Lakshmi

1 hour ago, zerostao said:

Alpha

Male 

One hour of hatha yoga after waking up. This has been my daily practice since many years.

And before going to sleep, reading a few pages of a spiritual book. That is, when I am not too tired.

Replying to the OP, I would consider the Chinese stratagem of using a beautiful woman to undermine them.

Another way to say this is that we are acting from what has been programmed in our subconscious mind. And only when (and if) new knowledge reaches that level can we spontaneously act based on it. And yes, that usually takes time.

I often focus on one of the Hindu goddesses... Guess on which one!

And it gives me a sense of peace and harmony.

The world is Brahman's dream... And you are helping him dream it, since you are a part of Brahman. However, while you are dreaming, the dream is real enough to you! I hope that makes sense...

Maybe try to relax in Shavasana while lying on the bed?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavasana

18 hours ago, rideforever said:

 

You .... dance the Paso Doble ?
Show, show ...
Show us this Paso Doble ...

 

( Hari Om Tat Sat )

 

 

I can do some Indian classical dances, but no Paso Doble, I'm afraid.

On 4.2.2019 at 3:34 AM, Everything said:

 

Look these two give you two beautiful perspectives. Now you can never misunderstand. You meditate for the joy. 

 

That's it. And then your joy can be anything, to do something else than meditation or to meditate even. But if you're not feeling joy, then simply meditate! Cause that's the point of your life. 

 

No not meditation. Joy is. But if your joy is to meditate, then you meditate in order to meditate even more fully. 

 

It's like, you enjoy releasing resistance. So you wanna meditate even more fully. And enjoy life even more unconditionally. 

 

It's the same when someone becomes angry and then counts to 10. He or she is meditating. 

 

If you're feeling fear. You simply meditate. And joy is yours again. 

That's beautiful, Everything.

Thank you.

2 minutes ago, Zen Pig said:

yes. no. maybe.  if you want to mediate, then meditate, if not, then don't simple. nothing to obtain. don't over think it. 

I practice yoga and meditate because I enjoy doing these things. It's as simple as that.

3 minutes ago, King Jade said:

Sorry this is what I don't understand of y'all

 

some will say "you are already it but you need to be aware of it"

(not targeting you exactly, Lasksmi)

 

Why meditate and why train?

 

What's the goal?

 

Is realizing and being "awakened" a goal different than building a dan and all that other shiz?

are they exclusive things?

 

Do you need to realize that youre It first and then your body receives the signals from mother ship and voila your body is now changing to what it was to be?

 

Is that phrase "you are already it but you need to be aware of it" misleading in our language, meaning, it makes it seem like you don't need to do any training, but you actually need either way because if not then you die after all, poofffff...?
 

 

 

 

It's more about the basic understanding that you are not to try and become something other than yourself. On the deepest level.

That is, if you are so inclined. There is no 'need to'.

Any insights occur quite naturally when you are ready for them. And when they do, they will be far deeper than any intellectual concept of you being 'this' or being 'that' anyway.

10 hours ago, rideforever said:

Concepts As Practice

Nisargadatta is a non-dual teacher famous for his book "I Am That".  His realisation occurred by being told by his guru that he was Brahman (God) and he spent 3 to 4 hours every evening after work meditating and contemplating this concept.   After several years he reached realisation.

How did he use this concept of non-duality with Brahman ?
Was it that he spent all these months thinking about it and then after so much time he was "convinced" ?
No it wasn't.   The concept is like a tool that changes your structure inside.   It is not to be take literally.

It is a tool of practice.
The way I understand it to work is that when you imagine yourself to be God a union is created between you and God, and then your identity shifts into that union.  Therefore you become something newly formed, a soul if you like.   This is why realised teachers do not wield the power of God, because they are not God.
So ... that's similar to deity worship, visualising yourself as Green Tara until realisation occurs, you aren't Green Tara but it's a tool.
In koan practice once again concepts are used to break open the mind, and are not to be taken literally.

 

Concepts As Illusions

Are concepts illusory ? 
Do they mean nothing ?
If you daydream it means nothing.   

But if you are focused and present then you can make sense of things.
So, concepts are illusory if you are daydreaming only, but they become real if you are present and inject your reality into them.
Some people speak for hours and it means nothing.
Some people say just a few words and it means everything.

 

Becoming What You Are

Can we be anything other than what we are already ?

If I am already me, how can I be anything else ?
Is there therefore nothing to do ?
Well, if you go to medical college for 5 years you can become a doctor.

Are you then something other than what you are ?
No, you are still you.
You can only ever be you.

But you have actualized a potential that would otherwise not have developed.

And if you don't develop it, then it is not you but a potential never actualized.

 

 

The statement that you are Brahman is more than a concept or a tool. It is literally true.

It is also true that you are any entity that you may invoke. This is to say, you are one with them in the universal field of consciousness to begin with. Your act of invocation is just actualizing that identity, to one degree or another. And that's how invocation works.

However, your identity with Brahman is the most intimate, direct and indestructable one of all.

Now sometimes seekers realize their identity with Brahman or God and become megalomaniac. Trust me, I have seen it happen! I call that ego inflation. That's what occurs when someone becomes aware of their identity with the Divine on the egotistic level only. That is, when they have not sufficiently transcended the ego in order to become truly aware of their greater identity. An identity that goes infinitely beyond the egotistical self.

It's as though the individual is merged with Brahma at some deeper level. Understanding this is a reason for deep joy rather than for cocky pride, however. Remember that everybody is one with Brahman on a deeper level. So becoming aware of your identity with Brahman is becoming aware of your identity with everybody and everything else, essentially.

Tat tvam asi.

Autobiography of a Yogi, written by Paramahansa Yogananda.

I can't tell you how many times I have read this from cover to cover, but I do keep it on my nightstand, it is such an important book for me.

It even has a Wikipedia entry of its own:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_a_Yogi

9 hours ago, Jonesboy said:

 

Thank you very much.

You are welcome.

9 hours ago, Jonesboy said:

Do you think bliss is the same thing as clarity?

No, not necessarily.

9 hours ago, Jonesboy said:

Perfect harmony with the universe or are you the universe?

Perfect harmony with the universe is equivalent to the realization that you are the universe.

Thank you, Wizz. Glad to be here.

8 minutes ago, Jonesboy said:

 

Do you mind commenting more on what you mean by “activation of their more integrated functioning?”

Not at all.

The chakras represent different functions of us as living beings, different parts, as it were:  from our most base survival instincts to our highest spiritual aspirations. Now in most people, there is some disjunction between various chakras and the functions they represent, respectively (e.g., between sexuality and love, etc.). However, a true spiritual practice will invariably have the effect not only of freeing the chakras from aforementioned impediments (whereby they become more radiant), but also of balancing and aligning them. Actually, these various effects don't happen in isolation from each other, but always go hand in hand.

Psychologically, this will be experienced as a decrease of inner conflicts and consequently a sense of greater harmony. In yoga terminology, the blissful state of samadhi refers to that. Enlightenment or satori would be the epitome of that state, a condition of perfect harmony with the universe.

When you talk about the chakras 'collapsing into a unified field of the light body', you are referring to this more integrated state of being, I suppose.

10 hours ago, Jonesboy said:

Chakras are mental mind maps to stored issues and fears.

 

As you mentioned, some traditions have 4 , 7 or 12 chakras. While other traditions have no chakras at all.

 

To me they are already there, it is just the depth of getting to the point of noticing them. As we progress in my experience and all the chakras open they kind of collapse into a unified field or the light body. To me, it isn't the end but just another beginning along the path that really never ends.

Chakras (in my understanding and experience) are centers in our subtle bodies, much like the physical body has its nerve centers and glands too. They are relay stations for pranic energies, as it were. True that fears and other issues can get stored in them, blocking the free flow of those energies. Removing those impediments will have a positive effect on your physical and psychological health and also open your channels up for spiritual experiences.

What you call 'collapsing of the chakras into a unified field of the light body' is (again in my understanding and experiencing) nothing but the activation of their more integrated functioning - as may result from prolonged practice of yoga and other systems.

It's correct that chakra systems as taught in different traditions vary from each other somewhat, e.g. in regards to their number. That said, more often than not, those traditions are quite in agreement as to the location of centers and their functions.

Call me biassed, but I feel daily practice of hatha yoga could help you. As it will make you focus on your body, feel it in all its parts, take fresh air deeply into your lungs...

Best wishes to you!

Lakshmi

Metaphysical, occult reality (as you call it) is the source of all reality. The universe is Brahma's dream!

Thank you, Fa Xin. I am glad you like my name. Yours is not too bad either (from what little I have read about eastern martial arts).

And I am honored to be a member of this community now.

I am a woman im my 30's. I practice hatha yoga since my childhood. I am also very interested in the philosophy that comes with it as well as in many other topics.

I have been following this forum for some time as a 'lurker'. Now I thought it's time to finally become a part of it. So I can benefit from the experience of spiritual practitioners here more directly and also share my own.

I am looking forward to many enlightening exchanges!

Yours

Lakshmi