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Juliet
43 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 11 2008 : 10:25:38 PM
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Hello All,
I don't post much, but felt I ought to let people know that, over here in my corner: it's working!! Yes, this crazy experiment, this internet enlightenment project... seems to be... working!
I should mention that I got it into my head some years ago that I wanted to try to see if I could "get enlightened" (or, whatever) without the direct help of a traditional teacher, a kind of transcendental DIY project. Unfortunately, things did not go very well (crown implosion, caduseuses squirting out my eyes, etc.) so I quietly put the experiments aside, and retired to a hatha-only program of rehabilitation.
Anyway, I've been practising AYP pretty consistantly for a couple of years now and feel very grateful. It is an absolutely perfect system for someone in my situation (premature kundalini history, DIY attitude).
Thank you, Yogani, for the straightforward, plain language and elegant system. I am thrilled to be a part of this crazy experiment of yours.
Just wanted to send a little feedback from out here in the bleachers: Dang, it seems to be working!
Namaste,
Juliet
PS It occurs to me that it is no coincidence that so many great yogis have a background in engineering...
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NagoyaSea
424 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2008 : 12:27:12 AM
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This is wonderful Juliet. Thanks for sharing your story...
light and love,
Kathy |
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2008 : 08:49:54 AM
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Yes. Well done.  |
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Sparkle
Ireland
1457 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2008 : 11:53:08 AM
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Hi Juliet
Great news about your progress.
Can you tell us what your practice regeime is, for interest sake, and what you mean when you say it is working? Just curious
Also curious about Yogis and Engineering, heard this recently also,
can you name a few off the top of your head?
Namaste
Louis |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2008 : 7:58:53 PM
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If by "it's working" you refer to manifestation of amazing things, it may be temporary and there is danger of feeling depressed when they go away.
But if you have learned to take the extraordinary alternately with inevitable bad stuff, and see it all as scenery, all the while continuing practices, then congratulations, it truly is working.
Some people may argue if there is good and bad, then how is that different than the ordinary? It's how we can learn to not take either of them personally, and therefore disconnecting from their control over our disposition. This is real freedom. |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2008 : 9:57:44 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Etherfish
If by "it's working" you refer to manifestation of amazing things, it may be temporary and there is danger of feeling depressed when they go away.
Yes. And it can cause us to watch for/expect/subconsciously hanker for certain things to happen during practice. Actually, nix the word "can". You WILL gather such expectations! The trick is to keep returning, again and again, to the utter simplicity of doing the practices with the same attitude as how you brush your teeth. Unceasingly return to that stance of blasé simplicity. Doing so scrapes expectations off your practice (like barnacles off a ship's hull!). The milder you can remain, in spite of experiences, the better. "Silence" is very mild indeed!
It's important to bear in mind that the "best"-seeming practice session, with all sorts of bliss and fireworks and feelings of awed profundity, has only cleaned the tiniest amount of mud off your windows! And even the "worst"-seeming practice session is STILL doing that work!
As you notice positive changes in your external daily life and engagements with the world, THAT'S your indication that the practice is doing its thing. It needs to just keep humming along mildly! |
Edited by - Jim and His Karma on Apr 12 2008 9:59:33 PM |
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Juliet
43 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2008 : 12:08:28 AM
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Hi All,
By "It's working!" I meant what *seems* to be the gradual, smooth, glowing rise of what Yogani calls "ecstatic conductivity."
Coincident with this rise was also a mental "adjustment" wherein, in a definitely mental but yet a very visceral way, I realized that there is an... *enjoyable* equanimity and balance in processing just the right, subtle amount of "gunk." It seems to make for a smooth running system.
I'm not sure if Yogani has used the metaphor of a carborator, but: it seems as though in finding just the right mixture--not too rich, not too lean, you can get "all cylinders" running smoothly. A kind of peak efficiency. I realized that *this* (at least, so far, for me) is the "there." In fact, I get the impression that, once you run out of your own personal gunk to process, there is more out there to take on, plenty out there to keep running smoothly on.
How far can we take this metaphor? Will the "fossil fuel" ever run out? I used to think that "there" was a final detoxed "enlightened" destination. Now, I'm no longer anxious to get there--it's more about cruising in balance.
Additionally, I get the impression that the more you "process," the more one's ability to process is subtly amplified. And, presumably, the more "ecstatic conductivity" will continue to rise.
More later, I have to put the kids to bed.
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Edited by - Juliet on Apr 13 2008 12:46:40 AM |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2008 : 08:10:43 AM
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Juliet - perfect! :)
I like your carburator analogy. To continue the automotive metaphor, you're going to discover that your old neuroses and impulses - your "gunk" - do not vanish. That they do so is a myth. They continue to rev away as before...but they no longer drive the car as much. The transmission is more and more often in neutral (the motor revs, but that ain't what's driving the car!).
quote:
Originally posted by Juliet
I used to think that "there" was a final detoxed "enlightened" destination. Now, I'm no longer anxious to get there--it's more about cruising in balance.
YES. Bingo! See http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....TOPIC_ID=851
quote:
Originally posted by Juliet
Additionally, I get the impression that the more you "process," the more one's ability to process is subtly amplified. And, presumably, the more "ecstatic conductivity" will continue to rise.
Yes, and of course you may need to pace more and more as this acceleration increases (it depends on who's leading at a given time in the silence vs ecstacy heat). But if so, easing off on the gas pedal will be less frustrating, because it'll feel less like limiting your velocity and more like driving downhill.
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Juliet
43 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2008 : 11:57:31 AM
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Sparkle,
A couple of yogis that immediately come to mind with engineering backgrounds are (besides Yogani) are Krishnamacharya's son, Desikachar, and Muktananda's successor Nityananda, (brother of Gurumayi Chidvilassananda). There are a couple lesser known ones locally (Berkeley). And I just did a google of "degree in engineering" "yoga" and "meditation" and got a whole slew of ones I never heard of. Just "engineering" and "yoga" yielded some really interesting results. I see there is a "Swami Vivekananda Institute of Engineering and Technology!" This may also say something about Indian culture, though.
My daily practice is: meditation (I use the 1st mantra enhancement for some reason), spinal breathing (which has gotten very slithery, and slippery, kind of with a mag lev feeling sometimes), yoni mudra khumbaka, and samyama. In samyama I added "unseen obstacles" a while back, and, more recently, "balance and equanimity."
I don't know why I moved to the 1st mantra enhancement, other than that "I am" reminded me a lot of the mantra I had as a kid when my dad (also an engineer!?) got me initiated into TM, so I started using the enhancement pretty quickly. Maybe too quickly. I wonder if I should go back to I am now? I tried it a couple days ago, and it felt very "big and billowy" by comparison.
Also, around the time I started noticing what seems to be this new level emerging, 2 other things happened: 1) I made an adjustment in my personal life which resulted in a HUGE KNOT in my heart loosening. What a relief! Aaaargh! and 2) I started investigating the Gayatri mantra (outside of practices, as a chant to listen to during the day. My experience of Gayatri was very profound and "moving."
I also have a (pretty much daily) hatha practice of about 20 minutes or so--about 5 sun salutes and a few other postures. This make me feel great!
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Edited by - Juliet on Apr 13 2008 12:01:02 PM |
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Jim and His Karma
2111 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2008 : 1:07:01 PM
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Ramanand Patel, illustrious hatha yogi, slight maverick in the Iyengar tradition, is an engineer as well.
Chris was a carpenter, I hear.... |
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Juliet
43 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2008 : 2:13:12 PM
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Gee, what about... the Masons??? ;-)
Yikes, now that I think about it, my dad was also a Mason!!! And Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers. They went to MIT.
Seriously, though, I would suspect the area of study that most informs yogic work is not that kind of mechanics, but more of the quantum or classical variety.
Even basic concepts (that even a non-geek like me can sort of wrap my head around) like the relationship between current flow and magnetic fields is so intriguing, vis a vis shiva and shakti. |
Edited by - Juliet on Apr 13 2008 5:46:46 PM |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2008 : 08:31:40 AM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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mikkiji
USA
219 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2008 : 09:49:13 AM
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My guru, the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, earned a college degree in physics, at the insistence of HIS guru.
Michael |
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Yippee! It's Working!
