, has a vocabulary that I would die for and is quite an interesting phenomenon. When the voice comes out, I just sit back and listen to it. When it first started coming out it kind of scared me because I thought I might have been possessed or something. But now I realize that the heart is in fact a superior intellect, super intelligent. You need only open the channel from the heart to the third eye and then let it speak in order to realize that. Wonderful phenomenon..

Spotless, For an explanation of the substrate which is the determining factor as to what happens to you after you die, according to Buddhism, see the quote at this link: http://thedaobums.com/topic/39050-ego-and-enlightenment/?p=640085 And yes, I agree that sometimes CT posts contradictory snippets drawn from non related or opposed teachings, and sometimes I let him know. . But it is always fun to come and see what he has dug up and how my mind reacts..

Karl, I have no idea where you are coming from. This finiteness you speak of reminds me of the substrate consciousness. Ever hear of it? From "Mind in the Balance - Alan Wallace: So that is the ground or basis that we should be discussing. Note: there is no "I" in the substrate, there is no ego. Because you say that consciousness is finite, are you talking about the substrate consciousness?

In Buddhism, the alayavijnanna is the judge, the substrate consciousness... From Alan Wallace's "Mind In The Balance": Those prior causes and conditions are called "karma".

Siddhis demonstrate the truth about reality and tell us something about the part of us which is hidden from common view. As was posted before: Also, here is a general outline of siddhis: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhi And from "Natural Liberation: Padmasambhava's Teachings on the Six Bardos"

Dwai, Is that your teacher? He is pulling the same stuff that other neo-advaitists do. He downgrades 'enlightenment'.. there are no special powers, all you will get is peace of mind. No Bliss. Only peace of mind? Well, what about the spiritual accomplishments that the spiritual greats have demonstrated throughout history? Healing, manifesting forms (loaves and fish), bi or multi location, footprints in stone, knowing other persons' minds and personal history. It is like Alan Wallace said, "no siddhis, no realization". The minute someone whom sells books starts to downplay enlightenment, I see red flags. According to the Buddhists, the natural state is great bliss. Siddhis are part and parcel of realization. Nearly every Theravada Teacher acknowledges that the fourth jhana will grant specific powers such as knowing past lives, the minds of others, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am not after siddhis for siddhis sake, but they are markers along the way. They are also a form of inspiration and help diminish the ego/rational mind. So, needless to say, I don't think much of "Advaita Master Ramesh Balsekar". Sorry. .

Hi Bindi, I went back and tried a few times to jump in. I kept bouncing back to what I thought was my centre. It was interesting seeing the barrier. When I looked, you could see nothing there. But as soon as you hit it, the barrier resembled sheets of rainbow ice emitting mini charges of rainbow light. On the last time I tried, all of a sudden two large hands appeared in the space. They formed an "O". I 'knew' that they were trying to help me. I dove into the hole outlined by the fingers. I found myself in a tunnel. I proceeded to fly down the tunnel. On and on.. On and on.. I was getting nowhere. After what seemed to be about 25 minutes or so, I gave up. I believe I had overcome the fear of dying. I have no idea what the barrier is or why it is there. If I had to guess, I would say that we exist in bubbles and we can't break out whenever we want to. Our whole universe exists in a bubble, but I am willing to bet that there are unlimited bubbles as indicated by the very faint intuitive lights in the far distance in the space. Later, during other meditations, I discovered that I could reach this same space by focusing on the upper back of the head. There is a 'hole' there too. I had been experimenting with spinning the chakras into smaller and smaller orbits and this 'hole' just kind of opened up. When I first saw it, it looked like a black leach, or the typical Daoist yin/yang symbol, but once I became more accustomed with it, I realized the black was not solid but the image of the space beyond. I pushed my attention through the little hole at the back of the head and sat at the edge, looking out. Again, there were faint intuitions of lights in the very far distance. I didn't try to jump out from there as by then I was resigned to being stuck near the body (or the body mind connection, there actually wasn't any body left - it was dissolved).

Hi Bob, I kind of like the term 'death'. It signifies extinction, or the resolving of illusion. Once it is discovered that the snake is not a snake but a rope, the snake "dies". There never was a snake in the first place, so it never really died, but to the consciousness that perceived it as such, it metaphorically died. Much the same for Patanjali's samyama. There is an object, there is a subject, there is sustained attention. When the three fuse together, everything gets brighter and brighter, the body and the senses no longer appear and then continuity of consciousness explodes, one is aware that there was something else watching, beyond. Many years ago I spent three and a half hours meditating, trying to realize the star above the head. I had heard so many people talking about it that I wanted to see it. There was supposed to be a star above the head, about 8 inches or so. So, I focused all my attention on that area and kept at it. Three and a half hours later, I popped out of the top of my physical head and found myself in a large empty space that resembled outer space, except that there were no stars to be seen. I could make out very faint lights in the background, but they were more like impressions of lights, or intentions of lights. The overwhelming sensation that I felt when I popped out was that I was dying, was going to die, or had died. A great fear overtook me so I stopped the meditation. Later, I went back and explored this space. When I resolved that I would overcome the fear of death, I tried to jump into that huge space. Well much to my surprise I hit a barrier which appeared as a sheet of celophane/rainbow lightning and it bounced me back to my center of awareness.. That feeling of the fear of death had to be overcome in order to take the next step. So, I don't see anything strange with Ramana's idea of killing the ego (mind, small self, conceptual mind, thinker etc). According to Ramana, the ego is not the Western concept of ego, it is the aham-vritti. from " Ramana Maharshi – Be As You Are – by David Godman" There are many parallels to this concept of permanently doing away with something in order to realize what lies beyond. If the you who is looking is wearing rose colored glasses, take the glasses and never put them back on. Crush them, grind them up. Makes sense to me. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the Shiva and Shakti example.. I thought it was Shakti who awakens and then seeks Shiva? According to Ramana, Shiva is God..

Self-Enquiry – Destroy the ego Identification with the Supreme is the only the other name for the destruction of the ego. (Ramana Maharshi, TWSRM, Question 130.) Can the ego ever agree to kill itself? This question is a sure way to cherish the ego and not to kill it. If you seek the ego you will find it does not exist. That is the way to destroy it. (Ramana Maharshi, TWSRM, Question 657.)

That is a great question! According to Ramana, the ego is the mind, that which thinks, the doer, that which should be destroyed in order to realize the Self. The method to destroy the ego is Enquiry. The theme of destruction or dissolution of the ego is also found in Nisargadatta's teaching, where he says to focus on the feeling of "I AM" until it dissolves, revealing what lies beyond. I think you will find the dissolution of the ego in every main religion in one form or another, except maybe Daosim. I mean no disrespect but it seems that Daoism is concerned more with becoming, with mastering, with elevating and accomplishing rather than surrender. I think Daoism attempts to expand the I thought through trying to take control of every aspect of the material and energetic world and balance it, perform tricks with it, become immortal... Not that there is anything wrong with that but it seems to be counter to dissolving the ego. Again, I have not studied much Daoism so shoot me.. In Christianity you find ideas like selfless service, loving your neighbor, treating other as you want to be treated, not casting any stones, charity etc... These are all forms of diminishing the self(ego). -note, this is the small self here, in Ramana-ian terms. In Buddhism, they go to elaborate lengths to prove that there is no self. They have the theory of dependent origination, anatta, sunyata, emptiness... And they also have a major component of Bodhicitta, compassion for other beings, which is key to most all variations of Buddhism. HOWEVER, you will not find mention of a Self (in Ramana-ian terms) in Buddhism. I think it is because most everything that Buddha taught was careful not to undermine the teaching by introducing a trump card. Refer to what Buddha told Ananda... And if you want to believe it, it is said that the Buddha once fed his body to a starving lioness with cubs. I mean, how selfless is that? For me, the times when my heart opens up and I see the magic in the world is when I do a selfless act which comes from the heart, with more concern for others than what it costs me and without concern for remuneration or what I will get in return. The world becomes a clearer more sparkly place that shines and glitters just a little more subtly. And sometimes the other planes reveal themselves, illuminated by the floodlight in my heart. "The idol of your self is the mother of all idols. To regard the self as easy to subdue is a mistake." (Rumi) (and that self is not capitalized)

I think he might have paraphrased the quotes. I cannot find them on Google. Either that or they are in Jax's book. Nope. Maybe on a private forum or on one of his YouTube videos...? Asunthatneversets should have given references..

It is funny how Ramana's writings about mind are so similar to the penultimate Buddhist teachings... http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=20281

Karl, do you perform any regular practice?

Ramana Maharshi – Be As You Are – by David Godman

Hi Bindi, Here are some quotes from Ramana concerning your questions.

There is no mention of "true self" in that writing. It is talking about the natural state, not a self.

I agree. In Jeff's conglomerate of nonsense, the definition of mind is severely lacking, as is the context, architecture of realization, path, purpose... Well it is just a mishmash of home made terms that do not conform to any cogent body of teachings. Even Jeff's concepts of "local mind" and "universal mind" were disputed as having no basis in Buddhism. I doubt if you will find those terms in any other authentic teaching either. How nice it is to have the teachings of Ramana, so clear and precise!

What you claim about transmission is denied by Malcolm. http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=19231&hilit=Jeff&start=60 So if Buddhas can't do it, I seriously doubt that you can do it. You have been deceiving people.

The interesting thing for me about that video is that I think that Wilcock misinterprets the bubbles which appear during thogal gazing, which each contain a being inside, as "alien spacecraft". I've seen quite a few bubbles now. They are luminous, round, transparent, and can grow or shrink in size. You can enter them and then you are transported into the world or plane inside. Most of the time it looks like there is no room in the bubble and that the being inside is filling the whole bubble up, but that is not the case. I now believe that that is why many Buddhist masters are painted/depicted with a surrounding sphere or bubble. So, no, not alien spacecrafts...but inter dimensional bubbles... Zoom, have you not seen any beings inside of bubbles yet during your thogal practices?