dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 25, 2014 8:00:23 GMT
Greetings,
I have spent much time reflecting upon the 9 Yanas in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism in my attempts to take their teachings and adapt it to my own understanding. I have also learned from other schools of Buddhism, where the main concept of interest of interest has been sunyata.
Up until Dzogchen, the other Yanas focus on praxis and practice. I have went through the process of connecting with my kundalini and I am now learning how to apply it through martial arts via T'ai Chi and Baguazhang. It will be a long time before this is mastered. The other practice parts are concerned with taking in the wrathful deities. Even though I find them to be quite interesting, I have adapted this into my work with Sumerian gods. My main school of thought is predominately Draconian, so using Draconian deities is the most rational decision. With that in mind, why not use the oldest recorded Draconian deities?
With careful work, I have begun exploring the very aspects of reality and I have made the realization that this universe is illusory. There is no difference between our dream world and our action world. At first, this did cause depressive feelings to develop. After all, what is the point of living if 'reality' is just a well-made illusion? Then, I quickly snapped out of it and realized that this understanding is liberating! Knowing that this reality is illusory, I can shape my perspective of it into anything I see fit to do. It is also with this revelation that many of my experiences with dream precognition (mostly dealing with people's deaths) and accurate divination experiences are merely moments of synchronizations were I am able to pull in information from another temporal cycle. Thinking of it in a geometrical standpoint, I would be at point (1,1,1,0) and I would be pulling in information from point (1,1,1,1). In fact, these synchronizations could occur as well when a result has occurred from a magickal working. If this is the case, then I could potentially be able to manipulate the very structure of the continuum. As this may be, I am still a ways away from such work. As this may be, the Sumerian gods may not be helpful with this venture. If I want results from the material and astral realms, I rely on them. If I want more than that, I need the Lovecraftian gods. That is my plan.
I would very much like feedback from the most experienced here that know what I am talking about. I have either made the revelation, a revelation, or I am going nuts. lol
Dustin
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Post by N0T 2 on Mar 26, 2014 13:03:34 GMT
Yeah, it's a Dream. You're right.
( Addendum:
Someone has to invent a Typhonian cocktail and name it the "Sunyata".
"...we were all sitting around the pool drinking Sunyatas when the strange creature appeard..." )
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Post by Sloejinn on Mar 26, 2014 17:53:28 GMT
Row, row, row your boat...
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 27, 2014 2:56:03 GMT
N0T 2, Sunyata: 7 Oz. 180 proof Moonshine* 11 drops of black food dye *moonshine can be replaced with high thujone blanc absinthe I'm sure that you can see the multileveled symbolism. Dustin
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Post by N0T 2 on Mar 27, 2014 8:15:00 GMT
Row, row, row your boat... Exactly!
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Post by N0T 2 on Mar 27, 2014 8:27:05 GMT
N0T 2, Sunyata: 7 Oz. 180 proof Moonshine* 11 drops of black food dye *moonshine can be replaced with high thujone blanc absinthe I'm sure that you can see the multileveled symbolism. Dustin Nice! In this aeon of the Daughter, metaphysically, shouldn't a true Sunyata contain a Double Absinthe somewhere along the line? Perhaps the answer is to indeed make it of a double absinthe - one light, one dark, and then cancel both of these by undrinking it! (been there!) I'll get my coat...
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Post by Ad Finem on Mar 27, 2014 9:59:32 GMT
At last the mystery of AL II 22 is now solved!
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 27, 2014 17:03:50 GMT
N0T 2, Sunyata: 7 Oz. 180 proof Moonshine* 11 drops of black food dye *moonshine can be replaced with high thujone blanc absinthe I'm sure that you can see the multileveled symbolism. Dustin Nice! In this aeon of the Daughter, metaphysically, shouldn't a true Sunyata contain a Double Absinthe somewhere along the line? Perhaps the answer is to indeed make it of a double absinthe - one light, one dark, and then cancel both of these by undrinking it! (been there!) I'll get my coat... Colorwise, that would make grey. Since sunyata is supposed to mean "voidness" or "emptiness", don't you think it should be dark enough to match space? Nothing is emptier than that. Otherwise, the hooch is the light aspect. "Undrink" it? You mean fill up a turkey baster and squirt it up your butt? O.o
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Post by Michael Staley on Mar 29, 2014 10:21:44 GMT
It is not so much the universe that is illusory, as our perception of it. To realise that we are still dreaming even whilst we think we are awake, that's a step in the right direction, a prelude to waking up. What we wake up to is, paradoxically, that we don't exist; that the ego is a phantom, a dust-devil, a conglomerate of habit-patterns; that the undivided continuum you refer to is the only reality. It is difficult to express this adequately in words, because language is founded on the subject-object duality, and thus trying to express anything beyond duality will of necessity sound contradictory and paradoxical.
Essentially there's no "you" to "manipulate the very structure of the continuum", and even were that possible it would simply mire you deeper in illusion.
There are many techniques of waking up, ranging from Dream Yoga to the simplicity of atma vicara. Of course - that paradox again - we're already awake, but just don't realise it.
Isn't life grand?
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 29, 2014 23:44:38 GMT
It is not so much the universe that is illusory, as our perception of it. To realise that we are still dreaming even whilst we think we are awake, that's a step in the right direction, a prelude to waking up. What we wake up to is, paradoxically, that we don't exist; that the ego is a phantom, a dust-devil, a conglomerate of habit-patterns; that the undivided continuum you refer to is the only reality. It is difficult to express this adequately in words, because language is founded on the subject-object duality, and thus trying to express anything beyond duality will of necessity sound contradictory and paradoxical. Essentially there's no "you" to "manipulate the very structure of the continuum", and even were that possible it would simply mire you deeper in illusion. There are many techniques of waking up, ranging from Dream Yoga to the simplicity of atma vicara. Of course - that paradox again - we're already awake, but just don't realise it. Isn't life grand? So let me get this straight: the universe and its properties exist but we don't? If that is the case, then what is the point of magick? Much of it is causing results to occur by our Will. The results may occur, but how would they exist if we don't? Dustin
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Post by Gregory Peters on Mar 30, 2014 0:01:07 GMT
Dustin, part of that riddle is solved when you explore who the "I" is that is asking if it exists or not
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 30, 2014 0:40:18 GMT
Dustin, part of that riddle is solved when you explore who the "I" is that is asking if it exists or not And that would require knowing what is the Ego and what is the Self. Right?
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 30, 2014 2:28:42 GMT
I think I get it. The two parts of the I are the Self and the Ego. The Self is the spontaneous aspect of the individual and the Ego is the perceived aspect. I think that both beckon for the existence solution but the Ego is the illusory aspect and the Self is what truly exists. Since the Ego relies on the senses and the senses are the part that is the most easily deceived, it is the part that is readily deceived and thus illusory.
Dustin
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Post by ShB on Mar 30, 2014 6:35:25 GMT
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 30, 2014 20:47:23 GMT
Thanks for the link, ShB. I'll have to watch it when I have the spare time.
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Post by Michael Staley on Mar 31, 2014 0:47:34 GMT
Well worth watching, Dustin. Alan Watts was extraordinarily articulate, and if you can read his material, so much the better. I loved his The Way of Zen. The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are is quite an eye-opener too.
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Mar 31, 2014 1:40:32 GMT
Well worth watching, Dustin. Alan Watts was extraordinarily articulate, and if you can read his material, so much the better. I loved his The Way of Zen. The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are is quite an eye-opener too. I'll have to keep him in mind. You know, this knowledge has helped me to understand things on another level. With the experience I have now, I wonder what my next step should be.
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Post by Gregory Peters on Apr 5, 2014 2:24:54 GMT
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Apr 5, 2014 3:05:02 GMT
I watched the video and found it to be quite revealing.
I have had to take a few days to let some of this sink in and when it finally did I figured out what to do. At this point I can either play around with the astral realm or I can experience the mental realm and find my Self. I would think that the second choice would be something to pocket as important, but there is much I haven't done yet.
On a separate but relevant note, there is something I have experienced before. Awhile back, I went into a pure state of calm where I went to a realm with floating crystal figures and pyramids made of the clearest crystal. At different times, I have experienced contact with these humanoid beings that appeared to have been made of clear crystal suspended together by bands of fluctuating energy. These beings do not speak but will make contact by touch and transmit information in this manner. Has anybody made contact with these beings? If you have, then what are they?
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Post by Michael Staley on Apr 5, 2014 9:01:07 GMT
At this point I can either play around with the astral realm or I can experience the mental realm and find my Self. You don't have a Self, Dustin. Your sense of self is essentially a vantage point, a transient localisation of awareness whose true nature is cosmic. We are transient configurations, and your sense of self, of awareness, is a restriction. This is a difficult point to understand at first, not least because it flies in the face of logic. The best thing you can do at this stage is to read some of the advaitin literature and to meditate on it. After a while, the truth of the matter sinks it, permeates beyond the intellectual; at least, that was my experience. You still function in the world as "you", but with awareness of the bigger picture as it were. Awhile back, I went into a pure state of calm where I went to a realm with floating crystal figures and pyramids made of the clearest crystal. At different times, I have experienced contact with these humanoid beings that appeared to have been made of clear crystal suspended together by bands of fluctuating energy. These beings do not speak but will make contact by touch and transmit information in this manner. Has anybody made contact with these beings? If you have, then what are they? I haven't come across these entities, so can't help you here.
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dustin
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Post by dustin on Apr 5, 2014 22:34:20 GMT
So there is no Atman? When I refer to Self, I have been referring to the Atman.
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Post by Gregory Peters on Apr 5, 2014 23:27:32 GMT
There is a good discussion of these ideas in Outer Gateways, along with the madhyamaka philosophy of Nagarjuna and the advaidist qualities of Thelema and the Necronomicon Gnosis. See, in particular, chapter 5: The Madhyamaka & Crowley and chapter 6: The Fourth Power of the Sphinx. This, ultimately, is the doctrine of the Void - sunyata.
One passage later on points to a practical exercise in the work of Ramana Maharshi:
"The only way of discovering the true nature of the reflection is by tracing it to its source, the owner of the face. This cannot be achieved from the vantage point of the mirror or the image reflected from it; it may be achieved only the consciousness of the true identity of the being reflected. The method of enquiry known as atmavichara, or enquiry into the Self, is therefore the only method that reveals the real nature of the Self and of the True Will, Thelema."
Grant cites Liber AL I:26 as explicitly referring to atmavichara, stating that the verse "gave Crowley quite a headache because when he heard Aiwass dictate it, it was so incomprehensible to thin that his mind refused to accept it. Aiwass therefore directed him to alter it..." The original dictated verse read "The unfragmentary non-atomic fact of my universality."
In any case, words have a difficult time describing this Self. This is why experience is really the only way. Nagarjuna wrote an entire treatise to show that, ultimately, there is no self - nothing that has originated has a fixed or permanent nature.
"This will alone is the True Will, for it not exercised by a person. The magical or True Will is strictly impersonal [...]" - Outer Gateways, pg 111 in Skoob edition
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Post by Nalyd Khezr Bey on Apr 6, 2014 2:29:12 GMT
Nice quotes there Gregory. Some of those themes (in addition to the idea of "no self" mentioned by Mick further up) remind me of some mirror-gazing meditations I used to do regularly back in the 1990's and only followed through with to the end result in 2004. It is a technique recommended in Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's Meditation: The Art of Ecstasy. He says to stare at your own face, fixed on the eyes without blinking, in a darkened mirror for about 30-45 minutes nightly for about a month of so or however long it takes to achieve the proper end result; that result being the disappearance of your own reflection in the mirror. Before this happens your face appears to morph through numerous layers of masks which can be a frightening experience for the unsuspecting practitioner. Upon the disappearance of your face you are to close your eyes and embrace the experience full-on. About this experience Rajneesh states: And later he states further: I mention this not to derail the discussion but to emphasize a practice that can help someone realize (real eyes?) the experience you guys are talking about there. Talking it is fruitless in my opinion. It has to be achieved experientially as you said. Completing this meditation in 2004 is what swung a door open for me to later come to full K & C of the HGA. The latter I achieved more properly through the practice of the Sleep-Feasting Rite.
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Post by Gregory Peters on Apr 6, 2014 3:23:08 GMT
Interesting practice from Rajneesh. I did this practice with a mirror and a single candle flame in a dark room for some time, in conjunction with deep breathing exercises. The way the vision transforms during the course of this practice is very disturbing at times, and certainly does shift perspective a great deal. I'm sure many of these morphing transitions have root in the unconscious, and depending on ones "baggage" so shall be many of the experiences during the practice.
This may also be a good "reflection" of some of the Bardo experiences, although not on such a deep immersion level (after all, when you are doing the practice with a mirror you can still step out of the strangely dream like experience; when you are dead and passing through the Bardo without the benefit of a physical body, and your "mirror" is the entirety of consciousness reflecting back to you all of your emotional, mental and psychological blocks and misconceptions, the wrathful and confused content is a bit harder to step out of if one has not had some experience of the clear light while in this life)
Ramana Maharshi taught the experience by Silence. Only when questioned by disciples would he speak. and they would write down his words, which are some of the most clear and inspiring attempts to elucidate advaida.
"From where does this ‘I’ arise? Seek for it within; it then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. When the mind unceasingly investigates its own nature, it transpires that there is no such thing as mind. This is the direct path for all. The mind is merely thoughts. Of all thoughts the thought ‘I’ is the root. Therefore the mind is only the thought ‘I’."
"When the mind perishes in the supreme consciousness of one’s own Self, know that all the various powers beginning with the power of liking (and including the power of doing and the power of knowing) will entirely disappear, being found to be an unreal imagination appearing in one’s own form of consciousness. The impure mind, which functions as thinking and forgetting, alone is Samsara, which is the cycle of birth and death. The real ‘I’ in which the activity of thinking and forgetting has perished, alone is the pure liberation. It is devoid of Pramada (forgetfulness of Self) which is the cause of birth and death."
"Reality is simply the loss of ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and reality will shine forth by itself."
As for having the experience on a real, visceral level as opposed to reading about it - yes, emphatically. Nothing you read or talk about is the same. It may help to inspire or give some clues, but the realization comes only from practice.
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Post by Ad Finem on Apr 7, 2014 8:49:05 GMT
On a separate but relevant note, there is something I have experienced before. Awhile back, I went into a pure state of calm where I went to a realm with floating crystal figures and pyramids made of the clearest crystal. At different times, I have experienced contact with these humanoid beings that appeared to have been made of clear crystal suspended together by bands of fluctuating energy. These beings do not speak but will make contact by touch and transmit information in this manner. Has anybody made contact with these beings? If you have, then what are they? This is very interesting Dustin because there is some diagrammatic aspects here from my own researches in connection with the sixty stone mentioned in the writings of Grant. I would urge you to follow up this line of enquiry. Can you describe the these beings in more detail as to their exact nature or description? Would you say the energy connecting these crystals / pyramids was electrical or electromagnetic? On this point, I would refer you to the book, "The Golden Game" by Stanislas Klossowski de Rola. The book is a commentary on a number of 17th century alchemic texts, but there are references to what Stanislas describes in the book as, "celestial dynamism", with reference to a final operation in the production of the Philosophers Stone. 99
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