Pros and Cons of sharing spiritual experiences

[Ian]

I think there may be a distinction to be made between sharing positive and negative experiences.

 

If you tell someone a positive thing there is a great likelihood that they will want to experience it too, be looking out for it, be in their mind anticipating rather than in their body experiencing.

 

If you warn someone about a negative thing, in the right way at the right time, it might save them a lot of trouble. It's easier and more useful to stop doing something real you're already doing, than it is to make yourself start doing something which should arise on its own.

[rain]

.............

Edited April 17, 2008 by rain

[Wayfarer64]

I for one want to learn how to be a better wise-ass...

I believe the root of all wisdom is in startling away the complacency within any given norm...Creating new view-points to bounce around with etc...This seems to be how the new eventually becomes the norm...only to be shaken up by some new wise-ass .

 

(I stir up too much fuss now and then not to admit an adherance to the benifits of trouble-making)

 

Making fun of serious issues, sometimes has some merit... in other words contention is part of life as is humor and all the other etc etc etc..eras

 

but realizing the spirit within eachother usually mellows us out enough to converse amongst ourselves on this great forum...

 

If my ass is wise...then my head must be screamin mad full of wisdom- (if only!)--

just some fun to keep things silly rather than up-tight...-

peace- Pat

[Pietro]

Very interesting topic. And I am surprised that it hasn't come out before.

 

Somehow, after many years I reached the conclusion that there is a time for sharing and a time for keeping quite. Some people with which it ok to tell a bit more, and some people which which is better to be more vague. And generally some parts of one's experience that you can speak about and some part that you shouldn't.

 

So, it all depends.

 

If you don't share nothing it will burn inside you, and harm you.

If you share too much you are leaking, like an incontinent, and will not cook anything. You will feel empty like a ghost. But then there was a christian saint who would share everything, but really everything, saying, I don't care if this brings me farther away from God. Because as I share it more people can reach it, and that is more important.

 

Speaking about the people, I am just coming out of a small discussion on the other thread with Buddy. Interestingly at the end he decided he did not want to discuss with me. Claiming he was casting pearls before swines. What is ironic was that I was having the same sensation. So we were both casting our pearls (what we have developed) to the swines (each other), and we were both feeling that was not ok. Should we both have kept quite?

 

But mostly I think of spiritual experience as a tree that grows. What is the flower of now, will become the branch of tomorrow, and the trunk of the next day. At the beginning you need to nurture it. Then you can share it with few, very selected people. And this can also help it grow. It can give you the necessary feedback to see the whole process from another point of view. And then eventually it becomes a strong experience that has taken roots in your everyday exeprience. And this is when you can speak about it, nearly freely. Nearly with everybody. Nearly in every occasion.

 

So, yes I would agree that this community is a bit a protected space, but not so protected. Google indexes the content regularly.

 

And writing in rime, in verse, in poetry, can sometimes be used to make sure that only the people who are inside a particular tradition, or who have shared a particular experience will understand. The other will just say: it makes no sense.

[joeblast]

That's the good thing about being in control of your own personal practice space! You can create a thread, hide it, and pass links to those who you would like to share

[mYTHmAKER]

My 5 cents - inflation

Sharing is good as long as it's not confrontational - having something to prove.

Sharing should be with those of like mind.

Sharing should be without ego.

Sharing reinforces experiences.

Sharing alows you to see the extent of possiblibilities.

Sharing helps you remember and re experience.

Sharing can be inspirational for the one sharing and the one listening.

[Ben Koontz]

Well I suppose I will share some of what I've been going through with Kunlun after I give you a brief bio of who I am..

 

I've been reading this forum the past 3 weeks, and to be honest I am new to eastern spirituality.

I guess my "waking up" period happened when I was 18 years old and had a lot of family problems, and it was making me spiritually sick from it. My grandmother is a Native American artist, and has many abilities, and I just thought of her as grandma at the time. I went to visit her, and she woke me up by showing me some things which made my mind go "wtf?" and then it was like the whole world had changed, and I realized some neat abilities which were dormant inside of me. This had only lasted a couple weeks, then I degressed back into the "fake reality?". I ended up getting into Gung Fu about 3 years ago, but couldn't continue because I joined the military due to needing independence, especially financially. Anyway, I just got back from overseas, and my body/mind etc.. just knew there was something that is missing, and I kept getting feelings that I needed to change, so I did quite a bit of research, and spent close to $200 on books from amazon. I read about Taoism, Taoist Alchemy, Qigong, Nei Gung, The Magus of Java, The Magus of Strovolos, and many other books, even some "New Age" stuff. I became most interested in the Taoist practices, and I started doing meditation. I went to a Soaring Crane Qigong class and I liked it, however the instructor told me that they had already had 10 weeks of this session and it would be best for my energy to wait until January to attend the next session. I did some research online I ended up finding this forum about 3 weeks ago, and read about Kunlun and all of your experiences with it, so I ordered it, and I've been doing it for about a week now.

 

So far my experiences with Kunlun have been fairly intense.

 

The first night I started doing Kunlun Nei Gung, I was able to do the first part of Level One for about 35 minutes, and then I did the silent meditation for 20 minutes. Pretty much, I got the whole shaking of the legs, and I got the spontaneous movement, and many of the other experiences described in the book.

That night, I was pretty much unable to sleep because of continuous stimulations of my crown. It felt as if I was going under biological changes that same night. When I woke up the next morning, I felt like my crown was a little higher then before, and a little sensitive to touch. I also feel like I have a constant sunburn on my head . I have been starting to feel the magnetic energies around people alot better, and I can go much deeper into meditation. Kunlun is absolutely amazing..

I feel like the "false reality" is slowly peeling away and I'm starting to wake up again.

The last couple days when I do Kunlun, I have rarely noticed any shaking of my legs, however I still get spontaneous postures and movements and I started hitting myself in the dan tien slowly and then faster and faster and faster in a traingle type shape of my hands, until I felt like a fire inside. I also get to the point where my mind goes VERY deep into meditation as if I don't notice my physical body.

Well, I hope I haven't shared "too much" I just feel that I've absorbed a lot of information from many of your experiences in Kunlun, so it is only balancing to share my own.

 

I hope to talk to you guys on here in the future, and I'd like to go to a seminar, however I am from Washington DC, so it makes it harder to travel. Is Sifu Max going to be going to the East coast in the future?

 

Well, enjoy your search for what you already know!

 

Ben

[Yoda]

Ben,

 

It's great how you really know how to track down a good practice without wasting any time!! And on top of that, you really dive into it.

 

We need to find Max a nice small town or retreat center in the east that's drivable from a major airport.

 

Yoda

[gendao]

I have rarely noticed any shaking of my legs, however I still get spontaneous postures and movements and I started hitting myself in the dan tien slowly and then faster and faster and faster in a traingle type shape of my hands, until I felt like a fire inside. I also get to the point where my mind goes VERY deep into meditation as if I don't notice my physical body.

Very interesting. You are obviously a VERY quick responder.

 

Spontaneous kriyas, mudras & asanas seem to be typical of openings and awakenings. I think from increased energy flow or a rise in frequency, perhaps?

 

BTW, did your hands form a triangular mudra...or just hit your dantien in a triangular pattern?

 

Anyhow, I'd like to hear Chris's opinion on sharing. Seems like it could potentially have good or bad effects - depending upon whom and when you share with. For me, it can be kinda cool to not know too much up front, have things happen and then find out later that they were pretty "normal." Maybe there's a balance there, I don't know. I know Max purposely withholds a lot for various reasons...and I think one is to not taint our experiences with expectations, so we feel more sure that these things happened on their own and were not self-fulfilling prophecies of our overactive imaginations. Kind of not spoiling a movie.

Edited November 29, 2007 by vortex

[Ben Koontz]

I remember some as a child and the way I saw the world and reacted, just as I did when I was 18 and my whole idea of the world was zapped. I think that Kunlun is bringing me back to a higher frequency.

 

The only time I forcefully make movements is when I get to the posture, or when I feel stiff and have to reposition myself, the rest, it just happens automatically. I felt magnetic pulls, very similar to when I did a Soaring Crane Qi Gong class, and we were told to stand and put our hands 6 inches from our navel and just let things flow.

 

The shape was like /_\ with thumbs aligned, if thats a good diagram, and my body kept forcing my heart down to the dan tien area and forcing me to have my head shoved between my legs pretty much . There were quite a few other strong movements, but I feel like I may have already said too much. I will wait and see what Mantra's advice is at this point on what to share and what not to share.

 

I highly look forward to attending a seminar, and if something happens in the east coast, I will definitely go.

 

What are your guys' thoughts on past lives? I have a few family members who are really into communicating with specific spiritual helpers, and I was curious and asked about my past lives.

They told me about 5 or 6 of my reincarnations, but I am a little skeptical, because I haven't been able to have prior visions, or have prior experiences, atleast not that I know of.

 

Anyway, I'm a 24 year old with the absorbtion of a 4 year old right now, and the more I talk and read about the journey for enlightenment, the more i want to learn. I am excited every time I wake up thinking about 'what does this day have in store for me '.

 

Ben

[gendao]

What are your guys' thoughts on past lives? I have a few family members who are really into communicating with specific spiritual helpers, and I was curious and asked about my past lives.

They told me about 5 or 6 of my reincarnations, but I am a little skeptical, because I haven't been able to have prior visions, or have prior experiences, atleast not that I know of.

Yes, I do believe in them. IMO, you may retain energy blocks (a form of "karma?") from them...and also knowledge and abilities from them may resurface during awakenings. It's all a part of your "greater self."

 

Buddha was said to remember 40,000 past lives when he enlightened.

 

But Max says not to get too obsessed with past lives and any supposed "bad karma," though. I guess so as not to allow them to possibly become worrying, self-limiting beliefs.

Edited November 29, 2007 by vortex

[Cameron]

The best teaching I have heard on past lives is from Adyashanti.

 

He basically says how you know some people say well maybe in my next lifetime I will do this or that.

 

This IS the next lifetime.

 

If there ever was a past life-then this life is your next lifetime.

 

Same goes for an idea like heaven or paradise or whatever.

 

What if your level of counsciousness in "this" life is heaven, is nirvana(or hell)?

 

So past life..future life..are all THIS life.

 

And it's all NOW.

[Ben Koontz]

Anyone else sweating every night after doing Kunlun. I pretty much wake up soaked, and my clothes and bed are soaked, and if I sleep naked, I get the same results.. I wake up and move my hands around my fiance to see if she's soaked too, but nothing. It is like someone dumped a bucket of water on me, but missed her completely .

[joeblast]

When I used to live with my girl I would practically be sweating every night regardless just being next to her. I'm like a freakin oven when I sleep. What time of day are you doing Kunlun? Just before bed?

[Oolong Rabbit]

Anyone else sweating every night after doing Kunlun. I pretty much wake up soaked, and my clothes and bed are soaked, and if I sleep naked, I get the same results.. I wake up and move my hands around my fiance to see if she's soaked too, but nothing. It is like someone dumped a bucket of water on me, but missed her completely .

 

Curious, are guys eating/drinking before practice? Do you find you get more heat/sweating if eating or drinking beforehand? What is your fitness level, overweight, average? Would like to compare to my own experience. I usually get some heat, but only had 1 experience where I had extreme heat. Also the heat could maybe be a byproduct of burning away the blockages in your system. Once the blockages and "junk" is cleared, I wonder if the heat will die down. Ironically, I have found since practcing my body seems to be more sensitive to the cold. Where I used to sleep in my scivies or nothing at all ( I know TMI lol), I now prefer PJ pants and a long sleeve shirt. Then again I am 32, so perhaps my matbolism is just slowing down due to age. The timing would be coincidental though.

[Ben Koontz]

Curious, are guys eating/drinking before practice? Do you find you get more heat/sweating if eating or drinking beforehand? What is your fitness level, overweight, average? Would like to compare to my own experience. I usually get some heat, but only had 1 experience where I had extreme heat. Also the heat could maybe be a byproduct of burning away the blockages in your system. Once the blockages and "junk" is cleared, I wonder if the heat will die down. Ironically, I have found since practcing my body seems to be more sensitive to the cold. Where I used to sleep in my scivies or nothing at all ( I know TMI lol), I now prefer PJ pants and a long sleeve shirt. Then again I am 32, so perhaps my matbolism is just slowing down due to age. The timing would be coincidental though.

 

I usually eat about 3 or 4 hours before practice, so thats not a factor.

I'm 6'0 150-160 it varies depending on if its winter or summer. 24 yrs old. I'm not a big dude, I stay in shape because i'm in the military, so I'm forced to keep a very high level of fitness, pushups, 2 mile run, situps..

My metabolism is SOO fast, I can't ever seem to get passed 160 lbs, even with 4-5 meals, so that may be a factor too. But the burning off the blockages may be what is going on, because her side of the bed is dry, and I wake up and mine is full of stinky sweat. It's not fun having to wash my sheets almost every day . I really can't wait to go to a seminar, I'm excited to get a more experienced opinion on how I'm doing the posture, and I'd love to learn about standing Kunlun and Red Phoenix. I do 1 hour a day of Kunlun Level One, and I feel like I want something to do during the day at work. While I'm working I try to work on my concentration and work on quieting the thoughts that go into my head that are ones that won't benefit cultivation one bit. I definitely would like a practice though, that I could do walking to work, or sitting down without anyone around being able to notice what I'm doing. I work as a network technician, so there are times when if nobody has a problem, i'm stuck surfing the web

 

Take it easy,

 

Ben

[joeblast]

I try to stay well hydrated, so its not uncommon that I will drink water before practicing. Or tea, but then I really get hot. I'm 5'9 ~155, decently fit...used to be a lot more fit before my last relationship, but sex & drumming kept me from getting too bad in the fitness dept I dont normally get a heck of a lot of heat while practicing though. I seem to get less heat now while doing crosslegged meditation since starting kunlun. I'm more sensitive to the cold than I used to be (5, 8, 10 years ago I'd still be wearing shorts when the temp was in the teens out during winter) but I dont think I'm that bad; my hands and feet are always very warm. I'm 31.

 

lol aint it great being a network tech ben? that's the reason I'm on taobums during the day

Edited November 30, 2007 by joeblast

[Oolong Rabbit]

Taking this over to the other Kunlun thread since we are veering off topic on this one.