In this assessment, I realized my own arrogance. I would love to have the mystical pilgrimages to foreign lands, sitting at the feet of enlightened gurus in India, getting lost in the bliss that is the Temple of Dendera, climbing through the terrain that is Machu Picchu. Moreover, there's not much difference between studying the works of Yoganada-ji, the Hathors, or following the adventures of Drunvalo Melchizedek and David Hatcher Childress. So, using my initial negative assessment as a mirror, what was it that I was attempting to reflect back to myself? In truth, most of us appear to be remedial with enlightenment. We're still trying to figure out who we are. Definitions of a simple creation or an evolution doesn't quite appeal to understanding the soul, especially when the mystics teach of a much closer link to God. That's my interest in treading a spiritual path. But even after all these years of studying, if anything, I feel I may be still just scratching the surface with my limited understanding and possible experience with the "I Am" presence. But, what would separate me from the average seeker who searches the world for mystical truth/experiences? How do I place myself among the ranks of our highly cherished gurus and masters that we honor in each of our societies?
Crowley further addresses the precincts of yoga where he expounds his extreme methods of practice. Extreme being in addition to the traditional postures, breathing, etc., he would cut himself every time a thought arose. However, more akin to what may have been the above masters setting, one of the major keys appears to be limiting all possible stimuli creating a fortress of solitude. As Crowley suggests, "the greatest intelligence is shown by those of solitary habits". It is by freeing the mind from external influences, whether casual or emotional, that it obtains power to see somewhat of the truth of things. -Aleister Crowley, Mysticism (Book Four).
I found myself psychologically struggling with this idea of extreme solitude. In fact, I was getting imaginary flashes of being stuck in a straight jacket in an empty white walled room. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You're faced with the predicament of exploring the only avenue that you have, your self. As an introvert who needs space, solitude, and room to thrive, I know how easy it can be for the negative ego to begin to tear you away. In the western world of accomplishments, where yang energy of "do this, do that" dominates over its feminine counterpart, one can easily get distracted by what one thinks is a "purpose" in our lives. Taking, not a moment, but a sabbatical of reflection can easily lead to guilt of not doing. Even in considering the doing, all kinds of limiting beliefs may arise, including not being good enough, fear of the unknown, etc., among the plethora of sensations that make us feel human. By saying human, I'm not alluding to a positive quality, but qualities that appear to afflict each and every one of us. Again, I can only compare this to being in a straight jacket fighting with oneself.
In summation, we often find ourselves grasping for something beyond our self, such as a mystical adventure, a guru, a secret mantra, and they are valuable tools in their own right and have furthered my own discovery. However, in the light of the three masters above, greatness seems to be achieved by diving into the depths of oneself, dealing with ones psychology, and closing our senses to the objective world and subjective interpretations thereof. Only then does it appear that we become the subject of idolatry among men worthy of espousing illumination. For which, only then does the seeker become that which is seeked. They'll go to sacred sites.
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1. Your "I" Presence The Siva Sutras are an important Saivite text, expounding on the Advaita Vedantic concept of non-duality. Under non-duality, there is only one thing that is true, which is the "I". That "I" is defined as consciousness or the "All That Is" definition of God. When this "I" becomes separated into duality, we're presented with the idea of "this and/or that", but fail to see "this and/or that" as one and the same as it is consciousness. This failure to see "this and/or that" as one and the same is the game of this illusion, it is presented as our experience as that is what our soul is seeking. Ignorance of of seeing everything as "I" is duality. As I see it, the ensuing suffering from this illusion of separation is our original sin. Hence, contrary to modern Christian dogma, original sin is not the unification of polar opposites, but the "belief" that we are separate. (I believe the gnostics/qabbalists would address original sin as spirit being lost in matter.)
2. Your "I Am" Presence Eastern spirituality has stressed enlightenment or the search of discovering the source of our soul. Leading to different yogic ("yoke" - to bind) techniques including mindfulness where you separate the observer from the observed and simply remain as a watcher in the observation. As you remain and be the watcher, you come to grasp a simpleness where you do not place meaning, purposes, beliefs, etc., in the observed or the observation. In this state, you are no longer your ego identity composed of your name, profession, your past, etc. You are simply the watcher, or you simply "Am" being.
Under the qabbalist supernal-triad, the "I Am" presence would be the masculine Chokmah. Here, Chokmah takes the infinite possibilities of Kether, and brings wisdom to formulate a plan for our existence. This would be our Higher Self, our Soul, the Watcher. However, such awareness is not appreciated until it becomes existence through feminine creation, which is found in the "That" presence. 3. Your "I Am That" Presence Lastly, we have the feminine presence of "That". Linguistically, it is our creations and attachments to "this and that", the object of observation. It is the "I am male", "I am an attorney", and "I am ethnically Indian", etc. It is also things that we bring into our presence, better yet, things that we bring to our awareness. It is your emotional body which is your resonating frequency, "I am happy", "I am fearful, "I am loving", etc. "That" is manifestation of our creation.
As alluded to above, the feminine sephirot of Binah in the qabbalist tree of life best suits the "that" presence. It is through her that we are aware of creation manifest, and with Chokmah do we see co-creative powers working together to create an experience that will give our Higher Self "understanding". It is through her that we can express our own creative and attractive abilities. Tune yourself with the creative power of Spirit. You will be in contact with the Infinite Intelligence that is able to guide you and to solve all problems. Power from the dynamic Source of your being will flow uninterruptedly so that you will be able to perform creatively in any sphere of activity. -Parmahansa Yogananda, Where There Is Light. Conclude Like most who gave up on The Secret after creating vision boards, using positive affirmations, there appears to be steps to properly enact and manage the LOA. Before the tools, techniques, we need to redefine who we are from what we have been led to believe. Akin to chakra clearing, our limiting beliefs get in the way and take over our manifestations. Provided that we are created in God's image, we should hold some God qualities including creative/attractive talents. Our God link, "I Am" presence, is important to tackle any limiting beliefs we hold that get in the way of the reality we truly wish to experience. Hence, before we even get to the techniques, we may simply need to realize the power of who we are as part of the "I Am That" presence.
In returning to a regular meditation routine, one mantra made Her way into my life making me psychological re-live my past. Such was done to clear my emotional body as She takes you to the root of your psychological limitations. As expressed in the Siva Sutras, 2:1, "[b]y intensive awareness of one's identity with the Highest Reality enshrined in a mantra and thus becoming identical with that Reality the mind itself becomes free." In other words, a mantra is a tool that when used with intense awareness with your identity molding with the highest identity in that mantra, your identities unite. It was in reading one of Shambhavi Lorain Chopra's work that I came across the Kali mantra scripted below. It was only after practicing this for over a month that I read about the potential dangers of said mantra. But, I was already a month into the practice, so why turn back? Coming out of such emotional issues, the Dark Goddess takes on a much more "calming" form. It's only when she clears our attachments/addictions do we fear Her since we don't want to lose certain ego-ic belongings. We're essentially diving into our shadow sides where we hide our negative ego and its limiting belief system. The mantra above is said to clear your life for a quick and direct spiritual evolution, potentially sending shock into your life. Perfect in the mantra for Kali, where the bloodthirsty Goddess swims in your shadow self cutting your limiting addictions. The Dark Goddess, who is the embodiment of the dark phase of the moon's cycle, was thus honored for her role in presiding over the mysteries and initiations of the intermediary passage between death and rebirth. - Demetra George, Mysteries of the Dark Moon (cited in Siobhan Houston's "Invoking Mary Magdelene").
Mary, thou blessed one, whom I will perfect in all mysteries of those of the height, discourse in openness, thou, whose heart is raised in the kingdom of heaven more than all thy brethren. -Jesus, Pistis Sophia (Book 1, Chapter 17) It's interesting that my work with the Dark Goddess had lead me back to Christianity. Predominately to a figure that is the symbol of western feminine degradation. Like the Moon, the Goddess shows us her many faces as she wanes and waxes, but she is still ever presently the Moon. When I see pictures of Kali's foot penetrating into the limp Shiva, I see the intimate feminine simply waking her lover up from his sacrifice. The Gnostics referred to Her as Christ the Sophia with her beloved as Christ the Logos. She is the one who anointed Her beloved from Her alabaster jar. She was the one purged of Her seven (7) demons. Luke 8:1-3. Her return to prominence would be the imminent awakening of the Western world of a long lost love. Such has begun with the popularity of certain material, including the "Da Vinci Code". However, She is so much more than a bloodline or a disciple, do I dare say the equivalent of Her beloved. ...for thou art blessed before all women on earth, because thou shalt be the ful[l]ness of all fu[l]lnesses and the perfection of all perfections." - Jesus, Pistis Sophia, (Book 1, Chapter 19) I was recently asked if there were any supplements to awaken the third eye. The third eye composed of the pineal gland and pituitary, there is some information out there on the web. However, I'm not sure that there is a supplement to fully awaken the third eye, a quick fix that is the custom in the West. I feel that we're all going through the awakening process. Apparently we're ascending into the 5th dimension, as discussed by new agers, astrologers, and channelers. The planets are doing some major pulls (Grahas) to get us where we need to be, and the Sun quite possibly charging up our DNA. But, imagine a simple pill to awakening your third eye. Like in the Matrix, you can either take the red pill or the blue pill. One keeps you in the illusion, the other may awaken you to your own personal Neo (Higher Self?). Even before we get to the pineal gland, we should look at our other chakras. Actually, we need to learn to feel our chakras first. Well, at least that was needed for me. If we're going to take an active approach to "enlightenment" as opposed to going with the pull of our cosmos, there may be quite a bit of ego/karmic work that we need to do or release. There may be an easier, simpler solution. However, my love for the ancients has me searching their footprints and diving into their obstacles. As their memories are programmed into our DNA, our Ancestors are our biggest supporters in releasing our shared attachments. Of course, I will take a simpler route if found. But in the mean time, where do we begin? Now, I'm not claiming to be enlightened like the masters, but sharing information has triggered some interest. I mean that's what we all should be doing, sharing our stories and experiences and helping one another ascend! So maybe I can put my two cents on the global web and at least it will be a historical anchor point to pinpoint my presence in this ever present moment.
As I dived into health/fitness back in 2013, I began taking fiber to help digest the protein shakes and whatever cheat meal I would constantly indulge. As I found, just a few grams of fiber (3-5 grams) can make a significant difference. Higher fiber intake, like 10 grams, is miracle poop. Yes, I said "miracle poop". Interesting to note is that I found Yang Jwing-Ming's work through fitness guru Eliott Hulse, the "breathe into your balls" guy. So even with studying fitness, spirituality was synchronistic-ally still smacking me in the face. Anyways, I thought fiber would become an everyday supplement, since I wasn't trying to go back to the olden ways of defecating. But as we consistently search, what we search for is consitently searching for us as well, via way of law of attraction.
Of all the vital organs in the body, the one that suffers the most abuse from modern dietary habits is the colon. Our colons were intended by nature to function as smoothly flowing sewer systems, in order to promptly flush digestive wastes from the body. Instead, they have become stagnant cesspools, the physiological equivalent to a festering pile of uncollected garbage or a broken toilet that continues to be used for defecation. The average American male colon today carries within it about 5 pounds of putrid, half-digested red meat, plus another 5-10 pounds of foul toxic waste impacted for years in the folds of the colon with mucus. -Daniel P. Reid, The Tao of Health, Sex, & Longevity.
Hence, before we even get to the third eye, detoxing may be best. An open third eye can lead to fear without a proper self cleansing. I've found that our attachments (Karma: things that psychologically/emotionally poke us), are embedded in our chakras, mostly in our lower ones. Moreover, macabre entities are usually depicted as parasites feeding off of our destructive emotions. Do we really want to see all of this after opening our third eye? I'd know I'd crap my pants seeing some gruesome beings, if I wasn't on Triphala.
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AuthorOverly educated and continuously exploring and revealing more behind the veil. "It cannot be too highly emphasized that the mystic swims in the same waters in which the psychotic drowns."
-James Wasserman, The Mystery Traditions Archives
August 2019
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