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lots of neato "by-product" stuff - although by said definition that is not the point is it.... (?)

Edited by 3bob
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How does one transmit the experience of life, a teaching?

 

How does one tell the tempest it is not in its nature to what it knows itself as?

 

Can the wave turn back?

 

I close my eyes and there is no want to see more for everything is there as it has always been.

 

The deafening noise now has no sound, it appears to be speaking but it has no words, no life.

 

This wonderful vehicle is fresh in every moment, unfolding - this must be the bliss that is so poorly treated by the mind in translation.

 

It is not possible to be more fortunate than I - everything has been here for me.

The gift of each trial brought me nearer to that that I am, though I climbed to the top of a hill and planted my flag for all to see in the land of nowhere. Time and again I was proud to be in the wasteland.

 

Greet your brother sun by day and moon by night and kiss the ground that is you, lay to rest your positions, greet each moment with nothing.

 

Your pretty swords betray you though you think otherwise. Even the atoms of your chariot steer a path that is not yours, the feel of old dead positions still compelling them from eons ago.

 

The magic vault is sprung from sun and moon and all the world - not in doing.

 

Embrace the fool and be silent, the unborn will prevail.

Edited by Spotless
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Hi spotless - really great thread, thanks!

 

When you have the time I'd really appreciate it if you could talk about fasting, as you mentioned early in the thread that you did it. i.e. best types of fasting, duration, effects on body and mind etc.

 

Thanks

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Desire

 

I would have posted this as a new topic but finding the posting button is not easy on an iPad and so here it is in this section.

 

Desire is something we who practice tend to put in the bad category. Regardless of this labeling aspect, look at what you may be putting into the bin - it may not be desire.

 

When a seed is sprouting it is energized to grow and expand and become what it can and knows itself to be. It is not desire that has it pounding up through the earth - it is wired this way.

 

We are also wired this way - we are here in life to realize ourselves.

When fertile ground (higher energies impinging upon and arousing our being) presents itself with enough force to awaken "self remembering" the drive to pursue this is of a much higher order than the desire of the fleeting.

 

Cherish your desire to practice - do not let this great drive be redirected to the mere graspings of quick fixes and weeping self indulgence, this form of dissipation is tragic.

 

You have a mountain to uncover - don't play with twigs and give into anxiousness - this is a very real trek through the wilderness to your true home. On the way there the marvels will be witnessed - but the view from the top is encompassing - and beyond this is never ending patience.

Edited by Spotless
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If you are aware of the story of Milarepa then his "bad" time might well illustrate it for you.

 

The active study of the craft of manipulation of all sorts of things including the bending of will upon others without their knowledge or consent whether for "good" or selfish reasons. ( this is a basic off the top of my head def. )

 

Unless one is highly Enlightened the idea of doing "good TO others" however well intentioned is presumptuous, invasive and will backfire in a big way if it is done in hiding and clearly without permission - it is negative karmic action and the more aware you are of your actions the greater the karma. The is no sanctity in ignorance on this activity. You are walking in the wrong kind of neighborhood and the associations you make with the types that dwell in these arenas can be of the lowest type with the brightest smiles.

 

Newbies in this stuff (spiritual unfoldment) playing with Majik is like watching a baby playing with razors. Aiding and abetting it is simply abominable.

 

(By highly Enlightened I mean an Awakened individual and one at least several years into the process or more and one who had done the work upon oneself of intentional suffering to rid oneself of grosser habituations and self will - not necessarily lost in the Awakening process)

Edited by Spotless
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Ah yes, I am aware of Milarepa's story :)

For "good" or selfish, true.

I recall of a loving woman who healed a lady (dying), this lady didn't know or request this healing as such/ directly ... the intention to heal was entirely pure... though this healing caused greater suffering soon after.

I am for non-interference (generally...you could say this response is an interference of some kind...sooo blahhh haha) and self determination... In some cases regarding outcomes it can be difficult to determine the differences coming from good and malicious intentions.

Secondary: Malicious intentions are often hidden behind/ facade of goodness.


So when requested energetic +/ healing is acceptable magic? or would you call it something else... metaphysical sciences :) ... either or...

What is the nature of conversation... this would be an open display of ones will.

What is Will.... at some level your response is coming from Will... to share... to share/ exchange or assistance?

Arising from a request.

I consider language as part of magic ... I don't know how many would agree.

What about desire in terms of magic... to desire a stone cottage with fire place, pleasant gardens near an enchanted forest :)

Or the search for Truth

Would one not be bending/ manipulating reality to create/ realize this?

With visualizations... bringing the vision to Earth / or just general intention... is all intention a manipulation of some kind?

Do you believe reality is a mirror of the internal/ the Universe is responding to our conscious/ unconscious emotion, beliefs etc ... how fluid/ solid is all this etc

Edited by eye_of_the_storm

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These are all good questions but I do not want to get into all of them - a very broad swath of complicated details - between the Milarepa story and what I wrote my drift should be fairly clear.

 

 

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If you look at a Race such as Caucasian you may not only see a color but at some point you may hear a vibration as well.

When I hear somebody's voice, I'm picking up color and texture and vibrational rate and I'm listening out for pulse.  There's the English that they're speaking, and then there's this whole other language underneath. - Priscilla Dunstan

:huh:

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If you are aware of the story of Milarepa then his "bad" time might well illustrate it for you.

 

The active study of the craft of manipulation of all sorts of things including the bending of will upon others without their knowledge or consent whether for "good" or selfish reasons. ( this is a basic off the top of my head def. )

 

Unless one is highly Enlightened the idea of doing "good TO others" however well intentioned is presumptuous, invasive and will backfire in a big way if it is done in hiding and clearly without permission - it is negative karmic action and the more aware you are of your actions the greater the karma. The is no sanctity in ignorance on this activity. You are walking in the wrong kind of neighborhood and the associations you make with the types that dwell in these arenas can be of the lowest type with the brightest smiles.

 

Newbies in this stuff (spiritual unfoldment) playing with Majik is like watching a baby playing with razors. Aiding and abetting it is simply abominable.

 

(By highly Enlightened I mean an Awakened individual and one at least several years into the process or more and one who had done the work upon oneself of intentional suffering to rid oneself of grosser habituations and self will - not necessarily lost in the Awakening process)

 

Spotless,

 

I believe you were referring here to Magic specifically, so excuse me if I am incorrect in my assumptions.

 

In my practice, I do send loving and kind healing intentions to family members, friends, and all sentient beings. This has been largely influenced by Buddhist practice of meditations on compassion. You don't include such practices in what you were referring to in this paragraph, or do you ?

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There's nothing inherently wrong with Magic, folks just get out of hand. Of course, many people with purity ideals will think so, so that's up to them to feel that way. But the whole idea of karma itself being based on meritorious acts.... that's a very religious way of understanding that really isn't completely based on the actuality of the word. But this is for others to figure out or not, it's all good at the end of the day. But if I have ever been "punished", it's because I refused to enact "magic" in this world. To each their own.

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Spotless,

 

I believe you were referring here to Magic specifically, so excuse me if I am incorrect in my assumptions.

 

In my practice, I do send loving and kind healing intentions to family members, friends, and all sentient beings. This has been largely influenced by Buddhist practice of meditations on compassion. You don't include such practices in what you were referring to in this paragraph, or do you ?

 

The answer is yes and no.

Is it specific and manipulative or general and enlightening.

Is it assumptive or self effacing?

If you were to look at "love" from a clairvoyant space it normally in most people looks like a gluish white and has nothing to do with love.

It is an energy that says "slow down and match my energy" or "speed up and match my energy"

It can also be a real form of dissipation and egotistical compassion.

Much of this thinking is akin to someone who wishes to increase the size of their aura - and then they become spacy and wonder why.

This is a difficult idea to explain - certainly thinking well toward someone is not inherently a bad thing and energetically it is much better than the opposite - but remaining neutral and simply being present in the moment - this has far reaching positive results.

Those nearby can see and be near a non-reactive space - one not sending, judging, willing or bending - but actually being.

 

For the most part we are pin balls bouncing from one bumper to the other in resistance or bouncing from one hole to another in hopes of getting the bananas. Most "love" comes either from our resistance or our wantings.

 

 

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This was a very good response, Spotless. You actually touched on some things that I am personally dealing with, so your words were much more useful than you could probably imagine. Thank you.

 

I understand what you mean about most love, even if it's driven by spiritual desire as coming from a place of resistance or of wanting. That being said, this still does not touch on Buddhist practices of loving-kindness. I am curious to hear your thoughts on why this is a core component not only of Buddhist teachings but many yogic teachings as well, specifically the writings of Yogananda and Ramakrishna who repeatedly exhort devotees to relate to others via the heart space. I understand that while this loving intention in the initial phases of our spiritual evolution may be hooked to ego, as love grows in wisdom in understanding, the ego will eventually dissolve by the fire and light of love's maturity. This is something that is touched on in the writings of Aurobindo as well.

 

I have practiced the neutrality that you speak over the course of many months and to be quite frank I felt stumped in my progress. I also found myself becoming distant from other beings. The joy of communing with others was stripped from me in my "neutral presence". From much of what I have read, I understand that eventually in one's own spiritual growth one does go beyond likes or dislikes. I do believe this relates to what you mean by being fully present with zero agenda. It's quite possible that I may be more wired to be a bhakta and feel very distant from the jnana approach. I recently went through a contemplation intensive where it was all jnana: We spent endless hours asking questions such as "who is the I thinking these thoughts",  and while I completely understand why this work was important it left me cold and anxious, frankly. Not so much out of resistance which I can ascertain in my physical being but from a place of unengagement. I have always been more drawn to devotional teachings and hence my interest in loving-kindness practice. Let it be clear, I am not attempting to defend my practice, I am simply stating where I am coming from and am open to hearing your feedback so that perhaps I may gain new insights that may shift, even if it's slightly the center of gravity. Blessings.

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This was a very good response, Spotless. You actually touched on some things that I am personally dealing with, so your words were much more useful than you could probably imagine. Thank you.

 

I understand what you mean about most love, even if it's driven by spiritual desire as coming from a place of resistance or of wanting. That being said, this still does not touch on Buddhist practices of loving-kindness. I am curious to hear your thoughts on why this is a core component not only of Buddhist teachings but many yogic teachings as well, specifically the writings of Yogananda and Ramakrishna who repeatedly exhort devotees to relate to others via the heart space. I understand that while this loving intention in the initial phases of our spiritual evolution may be hooked to ego, as love grows in wisdom in understanding, the ego will eventually dissolve by the fire and light of love's maturity. This is something that is touched on in the writings of Aurobindo as well.

 

I have practiced the neutrality that you speak over the course of many months and to be quite frank I felt stumped in my progress. I also found myself becoming distant from other beings. The joy of communing with others was stripped from me in my "neutral presence". From much of what I have read, I understand that eventually in one's own spiritual growth one does go beyond likes or dislikes. I do believe this relates to what you mean by being fully present with zero agenda. It's quite possible that I may be more wired to be a bhakta and feel very distant from the jnana approach. I recently went through a contemplation intensive where it was all jnana: We spent endless hours asking questions such as "who is the I thinking these thoughts", and while I completely understand why this work was important it left me cold and anxious, frankly. Not so much out of resistance which I can ascertain in my physical being but from a place of unengagement. I have always been more drawn to devotional teachings and hence my interest in loving-kindness practice. Let it be clear, I am not attempting to defend my practice, I am simply stating where I am coming from and am open to hearing your feedback so that perhaps I may gain new insights that may shift, even if it's slightly the center of gravity. Blessings.

Neutrality is a word that often evokes the idea of "disengaged" which has a distant coldness to it.

It is also and aspect of "no thought" which has a sort of impossibility to it.

One can learn to do these things - how to stop ones thoughts and how to follow a thought and stay with it thoroughly - very few people can do either.

One can also do this with emotion and also with reaction.

 

One can withhold emotion - go clear as glass - the light of others goes through and does not impinge.

One can be in a non-reactive space and one can also be spontaneous without loosing oneself.

In the Neutrality I am seeking about one is far more present and engaged because one is not sided in the energy.

 

In a typical interchange with people and the world we are sided With those we are with or stand in a sort of defensive pose until we have judged them to be either at ease with or suspicious of.

 

In neutrality you are clearly at the table but not swept away in the currents. This does not mean you cannot laugh or enjoy or find displeasure - you are simply not fortifying the present with identification.

 

Un-identified is another way of looking at this but most people look at identification from a personal standpoint and not from an interactive standpoint though it is often very pronounced in interaction as when we think of a heated political "conversation".

 

Cultivatiing the mindset of Positive, Compassion and Love lightens the body and ones entire space. In contrast to looking for problems, creating endless loops regarding those problems, indulging in a mindset of the critic, the sarcastic or the victim and surrounding your space with negative thought forms all ready to energize at the slightest similarity of resonance.

 

Being in the Now is being in neutral. Deeply engaged with no inertia.

When you hit a high point in practice - it is often cut short because instead of being able to have the experience we must analyse it:

Oh my god what is this? and at once it is gone or we see a being without a body and immediately think - I am seeing a being! and it's gone. Clairvoyant abilities are greatly diminished if one cannot find neutrality.

Neutrality allows for emotions but no engagement with the whims of emotion.

If you are in "no thought" it does not mean you could not think - it means that you are in a state of non- reactive mind / awareness and not reactive automated loop mind / non-awareness (walking sleep)

Edited by Spotless
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I am going to let this sink in for a while, but I can certainly sense in to what you have said as having much resonance for me. Thanks again.

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The creation of core pictures - perfect pictures.

 

A core picture is something in our space that has a great deal of compression of our life force around it. We tend to think of them as based in a trauma and in many cases they are but we manufacture them with relative frequency as well.

 

One of the key features of why we who pursue the calming of our desires and emotions and mental machinations is precisely because we harm ourselves in creating deep compressions within our space when they run wild upon ideas and the perfection of those ideas or ideals.

 

In the perfection of ideas or ideals one can become stuck in the certainty of ones direction. Often over and over again we compound our agreement upon some formulation we are creating in our minds and with our emotions and other assets we have. It becomes more and more crystallized within us and it does not take too much time before we have a lense through which we are now seeing and holding to regarding how something Must Be.

 

We have now moved away from any form of neutrality on the subject - it is a core and re confirming picture - we are Right and the lense narrows are vision to continue to see our righteousness.

 

But this is far more subtle than what it may appear I have described. If you have this proclivity you may find it is good for bending will - your will and the will of others. Yet it is also a way towards the clarification of ideas and the great resonance these confirmed thoughtforms can have in attracting to themselves some of the great works we are capable of.

 

The very fine edge here is whether we are building our life force around it in a sort of protectionist confidence within - an unshared certainty privately and passionately compressed OR if we are putting the pieces together with an openness for other contribution outside of ourselves and in our picking of it we do not identify with it as we put that piece in our puzzle.

 

Another way of stating the above is the issue of becoming identified with the creation - is it "my idea" or "there is only one way" or "they are doing it all wrong". Many of us regard the "manly way of doing and thinking" as having a sort of over riding confidence in our opinions regardless of how correct they are. The idea being that we can modify on the wing but to not have a clear and concise

answer or opinion is wimpy.

 

This is partly true - one can only deliberate for so long - actual action needs to take place at times and concise is frequently better than indecision. But given the subject at hand, that of creating perfect pictures and core pictures that color our vision and thus limit our spectrum - notice the looping in your head.

 

If you find you are looping thoughts - thoughts that constantly run in an increasingly confirming orbit around a subject that you are personalized with - the orbiting is your life force like a thread constantly wrapping and binding your identifications with the idea and compressing it toward crystallization within your space. In the end you have created a core picture - one that is extremely hard to unravel because it is now a blinder to seeing beyond its limitations. Whole subtle energy patterns form in your space because of this crystalline compression.

 

These core pictures can often be the vibrational triggers for strong mood swings or mental swings. They are often the "Buttons" that can be pushed in our space that launch a tiraid. Typically a whole string of these get lit up at once - catching yourself in this is nearly impossible - losing yourself at this time is a given. (In fact if you could split this "atom" during its occurrence you would awaken - but it is more extremely rare than rare is rare and would take a shock of some type to catch yourself in mid air).

 

This string of core pictures is what makes up our story. It is our jailer. We have fought hard for much of it and we have been victimized and we have been unfairly singled out. We have our trophies and are scars and we have all of them wrapped in identification - it is who we are.

 

But it is not - it is our painted jail.

Edited by Spotless
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Spotless

A core picture is something in our space that has a great deal of compression of our life force around it. We tend to think of them as based in a trauma and in many cases they are but we manufacture them with relative frequency as well.

One of the key features of why we who pursue the calming of our desires and emotions and mental machinations is precisely because we harm ourselves in creating deep compressions within our space when they run wild upon ideas and the perfection of those ideas or ideals.

In the perfection of ideas or ideals one can become stuck in the certainty of ones direction. Often over and over again we compound our agreement upon some formulation we are creating in our minds and with our emotions and other assets we have. It becomes more and more crystallized within us and it does not take too much time before we have a lense through which we are now seeing and holding to regarding how something Must Be.

We have now moved away from any form of neutrality on the subject - it is a core and re confirming picture - we are Right and the lense narrows are vision to continue to see our righteousness.

But this is far more subtle than what it may appear I have described. If you have this proclivity you may find it is good for bending will - your will and the will of others. Yet it is also a way towards the clarification of ideas and the great resonance these confirmed thoughtforms can have in attracting to themselves some of the great works we are capable of.

The very fine edge here is whether we are building our life force around it in a sort of protectionist confidence within - an unshared certainty privately and passionately compressed OR if we are putting the pieces together with an openness for other contribution outside of ourselves and in our picking of it we do not identify with it as we put that piece in our puzzle.

Another way of stating the above is the issue of becoming identified with the creation - is it "my idea" or "there is only one way" or "they are doing it all wrong". Many of us regard the "manly way of doing and thinking" as having a sort of over riding confidence in our opinions regardless of how correct they are. The idea being that we can modify on the wing but to not have a clear and concise
answer or opinion is wimpy.

This is partly true - one can only deliberate for so long - actual action needs to take place at times and concise is frequently better than indecision. But given the subject at hand, that of creating perfect pictures and core pictures that color our vision and thus limit our spectrum - notice the looping in your head.

If you find you are looping thoughts - thoughts that constantly run in an increasingly confirming orbit around a subject that you are personalized with - the orbiting is your life force like a thread constantly wrapping and binding your identifications with the idea and compressing it toward crystallization within your space. In the end you have created a core picture - one that is extremely hard to unravel because it is now a blinder to seeing beyond its limitations. Whole subtle energy patterns form in your space because of this crystalline compression.

These core pictures can often be the vibrational triggers for strong mood swings or mental swings. They are often the "Buttons" that can be pushed in our space that launch a tiraid. Typically a whole string of these get lit up at once - catching yourself in this is nearly impossible - losing yourself at this time is a given. (In fact if you could split this "atom" during its occurrence you would awaken - but it is more extremely rare than rare is rare and would take a shock of some type to catch yourself in mid air).

This string of core pictures is what makes up our story. It is our jailer. We have fought hard for much of it and we have been victimized and we have been unfairly singled out. We have our trophies and are scars and we have all of them wrapped in identification - it is who we are.

But it is not - it is our painted jail.

 

 

 

Hmm but the looping and wrapping can be good and a tool to get to where you want to be, build what u want to build and motivate and give power to creations that were conceptualized using our own creativity. Hypnosis makes extensive use of this and it can be used for good or bad.

 

I find these "buttons" are nothing to avoid, in my practice i have become good at escaping the loops so long as i don't let the momentum become too strong. The loops create intensity and intensity creates memories, and i like good memories.

 

Lets face it to become a good meditator it takes lots of practice, and those who are good at it are so because they have a strong motivating force, they are sick, physically, mentally or have some other reason. Normal people don't reach great heights in it 99% of the time. So an important side topic i think is important is what does a person hope to get out of all this work to open the third eye and which by products would you prefer, because this would change the way you meditate. Although it is true - There are many paths up the mountain but the view from the top is the same, if you hated steps you could rock climb up there, and if i were in a rush i would take the helicopter.

 

I don't mean to say anything is wrong with what you said, i agree with it all, it just depends on ones perspective and i offer another one. Even a painted jail can have a purpose, and its not a bad place when you have the cell key. If everything happens for a reason then... My point is that the point is less important than the rich content around, and far from the point :)

Edited by z00se
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Namo Amitabha Buddha

 

Namo Amitabha Buddha

 

Namo Amitabha Buddha

 

Sometimes this space of gratitude pervades ones essence.

 

The practice of meditation or any of the cultivation's are here for us not just to utilize in order to "do" (go where we wish to go in our development) which of course is the wrong way of looking at it but most of us approach it this way.

 

The practice of our cultivation's are most useful when we are stuck in a negative space - or perhaps better stated a "stuck state".

If we are lucky enough to understand we are in an opportune space for transition and ask the universe for help and guidance through this we have made an unlikely step. We often ask for help when we have reached some dark night, but when it comes to the relatively light heavy experiences where we may rebel heavily against circumstance for no great reason other than the proclivities of our nature - such as willfulness - we typically resist the resistance and pull out our heaviest plow to meet it.

 

It is at these disdainful times that great progress can be made if one is able to make the unlikely step and upend the inertia of what one has come to own as ones nature. This is intentional suffering - the heating of ones nature against its proclivities.

 

The process is somewhat easy but the unlikely step is most unlikely.

 

Practice works upon our proclivities and refines our general vibration away from many coarse minds - but often does not work on some of the more ingrained and less fuel driven patterns within us. At these times when we find ourselves at great resistance to the universe we have created for ourselves, the unlikely step is presented to us but we clearly have a propensity to bend heavily away

from taking it - for the most part it does not occur to us and this is the primary reason it is unlikely - but we also do not view this opportunity because we are looping our resistance and fortifying our positions.

 

More fortifications or self indulgence are the likely steps we take in resistance, these and great venting of energy and the cultivation of dispersal and self gratifying habits. This is what we go to our grave with, this is what causes the great dark night of the soul - this is the typical way of things because the unlikely step is obscured at precisely a Most opportune time for each of us to make among our greatest leaps from our bondage.

 

Happily the step is two fold and quite "simple" once taken - a true mindset asking for help because the magnitude of the task is no simple matter, and true practice of a depth that can see one through without waver. Here a teacher can be helpful but perhaps for reasons you might not think - with a teacher relationship one may be more keen to follow through - primarily because another's universe is there for you and you do not wish to disappoint it in such a great undertaking.

 

The difficulty in the unlikely step is not just in seeing the opportunity but in upending the inertia we are caught up in, wielding in a mindset change and holding it disconnected while on the tightrope of neutrality knowing what we must do and finding the aid of the universe to bring to bear what we have cultivated but not used so clearly in a conscious affront with alchemical means - in other words before we fall from neutrality in this still space amongst the Turmoil we must move to our practice and pass through this with a sustained and full note - it may be a two hour Qi gong practice in front of the teacher - it may be two or six hours of Yoga - it may be many practice disciplines - it will be necessary to have a solid sustained effort once begun and one cannot sit around during this time planning a spa like attack upon this opportunity - you cannot stand on the tightrope that long and a spa like attack means that you are only imagining what I would be referring to here and instead you have veered into indulgence.

 

If you do make the unlikely step - as you arrive in the shining light of emergence from the fruits of your practice in practice - it will be hard to not say Namo Amitabha Buddha.

Edited by Spotless
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Personally, for me, binaural beats, isochronic tones, theta wave etc etc recordings have been very successful. There's thousands of videos on YouTube so I suggest for anyone interested, to have a play around. 

When listening to these with headphones, in a quiet environment, with eyes closed I've had the most vivid of dreams, astral travelling, meeting spirit guides and information about myself and others than I could possibly imagine.

I can feel the center of my head pulsating so hard. The pineal gland, like a beacon, searching out other like minded souls, spirits and guides both human and just plain beings without any form.

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