Simply AMAZING!

[imonous]

Ok, today was a very “enlightening” experience for me. So I decided to take a trip to a mountain trail near my house. I usually come here when I need to get away and be in nature. It’s a very relaxing and beautiful place. I have a nice “bond” with the animals and they do not fear or show aggression towards me and ive noted this in the past with aggressive dogs. I even ate with mr. flurry before he ran off to play with some turtles lol:

 

 

 

 

Anyway, lately ive been experimental with a lot of techniques id developed over the past years and it seems I finally “got one”. This one is a combination of the inner sound technique and distance seeing.

 

So I began with my gaze focusing at the top of a nearby hill. It was the furthest and highest “object” in my vision. After resting/quieting my mind on it I began to expand my vision to focus on that point and everything in my peripheral, pretty much become totally absorbed in visual consciousness.

Then I switched to the ears. Ive posted in the past about listening to the inner sound, its that ringing sound that you hear in total silence. Once I was visually absorbed it became VERY easy to find and focus. When I heard/remembered I was completely pulled into it. That sound became the background of everything.

Ive never had a “conscious” experience quite like this. I literally disappeared.

 

It was frightening and amazing at the same time. I was extremely hyper conscious of everything. Its almost impossible to portray, I did not feel like I was inside my body but just a “mass” of awareness. I forgot how to move my physical body at one point, actually I forgot I even had one. Im considering switching to this as my foundational practice. My mind feels GREAT and im in super focus mode right now, and kinda giddy and euphoric

 

(edited because im so "high" and messed up a bunch of words lol)

Edited November 17, 2011 by imonous

[deci belle]

[Seth Ananda]

[Ish]

I don't want to ruin your "high" (lol) but check out the Jhana states.

Some descriptions may sound clinical and boring but in practice like what you experienced its very enjoyable.

[Elliot]

wow, very interesting imonous thanks for sharing!

[ATMA]

One wonders what that ringing actually is.

They pray tell of satellighte waves? Om.

[Moonbar]

One wonders what that ringing actually is.

They pray tell of satellighte waves? Om.

 

Yes ive wondered about this too - sometimes while laying in bed on a quiet night & concentrating on the ringing, it can become almost deafening.

Usually it goes unnoticed. Ive heard someone say that its caused by blood circulating through the finer parts of the ear ... maybe.

[imonous]

Very cool Imonous.. That is a great Shamatha method by the 'sound' of it {no pun intended}

 

Increasing awareness of the periphery moves one into deeper parts of the mind.

Focussing on objects far away, especially with sky around them, tend to increase ones sense self quite massively.

And adding listening to inner sounds engages the mind even more fully, giving the normal mind almost no chance/energy to rear its little head...

 

Very clever putting them all together like that

 

Hi Seth, you are spot on. I can actually "feel" that deepening and self expansion. Its very similar to another practice of mines where id sit in a room and reach a silent state of focus. My focus would be on the 4 walls surrounding me, instead of feeling my body id focus on feeling the walls and eventually everything in the room besides myself. At first it is purely conceptual, and then the body sense of feeling sort of catches on and shifts. Alchemy!

[imonous]

I don't want to ruin your "high" (lol) but check out the Jhana states.

Some descriptions may sound clinical and boring but in practice like what you experienced its very enjoyable.

 

Thank you for sharing! I don't like putting names to things but Jhana descriptions list pretty much word for word the experience of this technique. One of the stages on wikipedia has confirmed a hunch i had about where to go next. Balancing inner & outer against themselves. "He discerned that 'There is a further escape,' and pursuing it there really was for him."

 

After a lot of reflection ive come to the realization that there are two distinctive types of complete absorption of awareness.

 

1. The inner absorption which stems from inner/void types of meditation.

2. The outer absorption which stems from outer focus & meditation.

 

They are both very distinctive for me but lead to the same sense of euphoria, no mind, and lasting complete physical/mental autonomy. Its probably easier to conceptualize this as reaching two opposite ends of a spectrum of awareness. The spectrum goes from inner (buddha-primordial awareness) to outer (post-mordial awareness).

 

With my practices in inner meditation i noticed that after a while my mind would be able to reach that extreme state & retain more and more cognition. Im "assuming" the same will happen with this outer practice after some time. My next step is to merge the two. Reach my inner absorption point, and then use my remaining cognition to reach the outer extreme and hold them both at the same time.

 

p.s. Atma & Moonbar, i did a short write-up on this forum a while back abou the inner sound which became a very interesting discussion. When i find it ill post it for you guys.

[imonous]

A few tidbits of info on the inner sound current taken from myself and others:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Self Quote from: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/20343-any-recomended-concentration-meditation/page__st__64__p__288713__fromsearch__1entry288713

"I'm surprised noone has mentioned listening to the inner sound, IME its the quickest way to "ensnare" awareness and completely turn the mind inside out. It is very easy for the mind to become obsorbed in sound."

 

"You know, the ringing you hear in complete silence. Here's a current discussion thats been going on for over a year now. http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3703

 

 

This particular post pretty much sums up the experience:

 

"For most people if they listen for it they'll find a quiet sound which is there continuously, and they may direct their attention on that sound... when the mind settles on that sound the listener notices more and more complexity in it and it becomes quite the amazing thing."

 

The key is to listen and let go into it, stills the mind like nothing else. Another wonderful benefit is that it transforms or progresses itself. All you need to do is relax, breathe, and listen."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

External Quote from: http://godsdirectcontact.com/english/innerlightinnersound.html

 

This primal vibration or Sound is in its nature transcendental and therefore perceived in silence. Jesus' disciples called it the "Holy Spirit" or the "Word" (which is from the Greek word "Logos," meaning sound). "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." After Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment, He spoke of this Sound too, calling it the "drum of immortality" Krishna equated Himself with the "sound in ether" Mohammed perceived this Sound in the cave at Gare-Hira when He had a vision of the archangel Gabriel, and Lao Tzu described the Tao as the "Great Tone".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of my favorite all time quotes, source unknown:

“The knower of the mystery of the Sound knows the mystery of the whole Universe.”

Edited November 18, 2011 by imonous

[ATMA]

p.s. Atma & Moonbar, i did a short write-up on this forum a while back abou the inner sound which became a very interesting discussion. When i find it ill post it for you guys.

 

Excitement!

[imonous]

Excitement!

 

You missed it, its right above your head

 

p.s. I love your signature, thanks for the laugh.

Edited November 18, 2011 by imonous

[Ish]

I recommend checking out Daniel Ingrams - Mastering the Core Teaching of the Buddha. It's free online and contains a lot of great information. You may find a lot that you can relate to and pointers to where you want to go.

Daniel Ingram is an arahat, his mastery of the states and stages is really incredible. The book itself really reveals that it's all possible, just practice practice practice (correctly )

[starhawk]

I recommend checking out Daniel Ingrams - Mastering the Core Teaching of the Buddha. It's free online and contains a lot of great information. You may find a lot that you can relate to and pointers to where you want to go.

Daniel Ingram is an arahat, his mastery of the states and stages is really incredible. The book itself really reveals that it's all possible, just practice practice practice (correctly )

 

I have never heard of an American claiming to have mastery of the arhat stages, but if its true, Praise to the Heavens .