07/31/2023

a mind filled with the past,
the already known
is not receptive
to the current flowing
from the all-possible.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

So, here on the last day of July, we are going to preview something a little different. Usually we focus on a particular spiritual teacher and/or philosopher each week. But starting tomorrow, we are going to devote the entire month of August to one of the most prolific philosopher/teachers of the modern era and perhaps of all time, namely, Alan Watts. Here’s a preview of what you can expect all during August, starting tomorrow.

““We are living in a culture entirely hypnotized by the illusion of time, in which the so-called present moment is felt as nothing but an infintesimal hairline between an all-powerfully causative past and an absorbingly important future. We have no present. Our consciousness is almost completely preoccupied with memory and expectation. We do not realize that there never was, is, nor will be any other experience than present experience. We are therefore out of touch with reality. We confuse the world as talked about, described, and measured with the world which actually is. We are sick with a fascination for the useful tools of names and numbers, of symbols, signs, conceptions and ideas.” ― Alan Wilson Watts

Since we are all involved in this Game of Life, it would be a good idea to know what the rules are. In this video preview, Alan Watts pulls back the curtain to reveal the Rules the Game of Life.

Today’s Video: “The Rules to the Game of Life – Alan Watts”
https://youtu.be/4vv93azMkDE

07/29/2023

Intentional thought
rooted in memory,
in past experience.
Whereas,
spontaneous thought,
rooted in the ever-present,
the ever-pervading
source of life.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Rather than continue with the Q&A darshan by Igor Kufayev entitled “Where Does The Experience Of Separation Come From?” we are including the entire video below.

Have a great weekend everyone. And enjoy your practice.

Today’s Video: “Where Does the Experience of Separation Come From?”
https://youtu.be/OnL1BYoXo7Y

07/28/2023

give all your heart and intelligence
to whatever presents itself
from moment to moment.
let every moment die
and welcome the next.

Dear Friends and Practitioners

Today we continue a with a Q&A darshan by Igor Kufayev entitled “Where Does The Experience Of Separation Come From?”

PARTICIPANT: As a pre-school teacher, the children have to do that. Every child, they’re not normal, if they don’t develop that. That’s what humans do. The first thing little babies do when they’re coming out of their inner world is learn to point.

IGOR: Yes, but why would that break down Consciousness? Why would that break down our awareness into the experience of duality? I’m not speaking from a materialistic perspective now — this is a given. So, we are immediately invited to speak about Consciousness from the perspective of a monistic or quantum understanding, where Consciousness is a Unified Field. If we accept or welcome or embrace that the ground of creation is a Unified Field, from that perspective, it makes no difference — a newborn baby, an old lady, an old man, a new man — it makes no difference whatsoever. It even makes no difference what kind of physiology that is. It makes no difference what kind of education and so forth; these are all surface values.

Why is there an experience of duality? This is what we are addressing here: what creates the rupture between subject and object? In order to dive into this, take the relationship between Prakasha and Vimarsha, which exemplifies that creative tension between Awareness and the Power to be aware of Itself — that luminosity of Consciousness beholding Its own brilliance. Without this understanding, it will be very difficult to even contemplate the values where the Tantric teaching is expounded from. In the same way, the following is an indispensable part; and that is exemplified by the internality and the externality. It’s that internal and external — and this is what we are going to talk about, even if just to give us an idea and more understanding of what it means…” (to be continued tomorrow) – Igor Kufayev, “Where Does The Experience Of Separation Come From?”

In his video today, Igor Kufayev responds to a question about the nature of death…

Today’s Video: No Death for the Unborn
https://youtu.be/kHsf08VpqcQ

07/27/2023

Being creative,
seeking nothing,
doing nothing,
allowing things
to fulfill themselves
within you
without taking part
intentionally.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Today we begin a blog by Igor Kufayev entitled “Where Does The Experience Of Separation Come From?”

“So that we have a practical understanding of the relationship between subject and object, it would be good to speak about what it actually represents. In other words, where does this idea of division come from? What is the basis behind our experience of duality itself? Because if we have adopted this particular philosophical ground, then it cannot just be taken on some vague understanding or some kind of trust that here is Unity and here is duality, and somehow, they sit together and must make sense.

“What makes something into a philosophical ground, into the ground for understanding — a philosophical system — is that there has to be some clarity in terms of its exposition, and that has to make sense to our experience. This is what philosophy is all about. It’s explaining, or making attempts to explain, what we otherwise call experience — not from the gross plane of just sensory or mental modifications, but how it sits in terms of the structure of the macrocosmos and microcosmos; because everything that we experience outwardly makes sense only on the account that there is a recognition. Anything that we experience — old or new — only makes sense because it is being recognized. It’s being literally cognized.

“Therefore, we speak of cognition — every act is an act of cognition. But what is happening? This question could be repeatedly asked: If the underlying Reality of all things is held and empowered by that Unified Field of Consciousness, why can there be the experience of separation, or the experience of what we call duality? Why would there even be this experience of subject and object? I just want to know if that is a logical question: Why would that be? If the underlying ground of Consciousness is all there is, why is there this visceral, direct experience of me and “the other”?…(to be continued tomorrow) – Igor Kufayev, “Where Does The Experience Of Separation Come From?”

In his video today Igor Kufayev discusses a question most all seekers have asked at one time or another: How to Uncover one;s true nature?…

Today’s Video: What Is Required To Uncover Your True Nature?
https://youtu.be/RBho2K2ibfo

07/26/2023

Your natural state
has never been lost,
only overshadowed
by the conditioned ego state,
the agitated fluctuations
between past and future.
In your natural state,
you are knowingly aware.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Today we continue with the second part of a Darshan by Igor Kufayev entitled “Creativity Is All There Is.”

“I know it’s easy for me to give these examples in a more tangible, tactile way as a painter, and that may fall flat for you as examples because you may say “Well, I’m sorry, I don’t paint. I don’t make things with my hands—I don’t relate to that.” But you can transfer that into any area of your life. You can find analogy to that. Whenever we are about to create something, we are in a special state. In that moment, we don’t know what we’re going to create—this will come later. That’s the next step, the next phase. In that state of the Unknown, there’s a lot of creativity. It’s being simply swelled. And in essence, it’s very hard to put your finger on what that is.

“In that more creative, more opened state and place, you have much greater capacity to express yourself. Not that I want you immediately to latch onto that. I would like, in fact—if circumstances of life can afford it—for you to savor it for however much longer, and then you will see how life will present you with extraordinary opportunities.

“Whenever there is more of that creativity, there’s more of that which belongs to the field of Pure Potentialities. When we know where we’re going, our actual possibilities are already limited there and then. When we know exactly what we want and are going there—which has its own value of course—it is already limited there and then. The possibilities are limited because you limited them yourself. But in a state of not-knowing, it’s as if you’re inviting a lot more of what can happen.

“This state of creativity is inseparable from not-knowing; and out of that not-knowing, that creative state, it naturally translates into action where it begins to then flow in a certain direction. Then we are prompted to act on it and we begin to express ourselves. And this is the most important. The most important thing is to remain in that molten state of being creative at all times; it has to be fostered, honed.” – Igor Kufayev, Excerpt from Immersion Darshan, “Creativity is All There Is.”

In his video, Igor Kufayev gives a talk on creativity and the role of conscious intention in service of the highest good.

Today’s Video: Creativity: The Path and the Goal
https://youtu.be/UnRWo57SOzI

07/25/2023

Spontaneous understanding
consumes error,
freeing that blocked energy
to integrate with the Truth
that is Being

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Today we have another darshan from Igor Kufayev. This one on creativity is entitled “Creativity Is All There Is,” an excerpt from a ten-day Immersion Darshan.

“The way of living a creative life is when we are, from time to time, encountering this not knowing where we’re going, not knowing what we’re doing, not knowing what the heck is going on—because these are all marks of a creative being. You cannot be creative and be knowing it all. I would like to have that permission to speak about these matters. I would like to be inspired, to share with all of you the deepest passion that I have always pursued from as early as I remember myself; because if I can share that, then this time is not wasted.

“Creativity is all there is. The whole point of life is to be in a creative state. And I even mentioned very recently: one of the surest tests of finding out where we are, how we are doing, is to simply sense whether we feel creative. This is the only test of how conscious we are. In fact, we can switch or change, if you will, the spiritual discourse and language which is being utilized, and use it slightly differently. Instead of speaking about how aware we are, how conscious we are, we could say how creative we are—it’s equal. It’s not only synonymous, here: it means the same thing. And again, just as when we speak about “What does it mean to be conscious? What does it mean to be fully conscious or conscious to the fuller capacity?” it in turn, implies being free from what imposes that in the first place, being free from these impositions. It’s the same with creativity. Being creative is being free of impositions. It’s as simple as that. And that also, at the very same time, presupposes from time to time, being lost; because when you’re not lost, you’re not adjusting anything…

“Being lost means you will find your way—you will find a better way. You will find a more evolved way of being. Only when we feel lost, we can find something. If we don’t feel lost, if we think everything is nice and dandy—we are cool and fluffy—nothing can change. So that’s the first take at it—it’s an invitation to welcome that. I welcome you to that place which at times will feel also uncomfortable. It will feel uncomfortable…(to be continued tomorrow) – “Creativity is All There Is,” an excerpt from Immersion Darshan by Igor Kufayev

In his video, Igor Kufayev gives a talk on creativity and the expansion of consciousness

Today’s Video: Igor Kufayev on Creativity, Freedom & Consciousness
https://youtu.be/HeJixkdzXRI

07/24/2023

Be spacious,
without a center,
without a periphery

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

This is a continuation of the spoken reflection by Igor Kufayev that we started Saturday “SEEING THROUGH THE HEART: The Vision of Poets & Sages”

“And then there comes this revelation: that the wish to live from the heart is not even a personal affair. It has little to do with preferences that we may have. It may be experienced as deepest longing, but in essence it is one and the only choice, a choiceless choice. It’s something that we are simply being summoned into; we merely respond to the call. The call which is there, resonating already as that humming of the original striking of the bell that is left there at the beginning of time, that reabsorbs us back into the hand of the Creator. This is where all Lovers meet, as the tradition says; this is where they all get summoned up.

“And what that place—the heart—here represents, therefore, is not some fanciful idea; it’s not some romantic place for adding into the busy life that we live. It is one and the only reality of what is taking place whilst we are going busy through this life with filling ourselves with the variety of responsibilities of what is done and what yet needs to be done. So this understanding that unless we respond to that call to live from the heart, all our actions are but in vain. All is but an attempt to find some excuse to revel in that status quo, which has very little to do with the reality of the situation. It’s simply yet one of the many distractions that we call life, many distractions that we have. So living from the heart, it’s a reconciliation—a reconciliation of what it truly means to be human, what it truly means to be here who one already is. So it’s not a choice. Therefore we speak about it in this manner, in this way: it’s not an option. It’s simply an answer to that what we’ve been asked for, before our coming into here. It’s simply rising to what everything rises, because of that unstoppable force which has that movement within itself. Movement, like the plant rises to the sunlight and opens all its branches and leaves so as to absorb that light. – Igor Kufayev, “SEEING THROUGH THE HEART: The Vision of Poets & Sages”

In his video today, Igor Kufayev explains what Tantra is and its relation to the body.

Today’s Video: “Tantra & the Temple of the Body”
https://youtu.be/luubZ4IvjKM

07/22/2023

A real teacher is rare
but has the Presence
to stimulate
the non-dual Presence
behind the disciple’s mind

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Today we begin excerpts from the Reflections and Meditations, “SEEING THROUGH THE HEART: The Vision of Poets & Sages” by Igor Kufayev.

“The quiver at the Heart of Awareness—it is that pulse, that tremor, which infinitesimally resonates through all the spheres of creation, through all heavens, through all the pores, through all the fibers of our being. And it is that throb, that quiver, that we speak of here in terms of what this represents, in terms of what it really means. So it is really one movement. It is really one movement, because it is the movement that belongs to the very Heart of Awareness. But it is experienced as two, and it gives birth to the multiplicity. It is experienced as two because it’s experienced as this what gives rise to this objective experience that belongs to the subject—this objective experience that belongs to me, that belongs to you. This experience right now that we speak of is ceaseless, unstoppable; it’s all there is. It is this moment that brings forth the possibility for intimacy—this intimacy that connects us beyond the level and beyond the plane where we behold each other.

“There is this beautiful saying among the Sufis: “Lovers do not find each other in the end; they have always been each other in the first place.” And that’s what we speak about here. This is what we speak to in essence; that this one movement within the heart, which is here—which gives rise to this apparent existence—that I can speak to you and you can hear me, and you can partake in that by virtue of this possibility. Which is both so obvious, so straightforward, and yet incomprehensible—because in essence, that what really speaks does not utter a single word. That what hears, has no ears. That what is communicated is already known—so how can that be?…” (to be continued on Monday) – “SEEING THROUGH THE HEART: The Vision of Poets & Sages” by Igor Kufayev.

In his video, Igor Kufayev discusses creativity in serice to the highest good and how it is affected by conscious intention’

Today’s Video:Creativity: “The Path and the Goal”
https://youtu.be/UnRWo57SOzI

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Today we begin excerpts from the Reflections and Meditations, “SEEING THROUGH THE HEART: The Vision of Poets & Sages” by Igor Kufayev.

“The quiver at the Heart of Awareness—it is that pulse, that tremor, which infinitesimally resonates through all the spheres of creation, through all heavens, through all the pores, through all the fibers of our being. And it is that throb, that quiver, that we speak of here in terms of what this represents, in terms of what it really means. So it is really one movement. It is really one movement, because it is the movement that belongs to the very Heart of Awareness. But it is experienced as two, and it gives birth to the multiplicity. It is experienced as two because it’s experienced as this what gives rise to this objective experience that belongs to the subject—this objective experience that belongs to me, that belongs to you. This experience right now that we speak of is ceaseless, unstoppable; it’s all there is. It is this moment that brings forth the possibility for intimacy—this intimacy that connects us beyond the level and beyond the plane where we behold each other.

“There is this beautiful saying among the Sufis: “Lovers do not find each other in the end; they have always been each other in the first place.” And that’s what we speak about here. This is what we speak to in essence; that this one movement within the heart, which is here—which gives rise to this apparent existence—that I can speak to you and you can hear me, and you can partake in that by virtue of this possibility. Which is both so obvious, so straightforward, and yet incomprehensible—because in essence, that what really speaks does not utter a single word. That what hears, has no ears. That what is communicated is already known—so how can that be?…” (to be continued on Monday) – “SEEING THROUGH THE HEART: The Vision of Poets & Sages” by Igor Kufayev.

In his video, Igor Kufayev discusses creativity in serice to the highest good and how it is affected by conscious intention’

Today’s Video:Creativity: “The Path and the Goal”
https://youtu.be/UnRWo57SOzI

07/21/2023

Only Awareness,
free from reference to the past,
free from physical and psychological habit,
free from selection and rejection,
can open the door to
spontaneous understanding

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Continuing with Igor Kufayev’s, “Partaking In The Nectar Of Immortality.”

“It is through grief, delight, and fear—or through grief, fear, and delight—that we literally partake in the nectar. “We” here is used as that plural for “I AM,” simply as the limitation of the language. This is how the experience that Awareness affords, so as to give Itself this possibility of the instantaneous sense of the essence of what it is, at the level of somatic experience. Because all these are somatically experienced. Grief, fear, and delight are experienced somatically.

“So, we will keep returning to the theme of the connection between the way that emotive states need to find their resolution—and this has to become our second nature. And unless the license is given, we potentially remain impeded in the way we have learned to express ourselves, often at the expense of knowingly, unknowingly, consciously or not—in most cases, unconsciously—bottling certain emotions. And this leads to undesirable repercussions. But from the esoteric point of view, that in itself stands on the way of the realization of our freedom. So, in other words, the circle is closed here. At the therapeutic clinical level, it is something which can be here spoken of as letting it go; like in medieval medicine they would let go of blood in 80% of treatments. Do you know how often bloodletting was utilized in allopathic medicine?

‘So literally the letting emotions flow, here, could be spoken of at the therapeutic level. This is where we’ll speak about it in relation to trauma. And also the, perhaps, redressing alternative possibilities for understanding first what comprises trauma, and what can be offered as a successful solution for the resolution of trauma. This is the most important I feel, so that we add our own voice into that what is considered to be the hot topic out there…” – Igor Kufayev, during morning darshan at Mallorca, Spain, May 2023

In his video, Igor Kufayev continues his Q&A session on the Kundalini course.

Today’s Video: “Kundalini Course | Guidance in the Process of the Unfolding of Consciousness”
https://youtu.be/iVgi4uFm2nI

07/20/2023

Relax, release,
bypass the contact point,
move your root
follow your opponent’s structure.

Dear Friends and Practitioners

Ian Sinclair continues his insights on traditions andthe various styles of tai chi..

“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not denigrating tradition. I’m just saying that we need to realize that tradition includes a history of research and innovation. If we abandon research and innovation then we are, in fact, abandoning the tradition.

“I am also not an advocate of any particular style of tai chi…and not even of tai chi itself as a style of martial art or a style of exercise. I have learned eight different versions of Yang style, five different versions of Chen style, plus Wu style, Sun style, Hao style, and other internal martial arts like xingyiquan, baguazhang, etc. I’ve also tried to learn from many different martial arts around the world. What we call a style is really just a name for a kind of pedagogy. It is the way the art is taught. But good teachers are always researching and learning. So even the best student will never learn all that the teacher has to teach. If the student is attached to a style, then the art will fade out. One of my own teachers said years ago that he has never taught half of what he knows. Think of that. He has taught tens of thousands of students, including world champions, masters, and grandmasters, and all of them combined have not learned half of what he knows. This is because he is always learning, and his learning accelerates over time. The students will never catch up to him. If we are attached to a style or a pedagogy, then the art will die. This is something you see happening with many art forms. People learn what they can from the teacher, which is never exactly what the teacher intended to teach, and the student doesn’t learn anymore.

“I know people who studied for twenty years under a particularly famous master during the 1970s and 1980s. Then they went to start their own schools, and spent the rest of their time just teaching what they learned. That same master has other students who have only studied with him for a few years in this century. But many of these younger students are more skilled than some of the old students who learned for two decades. This may be partly because their teacher has spent the intervening years improving and developing his art and teaching methods, whereas the older students did not.

“Teachers need to be willing to move beyond what they have learned, and students need to accept their responsibility for research and analysis. Critical thinking is not cynicism, and accepting that you have the capacity to understand something is not the same as assuming that you already understand it completely. You are not insulting your teacher when you admit that you need to do your own research. In fact, what you are really doing in such a case is admitting that you cannot learn all that the teacher knows. So, you have to learn how to learn by yourself…” (to be continued tomorrow) – Ian Sinclair

In his video today, Ian Sinclair discusses relaxation and its role in refining your art.

Today’s Video: “Relax Harder! ~ Tai chi and real martial power. – Preview”
https://youtu.be/oF3pbXLs61s

07/19/2023

Struggling to survive,
the ego clings to accumulated memory,
projects future desires,
wasting considerable energy.
Accumulation, choosing, elaborating
occur on the horizontal plane
in time and duration.
This energy turns back on itself
creating a vicious circle.

Dear Friends and Practitioners.

Today we continue with another excerpt from Igor Kufayev’s 2023 teaching entitled “Partaking In The Nectar Of Immortality.”

“There are a variety of definitions of what health is known by. In the Vedic perspective, Ayurvedic perspective health has gradations, degrees. To begin with, the first definition of health is an absence of disease. That’s the first definition. It doesn’t stop there. It goes through these stages where it reaches the stage—like literally, one is in complete and utter coherence and in sync with everything else. The highest state in terms of what the health represents. But at least the fundamental, the foundational, quality of health is defined as the lack of disease. So, if we put two and two together, emotions play a crucial role when it comes to the accumulation of anything we call a discrepancy, which can result in that lack of ease. Dis-ease.

So in other words, emotions here can be viewed from a purely esoteric perspective—and we will return to that, hopefully on more than one occasion, so as to continue delving into the realm of emotions. But also it has this therapeutic understanding that emotions, here, are the answers to the state of our nervous system.

In other words, if our emotions are not somehow allowed to flow, if they do not find their natural outlets for them to be experienced, then if this enters a state of a pattern, expect unpleasantries, expect something to go astray. Because that’s the nature of the connection between our neurophysiology and emotions…” (to be continued tomorrow) – Igor Kufayev, “Partaking In The Nectar Of Immortality.”

In his video today, Kufayev continues his discussion of the Kundalini Rising…

Today’s Video: “Kundalini Rising, Sexual Pleasure & Spiritual Ecstasy”
https://youtu.be/kI1Y2XfflSQ

07/18/2023

A mind filled with the past,
with the already-known,
is not receptive
to the current flowing
from the all-possible Dao

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Today we continue with another excerpt from Igor Kufayev’s 2023 teaching entitled “Partaking In The Nectar Of Immortality.”

“…So with this being said, there are still a lot of toing and froing with regard to what really this human affair is all about. Simply because there are some lofty teachings whose influence is being felt from generation to generation. There are modern reinterpretations of a variety of these various teachings. And therefore, it’s hardly surprising why we do not have a coherent picture on what is human being, who is human being, and why human being?

So, this is where I would like to bring this reminder that when it comes to Tantric philosophy, certainly when it comes to the Shaiva philosophy—which has Trika Shaivism as its highest expression—emotions are understood to be not only as part and parcel, not only as necessary, but there is more to that: emotions are seen as the very reason why. In other words, why homo sapiens in the first place? It is because this is where Consciousness would be able to create a possibility for experiencing a range of emotions, where it can continuously be concealed whilst at the same time it can taste its nectarean qualities.

Some of you may remember that the root of emotions has its provenance in Latin which, translated from Latin, means to “move out” or “to be let out.” So, emotions are that: that what is being let out. And this is where the tantric paradigm immediately gives way to an important realization: anything that is not allowed itself to be let out, will result in some form of… whatever is the fitting metaphor here, whatever is the fitting term. It will result in some form of unpleasantries; it will result in some form of creating the possibility for an error to set in, for disease to set in—dis-ease. In other words, the lack of ease, which can turn into the true meaning of that term, which stands antonymous to health…” (to be continued tomorrow) – Igor Kufayev, “Partaking In The Nectar Of Immortality.”

Continuing his discussion of the Kundalini, Kufayev explains how the it ascends through the psyhic centers in his video talk.

Today’s Video: “How Does Kundalini Ascend in Awakening?”
https://youtu.be/duidZrg46ko

07/17/2023

The ego,
a thought among many others,
composed of the past,
of memory and conditioning
that leads us to believe
we are a separate entity,
building a protective screen
of habits and reactions
against anything that tries
to expose its false existence.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

This week we focus on the another aspect of Shaivism with the teachings of Igor Kufayev, an Uzbekistan-born artists turned spiritual teacher via TM (Transcendental Meditation) and the TM-Sidhi Program. Sometimes known as Igor Vamadeva, he began teaching in 2002. Since 2012 he has offered online webinars and in-person gatherings and retreats worldwide.

This week we will look at several excerpts from his 2023 teaching entitled “Partaking In The Nectar Of Immortality.”

“… There is a shared consensus that there are fundamental qualities—that we are born to live our life at the level where, we could say, we are happy, we are content, and we are fulfilled. Perhaps after we have put down these three, we can then add whatever feels after that. But somehow happiness is our essence, is our nature, and thankfully, the majority of known to me spiritual traditions, and their modern reinterpretations, agree on that fact: that happiness is our inborn right and happiness is also equally our responsibility, because that’s the level where everything is, one way or another, rooted.

Happiness is both the end product, the byproduct, of the state of Consciousness, and also, the very source from where all our activity should spring forth. In other words, we should ideally act from a place of happiness, contentment, and fulfillment. [However] the reverse is true in this given moment in time, because we are often motivated in life to do something because we need to restore, or return, the sense of lost happiness, because we feel unfulfilled and because there is lack of contentment. Perhaps this is the price to live at this particular epoch [Kali Yuga]. So things are turned around in such a way that that what should be the ground state of affairs becomes the reason why we do anything. And very often, the definition of sinking below the required allowed line, when it comes to depression, is when we are no longer even capable of doing anything in order to restore these aforementioned qualities so that life is then a more or less of a balancing act. (To be continued tomorrow) – Igor Kufayev, “Partaking In The Nectar Of Immortality.”

In his video talk, he clarifies the Kundalini process for us.

Today’s Video: “Bringing Clarity to the Kundalini Awakening Process”
https://youtu.be/u5FLTak8PC4

07/15/2023

Wu Wei, Not-Doing,
is not passive,
supremely alert,
physical and mental readiness,
without memory,
without someone who does,
a whole-hearted welcoming,
to whatever life brings,
not with fatalistic surrender
nor a sense of acheivment,
welcoming one’s own acceptance
of one’s openness without fear.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

Today we have more on the Tantric element of Kashmiri Shaivism with Somananda and Liisa Maimon, senior instructor at the Somananda Tantra School. Liisa writes more about the different types of energy and how it is relevant to us, and in his video, Somananda introduces us to Inner Self Meditation.

“If everything in and around you is made up of different types of energy – the physical body, money, emotions, thoughts, the mind, love, success, relationships, a car, a house, health – and the laws which rule all of these different types of energy are uncovered, then a person can essentially become the master of his or her own life and a master of the universe.

“When this occurs, people are no longer victims of chance and happenstance but control, dictate, and create their own lives and, therefore, their own realities and destinies. A person can surpass duality and realize his or her true nature. This is the definition of ultimate freedom and spiritual liberation.”

Chakras

“To understand energy better, it is helpful to understand chakras. One could say the chakra science originated from Tantra; there are clear references to the seven chakras in many of the ancient tantric texts written millennia ago.

“The seven chakras are not just some vague or abstract new-age concept, but rather are as real and tangible to tantrikas as their own limbs, an example of some of the deepest age-old wisdom. These sophisticated energy centers of the human being serve as antennas which allow human beings to communicate, coordinate, resonate, and attenuate with the universe and a myriad of universal energies.

“In their dive into the science of energy, the ancient tantric masters studied all the universal energies and the laws that governed them exhaustively. They also sought an understanding of how energy worked in human beings within the prism of the chakras – the intermediaries between the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of the human being. The chakras make possible something that is finite in nature (the human being) to access the infinite (universal energy) and potential which can be harnessed and utilized for spiritual purposes.” – Liisa Maimon, “Tantra: the science and study of energy.”

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and why not start it off with this simple guided meditation?

Today’s Video: “Inner Self Meditation – With Somananda | *20 Minute* Guided Meditation”
https://youtu.be/ugW2FW4RGWU

07/14/2023

Thought,
composed of the past,
of memory,
a tool of aggression and defense,
still capable of realizing
its own limitations,
giving way to its Source,
stillness, being,
arising from silence,
losing itself in silence,
the Ultimate,
which is ‘unthinkable.’

Today we conclude our week of Kashmiri Shaivism with an article by Liisa Maimon on “Tantra: the science and study of energy.” Liisa is a senior teacher with the Somananda Tantra School of Kashmiri Shaivism.

“Tantric masters understood a fundamental and universal truth – everything in this reality is made up of energy.

“What is energy?

“Energy is a universal force that is within us and all around us. It is infinite in nature and has massive potential. Why were tantrics interested in energy? Because if decoded, utilized, and employed properly, it could be used to propel a person expeditiously along the spiritual path.

“There are many, many different types of energy operating in our reality and in the universe. Regardless of the type, ALL energy operates according to and is governed by specific laws. Unlock these laws and, in essence, you will acquire the master key for controlling and mastering all energy.

“For example, take electricity, which is a form of energy. Through scientific inquiry, human beings were able to decipher the laws which ultimately form the basis of electricity. As a result, electricity was no longer understood as an ethereal concept, but rather it became known as a tangible and sensorial event that could be created on command and at will.” – Liisa Maimon, “Tantra: the science and study of energy.”

And ou video today is from the founder of the Somananda Tantra School. Somananda explains the philosophy of Kashmiri Shaivism.

Today’s Video: What Is Kashmiri Shaivism? | Somananda Tantra School
https://youtu.be/pRq_rLHllxo

07/13/2023

The Personna Salesman
with a foot in the door
keeps pushing and prodding
day after day, year after year
until fully inside,
selling you an ego,
a personality,
to seek pleasure
and avoid pain.
Sounds good but
Don’t buy,
Don’t buy,
Don’t buy
Satisfaction definitely
not guaranteed.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

We continue with this week’s focus on Kashmir Shaivism with Swami Lakshman Joo

“Mātṛikācakra is the theory of the alphabet. This theory teaches us that the whole universe is created by God, Lord Śiva, as one with, and not separated from, His own nature. He has created this universe in His own Self as the reflection of His sweet will.”
― Lakshmanjoo, Kashmir Shaivism Audio Study Set: The Secret Supreme

Today’s Video: “One in a million becomes realized”
https://youtu.be/dMsCNwYMx6I

07/12/2023

Forever seeking pleasure
while running from pain,
the ego maintains itself
living in constant choosing,
a needless exhaustion of energy,
bringing only suffering and pain.
But just who is suffering?
Find out.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

We continue with this week’s focus on Kashmir Shaivism through the lecture of Swami Lakshman Joo’s “Asana.”

“After settling in the asana of meditation arises the refined practice of pranayama. ‘Pranayama’ does not mean inhaling and exhaling vigorously like a bellow. Like asana, pranayama is internal and very subtle. There is a break less continuity in the traveling of your awareness from the point of asana into the practice of pranayama. When through your awareness you have settled in your asana, you automatically enter into the practice of pranayama.

“Our Masters have indicated that there are two principle forms of this practice of ‘asana-pranayama’, i.e. cakrodaya and ajapa-gayatri. In the practice of ajapa-gayatri you are to maintain continuously refreshed full awareness-(anusandhana) in the center of two breaths, while breathing in and out slowly and silently. Likewise in the practice of cakrodaya you must maintain awareness, which is continually fresh and new, filled with excitement and vigor, in the center of the two breaths – you are to breathe in and out slowly, but in this case with sound.” ― Swami Lakshmanjoo, “Asana”

In his video Swami Lakshmanjoo tells us what is the final goal of Shaivism and what to look for.

Today’s Video: Final goal in Kashmir Shaivism
https://youtu.be/4gUzlm3is2o

07/11/2023

To the jiva,
the absence of pleasure
is suffering.
The jiva and its ego,
objects of perception
through habit and error,
we identify with perception
the cause of all suffering.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

We continue with this week’s focus on Kashmir Shaivism through the lecture of Swami Lakshman Joo’s “Asana.”

“On the pathway of your breath maintain continuously refreshed and full awareness on and in the center of breathing in and breathing out. This is internal asana.” (Netra Tantra)

“Asana, therefore, is the gradual dawning in the spiritual aspirant of the awareness which shines in the central point found between inhaling and exhaling.

“This awareness is not gained by that person who is full of prejudice, avarice, or envy. Such a person, filled with all such negative qualities, cannot concentrate. The prerequisite of this glorious achievement is, therefore, the purification of your internal egoity. It must become pure, clean, and crystal clear. After you have purged your mind of all prejudice and have started settling with full awareness into that point between the two breaths, then you are settling into your asana.

“When in breathing in and breathing out you continue to maintain your awareness in continuity on and in the center between the incoming and outgoing breath, your breath will spontaneously and progressively become more and more refined. At that point you are driven to another world. This is pranayama.” (Netra Tantra)…To be Continued – Swami Lakshman Joo, “Asana”

What is Kashmir Shaivism’s view of Kundalini. Find out in the following video.

Today’s Video: “Kundalini in Kashmir Shaivism”
https://youtu.be/LXsQcnm4BRQ

07/10/2023

name and form spring
from the eternal background
where relations appear
in consciousness
in the only true relation
with all things.

Dear Friends and Practitioners

This week we are going to llok at Kashmir Shaivism through the eyes of Lakshman Joo. He a mystic and scholar, he was known as Lal Sahib (“Friend of God”) by followers. Swami Lakshmanjoo freely taught, giving weekly lectures on the mystical and philosophical texts of Kashmir Shaivism. In 1991 the Swami traveled to the United States and established the Universal Shaiva Fellowship where he designated John Hughes and his wife Denise to continue publishing his teachings of Kashmir Shaivism. In India the teachings of Lakshman Joo are carried on by Ishwar Ashram Trust, an organisation founded shortly after his death.

This week we will look at various excerpts from his lecture entitled “Asana.”

“Now I shall instruct you regarding the nature of asana or seat. Although by ‘asana’ is generally meant the erect posture assumed in meditation, this is not its central or essential meaning. When I use the word ‘asana’ I do not mean the various forms of asana’s such as Padmasana, Vajrasana, Svastikasana, or Bhadrasana. By ‘asana’ I mean something else, and this is what I want to explain to you.

First let me speak to you about breath; about the inhaling breath-apana, and the exhaling breath-prana. Breath is extremely important in meditation; particularly the central breath-madhyama-pranan, which is neither prana nor apana. It is the center of these two, the point existing between the inhaling and exhaling breaths. This center point cannot be held by any physical means, as a material object can be held by the hand. The center between the two breaths can be held only by knowledge-jnana – not discursive knowledge, but by knowledge which is awareness. When this central point is held by continuously refreshed awareness – which is knowledge and which is achieved through devotion to the Lord – that is, in the true sense settling into your asana.” -Swami Lakshman Joo, “Asana”

Today’s Video: “Meditation and the stages of yoga in Kashmir Shaivism”
https://youtu.be/j8wecNq3VAM

07/08/2023

The forefeeling of Truth
begins eliminating what is false,
seeing clearly
how we take ourselves
for something we are notk
how action and thoughts,
ideas of success and failure,
the real and unreal
stem from this false idea
of who and what we are.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

We continue with more satsangs and quotes from the respected Advaita-Vedanta teacher affectionately known as Papaji ( H.W.L. Poonja). We lead ourselves into bondage for the sake of security and safety.

“We cling to something for safety, and we find we are holding onto the body, the mind, the senses for safety. We don’t realize that by getting rid of these things we have true peace. When we go from waking state to sleep, we lose everything that we held in the waking state. Relationships and possessions are lost to us in sleep. We have to let them go. We have no fear as we drop into sleep. We enjoy it, we welcome it. But we are afraid of this waking drop into emptiness because we haven’t had the experience.”
― H.W.L. Poonja, Wake Up and Roar: Satsang With H.W.L. Poonja, Vol. 1

In his video, Papaji tell us about the most powerful inquiry. Have a joyful weekend, everyone. My the Truth, love and beauty be with you.

Today’s Video: “PAPAJI – POWERFUL INQUIRY – KEEP QUIET”
https://youtu.be/L2om_RnoAKg

07/07/2023

The non-State
no surroundings,
no center of reference,
no projections of me, you,
inner and outer,
name and form,
percept and concept.
When percept and concept dissolve,
only essence remains.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

We continue with more satsangs and quotes from the respected Advaita-Vedanta teacher affectionately known as Papaji ( H.W.L. Poonja). Today he explains why we so readily accept limitedness.

“We have been comfortable in limitation, so we don’t touch limitedness. When someone imposes limitedness on us, we readily agree. Anything you desire to achieve is limitation. And you don’t have to desire limitlessness, because that you already are.
You make frontiers. The idea, ‘I need freedom’, constructs a wall between you and freedom. Remove the concept that there is a wall between you and freedom and what happens? This wall is imagination. You don’t have to remove the rubbish of the wall. What happens if you remove this wall, which does not even exist?”
― H.W.L. Poonja, Wake Up and Roar: Satsang With H.W.L. Poonja, Vol. 1

Is there a differrence between experience and realization and is realization ever full and permanent? Hear Papaji’s answer…

Today’s video: PAPAJI – To get rid of experience is your true state
https://youtu.be/7fKxG4HCvG0

07/06/2023

The non-State
neither of body nor mind, not located
mentally or physically,
not a thought or senstation,
free from definition,
identification, location.
With the I-Center absent,
all appears in limitless being.

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

We continue with one of my favorite Advaita-Vedanta teachers Papaji ( H.W.L. Poonja). In today’s quote he focuses on the freedom of Being as you are.

“The most holy association is to Be as you are. This is Freedom. This is beyond imagination, very new and very fresh. So just keep Quiet. Do not think. It is you. It is you. Don’t stir a thought, and if a thought comes, let it, don’t waver, don’t doubt your majesty. It is so simple. The one who has It will know that they have done it. When you are quiet it is Beauty, Joy and Stillness. It is effortless. Effort is to disturb your mind, effort is playing with corpses in the graveyard. Just contemplate that which is always silence. Go to the Source. Do not believe anything, simply stay quiet and return home and do not rest until you are there. Peace is only available when there is no “I” and you need an “I” to do practice. The secret to Bliss is to stop the search, stop thinking, stop not-thinking, and keep Quiet. The best practice is to Know “Who am I.” You are Brahman, know this. If you want to do anything, just Always adore Self.”
― H.W.L. Poonja, The Truth Is

Ever wonder why you were born? Papaji gives his response in Today’s video.

Today’s Video: “PAPAJI – Why was i born?”
https://youtu.be/AU4U_PSXhjk

07/05/2023

You identify with an idea,
an image of uourself.
Thus, you and your surroundings
are a relationship between two objects
and all action is reaction
judged as likeable or dislikeable

Dear Friends and Practitioners,

I hope everyone had a enjoyable and safe July Fourth holiday. Last week we finished our look at Mooji and his teachings. As promised, today we begin a visit with Mooji’s teacher, the late H. W. L. Poonja (aka: Papaji). His teaching emphasises that words can only point to ultimate truth, but never are ultimate truth, and that intellectual understanding without directly realising the truth through one’s own investigation is not enough. Like Sri Ramana he stressed that teaching through silence was more important than teaching through words. Once, when a French seeker informed Poonja that he was learning Sanskrit to better understand ancient scriptural texts, Poonja replied:

“All your books, all the time lost in learning different languages! Are they any use for conversing with the atman, with the Self, for speaking to yourself? None of that leads anywhere useful. The atman has nothing to do either with books, or with languages or with any scripture whatever. It is — and that’s all!”

His message, like that of his teacher Sri Ramana, was always that the Self is already enlightened and free. Like Sri Ramana, he taught self-enquiry, which involved locating a person’s sense of “I” and focusing on and investigating this directly. Famous for eschewing all forms of practices or sadhana, Poonja nonetheless recommended self-enquiry as the only practice one should take up, but he didn’t want people to take it up as a form of meditation. He would say, “Do it once and do it properly, and your spiritual quest will be over instantly.”

“As the lotus does not touch the water
so do not let the world enter your heart..
Being busy in the world is no trouble,
unless you are troubled being busy,
then the only trouble is the trouble..

Ocean does not complain about the dance of ten million waves!
so don’t be concerned with the rise and fall of thoughts..

Keeping an old troublesome habit
is like keeping poisonous snakes in your arms.
Now is the time to hold this snake and throw it out..

Bad moods are either past or imaginary future,
in the Present there are no moods at all..
Moods belong to the circumstance, to the past;
face the Sun and there will be no shadow of the moods..

The world is like a tail of dog, it’s nature is to curl.
The best you can do is stay Quiet
and not let anything bother you..
Visitors will come and go, don’t interfere with these waves..
Just be silent..”
― H.W.L. Poonja, “The Truth Is”

In today’s video, Papaji discusses having a deep inquiry into the nature and movement of thought…

Today’s Video: “Papaji – Understand The Movement Of THOUGHT – Return to SELF (Deep Inquiry)”
https://youtu.be/QKyWaHKeGgY

07/01/2023

HAVE A HAPPY & SAFE 4TH OF JULY. See you on the 5th.

Question yourself.
To whom do things appear?
Who judges them?
Who condemns them?
Who vascitlates
between liking and disliking?
Who is an integral part
of all these appearances?

We begin July with our final quote and video from Mooji. Today he discusses pain and suffering.

“What about physical pain? What about suffering? Hand over your existence to existence and keep quiet. All is grace. If you really had the free will and power to shape your destiny, to create your ideal life, you would most probably leave out all discomforts, all that challenges your ego, all that exposes feelings of guilt or shame or anything that threatens your attachments. You would exclude all these and replace them with chocolate-flavoured experiences. [Laughter] But however much you try to construct and secure a life that satisfies your projections, you would still fail to match, in quality and auspiciousness, the life that is unfolding without human intention. A man once said to Sri Nisargadatta, “Maharaj, your words resonate deep within my heart. I feel their power and know them to be true. But if I am to be honest in describing my experience, I would have to admit that throughout my life, I’m continuously experiencing suffering!” And Maharaj replied, “No, this is not true. You are not experiencing suffering, you are suffering your experiencing.”
― Mooji, Before I Am

In today’s video, Mooji talks with a young woman who has breast cancer.

Today’s Video: Go All The Way!
https://youtu.be/Trvt6qq0Kek