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Yes, it does not belong to any 'one' as there is no 'one' - there is no self apart from the process of volition, ripening, etc. Agree. There is causal continuity, but the sense of 'something continuing' is a mere mental fabrication based on recalling and fabricating a 'someone'. What arises this moment is neither the same nor different from a previous and is 'linked' only by the causal chain. From waking to dream is also a causal continuity... it is part of the process... our waking life affects our dream, for example. Only due to comparison that we think there is some sort of discontinuity or that upon waking up we somehow 'continue our lives' while actually 'life' includes our dreaming and deep sleep as well and should be seen as a seamless process, not just the waking state. In reality there is just change and evolving experience but no 'changing things'... each moment is complete and whole as it is with supporting conditions. From waking to dreaming to deep sleep, the cycles go on and no state is more ultimate than another. Each state arises as it has to according to conditions and the process rolls on.

What is potential? It means what manifests is empty - and therefore there is always the potential to change and manifest different experiences. However there is no 'the inherent potential/source' or 'the ultimate unmanifest which manifests things'. The unmanifest simply means emptiness - unestablished, and furthermore is simply the nature of the manifest (form is emptiness, emptiness is form) instead of some inherent essence, then I accept what you say. If however by 'the unmanifest' you mean an ultimate source behind experience, then I do not agree with you. There is no cosmic mind or shared potential behind all things... the only thing which all things share is their empty nature, which allows for change and infinite potential. By that I do not mean 'a great void in which things arise and subside from/to' - by emptiness I mean the non-inherent, unlocatable, ungraspable, D.O. nature of all arisings. p.s. why the notion of a 'Source' no longer apply after insight of Anatta is this... as I wrote yesterday: When we talk about the nature of reality, many of us think of a Source. What source? An ultimate source, an ultimate awareness that displays or manifests everything. In our mind, we picture awareness like an eternal sun shining on the passing clouds in the sky... the eternal sun is primordially untainted, pure, unaffected by the passing/transient stuff, yet it is also the source of all the manifestations/transient stuff. We picture a Source 'illuminating' and 'manifesting' things... We think of Awareness as an agent 'perceiving' and 'illuminating' objects... this can certainly appear to be the case even after transcendental experiences of I AM and Non-Dual, with the 'view of inherency' still strong. However the insight of Anatta removes the notion of an agent or source... why is this so? Anatta means this... in hearing, there is no hearer... there is simply the self-accomplishing process of hearing which is really the experience of sound, music, changing moment to moment, arising according to conditions. In seeing, there is no seer... it is simply a self-accomplishing process of seeing which is is simply the experience of sight, the shapes and colours, changing moment to moment, arising according to conditions. In thinking, there is no thinker or controller of thought... there is simply the self-accomplishing process of thinking which is thought, changing moment to moment, arising according to latent tendencies and other supporting conditions. So if there is no agent, no source, no ultimate Awareness - only awareness/hearing/thinking as a process of manifestation... this is not a denial of awareness, hearing, seeing, perceiving, but a denial of awareness/perceiving/etc as an 'agent' of experience - it is simply a process of experiencing without experiencer. If this is the case, is there a primordially pure Awareness? The answer is this... Awareness is simply the self-luminous appearance, and this self-luminous appearance is ultimately empty, unborn, and primordially pure. This arising sound... this arising sight... scent... thought.... This is it. It is not about the transient clouds obscuring or tainting the primordially pure sun and then trying to remove all the clouds to get back to that pure sun... rather, it is that, the passing cloud seen as it is, is primordially pure, empty, self-luminous and spontaneously perfected. And yet... undeniably, ignorance arise and we experience apparent duality and inherency where none can be found... this false view of reality is the cause of all our grasping and sufferings and problems. Yet the cause of liberation is not found by shunning the transience or sinking back into a Source... it is not about a 'freedom from appearance' or even a 'freedom despite appearance'... appearance is primordially pure! This appearance (seen rightly) alone is self-liberating! It is about a shift in view/paradigm... a shift from duality and inherency to a non-dual, non-inherent viewless view of transience. Liberation is thus not about abiding in an unborn ultimate essence... but seeing all appearances as luminous, empty, unborn, primordially pure and spontaneously perfected. Dzogchen master Longchenpa: ...All phenomena are primordially pure and enlightened, so it is unborn and unceasing, inconceivable and inexpressible. In the ultimate sphere purity and impurity are naturally pure and phenomena are the great equal perfection, free from conception. Since there is no bondage and liberation, there is no going, coming or dwelling. Appearance and emptiness are conventions, apprehended and apprehender are like maya (a magical apparition). The happiness and suffering of samsara and nirvana are like good and bad dreams. From the very moment of appearing, its nature is free from elaboration. From it (the state of freedom from elaboration), the very interdependent causation of the great arising and cessation appears like a dream, maya, an optical illusion, a city of the gandharvas an echo, and a reflection, having no reality. All the events such as arising, etc., Are in their true nature unborn. So they will never cease nor undergo any changes in the three periods of time. They did not come from anywhere and they did not go anywhere. They will not stay anywhere: they are like a dream and maya. A foolish person is attached to phenomena as true, and apprehends them as gross material phenomena, "i" and "self," whereas they are like a maya-girl who disappears when touched. They are not true because they are deceiving and act only in appearance. The spheres of the six realms of beings and the pure lands of the buddhas, also are not aggregations of atoms, but merely the self-appearances of beings’ minds. For example, in a dream buddhas and sentient beings appear as real, endowed with inconceivable properties. However, when one awakens, they were just a momentary object of the mind. In the same way should be understood all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana. There is no separate emptiness apart from apparent phenomena. It is like fire and heat, the qualities of fire. The notion of their distinctness is a division made by mind. Water and the moon’s reflection in water are indivisibly one in the pool. Likewise, appearances and emptiness are one in the great dharmata. These appearances are unborn from the beginning, and they are the dharmakaya. They are like reflections, naturally unstained and pure. The mind’s fabricating their existence or nonexistence is an illusion, So do not conceptualize whatever appearances arise...

Recently there was some good discussion on OBE and astral travel, and Seth posted about very good free ebook at obe4u.com with good methods. I found a really good article by a Tibetan teacher which talks about dream yoga, the purpose, how the dream state is very effective for dealing with psychological problems and spiritual practice, the steps or stages of dream yoga, and the eventual goal. I think everyone will find this not only interesting but fruitful, whether Taoist, Buddhist, Hindu, or whatever. http://www.spiritwatch.ca/abuddhis.htm A Buddhist Perspective on Lucid Dreaming excerpt:

fiveelementtao Thank you for all your commentaries. Im getting really good advices from some pleople in this forum. Im very glad that some people has sent sent me messages about my topic saying they also had problems with Chia's exercises and asking for help. Im trying to do my best in telling my history to him, and explain in a way that can help them. Of course Im not acting like a healer, what I can do is just tell what happened and have a sick person - to - sick personn talk. Im having talks about acupuntur and some other therapeutical methods of cure with some guys who have also get sick like me, very nice. The last months of my life has been a dark period and I dont intend to waste my energy in useless discussions. But I really intend to use at least a little of my time to try help people who are in the same situation as me and WARN the unwary new practicioners. So I will teel what I did for getting better: 1 - 20 sessions of acupuntur and moxa sealed my sphincter again. So now Im having 1 wet dream per week, wich seems to be normal in my age (23), and also considering the fact that Im single, have no sex, and no masturbation. 2 - Some walk/run can help to calm down the energy. I recomend to do it with a friend in case of something happens. Thats my opinion, a healer can discourage it, but it helped me. 3 - A budhist monk, (who recently reached the most advanced level in buddhist hierarchy) told me to STOP WITH all exercises including Chi Kung. I think what I need now is to calm down the energy and not to risk agitating it more and more. Of course having a master is a secure way to practice, depending of what he tells you to do. I dont have a master, so... 4 - Floral medicines can help calming down the energy. Im not talking about chinese herbs, its about Florals, like the Bach ones. 5 - Something I learned in these 2 last months. Our better, wiser and most friendly master is our own body. He knows everything, he will adjust the energy by itself, cure the wounds and bring thins to normality, like he always do when we get a wound by cutting the skin, you sleep, and in the next day the wound is closed. So listen to your body. Give him some time. If I had done it and had stopped when the first symptoms appeared I would not be sick now. People please, feel free to send me messages about that all. Best wishes for all.

Two things come to mind after reading the original post. First, reading between the lines I'm presuming that you're relatively young (20's). What did you want to do for a living growing up? What are your interests, hobbies? I'm probably old enough to be your father and my advice would be to make damn good and sure that you haven't given up on your dreams. The last thing you want is to wake up some day 30 years from now and regret not doing the thing you really wanted to do. Of course you have to be realistic, but take an honest, thorough look at your dream job/situation and break down what you need in terms of education etc. You owe it to yourself to give it a try if at all possible. Secondly, you mentioned some health issues. Take care of those before you do anything drastic like signing your life away to Uncle Sam. It's hard to make solid, rational decisions when you are feeling crappy. Get yourself feeling better and find time for stillness. Best of luck.

Sorry to add confusion to the post by being the second "Walker" in here... Might need to change my name some day or other. Anyway... Having been in China for some time now I have to say that, "as much as you want," has never been an answer to this question that I have come across from those involved in Daoist or Buddhist cultivation, nor TCM. As I also grew up in the West I am well aware that many people will think that there is a guilt issue implied by your question, but my observation in China is that this topic is a normal part of discussions about health and does not carry the baggage (or at least the same baggage) that it does in the West. For men in their twenties, I have heard figures ranging from once a week to Starjumpers once a day. As he pointed out, the state of your health (plus diet, mental and emotional habits, sleep habits, stress levels, exercise routine, energy practices etc.) mean this figure is different for everybody. I have heard doctors recommend tapering things off as one ages, while others say one can keep going at once a week until sixty. In terms of wet dreams, these seem to generally be viewed in TCM as a sign of ill health in all but adolescent males if they happen more than once a month and if they are accompanied by sexual dreams. Yes, the accompanyment of a nocturnal emission with a sexual dream is indeed considered pathological in my standard, latest-edition Chinese government-issue TCM textbook, and I have heard the same thing strongly emphasized by a qigong doctor I knew when I was living in Beijing. For her part, she believed a healthy man in his twenties should lose a small amount of his semen in sleep once every two months or so, dreamlessly. She does not represent the Chinese Ministry of Education line and learned her qigong from a Buddhist master in Northeast China. Other docs and cultivators I know have more or less echoed her thoughts, but the thing about TCM and cultivation is that nothing is written in stone, disagreement abounds, and everything is flexible (因人而异）. Some people once a month? Okay. Some people once every three months? Okay. Some people dream about sex and then ejaculate? I'm sure you'll be able to find talented doctors who say that's perfectly normal. TCM is simply this way. However, I don't think that you'll find a TCM doc who will tell you that two wet dreams a week is healthy. I offer one caveat though, which is that I have heard that if you are a practicing cultivator who lacks the ability to circulate jing, then some methods can cause your sexual energy to increase and thus your wet dreams to become more frequent, even as your health is generally improving due to practice. This means that a cultivator passing through a stage of frequent wet dreams is not in the same boat as a sickly fellow whose qi lacks the strength to hold the bodily fluids within. To determine what is the cause of your condition, you will likely need to find a talented, experienced, old-school TCM doc. He or she will look at the entire state of your body and mind in addition to your symptoms in order to obtain a diagnosis and, if necessary initiate a treatment regimen (辨证论治). Offering this kind of diagnosis cannot be done over the internet except for by the most truly exceptional of healers, and I add that I have never heard it said in China that young people should not use herbal medicine. Your age and your body are two different things. If you are sick then you do what you need to do to heal. Let a doctor with experience helping people decide what is the best route for you. Since this is a forum whose name refers to Daoism, it is worth stating that it is a mainstream perspective here that practicing real moderation both in terms of your desire and your ejaculation is a normal part of the advice given to those who wish to be conscious about their health. For example, in a book recently-printed book entitled Wudang Internal Alchemy Daoism and the Study of Health Maintenance, the author quotes China's legendary Daoist doctor Sun Simiao's take. He gives a short list of advice for those who aspire to live in to their hundreds, and practicing sexual moderation is right up there. If you are interested and I have the time I could translate this brief passage. It presents a perspective that is not at all unusual. The author himself is a teacher of meditation, martial arts, and health maintenance (养生) methods he learned on Wudang to heal his own body of illness. He still teaches and maintains close contact with monk-doctors. When I met him he struck me as both a healthy and a learned individual. So it is not just Sun Simiao talking this way hundreds of years ago, but the modern-day inheritors of this tradition as well. The doctors and teachers I know out here, in Daoism, Buddhism, and TCM, would probably all balk at, "as much as you want, dude," "twice a day," etc (but they'd tell you not to be neurotic, either!). Does that mean that the other people who posted here are wrong? I don't know. But I think it's fair to give you this perspective. My observations on the topic. I devoted a huge amount of energy to learning Chinese in a short period of time, and am now studying TCM at an even higher level of rigor. This means I have lived a relatively regimented life over the last three years with a simple pattern of behavior. Doing more or less the same thing most days while also keeping up regular sitting and moving practice has given me the chance to observe how ejaculation affects my mind and body. I have noticed that following ejaculation for as long as three days it is indeed harder to focus my mind, and that I am slightly more prone to moodiness and lethargy. As to reducing ejaculation, other than keeping "once a week" loosely in mind, especially when single, I never concerned myself too much with it. Cultivation slowly diminished my desire to have sex without being in love, and also when my sitting meditation made a level of progress about eight months ago my desire to masturbate evaporated. So, while this is a worthwhile issue to ask about, it seems not to be necessary to try and constrain yourself with great strictness. Focusing on other aspects of cultivation with sincerity, doing your best, observing your body and mind, and having a light heart are probably enough. Changes will take place in their due time. It was put to me when I first started learning Daoist qigong and meditation that when the body gets a taste of health, it likes the taste, and naturally moves you in that direction. I have found this to be true, meaning that I have shed great numbers of very unhealthy habits in recent years and rarely with the outright intent to do so. I believe that in Western medicine it is currently held by many doctors that if you ejaculate both in masturbation and sex, then the cause is more likely physiological than psychological. Only prematurely ejaculating with a partner is then attributed to pure psychological causes. Western docs would likely give you an SSRI to treat this problem, but be careful of that route. There is now a syndrome called something like "post-SSRI sexual dysfunction syndrome" or the like, which can be found on Wikipedia and elsewhere. The drugs may make your problem worse, or create new trouble. Last thing: I have heard it from multiple sources that lovemaking (when there is true love) and regular old sex have very different effects on the qi. The former can be tonifying. The latter is always treated as depleting. Good luck with your health, and especially with finding a good TCM doc. There are a lot of poorly trained ones out there now. Don't be afraid to ask around and shop around. Checking for recommendations from local taiji teachers, Chinese herbal pharmacies, Chinese community centers (especially if they've got old folks, the elderly Chinese pay great attention to their health!) and so forth can help you find out who's got a good rep.

Hello everyone! I know I have been away for a while! But I just have been feeling a bit odd lately and I am not sure what it is, why I feel this way, or how to feel better. I was hoping some of you have felt this way or have ideas on how to deal with it. With pushes from my old ROTC instructors, parents, my boyfriend, and life in general I have been forced to think a lot more about my future plans. I have been working and attending classes everyday for a while now and I am feeling odd. I have been a lot more internal and a lot more on edge. I lost almost all trust in others and I have been mentally all over the place. I have been sick with pneumonia, bronchitis, and whooping cough for a month, and I have tried many different treatments so far but none have any effect. I feel as though I am in this dream and that I can only be free from the dream if I sleep. The best way I can describe it is like I am inside a ball and my body is spread all over the inside of the ball like a flat pancake. My seams are stretching, almost ripped and little bits of thought are slipping through. My emotions are spinning with the ball and my brain is repelled from my heart like a magnet. I never stop moving. Now I am having to try and figure out whether I want to pursue my career in the military, go to the university, or be a stay at home mom. It is a decision I feel should not be made when I am in such an odd mood. Has anyone ever felt this way? p.s. Sorry if it makes no sense, it's hard to explain.

It really has nothing to do with Robert Bruce. I am just saying how come everyone is a kundalini master while claiming such minor things like "awareness" or some minor chakra activity?? Shit, according to the low bar set for kundalini, even my hamster has raised kundalini The kundalini concept is so watered down, it means nothing. The worst I have heard "Oh I had a dream about a snake, therefore I have raised kundalini" LOLLLLLLL

Biopiracy - the Plunder of Nature and Knowledge -- Vandana Shiva The Heart of Understanding - Thich Nhat Hanh Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick

agreed with all that has been said before, but if you wish to to retain you should be able to do it without having a wet dream every 4 days. Consider going to a chinese doctor to see if your yin is a bit weak. You might strengthen it with diet (fish, for example). Just little tweaks, no need to worry. Beside at your age is better not to take herbs, as this would take away their strengthen when you are older and really need them.

Just thought I would post this. It's from Raduga's ebook. I really don't get why he advertises through sexual marketing like that because with his writing style, he needs to advertise to much more intelligent people. I really enjoy his matter of fact writing style. This is from the beginning of the book and lays down the scheme of it. His writing appeals to an analytical mind like mine, so I'm enjoying it and looking forward to putting it into practice. ALGORITHM FOR MASTERING THE PHASE A novice practitioner must understand the procedure for learning and mastering phase entry. This procedure consists of several primary steps, each of which is a unique science unto itself. 1. The first and most important step addresses the techniques used to enter the phase state. It is not necessary to master every type of entrance technique (direct, indirect, dream consciousness). Learning and applying the easiest techniques provides the necessary prerequisites to more advanced methods. If so desired, it is possible to try more difficult entrance techniques in parallel with the moving on to the subsequent steps for mastering the phase. 2. Contrary to popular opinion, the need for conscious techniques does not cease upon phase entrance. It is absolutely necessary to learn and apply methods for deepening the phase to achieve a consistently hyper-realistic environment. Failing to apply deepening techniques almost guarantees that experiences will be dull, uninteresting, and subsequent practice short-lived. Practitioners should immediately learn and apply deepening techniques after mastering any one entrance method. 3. The third step involves mastering techniques for maintaining the phase, as without them the average person would have phase experiences of much shorter duration than is possible. When in the phase, the question of how to leave it almost never occurs. On the contrary, one is normally thrust from it in the course of several seconds if one simply does nothing. 4. After learning all the necessary techniques for mastering the phase state, it is time to learn and apply methods of control, which encompass the ability to translocate, find and interact with objects, influence surroundings, and so forth. 5. Once the previously noted steps have been accomplished, a practitioner may proceed to apply phase experiences to enhance everyday life. Over the course of this guidebook, we will examine dozens of these valuable applications in great detail.

For the most part I believe waking and sleeping is the same effort, so I confuse myself by asking about mixing sleeping and waking. Thought I was talking nonsense as I wrote it, and I still think so, but they were the words I wanted to write! As I reflect on this, I realize that maybe the same effort that's involved in waking and sleeping can be a part of dreaming. We realize the place as the place is what is, single-pointed yet inclusive past what can be known. If we see our hands, or travel out of body, the effort is still only this?- my guess, since I can't claim to have done either. Just the occasional lucid dream. Sweet dreams!

Snot runs. Zendo still. Ripples from a waking dream. Pile of stones at feet.

Quite often A lucid dream IS an OBE in a real time zone if one projects out with memory. There is very little difference within astral concepts. Point remains: survivability.

I understand what you are saying, but a real time zone OBE is totally different than a lucid dream. EDIT: Astral Dynamics covers both.

The point is Not: how to get there - we all do that each night in the dream state - the point is how to survive there, in the mentaly conscious mode, within the enviornment of your own mind. As a primer I would suggest you go to see the movie Inception so that you would at least have a small Idea of what the guardian of the Gates is... http://inceptionmovie.warnerbros.com/dvd/

Im not trying retention. I just have a wet dream of twice every week. Thats my total ejaculation count every week. (No sex). Im 23. What is the count for having a health sexual life until I get very old?

I haven't actually read a book for a number of years, not a single book, and the last book I read was a fantasy book called Mipham, the first Tibetan novel and that was in 2007. Before that I read a number of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche books, while practicing and having incredible awakening experiences while walking the streets of Manhattan after my transmission from him in 04'. Having various lucid dream experiences with him or other Tibetan Masters including the Dalai Lama who I never felt connected to before my transmission from Namkhai Norbu. These experiences were clarifying the view of Buddhism, as well as spontaneous occurrences of serendipity in all sorts of places around NYC, revealing the subtlety of dependent origination/emptiness. All the while I was learning how to do the various terma practices taught by Namkhai Norbu involving visualization, mantra and mudra, as I was used to just doing relatively easy bhakti chanting, in the traditional Namasankirtana style of Hinduism, as well as Swadyaya chanting of Hindu Gitas which is quite simple in comparison. The Buddhist Vajrayana and Dzogchen practices are more engaging, involving more focus from the individual who is doing the practice. The Yantra Yoga is also more refined than traditional forms of Hatha Yoga, both Iyangar derivatives and Ashtanga derivatives, as the postures are conjoined with particular breathing exercises as in pranayama is performed during the flow of yogic movements that is very specific as far as where to place the inbreath and outbreath as well as the different breath holds in line with particular postures and some involve particular visualizations for specific results. All in all the practices of Vajrayana and Dzogchen are very clean, not messy and very specific in intentionality and require more engaging energy from the practitioner than most forms of Indian Yogic practice derived from Vedic understanding. Of which I still enjoy doing though. Sometimes I still go to Hindu Kirtans and practice Hatha Yoga and enjoy it. During my first meeting with Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche in 04', I experienced so many visions and spontaneous surges of a variety of different levels of energy going through different rapture states and correlating realizations as well as visions of the 6 realms and 31 planes of existence and their meaning both mundane and super-mundane. These experiences re-contextualized my previous experiences doing heavy practice in a kundalini tantra tradition and brought a different kind of clarity to these experiences I had previous to my Dzogchen transmission. As well I was having clarity of vision with correlating psychic phenomena revealing information that contradicted my previous understanding based upon Eternalistic interpretations of reality and meditative experiences that supported the Eternalist view during my years as a Shaivite Yogi. Basically, all my previous assumptions based upon supposedly deep level Kundalini Yoga experiences were being contradicted and re-contextualized, and completely re-understood. My whole mind and brain was going through changes. So I read books by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, the person who gave me transmission. So, your truths that you seem to think are real, are really a figment of your imagination. I have ideas of why this happened for you, but I won't share these ideas as I think it's up to you to figure out why for yourself. If you were to sit in practice with me, during my Dzogchen "Tun" or in a group session, lets say a "Ganapuja" or "Chod"... you would change your mind. You think, much like ralis, that you are being intuitive, but your really showing how deep subjective thinking and feeling clouds intuition or actually is the experience of intuition, as there is no inherent "intuition" really, just causes and conditions within the many dimensions as mind. This is a good and humbling insight. I have friends that tell me, "you should be a psychic for hire and make money with it." Or... "You should read auras and tell people their past lives." Because these things spontaneously happen for me. I've read peoples minds, sure, and told them what I read and I'm not talking about general things, but specific things that these people said in their minds with reactions from these people, sometimes in shock, "that's exactly what I was thinking, word for word." But, I am not sure about the validity of any of these things because I understand how deep subjectivity goes within an individual, as well as inter-subjectivity within a group of karmically connected individuals. What people call intuition, is generally just deep subconscious conditioning based upon lifetimes of habit patterning both individually and in groups, as well as left overs from lives as an animal running in a pack. I hope this information was clear enough and not misunderstood. Life is actually pretty complicated in all it's expressions, and sometimes it takes some unpacking of detail to get to the heart of things. Theists say, "God is in the details." Well... for a Buddhist, "Buddhahood is in the details." p.s. I probably should apply more energy to my private practice at home than I do here. Even though I consider all things and every aspect of my day as part of the practice.

In yogic path it is said that in dreams it is important to be able to hold values as in waking reality.Not doing anything you wouldnt do awake. That is one of the basic levels to be mastered .This also includes working on your personality and developing more understanding and forgiving and loving personality on a very deep level too. Get over self-sabotaging mechanisams. Than mind becomes clear and other dimensions than this earthly one start reveleaing naturally and it is possible to see what is imagined and what not.And here is where a lot of more esoteric teaching from teacher begins becouse the ground is prepared. As I was on yogic path for over 10 years in past that is what I have heard and no I havent been thought by a earthly teacher how to dream. Some Sufi schools deal with dreamwork a lot and will teach in a very specific way.Becouse it is similar with Yogis about turning sleep into being aware non stop.

So I came across a post in another thread which I found rather interesting: I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this method, what it entails, or how the mechanisms behind it work. Is it akin to learning lucid dreaming, in which you distinguish between reality and the dream state, so you know your dreaming, except in this case you can distinguish between things that are real and things that are not when you meditate? Something else? Anyone who has any insights, it'd be great to hear from you!

Apparently Castaneda brings up some deep emotions in people; pro and con. I guess my final thought is this - the series of books, I don't believe, was ever intended for anyone to take the events literally. At the first of the series, Carlos makes it clear that don Juan Mateus was not a real person, and this was a made-up name. To the best of my recollection without going back and getting my old books out, Carlos was never shy about telling us these things happened in a separate reality. One of the books, in fact, was titled A Separate Reality. This is merely the realm of lucid dreaming, which many on this site are capable of doing, if we are to believe what our friends say. Don Juan, the fictional character, was probably a compilation of many sources of the Toltec wisdom; the important thing is that it's getting passed down. However, to say these things didn't happen, just because they didn't happen in this particular sphere or reality, isn't quite right. They did happen in a parallel and separate reality. This was the reality that Carlos first found through use of hallucinogens and later without the need for them. don Juan had gotten to the point, as a nagual, that he was capable of including Carlos in his dreams with Carlos' awareness. They had a twin experience. We know that we can go out of body; no doubt everyone here has their own method for journeying. East and West share these teachings. And we also know that one who can manipulate his dreams can also develop the skill of including others in the lucid dream. But the underlying path to self realization is contained within the series of books. Here are a few of the concepts that come to mind; there are probably others that I'm not thinking of at the moment. These concepts are all vital for self-realization or self-awareness. KNOCK OFF THE INTERNAL DIALOG. This was a constant and recurrent theme in the books. It's one we discuss often on this website. The volley of words that stream between our ears at any given moment, our consciousness, is the very thing that don Juan repeatedly had to instruct Carlos about. This must be stopped for any Truth to get through. This goes to stopping the judgments, the superstitions, the bad words we silently say when someone cuts us off in traffic. This was a huge requirement in his shamanic instruction. It doesn't differ from any other road to self-awareness that I can see. And this, of course, is what meditation is all about. LOSE THE SELF-IMPORTANCE This is huge. It means finding a way to push ego out of the way and not let it control us, our actions, our words. Carlos had a lot of losing of his self-identity (anthropoligist) to do; he came to don Juan (or whomever)full of himself and sure of his tight-as-a-wound-spring left brain mental capacities. Those were the very things that were getting in the way of Carlos' development; the old identity and the pride that went along with it. Carlos lost his up-tight identity in a pretty big way during the first book or two when he was ingesting copious quantities of hallucinogens at the beginning of his quest. But not only did the hallucinations aid him in seeing the separate reality of don Juan's creation, but they must have gone a long way in tamping down his ego. After all, how cool can you think you are when you come to in the desert repeatedly, often with bodily secretions present and accounted for. I almost felt Carlos' pain during the gradual death of his ego, which was a slow and painful death. THE RECAPITULATION OF A LIFE This is huge too. Having been in a recovery program for a long time, I personally know the power of taking one's own inventory. don Juan had him remember all the way back through his life - writing everything he could think of as to his behavior in every situation. This process took years for Carlos to complete. Periodically he would mention working on it throughout the series. The Carlos that started writing the series in the 60's was not the same Carlos that finished the series in the 80's. He had become a self-realized man, a self-aware man. LOSING THE SUPERSTITION OF RELIGION I remember reading one mention, and one mention only, where don Juan responds to something dumb Carlos said (as usual) about some Catholic religious practice, and don Juan's reply was "That's idiotic. There is no God." I was a little surprised that it wasn't more predominant as a theme throughout the books. But it wasn't. It was only there once. But the loss of structure was the very thing that Carlos had to lose. Apparently he did. AWAKENING THE RIGHT BRAIN Carlos was all left brain before his apprenticeship. It was through the lucid dreaming and the hallucinogens that his right brain was activated; he began inhabiting a world where Newtonian physics were not the operative thing. Once the connection was established by repetition with the hallucinogens (and the discussions with don Juan or whomever) the hallucinogens were no longer required for extended stays in the separate reality. He was able to do it with Intent within the realm of his lucid dreams. And he learned how to manipulate his lucid dreams; how to break off of one lucid dream into another, and into another; then to return in reverse through each lucid dream bubble. It took years for Carlos to be able to do this. Heck, it took years for him to be able to see his hands in his dreams. But once he broke through that thick left brain, he was able to do it. As to Tensegrity, I wish I had something to offer here. I was not motivated to learn the so-called magical passes. First of all, I hate the name. And I don't think passes are magical. I don't think any one QiGong is the only way, either. I think everyone has to find their own way of dealing with this sexual earth energy in any way that they can. That's my opinion now. I've read and tried so many different magical ways of moving one's hands and moving the energy! I do have my own way now, but it's what comes up in my mind's eye when I'm doing something that requires the earth magic. I've come to the conclusion that They're All Good! What the variable is, is how prepared we are internally to move the energy. If we have been earnest in removing every blockage we can find that affects our mental attitude, our energy flow, our inner dialog, then once you've emptied yourself out, stilled the mind, stilled the body, and allowed the energy to enter your channels, the next step is to plant the seed of high Intent. Energy follows Thought. I think that's really all we have to know. Anything physical beyond that is certainly beneficial for the healing or the ceremony or the mindset of the person in the circle; but it's almost a trapping, as I see it. Actually, although I don't like the name, Tensegrity must be a cross between 'tension' and 'integrity'. Using that line of logic, perhaps Tensegrity started out more purely when it was first Intended. Maybe it emphasized losing the things that needed to be lost (as discussed above) Things have a way of losing their essense, just like a row of kids sitting on a bench playing the telephone game.

I think what hurts us is not so much the focus on karma, but a really simplistic and wishful-thinking revenge-fantasies based karma. But, what's easier: to get people to develop a more realistic view, or to get people to drop the whole issue altogether? It may be easier to drop the issue of karma altogether as an expedient means. However, people still want to have a sense that their practice and life is not wasted, that in the next life, they'll be less stupid and better off than in this one. How can we support this narrative of improvement and continuation? Also, many people are uncomfortable that evil people get away with their evil without punishment. That's where the transcendent karma concept comes from. So if you want to get rid of the transcendent karma concept, you have to speak to all those concerns satisfactorily. The key word is "satisfactorily" as opposed to say, dismissively. In my opinion, the easier option in this case is not a better option. I think our ideas about karma are idiotic for the most part, especially when we think of concrete ways of how karma might manifest. But the idea of a mood is not a bad one I think. If you don't like the idea of a mood, why don't you like it? Can you explain it? I notice that there is definitely continuation between my day awareness and my dream awareness. If I am agitated during the day, my dreams can become agitated too. If I am peaceful during the day, my dreams tend to be peaceful. I notice that the mood has a continuation. To me that's a beneficial knowledge. I don't consider myself to be chained to my past. No way. All of my being is ready to change at any moment. But if I don't actively intend to change, what happens? Inertia. Inertia is intentional and meaningful too. So there is no bondage and neither myself nor Buddha believed in permanent accumulations of any kind. Buddha believed that karma was flexible and fluid and you could alter it significantly in one life. Karma is intent and the only limit to altering intent is one's beliefs. So I think for people with enlightened and examined beliefs, there is a possibility of fast change. For people with dogmatic and inflexible beliefs which result from lack of examination, there is a lesser possibility of change. But all in all the possibility for change is huge.

Yes, they are revealing deviations. But most people have these deviations, including me, though less and less over the years! So, this type of stuff will happen at first, but when you do the training in yantra yoga, dream yoga, deepen meditation, mudra, mantra, visualization, etc. the energy will integrate and start to travel clearly through the channels, and the experience will be that of a calm and integrated bliss, rather than a powerful rush of alien seeming energy through the system.

Ah... excellent! My Rinpoche's book! Yes, what Scotty said is relevant... try to relax into the experience, let go into it. The body arching, or spinal movement is natural when the winds start flowing through it. You are experiencing the power of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoches dream practice Terma or treasures. I've experienced exactly what you are describing, both in and out of bed. The practice is very good, it's a genuine practice and you should start waking up in your dream space eventually.

Hi guys, I recently bought the book Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light. Great book by the way. Well I have a question about something that happened to me. Last night I was lying on my back visualizing a letter "A" on my heart chakra that was glowing white light. I felt my self going through depths of consciousness and I got to this one point to where my back arched and my chest puffed out. The more intense I visualized the white light glowing from my heart the more my chest would bring me upward and forward. I got to where the point to where my torso was arched and forward as much as it could go and then my body was shaking intensely. I am 100% sure this was physical and not like some astral body event as I could still feel my bed against my body. Can someone explain what was happening here?