Messages

mactombs,

Why do you think the Llewellyn guide is terrible? Is there another one you would recommend? I like the meditations/visualizations I've found in other Llewellyn guides, like the Tower of Light.

I am reading Llewellyn's Practical Guide to Astral Projection, and it says that I should not practice AP when my hemisphere is farthest from the sun, from mid December to early March, and during the waning moon. It says that it is too difficult to control during these times.

Naturally, I am not pleased since it is already the beginning of December and I have only just begun to read about AP!

Have any of you encountered similar advice elsewhere? Do you experience greater difficulty in these months (or June-Sept for the southern hemisphere)?

Should I not try until mid-March?

I use "Sound Sleeper" to get to sleep, and I have been pleased with the results. I wake up more refreshed, without needing as much sleep.

I just used "Morning Exercise" for the first time today--it's got the hemisync technology and affirmations about how well you're going to handle everything today, etc., and it really got me off to a good start. It was funny, I kept thinking "What a great day I'm having! All because I listened to a CD that told me how great my day was going to be!"

Even waiting at the post office in a long line with that one lady who kept needing to be told what to do and took absolutely forever didn't irritate me like it usually would.

I have "Let-go" and "Relax" but it's been awhile since I used them, and I haven't used them very consistently. But I think they are good because they let you program yourself to let go of disturbing thoughts and relax by giving yourself a mental command. When I did use them, I found them effective.

Is it truly possible for an entity that is not God to masquerade as God?

If it is possible for anyone else other than God to answer to God's name, whenever the person addressing God has a strong and clear intention of addressing God, then even prayer is suspect.

We are all supposed to have a direct inner connection to wisdom and guidance--if we cannot trust that, then we are truly lost.

Well, there are lots of chakras...what kind of energy work was it? Does she remember which chakras she opened?

lol

I am currently playing Mrs. Nolan in  my school's production of Menotti's The Medium. Just as disturbing, only shorter.

when it comes down to it there are three (extreme) options
1) take advantage of your physical form while it's available and delight in all earthly pleasures.
2) make moves to surpass the physical, utilizing abstinence a symbolic gesture that you are focused on ascension of spirit.
3) or do nothing, but sit in limbo.

didn't really have a point with this post
soul

I actually liked that post quite a bit. I would add a compromise, that I believe is the point of Tantric sex and things like walking meditation:

4) use the physical as means to experience the spiritual. (partaking in physical pleasures while consciously acknowledging and giving thanks for Spirit's involvement in the creation of those pleasures; using a heightened awareness during every experience, etc.)

I think it's possible to simply delight in the physical without acknowledging  the spiritual aspect, and it's also possible to be in limbo, unable to appreciate either purely physical or purely spiritual.

Hi, Hannah and Kodemaster!

I am a classical musician--sometimes I dabble into jazz, but I'm really working on the operatic style. It's as subtle as a martial art, finding just the right physical balance (which is ever-changing) from which the voice can project with just as much ease as power.

I have always been interested in opera-techno fusion, but I haven't yet been involved in any projects.

This sounds very interesting!
I will try it soon on some aspects of my musical performance.

*grins @ thesickmoon and tries to avoid more than 2 sentences.*

Thank you!

Yes, I would like to compare notes with your girlfriend.

I will look for the book on directing sexual energy sometime this week. I don't own it, so I can't tell you off the top of my head.

Wells, I am interested in 'genuine white tantric sex' as well. Do you have experience with it, or do you just know of it through this book?

I went to a lot of trouble to read this entire thread to make sure I was contributing something new, and got very little response to my comments.

I'm assuming now that this is more of a joke thread.

@ Greenrat

I just got a Tai Chi DVD, I'll post a review on it when I've gone all the way through it. I'm hoping I will remember the forms from when I took it about 7 years ago, but we'll see!

I suspect that the hand on the head method has more to with focusing one's intent on not releasing the energy than the actual physical hand as a barrier.

My comments on self-pleasuring and Tantra are all from Tantric Sex: Making Love Last, by Cassandra Lorius, who apparently practices Tantric techniques that she learned from Skydancing UK. The book contains tons of testimonials  from current students. It seems that there are definitely some who practice some established form of Tantra who do practice masturbation. In this book, the emphasis is taken off of orgasm as a goal of sexual intercourse, it is not expressly forbidden. It is simply one option among many, as long as the focus is placed on becoming aware of the energy exchange and seeing your partner as an incarnation of the Divine.
This book is filled with wonderful breathing exercises and meditations for solo and couples practice.

Sexual intercourse between people can be base, lustful, and utterly without spirituality or higher awareness, and it can be a beautiful expression of love. It all depends on the mental focus, and I see masturbation as the same deal. Sometimes it's purely lust and purely physical, and sometimes you are truly appreciating and loving your body and seeing yourself as an Incarnation of the Divine.

It's all a choice. Whether or not you choose to have sex or masturbate or transmute all of your sexual energy...we are the only ones who can truly know what's right for us at any given stage of our lives. I personally believe that we are all headed for Oneness with All...so does that mean no sex, or that the One will have to masturbate Itself? Will we all just meld into one big happy light, or will that simply mean that we all remember where we came from and remain fully connected while in our bodies? If we're not using any of our bodily organs, what's the point of retaining a human form?

Yay for the 5 Tibetans!

I have been doing these exercises on and off for about a year and a half.

When I am doing them, I have much more energy throughout the day, and when I do not, I notice the difference after one day. Right now, I am doing them every morning, and I have much more energy, and I tend to move directly to my meditation practice, feeling much more relaxed.

I would not discount them as merely a subgroup of Yoga; they seem to be a powerful set of extremely practical and effective practices in their own right. I have tried more 'relaxed' methods of physical energy work, like the Pal Dan Gum, 8 Qi Gong exercises, and Tai Chi.  But these 5 Tibetans really get me up and going, and I have access to more energy throughout the day.

When I got up to 21 repetitions, I had trouble focusing on counting, and I would lose my place. I tried visualizing the numbers and imagining I was climbing little peaks of 3's--but then I decided to count to seven 3 times. The only difference is that, on the exhale of the breath, I use the first letter/sound of the number to start the exhale. So, #1= Whaaaaah..., #2= Taaaaaah..., #3= Thaaaaaah...#4 & 5= Faaaaaaah... #6 & 7 = Saaaaah. Since I'm only repeating the Fa and Sa sounds once, and rather loudly, it's easier for me to focus. Also, I make sure I'm breathing in and out at the right time. It reminds me of a yoga position I read about called the Lion's Pose, which features a long, audibly exhaled Haaah sound.

I am thinking about picking up Tai Chi again, to do in the evenings, because I tend to have trouble focusing after a full day at work or school, and the 5 Tibetans seem like a good way to wake up, but a bit much for the middle of the evening.

Thanks for the reading, Selski!
I think the radio sounds must be my subconscious letting me know that I'm dreaming and able to move onto other things, because as I listen to the music and hear that it's a song that I know doesn't exist, I also realize that I must be asleep.

I think one of my fears is that, because I feel so very awake, that I am not getting good sleep and that I will be tired from waking up too early. This really annoys me, so I wanted to fight it and "really" go back to sleep. Do you ever feel sleepy after projecting?

The Present Moment, I think it was probably a combination of emotional stress (from the breakup) and my renewed energy work that caused the spontaneous vibrational state. Although I don't want to feel that kind of emotional stress again, I feel like I'm on the right track, like I've discovered the right combination of exercises to raise my energy enough to try it on purpose. And I'm reading more about astral projection, so I am gradually losing my fear. I'm starting to get excited about all the possibilities, and I am so glad I found this forum.

Thanks!

2nd day on the forums, and of course I'm drawn to the masturbation page...

In all 11 pages, I saw some very old links, but nothing written here on how one can keep the energy from "leaking" out when orgasm occurs, so I'll say what I've gleaned from a few books on tantric sex and various other places.

Apparently, when you orgasm, energy shoots up the chakras, going right out the crown--unless you stop it. Supposedly, if you put your hand on your crown chakra (top of your head) during orgasm, it will bounce the energy back into your body. I have tried this (on the few occasions that I could remember!), and I did feel a tingling of energy, and did not feel tired at all afterwards. This is supposed to work for men too, but I've never gotten any guy to try it, so I am not sure. Maybe I'll get the chance soon!

During intercourse in Tantric sex, some practitioners are taught to imagine that energy is like a magical sparkling fluid that flows through the chakras of both partners. The couple breathes alternately: man in, woman out; woman in, man out. They are taught to visualize that this energetic fluid goes up the man's main chakras when he breathes in, and down his chakras through the root chakra up through the woman's chakras when she breathes in. I can't remember what is supposed to happen during orgasm in this particular book, but it involves maintaining the energy that is built up during sex, instead of letting it dissapate. I'll have to look up their recommendations for solo practice as well; I don't remember them off the top of my head. But I'm sure they have some method for keeping the energy.

I have also read in a different book on sex magick that you can consciously direct the flow of energy during orgasm--instead of it rushing upwards and out of the crown, you can bend it forwards at about the throat chakra and direct it in a loop over or through your head, and back in at the back of the throat chakra. This way you just create a heightened energy loop. I wasn't able to remember this one at the right time before I forgot half the instructions; I was browsing in a bookstore and didn't purchase the book--so please don't try it from these instructions, because they are incomplete and I may have gotten the specific chakras wrong.  :confused:

I hope this adds a bit more to the discussion!

Hi, NileQueen!

I have read of a couple of different techniques that might be helpful. One is to use your thoughts as the meditation--imagine that you are watching them pass by, like clouds in the sky. Another is to use the technique of focusing on your breath, like MindFreak says--but taking a second to say "thinking," when you are realizing that you are paying attention to a thought, before refocusing your attention.

My mind tends to wander all over the place. I usually meditate with visual imagery to give it something to focus on, like the Tower of Light visualization or meditating on my chakras, imagining them to be flowers of light opening them up. I also really like meditation CDs, although I don't like it if the meditation is too rigidly structured. Meditation music works best for me, although that may be because I am a musician. Sometimes I focus on my breath but also imagine that I am inhaling Divine Light and Love, and that my body/aura glows brighter and brighter with each breath.

the voice of silence:

Here is a page with a discussion on the whole food issue, since Blackstream has kindly provided you with the verse:
http://www.pointsoftruth.com/foodlaw.html

*edit* I posted this before reading the whole thing! This author actually concludes that the New Testament does not actually contradict the Old in this respect, because the vision could refer to other things. But it continues that, although eating "unclean" foods is better for your diet, unclean foods won't keep you out of Heaven! There are tons of OT and NT  verse references, though, it was interesting reading!

Good luck with your meeting! My discussions with my dad about my different religious views were met with a very polite, "But that's not true Christianity," (I've got the wrong beliefs about Jesus), and my mom, while very devout, simply said she didn't know about other religious beliefs, because she didn't think the Bible said definitively whether or not they were wrong. No room for extreme discussions there, I suppose...after that, I gave up on showing anyone my beliefs unless they ask specifically.

Ah, that's probable. I was also doing 5 Tibetan rituals/exercises, which raise my energy a lot, right before meditation.

Do you think the "radio station" I was hearing was what's described in the FAQ, where lower astral entities try to trick you into staying there?

I must admit, I am a little leery of picking up my practice again (I took a break over the weekend)...

On the Bible contradicting itself:

It's like the restriction on eating "unclean" things in the Old Testament, which then gets contradicted when Paul has the dream where God offers him all sorts of non--kosher things to eat in the New Testament and says that it's ok now.

Hello!
I am new here, having just experienced something completely unexpected and unusual, posted in more detail in Astral Experiences. I am a musician, on a kind of extended undergraduate degree program (the kind where you stop and work for a few years and change majors a couple of times), but I'm not yet 30.

I am very interested in meditation and in exploring various spiritual practices, currently, I am working on blessings (or treatments if you're familiar with Religious Science) for those people I have trouble with on a mundane level. Hard work but rewarding, if only due to increased peace of mind.

I look forward to exploring more of the site.

Hello!
I just found and joined these forums this morning, because I had a frightening experience, and would like to share it with people who actually have experience and/or interest in this stuff.  I am generally spiritually attuned, ascribing loosely to Religious Science, which tries to find the main themes in all religions instead of getting caught up in specific, nonessential trappings of any in particular. I have been doing a lot of meditation on my higher self recently, and attempting to overcome a particularly difficult failed romance.

I was asleep, hearing music from the radio downstairs. I thought it was a little odd, because I didn't turn the radio on last night. It was: Michael Bolton style belting, super cheesy, but as the bridge came up, the lyrics were..."every word I say is true, _my first name_..." I was delighted because I supposed it was the validation I had been looking for concerning a certain matter, and I had a mini-fantasy about the ex hearing it and realizing it was me he truly loved... During the whole song, my face was tingling hard, almost to the point of discomfort. I realized that my eyes were closed. I had to try really really hard to open them, and I found that when I did, I was truly awake and there was no music.

I closed my eyes, and immediately the music was back. I rationalized it again to myself in order to stay asleep/not freak out, and I heard the tagline for 93.3 (although they would never play something like Michael Bolton), the last station I had been listening to, and it reassured me that it had just accidentally turned on. Then it started to play some random song, again something I've never heard in real life, but with no real significance.

Then my mattress was gone. I was sitting upright with my legs folded in front of me and there was a weird brown thing in front of me. It looked like a large crumpled sweater with koosh balls, rubbery spiky fringe or something around it on two sides. I kicked at it a bit, and it didn't seem like it was alive.

I opened my eyes again and I was still in bed. I thought, maybe I'm astral projecting! I wonder if I could move around? I closed my eyes. I was in bed again, and the radio was playing and I could feel myself tingling. Suddenly a great force seemed to push me from underneath my shoulders, vibrating the whole time, and I felt compelled and forced to get up. Scary scary scary! I tried to open my eyes. I said No. I said to myself, Wake Up. Finally I started to repeat to myself, "God is All there Is," and I could finally open my eyes.

At first, being in an extremely paranoid state, I thought I might have been under psychic attack. But I've read about those, and it didn't seem to fit. I knew I'd been emotionally unbalanced over the past couple of days, but I couldn't see why that would make something like that happen. So I did some research about astral projecting and obe's and found something called a 'vibrational state', and read that it's nothing to be scared of.

Has anyone here had a similar experience, with audio and with states happening upon them completely unexpectedly? Any advice? I've had a few instances in the past  where I've had to force myself to wake up, and I always found it extremely frightening.

Thank you.