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chas
USA
209 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 31 2012 : 11:02:54 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jose
quote:
Hi Chas,
Thank you for your supportive words 
it's more about that personal stuff one has to do or fix if this theory is true
Maybe we can work with this in a more practical way...Basically, effective ways to choose/decide & take action, yes?
Yogani says "The guru is in you." It has been said in other ways as well. A few are: inner guidance, gut feeling, intuition, follow your heart, spirit guide(s), still small voice. This guidance is available to all of us.
There are many ways the Divine speaks to us. Life arranges itself to show us what we need to see and experience. It might come through someone you speak with, or in a song you listen to. Life events and situations. You might see patterns. The same messages coming through different mediums.
If you can't find an answer at the moment, make a sincere intention. Ask and be patient & aware. It will come. With practice, trust in this will increase.
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Edited by - chas on Aug 01 2012 01:05:28 AM |
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kami
USA
920 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2012 : 10:37:33 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jose
Before enlightenment, is there a way of discovering that programmed mission of one's self before it's too late?
(…) PS2) I'm interested in personal experiences more than theories
Hi Jose
Very few of us have had a "direct" experience of reincarnation. The theory of karma and reincarnation is very interesting, but it is still a theory for most of us..
However, all of us have the experience of karma and reincarnation in daily life. Most of us are propelled forward almost helplessly in our thoughts and actions by the choices and influences of the past. These patterns of behavior arise from those previous choices and influences, i.e., "vasanas" and the "coloring" of experiences (good, bad, should have, shouldn't have, whatever). We are "born" again in this moment, carrying over the stuff from the last moment, create more coloring, and on it goes. Often (not always), we can track back to all the choices we made that brought us to the current predicament. To me, this is the "real life" experience of choice and reincarnation.
The key is to really *see* this - that the choices in the present are being influenced by coloring of the past. The central theme of A Course in Miracles is "forgiveness". Forgiveness is literally the ability to "uncolor" our past experiences and act from a new perspective in this moment. With forgiving the past, the memories are still there, but there is no judgment or coloring associated with them. Thus, we can choose to be born anew in this moment, and not "driven" by the vasanas/baggage of the past.
Like Chas said earlier, ultimately, there is no way to prove whether we reincarnate or not in terms of lifetimes. And I'm not sure if that knowledge is of any use anyways. But we can see how karma is playing out here and now, and how we live and die from moment to moment.
None of this happens instantaneously (at least, not here ). It is an ongoing process centered around practices that help cultivate inner silence and lead to inquiry. For me personally, it was not even enough to be aware of my non-serving patterns, i.e., coloring. I had to "own" them and subject them to deep inquiry, and as soon as that happened, they were gone. What was left was a sense of space and freedom.
Of course, those were only *some* non-serving patterns. Plenty more where those came from 
Love,
kami |
Edited by - kami on Aug 01 2012 12:58:40 PM |
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kevincann
USA
335 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2012 : 4:01:07 PM
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I see growth within the posters on this thread.
That feels wonderful.
Keep up the good work everyone. |
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2012 : 5:48:23 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by chas
Maybe we can work with this in a more practical way...Basically, effective ways to choose/decide & take action, yes?
Yogani says "The guru is in you." It has been said in other ways as well. A few are: inner guidance, gut feeling, intuition, follow your heart, spirit guide(s), still small voice. This guidance is available to all of us.
There are many ways the Divine speaks to us.(...)
Hi Chas,
The problem is that my inner guru must be fast asleep I have never been an intuitive person, quite the opposite: whenever I have trusted my gut feeling I couldn't have been more wrong... seriously!
And there have been times when I looked for an answer from 'above', some kind of guidance as you said before, and those times 'heaven' or my inner guru proved to be deaf or at just to ignore me, no kidding.
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2012 : 6:26:45 PM
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Hi Kami
quote:
Originally posted by kami
(...)However, all of us have the experience of karma and reincarnation in daily life. Most of us are propelled forward almost helplessly in our thoughts and actions by the choices and influences of the past. These patterns of behavior arise from those previous choices and influences, i.e., "vasanas" and the "coloring" of experiences (good, bad, should have, shouldn't have, whatever). We are "born" again in this moment, carrying over the stuff from the last moment, create more coloring, and on it goes. Often (not always), we can track back to all the choices we made that brought us to the current predicament. To me, this is the "real life" experience of choice and reincarnation.
Yes; I'm not a good meditator but I tend to observe the mechanisms of my mind, my thoughts, etc and I understand exactly what you mean.
quote:
Originally posted by kami
(...) Like Chas said earlier, ultimately, there is no way to prove whether we reincarnate or not in terms of lifetimes. And I'm not sure if that knowledge is of any use anyways.
I think I would understand many things, not only about my life or even the reasons for my actions; I think one would be able to understand a big chunk of the mechanism of the whole world.
Thank you Kami for your loving words |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2012 : 7:33:51 PM
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Jose wrote:
"I think I would understand many things, not only about my life or even the reasons for my actions; I think one would be able to understand a big chunk of the mechanism of the whole world."
True, these answers and more are answered easily once you find inner silence by consistent meditation over a long period of time. The weird thing is, that you don't get exact answers like you are looking for.
For instance, I have gotten answers about my life, and the reasons for my actions, and how to understand a "big chunk of the mechanism of the world". But I have never gotten a concise answer to if we are reborn with reincarnation. I can remember little bits of other lives, and those little bits affect my life today, but that doesn't mean it was "me", in another body, in an earlier time. There are other options that could cause that.
The good news is, it doesn't matter that I don't have some scientific explanation. I have everything I need, and I am fine with some things being a mystery.
Actually I love it that way. It is possible that some manifestations could take more than one form, depending on who is watching and what they are thinking. |
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chas
USA
209 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2012 : 12:28:18 AM
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quote:
The problem is that my inner guru must be fast asleep
You are here. Maybe the guru in you has something to do with it.
You might enjoy this clip by Yogani: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZZ...gdata_player
"Whatever you want, you do and meditate!" ~ Swami Lakshmanjoo
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BuddhiHermit
United Kingdom
84 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2012 : 07:06:23 AM
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I have had 2 vivid past life experiences, where I recognized the flavour of me, but my personality and goals were quite different to now.
I have also felt myself barking the dog that I could hear.
Ultimately, we discover we are everything, through practice, and that all destinies are ours.
I began knowing less than you Jose, but time, intention, and practice changes that. I recognized my spirit's goals chosen for this life, and now see that even those are limited and in error.
We are more than this life alone, yet the best way forward is to continually live each moment as totally as we can - and practice.
Namaste
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kami
USA
920 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2012 : 10:29:17 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jose
Yes; I'm not a good meditator but I tend to observe the mechanisms of my mind, my thoughts, etc and I understand exactly what you mean.
I think I would understand many things, not only about my life or even the reasons for my actions; I think one would be able to understand a big chunk of the mechanism of the whole world.
Thank you Kami for your loving words
Hi Jose
Not sure what a "good" meditator is.. To me, that sounds like "coloring"
By the way, there is a samyama sutra specifically meant to have direct knowledge of past lives - "latent impressions". It is in Yogani's Samyama book, under Appendix..
But the thing about samyama is that it takes a certain degree of inner silence to work.. And the practice of samyama itself (along with DM) deepens the silence to such an extent that at some point, the desire for any such knowledge drops away. Being here and in the now is so rich, beautiful and fascinating that all else becomes irrelevant.
Love,
kami |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2516 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2012 : 11:51:29 AM
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Chas,thx for the link... it is excellent
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Edited by - maheswari on Aug 04 2012 12:02:25 PM |
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2012 : 12:54:10 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by chas
You are here. Maybe the guru in you has something to do with it.
D'You think?
Thank you for the clip, Chas. I love how Yogani explains these teachings, the spiritual goals sound easy to achieve ... until you get down to business
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2012 : 1:54:06 PM
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Hi BuddhiHermit,
Thank you for sharing your experiences on this topic.
quote:
Originally posted by BuddhiHermit
(...) I began knowing less than you Jose, but time, intention, and practice changes that.
Yes, I'm well aware of that, that's why I asked you guys, the ones with more experience in meditation than I.
quote:
Originally posted by BuddhiHermit
(...) We are more than this life alone, yet the best way forward is to continually live each moment as totally as we can - and practice.
I hope one day I could see it the same way too.
I bow to you |
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2012 : 2:35:51 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by kami
Hi Jose
Not sure what a "good" meditator is.. To me, that sounds like "coloring"
Let's define it as 'S/He who fulfills a scheduled meditation program'
quote:
Originally posted by kami
By the way, there is a samyama sutra specifically meant to have direct knowledge of past lives - "latent impressions". It is in Yogani's Samyama book, under Appendix..
Do you mean like some kind of recitation in order to get this experience? I once read that when one gets the deep samadhi phase, one can direct one's mind to the knowledge of a certain topic (karma, past lives, reading someone's mind regardless where in the world that person is, etc) and s/he'll be able to know it all about it.
quote:
Originally posted by kami
(...)But the thing about samyama is that it takes a certain degree of inner silence to work.. And the practice of samyama itself (along with DM) deepens the silence to such an extent that at some point, the desire for any such knowledge drops away. Being here and in the now is so rich, beautiful and fascinating that all else becomes irrelevant.
Yes, some time ago I experienced that also.
Thank you for your kind post
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 04 2012 : 3:06:46 PM
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By coincidence last night I took up a book by Ramiro Calle, a Spanish author, entitled Conversaciones con Yoguis (Conversations with Yogis). In it Swami Krishnananda is asked:
RC: 'Do you believe that a highly evolved person has the ability to choose their next incarnation?'
SK: 'That happens very rarely. Only exceptionally evolved people can choose their next incarnation'.
I think this makes more sense, doesn't it? They say that when one dies nothing changes, i.e. you are not clever than before, you don't know much than when you were alive. If that's true, how can you choose what to experience in a future live? But if you have gained some spiritual goals, knowledge, got rid of impurities, etc, then you will be able to have more chances to 'change' your present and future lives.
Just wanted to share these thoughts 
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chas
USA
209 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2012 : 12:12:34 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jose
quote:
Originally posted by chas
You are here. Maybe the guru in you has something to do with it.
D'You think?
The "guru" is always present. Like ogres , we have layers or Koshas .
As obstructions are dissolved, perception refines and this becomes clear.
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kevincann
USA
335 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2012 : 2:58:04 PM
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When we think that we are 'this' or 'that' - no matter how intriguing or supposedly transcendent,
we blind ourselves, and become pushed by winds that cannot be seen.
There is no genuine choice in such a situation; just reaction to invisible actions and seeds of actions.
When we learn to just live; there is no hope for the future, regret about the past, or uneasiness in
the present moment.
Such simplicity eventually falls out of the sky and becomes impossible to ruffle; but the path of
becoming that simple is named Yoga, or just true devotion and nakedness to the world.
Then there are no choices to be made, but still we see ourselves making choices.
Love,
Kevin |
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2012 : 03:50:41 AM
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Hey, Chas, did you get my answer to your email?
If not, check your Spam folder. Somehow private emails sent from the AYP forums are classified as Spam by email providers.
Luckily 'my guru' woke up for a sec and pointed out to my spam folder |
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kami
USA
920 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2012 : 09:50:56 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Jose
[Do you mean like some kind of recitation in order to get this experience? I once read that when one gets the deep samadhi phase, one can direct one's mind to the knowledge of a certain topic (karma, past lives, reading someone's mind regardless where in the world that person is, etc) and s/he'll be able to know it all about it.
Hi Jose
No, samyama is not a recitation
Here is the lesson explaining this: http://www.aypsite.org/150.html
Love to you,
kami |
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Jose
Spain
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 07 2012 : 04:44:58 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by kami
No, samyama is not a recitation
Here is the lesson explaining this: http://www.aypsite.org/150.html
Oops!
Having read about Buddhism, I thought that by 'sutra' you meant 'discourse' or 'teaching'
A very interesting lesson, thank you Kami. I'm still a beginner, that's why I haven't read that far in Yogani's lessons.
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FutureHumanDestiny
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2012 : 3:37:06 PM
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lack of courage is the cause of most cases of this: rarely is our 'mission' to live a normal life that goes along to get along.
Our mission is almost always to do quite the contrary, to do the opposite: to buck the trends, to go against the grain, to rebel and not only go our own path but to forge a path that others can follow.
therefore, the key includes spirituality and other pursuits but generally requires a very controversial kind of boldness, brashness, brazen self-determination...the kind that takes us down a blind path. A path we feel is critically important, but also a path we are told to avoid.
great luck to you
-dale |
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