Dear Readers,
ASIDE: Regarding our last adventure into the nature of the universe and "everythingness"; I will be on and off at times when talking about this subject and usually it is my intention to talk or write about the nature of the universe as a side note. The nature of "everythingness" is really something that cannot be claimed by words and especially the watered down human English language, therefore I feel that my commentary is limited to my ego. My goal as a being and steward of yoga is not to clarify subjects that defy words but to rather bring people to the space of clarity that I found many years ago that will in due time lead them to the experiential knowing of the path and nature of being, human, tao, and universe (or Christ/Buddha).
Being is experiencing and talking is the symbolic hinting of which actions to take that will lead you to the experience. Keep in mind that every experience is different and every human is unique and in complete balance with universal oneness.
None the less, contact me if you want to have a rousing conversation over satori and tea or attend a work dinner function in which many of these ideas are presented to us. Omtrevor@gmail.com for Events newsletter and holistic gatherings.
(Aside End)
Death and Dying and forbidden knowledge are everywhere. In the Western culture these subjects have been carefully measured, plotted, and planned against. As a way to highlight these "dark" arenas of western thought, I will base this entry on forbidden knowledge with special interest towards soul transcendance and travel upon death. This entry is inspired by my learning of "Bardos" which are highlighted in the tibetan book of the dead.
Bardo: "intermediate phase"
"In the terma discovered by Karma Lingpa, Guru Padmasambhava introduces six different bardos. The first bardo begins when we take birth and endures as long as we live. The second is the bardo of dreams. The third is the bardo of concentration or meditation. The fourth occurs at the moment of death. The fifth is known as the bardo of the luminosity of the true nature. The sixth is called the bardo of transmigration or karmic becoming."
Entire quoted text taken from Wikipedia. For full article see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo
In understanding what the Buddhist community describes as bardo, I begin to understand that which is lost in the west as most of our understanding is based on this life rather than reincarnation. I have an understanding that philosophers in the 1960s made the commentary that culturally, genetically, and societally, that westerners weren't as developed psychically as easterners were. In a lecture that I observed, Alan Watts was made to comment that Easterners due to the nature of their meditation practices were better suited for things such as yoga and past and future life studies. I do think that this commentary is in the process of being dated, thus implying that Westerners will be caught up in psychic development as a product of 2012 shift. Alan Watts was also implying that the Westerner has no business practicing yoga, which I think is becoming more and more disproven by the West's (especially the USA) ability to pick yoga and run with it in a way that out-numbers Indians practicing yoga.
(Yes, more yoga is practiced in the West than India, although I still think that meditation is still more prevalent in the East)
With all phases in Life and Death being represented by a bardo, my research leads me to discuss the bardo of death in which a soul/mental apparrition lingers translucently in this dimension. The Buddhists believe that the thoughtform that represents the individual who had recently passed was around the body or at least around familar people, places and things for at least three weeks. (I felt that presence and experienced the thoughtforms of my recently passed friend George Delgado, especially when myself and Derek traveled to his family's home and the cemetary.)
During this time of unincarnated beingness, an individual's friends, family, or tribe can take an active role in helping the being/deceased to move into the next life or incarnation. (Not everyone reincarnates you know.) It is for these belief based reasons that many Asian cultures observe offering for the dead or the ancestors. Even in Mexico there is the Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead and that is a festival for offering the deceased friends and family guidance or blessings in the afterward of Earthly Human life.
Much research has come into societal focus recently regarding contact with the dead and this research will only stand to be more concrete as technology is improved. Things that weren't considered science yesterday are considered science today. So that which society might consider to be witchery today may be proven science tomorrow.
Furthermore bardo is experienced in near death experiences as well, and therefore ties into the brain chemical discussion about yoga we had earlier as your body reacts to the situation with a rushing release of chemicals that produce trance, psychodelic dreamstate, or enlightenment awareness. Yoga is a way for the individual to reach and practice for the bardo of death and transformation safely without going anywhere or doing anything.
Within the practice of Yoga Meditation and the states that lead to Samadhi (oneness or bliss through meditation), there are experiences that we can choose to have that act and recreate the situations described by the Buddhists in the texts and lectures concerning Bardo. It may be difficult to fathom but Yoga Meditation can generate an experience for the mind that allows it to slow time and lengthen experience of dreams, live life and death, and be reborn even before Savasana (corpse pose meditation) is complete (3 to 10 minutes). On way that people are "born again" or saved from so called "learning disabilities" or mental disorders, is through meditation or even lucid dreaming. I personally encourage every parent to teach their children how to Lucid Dream by the age of 12. I know that when I learned to meditate and to lucid dream around the age of 12, it fostered freedom and functionality that allowed me to cope and thrive (now) with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).
To quote and encourage the experience :
"Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi
(Taoism in China)
To Be Continued...
Waking Within
760-713-6710
WakingWithin@gmail.com
ASIDE: Regarding our last adventure into the nature of the universe and "everythingness"; I will be on and off at times when talking about this subject and usually it is my intention to talk or write about the nature of the universe as a side note. The nature of "everythingness" is really something that cannot be claimed by words and especially the watered down human English language, therefore I feel that my commentary is limited to my ego. My goal as a being and steward of yoga is not to clarify subjects that defy words but to rather bring people to the space of clarity that I found many years ago that will in due time lead them to the experiential knowing of the path and nature of being, human, tao, and universe (or Christ/Buddha).
Being is experiencing and talking is the symbolic hinting of which actions to take that will lead you to the experience. Keep in mind that every experience is different and every human is unique and in complete balance with universal oneness.
None the less, contact me if you want to have a rousing conversation over satori and tea or attend a work dinner function in which many of these ideas are presented to us. Omtrevor@gmail.com for Events newsletter and holistic gatherings.
(Aside End)
Death and Dying and forbidden knowledge are everywhere. In the Western culture these subjects have been carefully measured, plotted, and planned against. As a way to highlight these "dark" arenas of western thought, I will base this entry on forbidden knowledge with special interest towards soul transcendance and travel upon death. This entry is inspired by my learning of "Bardos" which are highlighted in the tibetan book of the dead.
Bardo: "intermediate phase"
"In the terma discovered by Karma Lingpa, Guru Padmasambhava introduces six different bardos. The first bardo begins when we take birth and endures as long as we live. The second is the bardo of dreams. The third is the bardo of concentration or meditation. The fourth occurs at the moment of death. The fifth is known as the bardo of the luminosity of the true nature. The sixth is called the bardo of transmigration or karmic becoming."
Entire quoted text taken from Wikipedia. For full article see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo
In understanding what the Buddhist community describes as bardo, I begin to understand that which is lost in the west as most of our understanding is based on this life rather than reincarnation. I have an understanding that philosophers in the 1960s made the commentary that culturally, genetically, and societally, that westerners weren't as developed psychically as easterners were. In a lecture that I observed, Alan Watts was made to comment that Easterners due to the nature of their meditation practices were better suited for things such as yoga and past and future life studies. I do think that this commentary is in the process of being dated, thus implying that Westerners will be caught up in psychic development as a product of 2012 shift. Alan Watts was also implying that the Westerner has no business practicing yoga, which I think is becoming more and more disproven by the West's (especially the USA) ability to pick yoga and run with it in a way that out-numbers Indians practicing yoga.
(Yes, more yoga is practiced in the West than India, although I still think that meditation is still more prevalent in the East)
With all phases in Life and Death being represented by a bardo, my research leads me to discuss the bardo of death in which a soul/mental apparrition lingers translucently in this dimension. The Buddhists believe that the thoughtform that represents the individual who had recently passed was around the body or at least around familar people, places and things for at least three weeks. (I felt that presence and experienced the thoughtforms of my recently passed friend George Delgado, especially when myself and Derek traveled to his family's home and the cemetary.)
During this time of unincarnated beingness, an individual's friends, family, or tribe can take an active role in helping the being/deceased to move into the next life or incarnation. (Not everyone reincarnates you know.) It is for these belief based reasons that many Asian cultures observe offering for the dead or the ancestors. Even in Mexico there is the Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead and that is a festival for offering the deceased friends and family guidance or blessings in the afterward of Earthly Human life.
Much research has come into societal focus recently regarding contact with the dead and this research will only stand to be more concrete as technology is improved. Things that weren't considered science yesterday are considered science today. So that which society might consider to be witchery today may be proven science tomorrow.
Furthermore bardo is experienced in near death experiences as well, and therefore ties into the brain chemical discussion about yoga we had earlier as your body reacts to the situation with a rushing release of chemicals that produce trance, psychodelic dreamstate, or enlightenment awareness. Yoga is a way for the individual to reach and practice for the bardo of death and transformation safely without going anywhere or doing anything.
Within the practice of Yoga Meditation and the states that lead to Samadhi (oneness or bliss through meditation), there are experiences that we can choose to have that act and recreate the situations described by the Buddhists in the texts and lectures concerning Bardo. It may be difficult to fathom but Yoga Meditation can generate an experience for the mind that allows it to slow time and lengthen experience of dreams, live life and death, and be reborn even before Savasana (corpse pose meditation) is complete (3 to 10 minutes). On way that people are "born again" or saved from so called "learning disabilities" or mental disorders, is through meditation or even lucid dreaming. I personally encourage every parent to teach their children how to Lucid Dream by the age of 12. I know that when I learned to meditate and to lucid dream around the age of 12, it fostered freedom and functionality that allowed me to cope and thrive (now) with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).
To quote and encourage the experience :
"Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi
(Taoism in China)
To Be Continued...
Waking Within
760-713-6710
WakingWithin@gmail.com
Comments
-butterfly dreamer