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Dear Dao Bums, I'd like to hear your experiences with "the third ear". The third eye is well known and discussed in buddhism, hinduism, sufism, daoism and many other spiritual systems. However, the third ear is not discussed as much. This post will be in 4 parts: 1) My own personal experiences 2) Personal experiences from trusted friend & family member 3) What I've heard about cultivating the third ear 4) Questions for you 1) My own personal experiences When I was a child, every night when I would go to bed, I would hear an indiscernible whisper in my right ear. I could never make out what they were saying, but it was like someone talking to me. This happened often when I was between 4 and 12 years of age. When I was about 12 years old I got scared of it. I asked my father about it, and he told me to pray to God for help. After that it stopped completely and never came back. When I was in my late twenties and on a week-long intensive qigong retreat, we did a sitting meditation where you plug your ears with your fingers. It was agonizing for the shoulders to hold your hand up for so long, we probably did it for 15-30 minutes. Just at the 28-29th minute (at least just before the teacher signaled to stop) I suddenly heard the most beautiful voices chanting what sounded like Qur'an or Dhikr (sufi mantras). At that point I had been doing sufi meditation & mantras daily quite intensely for about 1 year or so. It was mesmerizing, in no way scary, but just beautiful beyond belief. I asked my teacher about he, he just said "okay, that's good". Nothing else. Typical Chinese-style answer. About one year later I decided I wanted to try again. I recited a particular dhikr (mantra of the name of God in sufism) daily, and I thought I would continue until I heard the beautiful recitation again. After a couple of days, one evening a loud voice suddenly called out my first name in my right ear. I went into the next room where some of my family members were and said "yes?" they just looked perplexed. I said "you called me?" - "no, we didn't call you". I was surprised and said "okay, I must have heard wrong" and went to refill my tea. I went back to my dhikr, then it happened again, I heard someone say my name in my right ear. Then I realized it was a spiritual being talking to me! But then again I became scared, because I couldn't see anyone, nor feel the presence of anything. So I didn't know if it was a good or bad Being. I said some protective verses, then resumed the dhikr. Nothing happened further during that session. That night when I went to bed, it happened again, a voice spoke clearly and loudly in my ear, saying my first name. It came suddenly out of nowhere and startled and scared me, so I got up, said some protective verses from the Qur'an and went to sleep. After that I decided I wasn't yet ready for this. After I stopped the daily dhikr, it was maybe one or two times it happened again in the following days (someone called out my name in my right ear), then it stopped. 2) Personal experiences from trusted friend I have a close friend and family member who's been deep in hindu style sadhana (spiritual practice) for decades and has had 2 very close indian gurus for many decades. After returning from 1 month sadhana in India and going about his daily business, during a business meeting with a business partner, suddenly a voice in his right ear said "ask him about his little brother". After he did that, the business partner broke down in tears, because something had happened unexpectedly. This deepened their personal relation, and my friend could help console him and assist with his problem. 3) What I've heard about cultivating the third ear I've heard many things in each tradition I've studied in, so let me share a bit about each. 3.1) Sufism "sami'na wa ata'na" (line from a verse from the Qur'an called "amana rasulu" which is the last part of Surah Baqara) It means "I listen, I obey". This is alluded by Naqsbandi sufis to be a reference to a particular state of development of the soul in sufism. After you've submitted to your teacher and completed the practices given, at some point while you're in retreat, you'll be receiving instruction directly from your shaykh (guru) in your right ear as a command. Then you must do as commanded. If you complete all instructions given no matter what, you'll pass through this state and ascend to the next state. It's mostly dependent on the barakah (blessing) transmitted from the shaykh to the student, but certain dhikrs, du'a and verses can also be used for opening it. After that state, for the rest of your life, when you receive a command in your right ear, you must always complete it to the 'T' in order to maintain your spiritual station and continue your spiritual progression. The above is the sufi lineage way to do it. Another way mostly employed in Pakistan is very similar to Hinduism (as you'll see below). This method is based upon reciting a particular chapter (surah), verse (ayat) or prayer (du'a) from the Qur'an. If you complete it, you'll befriend the spiritual guardian of the verse. Particular verses can give the ability where the Muwa'kil or Angel/Guardian of that verse will speak in your right ear whenever you call upon it. 3.2) Hinduism In Hinduism receiving knowledge through your third ear is called "karna". There are different sadhanas of different beings to obtain "karna siddhi" or the power of spiritual hearing. There are tamasic (lower state), rajasic (middle state) and satvic (spiritual & purest state) beings you can pray to in order to obtain karna siddhi. Karna Pischachini is a female tamasic being you can pray to. When satisfied, she will whisper the answer to your questions in your ear whenever you call her. People mostly use it to make money and get respect. For example as astrologers, palmists etc. They might not know anything at all, but when you arrive at their stall, they blurt out secret and personal details no one knows about you (all given by karna pischachini). That'll get the people to trust that person, and then after that they charge you money, yet might give you completely gibberish advice. Otherwise, the karna pischachini will actually give sound advice to the people. The downside with a tamasic being is that you have to do despicable acts to satisfy them (e.g. eat and or drink your own urine and feces, have intercourse with corpses, avoid shower for a certain period, all kinds of weird and disgusting acts). Furthermore, for the rest of your life you also have to serve the karna pischachini, and some even say your soul will be her slave after you die for hundreds of years as a karma for doing this kind of black magic. Karna Matangi is a mahavidya or great goddes and therefore a satvic being. If you worship her succesfully, she'll appear when called and answer your questions about the past, present and/or future of any being. 3.3) Daoism A lot of my own experience came from daoist qigong, when I was doing sitting meditation and plugging the ears. What I've heard from daoism is the jing, qi & shen idea, and each of our 5 organs have a jing, qi & shen component. For example vision is the spirit of the liver, hearing is the spirit of the kidney, taste of the heart, feeling of spleen & smelling of the lungs. Therefore when your shen of that spirit is cultivated to a high level, you also get spiritual vision/hearing/smelling etc. Other than that I've read about speaking mantras on a bowl of water, then listening to it with your right ear, and then a spirit will answer your questions. 4) Questions for you 4.1) What are your experiences with the third ear? 4.2) What experiences have your heard about from others? 4.3) Do you know of any methods of spiritual practice which opens the third ear? 4.4) Have you heard about the uses of third ear? (e.g. as fortune teller, palmist, astrologer, for your own cultivation etc) All the best!