Esoteric

@Bryanbrax There is a thread on Kriya Yoga. Satyananda was a student under Sivananda. This Kriya Yoga is under a completely different lineage than Lahiri's. There is an ashram in Scandinavia that uses this system to produce teachers run by a disciple of Satyananda who's name is Janakananda. I have not tried this version of Kriya Yoga myself, but I have heard it contains a lot of Kriyas and long sessions. I might check out the book just out of curiousity. I suggest you read some reviews and do some investigation and make up your own mind if it is worth investing 10 years in.

@MountainCactusThanks for your answers and stuff to look into. I've gotten a lot of new perspectives and stuff to reflect on. I never really put much attention on that Lahiri's Kriya was for householders specifically, even though I always knew it. It does make sense now. Never seen or heard of Avatar: The Last Airbender but it looks interesting, might give an episode a go And I will watch that video you posted, I like that guy from what I've seen.

@MountainCactus Wow. This is very interesting stuff and I have got some researching to do. I will buy Yogananda's book on the Gita. Though speaking of Yogananda. For me personally, he is one of the greatest masters we've had. Yet he seemed to have no problem with energization practices. On the contrary. He reached so far that he willingly left the body. So what is your view on that? It is paradoxical to what wrote, is it not? Also if you look at Vajrayana and Tummo practice, it focuses on building up so much energy that it "melts" the upper centres into the belly which creates more and more bliss. Non-dual bliss as they call it. An extremely energetic technique that obviously has created a lot of masters if you look at the Tibetan tradition. So isn't it more fair to say that it depends on the individual more than anything? For some people, like Yogananda, an increase in energy was to their benefit. Whereas for other people it will cause suffering and there is not enough courage to resist the temptations it creates. Also, I would be interested in hearing your opinion about our center. You write that the limbic brain projects out the chakras in the body. And the term spiritual heart gets used alot, where our home and true seed is. Gamana writes about this too. But the spiritual heart still gets projected out to the heart from the brain. Or "brain". So is it fair to say that our true core and center is in the brain and this is where the eyeball (as Leo put it) projects out all of creation? And that it only feels like it's in the spiritual heart?

@MountainCactus Hi and welcome to the forums. Glad to have you onboard and to that you share your accumilated knowledge. You make very interesting points and I can relate to what you write about energizing the chakras. I did Gamana's "KP" where you chant in the spiritual eye only. Though the technique was extremely potent for me and it helped me feel the central channel, it was also often uncomfortable in the sense that it felt like too much energy and alot of anxiety boiled up. I have taken a break from Kriya practices since (or whatever you wanna call what I did) and taken up other energy practices that feels way more soothing, balanced and stronger. If I will return to kriya I will make sure to do the KP that follows the chakras in the body, nadi sodhana, om japa in the chakras and navi kriya (though not in that order obviously) My questions for you are: When you say that you don't want to energize your chakras or calm the prana, can you be more specific? When you do Om Japa and KP, what makes the difference of calming vs energizing them when placing the OM's? Why would energizing the chakras create more ego? For me I can penetrate more deeply inwards when my body is energized. And if you develop siddhis it doesn't mean you have to flaunt them or feel special, that is the seduction and trick you have to pass, but a sincere seeker will want to find truth and who/what you truly are. I have always wondered about Lahiri's statement that not placing OM's is tamasic. If I get this right, if you do Pranayamas without placing OM's, move the the prana up and down, this would not be benificial, but actually destructive. Can you give an explanation to why this would be the case?

@emind Yes, bitter indeed. Even if Dawkins did DMT or had a strong psychedelic experience where duality collapsed I don't think it would matter honestly. He has decades of his energy and beliefs put into his work. He would call it an interesting experience and construct a theory on how it happened in his brain. There is way too much pride involved, he would not be able to overcome it. The ironic thing is that he says that science is open and celebrates new discoveries while not realizing he has been stagnating for decades.

@ardacigin Cool, looking forward to hearing more about it

@ardacigin Just the knowledge of using peripheral awareness and stable attention has skyrocketed my meditation. It has made it more fun, playful and rewarding. If unease comes I focus more on the body and decrease peripheral awareness and if I feel grounded I increase peripheral awareness. I can't thank you enough for recommending Culadasa. Cheers

@Nahm Haha yep, guilty of that too

This guy was my hero as a teenager. Now I can hardly listen to him. But I will try and get through the episode. Will be a test indeed. Thank God for growth.

@Strangeloop No it's not. Strong determination sitting is just that you will not move the body during the duration of your sit, then you can apply whatever technique on top of that i.e do nothing, labeling, zazen etc

@mandyjw Speaking of apples. This morning when I arrived at work, someone had put a worned out Yoga magazine from 2014 on my desk with an apple on top of it

@Beginner Mind

@Beginner Mind My advice would be to make an effort to be aware all the time in every situation. If you invest time doing that for a long time you will come to a point where you can actually choose to withdraw from the story and realize how much more soothing it is to be present than to be caught up in your story and identification. And then you keep going deeper in your presence. This can be very painful at times, because you will see your own neurosis very clearly when you raise your awareness. But if you keep pushing through still, you will reap great rewards. Also maintain a daily practice. That would be my advice. But you will have to find ways and tricks that works just for you specifically. That's the fun part.

@Beginner Mind True happiness comes when you don't identify with the egoic self, yes. All problems and fears comes from getting seduced and sucked in by the story. The story isn't real, it's just a story.

@Beginner Mind Because that is not happiness, not really anyway. It is only dependent on their circumstance. Should they get cancer or get in an accident that will make them unable to move. How stable do you think their so called happiness is then? Real happiness is stable and independant of circumstance. Even egoic personalities that seem happy most of the time still have that nagging sense of impending doom in the back of their heads.

@EntheogenTruthSeeker I think you have more resistance than you think. If you truly had NO resistance you would "die", infact you would have no problems leaving your "physical" body either. Are you willing to do that?

@remember That's exactly why I didn't write he, because I think you are right about that. That the arch angels have male names is just because the judeo-christian faith was male dominated so the deities got male names. Obviously the arch angels are prior to christianity. That's an interesting perspective. Maybe I will try putting water on the sacral chakra and see how it resonates That's the beauty of trying out stuff for yourself and see how it works for you.

@remember The arch angel Gabriel I associate with love and purity, something I relate to anahata. This angel is associated with the element of water also. Maybe in the future I will use a completely different system, I am totally open to that possibility. But now it feels completely right for me and my growth has been very fast this last year. I am very grateful to have come across a lot of good and potent energy systems.

@Thewritersunion Do you really expect a qualified answer on such a vague post?

@remember Alright

@remember Not really sure what you mean by one, two etc? I think the pentagram is a powerful symbol. When I do energy work, from the perspective of the body, the base of the spine down to the ground is earth, then fire at the navel, water at the heart, air at the throat and finally spirit at the head and crown being the fifth element from which all elements are sprung and pervades everything.

@llumi Do you do any grounding and centering work? I found this to be really important. If you are going to focus on the third eye for long periods you will need grounding, this is VERY important. Stimulate your root chakra. Look into grounding exercises and take them seriously. Infact if I were you I would stop chanting on the third eye for awhile and get a good base. You need a strong foundation and if you are prone to anxiety and attacks things might get worse for you if you continue.

@Mondsee Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

Shinzen Young had a long cannabis addiction

Sacred tobacco. I work with it regularily and it is an amazing sacrament. Highly recommended for those interested in energy work, grounding, centering and clearing blockages.