That is completely false. One doesn’t make spiritual progress by thinking about it a lot during one’s day. Spiritual progress comes from spiritual practice, and I have practically begged Piruz not to cease his practice.
One of the basic tenets of AYP is to commit diligently to practice for however many daily minutes it occupies, but to otherwise relish and enjoy the world. Keeping one’s attention planted on spirituality doesn’t help, isn’t recommended, and leads to overload. It’s a very bad idea, and I can personally attest to this.
The practitioners of AYP, its founder, and I, myself, would very strongly object to the notion that we are “caught up again”, or that we’ve “stopped” our spiritual practice by choosing not to tenaciously lock our everyday attention on that stuff. Quite the contrary, following this formula - practice like clockwork and otherwise relish the world - is, many of us have observed, the fastest possible route.
Jim I don’t think Jonesboy meant to advise me to cease all spiritual activity. He only meant to say that if (if, yeah?) my only aim was to stop the firework experiences, a mindset he advised me against, then the easiest way to do that would be to cease the practice.
Now back to grounding.
Jim did you yourself not encourage asymmetrical attention in your thread to deal with left/right side energy problems? Is this not deliberate (and yet advisable) tampering with energy? Well in my case I don’t even use attention but instead sleep on the opposite side of where the energy is concentrated, and that usually solves the problem for me and I feel a lot more balance. This is another example of how an understanding of the way energy moves in your body can help you ground it. It’s not (and I stress, 'tis not) just about controlling energy flow through attention but finding ways to work around it (by doing or avoiding very simple things, stuff we can do or not do in our everyday lives), but that still requires a rudimentary understanding of the dynamics.
The acquisition of knowledge does not always require you to tamper with (i.e pay attention to) energy. It can lead to the exact opposite. I am almost certain that an understanding of the dynamics will actually help me reverse the habit of needlessly paying attention to energy flows.
Oh, and like I said before, your thread about grounding (the long one) speaks of energy moving from the head (Muladhara?) down to the stomach (where it meets blockages). From that point on you begin to explain the various grounding techniques. But the way you describe the movement of energy sounds a but foreign to what I’ve been feeling ever since my Kundalini erupted (if it’s Kundalini anyway). My problem is energy traveling upwards (even though you say energy at the stomach travels downwards, I can always feel, even when I’m not paying attention, the energy makings its way upwards, and never downwards, like the head is its natural destination). It usually starts at the groinal area and keeps on moving until it reaches the chest and then finally (though mysteriously) makes its way to the back (spine) where the famed Kundalini electric shock finally occurs as a result of energy buildup (or release?). Sometimes the passage of energy across the Chakras is smooth, sometimes not.
Now I’m not sure if this makes a difference to the general theme outlined, but something tells me a difference in dynamics dictates a change in grounding techniques.
That is, of course, unless you think the SAME grounding technique will work for ALL blockages in EVERY part of the body!
Also (and please bare with my I know how annoying I can be) how would you like me to get back to my practice? Lotus position? I’m told lotus position isn’t good for grounding. Lotus is how I’ve been meditating for years, and I’ve been practicing 4 days a week one hour a day.
Ahh, now that is your problem.
Lotus can be powerful so no.
1 hour a day is a long time.
Cut back to 15/20 minutes a day, just sit cross legged in bed. Once things smooth out, do that twice a day.
If one isn’t having issues, you should be doing your practice all the time. Meditation and life are one and the same… at least eventually it get’s there. It is a mistake to only do your practice on the mat. Life is where it matters the most.
Overloads are caused by too much energy and not enough silence to let the energy flow and work on the issues. The energy hits your obstructions which causes mental upsets.
Is the Witness a mat practice or an all the time realization? Is the Witness the end state or just the first stage of silence in daily life?
Absolutely one should take practices off of the mat and into daily life. They make life better!
If you think that all you have to do is meditate twice a day for 30 minutes and you are going to achieve enlightenment… you are mistaken.
I said no such thing. I was telling him that if he wanted to stop all spiritual progress and go back to the way life was… get caught up in your wants and desires… it is a sure fire way of doing it.
Piruz,
We are in a forum for a system of spiritual practice called AYP. I thought you knew this, but apparently not.
I’d suggest you practice AYP, which has been found by me and thousands to be quite effective, and provides a more tested and proven basis than can be gleaned by asking some random dude on the Internet (though, if you ask ANYTHING on the internet, weightily confident people will arrive to advise…and I’d urge skepticism, generally).
AYP offers endless repetition of its explanation of the concept of “self-pacing”", which you critically need to hear. And it deals, in its way, with energy flows, and explains about meditation postures.
My suggestions - in that other thread as well as this one - were offered with the assumption that practitioners are already doing AYP and might need light “bandaids” (as I put it, above), to help them through grounding issues.
My statements, clarifications, and re-clarifications appear to just be sowing more and more confusion, which is the last thing I want, so I’ll stop here. I wish you all the best.
I believe you did experience exactly that. Did you not find extra space to drop issues when you were caught up? I can remember a few times when it helped with you.
Not in the long term. I'm not sure anything was really dropped. Do appreciate your willingness to help. P.S. Tom is not my guru.
Piruz,
The energy climbs up the “front-side” for me as well. It’s cool. It also “drains” down like a laundry chute which clears my head.
Take care,
Lori
Sorry if I upset you Jim. It’s just the agony I’m going through. Yes, I haven’t educated myself on the basics of AYP, but I will now. I honestly never meant to challenge what you were saying. Let’s forget this whole “theory vs. grounding” thing and focus on some specifics. An example of something which happened to me last night might help.
It was midnight and I was falling asleep on my stomach when all of a sudden I could feel an energy explosion at the groinal area. This usually hurts and is more dense, but this time it felt like a wall had been breached over there (the groinal area). Mind you I wasn’t “paying attention” to the energy flow or messing with it in any way. It was merely the sleeping position that triggered the firework (there’s a spontaneous, non-induced state between sleep and wakefulness where the energy flow is at its peak, and this is what makes trying to fall asleep a nightmare for me). The energy flow at the groinal area became more felt after the “explosion” so I immediately got up and went to sleep on my back because I knew the flow would otherwise become aggressive (overload).
This is what I meant by the dynamics of energy flow. Why is this happening when I’m sleeping on my stomach? Why is energy concentrated on the side I sleep on (without me even being aware of it much less tampering with it)? Does this Kundalini energy shoot up not just the back but the groinal area/stomach as well? And if so why is it (sometimes) possible for it to travel down to the upper thigh?
This is the sort of thing that’s making me crazy! I don’t know what this “energy” wants and where it’s natural destination is! I’m in the dark so help me out please.
How does it drain down and what does this draining down feel like and is it brought about by grounding and if it than which type exactly?
Ahh, now that is your problem.
Lotus can be powerful so no.
1 hour a day is a long time.
Cut back to 15/20 minutes a day, just sit cross legged in bed. Once things smooth out, do that twice a day.
You want me to do lotus position 15 minutes a day? Thought lotus was too strong? Also isn't the best meditation position supposed to be on a case-by-case basis? I mean surly someone with blockages in the back is not advised to practice the same way (or at the same pace as) someone with blockages at the front is supposed to, right? See this is what's making me crazy! I'm almost certain that a "holistic grounding solution" for all kinds (and regions) of blockages doesn't exist and it's why I'm dying to get some advise on my specific case.
No, Jonesboy is saying do not do lotus (feet atop of thighs with crossed legs) and simply sit cross-legged, feet off of thighs. You can also just sit upright in a chair without crossed legs. Jonesboy is saying only meditate for 15-20 minutes maximum, not an hour. Please read through the free AYP lessons (https://www.aypsite.org/10.html). There are over 400, and you will understand everything about silence and energy there, and how the interior mechanics work.
I believe you did experience exactly that. Did you not find extra space to drop issues when you were caught up? I can remember a few times when it helped with you.
Not in the long term. I'm not sure anything was really dropped. Do appreciate your willingness to help. P.S. Tom is not my guru.
Dropping obstructions is not always easy, fast or readily apparent. Sometimes it is just about easing things when someone is upset, helping to calm/silence the mind. No, I'm not your guru, just a friend who I hope you know is always here for you. Someone you can always hug if in need. :wink:
I am not the least bit upset, Piruz, and I would love to help. I’ve already tried very hard, via all my best stuff. None of it has landed. We’re actually going backwards.
You are looking for something, and your bhakti will not accept anything but that thing. This is the strong bhakti that brought you to this point. You will one day view it as a feature rather than a bug…while paradoxically detaching yourself from its vise-like obsessions.
That won’t happen by indulging fiery brash impulses; it will happen by immersing and dilating in the wordly world while maintaining a meditation practice like AYP. Restore balance via cool still silence rather than via hot fire. Cool the heavenly fire with worldly cool water. Watch Bugs Bunny. Learn French. Wait in line at Costco. All while committing to a good meditation practice (again, I suggest AYP).
That’s my advice, which I’ve now repeated to the point of obnoxiousness. For now, you are unable hear it (it’s not a character flaw; it’s inherent to your current imbalance). You want someone to say the thing that you want them to say, and lead you in the manner you want to be led. In your stated confusion, you maintain an unflappable conviction of precisely what you need. And it should be obvious by now that I’m not the guy for that. And when you get what you seek, my prediction is it will be the typical “be careful what you wish for” scenario.
But you’ll survive it. You’ll survive it all. And you’re always welcome to return and re-read my thoughts in this thread at a later time, when they may prove helpful. Good luck.
How does it drain down and what does this draining down feel like and is it brought about by grounding and if it than which type exactly?
I've dropped the idea of grounding. Remember? I understand what you are going through all to well. I'm not the person to listen to. You are welcome to throw my advice in the garbage. You seem to respond more to Jim. There's several of us in this thread. If I'm gonna give advice, explore what he is saying. You seem drawn towards that. Tai Chi would be super fun as well. Take Care, Lori
No, Jonesboy is saying do not do lotus (feet atop of thighs with crossed legs) and simply sit cross-legged, feet off of thighs. You can also just sit upright in a chair without crossed legs. Jonesboy is saying only meditate for 15-20 minutes maximum, not an hour. Please read through the free AYP lessons (https://www.aypsite.org/10.html). There are over 400, and you will understand everything about silence and energy there, and how the interior mechanics work.
Alright. I'm going to carefully read through the lessons, something which I should have done from the very start but was too agonized to see. I'm gonna take my time, too. Ill stop seeking ready-made answers for now, but that doesn't mean I won't come back with questions, hopefully more profound and original ones this time.
Taking your time in the lessons is key. Maybe follow along in AYP DM the first dozen lessons to see if AYP is a good fit. Even if you don’t go with DM, you learn how important surrender and patience is to the process. Education, discipline, and experience will get you to the knowing, your spiritual confidence will develop. Maybe approach your yoga with the playful heart of a child. Remember how fun play was? 
P.S. edit: Always come back with questions, better yet, updates and reports. We all can learn from other’s experience as much as our own. 
Update: I’ve been reading the lessons for a while now (I’m on lesson 63) and things seem to fall in place but I had a really nasty cold 4 days ago (one of the worst in my life) and therefore have not been able to exercise (grounding), so the energy fluctuations are again more severe. But it’s not the same. I don’t know what’s happening exactly, but when I woke up yesterday (and I only sleep after hours of torture trying to sleep) I really thought I was having a heart attack.
This is what happened. The left side of my body was tense, volatile (don’t know why the left side is always more problematic) and hot and the “energy” somehow made its way to my heart and stayed there. It’s like the vessels to (or in) my heart are tight (I swear to God it feels like thrombosis!). The left side of my back felt the same as well. This is pain and it’s not just irregular activity even though rapid heart palpitations do happen but it’s not the only thing that happens.
However, the moment I changed my sleeping position and slept on my right side, the energy distribution became more even and my heart as well as left side of my body was finally relieved. Crazy huh?
Is this the heart chakra finally opening up? Is the energy circuit finally about to be complete (I hear the heart chakra is a crucial connecting point)? Would it help if I went back to workout (grounding activities) after this period of sickness? I don’t want my heart to explode or for the energy to tear it apart! Is this even normal? Is it going to result in cardiac illnesses if left undressed?
Your input is again very much appreciated guys!