Mike Baas - Spiritual Experiences

The Vedas form the sound-manifestation of Ishvara. That sound has four divisions: Para which finds manifestation only in Prana, Pasyanti which finds manifestation in the mind, Madhyama which finds manifestation in the Indriyas, and Vaikhari which finds manifestation in articulate expression.

Articulation is the last and grossest expression of divine sound-energy. The highest manifestation of sound-energy, the primal voice, the divine voice is Para. The Para voice becomes the root-ideas or germ-thoughts. It is the first manifestation of voice. In Para the sound remains in an undifferentiated form. Para, Pasyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari are the various gradations of sound. Madhyama is the intermediate unexpressed state of sound. Its seat is the heart.

The seat of Pasyanti is the navel or the Manipura Chakra. Yogins who have subtle inner vision can experience the Pasyanti state of a word which has colour and form, which is common for all languages and which has the vibrating homogeneity of sound. Indians, Europeans, Americans, Africans, Japanese, birds, beasts—all experience the same Bhavana of a thing in the Pasyanti state of voice or sound. Gesture is a sort of mute subtle language. It is one and the same for all persons. Any individual of any country will make the same gesture by holding his hand to his mouth in a particular manner, when he is thirsty. As one and the same power or Shakti working through the ears becomes hearing, through the eyes becomes seeing and so forth, the same Pasyanti assumes different forms of sound when materialised. The Lord manifests Himself through his Mayaic power first as Para Vani in the Muladhara Chakra at the navel, then as Madhyama in the heart and then eventually as Vaikhari in the throat and mouth. This is the divine descent of His voice. All the Vaikhari is His voice only. It is the voice of the Virat Purusha.

There's something about it....Dynabooks....a computer which stores the functions (substance) of Reality in a program, "object oriented"....Hegel.

Objects, Smalltalk, Dynabooks, and Squeak: Where the Objects Come From
In Pursuit of Collaborative Dynabooks
Personal Dynamic Media

Alex Grey - Breathtaking.

I've recently become confused about my hatha yoga practice because I am not sure about the 'goal' of the practice itself.

I have a basic understanding of the concept of yoga being 'yogas chitta vritti nirodha' (the cessation of mental waves) / God-Realization, but I've become unsure that any dedicated hatha practice is going to achieve that goal. Perhaps what's being said here on this message board regarding the 'piggybacking' process will help me, but even in this I am unsure because I am calling into question any technique at all to attain this 'yoga'.

Since I took up a serious Iyengar practice, my old passion for 'kundalini experiences' has waned dramatically because I discarded practicing anything where I held my breath and moved energy in favor of really getting down in as deep as possible into my physical ailments in order to heal them. In other words, I became much more conscious about fixing my body than trying to have some kind of 'spiritual experience' as a result of the practice. This is probably for the best and a sign of spiritual maturity, as seeking 'kundalini experiences' is probably not of too much benefit in the long run (although they can be quite incredible, indeed!, and seemed that for some time the energy within these experiences would spontaneously heal my physical body).

But since I have given up these techniques which in many ways were the fire under my practice which I thought was stoking me towards God-Realization, in favor of a more grounded Iyengar practice with long and fine breathing, I've come into a place where I don't really see the practice itself taking me to 'yoga' but that the practice has become one minor (but integral) element of my life that has emerged in order to help in the quest of my life itself to attain 'yoga'. In other words, hatha yoga practice can't be the be-all-end-all method of attaining 'yoga' because there's no instantaneous technique, no matter what kind of practice you perform, that can achieve 'yoga'. It takes the realization of the sum total of your life...you know, like working and having relationships and fulfilling the entirety of one's Prarabdha Karma, where hatha yoga and meditation are extraordinary aids here but not the mechanism for Self-Realization.

The same thing would apply to meditation. Applying various meditation methods/breathing techniques to attain 'yogas chitta vritti nirodha' can't actually get you there when your life has yet to be lived in full. It becomes just one of many things you 'do' because you benefit in your life from them but they aren't you 'life'; the sum total of 'You' can't be meditation or hatha yoga - you could incidentally stumble upon Yourself there (and there is perhaps a higher probability chance that you will!) but not because of a particular technique, rather because a perspectival turn has occurred and you now understand Truth.

Yoga practice, be it meditation or hatha yoga, will always end and you will always find yourself walking down the street, going to sleep, looking outside, thinking about something...unless somehow there develops the understanding that in all of these things at all times, 'yoga' can occur.

And so I am not practicing hatha yoga as much, except to maintain energy, stay healthy and to cure physical ailments.

And I'm not practicing meditation very much, aside from taking the time to formally practicing 'clearing my mind' and contemplating what 'yogas chitta vritti nirodha' might actually be.

But I am finding that through eliminating the idea of 'doing anything' to attain Enlightenment and rather living without the formal attempt to reach the goal, I feel a lot closer to its actual attainment than I did before.

Mescaline - If these kinds of experiences are accessible to us, then where are they in the daily grind?

The best Yoga in San Francisco can be found here: The Abode of Iyengar Yoga

Without question!

adapted from a letter I wrote to a friend in NYC

My wife and I share a similar view of Bikram Yoga which is that any yoga will make you feel incredible when you first start it but that Bikram Yoga is definitely not the path you should be putting your energy into. There are a few reasons which I shall enumerate below:

1) Doing yoga in an extremely hot environment may allow you to become much more flexible than you normally would be and stimulate your body in a 'nice' way, but since yoga is at its core an internal inquiry into one's self and not necessarily an exercise of the body, the room temperature inevitably becomes a distraction.

2) Bikram Choudhury, as a guru, is a bit of a gimmick. His goal in life is to make his particular style of yoga a wildly successful franchise. He sponsors Yoga contests. He owns multiple Rolls Royces and lives in Beverly Hills. Sure, there is nothing wrong with success, but he seems to have removed much of the spiritual content from the practice (although in his defense, here is a link from the Bikram website regarding the Paths of Yoga). As a result, teachers trained in Bikram Yoga learn more about how to run a successful franchise than they do how to properly teach yoga. In addition, their training is very short, meaning almost anyone can take it and start their own Bikram Yoga center; that's why there are so many compared to the other Yoga traditions. (As a sidenote, the Iyengar Yoga Teacher Certification can take up to 3 years to complete through a rigorous certification process).

3) There is no real lineage or tradition involved in Bikram Yoga as there is in nearly all other Hatha Yoga schools. Bikram basically developed his program, the same basic program taught in nearly all Bikram classes, himself. And, as you pointed out, this is an arbitrary 26 posture series. It is probably a fine series, but you will inevitably need more than they offer at a Bikram studio in the long run.

The three types of students:
1) The student for whom any yoga will do.
2) The student who already has a taste of its benefits and who needs the right type of instruction for their needs:

a) athletic and intense: Ashtanga, Anusara
b) therapeutic: Viniyoga, Iyengar
c) spiritual/traditional hatha: Sivananda, Integral
d) systematic, comprehensive: Iyengar

3) The advanced student, for whom Iyengar Yoga only makes sense.

So, in our opinion, all roads lead to Iyengar and if you really only wanted the best for yourself, you would head in this direction. However, a word of caution: doing so means you can't go back to ignorance - you'll find all the messed up idiosyncrasies throughout your body and you'll go on a rampage to fix them: class 6 days a week, building a room dedicated to your practice, yoga workshops in Italy, trips to India, etc.....

That being said, here are the places in NYC where you could study, in order of importance:

1) Be Yoga: ISHTA Yoga, being a hodgepodge of Hatha yoga that is likely to give you the best option of finding the right level and teacher for where you are at.
2) Iyengar Yoga Institute of NYC: - You are working towards being able to study with Manouso Manos/Mary Dunn/Patricia Walden. Buy a copy of Light on Yoga and read the introduction.
3) Sivananda Yoga Center, NYC: - The skeptic in you will soon be broken. Om Namah Sivaya!
4) Virayoga: - Anusara, if 'flow' yoga appeals to you.
5) Perhaps Ashtanga Yoga appeals to you: - Jumpbacks, intense breathing through the practice, for the hardcore, healthy bodied people out there (not me and Megan, who realize we're complete gimps with totally f*ck*d up bodies).

Brian,

Here are the 9 Steps to Brian's Success, plus Muktananda's essay on The Mind which I think you will find speaking directly to you.

Enjoy,

mb

9 Steps to Brian's Success

1) Read Thought Power by Swami Sivananda.
2) In the morning, drink 1 cup of warm milk (not actually boiling, but to the boiling point) with a half a tablespoon of ghee and 1 teaspoon cardamom. This will create ojas and calm your nerves. Do the same in the evening.
3) Perform Kapalabhati.
4) Perform "Catch the Sun".
5) Sit in a comfortable cross legged position for 15 minutes, gently breathing. Focus at the point between your eyebrows. On each inhale, focus on the word 'So'. On each exhale, focus on the word "Ham". Set a timer so that you don't have to worry about the time. Don't worry about the meaning for now.
6) Take as directed Herb Pharm Ashwaghanda, St. John's Wart and Ginkgo Biloba. Make sure the bottles you buy are not combined with anything else. You might also want to try taking Yin Chiao.
7) Do moxa regularly.
8) Clean room, removing ALL EXCESS CRAP. Throw away what you don't need, place the rest in storage.
9) If you need a place to remove all your thoughts, please use the meditation room at my house.

Swami Muktananda - Play of Consciousness
Chapter 8: The Mind

Man has many means for finding God in his life, and the mind is one of the very highest and most valuable. We can acquire everything in the world, but once the mind goes, it is difficult to get it back. For this reason, Indian culture has evolved different methods to make the mind strong, stable, pure, powerful, and able to grasp Truth for long periods. The different spiritual practices - chanting, mantra repetition, and contemplation of God - are all worship of the mind.

...stories of people who lost their minds and did not know what to do (fill in your own story here)...

The mind is very valuable. You should not underestimate it or think it ordinary. The mind is the light of Consciousness in a contracted form. This is what we find in a sutra in the Pratyabhijnahridayam: 'cetyasankochini cittam'. The commentary on it states: 'na chittam nama anyat kinchit api tu saiva bhagavati tat' - "There is no other thing like the mind, for it is the Goddess herself." The mind is the perceptible form of the Goddess, or Chiti Kundalini, and the whole universe has come into being by means of the mind. Likewise, the individual lives his life thorugh the agency of the mind. The mind is one pulsation of Chiti Shakti. God, who is the light of pure Consciousness, is the infinite treasure of this divine power. Just as the million rays of the sun correspond to and are identical with the sun, the divine Shakti, which perfoms endless tasks, is within God and is not different from God. Althought Shakti appears different in Her many different functions, in reality She is changeless. A sword is completely actionless in its scabbard; only in battle is it used for cutting and piercing. In the same way, Chiti becomes the mind so that the individual soul may experience the fruit of its karma.

Don't despise the mind or think of it as an ordinary thing. If you think uncontrolled, useless, unwholesome thoughts, if you brood on sin all the time so that you make the mind's state impure, if you get it involved in argument and counter-argument, you will be doing the sadhana of a terrible hell. God dwells within you in the form of the mind, and he brings you the fruit of your actions. Can you think of any secret action of yours which remains hidden from God? This is why you should meditate. This is why you should contemplate the Guru with deep feeling.

The mind bears fruit according to your thoughts. From the mind can come peace, illusion, intelligence, quick-wittedness. The blessing of the mind can make you a poet, an intellectual, an artist, a musician, or a yogi. You can earn a degree with it, or you can attain samadhi with it. The mind is the Guru, the mind is the activator of the Shakti, and it is the unchanging, unmodified state of nirvikalpa. If the mind is corrupted, it will always cause trouble; it will always spoil whatever you do and ruin your path to liberation. An unclean mind is sheer hell.

Take care of the mind. It is a friend which will bring you happiness. A pure mind is worthy of the Guru's highest love. So meditate with a peaceful mind. God, who lives in your mind, will be quickly pleased and show you His cosmic form in meditation. By the grace of the mind you will easily attain contemplation of the Self. What a precious treasure your mind is! When you own this great and wonderful Chitshakti, why are you sad? Why do you weep? Why do you feel miserable and inferior? Worship the Chitshakti, who lives forever in your mind. Live your daily life always remembering this spritual principle, which continually vibrates in each impulse of your mind.

Everyone is filled with God in the form of Consciousness. Even while you are in meditation, he will make your everyday life prosperous and happy. Let me give you an example of this....

...example of a boy who had miraculous things happen in his waking life as a result of meditation...

Meditation is not only for spiritual life; it is also a great friend in the world. There is no doubt about this; it is not false. It purifies the mind, so that a student can pass any examination with high marks. As the mind becomes steady, the breath is retained for short periods in khumbaka, which strengthens the nerves, improves blood circulation and digestion, and increases one's alertness. Those who meditate every day find that all the various commond ailments are overcome. I know myany boys and girls who have made great progress as a result of meditation, who have become vibrant, full of life, pure and of very fine character. Through meditation, the mind spontaenously becomes quiet and stable, and the movement of the breath becomes more relaxed. When you find peace within, a new excitement breaks forth in your life.

SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...AND SPRING

Absolutely incredible film! Must see!

I Create My Day

The most often referenced interview in the film is Dr. Joe Dispenza's comments on creating his day. In response to the numerous requests, the following is the transcript of that part of the interview.

"I wake up in the morning, and I consciously create my day the way I want it to happen. Now, sometimes, because my mind is examining all the things that I need to get done, it takes me a little bit to settle down, and get to the point, of where I'm actually intentionally creating my day. But here's the thing."

"When I create my day, and out of nowhere, little things happen that are so unexplainable, I know that they are the process or the result of my creation. And the more I do that, the more I build a neural net, in my brain, that I accept that that's possible. Gives me the power and the incentive to do it the next day."

"So, if we're consciously designing our destiny, if we're consciously, from a spiritual standpoint, throwing in what the idea that our thoughts can affect our reality or affect our life, because reality equals life. Then, I have this little pact that I have when I create my day."

"I say, I'm taking this time to create my day, and I'm infecting the Quantum Field. Now, if it is in fact, the observer's watching me the whole time that I'm doing this, and there is a spiritual aspect to myself. Then, show me a sign today, that you paid attention to any one of these things that I created, and bring them in a way that I won't expect."

"So, I'm as surprised as the- as the- at my ability to be able to experience these things, and make it so that I have no doubt that its come from you. And so, I live my life, in a sense, all day long, thinking about being a genius, or thinking about being the glory and the power of God, or thinking about being Unconditional Love."

"I'll use living as a genius, for example. And as I do that, during parts of the day, I'll have thoughts that are so amazing, that cause a chill in my physical body, that have come from nowhere. But then, I remember that that thought has an associated energy, that's produced an effect in my physical body."

"Now, that's a subjective experience, but the truth is is that I don't think that unless I was creating my day to have unlimited thought, that that thought would come."

What The Bleep Do We Know!?
Beyond the Ordinary: Joe Dispenza

Mark Pesce's Playful World

Becoming Transhuman, video, 72 minutes, 2001.

Using "found" audio and video sources, Becoming Transhuman is a narrative of what-we-are-becoming, broken into three sections: an affirmation of the positive dimension of human growth, a recognition of the darker side of human nature, and a contemplation of our ever-more-precarious position. It premiered in May 2001 at MINDSTATES.

To play the film, in Real format, click the link appropriate to your speed:

Becoming Transhuman (DSL)
Becoming Transhuman (ISDN)
Becoming Transhuman (56K Modem)



This is so uncannily like the Kundalini vision I had of how the universe came about, it is absolutely breathtakingly incredible.

"So, you really want to know what it's all about?"

Mark Pesce's Playful World

This Strange Eventful History, video, 27 minutes, 2002.

Working with co-director Steven Piasecki, this film presents a Baraka-style mixture of images and sound, in an attempt to capture the unique flavor and spirit of the Burning Man festival held in August 2001.

A clip from This Strange Eventful History is available in Real format. Just click on the link appropriate to your connection speed:

"Oblivion" (DSL)
"Oblivion" (ISDN)
"Oblivion" (56K Modem)



We are all going to die someday.

20 Important Spiritual Instructions

Practical Way to Self-Realization by Sri Swami Sivananda

Swami Sivananda - Practical Way to Self-Realization - Real Audio
Swami Sivananda - Practical Way to Self-Realization - Text

The Brief Story of Swami Sivananda's Enlightenment

Complete Works of Swami Sivananda

http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/1corinthians/1corinthians12.htm

1 Corinthians
Chapter 12

Now in regard to spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware. You know how, when you were pagans, you were constantly attracted and led away to mute idols. Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, "Jesus be accursed." And no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes. As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many. If a foot should say, "Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, "Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you," nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need you." Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it.

Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

Experiences on the Pill

chu-len: renounce food, find bliss

Bush Yoga

This goes without saying.

Kapalabhati is a yogic breathing exercise which helps to clear the body of stale energy, leaving room for the revitalized energy created during the practice. 'Kapalabhati' is a Sanskrit word meaning 'skull shining'. The after effects of the practice are exactly that; energy moves, as the nervous system is cleansed by the holding of the breath, up from the base of the spine to the very top of the head. When this is practiced correctly, one feels a very strong sense of calm pervading from the skull all throughout one's mind. The mental outlook becomes very clear.

To begin, take a comfortable crosslegged sitting position or mediation posture. Relax and exhale all of the air in your lungs. Then take a deep breath in. Exhale again, completely. Inhale again and exhale again completely. On your third inhalation, inhale as deeply as you can and then begin the exerise proper.

Exhale with quick bursts through the nose as if you were verbally making the sound 'hun'. With each quick exhalation, push your abdomen back towards your spine. Then relax your abdomen, which will cause a passive and subtle exhalation. Do not inhale actively but let your abdomen take care of the inhalation for you. Repeat this pumping motion 20-100 times depending on your will. Don't be overly zealous with the number of rounds, do not tire yourself.

After you have completed a sufficient number of rounds, inhale as deeply as you can making sure to keep your entire body relaxed, especially your shoulders. Keep your neck as straight as you can, pushing your chin gently into your chest. As you inhale, do your best to feel the movement of energy rising from the base of your spine up to the top of your head. Hold your breath as long as you can, focusing your mind at your third eye.

Do this entire exercise three times.

Done improperly, this exercise will make you feel agitated and a little jumpy, especially if you do too many rounds in one sitting. Done properly, the exercise will make you intensely aware of your surroundings and everything will become very peaceful. Rest within this peace as long as you like.

mb

Update: Here is what happened to my friend Squid after he practiced this for the first time.

mike i had a mysterious awakening. i was sitting in a chair breathing
the kapalabhati exercise and after the 60th breath i inhaled, exhaled,
and then held my breath and then .... i awoke, as if from a dream, and
i found myself aware of everything in a way i really haven't a clue how
to describe - the closest thing i can think of is that it was as if i
was a ball of light existing not so much in space than in time - just
floating and looking and feeling my own presence and wondering what i
was and from where i came - and around me everything seemed to be made
of an intangible lightness, as if the bookshelf and the walls and the
room and everything were only images and had no substance and i was a
kind of glow of white light that was looking out at everything this way
and i felt so incredibly high and ecstatic and sympathetic toward
everything like i loved it like a child and then after some time ... i
began to wonder, "how long have i been holding my breath? i can't
remember. it seems so long i have been holding my breath. it seems like
Nathan fell asleep and i awoke and who knows how long this breath has
been held" but i had only a vague understanding of time anyway which
all blurred together into the present ... as i ran out of oxygen
everything around me began growing dark and i knew i was losing my
consciousness, i kind of said goodbye to myself as i felt myself
forgetting myself, my awareness slipping into dullness and then i
smiled and thought, "wow, i am high!" and then finally exhaled and
began breathing normally, completely surprised by what just occurred. i
have to say, i believed you that breathing would be an important aspect
of yoga, but i had no idea until now what you were saying. i have been
so euphoric the past 20 minutes i had to write and tell you about it...

squid