New Search

If you are not happy with the results below please do another search

74 search results for: enlightenment experiences

1

Interpreting Spiritual Dreams and Enlightenment Experiences

Understanding Spiritual Dreams

Enlightenment Experiences in Dreams Explained

Dreams are dreams and Spiritual Enlightenment Experiences which often take place in the silence of the night, sometimes co-mingle with dreams, but are certainly real.  As the website has grown one of the great benefits for me personally is the fascinating stories and experiences I get to read from spiritual aspirants globally.  These personal tales of transcendent experiences validate much of what is found in the spiritual texts, but more than anything else they inspire me to further deepen and expand my own practice.  I often share these testimonials with you and will do so again in the next few days, but today I want to explore the phenomenon of spiritual experiences that take place deep in the night and which often intermingle with our dreams.

Enlightenment Experiences

To understand what I mean by enlightenment experiences you can read, Understanding Hinduism, Buddhism and Non-Duality.

I have pointed out previously that napping or the phase between wakefulness and sleep is a very conducive time for enlightenment experiences (3 Simple Tips to Invite Enlightenment), but it is also true that sleep in general is a time when many enlightenment experiences occur.  I would say that even for you now this is true, even if you don’t have such experiences during meditation or wakeful hours.  It’s just that you don’t recall or remember these experiences in the morning.  Add a bit of awareness and you will be quite amazed at all that is going on within you at night.

Many enlightened masters actually point to experiences that took place at night while they were asleep to be the major catalysts for their awakening, J. Krishnamurti included.  Other masters have pointed out that a lot of the spiritual work gets done during these nighttime hours, when the conscious mind sleeps.  I have myself found that the majority of enlightenment experiences take place either when one is very relaxed, during meditation or during sleep.  The skeptical will say, oh it was just a dream, but let me tell you, these are not dreams.  Far from it, they are the most real experiences one has and in this article I want to explain that sometimes these experiences mix with dreams and that can lead to mis-interpretations.

My Dream Encounter and My Spiritual Self:

As an example I will use a late night enlightenment experience which mixed with a dream experience I had a few days ago.  I am a big fan of Ayurveda and one of the Ayurvedic Doctor’s whose teachings I admire is Dr. Vasant Lad (The Ayurvedic Institute).  For some time I have wanted to visit his clinic but have not had a chance to do so.  In any case a few nights ago I had a dream where I met Dr. Lad.  

In the dream, he eschewed normal greeting protocols and instead looking me in the eye, placed his hands on my shoulders.  Soon I noticed that he was applying downward pressure to my shoulders and I figured he was checking the state of health by measuring my physical strength by this technique.  He had a bright, mischievous smile on and continued to press down and I started to feel my knees buckling.

I tried to stand but realized that the pressure was too great and it was impossible to control my body and stay standing.  The effort continued for a few minutes and finally I completely surrendered.  Here the experience actually is an “out of body” or experience of the spiritual self taking place.

Suddenly upon total release, when I let go of the physical body, I realized I was extremely light, light as a feather and a great divine presence was evident.  This was the spiritual aspect of oneself and now it was being experienced, as the body had been forsaken.  Mystic master Osho has often pointed to experiencing oneself as weightless and that is what was happening now.  This spiritual aspect was enormously blissful, free, weightless and expansive.  Utterly in awe I bowed in complete devotion to it and attempted to bow to Dr. Lad as well.  The experience and dream ended shortly afterwords.

I understand one of Dr. Lad’s Gurus, Vimalananda (Biography: Aghora – At The Left Hand of God), was reputed to have many psychic powers and abilities, including that of visiting others in their dream.  Now I am not sure if Dr. Lad has embraced these powers , but I would say the aspects of this experience involving Dr. Lad are indeed a dream, but the experience of bliss and the spiritual self, were indeed very real.

Of course, having experienced this dimension many times previously when awake (The Miracle of Self Awareness – I AM All, The Time My Body Disappeared – Osho Retreat) means I know it was not imagined, but I assure you if you were to have such an experience and remember it, you too will know that it is not a dream at all.

Interpreting Spiritual Experiences During Dreams:

So there are a few lessons to learn from such experiences, weather they take place in conjunction with dreams or during wakeful hours.

1. Sleep is an Opportunity:

Sleep time is a golden opportunity to develop your awareness and discover deeper and higher aspects of your being.  The key to this is maintaining awareness during sleep.  By doing so you will develop the wonderful skill of Lucid dreaming, but more importantly you will get a chance to experience hidden spiritual aspects of yourself, which are usually covered by the thinking mind during waking hours.

2. Night Time Enlightenment Experience and Dream Interpretation:

Often the enlightenment experiences you have at night will intermingle with your dreams and this can lead to wrong interpretations and misunderstandings.  Be aware that certain components of your experience might actually be a dream component, which has interlaced with a transcendent experience that is blossoming.  Of course, it is also well know that dreams can “mix” with real life experiences and this is just such a case where the dream is mixing with an enlightenment experience.

3. You are Not the Body, You are Blissful, Free and Divine:

You are not the body, you are spirit.  Such experiences allow you to first hand see the Truth of things for yourself.  So you do not have to simply believe spiritual texts or the teachings of Masters.  Such experiences then further inspire you to continue to work towards constant God Realization which is the same as Self Realization.  This is the highest purpose of human birth.  Do not waste this opportunity.

God Bless You All.

2

Kundalini & Enlightenment Experiences Being Reported by Reader Like You

Real Kundalini Experiences

Real Enlightenment Experiences

The objective of yoga and meditation is to help you connect.  To help you realize that the underlying Truth of Reality is a Oneness, and that all that you see is actually a part of you, in fact all that you see is actually you.  This is the Truth.  Me and my father are One.  Having tasted this Reality, I hope to provide you will tools and encouragement to take this profound journey and discover for yourself this great Truth.

On this great journey to Self-Realization, many fascinating experiences take place as you start to crack the shell of the ego and the ordinary, dualistic mind.  Such cracks allow the light of Truth to shine through and give you glimpses of what lies beyond.  These experiences, I call enlightenment experiences or Kundalini Awakening Experiences, and they offer evidence that there is more to life that what meets the eye, and they offer inspiration and motivation as well.

Kundalini & Enlightenment Experiences

Such experiences come in infinite variety and can be unique to just you.  Below I have selected a few samples of such feedback, that show breakthroughs happening as aspirants devote themselves to their daily spiritual practice.  In the past I have provided testimonials which validate the great benefits of yoga and meditation to health and well-being, and in this article, I want to provide the feedback which shows that such practice can indeed help in cracking the egotistical shell and allow Infinity start to flowing through.

Experiencing Divine Light & the Radiation of the Lord:

Kathleen writes, “Hello, Anmol, I am so happy to have found your website. I have always considered myself a spiritual person and since I have started practicing kundalini yoga and zen meditation around a month ago, I have become much more calm and relaxed. I have to tell you that this morning, as I was meditating I was focusing on my breathing and felt my mind going still as if i was in a empty dark room and it felt so peaceful and then this light started to appear and become brighter like a white light and it felt beautiful and then it was gone. and I couldn’t seem to bring it back.”

Andrew writes, “Hi Anmol! Thank you for such a good advise, I’ll follow it and try to reveal my potential at 100 percent! I have a question about meditation, when I’m meditating I must stop my breath? Because, when I’ve meditated two-three days ago, suddenly, after 15-25 minutes of meditation, with eyes closed and thoughts wiped out, I’ve noticed that somehow, my eyes were at the same level with my nose, and in the next moment I felt a light, that came from above into my head! That was WOW feeling – calm, peaceful, and other… very good it was, but light as I think come down to my head, and after that somehow stopped (or not) at the neck region.”

Experiencing Kundalini Shakti & Prana:

Dagmar writes, “This morning during BOF (Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama), as I could feel the energy moving in my body, around my body, and on the top of my head (?!), I did not want to stop. INCREDIBLE FEELING! I did BOF for 13 min; after I stopped (as I was sitting motionless), I still could feel the energy moving for some time. AWESOME!”

Alythia writes, “This is my first day doing this yoga set (week 1). It was amazing. I am practicing at the beginner level and I found the most difficult pose was the eagle pose when suddenly my consciousness opened a little and I realized that I could be “like” the eagle and imagined that I was soaring and that I was being held up by the air, this changed my frown of concentration into a smile and gave me just enough endurance to finish the minute. After I completed the meditation, my body began to feel balanced and warm, I had a slight, pleasant tingling in the back of my cervical vertebrae, from the tuck pose, I think. All in all, very enlightening.”

Experiencing Tao, Spontaneous Natural Living or Life Opening Up:

Reader writes, “Today something amazing happened. Long story short, I was able to facilitate something, to make something happen for someone else that was extremely unlikely to succeed. It’s as though every single door that needed to open simply opened without much more than a nudge when, normally, these doors should have remained shut tight. Because of this, I helped create a genuinely happy moment for my mother, and I can’t get over how easy it was to find just the right words and the right attitude to adopt, naturally, without even thinking about it. It was more than luck.”

Julia writes, “Hi Anmol, Thank you so much for this site!  I am entering my fourth week and feel fabulous.  I not only have more energy, but I feel as if I am more aware of everything and become more efficient (doing the smart way, not the long way)  I am just starting the 3rd eye opening, course 103, and can’t wait!  Thank you again for all the work you’ve put into this site,  I love it!!”

Mysterious Kundalini & Enlightenment Experiences

Marc write, “I’m not sure what I did, but after completely spacing out and breathing really oddly well, to the point where there was nothing restricting or obstructing the evenly paced airflow, I released something that, at the moment, I can only describe as “The most terrifying and wonderful experience you could never imagine.””

Ed writes, “I believe that I had my first vision last night. it wasn’t a dream since I was awake but the the vision was very weird and a little disorienting.”

How to Approch Kundalini & Enlightenment Experiences:

Below I would like to share a few insights regarding Enlightenment Experiences, which should help you understand how to deal with them better.

1. Don’t Compare Enlightenment Experiences:

Don’t try to judge your progress based on the experiences other have had.  Especially, don’t try to compare or hope for experiences you read certain Masters having.  Hoping “You see yourself as the dancer” (UG Krishnamurti), “Experience unearthly beatitude” (J Krishnamurti), “Hours of no thought and just being” (Master Tolle), “Seeing the cycle of birth & death” (Lord Buddha),  etc, etc, is pointless.  Your path is unique and you may have such experiences or you may not have any “mind-blowing” experiences at all.  Your responsibility is to just keep doing your practice.  Leave the rest in God’s good hands.

2. Don’t Crave Enlightenment Experiences:

This is a common problem with those who have “advanced” experiences early in their practice.  During the early phases, energy pathways tend to open and profound experiences can be had.  The aspirant then starts to crave these experiences and is disappointed when they can’t recreate them.  Enlightenment experiences cannot be captured and put in the refrigerator for future consumption.  Nope, sorry.  They come and go as they please.  Your responsibility… yes that’s right, just keep doing your practice.

Read J. Krishnamurti’s thoughts on this topic here regarding this very topic: J. Krishnamurti Ponders on His Enlightenment & Kundalini Awakening.

3. Kundalini Awakening Signs are Sometimes Subtle:

If you are not having such “mind blowing” experiences, it does not mean that Kundalini is not awakening in you.  Some of the most important signs of Kundalini Awakening have to do with subtle psychological symptoms and not physical ones.  The very urge to Awaken is perhaps the greatest indication that Kundalini is working within you, urging you to discover the Truth.  So if you are here, reading this article, that in itself is a sign that you are being pulled by your Divine Aspect to get busy with your spiritual evolution.

4. Kundalini & Enlightenment Experiences Span All Varieties:

Above I tried to provide a wide range of experiences that readers are having to demonstrate the incredible variety of such experiences.  The descriptions above indicate the experience of Kundalini as energy in various parts of the body, seeing glimpses of Infinity in the from of pure white light, which I call the Radiation of the Lord, experiences with having your life start to open up and “miraculous” things start to happen spontaneously, and then there are also the mysterious and unexplainable experiences that can happen due to such awakenings.

Summary:

The purpose of this article is to inspire you to do your practice and to be open to life and the infinite possibilities she offers.  As I indicated in the article, Top 5 Obstacles to Spiritual Enlightenment, the highest goal of human birth is God Realization and I am happy the tools and techniques on Mastery of Meditation & Yoga are proving to he helpful to you all in this greatest of adventures.

For those looking for where to get started.  You may want to consider the following free online yoga and meditation classes.

Beginner’s Yoga Class

Beginner’s Meditation Class | Learn How to Meditate

Introduction to Kundalini Yoga & Meditation Class

Be Good, Do Good .

3

Survey: How Many Enlightenment Experiences Have You Had?

Lets get deeper into the wonderful world of spiritual enlightenment and enlightenment experiences.

Often both readers, as well as students from my yoga studio, describe to me the wonderful enlightenment experiences that they have had.  It is also not uncommon for these "transcendental" experiences to be the catalyst for propelling them onto the spiritual path, whether that be taking up yoga and meditation, or some other profound spiritual science.

Enlightenment experiences are both a blessing and in some cases a curse. But we will get into all that after we run this interesting survey and find out just how many of you have had such experiences.

You can read some popular articles on this topic in following series on Definitions of Enlightenment, which starts with the following post: Zen Definition of Enlightenment.  To avoid confusion though, I want to clarify that although these articles go into different views on enlightenment, for this survey I am looking for those "incredible" experiences that people have which gives them a glimpse of Reality beyond the ordinary ego-centric mind.

Please do participate, all answers are of course anonymous.  Thank-you.

1. How Many Enlightenment Experiences Have You Had?

4

Powerful Pranayama for Mystical Experiences | Transform Consciousness

Happy to share with everyone today the following 2 yoga pranayama techniques from my personal yoga practice, which when combined together can radically transform ones consciousness and bring about transcendental and mystical experiences.

These 2 pranayamas are very beneficial in their own right, but done together they truly become magical.  The combination, I have found, is capable of disrupting habitual patterns of thinking, and impacting consciousness such that the mystical and other-worldly can be encountered.

You can do this combination for 3 full cycles, but as with any breathing exercise that requires you to hold your breath, it is important to not overdo the techniques and develop your capacity slowly over time.  Modifications are mentioned in the video as well.

As with all Enlightenment and Mystical experiences, they serve to motivate one to delve deeper into the true nature of reality and hopefully this set will open up new dimensions and realizations for you as well.

For those who prefer written text, the full transcript of the video is provided below as well.  This set will become part of the Free Yoga Pranayama Sets here on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga.

Powerful Pranayama for Mystical Experiences

Direct Youtube Link –> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJGpKGgSuWQ

 

Transcript of Powerful Yoga Pranayama to Transform Consciousness | Mystical Experiences 

Namaste My Friends,

Today, I’m going to share with you a portion of my daily pranayama practice. I practice specifically two breathing exercises, both of which independently are very beneficial. The first one is Staccato breathing which is excellent for your respiratory system, for your lung capacity, your circulation, your energy, and the second is Step Breathing, which is great for calming the mind and quieting your thoughts.  It also helps your lung capacity,  and helps your ability to control your breathing, which is essential for doing advanced meditation.

But the combination I’ve found to be a really magical. So when you do this particular combination in the way that I’m going to describe it, you will find that it helps you to really break through patterns of habitual thinking. And it provides an opportunity for something new and Mystical to be experienced, for something profound to be realized.

So staccato breathing is the first breathing exercise. And for this particular pranayama set you will do it 10 times.

Five inhalations in, counting mentally one, two, three, four, five, and then an explosive breath out.  By the fifth breath in you should fill your lungs to capacity. And when you breathe out, you should attempt to empty them altogether.

And this will then be followed by step breathing.  In step breathing you’re going to breathe in slowly counting from one to five mentally, hold your breath counting from one to five, exhale slowly again for a count of five, and then hold your breath out for a count of five.

And then you repeat that process. And for the combination you are going to do staccato breathing, 10 strokes followed by step breathing, three cycles and that completes one full cycle.

And you’re going to repeat that three times for maximum effectiveness, but please don’t pass out when doing this. Anytime we do breath retention, you have to exercise some caution, listen to your body.

Don’t overdo it. Give yourself some time to develop this capacity. If you don’t have it at this point, you can do staccato breathing with less intensity, and you can do the step breathing with a count of three, or you can just do two cycles instead of three cycles.

So let me demonstrate a one cycle of this particular set. Again, you sit up nice and tall. Everything should be nice and relaxed. You can have your hands on your knees and in Drona mudra. So staccato breathing first 10 times followed by step breathing. Here we go.

<Demonstration of the Pranayama is done here in the video>

And that would repeat that step breathing two more times.

So again, staccato breathing for a count of 10 followed by step breathing three times and it produces… try, it right? You don’t gain anything by constantly hearing about other people’s enlightenment experiences except perhaps inspiration. So hopefully you have been inspired to go ahead and try this combination.

Again, it’s part of a larger set, but you can include it towards your end of your Pranayama set, which is where I do it. And it prepares you for your meditation practice and opens the door to the Magical and Mystical.

Thank you everybody.

God bless you all.

5

What is Happiness and What Does it Have to do with Enlightenment?

Welcome to Part 18 of The Seeker’s Story, where Namit continues his exploration into yoga philosophy. This week – our final instalment in this series – he discusses happiness and how it relates to enlightement.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1 & 2 – Yoga Sutra – A Seeker’s Story Part 1

Chapter 3 –      What is Yoga?

Chapter 4 –      Yoga’s Theory of Creation 

Chapter 5 –     Happiness and Oneness 

Chapter 6 –     Does Magic Really Exist? 

Chapter 7 –     Who is God?

Chapter 8 –    What is Karma?  

Chapter 9 –    What is Spirituality? What is Spirit? 

Chapter 10 –   What is Prana? Is it the Same as Breath? 

Chapter 11:    Why do We Do Postures in Yoga?

Chapter 12:   What’s the Point of Meditation? 

Chapter 13:   Why a State of Balance is Important for Enlightenment 

Chapter 14:   What are the Eight Limbs of Yoga? 

Chapter 15:   Is Yoga a Religion or a Philosophy? 

Chapter 16:   What is Maya, or Illusion? 

Chapter 17:   Does Evil Exist? 

Chapter 18: What is the Ego?

 

Yoga Sutra – The Seeker’s Story

By

Namit Kathoria 

 

What is Happiness and What Does it Have to do with Enlightenment?

Yogi ji was resting on his shoulders with his legs crossed above him whilst holding onto his knees with his  hands. What a marvellous balancing feat this was. I admired what yogi ji could do and resolved not to want to be like him but to be good at what I could be both in terms of practising yoga and in terms of being a good human being. I also resolved to sharing what I could with others.

Yogi ji came down with a big smile on his face. We walked together to the lovely lake. 

‘Your last day today Jake.’  

‘Yes it is yogi.’ 

‘Time for your last question’ said yogi ji. 

I knew it was time for my last question so I decided to make it a big one. 

‘What is enlightenment yogi ji?’ 

‘Excellent last question Jake. You have been a fantastic student you know.’ 

‘Thank you yogi ji’ I replied. 

‘Enlightenment, Jake, begins when you overcome ego and see that everything is connected.’ 

‘What do you mean by overcoming the ego yogi ji?’ 

‘When you stop thinking that you are better than other people. Remember how we talked about the ego yesterday?’

‘But sometimes I can see that I am better than others yogi ji’ I interrupted. I had been doing some  thinking and I did feel that sometimes and especially when I am stressed I get frustrated easily and feel that I am better than other people and know more than other people. 

‘You are better in certain things only Jake. Everyone is good at different things. Eventually you will see that we are designed to work and play together. We each have things that we are good at.’ 

‘So this is overcoming the ego? Seeing that we are all good at different things?’ 

‘Well yes part of it. All of us have to see that we all have goodness inside us. If we see this then we work together really well and the world becomes a better place. We are happy. Obviously the other part of overcoming the ego is filling ourselves with pride.’ 

‘And then wanting to share what we are each good at with everyone else.’ 

‘Exactly Jake.’ 

‘Well it is obvious just thinking on from yesterday’s lesson’ I replied. ‘So the meaning of enlightenment is happiness then yogi ji? And we get this happiness from seeing what is good in ourselves and also what is good in everyone else.’ 

‘Yes exactly Jake. In our natural state we are all happy. This is what we are all seeking, our natural state of happiness.’ 

‘So the meaning of life itself, the search for enlightenment, all of this is just to bring us to happiness?’ 

‘Yes Jake it is all as simple as that. The meaning of life is happiness. So simple.’ 

‘Yes is it. I am feeling simple happiness sitting here next to the lake’ I said. And the honest truth is that is exactly what I was feeling. I was feeling happy just looking at the nature around me. And those villagers walking by us looked so happy, so content with the simple things in life, just smiling at each other, not bothered about any of the material things life has to offer. Could the meaning of life that I had always been looking for really be as simple as that? 

Yogi ji was still looking at me as I was relaxing into my thoughts. 

‘You do not feel like you are better than others but that we are all connected. You see that we are all made of the same stuff. You see that your happiness is related to my happiness and that your sadness is related to my sadness. You then start to really want for everyone to be happy.’ He continued. 

But by now I was so completely lost in the simplicity of it all. I just kept staring at the fish in the lake, at the flowers and the plants around the lake and there seemed to be a harmony to it all. Could it all really be this simple? Could the meaning of life really just be about seeing that there is something that connects us all? And that experiencing happiness is all that life is about? 

The yogi continued talking. 

‘Life is just about enjoying things Jake. It is just about enjoying everything. It is not about trying to prove you are the best or that you are better than everyone else. Everyone is good at their own thing. We are all here to live together. But live life in order to enjoy it Jake. Do not live life in order to prove anything. Every moment is here to be enjoyed.’ 

Ever since this moment I really started to enjoy my time with other people. I argued less and understood that they all have their own points of view based on their experiences in life. I listened to their points of view and I understood that essentially they all wanted the same thing. They all just wanted to be happy. 

Since listening to the yogi I have just felt so connected to everyone and yes I have felt so happy. 

My life has changed for the better in many ways. When I came back to England I thought a lot about what it means to live a life in balance. I quit my stressful job which had demanded every ounce of energy I had. I then had time on my hands to think about what I wanted to really do in my life and I realised that I, like the yogi, loved teaching.

I was not about to earn a fortune but I would earn enough to live the type of contended life that made me feel happy. I am still teaching today and absolutely love it. I think I just enjoy sharing things with others including knowledge. Of course I had a friend who had inspired me to share.

I had decided to work part time too because of what yogi ji had said about living a balanced life. I had made time for exercise. I had started learning the yoga exercises at a class at a place near my house. I now have time to cook healthily and enjoy my life. And because I chose a job that I really wanted to do, it feels more like a hobby than work. 

On my final day yogi ji wrote down some words for me as a going away present. I keep the note he wrote for me everywhere I go.

‘Imagine this picture of the world. Imagine if everyone in the world did what they enjoyed the most and lived out their individual gift. Imagine if every painter painted the most beautiful picture they could, imagine if every musician made the best music they could, imagine if every carpenter carved the most beautiful shapes they could. Imagine if they were all happy. What a beautiful world would we live in then?’  

I have missed the yogi every day since but I know he is still there in that village just being happy and enjoying everything simple in life. I think that secretly he is in every one of us. I think he just spoke what we all know deep down inside. That life is essentially about happiness and it is this happiness for which we all search but if we look hard enough we see that it is has been there all along. 

[That was the final instalment in this series. You can find the entire Seeker series here.]

About Namit Kathoria

Namit Kathoria has a Bachelors Degree from King’s College London in Pharmacy and a Masters Degree in Clinical Pharmacy from Queen’s University Belfast. He is also a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and has worked the Pharmacist Advisor to NHS Direct. He hence has a vast knowledge of health which he applies to his yoga teaching. He has studied yoga across the world including various parts of his native India including Dharamshala, Rishikesh and Mysore. He currently teaches yoga retreats in Spain at Yoga Sutra Shala in Sayalonga. To read more please visit www.retreats-yoga.com.

6

Sleep Training Tips for Enlightenment

Advanced Sleep Training

Sleep Tips

In part 1 of this series on Learning How to Sleep and how to use utilize sleep to accelerate one’s spiritual growth, we discussed the importance of complete physical and mental relaxation before sleep and also finding the flame of divine aspiration and riding that into sleep.

In this second part we will delve further into the mysteries of sleep and share more sleep training tips from the Mother.  Specifically we will focus on how to penetrate deep into consciousness to the point of complete stillness during sleep and experience the state of Satchitananda (Bliss, Being and Consciousness).   Satchitananada is synonymous to Enlightenment of Samadhi.

Below is the excerpt from the book Health and Healing in Yoga where the Mother discusses the stages one goes through, starting from waking consciousness, to relaxation, to sleep, to subtle consciousness, all the way to Supreme Consciousness.

The idea here is to help you understand the value of training yourself to sleep and to share with you other valuable sleep tips, so you too can enjoy the higher states that become more easily accessible during sleep time.  Below the excerpt I provide some of my thoughts and analysis on this topic.

Tips for Enlightenment

Book: Health and Healing in Yoga

Author: The Mother

To begin with, when one is conscious of one’s nights, the first thing to do before falling fast asleep, just in the state when one begins to relax, is relax all one’s nerves – I have explained this to you already, one relaxes all the nerves and lets oneself go… like this… you know – well, at that moment, one must relax very carefully all mental activity and make that quiet, as quiet as possible, and not go off to sleep until the mind is quite calm.

[…]

But if you are conscious, after having calmed your vital, when you begin to come out from your physical consciousness and enter a more subtle consciousness, you put your vital to sleep, you say to it, “Rest now, keep very quiet,” and then you enter your mental activity and say to the mind, “Rest now, remain very quiet”, and you put it to sleep also; and then you come out of the mind into a higher region.

And there, if it begins to interest you, for instance, if it is the first time you have gone there, you may look at what is happening, have your experience, learn things – at times one learns very interesting things; and then, sometimes one can become aware of a certain general state also, have ideas about other people, other things; it is interesting!

And later, if you have had enough of this, you say, “Keep quiet, sleep, don’t move”, and you put that to sleep and rise to a still higher consciousness, and so on, till you reach a state where you are on the borders of form, I am not speaking of physical form – on the borders of all form, much higher than the form of thought, naturally; on the border of all form and all vibration, in the silence, what here we call Satchitananda.

And when you are there, everything stop, all vibrations subside, and if you remain there just three minutes, you come back to your body absolutely rested, refreshed, fortified, as though you had slept for hours.

This is something we can learn to do.  I don’t say it can be done overnight, a little work is necessary also some persistence, but still… this one must learn to do.

Analysis of Sleep Training and Sleep Tips:

Really the most important thing here is for you to explore and find out for yourself the value of penetrating into sleep with awareness.  Below are a few points I want to emphasize from the excerpt above:

Sleep Tip #1 – Stillness:

The importance of complete immobility should not be underestimated with regard to moving into non-dual or Supreme Consciousness.  Many of us who have experienced Kundalini Awakening seriously have at some point felt (and been terrified by :-)) the physical paralysis that takes place during such times.  I believe voluntary stillness emulates this paralysis and give awareness and energy a chance to fly higher and deeper.

Sleep Tip #2 – Persistence:

As the Mother pointed out above, results will probably not be immediate and it will take some practice, persistence and patience on your part to meaningfully explore sleep and such higher states.  So don’t just try for a night or two and give up.  If you are passionate about spirituality, simply apply yourself and keep yourself open to what might be revealed to you.

Sleep Tip #3 – Altered States of Consciousness:

Satchitananda and non-dual, mind blowing states are great, but you might find other interesting experiences and see other interesting sites on this inward journey as well.   Stepping out of the mechanical ordinary mental activity is always intriguing and sleep is a very conducive time for such breakthroughs to occur, so I hope you do go into this more and discover aspects of your being and consciousness which you were never aware of and which are the real treasures of life.

7

How Does Enlightenment Happen?

Jean Klein on Enlightenment

Advaita Vedanta on Enlightenment

The weekend is a great time to deepen and expand your practice, as you have a chance to explore the inner recesses of the mind with greater awareness and freedom.  Our normal life is sometimes so filled with activity that there is no space left for us to reside in our vast inner silence and Witnessing Consciousness.  So, to inspire you all to further your spiritual progress, let’s point out what needs to be done in order for spiritual enlightenment to happen.

Enlightenment

Here is a wonderful explanation from the profound Master of Advaita Vedanta and Non-Duality Jean Klein.  The excerpt is from his book The Ease of Being and this guidance will certainly help point you straight towards enlightenment and your true Self.

Author: Jean Klein

Book: The Ease of Being

Page 28

Question:  Then how does this transformation, this integration happen?

Answer By Jean:

The mind must come to a state of silence, completely empty of fear, longing and all images.  This cannot be brought about by suppression, but by observing every feeling and though without qualification, condemnation, judgment, or comparison.  If unmotivated alertness is to operate the censor must disappear.  There must simply be a quiet looking at what composes the mind.  In discovering the facts just as they are, agitation is eliminated, the movement of thoughts becomes slow and we can watch each thought, its cause and content as it occurs.  We become aware of every thought in its completeness and in this totality there can be no conflict.  Then only alertness remains, only silence in which there is neither observer nor observed.  So do not force your mind.  Just watch its various movements as you would look at flying birds.  In this uncluttered looking all your experiences surface and unfold.  For unmotivated seeing not only generates tremendous energy but frees all tension, all the various layers of inhibitions.  You see the whole of yourself.

Observing everything with full attention becomes a way of life, a return to your original and natural meditative being.

Advaita View on How to Bring about Enlightenment:

So this weekend make some time to try this for yourself.  Try to remain as a simple innocent witness to all that is happening in your mind and life.  Surrender to just this watching/listening aspect of yourself.  Understand the limitations of what the mind can do and don’t try to force situations.  Stop running and chasing after things and instead just look at things just the way they are and understand them quietly.  Watch all feelings and thoughts, as best as you can, as they arise and let them run their course.  Enlightenment, your true non-dual nature, is only a silent whisper away.

8

Amazing Yoga Testimonials – Spiritual Yoga Experiences – Your True Stories

Amazing Yoga Stories

Spiritual Yoga Experiences

I remember clearly the unusual energetic experience I had the first time I took a Hatha Yoga class.  The class was held at my High School in Old Bridge, New Jersey during the summer community programs that the township would hold.  The teacher was very good and as I was doing one of the poses, I felt a current of incredible energy surging through parts of my body.  It was really quite an amazing experience, very pleasurable, and it was the first time I had felt something of that extra ordinary nature.  I spoke to the teacher about it after class, and she explained that it was a positive sign to have such an experience, and that it was not uncommon for those who practiced yoga to have such energy experiences or spiritual experiences.  So for all who think yoga is just physical exercise, it’s time to wake-up .

Luckily such experiences have continued to be a part of my life and frankly, they are the nectar of my life.  Many such experiences reveal the hidden aspects of Reality, promoting insight and understanding, and almost all are quite amazing and extra ordinary.  Some of them are very spiritual in nature, while others are just the experience of pure energy and vibration.  In addition, although they come in great variety, some do visit more often than others and I enjoy them like the company of an old friend. 

Spiritual Yoga Experiences

These days, as I am on vacation, I have the opportunity to devote more of my energy to the spiritual dimension, and this invariably leads to more openings and spiritual experiences.  Over the last few days my old friend the Smile of the Buddha experience paid a visit, which I wrote about in the article 7 Rapid Benefits of Kundalini Yoga Practice, as have other experiences of great bliss, energy and vibration.  You can read more about such experience of mine in the following category Spiritual Enlightenment Experiences

Enough about me though .  In this article I want to share with you the amazing spiritual and energy experiences other online yogis are having while practicing the yoga techniques from the website.  Below you will find their true stories about such extra ordinary experiences, and I have also listed the yoga techniques they were using which prompted these experiences to take place.  Other than inspiring you with you own yoga practice, I am sharing these experiences with you so that if you are having strange and unusual experiences due to your spiritual practice, realize that you are not a mental patient, and that this is completely normal and to be expected .

Experience:  Amazing Energy Experience and Chakra Openings

Technique:   Yoga Pranayamas

Yogi Writes:

(I strongly recommend using the time before sleep for spiritual practice and have written about this often.  You can read about this in the following articles, 3 Simple Tips to Invite Enlightenment and Item #7 in the 10 Things You Should Daily for a Happy and Meaningful Life).

I came across your website around 15 days back and if I start telling you the changes that have occurred in my daily routine and in my life since then, that email will be too long to read :). Anyways, thanks a lot for your website. Now lets come to the point. I have been doing Kapalbhati, Bhastrika, Sudarshan Kriya and Breath of fire among other pranayams. Now, I do all these sitting down in lotus position. Nowadays when I go to bed, I tend to concentrate on my breathing just to calm down my thoughts and eventually go to sleep. But I tend to go in to a deep meditation state. I am calling it deep because the feeling that I get from that, I have never experienced before. Now I remember the first night I was doing the concentration on breathing I got a sort of current flowing in my body in the lower back and coming out of anus. I was frightened and immediately came out. Then I decided not be afraid and carry on. So now I have been enjoying this mediation a lot. While in meditation, I feel a sort of fluid flowing near the muladhara and swadhisthana area of spinal cord. And, my body is filled with immense vibrations and frankly I enjoy it a lot.

Experience:  Fiery Kundalini Awakening and Rising

Technique:   Anuloma Viloma Pranayama

Yogi Writes:

(One of the fastest techniques for awakening Kundalini is Anuloma Viloma Pranayama.  Don’t over do it.  Go slow and balance your practice with physical yoga as well).

I had a strange experience. I had hot flashes periodically during the night. I could feel the heat surge from my back to the top of my head and peak at the center point of the roof of the head.

Experience:  Fascinating Spontaneous Yoga Movements (Kriyas)

Technique:   Third Eye 

Yogi Writes:

(Coming spontaneously into such yoga positions and going through yoga movements and kriyas is often reported.  This is found more often with those experiencing a Kundalini Awakening of some kind).

Two days ago i was doing the kundalini awakening and while resting in corpse pose i felt a sound like the sound of tires on road when car is moving and pressure in my ears, almost 30 seconds. I just stayed calm and felt normal after wards. Today when doing my meditations i experienced something new, i felt a force moving my hands, was a bit startled at first but waited it out. My arms felt moved to raised positions but it only felt natural to be in those positions,it was like someone is holding them and guiding of into those positions. 

Experience:  Beautiful Spiritual Yoga Experiences

Technique:   Jesus Pose and Kirtan Kriya 

Yogi Writes:

(All of what is described below is reported often during spiritual experiences.  Light, vibrations, the circular movements, etc.  In addition, the subtle experience of Mudras is also some times felt, although this is not as common).

My first full “in the moment” experience was while doing jesus pose – a wheel of light appeared between my arms with shadow figures jumping through it.  After that, I was more and more able to slip into the moment, until my consciousness of my body began to dissolve in vibrations, light, and sometimes clockwise, sometimes counter-clockwise, sometimes both at once, feelings/visualizations of circular motion. 

It was while doing your most recent Kirtan Kriya meditation that I experienced the power of mantras and mudras.  Not only did I slip very easily into a sense of the vibration and light, but each combination of sound and finger position produces immediate and distinct effects.  My mood also became more level, which I particularly valued after a period of stress.

Experience:  More Spontaneous Yoga Kriyas and Vibrations

Technique:   Chanting

Yogi Writes:

(Swaying is the most common reports I get in terms of spontaneous movements during yoga or meditation practice.  Also, vibrations and light are the also the common physical symptoms that are often reported back to me as a result of yoga practice).

When I chant I can feel the vibration throughout my entire body, but especially in my hands…mostly the fingertips.  Today was the first time I felt my body begin to sway a little.

More Amazing Yoga Testimonials and Stories:

You can read more true stories about amazing yoga experiences or the benefits of yoga and meditation in the following articles:

Benefits of Yoga Pouring In

Amazing Benefits of Yoga Pranayama

Yoga Cures Diseases, Depression and More

Yoga Works

Below you will find more such articles that are a part of this series on the benefits of yoga.

9

Importance of Humor on the Road to Enlightenment

Role of Humor on the Spiritual Journey

A few weeks ago I was sitting out on my deck and enjoying what I call holistic vision.  Which is when you don’t focus on any one object, but instead take in the whole scenery together, using an unfocused, steady gaze.  Being aware of the space between the objects magnifies the effect of this way of looking and it a meditation all on it’s own (meditation detailed in Brain Development & Enlightenment Part I).

As most parents with little ones know, getting some alone time can be challenging, so I was making the most of this quiet moment life had blessed me with and really enjoying the beauty of this meditation.  As I was moving deeper into this state, all of a sudden Spiderman attacked me!  Yes that would be my four year old son Shivum.  So much for merging with the Oneness of nature and all that.  It was time for Green Goblin to fight back .

Humor on the Road

This is how life is and it is important to be able to just have a big laugh and carry on.  A sense of humor is absolutely invaluable when it comes to walking the spiritual path and exploring the world of enlightenment.  In the article, J Krishnamurti Ponders His Enlightenment and Kundalini Awakening, Krishnamurti lists having a humorous approach as one of the keys to his own awakening.  From those of us who have been involved in this business for a while, believe it when we say, a sense of humor is likely to be your best friend on your own journey to Self-Realization.

In reflecting over my own journey here are the situations and conditions where I have found humor to be a huge blessing…

1. The Egotistic Mind:

As you start to shine the light of awareness onto your mind, you are going to be alarmed by the amount of mischief that is going on in there.  The endless attempts of the ego to assert itself and gain importance, pleasure, security, etc.  Don’t start judging yourself and getting upset over this, instead just smile, have a laugh and remain a witness to it all.  This is how the egotistical mind works and watching it dispassionately is the antidote.

2. Hiccups in Life:

Getting attacked by Spiderman in the middle of meditation can be potentially upsetting, but I think it is much healthier to learn to laugh about these situations than cry about them.  In fact such situations are a chance to practice meditation for real.  Observing your  mind and thoughts at times like this, will give you a great deal of insight into your attachments and desires.

3. Your Neurotic Tendencies & Weaknesses:

We all have them .  It’s what gives our personalities color and variety.  So whatever idiosyncrasies and tendencies you have, they are what make you you.  So take them in stride and learn to smile about them.

4. Impermanent Enlightenment Experiences:

The enlightenment states and experiences come and go.  That is how they tend to be, so don’t be disappointed and anxious to cling to them.  Enjoy them when they come and also, don’t take to task your desire to have them persist or repeat.

5. Catastrophes in Life:

Hiccups are relatively easy to smile about, but full fledged catastrophes are another story.  Before something new can be built, the old has to be destroyed, and no matter how romantic you think this idea is, it’s actual occurrence can be quite painful and difficult.  But really when everything around you starts falling apart despite your best efforts, remind yourself that you don’t necessarily see the big picture, then go ahead and have a good laugh at the state of your life.  Then start over.

6. Terrible Meditation Sessions:

Trust me, we all have these also.  Meditation sessions where you sit down with passionate intent to break free of time, space and self, but, instead end up spending the whole time planning your finances or fretting over your latest health issue.  It’s ok, you will get ‘em next time.

Summary:

If you don’t have a sense of humor about many of the situations you are going to encounter on this path, it is going to be very difficult for you to keep your sanity, commitment and balance.  So remember this is all a big game that you are willingly playing, and learn to laugh at yourself and the twists and turns that life if going to throw at you.

Please do feel free to share your experiences with us of how humor has helped you in your own spiritual journey.

10

How to Attain Enlightenment

Spiritual Enlightenment

Meditation For Enlightenment

Can enlightenment be attained?  Is there something that can be done to bring it about or are you altogether at the mercy of chance and luck?  Do you simply set the stage and wait, or can you be more proactive? In fact, can you be proactive to the point of actually bringing it about?  I think the answer is probably going to surprise some of you.  The answer is both.

I know I have myself mentioned that mostly enlightenment experiences are not in your hands and that they are a gift for living a particular way, with certain energy, awareness and intelligence, but, in this article I want to speak of what you can actually do to bring about enlightenment, first hand, consciously.

This type of enlightenment I refer to as “Direct Enlightenment”, versus the enlightenment that takes place unannounced and mostly on it’s own, which I refer to as “Indirect Enlightenment”.  Examples of indirect enlightenment are the openings that take place when you are deep in meditation, silently watching your breath, or are practicing some pranayama, koan, mindfulness or other such technique. 

Attain Enlightenment

Direct enlightenment though is when you consciously bring about the explosion of insight and the ensuing state of enlightenment follows.  Let me explain by giving you an example of my own experience with this approach.

An Enlightened Day – Spontaneous Living

This event took place at my parents home many years back, but the enormity of the experience makes it an unforgettable part of my life.  Here is how it transpired.

I was alone upstairs in the guest room (which has since become the computer room after the internet took over our lives :-), contemplating what J. Krishnamurti spoke of with regard to ideals and that our actions are based on these “shoulds”.  In other words, we act based on what we feel we should do, in the hopes of achieving something by such action.  For example, “I should watch my thoughts”, that will help me attain enlightenment, or “I should let go”, “I should be aware”, etc. etc.  If you examine your thoughts carefully, you will see that you are constantly operating under the authority of “shoulds”, chasing goals.  Here is more about what that means.

To be operating under the authority of “shoulds”, means to always be caught in psychological time and caught in the process of becoming.  It is really important to understand this very clearly.  When we act according to what we “should” be doing, we are acting with a goal state in mind.  Like the example above, when we say “I should watch my thoughts,” I have the future state of being enlightened in mind and am hoping to achieve that.  So I am currently not enlightened, but by “watching my thoughts”, I will become enlightened.  This process of “becoming” is infused into every aspect of your life.  I am violent, I will become non-violent, I am selfish, I will become unselfish, etc.  The battle between “what is” and “what should be” rages incessantly.

As I was contemplating this topic, it occurred to me that this process was actually underway at this very moment in my mind and I could observe it “live” right then and see it action.  So I closed my eyes, put my head down and decided that I would like to see this in actuality, instead of just intellectually.  I was absolutely determined to make this happen right then and there.  The demand was urgent, uncompromising and intense.

I focused all my energy on watching the fact that shoulds mean I am caught in the process of becoming.  I looked very very carefully at this happening in real time.   The mind, in pursuit of a goal, determining what should be done next, repeatedly.  I examined and perceived this fact in every movement of the mind.  This is when the explosion took place.  The mind realized that any movement on its part was just the continuation of more of the same.  That all it could do was present another goal and thus perpetuate the endless cycle of becoming.  The clear and complete perception of this fact obliterated the entire process.  Becoming ceased.

I felt a tremendous release take place in the stomach, as all tension evaporated and the actuality of happiness took it’s place.  It is then that I realized that the tension was always there and that we have taken it to be the “normal” state, when in fact it is actually constant stress and suffering.  The mind completely stopped presenting any “shoulds”, and all action became spontaneous responses to the moment.  It was unbelievable. 

I recall heading downstairs, pure happiness in my belly, mind free of any trace of becoming, but nonetheless fully functional and outwardly completely normal.  I interacted with my parents and even worked on problem solving with my father who was working on fixing some electronic device.  The mind functioned perfectly fine, it’s just there was no inward attempt to pursue any future state whatsoever.  This state of pure spontaneous living, free of all ideals and the actuality of happiness continued throughout the day.

Direct Enlightenment:

This is an example of direct enlightenment and what sets it apart from indirect enlightenment are the following three aspects…

1. You apply yourself intensely with the aim of enlightenment.

2. You bring about the explosion of insight via the application of acute intelligence and swift awareness.

3. The enlightenment state descends directly as a result of the insight which shatters the time bound, desire driven thinking process.

The process I described above eventually matured into what I call now the Silent Mind Meditation Technique and I describe the technique in the following article, Silent Mind Meditations.  In that article you will also find a more through analysis on what I was explaining above with regard to “shoulds” and the process of becoming as well.

Frankly I have not met many people who can do this type of meditation and bring about this cessation of the mind or dissolution of the ordinary time bound, goal oriented thinking process, but, from all the meditation techniques on this website, if there was one I would want you to grasp this would be it.  This technique is not easy, but it is the one that puts enlightenment in your hands.