mandyjw

There are times when power flows through you strongly. They are judged by the mind as either intense joy, bliss states or intense pain, depression or anger. The mind perpetuates the state but if you can surrender right there (literally feels like you're going to die and you will watch the mind come up with all kinds of objections), take a belly breath, go into the body and feel the energy as just that, energy, something amazing happens. It's a kind of alchemy. Suffering is an opportunity, but it's always a missed opportunity because as soon as you take it it's not suffering anymore.

I remember a conversation I had years ago on another forum that had nothing to do with personal development, and I expressed my assumption that everyone recognized that very tendency in themselves. They enthusiastically corrected me and let me know I was bad and abnormal. This tendency goes deep, we enjoy being mad, we enjoy drama. Why else would people want to see any movie ever made or read any story? We enjoy misfortune, drama and conflict as long as it's made purposeful and transformational in the end. Only as long as we are a comfortable distance from it, of course. Being made in the image of God comes with all sorts of strange effects.

As a general rule women experience and more freely express the depths of emotions more intensely than men, so they hit the rock bottom "this is over, I'm done" feeling first. Initiating a breakup can sometimes be a way to test a man's stability and commitment, usually unconsciously. There are plenty of relationships where the woman is more stable and the man more emotional, so it's a trend, not a rule. Personal development is about being able to experience the full depth of emotions without becoming reactive.

@Guru Fat BastardSo THAT'S why the smell of freshly cut grass makes us so happy.

I have a hunch that you all may see some changes if you begin to pay more attention to the things you are seeing/(feeling) OUTSIDE of your meditation practice.

Trust that if life doesn't offer you the opportunity to take them with a clear conscience then they aren't part of your path just yet. Honest faith and desire to know truth/god/the nature of love itself is more powerful than any drug.

“He willeth we know that not only He taketh heed to noble things and to great, but also to little and to small, to low and to simple, to one and to other. And so meaneth He in that He saith: ALL MANNER OF THINGS shall be well. For He willeth we know that the least thing shall not be forgotten.” ― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

I haven't tried RASA but I've had experiences that make me believe in the power of transmissions, in all instances there was an element of love present. I would not try it unless I felt a real connection to either Ramaji or Ananda. You can only ever give to yourself so the transmission would be a deep awareness/feeling that they are you. Choose teachers and methods that deeply draw you in and resonate with you. Don't do something because it's supposed to work or worked for someone else. Don't close your mind to anything either. When the student is ready the teacher appears... often in in the strangest of places.

What is the position of your jaw when you meditate?

Julian of Norwich lived through the time of the black plague, had an awakening while she was very ill (with a different illness), very cool stuff. Her book Revelations of Divine Love is the first surviving book with a female author. About her history, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich Quotes, https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/156980.Julian_of_Norwich The book, http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/1343-1398,_Julian._of_Norwich,_Revelations_Of_Divine_Love,_EN.pdf “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” “Truth sees God, and wisdom contemplates God, and from these two comes a third, a holy and wonderful delight in God, who is love.” She compared Jesus to a mother, “Our Savior is our true Mother in whom we are endlessly born and out of whom we shall never come.”

I think you'll find this video to be a great explanation. "It isn't the picture and it isn't even the vibrational condition of the object of the picture, it's the state of being of the beholder of the picture. So your question isn't what have they got that makes us all feel, it's how do we get to the place of feeling what they've got"

You make an important point that asking questions and receiving answers and insights is a necessary part of the journey. But unless that process is happening this instant, it's all part of an illusion and is just as much a fiction as Santa Claus. The entire journey and notion of enlightenment is one big story or collection of stories within stories, and you are the center of it. The trick is embracing that story and letting it go at the same time, then you realize both those actions are illusory non-actions.

But fantastical stories can be great teachers.

In many cases they've done a lot of "work" to embody that realization. Seeing things you can't unsee... even if those things are interpreted as a blissful rather than negative experience... makes you realize the full extent to which thought and logic fail to explain the truth. So you stop seeking the truth in thought. You realize how much pain it causes yourself and others to seek ground in thought and you become peace.

I really enjoy his insights, perspective on things and his stories. I haven't done psychedelics and am less interested when he talks about his methods, but a lot of his talks have a lot more to them than just that. He was incredibly well educated and his curious attitude toward life and love of nature are interesting regardless of the methods used. If you've given his talks a chance and they don't appeal to you, that's fine, there are plenty of wonderful teachers out there with a wide range of perspectives and different styles of sharing them.

Witch facet? You're right about intention, just have the intention to see and experience magic. It's starts in ever so subtly, often it comes through things we are used to overlooking. It usually comes through the things you love. Make a point to take notice of those things, keep your eyes open to them, appreciate them, hone your intuition and follow your impulses.

She has an amazing presence. Completely understandable reaction even if you are an old lady. I really want to do the konmari method again now that my intuition is clearer. When I first read the book I thought her methods and wording were quite quirky and kind of strange, yet I was too entranced to be bothered by it.

Konmari method, her book is The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I highly recommend it! It has quite a spiritual side to it. She teaches you to hone your intuition and the identify the things that resonate with you. She also has a show on Netflix. I went through a major minimalism phase and threw out all my old journals and yearbooks. I miss the journals, but not the yearbooks. I got rid of the vast majority of my childhood things and don't miss them, I did find a couple treasures in them that I wouldn't have appreciated had I never taken the time to sort through it all. It's a nice way to put your past in order. I'm pretty sure looking back now that throwing out the journals was avoidance of dealing with my past.

Trees amaze me. When you pay attention to them, it's as if they pay attention to you.

Oh... dear Lord. A week or two ago I realized that I share the same middle name with Dr. Pomroy, and that the real meaning of it is desire. Something told me today that I needed to google the meaning of the name Pomroy. I kept remembering and forgetting. My daughter kept asking all day long, "what's your name?" and that kept reminding me. Then she turned on my flashlights and left them on my computer desk pointed so that they were shinning in my eyes when I sat down. I was annoyed but knew it couldn't be a coincidence. Then I remembered to google the name. Despite the clearly found words of pomme and roy in the name, meaning "apple" in French and "king" in Old French (French roi), the surname given to Radulphus is not linked with the Old French word roy, but is the common place-name Pommeraye, that means "orchard of apple-trees", Modern French word pommeraie, from pommier "apple-tree" and old suffix -aye, now -aie, meaning "a collection of trees".

The clarity isn't found in the ideas, it's found beyond the ideas, they are pointing to the truth. There's a very good reason why no consensus will ever be reached about those terms.

@White Monk Yes! I'd love to go to one someday. @pluto @Nahm

"Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Jesus. It was never my bed, or my sleep or my alone. I don't have a head.

Love.