Yo-yo meditation

23. Other Systems and Alternate Approaches
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In playfulness, we can try this for fun:

Taking the crown chakra as the highest

And the root as the lowest

In as vibrations

We descend

From crown to root

Slowly, pausing at third eye

Ah! Spiritual vision, intuition enabled

Never mind if unity consciousness is lost

Next, the throat chakra, the ethereal connector

Hmm, vanity of our communication skills

Let us be spoilt here by the applause

Down to the heart toroidal

Unifying all opposites

Within its womb

We’re home

Lower yet we go

Navel, power and fear

We wish to dominate earth

Trouncing opposition by brute force

Down further, the sacral stirs dark lust

Our primate, feral instincts overpower soul

Cocooned below at the root, in pursuit of wealth

Then the ascent to crown, back the way we came

Renouncing each lower vibration step by step

There is no glue because this is a game

A yo-yo meditation if you will for fun

Descent and ascent sans judgment

Because we are not this form

But since we are now here

Let us learn as we burn

Moment by moment

Enjoy!

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Hi Unseeking Seeker,

You may find this lesson useful on the dangers of using practices that involve the crown chakra, too early on the spiritual path. I am mentioning this as we have thousands of readers of this forum, all at different stages of spiritual awakening, so it is good if everyone is informed:

And this one on managing a crown opening in a safe way when the time is right, and sufficient preporatory work has been done beforehand.

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Hi Unseeking seeker

In ayp we don’t play with any chakra…and definitely not the crown

The energy aspect happens under the hood with the basic ayp practices

So it is not a fun thing cause suggestions like the one you are saying will definitely lead to irreparable damages

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The difficulty arises when we consider kundalini as something other than us. In a way it is, if we take our self to be the ego, an identity concerned with body-mind only and the illusionary personality image we have built.

I’ve never had a problem with kundalini, possibly because I allow the currents to carry me and do not interfere. I do no practice at all. There is nothing to attain, only to become. Yet, if my poem is thought to be dangerous based on AYP practice, then please delete it, no problem. I respect the AYP system, even though I don’t know what it is.

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Hi UnseekingSeeker,

While everyone has the capacity for unfolding the enlightened condition, the matrix of obstructions (karmic impurities) in each of us is unique. So however inner unfoldment is occurring, it will be be via a purification and opening process related to each individual’s inner condition. Therefore, while there are various verifiable approaches (or non-approaches) to human spiritual transformation, pacing and grounding on any path are very important. In AYP we go to great lengths to address the many situations that can arise as each person approaches the process of their awakening.

In your case, the purification process seems to be advanced so you don’t have to do much, but that does not mean that practices you “play with” bringing joyful effects will do the same for everyone else. When it comes to focusing on the crown, for those who are not advanced in whole body purification and opening, the results of a premature crown opening can be quite severe. So we are careful with that in AYP, having a long history of horror stories we have been made aware of, coming primarily from other systems, where premature crown practices have often been the culprit. With prudent application of practices, we have managed to avoid most of those problems in the AYP community. That is why you are seeing push back in this topic.

A famous case of premature crown opening is the Gopi Krishna story. Stories like this one have been repeated many times by the ill-advised.

All of which is to say, enlightenment and sharing it with others, is not about our own awakened condition. It is about what it takes to provide means and support for everyone to travel their path to awakening with good progress and safety. It is not as simple as “do what I do,” “try playing with this,” or even promoting “non-seeking.” It is about offering useful tools with reliable causes and effects that anyone can use according to their bhakti (spiritual desire) for good progress, without risking damage or unnecessary delays on their path.

Tristan offered a couple of useful lessons above. You might also take a look at this one on “the art of doing nothing,” and “the forgetful mountain climber” who forgot how he got to the top of the mountain and believes there is nothing to do to get there - not particularly helpful for the folks down in the valley, or those stuck somewhere on the slope.

So it isn’t about where you are. It is about where everyone else is. We are obliged to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. That is what enlightenment is about - doing for others. I am sure you understand and will proceed accordingly. Thanks for sharing!

The guru is in you.

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Hi UnseekingSeeker,

If you click on the “Lessons” link in the banner on the top of the homepage of this public forum, it will take you to a page with around 400 free lessons that describe the Advanced Yoga Practices (AYP) system. They are a worthwhile read for anyone who is on the spiritual path, or not on the spiritual path.

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Thanks, Tristan. I’ll try to go through some the lessons, as you suggest, as also some of your YouTube videos. I do not follow any practice however, no matter how intriguing. For example, if we look at Kashmir Shaivism, all to do with energy work, it seems alluring at first but then we get caught in rituals and procedures. So I’ve read Swami Lakshmanjoo’s books and have tried to correlate what he said with my direct experiences, I’ve even written poems on them, for instance the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, what with 112 meditations and the Kundalini Vijnana Rahasyam, which demonstrates the esoteric depth of what we think we know about kundalini but that said, the actual, direct experience must be uniquely ours, which is enabled by grace, in silence.

Each flower blossoms slowly, petal by petal, magically by the power of God. The impediment to progress is the resistance we offer by doership. Such is my conviction.

We all encounter, what is called the dark night of the soul, being the plateau of frustration when we seem to make no progress. This occurs repeatedly. So we struggle and strive, whereas if we are still, we may simply view the phase as inner work in progress, something like latent heat, where both ice and water are at zero degree temperature but one is solid and the other liquid.

Ego compares. Suppose you say that you have a this or that siddhi and I do not and I say that my body is suffused with bliss in permanence and you admit that you do not, then the ego in each entity seeks what it does not possess. However, the truth is that it is one singular indivisible homogeneous field of consciousness and the ego, the seeker who seeks is illusionary.

On another forum today we were discussing the need of discussion if there is nothing to be done! Yet of course, it serves a purpose to satisfy the curiosity of lower mind and to steady our resolve to remain in silence, beholding our metamorphosis in astonishment and wonderment.

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Thank you for your wise counsel, yogani.

I do not claim to be an expert in kundalini and yet since the process unfolded for me without volition in slow motion and to a reasonably advanced stage, what I do is simply share my knowledge which is not academic but rather based on direct experience.

First of all, I discourage people from tinkering with the kundalini and am against any form of practice, other than resting in silence. If kundalini is meant to awaken, it will, otherwise let it be. The aim is God-realisation and we should maintain focus on that.

About this poem, yo-yo meditation, what is it exactly? It is simply a visualisation of descent and ascent through vibrations, just as we have the Gunas ~ Satva, Rajas and Tamas.

Keeping chakras aside for a moment, let us say we know nothing about kundalini and chakras, first visualising a domain of agape love and divine light, we are in singularity, wherefrom we imagine that our undifferentiated awareness becomes polarised and we dip down a wee bit with spiritual vision and intuition but in duality. Lower is creativity and expression, our communication skills and artistic attribute. All doership. This doership rests in the heart, the seat of Self or God.

Energetically this represents the downward pointing triangle of the Star of David.

Reciprocally, there is ascent of animal nature corresponding to the material, lustful and power centric aspirations we nurture. This is the upward triangle which again rests in the heart.

The idea behind the visualisation is to embrace and release, that is, without clinging to any offering. This is liberating.

About the crown chakra, what is there to fear? There is a knot, the fontanel is sealed and we cannot go beyond unless we so choose. Likewise for the medulla. Only on piercing the knot do we go higher to the Bindu point. There are chakras beyond the crown but that is another topic altogether.

I appreciate your concerns, I really do but what is there to say, when I’m openly saying do nothing and remain in silence and stillness?

In fact, I stumbled on this site (and I am glad I did) by accident and initially only commented on what I felt was an inappropriate practice, attempting to awaken kundalini through sexual practice. It is not that I’m a prude but I just wanted all readers to know that if we look at the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra for example, only 2 out of the 112 practices relate to sex. When we cannot even control our thoughts and emotions, it would be hazardous in my opinion to employ sexual methods, involving energy exchange and deludedly thinking that we are in a state of surrender as we try to raise the kundalini chakra by chakra.

I do agree that premature awakening of kundalini activates trauma because of blockages in the system. This is why the kundalini must be allowed to rise spontaneously only. I’m against Shaktipat too but then if we look around, it seems to be in vogue. Unfortunate.

Talking about the crown chakra, here is a link to a short video by Swami Harihirananda ~ https://youtu.be/TzfRI0KGuNg?si=T_2cC9oB4Zl5Vmvc

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Hi Unseeking Seeker,

The danger of opening the crown too early is not only about bringing awareness above the crown too early. Even bringing the attention to the crown itself can awaken it prematurely, causing large amounts of prana to rise up through the body, often resulting in painful symptoms. People can end up unable to walk for weeks, or even months. So, it is a serious thing, and cautions should be put in place. You may not have found it to be an issue personally, but many others have, and we need to give cautions based on what most people may experience. Yo-yoing between the root and crown is not “doing nothing and remaining in stillness and silence”.

In fact, I stumbled on this site (and I am glad I did) by accident and initially only commented on what I felt was an inappropriate practice, attempting to awaken kundalini through sexual practice. It is not that I’m a prude but I just wanted all readers to know that if we look at the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra for example, only 2 out of the 112 practices relate to sex. When we cannot even control our thoughts and emotions, it would be hazardous in my opinion to employ sexual methods, involving energy exchange and deludedly thinking that we are in a state of surrender as we try to raise the kundalini chakra by chakra.

The Vijnana Bhairava Tantra is an interesting text, but it is only one text amongst thousands on yoga. And the texts are only a drop in the ocean compared to all of the teachings on yoga, if oral teachings are included. And even all of the oral teachings and the texts combined are nothing compared to the totality of experience of all the yogis in the world. So, it is good not to get too hung up on spiritual texts.

When it comes to Tantric sexual practice it is advised to have a regular meditation practice in place first. This is in order to cultivate inner silence, which provides a strong foundation for anything that can happen energetically due to engaging in Tantric sexual practices. Meditation cultivates equantimity and peace, and provides a stable platform within which the energetic aspect of spiritual awakening (a.k.a. kundalini) can take place when the time is right. Spinal Breathing Pranayama purifies the central energetic channel in the boy, the sushumna nadi, preparing the body for an energetic awakening to happen in a safe and stable way. But, nothing should be forced at any stage. Tantric sexual practices simply prepare the body for an energetic awakening. The awakening itself will only happen when the time is right, and the subtle body is ready.

There is more information on the sexual aspects of spiritual practice in the Tantra Lessons on this site.

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Let us agree to disagree on this then, Tristan. Your practices have apparently worked for you and my non-practices, for me.

The basic point of difference is doership in as engaging in a practice (any type), setting goals, hoping for imagined outcomes, all of which reinforce ego instead of dissolving it.

There’s no problem. I’m not here to push any view, except to suggest we drop all views.

Why, on another forum I’m active on, we cannot even get members to agree on what meditation is!

Peace.

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Hi again UnseekingSeeker,

You will get no argument from anyone here about the importance of residing in stillness on the path and in life. However, not everyone’s stillness is equal, at least not starting out, due to those inner obstructions mentioned. Therefore, the first priority in AYP is the cultivation of stillness, what we call “abiding inner silence” or the “witness,” also known as SatChitAnanda (pure bliss consciousness). Once established and cultivated in deep meditation, it stays, and we come to identify it, the witness, as our true Self. From there, many advancements are possible that reduce the suffering of misidentification with objects of perception, improve the quality of ordinary life, and our ability to help others. That last thing is the end game, stillness in action and the outpouring of divine love.

What you are promoting could be called mindfulness, or a process of presence. Nothing wrong with that, certainly not in your case, because you have strong witness already. But that approach provides limited help for others to cultivate the witness. It is like telling a young bird to fly from a high tree before its wings are fully developed. The wings must be developed before the bird can fly. Before awakening, the witness must be cultivated, or premature flying will not be going far, and be a hazard at worst. This is the plight of neo-advaita approaches, asking people to reside in a witness yet to be developed, with residing in what is not there being one of the slowest means of stillness cultivation. In AYP we attend to that first with deep meditation. All the rest comes once abiding inner silence is present, as you well know.

So we are not far apart on that, except perhaps you assume everyone has the same abiding inner silence you do, the same ability to fly that you do. It is simply not true. That is a fundamental difference. In AYP we first cultivate the essential abiding inner silence, the witness. Then all the rest comes.

It looks like you are flying on good wings. Where will those wings take you?

All the best!

The guru is in you.

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PS: And let us not forget that non-doing is a doing. Whatever we choose or unchoose is a doing. Can’t get away from that in this life. So let us choose what we are doing or undoing wisely, with the best long term result. Nonduality is not separate from duality. Once awakened, they are one and the same. It is the paradox and mystery of this life. And it is perfectly ok, in stillness.

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Time dissolved peace :slightly_smiling_face: