Meditation - My Experiance, Am I Allowed To Share?

[Lucky]

Welcome to the forum.

Just to remind,.... all the info and contributions on here are nothing official, but just how we have gone around trying various methods and how we have encountered them. I think more than anything, it is a great way to inspire and help each other on this journey.

I was trying all sorts of simran and meditation techniques before I was inspired by Sat's contributions on here.

Just knowing that he was doing this practically, regularly and getting more into waheguru, was a huge influence for the semi-confused me.

It was probably just after that, that I started paying serious attention to it and taking my steps with more devotion.

There's lots of theories out there, but most of these can't inspire unless someone has actually experienced it.

I hope you too can gain and in turn contribute to everybody's development.

Totally agree with above post, and I would try Sat's technique of focusing at the front of your own mouth.

I think the chances are pretty high that this could help settle your dhian.

Some people find it easier to focus near their ears, near the throat or just behind back of eyes, but you should settle in the one that you find more comfortable and just continue from there.

I wouldn't try and rush into saas saas, but just let it happen steadily and naturally. Once you can manage to keep that level where you can lock your mind solely onto listening to gurmantar, is probably when you should think about the next step/level.

And yes, like Sat says... one day you just find that all of a sudden your mind can just 'lock' into place !

It can take time, but you should slowly be able to bring your mind down from running in all directions of thoughts.

Eventually, it becomes a little easier to completely ignore thougths and just focus on gurmantar.

I used to think of this whole process as cleaning through the layers of filth on my mind.

It's not always easy, because I still have many occasions where I just can't settle in and struggle to subdue the mind.....at these times instead of getting annoyed and frustrated... I try and think of it as some internal cleansing going on.... this way it helps put me in a more positive and determined frame of mind the next time I try !!

I also agree in my case, that you continue breathing via mouth in saas saas. Only when you are ready for internal silent pasanti, do you start via nasal breathing.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Lucky

[BhagatSingh]

Also, any tips on how to Listen to Gurmantar, dhyan on the sound (dhune). Is very hard for me to focus with so many thoughts. I try to focus on sound coming from my mouth but mind does not sit.

Best thing you can do is to fill up all the areas in your life where you are not meditating and start meditating in those areas.

You can practice techniques described by Sat and Lucky above, and insert them in the following activities.

You can also try to experience the activity in its fullest, I will describe this below, along with some example of activities during which you could easily meditate.

Let's start

1 you wake up - start meditation immediately

- open your eyes, look around the room as you would if you woke up in a strange location

like an alien visiting earth, study every in the room

- feel the bedsheets, listen to the early morning sounds

- when you get up feel the weight of your body sitting on the bed, then feel your feet touch the floor.

2. brushing teeth - focus on the sounds and sensations of the brush

- the touch of water, how wet is it, how hot/cold,

- feel the water move around in your mouth, on your hands, face

3. washing dishes - again focus on the sensations of the water, the temperature, the flow

- feel the dishes as you would a newborn child, touch them, what do they feel like

- what does the soap feel like

- how does the water look like when it hits the dish, how does it flow down the dish

4. walking from one place of the house to another

- bring your attention to your feet and feel the floor/carpet you walk on

- think about the texture and the hardness

- feel the muscles of your feet in action

5. every now and then just take a deep breath

- as soon as you remember this take a deep breath

- if you waiting for someone or something, just take a deep conscious breath

- focus on the breath as it goes in and comes out

- if you can look out of a window, look at the sky, the trees, listen to the birds and take a deep breath

Just fill up all the space, all the routine tasks with meditation and you will see a HUGE difference in your life

[Lucky]

Great stuff Bhagat.

All these pointers are essential to help you build up that Awareness of the present moment.

Once you can get a grip of trying to stay in this awareness zone, then being able to not follow thoughts also becomes somewhat easier.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Lucky

[BhagatSingh]

Great stuff Bhagat.

All these pointers are essential to help you build up that Awareness of the present moment.

Once you can get a grip of trying to stay in this awareness zone, then being able to not follow thoughts also becomes somewhat easier.

Yeah and music helps too. Listening to bhajan, kirtan and learning to do it yourself is a meditation in itself and for many it's a lot easier.

Recently I came to find out how a hug is a great tool! Some people just need a strong hug. jadoo ki japhi as they say in Munna Bhai.

Whenever I am feeling down and negative, a hug brings some peace and awareness to my mind.

I urge all the meditation practitioners here to hug their family and friends. It's a powerful way to bring them to into Wahguru's presence even if only for a moment.

[HisServant]

I don't know why this is, I've talked to a Singh who's noticed the same thing but sometimes I notice the vibrations from naam abihas/reading bani are stronger when sitting in cold temperature. Could someone shed some light on this if they've noticed it as well.

http://ask.fm/basicsofsikhi/answer/112621657650

Ok I figured out why that happens, it's because your body's more awake when it's in the cold. That's another reason why cold showers are good.

[oasis]

I dont have any avastha of any sort but just asking this out of curiosity because I heard it many times during Katha.

What does it mean when people say that Jaap has gone into the Kanth/Throat ?

It is said that Jaap goes from mouth into kanth, where it becomes 100x faster. From Kanth it goes into Hirda 1000x faster, from Hirda into Nabhi, and from Nabhi to Rom Rom.

I am just curious to know how to take the Japp into Kanth ? How long does it take for it to go into Kanth? I try to do japp, but after one hour I am exhausted , lose the energy and motivation to keep going. How do you guys find the courage to keep going ?

What is the max number of hours someone has done continuous japp for? maybe that will motivate me to go beyond the 1-2 hr barrier.

Thing is , I have read and heard from many sources that Japp or Reading Bani should be recited loudly first and listened to with ears, so whenever I am tired or lazy and do banis silently, I feel dissatisfied with my efforts. And I am just a beginner, falling down with every little obstacle coming my way.

But reading this thread is very motivational. But just curious that no one mentioned anything about Kanth yet.

[Truthseeker]

Very interesting video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcVCGbt8KC4

[Sat1176]

I must admit that video was very inspiring indeed. Many thanks for sharing. I liked the way he clarified the lower level sounds and how the true upward pulling sound/naad is the one you need to find and connect with. This should sound like a Bell and with progress should become an elongated sound.

He once again confirmed the technique of listening to the gurmantar internally and how the purpose of a mantar is help bring back and control a wondering mind.

Reminded me once again of Bhagat Baynees bani in Guru Maharaj on Ang 974

The energy channels of the Ida, Pingala and Shushmanaa: these three dwell in one place.

irhaa pingulaa a-or sukhmanaa teen baseh ik thaa-ee.

This is the true place of confluence of the three sacred rivers: this is where my mind takes its cleansing bath.

baynee sangam tah piraag man majan karay tithaa-ee.

O Saints, the Immaculate Lord dwells there;

santahu tahaa niranjan raam hai.

how rare are those who go to the Guru, and understand this.

gur gam cheenai birlaa ko-ay.

The all-pervading immaculate Lord is there. Pause

tahaaN niranjan rama-ee-aa ho-ay. Rahaa-o

What is the insignia of the Divine Lord`s dwelling?

dayv sathaanai ki-aa neesaanee.

The unstruck sound current of the Shabad vibrates there.

tah baajay sabad anaahad banee.

There is no moon or sun, no air or water there.

tah chand na sooraj pa-un na paanee.

The Gurmukh becomes aware, and knows the Teachings.

saakhee jaagee gurmukh jaanee.

Spiritual wisdom wells up, and evil-mindedness departs;

upjai gi-aan durmat chheejai.

the nucleus of the mind sky is drenched with Ambrosial Nectar.

amrit ras gagnantar bheejai.

One who knows the secret of this device,

ays kalaa jo jaanai bhay-o.

meets the Supreme Divine Guru.

bhaytai taas param gurday-o.

The Tenth Gate is the home of the inaccessible, infinite Supreme Lord.

dasam du-aaraa agam apaaraa param purakh kee ghaatee.

Above the store is a niche, and within this niche is the commodity.

oopar haat haat par aalaa aalay bheetar thaatee.

One who remains awake, never sleeps.

jaagat rahai so kabahu na sovai.

The three qualities and the three worlds vanish, in the state of Samaadhi.

teen tilok samaaDh palovai.

He takes the Beej Mantra, the Seed Mantra, and keeps it in his heart.

beej mantar lai hirdai rahai.

Turning his mind away from the world, he focuses on the cosmic void of the absolute Lord.

manoo-aa ulat sunn meh gahai.

He remains awake, and he does not lie.

jaagat rahai na alee-aa bhaakhai.

He keeps the five sensory organs under his control.

paacha-o indree bas kar raakhai.

He cherishes in his consciousness the Guru`s Teachings.

gur kee saakhee raakhai cheet.

He dedicates his mind and body to the Lord`s Love.

man tan arpai krisan pareet.

He considers his hands to be the leaves and branches of the tree.

kar palav saakhaa beechaaray.

He plugs up the source of the river of evil tendencies.

asur nadee kaa banDhai mool.

Turning away from the west, he makes the sun rise in the east.

pachhim fayr charhaavai soor.

I know understand "pachhim" to be a reference to the back of the head.

He bears the unbearable, and the drops trickle down within;

ajar jarai so nijhar jharai.

then, he speaks with the Lord of the world.

jagannaath si-o gosat karai

The four-sided lamp illuminates the Tenth Gate.

cha-umukh deevaa jot du-aar.

The Primal Lord is at the center of the countless leaves.

paloo anat mool bichkaar.

He Himself abides there with all His powers.

sarab kalaa lay aapay rahai.

He weaves the jewels into the pearl of the mind.

man maanak ratnaa meh guhai.

The lotus is at the forehead, and the jewels surround it.

mastak padam du-aalai manee.

Within it is the Immaculate Lord, the Master of the three worlds.

maahi niranjan taribhavan Dhanee.

The Panch Shabad, the five primal sounds, resound and vibrate their in their purity.

panch sabad nirmaa-il baajay.

The chauris - the fly brushes wave, and the conch shells blare like thunder.

dhulkay chavar sankh ghan gaajay.

The Gurmukh tramples the demons underfoot with his spiritual wisdom.

dal mal daatahu gurmukh gi-aan.

Baynee longs for Your Name, Lord.

baynee jaachai tayraa naam.

Waheguru Waheguru Waheguru....

[Sat1176]

Since listening to this video I've been playing around with focusing in the center of my head behind the eyes and trying to do my gurmantar jaap with my dhyan there. I noticed very quickly that the sweetness is beginning to return to my mouth, actually I feel as if it about to explode on the upper side of my palette and is slowly manifesting on my tongue. Its been a while now since I last had these sweet sensations. Back then I didn't have an appreciation of it and wrote many posts with my struggle to handle such an intense taste. I have now come to learn that this internal amrit helps cleanse the naadies and helps in the progress on this path. This time will try not to get too hung up on it and just savor the experience and let it happen.

Please give me a slap on the wrist if I come back and say I can't cope with it again!

The sounds I was previously hearing which were also occurring less frequently are now also returning. Happy days!!!

Waheguru

Edited June 20, 2014 by Sat1176

[Sat1176]

Really liked the way this guy explained the concept being pulled up by the shabad. Definitely worth listening to.

[harsharan000]

Since listening to this video I've been playing around with focusing in the center of my head behind the eyes and trying to do my gurmantar jaap with my dhyan there. I noticed very quickly that the sweetness is beginning to return to my mouth, actually I feel as if it about to explode on the upper side of my palette and is slowly manifesting on my tongue. Its been a while now since I last had these sweet sensations. Back then I didn't have an appreciation of it and wrote many posts with my struggle to handle such an intense taste. I have now come to learn that this internal amrit helps cleanse the naadies and helps in the progress on this path. This time will try not to get too hung up on it and just savor the experience and let it happen.

Please give me a slap on the wrist if I come back and say I can't cope with it again!

The sounds I was previously hearing which were also occurring less frequently are now also returning. Happy days!!!

Waheguru

Dear Bro Sat Jee,

first of all congrats for regaining your " treasure", so enjoy it.

Secondly, though you must be aware of it, is that, the Sounds(Dhun, Shabads) and Lights(Jot) are already there within, they do not go anywhere, it is our attention which is not there or looking in some other directions....due to several factors, but mainly to the dirt in our minds. But in spite of all that, He is so Gracious, that, even with our feeble efforts, He is satisfied and pleased, and makes our paths easier with His Grace .....

But then, sometimes one gets discouraged and despaired, thinking, my God, my dirt is so huge....that I doubt, that even with all Your Grace, it can not be washed away....because it is our filth as a thick wall, which is the barrier between us and our beloved Wahiguru...

Of course His Daya meher can wash anything, but one gets angry on oneself, by saying what the hell have you done, that still you do not get closer to Him, still full of impurities ....

May Wahiguru bless us all, with His love, and Grace us with His darshan...so that we may hug Him so tightly, that He may not escape from our arms...

Sat Sree Akal.

Edited June 23, 2014 by harsharan000

[Sat1176]

Meditation walk through. I highly recommend people have a listen to this who are trying to walk on the path of shabad surat marg. Some very helpful information is contained in this audio recording.

http://ishanews.org/media/audio/Meditation_Workshop_Hunt_Beach_CA_02_22_2014_PM.mp3

ishanews.org/media/audio/Meditation_Workshop_Hunt_Beach_CA_02_22_2014_PM.mp3

Edited June 29, 2014 by Sat1176

[Truthseeker]

Baba Hari Singh Ji talks about Gurmantar and the various stages. He also talks about the process of reversing your breath https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srq3UqegZAI

Like Lucky mentioned earlier in this thread:

One has to reverse the process and take that sound back to the Dhunni, the place where the sound arose from.

1. Parra

2. Basanti

3. Madhmaa

4. Bekhari

Another video which talks about the same thing but its in English

Edited July 6, 2014 by Truthseeker

[Sat1176]

I was reading this transcript of Ishwar Puri on How to Meditate and Go Within. I found it very inspiring so thought I would share some relevant bits. It might offer as an aid as we make our inner journeys. Its bit of a long read but worthwhile.

Great Master kept on saying, “This is not blind faith. This is not believing somebody. It is believing your own experience. Go within and find out.” Then he would quote from all the religious texts; original texts. The Bible says “The kingdom is within you.” The other texts say “The original sound is the sound that created this world.” The oldest Rig Veda of the Indian Vedas, the old text script, the Sanskrit texts say that “The original creation took place because of the Naad, the Sound.” John’s Gospel says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

How can all these different scriptures, all these different fountainheads of religion say the same thing? Who has practiced it? Who has gone inside to see if there is such a thing as the Word or a sound or a Nad or a Shabd? I said, “This has to be found out. You can’t have blind faith. You must see it yourself.” I made some progress, but I also gradually found that when you make that kind of effort which I was trying, there is a big obstacle on the way. That obstacle is your own thinking, your own mind. I discovered that the mind, which is supposed to be a great help to us, the thinking mind should be able to rationalize, think out, make a good effort, but itself it is the creator of doubt and fear.

Since then I have seen most people, my friends, when they are on the path, they suffer from the same problem. Their mind and their thinking process are creating doubt and fear. I wondered why there should be doubt of these things. The nature of the mind, human mind, is to create a doubt. It is not something unusual. The mind is designed to do it. As I discovered later on that the mind by its thinking process does not always

clarify things because it has limited data on which it works.

The mind is a logical machine. It works on logic, and as some of you might have studied logic, you know that logic is of two kinds, the deductive logic and the inductive logic. The deductive logic only deduces things, comes to conclusions based upon what is fed to the mind. You can say there is a white wall here in front of me. This is part of the wall; therefore, it is white. That is deductive knowledge. There is no additional knowledge that you get through deductive logic. The mind does not go beyond what is already known.

The inductive logic is a guess work. It speculates. This wall is white. This wall goes around the corner, which I cannot see. Presumably, probably, it is also white. That is an inductive method. It is uncertain. What kind of activity of the mind can give me certainty? There is nothing that would give me certainty. Today the mind says this is very clear. Tomorrow a new factor comes in, you learn something new, and the old conclusion.

becomes absolutely wrong.

I discovered that the mind creates doubt by its very nature, by its very function. The mind functions in a very unique way, that it creates time and space for us. It creates thinking in us, and through thinking, it picks up the sense perceptions and translates for us. It took me some time to know that the mind is what sees things, what hears things, what touches things. All sense perceptions are merely stimuli that come to us. The mind tells what it is. If I saw a painting, I can't know it is a painting. I see just globs of color. I see different perception of sight. I look at it. The mind converts it and says, “That is a nice painting.” The interpretation of all sense perceptions is being done by the mind. Because the sense perceptions keep on changing the perceptions we are getting, the mind keeps on changing interpretation. It did not take me very long to find how unreliable the mind is to seek anything of reality or clarity. Therefore, I have to find something else. What else is there?

I found that most of us are misled into believing that we are the mind, that our consciousness consists of nothing else but the thinking self. That the thinking self is “I” and that is what the self is. We totally forget that there is some part of us which is conscious, knows it is there, and does not depend upon thinking. For example, intuition, the flash of gut knowledge that you get suddenly … there is no process of thinking involved in that, and yet you know sometimes a gut feeling seems to override what the thinking mind is saying. The mind says, “Don’t do this.” The gut says, “I have to do it.” “Why?” “I don’t know why.” The thinking mind is saying, “Don’t do it”, and the gut feeling says, “Do it”, or the reverse. The thinking mind says, “Do it”, and the gut feeling says, “No, it is not right.” Whether you call it the conscience speaking inside or if you say the second mind speaking inside, the higher mind speaking inside, there is obviously something else that does not require the process of thinking, yet is conscious in yourself.

This was a very big discovery for me, and it was made very clear by Great Master in his explanations to me. He said, “We do not have only the mind. We have the soul and the mind. They are not the same thing. The soul of a human being is pure consciousness. It does not require thinking. It can function on its own, and its own functions are intuition, love, beauty, joy. Only the soul can experience these; the mind cannot. The mind can do thinking, rationalization, logic, interpretation, but it cannot create love, it cannot create intuitive knowledge, it cannot create the sense of beauty and joy, and bliss that we get.

Once we knew the distinction, also we found out the mind functions only in time and space. Even the smallest thought takes duration, takes time. Intuition soul functions outside of it. It gives you instant knowledge, instant feeling. There is no time involved. The mind functions in time and space. The soul, the spirit of the human being, which is pure consciousness, can function without it. Once the distinction was made … and very clear … that there is a mind and a soul, that who are we? Are we mind or soul? It doesn’t take very long to discover that mind is merely an accessory, a little machine added to ourselves, like a little computer we are carrying in our heads. The mind is like a computer. Whatever you put into it, it processes and gives us results.

But the soul consciousness is the real self, that is the powerhouse that makes the mind work, that makes the senses work, that makes this body work. Our life force, our real life, our real consciousness is the soul, not the mind. Once that came into my knowledge, and Great Master emphasized it, “Don’t forget you are the soul, not the mind. What would happen then? Do not be led by the mind. Lead the mind! The process is very simple.” His teaching then became very clear to me, that we have been led by the mind all our life, that thoughts dictate to us what we should do. Instead of that, our gut feeling should dictate what to do and tell the mind, think like that, and do it. It is the soul that should make decisions, and the mind should implement them. This was a reversal of our ordinary way of living. Ordinarily, we think what to do and then somehow hope that destiny will take us along the path, something else will take us. Our consciousness will follow it. But we are putting the mind ahead and the soul to follow. The truth was that if you want to find out the reality of who you are, you must put the soul ahead and then instruct the mind what to do.

So meditation became a very simple exercise. Meditation was “Soul giving direction to the mind; do this.” Then I understood what the whole process of initiation was, why we repeat mantras, why we repeat words. It was not just because those words are special … mantra, which of course they may be, but we don’t know. At the least the initial function of repetition of words which we don’t even understand, the initial function is that the mind should be instructed to think of those words and squeeze out other words of thought. It is a control of the mind. By repetition of words, you can squeeze out the thoughts that otherwise take us astray. It is the thoughts that take us away from ourselves.

Every time we think of something, it has an association of ideas outside of ourselves. We think of our children, our work, our business, our friends or associates, our concerns and worries about what is going to happen. Every time we have a thought like that, it takes us away from our own center. We are never actually sitting in our own head. Our consciousness is proceeding from our head. Our attention flows from there, and we never spend any time there. Through our thinking process, we are spending all our time outside.

Therefore, the meditation process became simple. It is just an act of withdrawing your attention, withdrawing your consciousness from everything outside and putting it back on yourself to discover who you are as a soul, not as a mind, not as a body, not as sense perceptions. So this was a clear method that Great Master was able to explain in so many ways as time went on. When I was … it was the ‘40s, about 1942, when I had my last question and answer session with Great Master. I said, “Master, I have one more question to ask you.” That was about experiences that were being generated by His method of meditation. From 1943 I never asked any questions. All questions were answered internally.

I tell people, “Do you know all your questions have their answers inside you? There is not a single question that you can ask for which the answer does not lie inside you.” When we ask somebody else for an answer, we are only verifying the answer that is inside us is correct. When somebody gives us an answer that makes no sense, we reject it. If somebody says something, say, “I knew that! That is it!” Then we are just getting a verbal confirmation of the answer that was already in us. Through the meditational techniques of the Great Master’s teaching, we are able to see the answers before you even ask them. The answers even precede before you can put the questions.

Therefore, you discover that answers to all questions of your mind are sitting inside you, and all you have to do is go to the point where the answers lie, which is the mental region of experience, which means that there are many regions of experience that we can have access to through meditation. The regions of experience are the physical experience of the physical world. We are all sitting here in the physical world.

Our bodies are physical, material, and through the body, our sense perceptions, and our thoughts, we are connected to the rest of the physical and material world. If you were not material, there would be no material world around us. Our physical body connects us and gives us the experience of the physical and material world. This is a level of consciousness. We are experiencing consciousness by being conscious of the physical world. If we withdraw our attention in this body, if we just withdraw our attention within ourselves to the point from where it looks like attention is flowing out and connecting us with the world outside, if we just withdraw our attention to the point from where we can notionally see our attention is flowing out, which is in the head. It doesn’t take very long to introspect and see, am I putting my attention from my hands, from my feet? Of course, they are too far removed from my head. You can just by thinking about it, just by introspection find out that the attention, which is the movable part of consciousness, which is the manipulative part of consciousness, which you can move here or there, put your attention here or there, or not put attention here or there, that part is flowing out from your head through the eyes, through the thinking process. It all takes place in the head.

Therefore, when you close your eyes, you are still there. The feeling that as a conscious being, if you are just a conscious thought existing, where are you existing? You will discover it is in the head behind the eyes. The rest of it is attached to you as a physical body. Therefore, the right place to withdraw your attention would be the third eye. Great Master said, “The truth is the door to all inner perception lies inside the head behind the eyes. If you want to experience all these things we are talking about, on different levels of experiences and consciousness, the door to open those levels is right behind the eyes in your head. Put your attention there.”

We haven’t realized that since we were born we have always put our attention outside. There has been no occasion for us to put our attention inside. We are used to focusing our attention. When you focus your attention, it is always external to yourself. We have never been taught to withdraw attention. We know how to put attention on things. Put your attention on this book. Put your attention on a subject. Put your attention to what I am saying. But we have never been taught how to withdraw the attention to your own self inside the head behind the eyes.

The process of the Great Master’s teaching began to teach me and I learned over time was that the withdrawal of attention is a totally different subject. It is a totally different way of doing things. The process is different than putting your attention. By focusing attention on anything, you are putting your attention out of yourself, not withdrawing, not discovering who you are. Therefore, the Great Master taught how to withdraw your attention to yourself. That is to pull back your attention to where it is flowing from. It takes some practice. It takes some doing to discover that the point where you are having this experience of putting your attention on things is not only behind the eyes, it is at the middle point between the eyes and behind it.

If my two fingers represent the two eyeballs, where the two fingers meet on my hand, if you can see this, it is almost exactly the place if you contemplate where is your attention flowing from, that is the place behind the eyes in the center. If we know that much, then we can proceed forward with the practice of withdrawing attention to our self, and we do it by a very interesting process, the process which we all use without knowing it, is called imagination. If you imagine you are there, attention goes there.

Supposing you are imagining you are sitting in that corner of the room, your attention will go there. If you imagine you are sitting on top of this house, your attention will go there. Wherever you are imagining you are going, attention is pulled there automatically. This becomes a simple method … to imagine that you are sitting inside your head behind the eyes. Make this head of yours, the forehead is a wall in front, these ears are on either side of a beautiful room, that this body is like a mansion and has many floors. The sixth floor is behind the eyes. You are sitting on the sixth floor, and you are putting your attention to where you believe is the center of the head.

This exercise alone, without doing anything else, will open up a door and give you experiences that you have never had before. It is amazing that we think this was so simple, and yet it looks so difficult. The simplicity affected me very much. This is such a simple thing that we have to withdraw attention to the point from it is flowing out, and it is flowing from that point. That point has been addressed in all the spiritual books that I have seen, called the third eye. “If thine eye be single, then your whole body shall be filled with light.” “If you have a point behind your eyes, you will see the truth.” All the scriptures say it in different ways, that there is a third eye, there is a point behind the eyes. There true light lasts. If you can reach that point by withdrawing attention, your whole body gets filled with light. You see a light which you have never seen outside in this world. We are all full of light. Our own soul, which I am talking about, the consciousness, is full of light. You see actual light at the level that you can’t even see with these eyes. A simple mechanical way of pulling your attention behind the eyes can create this kind of experience. The doors open up to all other levels.

What happens if you are steady enough to keep your attention behind the eyes and keep it there, sustain it there, what would happen? You would begin to find that you don’t know where your hands and feet are. I suggest a practice. If you go to a concert and in the concert there are many musical instruments playing. You hear the drums playing, the trumpets playing. Say, I like the drums. Put your attention on the drums. The drums become louder, the trumpets become weaker. They have not changed their pace nor volume. Your attention can pick up on anything and make that more aware in yourself and the other thing less aware. When you put your attention within yourself, the attention automatically is withdrawn from everything else, starting with the rest of the world. You forget it because your attention is here. You want to think about what is happening behind the eyes, not the rest of the world. You forget your worries. You forget your cares. You forget attachments. You are experimenting with withdrawal of attention to yourself.

Later on you will even begin to forget where your body is. The interesting part is that when you withdraw your attention in meditation behind the eyes, the withdrawal of awareness of the body is very gradual. You will notice the first part is you don’t know where your hands are, where your feet are. You don’t know … put your hands here. Your eyes are closed, attention is there. Are my hands here? I don’t know where they are. I don’t know where the feet are. Are they like this or like this? That is the first beginning, showing that your attention is being withdrawn inside. If you sustain that process, you forget the whole body where it is. And yet when you don’t know where your whole body is, you are fully aware of everything. You can see clearly, more clearly than you can see with these eyes. You can fly, walk around. You have left the body. You have a body similar to this one that is not bound by gravity, that is not bound by the limitations of this body, and yet you are the same self! It is the same self. It opens up just by becoming unaware of the outer cover of this physical body.

You can carry out this process again and again through every cover of yours, the physical body being the first cover. The second body is called sensory body, or astral body. It has all the sense perceptions of this body, in fact, more acutely working. You can withdraw attention even within that body and become unaware of that, and then the mind alone becomes your body. Then you find that the mind, the thinking mind, was not merely a thinking machine. It was actually a casing around you. It has no shape like this, yet within that you get experiences that you can never have in the physical body, the experience of how you became a physical body, the experience of what are the laws of cause and effect, the law of karma that makes your destinies in this body. You discover all that. It is all lying there.

Nobody is going to put it there. It is already there, you just have to discover it. You discover through your mind, through the universal mind, that all minds that we think of as people’s mind are proceeding from the same machine, the universal machine waiting there. You don’t stop there! Most of the teachers of spirituality in the world have stopped there or below that. There are very few teachers who will go beyond the mind because they do not distinguish between the mind and the soul. Those who go beyond the mind reach a perfection of spirit, and we call them Perfect Living Masters. The Perfect Living Masters say, “You have reached the end of your mental state, but you have not reached yourself. You are beyond the mind.”

Therefore, the causal body, which is your mind, withdrawing from that, when the mind is withdrawn and the thinking process is left aside, sitting separate from you, you discover your true self. You discover who you really are. You are pure consciousness, the ability to be conscious, the ability to be conscious and create with that ability, the power to create, all experiences of all levels…that is you. That is the real self. That is the soul. When you discover the soul, the next step is even better.

If you withdraw from individuality, the individuation of the soul, you discover there was only one soul, only one totality of consciousness from which all individuation took place within it, creating the whole drama that we call life. Such a beautiful experience. Great Master’s experience with me was so unique to lead me on to these kinds of things, and I feel that it is the greatest gift one can have to see the reality of all these things that are happening, to see how it happens, why it happens, why we are here, why our destinies are different, and why we have different kinds of lives.

[Sat1176]

Sitting here at work just focusing on slow nasal breathing and notice that both nostrils have opened up. Sushmana is active!The breathing feels so smooth and calming. It feels like such a natural time to just close my eyes and do gurmantar jaap, infact my eyes want to close by themselves. The breath seems to be going in very deep into both lungs and the feeling is very tranquil and cooling without any jerks. Its a damn shame I'm at work at this moment in time.

It is a beautiful sensation!!

Here some helpful tips:

Breath meditation

Sit on the chair or the floor with head, neck, and trunk in a straight line. Seated posture (asana) should be steady and comfortable in order to prevent you from shifting and adjusting the seated position. Perform Anuloma-Viloma (alternate nostril breathing). In the beginning breathing may be noisy but gradually as the nostrils open, the breathing should become soft and silent. Establish effortless quiet, slow, smooth and rhythmical breathing.

At this point you may begin mental nostril breathing, that is, without using your thumb and fingers to close and open the nostrils, you are shifting the flow of the breath from left to right nostril and vice-versa Now, bring your attention to the center of the eyebrows. Imagine and feel that your in-breath from the nostrils is going up to the center of the eyebrows and out-breath is starting from the center of the eyebrows and down and out from the nostrils.

Mentally observe and intend that your both nostrils are fully open and the breath is flowing equally from both nostrils. If one nostril feels blocked, less active or smaller than the other, mentally with a gentle will equalize them and direct the flow of breath equally from both nostrils. Observe the entire flow of in-breath and out-breath in the nose. Be aware of the tips of the nostrils and the outer walls of the nose and the inside walls of the nostrils as you breathe. Bring your attention to where the nostrils join the upper lip. Feel the in-coming and outgoing breath touching the upper lip and the edges of the nostril. This is the "breathing triangle," that is, in- coming breath is going up from the triangle base (the upper lip and nostrils juncture) and the outgoing breath initiated from the top of the triangle is going down and out touching the triangle base. . .

Now attend to the septum of the nose. Imagine as you inhale, the breath touches the inner walls of the septum and as you exhale, the breath touches the inner walls of the nostrils (another triangular breathing).

At this point, narrow your mental focus even more and become aware of the center of the tips of the septum where it joins the upper lip. Imagine there is a tiny hole at the tip of the nasal septum from where the in-breath and out-breath are entering and exiting.

You have now equalized your breath to the capacity you have at the present time. You are standing at the entrance of the Sushumna Nadi and breathing through it. According the Himalayan tradition, it is called, "Sushumana application"

My Guru Swami Rama of the Himalayan tradition taught us that "sushumna" is another name of "sukhmana" (sukha+mana) which literally means "happy and joyous mind."' Swami Rama said that with the application of Sushumna, you enter the state of a worry-free, happy and joyous mind.

Steady and comfortable seated posture, deep and silent breathing and the equalized flow of breath accompanied by joyous and peaceful state of mind (chitta prasadanam and mudita) you are set for a deep and prolonged meditation.

"Some offer prana (inhalation) into apana (exhalation)
Some offer apana (exhalation) into prana (inhalation).
By controlling the speed and course of prana and apana
They absorb themselves in pranayama" (Gita 4:29)

Prananyama can be the instrument for accessing pratyahara ("sensory withdrawal" the 5th stage, dharna (concentration, the 6th stage) meditation (dhyana, the 7th stage) or even absorption (Samadhi, the 8th stage). Such is the organic process of the 8-limb Yoga Tree.

Source : http://www.mindpub.com/art581.htm

Edited July 2, 2014 by Sat1176

[Sat1176]

Just re-read the following pangti's again.

Ang 953 - Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji

He alone is an Udasi, a shaven-headed renunciate, who embraces renunciation.

so udaasee je paalay udaas.

He sees the Immaculate Lord dwelling in both the upper and lower regions.

araDh uraDh karay niranjan vaas.

He balances the sun and the moon energies. (balance of inhale/exhale in both nostrils)

chand sooraj kee paa-ay gandh.

In the Tenth Gate, the sky of the mind, he erects his pillar. (Put all your surti in the head and stay seated on that pillar/position)

gagan mandal meh ropai thamm.

Night and day, he remains in deep inner meditation.

ahinis antar rahai Dhi-aan.

Throughout existence and non-existence, there is only the Name of the One Lord.

aasat naasat ayko naa-o.

What is that Word, which holds the heart in its place?

ka-un so akhar jit rahai hi-aa-o.

When you look alike upon sunshine and shade, (Sunshine and shade I believe are references to left and right eyes. therefore sit in the centre between them)

Dhoop chhaav jay sam kar sahai.

says Nanak, then the Guru will speak to you. (Shabad Guru/Naam will manifest)

taa naanak aakhai gur ko kahai.

That alone is said to be the Lord`s temple, where the Lord is known.

har mandar so-ee aakhee-ai jithahu har jaataa.

In the human body, the Guru`s Word is found, when one understands that the Lord, the Supreme Soul, is in all.

maanas dayh gur bachnee paa-i-aa sabh aatam raam pachhaataa.

Don`t look for Him outside your self. The Creator, the Architect of Destiny, is within the home of your own heart.

baahar mool na khojee-ai ghar maahi biDhaataa.

The self-willed manmukh does not appreciate the value of the Lord`s temple (i.e body); they waste away and lose their lives.

manmukh har mandar kee saar na jaannee tinee janam gavaataa.

The One Lord is pervading in all; through the Word of the Guru`s Shabad, He can be found.

sabh meh ik varatdaa gur sabdee paa-i-aa jaa-ee.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Sat1176

[Sat1176]

Some more enlightening pangtis from Kabir Ji emphasizing the shabad/naam on Ang 483

When the Diamond (i.e. sound) of the Lord pierces the diamond of my mind, the fickle mind waving in the wind is easily absorbed into Him.

heerai heeraa bayDh pavan man sehjay rahi-aa samaa-ee.

This Diamond fills all with Divine Light; through the True Guru`s Teachings, I have found Him.

sagal jot in heerai bayDhee satgur bachnee mai paa-ee.

The sermon of the Lord is the unstruck, endless song. (The true internal katha of Har that one should listen is the sounds of the anhad bani)

har kee kathaa anaahad baanee.

Becoming a swan, one recognizes the Diamond of the Lord. Pause

hans hu-ay heeraa lay-ay pachhaanee. rahaa-o.

Says Kabeer, I have seen such a Diamond, permeating and pervading the world.

kahi kabeer heeraa as daykhi-o jag mah rahaa samaa-ee.

The hidden diamond became visible, when the Guru revealed it to me.

guptaa heeraa pargat bha-i-o jab gur gam dee-aa dikhaa-ee.

[Truthseeker]

There will be a Simran Camp from October 3rd to 5th in Surrey and Abbotsford, British Columbia. Locations of Gurdwara's to be announced. I strongly suggest everyone to come and invite everyone they know. This is a very great opportunity to join the sangat from all over and remember God.

More information will be posted closer to the date: on http://mysimran.info/camps/

WJKK WJKF

Edited July 19, 2014 by Truthseeker

[Sat1176]

A bitter sweet slap from Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji on Ang 1353.

Why don`t you chant the Name of the Lord, you shameless fool?

ki-o na har ko naam layhi moorakh nilaaj ray.

Let devotional worship of the Lord enter into your heart, and abandon the intellectualism of your mind.

raam bhagat hee-ay aan chhaad day tai man ko maan.

O Servant Nanak, this is the way to live in the world.

naanak jan ih bakhaan jag meh biraaj ray.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Sat1176

[BhagatSingh]

I listen to that shabad all the time!

Beet jai beet jai

[Sat1176]

kabeer nirgun naam na ros.
Kabeer: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name of the Lord.

is parchaa-ay parach rahu ays.
Keep this mind of yours involved in this involvement.

ਧਾਵਤ ਮਨੁ ਰਾਖੈ ਇਕ ਠਾਇ ॥

Dhaavat man raakhai ik thaa-ay.
Keep your wandering mind restrained in one place.
ਮਨੁ ਤਨੁ ਸੁਧੁ ਜਪਤ ਹਿਰ ਨਾਇ ॥
man tan suDh japat har naa-ay.
Your mind and body shall become pure, chanting the Lord's Name.

Shalok, Fourth Mehl:
mai man tan khoj khojaydi-aa so parabh laDhaa lorh.
Searching and examining my mind and body, I have found that God, whom I longed for.

visat guroo mai paa-i-aa jin har parabh ditaa jorh.
I have found the Guru, the Divine Intermediary, who has united me with the Lord God.

Aasaa, Sixth House, First Mehl:
man motee jay gahnaa hovai pa-un hovai soot Dhaaree.
If the pearl of the mind is strung like a jewel on the thread of the breath,
khimaa seegaar kaaman tan pahirai raavai laal pi-aaree.
and the soul-bride adorns her body with compassion, then the Beloved Lord will enjoy His lovely bride.

man tan antar tujhai Dhi-aa-eeN.
Deep within my mind and body, I meditate on You.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Sat1176

[Sat1176]

Sitting here at work just focusing on slow nasal breathing and notice that both nostrils have opened up. Sushmana is active!The breathing feels so smooth and calming. It feels like such a natural time to just close my eyes and do gurmantar jaap, infact my eyes want to close by themselves. The breath seems to be going in very deep into both lungs and the feeling is very tranquil and cooling without any jerks. Its a damn shame I'm at work at this moment in time.

It is a beautiful sensation!!

For the past couple of days the air is flowing through both my nostrils much more frequently and for longer periods of time. It is a very cold sensation and you can literally feel the air passing up through the nostrils and between the eyes and up between the eyebrows and into the forehead. When I close my eyes to do simran it does feel as if I'm able to jap from deeper within my own consciousness. But the cooling sensation felt at the trikuti region is quite distracting at the moment. I find my dhyaan constantly shifting to this location rather than being able to focus on the jap within. When I just relax I can feel a pulling sensation. Very strange in deed.

[Ragmaala]

Some random search quotes:

ਸੇਜ ਸੁਖਾਲੀ ਸੀਤਲੁ ਪਵਣਾ ਸਹਜ ਕੇਲ ਰੰਗ ਕਰਣਾ ਜੀਉ ॥੩॥

ਛਾਤੀ ਸੀਤਲ ਮਨੁ ਸੁਖੀ ਛੰਤ ਗੋਬਿਦ ਗੁਨ ਗਾਇ ॥

ਮੁਦ੍ਰਾ ਮਦਕ ਸਹਜ ਧੁਨਿ ਲਾਗੀ ਸੁਖਮਨ ਪੋਚਨਹਾਰੀ ਰੇ ॥੨॥

Muḏrā maḏak sahj ḏẖun lāgī sukẖman pocẖanhārī re. ||2||
My mudra - my hand-gesture, is the pipe; tuning into the celestial sound current within, the Shushmanaa - the central spinal channel, is my cooling pad. ||2||

Edited July 23, 2014 by Ragmaala

[Sat1176]

Some random search quotes:

ਸੇਜ ਸੁਖਾਲੀ ਸੀਤਲੁ ਪਵਣਾ ਸਹਜ ਕੇਲ ਰੰਗ ਕਰਣਾ ਜੀਉ ॥੩॥

sayj sukhaalee seetal pavnaa sahj kayl rang karnaa jee-o. ||3||

cozy beds, cooling breezes, peaceful joy and the experience of pleasure. ||3||

ਛਾਤੀ ਸੀਤਲ ਮਨੁ ਸੁਖੀ ਛੰਤ ਗੋਬਿਦ ਗੁਨ ਗਾਇ ॥

chhaatee seetal man sukhee chhant gobid gun gaa-ay.

The heart is cooled and soothed, and the mind is at peace, chanting and singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord of the Universe.

ਭਵਨ ਚਤੁਰ ਦਸ ਭਾਠੀ ਕੀਨੀ ਬਰ੍ਹਮ ਅਗਿਨ ਤਿਨ ਜਾਰੀ ਰੇ ॥

bhavan chatur das bhaathee keenHee barahm agan tan jaaree ray.

I have made the fourteen worlds the furnace, and I have burnt my body with the fire of God.

The line before might be translated wrong because the manipur chakra is said to have 10 petals.

"Bhatee" means Bellows - 1.a device with an air bag that emits a stream of air when squeezed together.

2. an object or device with concertinaed sides to allow it to expand and contract, such as a tube joining a lens to a camera body.

Therefore I'm concluding slight pump of the navel is said to invoke Barahm agan.

bhavan chatur das bhaathee keenHee barahm agan tan jaaree ray.

furnace 4 10 bellows action god fire body burned

Chatur could also be a pointer to lower mooladhar chakar which is said to have 4 petals.

ਮੁਦ੍ਰਾ ਮਦਕ ਸਹਜ ਧੁਨਿ ਲਾਗੀ ਸੁਖਮਨ ਪੋਚਨਹਾਰੀ ਰੇ ॥੨॥

Muḏrā maḏak sahj ḏẖun lāgī sukẖman pocẖanhārī re. ||2||

My mudra - my hand-gesture, is the pipe; tuning into the celestial sound current within, the Shushmanaa - the central spinal channel, is my cooling pad. ||2||

Sorry my gurmukhi is terrible. Had to look the quotes up. I actually read somewhere the trikuti area is known as the spiritual heart centre.

Only thing missing now is the sahj dhun!

Edited July 23, 2014 by Sat1176

[Lucky]

For the past couple of days the air is flowing through both my nostrils much more frequently and for longer periods of time. It is a very cold sensation and you can literally feel the air passing up through the nostrils and between the eyes and up between the eyebrows and into the forehead. When I close my eyes to do simran it does feel as if I'm able to jap from deeper within my own consciousness.

Yep, I know what you're saying .....

Do you also find that the naad sounds deeper and louder ?