Mark Griffin and Hard Light Center of Awakening

[Sahaj Nath]

i'll be adding info to this thread periodically as events come up or new materials become available.

 

i plan to make it through all of Mark's material by spring and i plan to review all of it. if the review is worth reading, i'll be posting that here as well.

 

for now,

 

Hard Light has a blog called ShaktipatMeditation, and they post excerpts of Mark's talks. the talks generally come from the intensives, the retreats, or the thursday evening programs. the excerpts are short, but they're also pretty good!

 

http://shaktipatmeditation.blogspot.com/

 

the next day-long shaktipat intensive will be held Saturday, December 10th, in Los Angeles.

 

 

i am happy to answer any questions about Mark or Hard Light. you can either ask here in this thread, or you can PM me.

 

i am happy to represent Mark and the Center here on The Tao Bums.

 

Edited November 21, 2011 by Hundun

[Protector]

welp... all I can say is that the video is creepy

[Sahaj Nath]

welp... all I can say is that the video is creepy

 

i know, right?

 

i can tune into him through this video with no real effort, and i can feel the warm waves of bliss energy, and i can feel electricity buzzing through my teeth.

 

a lot of sensitive folks on the board can probably do the same.

[Birch]

I found his breathing laboured and wondered if he wasn't in ill-health? Last time i saw him, he didn't seem quite so full of effort. He seemed a bit happier. Maybe it was just the heat there?

What's with India anyway? I don't mean that to sound rude, but can't you get (or give) Darshan in Detroit and Shaktipat in the Sunshine State? Or is "going to India" the only way some folks will ever get into it? Leave-home huh?

[Apech]

I don't wish to offend but I kept thinking of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now ... it seemed very dark and spacey to me ... not my cup of tea these days ... but I hope it helps those who practice this.

[Sahaj Nath]

I found his breathing laboured and wondered if he wasn't in ill-health? Last time i saw him, he didn't seem quite so full of effort. He seemed a bit happier. Maybe it was just the heat there?

What's with India anyway? I don't mean that to sound rude, but can't you get (or give) Darshan in Detroit and Shaktipat in the Sunshine State? Or is "going to India" the only way some folks will ever get into it? Leave-home huh?

 

???

 

i've never been to India, and i received shaktipat & darshan just fine. he tries to get to India at least once a year. he has an ashram/retreat center there, and he takes a couple dozen people with him for a couple weeks. most lamas and masters of the Indian practices try to make a yearly pilgrimage. my teacher in the Bay Area is in India this week, in fact. EDIT: qigong masters visiting China and hold annual China retreats is just as common.

 

and yes, his breathing IS loud here! he was a really big guy back then, so what can you do? he's actually lost quite a bit of weight since then, but it doesn't even matter if he hadn't, and that's one of reasons i posted that particular video. the juice is there, and he has it. TONS of it. you can feel it. taste it. he made me re-think a lot of my assumptions about his ability based on his appearance.

 

when my last qigong teacher suggested that maybe i go check him out, i looked at a couple of pictures of him and dismissed him entirely. it wasn't until he was recommended here by Trunk that i finally decided to go. it changed my life. my opinions about his health/appearance didn't mean squat.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Hundun

[growant]

I have been to Mark's shaktipats, too. Curious as to what about it changed your life?

Edited November 22, 2011 by growant

[Gjeken]

WOW thanks a lot for posting this. That guy must have some serious juice because i've never felt anything this strong from just watching a video. My whole spine is buzzing with energy so is the top of my head, the back of my head and forehead.

Too bad i live in Europe.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Gjeken

[Sahaj Nath]

I have been to Mark's shaktipats, too. Curious as to what about it changed your life?

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/17753-seth-ananda-please-teach-me-about-kundalini/page__view__findpost__p__253441

 

i have a few posts in that thread. feel free to look through them.

 

but in a nutshell, i was genuinely initiated into the Siddha Lineage. i am plugged in. knowledge falls out the sky. teachings on topics i know nothing about come to me during meditation. i witness the fabric of my personality deconstructing, thread-by-thread. and i mean even the smallest impressions/expressions are regularly pulled into 3rd person awareness and traced back to the moment/incident of origin. i have frequent access to what i believe to be savikalpa samadhi, although i cannot quite shift in and out of it at will. but i CAN go pretty deep at will, and even better than that, i can transmit the frequency of that state of consciousness to my students, very much like Mark does.

 

my identity has shifted a great deal over the past year and a half. my trust and openness has been the only thing required. it's had nothing at all to do with any specific practices that i'm doing. it's acquiescence to the elders in the lineage and allowing myself to be a living vessel.

 

before all of this, i was all about qigong and had VERY LITTLE interest in yoga, tantra, or any of the Indian or Tibetan ways. i thought a lot of it was hokey. i don't buy into anything that i can't experience or witness for myself. i don't need to believe that anything is true. it's no secret around here that i'm HIGHLY critical. even the people who think i can be a jerk at times have to acknowledge that there's an integrity in my jerkiness. the only side i ever take is the side of the truth. in the past i have defended a friend in one post and then criticized them two posts later. all i care about is what's true.

 

i believe that if we are able break down our wishful thinking and do away with our fairy tales, we can actually engage a VERY REAL spiritual world that is sufficiently profound without any of the contrived fantasies of so many seekers. THAT is where my deepest personal commitment lies. i have explored, practiced, and discarded SO many traditions and practices over the years. i have committed myself to groups and then flagrantly walked out on them the moment the fantasies and bullshit were uncovered.

 

that's how i roll. i will turn on a group in a second. because life is too short, and i plan to reach completion THIS time around. if that means i must offend large groups, then so be it.

 

what i'm saying is that Mark is the real deal. he's not for everybody. the lineage is not for everybody. but what he and the lineage has done for me is absolutely impressive. and i'm not the easiest guy to please.

 

BUT,

 

mileage may vary. people who have not done the work that i've done or developed the capacities that i have can't expect to be transformed the way that i have been. maybe it can come in time, but for me it began the night before i actually met Mark in-person. that's my story.

 

i wasn't just touched with some shakti energy; i was literally embraced by the Siddha Lineage. they communicate with me the way that Sifu Jenny Lamb described her elders communicating with her. so many new age people make this kind of claim, and it's so obvious that it's delusion. but when it's real, it's real.

 

i live in an entirely new world now. and i feel nothing but gratitude for it.

[Birch]

???

 

i've never been to India, and i received shaktipat & darshan just fine. he tries to get to India at least once a year. he has an ashram/retreat center there, and he takes a couple dozen people with him for a couple weeks. most lamas and masters of the Indian practices try to make a yearly pilgrimage. my teacher in the Bay Area is in India this week, in fact. EDIT: qigong masters visiting China and hold annual China retreats is just as common.

 

and yes, his breathing IS loud here! he was a really big guy back then, so what can you do? he's actually lost quite a bit of weight since then, but it doesn't even matter if he hadn't, and that's one of reasons i posted that particular video. the juice is there, and he has it. TONS of it. you can feel it. taste it. he made me re-think a lot of my assumptions about his ability based on his appearance.

 

when my last qigong teacher suggested that maybe i go check him out, i looked at a couple of pictures of him and dismissed him entirely. it wasn't until he was recommended here by Trunk that i finally decided to go. it changed my life. my opinions about his health/appearance didn't mean squat.

Hmm, I'm not making a juice/health link there. To opinions, well, a whole n'other thing. I often have them:-) And I often change them upon evidence:-)

[Trunk]

i'll be adding info to this thread periodically as events come up or new materials become available.

Glad

[寒月 Hanyue]

Thanks for starting the thread Hundun,

 

Very interesting indeed. I have to admit I took interest because as you say, you've high standards.

 

mileage may vary. people who have not done the work that i've done or developed the capacities that i have can't expect to be transformed the way that i have been. maybe it can come in time, but for me it began the night before i actually met Mark in-person. that's my story."

 

I think this is important. What we bring, or where our Being is, when me engage with a lineage will very much influence what we get from it AT THAT time. Sometimes things come back around and then you go "OH!"

 

Glad to hear some of what you've been experiencing with the lineage. Look forward to hearing more

 

Best,

[三江源]

.

Edited March 10, 2015 by 三江源

[Apech]

hA! Mark is not dark, not spacey at all, actually. He's crystal clear, profoundly lucid, emanates light. A fantastic articulate teacher with a lovely laugh and can knock your socks of in the smoothest most powerful way, if you are receptive to him.

 

Took me a while to get used to his delivery though.

 

But I love Marlon Brando, in anything. Even butter.

 

Well I don't mind being told off ... but I said 'it' seemed ark and spacy ... i.e. the sadhana = 'arising in the form of emptiness'. I didn't say he was .... but I take your point ... and would like to see more if there is any ... but maybe wishing for more is like a Streetcar Named Desire and I'm wishing for the comfort of strangers. (lol).

[三江源]

.

Edited March 10, 2015 by 三江源

[konchog uma]

i know, right?

 

i can tune into him through this video with no real effort, and i can feel the warm waves of bliss energy, and i can feel electricity buzzing through my teeth.

 

a lot of sensitive folks on the board can probably do the same.

 

yeah.

 

that guy has some sauce.

 

nothing creepy about the vid to me, thanks for sharing

[konchog uma]

i know, right?

 

i can tune into him through this video with no real effort, and i can feel the warm waves of bliss energy, and i can feel electricity buzzing through my teeth.

 

a lot of sensitive folks on the board can probably do the same.

 

yeah.

 

that guy has some sauce.

 

nothing creepy about the vid to me, thanks for sharing. Look forward to more (i watched a couple on youtube). I like his pace. Awesome reminder that you can't judge anything by looks

[三江源]

.

Edited March 10, 2015 by 三江源

[Sahaj Nath]

[Trunk]

This is a good umbrella thread for Hard Light ~ Mark Griffin (thank you Hundun) and so I thought I'd link here some of the related threads (by me) that have come up before re: MG's HL. The threads contain not only promo for (mostly past) events, but also videos and following discussion - including posts by various of us who've had direct experience with Mark. It's good reading for anyone curious.

 

June, 2008: Hard Light online store open.

 

Feb, 2010: When hamsa becomes soham.

 

Apr, 2010: Meeting the challenge.

 

May, 2010: Cognition video.

 

Feb, 2012: Shivaratri all night meditation.

I posted this last one earlier today for a Feb 19-20th, 2012 event.

 

- Trunk

[Trunk]

For those of you in the N.Eastern U.S. ...

Later this month, March 23-25th (Fri-Sun), Mark Griffin will be teaching at Kripalu Institute, in the berkshires of western Massachusetts (directions).

 

Course title, Stilling the Mind: A Profound Course in Meditation. (pdf flyer)

course description

This weekend delves into the five limbs of yoga that deal specifically with meditation:

 

Pranayama: breathing techniques to rouse kundalini

Dharana: exclusive concentration on one thing

Dhyana: the encompassing awareness of meditation

Pratyahara: the withdrawal of sensory input to the brain

Samadhi: the direct perception of the highest truth.

 

The workshop will include explanations, demonstrations, practice, and a very rare and special initiation; the blessing of shaktipat—the doorway to enlightenment.

The program sessions follow Kripalu's schedule. Cost for $215 for the HL sessions, and if you stay over night at Kripalu then you have access to their facilities, meals and other classes. (Check w/ Kripalu for details re: their facilities & services.) Registration is all through Kripalu.

 

 

p.s.

See the Hard Light calendar for programs through year end, including a Santa Barbara three day retreat in June and a Dec-Jan India trip.

[Birch]

Someone asked MG about his size. He replied that containing such a lot as he does, often results in either a large body or a very thin body.

 

It's his physical way of being what he is energetically.

Which if you ponder it is one way of being what one is energetically. I know it's not PC to discuss, but I do ponder it on occasion. Why hold this form, that one? What if you realise your embeddedness in the (I was going to say "whole" like there was just one, but I can't say that because I don't know how many there are). Where Nothing is contained but yet holds form. How about that? Isn't it amazing?

[Trunk]

*bumping* this thread for general Hard Light April promo. Check out the HL calendar: April is a pretty standard month, four regular Thursday night meetings and one intensive on April 7th. All in Pacific Palisades (LA area). Consider streaming the month. My experience is that Mark's main offering is transmission. While his lectures and method instructions might be good, even necessary to a certain extent, his ability to transmit during meditation is way, way off the chart unbelievably. If you're not in the LA area, streaming is a convenient way to access the transmission.

[Trunk]

Berkeley intenstive

Saturday, May 5th (a week from tomorrow)

Hard Light will be holding an intensive

in Berkeley, CA from 11a -7p

(also available streaming over the www)

[Sahaj Nath]

Berkeley intenstive

Saturday, May 5th (a week from tomorrow)

Hard Light will be holding an intensive

in Berkeley, CA from 11a -7p

(also available streaming over the www)

 

 

as always, it was a great intensive. a few of my peeps attended, just like last year when he came to the bay area. don_vedo and i drove down together. he wrote about the experience in his practice journal. i thought it was worth sharing.

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/23464-may-2012/page__view__findpost__p__337394