Tibetan_Ice

Hi Boy Really? I think we may have a problem with words here. From the Visuddhimagga: [(4) THE BASE CONSISTING OF NEITHER PERCEPTION NOR NON-PERCEPTION] 40. When, however, he wants to develop the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception, he must first achieve mastery in the five ways in the attainment of the base consisting of nothingness. Then he should see the danger in the base consisting of nothingness and the advantage in what is superior to it in this way: “This attainment has the base consisting of boundless consciousness as its near enemy, and it is not as peaceful as the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception,” or in this way: “Perception is a boil, perception is a dart … this is peaceful, this is sublime, that is to say, neither perception nor non-perception” (M II 231). So having ended his attachment to the base consisting of nothingness, he should give attention to the base consisting of neither perception non non-perception as peaceful. He should advert again and again to that attainment of the base consisting of nothingness that has occurred making non-existence its object, adverting to it as “peaceful, peaceful,” and he should give his attention to it, review it and strike at it with thought and applied thought. 41. As he directs his mind again and again on to that sign in this way, the hindrances are suppressed, mindfulness is established, and his mind becomes concentrated in access. He cultivates that sign again and again, develops and repeatedly practices it. As he does so, consciousness belonging to the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception arises in absorption making its object the four [mental] aggregates that constitute the attainment of the base consisting of nothingness, just as the [consciousness belonging to the] base consisting of nothingness did the disappearance of the [previous] consciousness. And here too the method of explaining the absorption should be understood in the way already described. http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=9_Jhanas Delightful Sensations Joy Contentment Utter peacefulness Infinity of space Infinity of consciousness No-thingness Neither perception nor non-perception Cessation So, when you hit the 8'th jhana, what is the object if there is no more perception? TI

Hi Boy, " However, to find this objectless consciousness, you will need to make the subject an object. I see no other way. " It is a very simple practice. You keep receeding into the self. You go backwards, or down. If you see an object, anything, a thought, a feeling, a sensation, you turn your attention around 180 degrees and move closer to the subject by "being" it, that which is watching. You keep doing that. Realize that the light is a reflection in the mirror and still keep going backwards. You will eventually pass through all the states, normal conscoiusness, the dreamstate, the light, the space.. Eventually, after practising this for a few hours per day for a few months, you will find that you don't sleep at night, or rather, your body and mind are sleeping, but you are there watching. But that "you" has no bounds. You have become a rather expanse of nothing but "you". It is quite unsettling, especially for one accustomed to sleeping.. To learn more about consciousness without an object and the technique of turning the attention around and receeding into the subject, I would read "The Flight of the Garuda". Or the practice of Dzogchen. TI

Hi Lucky7 You know, I am not attacking you personally, and I see no reason to assess the messenger. Please do not turn this into some kind of personal attack. I'm evaluating this guru based on my experience and knowledge, and psychic impressions of my current research. And you know, one has to overcome the attachment to bliss to go further. It is hard, I know, but I'm trying. Logic is often contradictory. For example, from Sadhguru's message about healing and from what you have said in this next quote, I hope you can see that it is inconsistent. In this form of twisted logic, Is not the volunteer work that Isha is doing robbing people of the gift of suffering? Huh? Anyway, step 2. Next, let's do a search on google for "Sadhguru scam" and see what comes up. Gee, there seems to be quite a bit of controversy.. http://guruphiliac.l...ndation/page13/ http://www.wyssyr.co...a-fraud-part-7/ http://zaysen.blogsp...asudev-his.html and this.. http://zaysen.blogsp...on-as-cult.html http://www.sciforums...ga-t-16760.html Well, I've about had enough of that. I feel like I am being dragged down into a morass of filth, deception and inhumanity. I really don't care one way or the other. Do what you want. But do us a favour. In a few years, or however long it takes, do report back to us with your outcome. I much prefer yogis like Dhyan Yogi, saints who are humble, consistent and don't have a mass of ex-disciples trying to publish warnings about what they've experienced. TI

TI

Hi Lucky7Strikes You know the danger of posting your precious experiences on a forum is that someone will come along and take the wind out of your sails. If that happens, then it shows that it was not permanent, and that is a good thing. I found your post interesting but there is just too much bliss in it to calm this restless mind that craves equanimity. Some Buddhists say that the highs are really a form of suffering.. I concur. I checked out about 20 of Sadhguru's youtube videos last night. He certainly does have a presence and is skilled at talking like he knows something that you don't, but won't tell you what it is. Although I did not find much substance in any of his talks, I found this one the most disturbing (apart from the fact that he charges lots of money to view his private podcasts, if he doesn't believe in healing other people, how can he believe in charity? ). Here is Sadhguru's clip called "Why do you tell people not to do Healing?" 1) In this video, he claims that healing someone doesn't really heal them, that the deeper problem is not eradicated and that it will resurface at a later time. 2) He claims that Jesus always said that "it is not me, it is you" after healing someone. 3) He claims that Jesus taught kriya yoga in the Gospel of Peace. 4) He says that healing is medling with life. My comments: 1) In my interpretation of healing, healing is the eradication of the causes of the sickness, whether it be disease, karma or evil spirits. To be healed is to be rid of the cause of the sickness. To be rid of the cause is to not have it reappear later in a different form. 2) According to what I have read, what Jesus told people after healing them was not to mention it to anyone. The only 'you' part was that the sick person had faith in God. 3) Really? Have you ever read a kriya manual that taught you how to get rid of evil spirits? Or the intracacies of pranayama or raising the kundalini? 4) How could any being with compassion think that healing someone of a sickness is medling with life? It's like telling someone that you are meant to suffer because that is life's plan for you, the lesson you must learn. If Buddha believed that we wouldn't have Buddhism as we know it today. Granted, one could argue that suffering caused Buddha's efforts to escape it resulting in his enlightenment, but then again, we all know that Buddha abandoned his ascetic practices in favor of the middle way. I find the Sadhguru's precepts disturbing, and misplaced. He seems to be a good actor and have a handle on how to entertain and influence people. But he lacks the sincerity and respect for other traditions that I would expect from someone in his position. And he definately has minsinterpreted Jesus' healings.. http://healingscripture.com/HealingRecord.shtml My advice is to run away as fast as you can. Don't get caught up in his guru groupie-ism or the thought-form-bliss from a hypnotized crowd. TI

Hi thetaoiseasy Thanks for your response. I see you skipped over the psychic ability idea and went for the gut reaction instead.. That is fine. You talk about qi like it has the power to see.. I don't quite understand. Is third eye sight using qi? I understand. Humans have a tendency to place limitations on others based on their own capabilities. Gee, I had no idea. You sound like me before I met Jesus. Yes, I've heard that manifestations of "God" have a cultural tint to them. I look upon it this way. If you were God and you were going to manifest to some unsuspecting human, wouldn't you try to take the form of the human's ishta (idealized form of God)? I mean, you aren't going to appear to them as George Carlin, are you? I have a story to tell you: "When I was growing up, there was this girl who we termed a "Jesus Freak". She loved the Lord. We all thought that she was a little off. However, she lived a block away from my house and was in my grade at school so I got to know her somewhat, and all her friends.. After moving away from my home town I ran into her again years later and she was still "praising the Lord". So, this time I decided to check out what she was into. She was going to the Victory Christian Centre in Edmonton. She invited me to go to church with her and her friends, so I went. After a few Sundays of going to church and to one 'rock concert that praised the Lord', she invited me to go with them on a Wednesday night. They were going to pray in the church and then go downtown and 'minister to the homeless'.. I thought, this should be interesting, so I went. When we got to the church and she told me that I had to make an effort to meet Jesus. There were only 10 or so people in the church and it was mostly empty, dark and quiet. I went and sat alone about 5 benches from the front on the right hand side. Then I decided to make a real effort to contact Jesus. I raised my right hand high into the air and asked Jesus to come and make his presence known. Shortly after, I saw a bright light in my mind's eye, off to the right, high above. I watched it. It got bigger and turned into a face. The face had a beard, long brown hair and it was smiling at me. Gradually the face and the surrounding white light kept coming down until It became the whole body of Jesus, wearing red and white robes. Golden light was streaming out from his aura. He held out his hands towards me and said "You are saved". Well holy crow! I couldn't move. Waves of energy were flowing through me, up and down. I could not feel my body. Tears started streaming down my face. I kept wondering, why me? I don't deserve this, I'm nobody. I don't even believe in the bible. This can't be happening to me.. The amount of power I felt from Jesus was unbelievable. I felt like a little pin prick of light compared to his power. I felt that he could create universes in the blink of an eye. I was awe struck! Unbelievable! Wow! What can I say. After about 40 minutes of lala land, my friends came over to me and said that we had to go. I gradually came out of it and could now move my body. I then told them what had happened. They said that they knew what was going on and that they also had been praying for me to meet Jesus.. Then, we drove downtown in Edmonton and parked in an alley by this little white old house. We went in through the back door. I asked my friend what we were doing there. She said that they were going to do a healing. As I walked into the back porch, there was a guy sitting on the freezer. I said "Hi" but he ignored me. We went into the little run-down house and sat in the living room. The place was a dump. Then someone brought in a wooden chair and placed it in the middle of the living room. Then, my friend went out and came back into the room with the guy who sitting on the freezer. She introduced him as "Fred". She said that he was deaf and dumb, could not hear or speak since he had an industrial accident five years ago. She sat him on the chair and then everyone in the room started praying for him and holding up their hands towards him or putting their hands on him. I did the same from afar. Then they started praying. This went on for about 20 minutes. Then someone said "Fred, how are you feeling?" and he turned his head and looked at her. Then he said "I feel fine". Then he realized that he had just heard and could speak. Well, I've never seen anyone so happy in life before. Everyone just freaked out. There was jumping up and down, screaming of "Praise the Lord", smiles, laughter, a regular party! Then Fred proceeded to tell us his life's story. How he had been in an accident while working on construction, how he couldn't speak or hear after that, how he had then lost his job, and everything else in his life.. The whole thing was so unbelievable to me that my mind just couldn't accept it. I thought that they had planned the whole thing, that it was a setup, an act that they did just to impress me. That's what my mind did. But deep down, I knew that I had just witnessed a miracle.. Needless to say, it was quite a Wednesday night, back in 1988. Ever since then, there is allot more that has happened, but any time I say "I ask for love and protection from God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit", I am engulfed in a cloud of tingles and I know that I've been blessed. Since then, anytime I think of Jesus, he is always there, and it seems to be always in the same location in my mind's eye, Northwest. The Holy Spirit is an entirely different thing. I don't think it is kundalini because it is top down, but then what do I know? It is probably the same energy.. The following Sunday, after meeting Jesus, I went to church again. When I walked in I could see a white pair of wings in a round star of light up high on the left of the congregation. It was shooting beams of light at people and after the beam landed, the people had wings or mustaches of white light on the tops of their heads. I wondered what was going on. We all sat down and then the sermon started. It was a sermon about the Holy Ghost. At one point in the sermon, the parson/preacher/minister made everyone stand up and ask for the Holy Ghosts' blessings. We all held hands. Suddenly, there was a popping sound above and it felt like someone had cracked an egg on the top of my head. Then this liquid honey (not sure what it was but that's what it felt like) slowly drained down from the top of my head on the inside of my head, into my chest. Then this voice sounded out and it said, "you can speak in tongues". So I tried, and yes, this bunch of words and phrases came out of my mouth, but I had no idea what it meant, still don't. After church, my friends asked me what happened and I told them. Then, they said that they had been praying for me to receive tongues.. So, if I had to give any advice, I would say that you have to make an effort to contact Jesus. There are so many stories about people who have met Jesus, in their times of need, trying to commit suicide or being alone and silent that I believe that Jesus will appear to anyone who seeks him, and sometimes even when you are not seeking him! I think that sincere effort is the key, and perhaps having friends to pray for you might help too.." So, TTIE, these experiences actually happened to me. They were by far the most memorable experiences in this life. If there is a universal mind, and we are infinite being, then yes, I agree with you. The mind will manifest in such a way as to paint the picture with a cultural brush.. That said, I am not religious, nor do I go to church nowadays. Those events occured over 24 years ago. But Jesus is always there. It is true, everyone can have a personal relationship with Jesus if they so desire. What I was going to ask you is this. A while back I was doing breathing meditation and I managed to merge into the light, into one of the jhanas (I don't know which one). When I came out of it, I found myself looking downwards towards my navel. I could see a long protrusion of light that resembled a horn like the end of a trumpet. It shone and glistened. It extended out from just below the navel for about 8 inches. I was enthralled. I looked at it for a while and then wondered if I could make it move. So I pushed my belly out by breathing in. As I did that, a cloud of fine sparkles was released. The sparkles floated upwards throught the body towards the top of the head. (the body was translucent/transparent). The sparkles produced a feeling of tingles and very pleasureable sensations. I inhaled and the same event happened. I played with this for a while and noticed that if I breathed in normally, with a kind of downward motion of the diaphram, nothing happened. But, if I made an effort to push my belly straight out, perpendicular to the spine, the fine sparkles were released. It was like I was scraping fairy dust off of the horn of light. Since then I have discovered that I can run my fingers through it with a motion as to direct the sparkles up the spine to above the head and I am engulfed with pleasureable tingles. Also, my breath meditations are becoming sessions of waves of ecstatic tingles, whenever I isolate and maintain attention on that horn of light during breath meditation. I can also sweep my hands through the navel area and push the sparkles at other people, who then claim that they feel tingles and pleasurable sensations. So, I wanted to ask you. Do you think that the horn of light is the lower tan tien? Have you any experience with such a phenomenon? Thanks for your time. TI

Hi thetaoiseasy, I certainly appreciate the fact that you are willingly trying to teach what you know, and I have had some interesting thoughts while contemplating your 'lessons'. There are a few points that I'd like to mention. You said: I feel that you have ignored the fact that psychic sensitivity can reveal things about levels of masters, even though the person may not be as advanced as the levels of the master(s). Even plain old gut reaction. Most people can just look at someone and something inside will produce a feeling or assessment. Also, I don't believe you when you say that you will only attract higher beings that are at your own level. How many people have had a personal experiences with Jesus, yet I"m sure those people are not at the same level as Jesus? I thought I should also mention, with regard to your 'lessons' about water. There is much contraversy about drinking distilled water. It is said that it leaches minerals out of the body (Calcium from the teeth and bones, magnesium etc..) Supposedly, it is more acidic because it attracts carbon dioxide from the air. There is much about it on google. I have also heard mentioned that you should not water your plants with distilled water because it causes the plant cell membranes to explode and break apart, so I do wonder what it does to the body. But, I do not wish to debate this topic.. There is plenty of discussion on Google about it. I would be interested and curious to hear you say something about using chi to charge the water, affect it's ph or make it more beneficial for the human body. In Reiki, they teach you how to charge a glass of water. Can you not do the same with chi? Rather than remain a recipient (or should I say "victim") of the benefits and detriments of certain types of water, can a person not take a more proactive role and influence the water to their own will? Know what I mean? TI

Hi 3Bob Once upon a time, I was walking up a path on the mountain. It was very dark but the sky was clear and the stars were sparkly. As I slowly made my way up the path towards the summit, suddenly, I fell into a deep pit just on the side of the path. As I fell in, I hit my head and passed out. When I came to I looked around. The pit was very deep and the walls were very steep. The smell was very bad, almost unbearable. I screamed at the top of my lungs, "HEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!", and much to my surprise, other voices sounded off! "Quiet! You're disturbing our inner silence". There were other people in the pit! I said "You are in a pit. How long have you been here? You are trapped here and you don't realize it. Why don't you try to get out?" A voice replied: "Our master told us that we have to stay in the pit and perform specific practices so that we may become enlightened" I said "But don't you want to get out of the pit? Look up, don't you see the stars above in the clear sky?" Another voice spoke out "That is just scenery. We don't do anything with the stars, we just look at them at night time". Then I pulled out my iphone and started up a youtube video of a well-known guru, Papaji, who had granted someone a taste of enlightenment. The others in the pit watched the video for a while and then shouted out "We don't believe in gurus and we were told not to depend on anyone else except our practices. Our scientific practices will make us enlightened." After a few days of being trapped in the pit, I too started doing the practices. I stayed in the pit for four years, until gradually I started to realize that there was something wrong with the practices. They weren't producing the results the others in the pit had promised. The theory behind the practices was strange. Some of the other people in the pit claimed that through the practices they had become enlightened. Yet, they were still in the pit; they could not climb out, they could not point to any specific practice and their egos were highly developed. And they took pride in proclaiming their accomplishments and were very happy to be in the pit. I questioned the practices, why they were not the classic Yoga practices.. How can you mix TM with Kriya Yoga and expect it to work? Is it really true that enlightenment is the blending of ecstatic conductivity and inner silence, when Buddha said that suffering is caused by clinging and aversion? The voices responded "Don't think about it. Don't analyze. There is no place here for wisdom, knowledge, or intelligence. Just do the practices. The practices will set you free." Well, that was enough of that. At odds with the other people in the pit, they combined their efforts and evicted me from the pit. They threw me right out and I landed on that mountain path once again. It was night time and the sky was clear. The stars sparkled and the moon was full. I could clearly see the path upwards. I could also see the rather large outhouse that someone had pushed down the mountain side. Now, I ask you, 3bob, When you come accross a pit along the path what do you do? I will make this a multiple choice to make it easy: 1) Ask its forgiveness and turn the other cheek? 2) Put up a sign warning other mountain climbers of the danger? 3) Try to rescue the people who have fallen into the pit and then put up a sign? 4) Try to rescue the people who have fallen into the pit and then fill in the pit so that nobody else ever falls into it? 5) Ignore the experience and keep climbing up the mountain, knowing full well that other climbers would inevitably fall into the pit. 6) All of the above 7) None of the above 8) Perhaps some of the above but with conditions I hope you enjoyed my bed time story.. I will leave you with a Buddhist rendition of 'turning the other cheek'. TI

Hi Anamatva Good luck and all the best. May all your realizations be empty. TI

I was meditating, watching the breath a couple days ago and I saw nimittas.. The first one was a small bright white light but it quickly disappeared.. The second one, which occured about 5 minutes later was white light so bright and intense that it caused excitement and disturbed the stillness. That one was by far the brightest most intense white light I've ever seen. I must admit, I do have to deal with a fear of going blind. That light is so bright! I really like Ajahn Brahm's teaching that the light is a reflection of the mind in stillness. Also, this talk is pretty good, about the nimittas and re-incarnation.. It is the one called "2003-02-14- What is Meditation" http://brahmstalks.wordpress.com/2003-2/ TI

Hi Hydrogen, You must have missed the kunlun story about the practitioner who's arm went through the wall.. Here are some pictures of Kan phasing out (or should I say phasing "in").. http://www.primordialalchemist.com/kunlun-neigung/kunlun-gallery/ Here is an interview with Kan (if you want more general information).. http://www.primordialalchemist.com/2010/11/kans-interview/ Also, there are stories about a yogi that could not be kept inside a jail cell.. I believe it was Nityananda who, although confined to a prison cell, would appear on the roof of the building on occasion during the night.. (correct me if I am wrong). However, this is from the book called "Balancing the Mind" by Alan Wallace. This is from the wiki: http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=9_Jhanas and this is from the Visuddhimagga, "The Classic Manual of Buddhist Doctrine and Meditation". I don't think they were lying about that. How could the Classic Buddhist Manual be full of misconceptions and deceptions? But, don't take my word for it, or believe the stories. Try it out for yourself.. as Buddha would say.. The powers are a side effect of success in jhana practice.. It is not recommended to focus just on the powers.. The realization of emptiness, though, is key.. TI

The Flight of the Garuda!!!

Hi, I just go this from the tao bums. Any ideas? It says: Severity: High - An intrusion attempt was blocked. Web Attack: Blackhole Exploit Kit 2 Attacker URL http://thetaobums.com/forum/1-general-discussion/ Network traffic was detected that matches the signature of a known attack. The attack was resulted from c:\program files\internet Explorer\iexplore.exe. Thanks.

Gatito You are right. In "I AM THAT" by Nisargadatta, he says this about reincarnation: TI ps. But then, Nisargadatta said many things and often adjusted what he said to suit the audience. Sometimes his advice was top-down, sometimes it was bottoms-up, and sometimes he spoke just to shock the person out of their 'sleep', especially if the person had prior knowledge of yogic practices.. Of course, there is much mention of reincarnation in Buddhism as well as the indesctructible drop in the heart.. stream-enterer, once-returner, etc.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_enlightenment

Hi Sean, I have a screen shot, can't figure out how to upload it from my hard drive. Just figured it out.. Thanks.

Hi Mokona, Yes, it is a good sign, and yes, it takes some getting used to when this happens. I think it is harder to identify vivid sounds for me because I'm more of a visual person and to me, a sound is just a sound. I guess it could be louder, or more crisp. I have heard some bells, electric gongs and other various sounds in my right ear, espescially before going to bed but that was before I was practising increasing vividness.. At first, when I started to learn how to increase vividness, aside from the fact that I was in awe that you could even do such a thing, I found myself mentally saying "increase vividness" on the in-breath and "relax body" on the out-breath. I stuck with this for a few days and then tried to drop the mental labeling and actually increase the vividness. Then I discovered, after the coarser mind settled down, that breathing in up to the point of being at the top of the in-breath naturally increases the vividness. The method Alan Wallace describes to increase vividness is to show more interest, become more attentive and focus on the in-breath. I have also discovered that raising the gaze upwards increases vividness, and, lowering the gaze decreases vividness. Depending on how active your mind and body are, picking the best place to focus the eyes helps either settle the mind or increase vividness. Then, I did one meditation where the breath nimitta appeared and got brighter on the in-breath and duller on the out-breath. It was at this point where I understood that this function is occuring naturally and you can increase the vividness of the contents of the mind by just paying more attention to the in-breath. When we are more interested in something, the body naturally breathes in even holds the breath in (at the top) for a while. This is increasing the clarity and vividness. The mind is naturally luminous, it just appears dull because there is so much going on in it and we've never trained in settling the mind or realized that things can be much brighter as we settle the mind. A few days later, when I was meditating with eyes open down by the river, I increased the vividness to the point where the thoughts that were appearing were just as clear and bright as normal reality. This was kind of a shock at first and somewhat disconcerting. But is was very neat too. What a discovery. Now, I'm getting visions that I recall or manifest in crystal clarity and exceptional vividness. For example, I can think of an orange and it appears as a thought. But higher up in a certain slice of consciousness the image appears with great clarity and precision, and the background is dark deep blue. Didn't know the mind could do that.. . And, doing the practice with eyes open augments the effect. It is as Rex posted in another thread, the heart is connected to the eyes and when you meditate with eyes open, it keeps that connection stronger. Anyways, if you'd like to listen to a meditation by Alan Wallace that walks you through the different techniques all the way to increasing and decreasing your vividness, try this link: http://podcasts.sbinstitute.com/spring2011/?p=208 TI

Hi Chris In several of his books Alan Wallace cites several prominant Buddhists who declare that Shamatha is a mandatory before starting vipassana. This is because without stability, if you realize any of the advanced states you won't be able to sustain them. Also, from a personal perspective, it is much easier to identify the advanced states without being bombarded by thoughts, visions and sensations. Some Buddhist books say you can develop both at the same time because shamatha (stillness) and vipassana (insight) kind of go hand in hand. However, Alan Wallace really says that anything goes (but still shamata is a great advantage). If you are 'ripe' enough, you might realize rigpa and be able to sustain the realization. If not, you step down a gear and work on settling the mind (achieving stabilization) through either watching thoughts or deflecting thoughts to the point where the mind dissolves into the substrate consciousness. If that is does not work, you can step down a gear again and practice watching the breath at the nostrils until the nimitta appears.. Another lower gear is watching the coarser movement of the breath at the navel. Depending on your assessment of your mental state at the time when you meditate, you pick which practice to perform. This is a link to a talk from Alan Wallace in which he addresses your question: http://podcasts.sbinstitute.com/spring2012/2012/05/83-awareness-of-awareness/ Also, here is a guided meditation by Alan Wallace with Padmashambhava's "Awareness of Awareness" practice. http://podcasts.sbinstitute.com/spring2011/?p=204 TI

Hi Jeffrito What Turtle Shell said is correct. The predominant nostril changes naturally throughout the day in a healthy body. Here is what Saraswati says about it: from "Kundalini Tantra"

Hi Rex Thank you so much for posting that. It is kind of funny. I'd been reading the "Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar" book and the final method for meditation in the book says to keep the eyes open, turn the gaze upwards and partially open your mouth. But it never said anything about breathing through the mouth! I can see now from your quote that one should breathe through the mouth and nose. I had spent a few days considering the effects of mouth breathing and I do recall reading a book that solely mouth breathing opens up the space element. So this makes perfect sense to me now. It is also interesting that perhaps breathing through the nose, which is actually using ida and pingala, the two nostril channels, is causing stored karma and extra thoughts to come up. You've saved me some research.. Now I wonder about dissolving the ida and pingala into the central channel through the third eye. I wonder it is easier with mouth breathing or nose breathing.. Hmm.. Something to try.. I also appreciate learning about the connection from the heart to the eyes from this source. The heart is a magical centre, one which allows remote viewing through the eye centre. It must be through that channel, the same one described by some Hindu yogis. It is also so interesting that Dzogchen's luminosity is said to come from the heart. Thanks again for the quote and the mention of the book. I appreciate it. TI

Hi Kirtanman, :0 I just know I'm going to regret this because I don't want to spend hours and hours debating your twisted terms and ridiculous perceptions. But let's start with your declaration that you detected an enlightened person (along with yourself). If you reread the Wayne Wirs thread, do you recall that you declared Wayne 'enlightened' and that it takes an enlightened being (yourself) to recognize this? Here, let me refresh your memory: http://www.aypsite.o...p?TOPIC_ID=6652 Well, lets go see how Wayne is doing.. Hmm.. He dropped all his students because they were sucking his energy off of him, and he blames his students because they want to "add something" and not "let go".. http://waynewirs.com...ormer-students/ From his apology: I've bolded the parts that clearly indicate that Wayne is not enlightened and in no permanent state. And one might ask him/herself, why didn't Wayne just explains to his students that it is not an addition but a subtraction? So, just a little off the mark there in your declaration? What? No clairvoyance or advanced intuition? Actually, realizing rigpa, the primordial consciousness, entails the realization of super powers. It is built in as part of the realization. Once a person realizes the emptiness of appearances, miracles are no problem and become somewhat mundane. Also, according to Alan Wallace, if the person cannot perform some form of miracle then we should dismiss their declaration of enlightenment as nonesense. That is the acid test. So, any time you'd like to prove your realization and manifest some jewels, or transport yourself to my living room, feel free to do so. Wrong. What you are talking about is the substrate consciousness, that which samsara emerges from and dissolves back into. There is something else to realize, rigpa. Then it all becomes clear. You evidently haven't been beyond. Further, if you were enlightened and realized rigpa (were a buddha) then why have you never talked about vividness? It is found in very many Buddhist books. The mind is vivid. According to Alan Wallace, the vividness that one cultivates can be as bright as normal reality, if not brighter. And, this vividness is cultivated by overcoming dullness and laxity of the mind. Why have you never mentioned it? Here is what the book "Vivid Awareness, The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Ganshar by Khenchen Thrangu" says about vividness: Did you catch the part that says "we can see and know many things"? Now, what do you suppose that ability is? Could it be? Direct perception? Direct knowing? Remote viewing? Knowing by not using the 5 senses? A siddhi? And the clarity is vast! Infinite. AND!! Vivid means that is is as if we are actually seeing it. Alan Wallace (and many buddhists writings) talks alot about vividness. He teaches how to increase vividness (which combats laxity and dullness). Doing his practices I have gotten to the point, on a few occasions that my thoughts were as bright and clear as if I was looking at normal reality. This is something that won't ever happen at AYP because AYP's deep meditation is training in laxity. It teaches the mind to become dull and thickens the veils. And I believe the various Buddhists who say that this can actually stilt the intelligence. Why is DM training in laxity? This is due to a misinterpretation by Yogani of Patanjali's last limbs of Yoga and the fact that he has adopted TM (deep meditation) as the tool to promote what he calls "inner silence". Effortlessly releasing the mantra promotes sleep. Cat naps. Dipping into laxity. There is no cultivation of vividness, just diving into laxity. There is no monitoring the mind's state and applying a remedy, as in Buddhist meditations, there is just effortless letting go of the mantra. And where do you suppose the mantra comes from? How can using the mantra in this way promote stillness when it is coming from and disturbing the substrate consciousness? Alan Wallace recommends meditation on awareness of awareness (Padmasambhva) with eyes partially open, as do most Zen practices. The reason is not only to combat sleep but also to get more headroom in the expansion of conscious awareness. From Zen Brain Reflections by James H. Austin, M.D. [line deleted as requested]. If you'd like more information of what actually happened to me at AYP, (not that you care, you are only focused on trying to convince yourself and others that you are enlightened), I would suggest that you read this link: http://thetaobums.co...yama-questions/ TI P.S. Please don't write me a novel. I have better things to do with my time. You had your chance at AYP and you did not convince me there and I doubt if you could convince me now. And, by the way, Adyashanti is not enlightened, nor is Nisargadatta for they have/had no miracles. Adyashanti is confused and Nisargadatta is a sage. Ramamana did have miracles, so he would qualify, but Ramana's self-inquiry is not like Yogani has painted it. Ramana's self inquiry is a form of mindfulness which is to be performed continously, day and night, as much as possible. Constantly. I guess Yogani missed that point too.

Hi Ish, I do not wish to derail Anamatva's thread so I decided to post a new thred. If you have added the root lock to your practice, then surely you have a guru or at least several good books on it. Could you please explain what your practice is and why you have added the root lock? Also, what are your sources? The reason I ask all these questions is because I'm trying to get a better idea of what you are trying to accomplish, why you are trying to accomplish it and whether or not I have any info that might help you. TI

Hi Ish, Are you trying to totally sublimate your sexual essence? Have you given up or finished with the desire to have children? If I were you I would learn more about it because, what is going to happen is that the energy will grow, come up the spine and then blow your head off. Or, you will instantly combust. Or the energy will go up the wrong channel. Or, the energy will just drain out of your body when you aren't mindful. Have you learned about the chin lock, kechari and sambhavi? What I learned is that I can cause the whole root lock by just focusing on the third eye, the spot about 1 inch back from the center of the brows. Then, the body performs the locks all by itself. However, I have heard that just sitting in full lotus (not half) will cause realization in some. You need a guru to give you direction. You need to learn more about it. You also need to assess why you are doing the practice. There are some things that I don't know, for example, does continuing such a practice on a long term basis cause infertility? I would recommend reading "Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati" and "Healing with Form, Energy and Light by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche". Also, "The Bliss of Inner Fire by Lama Yeshe" is a good book, but doesn't address exactly how to get enlightened by practising tummo. Or not. My main objective is not to live in ecstasy, but to discover the true meaning of life by examining the mind. Perhaps you have different aspirations. TI

Hi Anamatva, You are welcome and much appreciated. Glad you had a great time. TI

Hi K You are posing some very hard questions. But I will take a shot at it. Buddha originated the correct view. Perhaps it needs to be pointed to because the view comes from beyond the conceptual mind. I don't think you can teach emptiness because it will only foster an intellectual understanding of the term. In my mind, you have to truly believe that the wall is empty before you walk through it, and true belief cannot be taught. I guess that is what the Buddhists are trying to do as well as every other spritual organization and person in the world. However, we have to be careful not to be drawn into a battle of words, concepts and interpretations. If everyone in the world had one language, one culture then it would be very simple. But, that is not the case. If everyone in the world could shut off their conceptual mind and peer through the veils, then maybe we wouldn't have to teach anyone anything and argue about Truth vs Emptiness vs Tao vs... To me, The Taoists' Tao is the Buddhists' Emptiness is the Christians' God. Each one is their own correct view. They all manifest in a myriad of forms and it is the conceptual mind which, through grasping, produces the plethora of essences and scents that make up the wonderful flower garden of the world that we live in. But really, there is only one flower, and we, as the human race, keep the garden well fertilized. TI

Hi, This is from Alan Wallace's pod cast from the "Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat". 91 Final Afternoon Session: The History and Development of Buddhism If you would like to hear the talk for yourself, see this link. It also contains a meditative walkthrough of the various practices taught on the retreat. http://podcasts.sbinstitute.com/spring2011/?p=208 TI I apologize for any misspellings or missed words during my transcription (above) of this section of the talk.