Bhathen

Thanks @Nuralshamal. I might need some time to dwell deeper into the details of your post and maybe discuss the Devi Mahatmyam later.

8 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

Latest installment: a documentary about the superb intelligence of cuttlefish, right next to a crunchy cuttlefish pancakes lesson.  That pairing in my feed was not enough to make a vegetarian out of me but just for this morning I had to change my breakfast plan (which was cassava flour pancakes) so as to give myself some time to process the trauma.   

Have you been near a cassava flour factory?

@Nuralshamal do you know the origin or time period in history of these practices? Not a history person, but curious to know if the worship of female gods was predominant for a certain period of time before Adi Shankaracharya.

Interested to know what aspects of the self these Gods represent? Or are they something else entirely?

55 minutes ago, Maddie said:

 

Okay so he sounds like he was a good life coach which is definitely cool and valuable for sure, but not supernatural or magical.

What kind of magical teacher are you looking for?

17 hours ago, Maddie said:

 

Ok two questions....

 

1. What could he do?

 

2. Would it still work if he tried it on a non-believer / MMA fighter? 

1. If you had read freeform's experience with his master, that is the kind of teacher am talking about. It is more of a master disciple relationship where I was taught everything I needed to know to lead my life well. Everything was taken care of and the path for my journey was shown.

Even if something was shown or skills exhibited, belief and trust are different. I don't have the words to explain the nonphysical action which is not perceivable by the five senses. 

2. What others understood, I don't know.

On 11/10/2023 at 8:40 AM, Maddie said:

 

So here's my question about these mystical teachers that are hidden from society, much like Santa Claus and God if no one's ever seen them how do we know they exist?

My teacher was living in the midst of society, yet 95% of people living in his street never saw him. Even if they had it was another old man for them. Neighbors were searching for teachers all over when he was right beside them.

.

Ginger generates a lot of heat, so my favorite version of masala chai latte in winter is adding dry ginger powder or a  fresh ginger piece, cardamom, fennel seeds and sometimes a pepper corn to the tea.

19 hours ago, Learner said:

https://youtu.be/rrIHto7V8Sc?si=lCQnsY-n7_LiyvK7

 

Can this video be followed to practice SKY yoga?

Yes, it's a full body exercise routine for anyone, effective for vitality and the first thing taught in their classes. It's designed to aid their meditation system. If you are into other internal arts, you might need to reconsider doing the Kapalabathi exercise at 29 minutes.

On 10/3/2023 at 10:56 AM, thelerner said:

Anger is a tough nut.  A fire that consumes us before we even recognize it.  

There are people and situations that are matchsticks.  Avoid them if you can but that's not always possible.  Don't rub against them more than you need.  

 

What's helped me a bit, starting with low anger situations, asking myself, 'How long will I be angry?  How long will I allow myself to be angry?'  This kinda puts anger in a box.  It gives some perspective,  separating the emotion from yourself.  Doesn't always work for the big things but practicing on the smaller ones makes easier to defuse anger.  

 

The anger isn't you, though it can feel that way.  It's an emotion/thought you're tangled up in, one that will go away eventually.  Looking it in the face, giving it a timeline can help.  

A few years back I was reading a book by Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He spoke of the practice of observing the breath anytime strong emotions arose akin to boiling a potato. Observe the breath till the potato is cooked well.

This practice was a constant mantra and what took days to diffuse became minutes, minutes became seconds. A gradual and steady shift in reactivity and perspective occurred but something has altered this.

You are right, anger is just an emotion, just a thought and I have given enough fuel to it. Time to change.

After the replies from Daniel and Michael it hit me that I was not willing to let go of my anger. And that has led me to make changes.

What is working for me now is a reminder of the empty boat by Zhuangzi. My anger seems to be directed at the Great wall of China. The reminder of the folly makes me smile inwardly and outside. A simple practice but nevertheless working well.  Just being fully aware of the activity at hand and not letting my thoughts wander is something am practicing more often.

Thank you @designAlignment, It's a solution, but not one that I would like to practice. Instead I am trying to transform the energy towards exercise, creative work or some useful activities. 

After months of struggle, I posted here ...but now I am just letting it be.

I remember the first year my kid was learning spanish - most of the kids were failing, loads of homework, the teacher was at his breaking point, complaints going back and forth from parents. The second year was a breeze, never knew what was happening in the spanish class but every kid was speaking fluently by the year end and it became a favorite subject for many.

A good teacher can make all the difference.

There are two pranayama (breathing techniques) to cool the body, sitali and sitkari. Both of them can be done 4 or 5 times in a place with clean air and normal temperatures.

https://www.yogahara.com.au/news/2017/1/23/sitali

As a temporary relief, slaked lime mixed with water can be applied as a paste on top of the left and right big toe 'nails' or nadi shuddhi pranayama to balance the breathing.

6 hours ago, Michael Sternbach said:

True, not all circumstances can be changed right off the bat. But the question is always how we deal with them. At the very least, they provide us with an opportunity to grow in our patience, compassion, and wisdom!

I think I'm just bad at dealing with circumstances, ..just remaining silent most of the time. Nevertheless it's been a period of learning to be more accepting but much more miles to go.

6 hours ago, Michael Sternbach said:

Additionally, I can recommend the following simple exercise to you:

 

Sit quietly, breathe calmly and deeply, and find that place of tranquility inside you. Then, when the going gets tough, take a moment to remember that sense of peace you experienced. Once you're back in that zone, it will be so much easier to do whatever needs to be done.

 

This sense... It is the awareness of your inner self -- your true indomitable Spirit that will forever prevail!

Thank you. It's been too much turbulent to go to that inner space called 'home', but slowly been able to find that sense of peace again.

13 hours ago, Daniel said:

In addition, anger can build up over time in the form of resentment.  This is also a lack of power to make changes, but the frustration is deffered.  It could be that a person completely accepts that the situation is unfair, and they cope, but then if there is one thing after another anfter another after another, accomodation, after accomodation after accomodation, it just gets to be too much.  And all the deffered frustration piles up, and produces anger even though those previous circumstances were accepted in a healthy way.  The defferred frustration can still bubble up to the surface.

 

Just trying to be more accepting of things in life.  You are right, everything has accumulated to a point where it has gotten too much. I never felt any anger even when I was in an abusive situation a few months back, but things kept adding on and it just bursted. After my initial post the mind has become more calmer and for some reason anger has receded greatly.

13 hours ago, Daniel said:

Maybe make a list of the things you do on a daily basis, if any of those things is irritating, brainstorm ways to make it more pleasant, then do-it.  Even if it seems like a small insignificant change, just taking charge of that one aspect can maybe lead to more and more empowerment, and less frustration. 

Thanks for this,...  have been thinking about it for a while now. I have made a small to do-list, since I had no idea what I wish to do with my life and trying to bring about that change little at a time. 

Actually the extreme nature of my emotions seems to have unblocked a lot of things inside, has made me peek out of my shell and given a thrust to unwind from the thought patterns instilled by society.

1 hour ago, Gerard said:

Work specifically when Wood & Fire are activated (11am-2pm) and in the wee hours (from midnight to sunrise). 

 

Good luck! 

What kind of work should be done during those hours?

Lately I have been angry to an extreme extent. Meditation or breathing exercises are just not helping me. 

Been going through a lot of personal issues and health had been affected. Am not sure if the extreme nature of the anger is due to nerve issues which I developed in my right foot  or due to the vaccines I had a few months back or everything just coming together.

Any suggestions please? Any detox for the liver?

Came across this discussion. The link provided is for the book "Aghora" with a chapter on intoxicants.

https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/55504/why-do-ascetic-devotees-of-shiva-smoke-weeds

Thanks for the links @Gerard Will check them out.

Any suggestions(books or websites) for learning about the history and traditions of ancient India? Was reading vaguely about Kaula and Trika traditions, would like to read more about the origins of different practices of Hinduism.

You are right. Mula bandha....by retaining the breath during Ashwini mudra you will be locking in (bandha) the root chakra and physical openings, hence the flow/loss of energy outside decreases.

Tightening of the pelvic muscles in yoga, if you mean the ashwini mudra...no breath retention, just normal breathing. Breath retention during the tightening and release is used only for certain yogic or kriya practices. 

Thanks @Nungali for the interesting info on the bio-dynamic preparations. I read through some of the training material and watched a video of creating a vortex bringing order and then chaos. Maybe life is similar to this cycle as well.

@Nungali   I remember reading a post/story of yours somewhere about a farmer having a higher crop yield than his neighbors (could not find the post again). The others found out that the high-yield farmer used to stir some fertilizer or portion in a clockwise direction singing some lines and then stirring anti-clockwise singing some lines.

It may have been just a story but does this have any correlation with stirring food when cooking, in a clockwise direction (to pull in energy)?

If it's "The Book of Secrets : 112 meditations",  it's a commentary for the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra (Kashmir Shaivism).