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solstice said:
Somehow, I have the feeling what you're really after is some " arguing food ", but I might be wrong.

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Chronic777 said:
Please tell me your spiritual practices & how you feel they benefit your self realization/enlightenment/awakening?

I say that all practices are ultimately necessary when it comes to awakening, but i will not call your practice unecessary unless im asked to explain why i think practices or your particular practice is unecessary, but thats up to you, i just wanna hear what you do & why you feel it benefits your growth towards awakening?

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Chronic777 said:
Does awareness have to practice being itself?

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MOTH said:
I see my life as a spiritual practice.  Every activity, experience and interaction is an opportunity to practice awareness of Self.

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I want to get to this point... so far I only have had intermittent periods of lucidity/illumination and I'd really like to avoid being thrust back into the darkness. 

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c0sm0nautt said:

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Chronic777 said:
Does awareness have to practice being itself?

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I think I would consider it a form of practice. I try and stay mindful during the day too.

So it it as simple as breath and body awareness throughout the day?

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Not even awareness of breathe or awareness of body, just pure awareness alone (although that does include the body & its functions)
It may sound bland, but it really really isn't, its constantly open, fresh & beautiful

Being aware of the breathe can bring a certain amount of inner space & nonattachment, but its still focused in on one thng, which can (possibly) be blocking out other things, where as pure awareness doesn't block anything, everything swims up & subsides in it, none of it sticks

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deff said:
i definitely dig the self inquiry you talk a lot about - for me the best thing seems to be realizing all sensory experience is like a faint vibration and then examine that vibration with respect to the three marks of existence (impermanence, no self, unsatisfactory)

i like to meditate on this body being eaten by maggots until there's just a skeleton - very effective visualization

taking and giving is an amazing meditation - i can't stress this enough - even if one isn't fond of visualization meditations (as i don't think you are, chronic) this is worth a try. start with the realization that just as you do not like suffering, no being enjoys suffering - out of compassion for them "i will destroy their suffering". imagine all the humans in this realm before you on a plane and see thick black smoke emanate from pores in their skin representing all their suffering (all the suffering of this realm - and beyond if you expand the meditation to the entire world system etc)... then inhale all the suffering and direct it to your heart chakra along with all self motivation and self cherishing and destroy it all (all while reveling in the sheer beauty of destroying suffering). after doing this a satisfactory number of times (sometimes one good go is enough), meditate on the bliss of knowing "all suffering has been destroyed" - and really believe it. for the giving part, think "just as i wish to be happy and blissful, all beings wish to be happy and blissful... out of compassion for them i will give them all my happiness and bliss - then visualize all your happiness and bliss emanate from your heart and flood the plane of beings making each and every one dissolve into nirvanic ecstasy - and really revel at the bliss of helping them while you yourself may not experience any of it. then meditate on the thought of "all beings are now free from suffering and experiencing utmost bliss and happiness - how wonderful" - this meditation really cuts through self clinging and builds compassion / virtuous motivation for practice - i highly recommend you try it once or twice at least

i also do a yoga tantra meditation (self generation as a buddha) and an avalokiteshvara sadhana

hmm... i do a few mantras here and there - but haven't done too many really

the idea of practicing chöd has passed my mind - it involves the sacrifice of ones body to feed deities / demons - among other things - and seems to be quite powerful (though definitely something a teacher would be good for)

i'd like to get back into hatha yoga a little for the reason you said - freeing up energy pathways - maybe tai chi as well for this reason (though these aren't really sadhanas)

that's about it for now (feel free to critique away)

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I like the thing about the faint vibration & recognizing the marks of existence, i also think your visualization is probably one of the better ones out there, although i couldn't do it, sometimes i get the great feeling that every being can & will come out of this samsara, but i couldn't practice it, it just comes spontaniously by itself. I could exert effort to visualize things, but its using imagination & i just don't feel that, don't get me wrong people can attain great things through imagination & invoke lovely states, but i see all those things & states will be temporary

What is true & real must already be here before any practice is picked up

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Chronic777 said:

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solstice said:
Somehow, I have the feeling what you're really after is some " arguing food ", but I might be wrong.

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Maybe you didnt read my full original post, i said i wouldn't challenge anyones practice unless i was invited to, keeping inline with the forum guidelines...
I never look to argue, just to attempt to make simple what thousands (if not millions) feel is difficult & arduous to attain through practice.

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I'm curious to see how you can dismiss the benefits of regular ritualistic practice in the sense that it cannot help but remind one who practices such a thing of the sacred and the divine.

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deCypher said:

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MOTH said:
I see my life as a spiritual practice.  Every activity, experience and interaction is an opportunity to practice awareness of Self.

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I want to get to this point... so far I only have had intermittent periods of lucidity/illumination and I'd really like to avoid being thrust back into the darkness. 

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MOTH said:

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deCypher said:

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MOTH said:
I see my life as a spiritual practice.  Every activity, experience and interaction is an opportunity to practice awareness of Self.

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I want to get to this point... so far I only have had intermittent periods of lucidity/illumination and I'd really like to avoid being thrust back into the darkness. 

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It is a work in progress for me too.  What really helps is just understanding that everything can be yoga.  (Union)

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MOTH said:
It is a work in progress for me too.  What really helps is just understanding that everything can be yoga.  (Union)

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YES!

I just posted this yesterday to my facebook page: "anything you do that stills the constant chatter and story telling of the mind, is Yoga"

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deff said:


i also do a yoga tantra meditation (self generation as a buddha) and an avalokiteshvara sadhana

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deff could you elaborate on this please???  i learned a tantra meditation from a group whose name escapes me right now, last year, and it didn't really click for me.  i'd love to hear more and maybe give it a try. 

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deff said:
hmmm you need the proper empowerment prior to doing any self generation unfortunately

but yoga tantra itself is quite powerful - the act of visualizing oneself as the body and mind of a fully enlightened buddha can really cut away a lot of things hindering oneself (often times self doubt / seeing oneself negatively) and bringing the end result into the present is a great philosophy imo

tantra as a whole is a very broad category - i view it as practices which on the surface use unenlightened activity to reach enlightenment and bring the end goal to the present (try and see everything as nirvana as opposed to escape everything as samsara) - it's like mind alchemy

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Its not about validating my own way, its about revealing the only true way to understand all this.

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If you want to learn how to become something else, how to have a better body, how to have a better mind, then practice is good.

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You mention conquering the ego, how do you suppose that the ego can conquer itself through practices which are of the ego?

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yogabunny said:

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deff said:
hmmm you need the proper empowerment prior to doing any self generation unfortunately

but yoga tantra itself is quite powerful - the act of visualizing oneself as the body and mind of a fully enlightened buddha can really cut away a lot of things hindering oneself (often times self doubt / seeing oneself negatively) and bringing the end result into the present is a great philosophy imo

tantra as a whole is a very broad category - i view it as practices which on the surface use unenlightened activity to reach enlightenment and bring the end goal to the present (try and see everything as nirvana as opposed to escape everything as samsara) - it's like mind alchemy

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hmmm, yes, and that's what i love about tantra.  i am strongly inspired by the philosophy in terms of my spiritual practices and my teaching.

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And what about your approach to sufism? Care to tell us more about that? I'm certainly curious to see how a western woman can feel attracted to an islamic practice

Sincerely.

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Chronic777 said:
Its not about validating my own way, its about revealing the only true way to understand all this. Its about realizing 'what is already so'.

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Usually, if I become fixated on what my own truth is
to the extent that I cannot believe anyone elses idea
of the truth, I find am probably wrong.

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I personally, was raised Buddhist and taught myself with
a strong foundation of the Tao and Animistic attitudes.
I lovingly refer to my spiritual ideals as "Druic", to honor
the Druid shamans I share my lineage with and simultaneously
manifest it as my own path.  It's nice

"Thou art God," is something I think every day when I
meet or greet another being.  I try to constantly recognize
the divine nature in everyone and everything I come across,
forgiving when necessary, and always loving.

Be more love.

It all stems from the thought, "Why would I want anyone to
feel how I hate feeling?"  Which originated when I was barely a
teenager.  That has evolved to a sort of quiet feeling of love,
acceptance and hope in my life, although I do my best to engage
people in conversation with the intent of having them open their
eyes to self love... It's a pretty good time

Spiritual practice?  Spiritual discipline?  It's all just Spirit to me

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deff said:
once you 'get there' with self inquiry it seems exceedingly obvious, like "what was i even doing before??" and "why was I seeking??" - but unfortunately there's aggregates and karma to be cleansed / remedied in most people's minds before this state can be reached and sustained

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Thats true, if anything im saying clean it up in one swoop, as in the end we come to see 'why was i seeking, what was i even doing before?', if anything im just saying cut to the chase (if possible in that mind) in some minds evidently this may not yet be possible & even cause a bit of disturbance, but its not uncompassionate for this to happen, in the long run its a good thing. In my view it would be uncompassionate to be aware of someone doing a misleading practice & not try & tell them.

To me inqury or discernment isn't a cold calculated thing really, all beauty & compassion flows out of that state

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solstice said:
And since we are still dependent and have to function through the animal body, which is an organic machine that relies on habit, it is a good thing to learn to work with this instead of acting like we've already outgrown our home and are not subjected to it's demands anymore.

And since animals are creatures of habit, it is good to give your animal self some good habits. That's why ritual exists. It's training ground for your animal self so that it comes together to work with your higher self, not against it.

So, here's your cue to another theoric rant while I go back to my " self-generated, yet concrete, limitations ".

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What most sadhanas are practiced for is for enlightenment, not about sleeping & peeing etc...
I practice lots of things dude, but im not under the spell that they are assisting awakening.
I haven't ranted once in here, long explanatory posts dont constitute a rant.
Read back through our posts & try & see whats going on here?
Your mind simply doesn't like this way of looking at it, thats not suprising, it happens quite a bit

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solstice said:
Once again, I don't believe I mentioned anything about conquering the ego.

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solstice said:
Which is conquering the inner peak of the ego.

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solstice said:
Once again, I don't believe I mentioned anything about conquering the ego.

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solstice said:
Which is conquering the inner peak of the ego.

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Damn, where's my memory at?

Still, I think my point remains about the fact that what you refer to as " cutting to the chase " is out of reach for most people and that rituals and external observances do not have to be empty and devoid of meaning, if you practice them with awareness, which is the whole point.

I'd go as far as to say that everything the yogis and the " realized beings " teach, has never been more than theory! It's such an intimate, personal achievement that anyone can claim to have reached it as long as they portrait such a thing and act the way people think an " enlightened being " should act. And if they fail, they can always say it was to test their followers.

I guess, in my opinion, it boils down to actual results. Anyone can claim what they want about " awareness " and " enlightenment ", but a lot less people can actually act like they are such a thing.

It's easier to practice an empty meditation than to practice an empty burning of incense and chant.

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solstice said:

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yogabunny said:

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deff said:
hmmm you need the proper empowerment prior to doing any self generation unfortunately

but yoga tantra itself is quite powerful - the act of visualizing oneself as the body and mind of a fully enlightened buddha can really cut away a lot of things hindering oneself (often times self doubt / seeing oneself negatively) and bringing the end result into the present is a great philosophy imo

tantra as a whole is a very broad category - i view it as practices which on the surface use unenlightened activity to reach enlightenment and bring the end goal to the present (try and see everything as nirvana as opposed to escape everything as samsara) - it's like mind alchemy

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hmmm, yes, and that's what i love about tantra.  i am strongly inspired by the philosophy in terms of my spiritual practices and my teaching.

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And what about your approach to sufism? Care to tell us more about that? I'm certainly curious to see how a western woman can feel attracted to an islamic practice

Sincerely.

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i find i really connect (for the moment) with the more physical practices, they help me feel rooted and grounded.  i used to be waaaay too out of touch with the earth, and didn't have a solid foundation to develop and blossom from.  now that i have a more solid foundation (from asana, and hula hooping) i feel more prepared to move on and benefit from practices like meditation that will take me deeper and higher in the deeper layers of my subtle body.

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You just magnificiently put into words what I was trying to convey from the very start of this thread.

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yogabunny said:


i just joined the polar bear club of hooping LOL.

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Chronic777 said:



Eventually you will only settle for the Nirvana, nothing else will bring satisfaction, until then...

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yogabunny said:
i went outside in just shorts and a tank top and a pair of boots, (we're having a snow storm) and hooped for about 5 mins!  it was exhilarating and hysterical because my neighbors were outside shoveling and they didn't even notice me.

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Now, that's something I'd like to see 'round here!

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roboto212 said:

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Chronic777 said:



Eventually you will only settle for the Nirvana, nothing else will bring satisfaction, until then...

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I wont go into my spiritual practises right now as it is bed time, but I will agree with you on this. Over the past 1.5 years I have slowly lost interest in things that I usually did: TV, video games, various drugs (i only consume raw cannabis and mushrooms now), cooked foods, porn, etc.

I am searching for my true bliss self, very similar to the path of enlightenment, but I am going a route I feel comfortable with and I believe is right.

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Its sometimes called the 'falling away of wordly things' where you lose interest in everything, it can seem pretty depressing at first, all these things your minds got so much energy invested in suddenly feel meaningless & uninteresting... rest assured this is just part of the process of waking up to your true self, its good that the energy is tiring of going to things & starting to want truth more than anything else.

I went through the same thing just over two years ago, and interests do come back but they wont carry the attachment they once did, they'll be more playful & innocent, rather than parasitic & greedy.
Although when i lost interest it happend to everything, not slowly over a few years, i just suddenly lost all interest & desired truth more than anything. I could barely speak i felt so drained & dead to everything.
Looking back it was so beautiful!

If we first didn't lose interest in all this, we wouldn't question what lies beyond it, we wouldn't question what really real & true, if we never lsot interest we'd be in delusion chasing our outward projections for eternity, but no delusion lasts forever, the beautiful thing about the truth is, it does.

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rebus_minus said:
In my view it would be uncompassionate to be aware of someone doing a misleading practice & not try & tell them.

So is this why you made this thread?

For me the interests never returned.

I practice because it makes me high.

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deCypher said:
Yelling at your ego can be beneficial provided you go out and feed it ice cream after. 

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it just needs a little tough love every once in a while.

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Chronic777 said:


Its sometimes called the 'falling away of wordly things' where you lose interest in everything, it can seem pretty depressing at first, all these things your minds got so much energy invested in suddenly feel meaningless & uninteresting... rest assured this is just part of the process of waking up to your true self, its good that the energy is tiring of going to things & starting to want truth more than anything else.

I went through the same thing just over two years ago, and interests do come back but they wont carry the attachment they once did, they'll be more playful & innocent, rather than parasitic & greedy.
Although when i lost interest it happend to everything, not slowly over a few years, i just suddenly lost all interest & desired truth more than anything. I could barely speak i felt so drained & dead to everything.
Looking back it was so beautiful!

If we first didn't lose interest in all this, we wouldn't question what lies beyond it, we wouldn't question what really real & true, if we never lsot interest we'd be in delusion chasing our outward projections for eternity, but no delusion lasts forever, the beautiful thing about the truth is, it does.

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This is exactly how I feel. My one problem right now is the extreme weather patterns we have been experiencing all of the world. I dont live in too cold of a climate, but it is 20F degrees out right now and I feel trapped inside the house. I want to be out in nature, exploring, meditating, connecting. This is why I am moving to Hawaii to live permaculturally, a nice troical climate that has the perfect humidity for better health. perfect temperature year round, and decent rain fall . It will  be beautiful