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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 08 2013 : 09:05:27 AM
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Since last year I became oversensitive. From August till December 2012 was obliged to stop all practices. Only kept hatha yoga.
In 2013 I managed to gradually build up 1 sitting of breath meditation plus samyama
Since few weeks, I had to take a break from that too due to overload . currently I m doing 1 sitting of meditation just being in silence.Hatha yoga ( around 20 min per day on average is still kept)
I would like to go back to samyama and even re practice amaroli but an inner voice tells me No
Just wondering how long the less is more phase lasted in your experiences?
Frankly my ishta did not seem to practice a lot.He was mainly serving and living.What about other gurus, does anyone know if they maintained regular long sitting practices?
Bhakti is something 
Thank you my friends |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2013 : 09:11:21 AM
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Ps.i translate ayp material to arabic...this is a powerful practice too that I managed to keep
Pps.i know that each one is different. .and that at the end there is nothing else to do except to accept the necessaty of less is more, but would love to hear your experiences |
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kami
USA
921 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2013 : 09:37:08 AM
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Gosh Maha, you've been in my conscious awareness a lot this past week, with this exact feeling about you!! You've been in my samyama too, as I discovered your name popping up spontaneously.. Our bonds of love and empathy are so mysterious aren't they? 
Whether there is something to "do" or not is purely intellectual for me.. There are phases of drastic opening when it feels like there is nothing to do. However, samskaras pull me back into ego identification, and yes, as long as this is there, practices are necessary.
Last year I went through a phase of overload, where I had to scale back. But, something shifted deeply when the ownership of the overload was let go of - giving this up as an offering took it away where I ramped back up within a few weeks.. In fact, many other practices were added on and my current sadhana is more than what is recommended in AYP. There are occasional bouts of headaches or irritability - on those days, I omit kumbhaka and third eye practices and its fine.. I view those as my general barometer of progress, that there is much more work to do - IMHO, when we are completely clear and established in Oneness, there can be no overload; "who" would that occur to? To me, overload is a sure sign of obstructions in various koshas..
But as you say, we all differ in sensitivity, and I'm generally quite undersensitive..
Much love to you, my dear friend. |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2013 : 2:20:56 PM
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I m spontaneously in your samyama? Wowwww such a blessing, thank you and thank You
The thing is that I want to practice more but I cant. So maybe I m searching for sime sort of consolation , examples where less is more becomes a lifetime aspect
Oversensitivity started last year...but for years I did so many practices, hours daily, but there was no fireworks. ..in fact I did not know anything about those fireworks nor about purification and kundalini symptoms....it just hit me by surprise. ..I was just practicing for the sake of practicing...so beautiful and attractive passion
Yes we do get entangled in stories of overload...but even if we really offer it up to Him , still at some point we are "burnt out" and we need to back up...at least this is my case
But who knows? I m sure I m still a novice in surrender
Much love to you dear sister |
Edited by - maheswari on Dec 08 2013 2:22:55 PM |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Dec 09 2013 : 12:46:10 PM
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Dear Maheswari,
I feel with you, because similiar things happened here aswell. The question is if it is good to keep up the minimal practice or can one do more via other means in those snsitive phases. For me nonpractice or minimal practice did not work at all + now at least experiantally it is clear that it can be managed in a better way.
To give an analogy, if you work with muscle toning and physical fitness, there are different approaches. You can work out the muscles intensly in a very short time, which will result in fast growth of the muscles. A very efficient way that has the disadvantage, that other parts of the body do have to handle a lot of pressure, like the joints which can sooner or later lead to pain and other problems. So even though the muscles could still grow, other parts of the body-mind are not ok with it. In this case, pro muscle tuners (as they know these cycles) switch to another training style, which have less pressure on bones and joints but still make the muscle tuning continue. Until the other parts of the body-mind have regenerated and adapted and then the intense phases restart again etc.
AYP tries to keep up the intense part of practices, aka keeps concentrating on going into silence primarily (growing the muscles), but if it gets too problematic, the solution is just to decrease its amount. The side effect of that miniml approach is, other good things that cold be in that phases cannot be due to not enough silence digging being possible so the overall result is even more unhappy making.
At least here more pranayama and physical activity was the solution to heal the wounds and make the overall physical base a stronger vehicle for silent beauty.
Now what to do if you want to remain within the AYP elements of practices, for sure only meditation and samyama are still the same you did before, but the denser parts of the body-mind are the ones making all the problems. Silence itself has no problem, only the resulting effect on body-mind is the problem.
I have not tested it out to the end, as at some point one cannot keep up testing for the whole life to make it as smooth and easy for everyone, so it is up to you and everyone else to find out what could be done better. At least for me it is clear there is room for much improvement beyond the scope of lesson 367.
The ideal variant would be within the elements of AYP, aka with varations of its asana, pranayama and meditation elements. What did work out better than the classical approach here, was to do some little mantra first, then do some more lengthy sbp and the asana routine at the end (+ doing the muscle toning stuff too :P). After some weeks it was clear that the whole stability was dependant upon the minutes of DM. It is such a sensible practice. What has not been tested here so far was: First breath meditation, then sbp, then asana then rest. It cold be more fulfilling, more complete and still stable.
Just a hint, will not be able to test out all. The experience here is, a strong smooth pranic filled body-mind can go into silence and operate in it without any sideeffects, while un anprepared body-mind will only burn, be depressed and unhappy. Silence is the most important, all agree, it is the only best, but while it is not working, in those phases the body-mind transformation should continue. No need to waste that time, at least that is the experience and insight here.
Peace friends of love, keep up the practice, we are progressing nontheless month by month more and more ;)
Edit: The relating thread from back then has been updated http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....12053#117131 |
Edited by - Holy on Dec 09 2013 2:28:18 PM |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 09 2013 : 1:55:31 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by maheswari
Just wondering how long the less is more phase lasted in your experiences?
I haven't meditated (using the mantra) for a couple weeks now. I finally had to surrender my push and listen to the quiet voice that was telling me to ease off. The body can only take so much, based on my samskaras. Listening to the quiet, inner voice, which is beyond any AYP instruction (or other spiritual reference), is paramount, to me. The inner guru, as Yogani says. If I listen to the inner guru, he will guide me when it comes to self-pacing.
Another thing I've realized is: do I live to practice, or do I practice to live? Know what I mean? Sometimes, the practices have taken the forefront, and I have forgotten that the only reason for practicing is to improve the quality of my daily life. Also, if I can't love my own body, how can I possibly hope to love another. I must love myself if I am to love another, and that is why self-pacing is important.
I don't think service and divine love have to equate to martydom. I think I'm at my best (in service and radiant interactions) when I'm feeling good. If I feel good, chances are, I can make you feel good too. Like Yogani says, people with "good vibrations" just elevate the mood by virtue of their peaceful presence, even if they're not doing anything ostentatious.
Wishing you well on your path, and I'm glad you have cited the inner voice as your compass. That is very reassuring to me as well, as I trudge through and leverage self-pacing, moving forward. |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Dec 10 2013 : 03:17:53 AM
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Dear Holy
i remember the thread where you mention the variations that work for you...yet i still feel that the order should be as per the limbs of yoga meaning: asanas then breathing exercises then meditation
i have to admit that DM meditation is much stronger than mantra or breath meditation :)
quote:
Another thing I've realized is: do I live to practice, or do I practice to live? Know what I mean
Hello BT
yes i do know what you mean....i have had these phases many times and i m constatntly being reminded that i have to live too and enjoy life and forget a bit about practices |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Dec 10 2013 : 07:05:05 AM
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| at the same time there is no obsessive attachment to practice...yesterday i totally forgot to do asanas...i was so buisy -doing nothing major quite frankly - that i forgot to do asanas...just did meditation in silence... |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Dec 11 2013 : 7:25:18 PM
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Hi Maheswari,
you can also do it in the order as given by Yogani, aka asana, pranayama, meditation. The main observation in that thread was, that if one element of spiritual practice alone causes imbalances, two of them may stabilize and overall do more, than decreasing that one practice to so small amounts.
It happens here with kriya yoga aswell. they give 5-7 kriyas. If you leave out 1-2 and focus more on the others, the whole thing becomes instable. If you do all, then it is all fine. Have you tried out to add pranayama into the game together with breath meditation? I think it may work pretty good together with some asanas.
I'm sure you will find something good for your unique karmic combo :) This is just a sharing that you may progress faster and still be stable.
Peace friend |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Dec 12 2013 : 03:10:23 AM
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quote:
then it is all fine. Have you tried out to add pranayama into the game together with breath meditation? I think it may work pretty good together with some asanas.
I'm sure you will find something good for your unique karmic combo :)
hahaha
i stopped sbp since my last year major overload....few days ago i started a bit of anamloma viloma before meditation |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Dec 12 2013 : 10:17:19 AM
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Hi Maheswari,
For me, all formal practices essentially had to be stopped in Jan 2012, and despite trying to go back to them numerous times (even just 5 min of DM), I could only convince myself for a month or so that it was good for me until life made it more than apparent that formal practices still cannot be tolerated here. So, the less is more "phase," at least for some of us, can last at least for a few years but I suspect could last an entire lifetime.
I have a sense that for some, once "the process (of unwinding/opening)" has been started, it's sort of like a runaway train on a downward slope... you might be able to throw some stuff in front of it to slow it down every so often, but there is not much we can do to stop it or bring "the momentum" under our control (short of stopping all intentional practices... and maybe not even that ). For me, all "practice" has become simply noticing what is happening and learning to surrender on deeper and deeper levels to that. And interestingly, surrendering and inquiry have somehow become one and the same. I don't know how to verbally explain this though. 
Will I ever be able to do practices formally again? I have no idea. I do still set my alarm every day for 4am and wake up and look inside to see if maybe today I could meditate, but in general I may be allowed to sit for formal meditation only for a couple of minutes every few months or so.
All that said, it may sound like I am pining to get back to formal practices. This is not the case though. I am okay with not being able to do practices. When I look at my own intentions for doing practices, the reasons that always come up indicate that I am not okay with things how they are and this seeing always results in the desire to "wake up" or to be enlightened or to simply "be more" falling away... usually very quickly. In the past I would have read this paragraph and labeled myself as complacent, but if I really look at myself from an unbiased perspective I realize this isn't true... complacent is really not a word that accurately describes me (I don't think). So, I continue to plod on, unable to stand on a foundation of practices, constantly treading water in the pool of unknowing, and ever falling into deeper levels of surrender.
Love,
Carson  |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 02:52:57 AM
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thank you Carson for your reply
quote:
So, the less is more "phase," at least for some of us, can last at least for a few years but I suspect could last an entire lifetime
this is what my inner voice tells me....but sometimes i dont want to listen to it 
like you said, now it seems more autopilot , can not do much, just observe and surrender more....even the smallest trivial things like walking on the road becomes a surrender, cause we dont know what is happening next, even while walking we might trip and fall on our face! what to do? nothing, just surrender, accept and live in the unknown.
quote:
do still set my alarm every day for 4am and wake up and look inside to see if maybe today I could meditate,
same over here, day by day i see/feel whether i can practice that day or not
quote:
I am okay with not being able to do practices. When I look at my own intentions for doing practices, the reasons that always come up indicate that I am not okay with things
sometimes i am not ok with not doing practices much. There is always this uncertainty/fear that i am being lazy or that this overload is only imaginary and will delay my progress...quite funny no?
but then i realize how i am really unconfortable in daily life, so it is a red flag and i do self pace
you complacent? of course not ...you are cool
thank you again |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 09:17:26 AM
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Hi Maheswari,
quote:
Originally posted by maheswari
sometimes i am not ok with not doing practices much. There is always this uncertainty/fear that i am being lazy or that this overload is only imaginary and will delay my progress...quite funny no?
I so recognize this battle. I have always struggled with a tendency towards feeling like if I am not actively pursuing some goal that I am being lazy and will never amount to anything. But when I investigate this concept further I always find at least a shred of belief that I am in control. Like somehow I am in control of how this is all playing out. This always shifts the perspective back to inner silence and the understanding that all I can really do is what I do and that this is all happening exactly as it needs to. Then I can relax again (even about not doing practices).
Love,
Carson |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 12:28:07 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
I have a sense that for some, once "the process (of unwinding/opening)" has been started, it's sort of like a runaway train on a downward slope... you might be able to throw some stuff in front of it to slow it down every so often, but there is not much we can do to stop it or bring "the momentum" under our control (short of stopping all intentional practices... and maybe not even that ). For me, all "practice" has become simply noticing what is happening and learning to surrender on deeper and deeper levels to that. And interestingly, surrendering and inquiry have somehow become one and the same. I don't know how to verbally explain this though.
Wow. Thank you for posting that insight. I can relate to that 100%. When I reflect upon my childhood, my adolescence, and my 20's (I'm 32 now)...the rise of inner silence/ecstasy has been creeping in even before I started Deep Meditation, or any of the other AYP repertoire. Even while I was still drinking alcohol on a regular basis, my neurobiology was transforming, especially in terms of the sexual essences rising. I had a major kundalini blast before I even found AYP.
AYP is concerned about one thing, I think, and that is: acceleration. All the practices are tweaking, leveraging, and manipulating a naturally occurring process--enlightenment/evolution/creature ascension. For instance, spinal breathing is both a stimulation and management of kundalini, by getting under the hood and focusing on the spinal nerve and sweeping it through the entire highway. But, incidentally, I think a deep contemplation and reflection on the role of all my organs in life (root, sex, appetite, heart, communication, intellect, transcedence) can also bring about a content-driven process of purification, without focus on the raw energy, per se.
Anyway, since I was born with a thirst for acceleration, I'm naturally drawn to AYP, but self-pacing has taken the forefront in the past few weeks, more than ever, so I really appreciate your post, Carson. Whether we practice or not, the spiritual gravity and implicit momementum of life itself will draw us closer to Source. Practice just speeds up the journey.
Peace. |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 1:52:01 PM
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Hi Bodhi,
quote:
Originally posted by Bodhi Tree
Whether we practice or not, the spiritual gravity and implicit momementum of life itself will draw us closer to Source. Practice just speeds up the journey.
The only thing I would (personally) disagree with in your post is the very last sentence... practice speeds up the journey. The understanding here is that everything happens in it's own time. There is nothing we can do to "speed things up." If I contemplate the concept of "speeding up the unfolding" it becomes obvious (to me) that in order for this idea to work, one has to be "in time." When the concept of time has been seen through and one is self-aware in the ever-present moment, then it is seen that there is nothing we can do to speed things up as there is actually no one doing anything. The mind hates statements like this, but if the need for mental understanding can be released, even for a time, the heart can feel the truth that we are not in control of our own unfolding. All we can do is whatever we are inclined to (practice, not practice, whatever)... life will always fill in the blanks as it needs to... and often times that seems to be with practices.
I see how it could be easy to take what I am saying as a "there is nothing to do, no one to do it" neo-advaita cliche, but hopefully readers here can feel that that is not what I'm trying to indicate. I'm just trying to point to the understanding that we are not in control, and that life is doing what it needs to in order for all to see themselves clearly and come to rest in the heart (despite all our efforts to stay blind and sleeping ).
Love,
Carson |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 3:12:03 PM
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I would venture to say we are in co-control, in co-creation, and in co-divinity. Anything that falls short of that realization renders a robotic, sedated, hypnotic state of being (in my experience), which I don't think God intends as a full flowering of enlightenment. I think God intends for His/Her creatures to blossom and become individuals of absolutely stunning functionality and brilliance, shining forth from within with genius and compassion. The homo sapiens sapiens species is riding the edge of that wave.
Re: practices speeding up progress, all I can rely on is my own empirical evidence, which indicates that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the two: practice and acceleration. Quite simply, there have been many-a-time when I have sat down to meditate and emerged soaked in serenity and positive vibrations. If I had spent that 20 minutes drinking coffee and reading a sci-fi novel, chances are the quantity (wink-wink) of peace cultivated would not have been as substantial. Obviously, it's hard to quantify inner silence, but you get the gist.
But now, I've backed off, like you, because the flow of purification is too intense. Too much emptiness, too much energy. Body can't handle it. Time to slow down. Time to chill. Time to float in more contemplative-prayer-mode.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't want to persuade you, or invalidate your experience and beliefs on the matter. I am simply relaying my own. I don't cling to absolutism.
"There is a time for every purpose under heaven." |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 3:50:43 PM
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I, like you, have no desire to persuade you towards a replication of or even verbally validating my personal experience. But I do however invite you to inquire personally into the deeper implications of what you have said above.
"I would venture to say we are in co-control, in co-creation, and in co-divinity."
Where/who exactly is this entity that is in co-control? Is it the body? The mind? The thoughts? The concept of Bodhi? Every time I try to pinpoint exactly who it would be that is in "co-control" I find it impossible to find anyone.
"...all I can rely on is my own empirical evidence, which indicates that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the two: practice and acceleration."
Anything that is "cause and effect" related is by definition, in time. Cause and effect require an existence that is in time in order to work. When all of Life is experienced as being right now, then cause and effect are merely conceptual ideas that are not absolutes. This is how miracles occur. Miracles could essentially be seen as effects with no cause.
To further this inquiry I invite you to inquire into how possible it was for you to NOT do practices. Was that even a possibility? How could you know that you would not be exactly where you are now even without practices? It's all speculation; can't be known.
Just a few directions for inquiry if you are inclined. Feel free to nudge me into my own inquiry if you feel like it.
Love!
Carson
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 7:00:19 PM
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Hehehehe...neti neti...deconstructing the concepts. 'Tis a fun game.
Would you mind paying my rent, because my landlord seems to be demanding money on these dates that keep arising from out of the FUTURE? What's worse is that I have PAST memories of having to meet such obligations, which in turn shape my experience of the PRESENT moment. If only I could erase the past and future, I might ever-so-happily dwell in the present, and thereby enlighten my landlord about his delusional belief that there is a future rent to collect.
I'm totally lost in the dream world, but you seem to have awoken, and dare I say, transcended, maya, and all of its trappings.
Forgive the sarcasm. I introduce it just to lighten the mood, lest we get too lofty. But, in all sincerity, I admire your nudge towards self-inquiry, and I can certainly see the flimsiness and fabrication of conceptual identities. But, if the whole purpose was to transcend space and time, why should we even bother to inquire, to exchange ideas, to deconstruct?
Seems like there is a deeper purpose at play here...namely that of divine manifestation. Hence, practices like samyama, which pinpoint certain essences and bring them into existence.
Well, I'll just go back to eating my imaginary meal with my imaginary grandparents in the imaginary world of spacetime. |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2013 : 9:48:19 PM
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2013 : 02:44:10 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
I, like you, have no desire to persuade you towards a replication of or even verbally validating my personal experience. But I do however invite you to inquire personally into the deeper implications of what you have said above.
"I would venture to say we are in co-control, in co-creation, and in co-divinity."
Where/who exactly is this entity that is in co-control? Is it the body? The mind? The thoughts? The concept of Bodhi? Every time I try to pinpoint exactly who it would be that is in "co-control" I find it impossible to find anyone.
"...all I can rely on is my own empirical evidence, which indicates that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the two: practice and acceleration."
Anything that is "cause and effect" related is by definition, in time. Cause and effect require an existence that is in time in order to work. When all of Life is experienced as being right now, then cause and effect are merely conceptual ideas that are not absolutes. This is how miracles occur. Miracles could essentially be seen as effects with no cause.
To further this inquiry I invite you to inquire into how possible it was for you to NOT do practices. Was that even a possibility? How could you know that you would not be exactly where you are now even without practices? It's all speculation; can't be known.
Just a few directions for inquiry if you are inclined. Feel free to nudge me into my own inquiry if you feel like it.
Love!
Carson
The one who is in control, and there certainly is one, is the Self. And it gets to make choices. E pluribus unum applies here. Each Self is unique, like every snowflake. Time definitely exists. Its just as valid as eternity. The present is where time and eternity meet. |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2013 : 02:48:13 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by CarsonZi
I have a sense that for some, once "the process (of unwinding/opening)" has been started, it's sort of like a runaway train on a downward slope... you might be able to throw some stuff in front of it to slow it down every so often, but there is not much we can do to stop it or bring "the momentum" under our control (short of stopping all intentional practices... and maybe not even that ). For me, all "practice" has become simply noticing what is happening and learning to surrender on deeper and deeper levels to that. And interestingly, surrendering and inquiry have somehow become one and the same. I don't know how to verbally explain this though.
Will I ever be able to do practices formally again? I have no idea. I do still set my alarm every day for 4am and wake up and look inside to see if maybe today I could meditate, but in general I may be allowed to sit for formal meditation only for a couple of minutes every few months or so.
That's been the experience here. Once the process got started there was no stopping it. Self pacing is great in theory but it doesn't help much when purification continues regardless of practice. Something to be addressed still in AYP.
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2013 : 08:12:25 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by tonightsthenight
Self pacing is great in theory but it doesn't help much when purification continues regardless of practice. Something to be addressed still in AYP.
I would say AYP does address that issue by suggesting grounding. For me, it's not sufficient to simply stop practices; I have start something else. Some kind of replacement. Fill the void, as it were. So, I've taken to more exercise, guitar playing, socialization/service with friends (AA community), laying on the couch and just softly drifting into daydream states (contemplation). These alternatives to the deeper practice of meditation put me more on a horizontal plane, rather than the vertical dive that occurs with plunging through subconscious layers. Also, with grounding, there is a favoring of locality, rather than non-locality, (bending and stretching the normal confines of spacetime). I'm trying to stick to my local neighborhood, before I go back to zooming through inner space, know what I mean? |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Dec 14 2013 : 4:19:05 PM
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Hi friends,
this thread has become deep again :D
Control or no control is something that must be seen, nothing to speculate about.
The insight here is a mix of Carson's and Bodhi's :D Practices speed up the process of body-mind transformation, which is within relativity, but ultimatly if practices will happen for your body-mind or not is not in your hands. God is the one doing, practicing, playing, fooling, not practicing, commenting, playing with itself, the one super trickser ;) But even if seen like this, what is it worth for, if unhappiness is the main part of daily life.
For me here it is grace if practices happen that really do something good in all regards. Practices can happen with a lot of struggle or with lots of love and support. Practices never did work here well in all regards if done by own experimentations, combinations, mind-based-compositions etc. What happened with Yogani is pretty special, with crazy durability, trust and tripple-A karma :))
The help and grace of living realized masters are needed to the observation here. It may surely be doable without, but why to make it so hard if it can be so nice. Gurunath said somwhere in October 2013 when I was with him that most of his work is to make the practice of kriya yoga smooth. And it is really that which makes me keep up the practice no matter what, the whole thing is supported with such a power, all life bows to the happening of the practice :P
The inner here is not ok with any struggle or problem my friends of this forum are confronted with. God knows what, but surely love and support is flowing to all here.
Peace and love friends :) |
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CarsonZi
Canada
3189 Posts |
Posted - Dec 15 2013 : 2:34:46 PM
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Hi Bodhi,
quote:
Originally posted by Bodhi Tree
Forgive the sarcasm. I introduce it just to lighten the mood, lest we get too lofty. But, in all sincerity, I admire your nudge towards self-inquiry, and I can certainly see the flimsiness and fabrication of conceptual identities. But, if the whole purpose was to transcend space and time, why should we even bother to inquire, to exchange ideas, to deconstruct?
I hope that you will forgive me as I don't think that I was very clear in my writing above. I'm not saying that we need to transcend space/time, the ego, duality or anything like that at all. I was only trying to say that for me, anytime I go looking for the one who is "co-creating" I can't locate anyone. This doesn't make me a "robot" as you say, but (again, for me) helps to foster a humble (humility, perhaps obviously, has been something I have struggled with my whole life) yet responsible state of being. I don't claim control of anything, not even for my actions, yet I do claim responsibility for them. A paradox, and maybe even a controversial statement, at least from some perspectives.
Regarding practices speeding up progress... I was only attempting to share a perspective in which there can be no other way. There either are practices happening or there aren't. If they are happening, then they are happening. If they are not then they are not. This may seem obvious, but to say that "practices speed up evolution/progress" is to say that there was a possibility for things to be other than how they are. If practices ARE happening, then NOT doing practices is not an option. To state that practices do or do not speed up evolution is speculation only. There is no way to know where one would be having lived life differently. Everything takes the time it takes.
To use myself as a specific example I could say this:
For me, there are no formal practices happening anymore and there is no way that I could KNOW that doing practices would result in me "waking up/unfolding faster." I can not both do practices and not do practices at the same time and see which one leads to awakening first. So for me to speculate that I would unfold faster if I continued to do formal practice is nothing but just that, speculation.
This probably didn't make things any more clear, but I did feel a need to at least attempt to clarify.
Love,
Carson
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Dec 15 2013 : 3:51:04 PM
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It's alright. I read you loud and clear. Trust me, I do.
Often the content of messages is secondary to the tone beneath those messages. My uncle says, "Life is tone." The vibration/intention/emotion beneath words is often confused with a strict, literal interpretation of the message. I've learned to feel the words, more than swallow them at face value. Of course, the face value often reflects the intrinsic vibration, but filtering through the layers is very important to me. And at the deepest of all layers, we are totally joined as ONE--100%. Navigating the layers is the adventure, I guess.
Everything is clear, like a light refracting through a crystal...pure light, as well as a prism of colors.
We're on the same wavelength. |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Dec 15 2013 : 6:56:31 PM
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Pardon me for butting in, but there are two ways of communicating with words, and two different types of people, each using primarily one type.
One way is to use the literal meaning of words almost exclusively, and the other way is to ignore the meaning of the words, and try to feel the emotion behind them. Traditionally, men are more literal, and women more feelings. These two types have a terrible time trying to communicate with each other.
I'm mostly the literal type, even though I try to feel motivations too. I know women who are so feeling oriented, that you can ask them a very simple yes or no question, and they will not hear the words at all, will not answer yes or no, and will begin talking about what they think you are feeling to drive you to ask the question. I ask the exact same question three times, and still no yes or no.
So as we become more sensitive to the emotions behind the words, please let's not lose our sensitivity to people who are literalists, and "Do you like Italian food?" may be asking for a simple yes or no, or some of it, not anything about my or your feelings about Italian people we know, or what happened the last time we had Italian,
or how you may feel about whether I might ask you to dinner! We just ask literal questions, and file them in our computer-mind folder, and no feelings involved, just data.
Sometimes it's fun talking with those feelings oriented people though, because I can be free for a while, and completely ignore what i know to be true, ignore logic, take no responsibility for the words I say, and just say things that vaguely allude to my feelings at the moment, and they understand! |
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