alfa

Normally, orgasm lasts a few moments. But in tantra, sexual energy is transformed in such a way that it lasts throughout. But how is this possible without a partner? Is tantra all about having sex to transcend it, or is there also a place for meditation?

If we control the sexual urge, it may lead to madness. Moreover, it cannot be controlled. If we try, we may ejaculate while asleep. It results in anger as well. So it's better to indulge than control.

Whoever said sexual urge must be controlled (I mean priests and other 'religious' people) must've been a sadomasochist.

What is glossolalia? Is it some kind of method to penetrate the subconscious using random words and sounds?

When I try to be aware of the body, I notice some tingling sensations every now and then. Do I continue doing this? What is the value of meditating on one's body in this way?

So far, my mind hasn't stopped its chattering but my body is becoming somewhat still and I notice some sensations every now and then. Is this the movement of chi? Could this awareness (of the body) be of any use in controlling one's mind indirectly?

What's sufi whirling, and how is it beneficial? I understand one should simply whirl until one gets tired but how does it help? Is it dangerous? How long can we do it? Do we have to do it on an empty stomach?

Boredom is just a bad mental habit. I for example, never get bored. Honestly.

 

How can you get bored with such a wonderful world all around you filled with so much fascinating stuff, like dirt, bugs, clouds, cheese, feet, cats, etc?

When you sit down and do nothing, are you bored? While watching this world, the trees, birds etc., one may not feel bored. But when yo do nothing, you feel bored. That's true of everyone.

Almost all religions, especially taoism, declares that each moment is new and must be enjoyed. But I don't see how. Every moment seems to be the same moment repeating itself endlessly. Why else do we feel boredom, then? Boredom would be impossible if every moment were fresh and new.

It seems to me that permanence is the only reality, which is why we feel bored with everything. If things are always changing and new, we'd never be bored with anything. Every moment would be meditation!

Alfa

How is this different from the Socratic method?

Bring the energy up to your crown chakra.

One feels the energy in the penis. How does it go upward to the crown?

By imagining you increase the sexual fire up to the point you discharge your load in the sleep having sexual dreams, so whats the point?

Don't know. I didn't invent tantra.

Whenever we feel the sexual urge, we can do something (have sex, masturbate etc.) to release the energy. But if we want to conserve the energy, there are tantrics who say we must simply *imagine* the sexual act but make sure there's no ejaculation/discharge. That way, we not only avoid sex and transform energy but also do away with suppression.

Any thoughts on this?

Do tantra and tao both teach conscious indulgence. What I mean is: they both say repression of desires, thoughts, and impulses is dangerous. And if that's the case, the only other option is indulgence. It seems we have to indulge consciously. When you have sex, you have to do it consciously, and so on.

But in what way is it different from what we normally do? We're normally conscious while doing these activities, including sex. We're already indulging consciously, and it hasn't gotten us anywhere.

So what's the difference between this and tao/tantra?

Osho's books are quite entertaining. He explains things from different angles, his meditation techniques are different, and all that. However:

* he contradicted himself

* acted as if he were paranoid (blamed US govt. of having poisoned him)

* Claimed toward the end of his life that Buddha had occupied him and he was a vehicle

* Many such outlandish comments and behavior

What do people think of him? Was he just an entertainer and nothing more? Which means, do we have to avoid his books on tao (or any other subject matter)? Or, was he doing this on purpose so as to shock people for whatever reason?

Alfa

Hi,

In sleep paralysis, your body shuts down but the awareness is still there. Does that mean the awareness is now ready to expand beyond the body? What I mean is: normally, our awareness is restricted to the body. If not, we're asleep, in which case there's not much awareness of the body. But in sleep paralysis, it's neither. The body shuts down, so your awareness isn't restricted to your body. But you're not asleep either, so your awareness is still very much present. Does this mean the mind is now ready to expand?

EDIT: Is sleep paralysis similar to what Raman Maharishi experienced the first time he pretended he was dead.

Alfa

Hi,

I am only asking this out of curiosity. Death is the most important part of life. Without understanding death, no spiritual discipline is complete. So if a person wants to experience death directly by killing himself, what's the easiest and painless way of doing it?

Alfa

Hi,

While watching my thoughts while lying down (I didn't sleep!), I suddenly experienced something around the throat. I can't describe it exactly. Then the sensation disappeared.

What could it be? I wasn't doing kundalini or any physical asanas or breathing. I was lying down and watching my mind when this happened.

Alfa

I've heard about this man, but what did he do? What's his philosophy, if he had one? I don't seem to find anything comprehensive on the net, no books at all written by or about him.

Can someone tell me in simple words what his teaching is? I have a slow connection.

Here's a picture of what this should look like. Your eyes should feel a gentle strain on the outer eye muscles and it is common to have your eyelids flutter a bit and not totally close. I left my eyelids a little more open then usual so you could see the position of the eyeballs better. Eventually this will feel quite pleasurable and normal. It does for me anyways.

 

Love,

Carson

Is there a danger of the squint becoming permanent? I can't let that happen, you see, not even for the third-eye.

Osho has mentioned that one must get both eyes to the middle while concentrating on the third-eye. In other words, we close our eyes and squint until we hit the middle of the brow. Doing this, one can feel the pressure in the spot between eyebrows. But will this lead to a squint? Will it affect the eyes?

Besides, what must one do? I feel the pressure alright, but where to go from there? I am not good at visualization, either. Do I simply meditate on the pressure between eyebrows, hoping something will happen?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

And Xabir, thanks for posting Ramana's self-inquiry method. I've read it before, and I find it a little confusing. When one tries to find out 'who am I' there is no "I" to be found! That's why I am wondering how one can abide in the "I am" awareness when there's no I apart from body, mind etc. What I mean is, when one asks 'who am I' there's simply a blankness, after which the mind continues its perpetual chatter.

If one asks 'who am I,' what next? I am getting nowhere with this. People say one can experience the non-dual state. But after asking who am I, the same mental processes continue. So what difference does it make?

However what I'm trying to point out especially to alfa is that experiencing non-dual as a state or passing experience is not realising that non-dual as what is 'always so'. To one that has realised non-dual as the ever present nature of consciousness, one can NOT enter or exit non-dual consciousness. Therefore it is 'pathless'. Always already, there is no observer divided from observed. Consciousness is seen always AS sounds, sights, sensations, NOT behind sounds, sights, sensations. Non-duality is not an experience... though prior to insights and realisation, one still appears to experience entry and exit. Consciousness does not depend on non-dual experiences, rather, consciousness IS non-dual. When this is realised, it is called 'enlightenment'. If one speaks about seeming entering and exiting nondual experiences, it is evident that the nature of consciousness has not been realised... for me as I have said, I only had experiences, but not the 'realisation'. Also compare Stage 2, 3 and 4: http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/200...experience.html

Thanks for a wonderful post. But I am finding it virtually impossible to put this into practice, because whenever we think of observation, it's always observer vs observed. It's not possible - even theoretically - to think of everything as consciousness, especially smells, sounds etc. The duality seems to be ever present, MORE real and concrete than non-duality. Perhaps, you can expand on that, namely how consciousness itself is the world that we perceive (if indeed that's what you were trying to say), and NOT behind these things as a perceiver.

When observing anatta you just observe all sensations arising on their own in a natural causal fashion -- e.g. hearing sound happening on its own naturally without being a separate 'me' or 'mine' nor a 'hearer' separate from sound, bodily sensation happening in the same way, thoughts happening in the same way. When this is directly experienced this gives rise to non dual experience and insight, such that everything is 'aware where it is' without a separate cognizer. This is the same as what the Buddha instructed in the Satipatthana Sutta (the Sutta which is used as a basis for Vipassana practise), 'observe the sensation IN the sensation'. He didn't say 'be the watcher of the sensation', suggesting he is not talking about dissociative witnessing. All sensations are self-aware where they are.

This is fascinating, but how can there be a listening or seeing without the listener/seer separate from listening/seeing? Does that mean instead of listening, we must first eliminate the "I" so that there will be listening, and not an "I" that listens? Is this what you're getting at? Besides, non-dual experience cannot be an experience-can it?-because there's neither experiencer nor experience. Does that mean it's an unconscious state?

My brain doesn't talk, so .... no.

 

But during meditation I noticed something like a magnetic motion behind my exebrow(s), limited to the left side. Since lately I feel that for maybe 25% of the day over the whole width.

That's funny! I've been experiencing the same thing, but sometimes it also happens behind my right. I wonder what this is, though. I haven't been doing any rigorous meditation, either.