Bindi

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Everything posted by Bindi

  1. Letting Go of Good and Bad

    I think all inappropriate judgement would cease if someone sorted through all their emotional and mental baggage, thereby absolving themselves of any further need for ego to protect themselves - and I think this is actually possible to achieve.
  2. From the same source that I quoted previously, there was also this paragraph. When the mind, having pure sattva as its characteristic remains attending to the aham sphurana, which is the sign of the forthcoming direct experience of the Self, the downward-facing heart becomes upward-facing, blossoms and remains in the form of that [the Self]; [because of this] the aforesaid attention to the source of the aham sphurana alone is the path. When thus attended to, Self, the reality, alone will remain shining in the centre of the Heart as ‘I am I’. Bhagavan included the full text of verse 18 and 19 of Ulladu Narpadu Anubandham after ‘downward-facing heart’ in the original Tamil, but to include them again here would make the text rather cumbersome. However, it is clear that he was supplementing the material in those verses by saying that at the moment of realisation the closed downward-facing bud turns upwards, blooms, and remains in that state. So, there are two key things that happen at the moment of realisation: the ‘tiny hole’ opens and remains permanently open, and the inverted bud turns upwards and blooms. I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of days, my mother saw a downward facing bud in my heart area a couple of years ago, she saw it turn upward, she saw the exact mechanism by which it managed this action, she then saw it bloom and like a lily open and close a few times, grow higher, then change from dark red to white, open slowly again, and reveal a miniature ‘me’ sitting inside. This was over quite a few days btw, and I recall briefly chatting to another TDB member about it at the time. I have mentioned before that my mother never had any idea what she was seeing, and to be honest the only way I have been able to start cobbling together any sort of map of the subtle energy body is largely by reading what other people have seen and said about it, and trying to start seeing the big picture of it all using my own logic. What I would say in relation to the above quote and how it relates to my path, is that this was not my realised Self, though perhaps it was an aspect of Self that hasn’t been realised yet in some way, perhaps the hole that he mentioned didn’t open concurrently, but what Ramana says at least leads to some small possible piece of this puzzle being explained in the slightest way. Just hearing that he has seen this helps me in a way. But just seeing some part of the subtle body isn’t even the final word, as understanding what it means in reality can only be done with the best information currently at hand and very strict logic. An analogy might be a person seeing something through a microscope when it was first invented, and really not having a clue about what they were seeing, but over time and with a lot of people adding information to the puzzle, things will get named and how things actually work at a microscopic level will start to be understood. I relate this snippet precisely to explain why I am highly cynical about general claims of awakening and enlightenment and realisation from people who aren’t talking about these things and deny the existence of this level, preferring concepts of realisation beyond all physical and subtle levels of oneself.
  3. The way I see it kundalini doesn’t naturally rise above the heart centre unless it is interfered with by the mind and hard methods, until it is meant to. What I do agree with is that something important happens in the heart centre associated with kundalini. My feeling from reading this is that Bhagavan is describing a real process, not something metaphorical or figurative. https://www.davidgodman.org/the-role-of-the-heart-centre-in-self-realisation/
  4. I am aware of a higher consciousness that has the potential to actively command forces within us that are currently locked away, milling around behind closed doors waiting for orders. Nonduality doesn’t acknowledge these forces, so it doesn’t offer a way to unlock them. Nondualism is a sewn up system, any desire to shift away from it is philosophically defeated immediately as it decries desire, it is actually restrictive and if believed works against the unfolding of the subtle energy system.
  5. Another perspective on nonduality: “In the Upanishads the [spiritual] heart is described as a secret place (guha), the cave of the heart. It is a small space, dahara akasha, in which the entire universe is held in seed form. Once we draw our awareness there we become one with all. We move from the individual to the universal.” https://www.vedanet.com/releasing-the-knots-of-the-heart-hridaya-granthi/ But… if kundalini has previously become stable at the heart level, then mundane self-consciousness identification can shift to kundalini consciousness identification there. Identification as a higher consciousness. To me nondual awareness is missing the “I” passenger, an empty unguided rocket fired off into space.
  6. I think an authentic kundalini activation might lead to an authentic nondual awakening, I don’t think it works the other way round though. KUNDALINI AWAKENING BY SWAMI NIRANJANANANDA SARASWATI Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati is from the lineage of the Bihar School of Yoga, which he also headed for many years. He has authored several books that have been published by the Bihar School of Yoga. In one of his books – Prana and Pranayama – he talks about the experience of kundalini awakening which he calls the experience of cosmic prana. “…When the full potential of this energy (kundalini) is released, it travels up through the Sushumna Nadi, bringing about a complete metamorphosis of the individual. Cosmic prana and kundalini are synonymous terms. In awakening the kundalini, one unites with the cosmic prana. At the time of the awakening, the two forces of prana and Chitta (mindset or state of mind) assume perfect balance within the individual and become one. The mind undergoes a state of fission and energy issues forth. There is an explosion of Satya, a moment of Truth, when one sees everything as luminous. One experiences oneself in every object of the universe, every person, leaf, and rock. The realization of cosmic prana is attained and the experience of separation dissolves. People who have experienced this union are called saints or liberated beings, as they have transcended duality by taming the infinite, universal energy within the microcosmic unit. The ultimate yoga is experienced at this level, where one discovers the abiding consciousness, sat-chit-ananda, truth, expansiveness, and beatitude…“
  7. More Unpopular Opinions

    Either you don’t understand or you’re being snide about non-duality being “apparently unpopular” since non-duality has the most powerful lobby group on this forum and is of course the most popular opinion hands down. Would it be so hard to just be honest and direct?
  8. More Unpopular Opinions

    Isn’t this a bit of a straw man argument? You create a scenario that I never said and proceed to ridicule the entire concept. I remember I was first ridiculed by you when I first complained about @Jeff’s energy intrusions on me many years ago, I recall other people copied you then as well.
  9. More Unpopular Opinions

    I have no doubt that you place attention on ‘the central channel’, and I’m more than willing to believe that it is calming. But it’s true I would have a hard time believing you were drawn to this particular practice because you intuited that the subtle central channel existed, and independently of all other sources you chose to place your attention there. If I’m wrong in the above assumptions, my apologies. I also understand that my post made you feel bad, but I was responding to your (I believe dangerous) over-simplification of a very complex system, based on your view that nondual realisation is equivalent to kundalini activation.
  10. More Unpopular Opinions

    I find much of the general information about kundalini and the three main nadi’s to be worthwhile, but as you yourself said, they don’t agree on everything, and I’m certainly not going to believe one teaching over another until I have a very good reason to side with any particular opinion. In the meantime, post as much as you please from Saivite schools and sects, I’m not going to, after all, this thread is titled unpopular opinions, not popular scripture isn’t it?
  11. More Unpopular Opinions

    When referring to Shiva/Shakti consciousness specifically, the central channel as their optimal ground of being does have a very specific location, and is only identified as the subtle energy body. When referring to nonduality the playing field is wide open.
  12. More Unpopular Opinions

    I think we can clearly function without ‘higher’ consciousness being operational, but in that case I don’t think we’re functioning at our full potential. I mean the ‘hardware’ exists, kundalini is there, but sleeping, the central channel exists but is unused, Shiva exists but remains unheard most of the time. Why that system exists waiting to be activated I have no idea, but I’d bet the house on it that it does exist. I don’t really understand your questions here, except to say that higher consciousness is logically not equivalent to mundane consciousness, and if higher consciousness is activated properly, I don’t see that it would be bound to decrease.
  13. More Unpopular Opinions

    Im using the broad concepts of Shiva and Shakti because they’re useful, but I’m not using the associated assumptions from any particular school or sect.
  14. More Unpopular Opinions

    Yes, let’s say the subject is not fully comprehended by all the different traditions, and there is a great amount of confusion because each tradition likes to believe it has the full truth. The best we can do is explore the system ourselves, though this can easily backfire if the mundane mind is running the show. Best IMO would be to be led by ‘Shiva’ from the start, that’s the only guaranteed way to not go wrong.
  15. More Unpopular Opinions

    Maybe the central channel is the anatomical seat of nondual consciousness, or maybe it’s a a particular section of the central channel like the crown, or below the crown, or above the crown, or maybe it’s not related to the central channel at all, but until that potential is realised it’s really just guesswork. You might be right, but that would just be by chance, until you know. If some mental conditioning is being played out, or some emotional upheaval, I can imagine shifting awareness to some perceived centre might feel like a relief, but the conditioning and the emotional storms will continue to arise unless they’re attended to directly, which is not the work of the central channel. Resting awareness in the centre continually, we bypass emotional and mental issues, but they and the ego which defends against them don’t just disappear of their own accord. This is your opinion garnered from literature or discussion, not your experience, so like your first assumption you may be entirely correct or you may have missed the mark entirely.
  16. More Unpopular Opinions

    Ask a nondualist if they think their awakening/realisation/enlightenment is a function of kundalini or has got anything to do with kundalini.
  17. More Unpopular Opinions

    Kundalini/Shakti is a level of consciousness that is designed to operate within the central channel, she is the Yin aspect of the central channel if you like, in ‘sleep’ mode because of a lack of energy flow in the side channels. Optimally Kundalini/Shakti consciousness dwells in the upper part of the central channel, though asleep she is in the lower part of the central channel. What her role is in the upper part of the central channel I can only guess at at the moment, but I do suspect part of her role is as intermediary between higher knowledge and consciousness and mundane consciousness. Shiva is her Yang counterpart, Shiva consciousness ‘knows’ and guides Shakti consciousness, opens subtle energy doors for her when the time is right, protects her as she travels upwards, and continually points out the way she has to go. Without his actions and directing from above, Kundalini/Shakti will go the wrong way, she will either be stuck on her travels upward or she will take what appear to be shortcuts that are in fact dead ends. It’s a very delicate dance that the two consciousnesses engage in, that can be all too easily disrupted by our mundane mind level consciousness. If circumstances allow them to actualise their potential then their level of consciousness will be available to us, of course I don’t know what that level of consciousness entails at this point in time.
  18. More Unpopular Opinions

    Here’s my current unpopular opinion. The actual point of spirituality is the activation of kundalini, though to qualify this, its activation needs to be in the central channel, and facilitated by kundalini’s subtle energy/consciousness opposite, which can be identified as ‘Shiva’. I suspect that kundalini inappropriately activated via ‘forceful’ methods, of which there are many, causes kundalini to travel up a side subtle channel, and I further suspect that this cannot be rectified, that is, it cannot then be made to travel up the central channel, except in extraordinary circumstances, such as sending kundalini back to sleep and doing the initial work necessary before raising kundalini consciousness correctly. Travelling up a side channel will inevitably lead to relatively useless side road achievements, inevitably degrading the perceived value of kundalini. In a community obsessed with emptiness and non-doing and nonduality, this must surely be in the running for most unpopular opinion.
  19. In the biblical story of the garden of Eden, at first the tree of knowledge was the only tree from which Adam and Eve could not eat. So I assume that at that stage they could eat freely from the tree of life (immortality)? They were sent out from the garden after eating fruit from the tree of knowledge to prevent them from then eating from the tree of life. So in understanding this story, I gather the snake is understood to be kundalini. And knowledge - is this believed to be gained when kundalini reaches and opens the crown? But according to this story, people would not become like the God’s without the other piece of the puzzle, fruit from the tree of life. So if this story speaks of some deep esoteric truth, what then is the tree of life? And who were the God's that were already god-like, having knowledge and immortality? Or should this story simply be dismissed as an old and irrelevant myth?
  20. The Garden of Eden

    After a few days I am thinking that the tree trunk is the central channel, it disappears because my consciousness doesn’t need to travel downwards again once it’s arrived here, like that path no longer even exists so there’s not even an option to descend. I recall a dream someone told me where they were driving and crashed into the trunk of a tree and died. I think his dream was showing him that his method of entering the central channel was doomed to failure, as he was ‘playing’ with energy at the time. I honestly think the fruit was “fruit of the tree of knowledge”, and only one piece because too much new knowledge would overwhelm a person. I imagine sitting at the dining table the fruit will drop onto the table at the right time, in the right amount. I’m thinking today that the dining table might be the chakra below the crown. Yes all persons were parts of myself, in the koshas model one identifies with various levels of the self over time, progressively identifying with a deeper part of the self until one arrives at the final layer, the true self. In my dream I believe I am identifying with kundalini consciousness and how that consciousness relates to the mundane mental level. Whether kundalini consciousness is the true self or the true self is deeper than that I will have to wait and see, as there is a lot to digest still at the kundalini consciousness level. I think there is an objectively true subtle energy system that operates to a greater or lesser degree in everyone. I do aim to understand that system, for now my dreams give me some information, I can only hope that when my dream gets played out in real time within myself that information about the subtle energy system, it’s setup and operation, will become more direct.
  21. The Garden of Eden

    Interesting, is this a scenario you have consciously created or did the scene just happen?
  22. The Garden of Eden

    So, I had a dream about this topic which I’d like to share. “I” was driving along, and there was a bit of water on the road so I started to fishtail from left to right repeatedly, always just managing to stay in control. I was then sitting in a University lecture hall and I noticed on the stage where the lecturer was that there was a tree. In the next scene I was barging through a couple to get somewhere, and then I was under the tree and taking a piece of fruit and eating it. The fruit looked like a baby squash and had the texture of dates and tasted a bit like a fig, and it had a small bunch of spinach leaves growing downwards from its underside. I felt a bit ashamed that I had barged through the couple so I offered a piece of fruit to the man and he accepted it and ate it. Then the trunk of the tree disappeared and only the branches and leaves and fruit remained, suspended in the air. I sat at a dining table under the suspended crown of the tree thinking I would like to get more fruit, but that it would be too uncouth to stand up on the table, so I just sat there waiting and the dream ended. I do think this dream refers to kundalini by the action of my driving, the constant fishtailing which is the same motion as a snake, and the fact that I was driving the car suggests to me that “i” was in the role of kundalini consciousness. The couple that I barged through to me were the subtle energy channels on the side of the central channel where they cross, and my offering the fruit to the man because I was a bit ashamed (immense overtones of the Adam Eve story here) in my interpretation was offering the fruit of the tree of knowledge to the masculine subtle energy channel which I equate with the mental plane - this image is where I get the idea that the mundane mental level is brought along on the ‘spiritual’ journey. I found it interesting that I only had one piece of fruit and the man only had one also, I also found it interesting that the trunk disappeared and that I was left waiting at the dining table underneath “the crown” for more. A fundamental question must be am I mapping my experience onto a Christian format, or is this the reality of the subtle energy system. I strongly think the latter myself. Bums thoughts welcome.
  23. The shadow self

    Another post from me about the shadow self. I liked the article below, I looked up shadow self today because that’s what I’m engaged in a lot of the time. Last night I was being drenched in unpleasant feelings and I reminded myself after an hour or so to just feel the feeling, accept it, stop trying to quell it or hope it will just let up, and I thought of rumi’s guesthouse poem. All of that was enough for me to open to the feeling, and after another half hour or so I was able to go to sleep. Before sleeping, maybe half asleep, I saw a very large black slug crossing a road, this morning I was thinking surely this was my shadow self, in all its fearsome reality, a great big slimy black slug, and today I have to process the idea that this too is me. Reading a good article like the one below helps me to do that, and I thought I’d share its succinct advice with the bums. ARTICLES, CARL JUNG, PSYCHOLOGY Carl Jung and the Shadow: The Hidden Power of Our Dark Side December 17, 2015 Carl Jung is famous for formulating the concept of the shadow, the portion of our personality which, through the course of our life, is relegated to the darkness of the unconscious. The Nature of the Shadow While Jung is known for bringing the concept of the shadow to public awareness in the modern day, this aspect of ourselves has long been recognized as a ubiquitous feature of human beings. In 1886, before Jung made his mark, Robert Louis Stevenson created the now famous story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In his story Dr. Jekyll represents the respectable part of one’s personality, but when he transforms into Mr. Hyde, his shadow personality gains dominance over him and wrecks havoc on his life. Although the shadow is an innate part of the human being, the vast majority of us are willfully blind regarding its existence. We hide our negative qualities, not only from others but from ourselves. To do this we often criticize and condemn others to ensure our focus does not fall on our own faults and destructive tendencies. We go through life with a false air of moral superiority and a belief that while others act immorally and destructively, we ourselves are wholly virtuous and always in the right. Making the Shadow Conscious Some aspects of our shadow are the product of our evolution. We contain, like all animals, instincts for sex and aggression that we tend to repress in order to adapt to the social mores of the day. Some aspects of our shadow are the product of our upbringing. Personality traits and impulses that elicited fear or anxiety in our parents or teachers, for example, caused them to punish or criticize us; and so we reacted by repressing these characteristics. We put up psychological defenses to ensure they were not allowed expression, and thus these characteristics were repressed into the unconscious. As all humans have a shadow, what differentiates us from others is the degree to which we are conscious of it. When our shadow remains unconscious, it wrecks havoc in our life. Repressed contents do not merely disappear, but rather they function independently of our conscious awareness. In other words, the shadow has the capacity to override our conscious ego and take possession of our being, exerting control over our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. When this happens we can be unconsciously driven into hard times, all the while remaining ignorant that these troubled periods were self-imposed, and not the product of bad luck or fate. The unconscious control which our shadow can exert upon us also accounts for the self destructive behaviors so many individuals struggle with and are unable to control despite consciously knowing they would be better off not engaging in such actions. Many addicts are driven by their shadow, which accounts for the internal “war” which exists within them. One moment they tell themselves they are going to give up their addiction and live a clean life, and the next moment their shadow overrides their conscious ego and they enthusiastically seek out the next drink, “hit”, or sexual release. As Robert Louis Stevenson notes in his book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, man is not one, but truly two; he has a conscious personality and a shadow, each of which often battle for supremacy within his mind. In order to avoid being the victim of “shadow-possession”, we must become conscious of our shadow qualities and integrate them into our conscious personality; accepting them with open arms not as abhorrent aspects of our self, but as necessary and vital parts of our being. Toward this end it is useful to realize that the task in life is not to become perfect, but to become whole. And as wholeness entails both good and evil, light and darkness, the achievement of wholeness in personality development requires we assimilate our shadow into our conscious personality. However, as Jung alludes to in the above quote, this is extremely difficult. Most cannot and will not admit that deep down they are not wholly virtuous, selfless, and good human beings, but instead contain selfish, destructive, amoral and immoral impulses and capacities. Most would rather deceive themselves with a blind optimism about the “goodness” of their nature, which is why most remain fragmented individuals who are ignorant of their inner depths. The Hidden Power of the Shadow What is especially interesting is the idea that the shadow contains not just destructive aspects of the personality, but also potent, creative, and powerful capabilities. During our development certain traits and impulses were condemned by our family, peers, and educators, not out of care but out of envy, fear, ignorance or jealousy. Our proclivity to abide by social expectations also caused us to repress talents, innate abilities, and impulses which if cultivated and developed had the potential to make us more effective beings in the world. For example, it is becoming more prevalent today for psychologists to diagnose individuals who question authority and show signs of extreme self reliance as being pathological, suffering from a condition they call “anti-authoritarian” (see an article by Bruce Levine here). Individuals who are too self-reliant in our increasingly collective and dependent society are viewed by many as a threat. They are lone wolves amidst a flock of sheep, and they are attacked and ridiculed by the herd because of it. This is just one example of many regarding how our socialization into modern society handicaps our development. The bottom line is that with our higher energies trapped, labeled by others and our conscious ego as negative and bad, our growth can become blocked, and life, a wasteland. For the sake of our personal development, we must, therefore, become more aware of our shadow and open our mind to the possibility that maybe we are not so friendly, righteous, and moral as we think. We must consider that perhaps there are unconscious aspects of ourselves driving our behavior “behind the scenes”. We must look down into our depths and realize that our conscious ego is not always in control, but is often overtaken by the power of our shadow. Once we become more aware of these dark aspects of ourselves, we must honor them and find a way to integrate them into our life. In failing to do so, one will become weak and scattered. One cannot serve two inner drives without dissipating his strength and energies. The shadow must become a part of one’s conscious personality. Is there a “Technique” to Integrate the Shadow? As Jung notes in the passage above, there is no general technique to integrate the shadow. Our shadow is unique, and thus, to integrate it requires we adopt our own unique approach. No matter the approach we adopt, to properly integrate our shadow it is necessary to behave in ways which run counter to the mores of society and our own conscious moral compass. Most of our shadow qualities, after all, were repressed into our unconscious because we believed they were unacceptable, either socially or according to our family or peers. A common technique in shadow integration is to find a healthy, productive, or at the very least, controlled outlet for either repressed aggression or sexual urges. Another is to ignore customs one thought to be superficial or pointless, but previously conformed to in order to fit in. Another is to pursue a passion despite all those around you pressuring you otherwise. These tactics can help us separate ourselves from the expectations and “conforming-eye” of others, and allow us to look within, without judgment or condemnation, to discover who and what we really are. If we can find a way to negotiate with our shadow, and allow it to “live” in our conscious personality rather than repressing it, we will not only attain a more secure sense of selfhood, but also more knowledge about what it is we really want in life. We will be more capable of ignoring what others think we should be doing, more able to deviate from the masses, and thus more prepared to commence on a path to fulfill our own personal destiny. The shadow, as Jung mentioned, is the doorway to our Self. The many dare not descend into their depths, but this is exactly what we must do if we are to become who we really are. Visit our curated Bookstore RECOMMENDED BOOKS
  24. The shadow self

    With inexplicable tendencies like this I often wonder if a past life is at play, where some ‘power’ was gained but not the full circuit so to speak. Perhaps you sat holed up in a dark cave, or unclothed in a graveyard eating human flesh, etc etc, but this is not what I mean by the shadow self. In your case I agree this is not the way to go, and I see (I think) what you might mean about the enchantment of an illusory power. To me the shadow self holds pain and it is hard to approach, it holds no allure as pain is not alluring generally speaking, but it must be grappled with. Thanks for explaining what you meant 🙂