who chit

"Without thought I don't know what time is." Time is a concept,an idea,a thought,and doesn't actually exist except as a concept in the mind. Through direct experience,you just proved this to be a truth.

"there is even no now" Timelessness Good job.

Without referring to thought,only your direct experience, is this moment of Now timeless?

When is the next Now? Is Now in the past ? When does a thought,feeling,sensation or perception happen? In the future or past? If all experience happens in this moment of now,can there ever be any other existing time,than this moment of now? If this moment of now is an inevitable truth,and is what is,and can never be any other way,whether it is accepted or not,will it cease to exist?

It gets louder at 3:04,so watch the volume.

Nice .

A couple of important notes with regard to the "pdf". The document is extensive, and I've only been practicing the main Kriya, labeled FIRST LESSON:Technique of Kriya Pranayama as it was explained by Sri Mukherjee I have not began practicing the quite extensive "preparatory " techniques he discusses along with it. That is of course aside from the Nadi Shodana, Yoni Mudra Kambhaka, and Maha Mudra that is a natural part of doing Kriya. YMK and Maha Mudra are powerful,so it's best to proceed with caution. My practice (if interested) is: 1. 5-10 minute preliminary asana set. Two Maha Mudra's, as part of the set. 2.Nadi Shodana for 8-12 rounds. 3. Main technique of Kriya (described in PDF). Usually 15-20 minutes or so, or until "profound peace and stillness" or "the peace and the bliss originating from the practice of Kriya" manifests. 4. One YMK, after doing the main Kriya. 5.Awareness japa meditation for 25-40 minutes. The effortless awareness meditation is probably,and just imo, the best stand alone meditation technique I've practiced,outside of doing Kriya. After trying various meditation techniques for years,including mindfulness,breath and "object" based "hard" concentration techniques, It has been, from my experience, the most powerful stand alone meditation technique I've done. Kriya works on the "ecstatic energy/kudalini" as well as producing the stillness. The awareness japa meditation continues to carry one from that stillness, deep into different samahdi states, Kevalya samahdi being where awakening or "self realization" happens. Sahaja samahdi, is the permanent abiding of that self realized natural state. It needs to be said,at least in my experience,that the samahdi states don't necessarily happen only during meditation. I awakened, Kevalya samadhi, when I was wide awake. While grocery shopping no less, lol. I never quite understood the bible verse "the lord will come like a thief in the night" until this,then it was perfectly understood. And from talking to many others who have awakened/self realized, it came upon them suddenly as well. This is of course through doing months or even years of doing spiritual work ,and not the use of psychedelics. I've never tried psychedelics,so I'm not sure how effectively abiding, the awakening shift is on the nervous system.

My first couple of years of practice,I breathed from muladhara (root) to Kutastha (brow),visualizing a small thread within the spine,with no special attention or visualizing the chakras. They were considered "under the hood" and too much visualizing took attention off of the main practice,which was simply following the path from root to brow and back down. This worked fine,but I found it caused "energetic overload" when combined with mantra meditation. Later I adopted placing "Om" at the chakra locations along the spine. 1.6 going up the spine. Starting "Om" at the root (muladhara), and placing the last "Om" at the end of inhalation on Kutastha (third eye), pausing for a couple of seconds."Om" again at Kutastha 2.then back down with last "Om" at the root,pausing a couple of seconds, and starting from step 1. 3. Then repeat this for 10-15 minutes. I never visualized the chakra's, just the location on the spine. Each chakra get's "Om" twice. This too worked,and with less overload. The spinal route, from root to brow, was also easier to follow with this method. IMO, too much visualizing causes a problem,distracting from the main practice. The chakras, and the spinal nerve (sushumna), will become more noticeable on their own with time and practice. However after finding a new, and imo , better method a couple of months ago, I found it just as, if not more effective, than all the previous ones I listed above. And much less complicated. It also verified my opinion (through experimenting with different methods), that excess visualizing isn't necessary. What's "under the hood" takes care of itself. If you're interested in taking a look, I'll paste the link below (in pdf format). Through practicing Kriya a couple of years now,I can verify that this method does work just as well, and imo, much less complicated. http://www.kriyayogainfo.net/files/English III.pdf

InfinitePotential:like a yawn, only you breathe through the nose This is correct. If you notice when doing the "yawn" like maneuver as normal,with an open mouth, the belly expands first and then up into the chest,but in practice is one fluid motion. It's the same maneuver when breathing through the nose.

Your understanding is correct. Expand the belly to fullness first,then carry it on up high into the chest. It can be done in two motions,but in practice it is done as one fluid motion. You are also correct on the out breath. There shouldn't be a forcing or pushing the out breath on exhale. There should be a relaxing of the diaphragm and a "letting out" of the breath naturally until the last bit to push the rest out using the abs/diaphragm. The slight constriction of the epiglottis on the out breath will naturally slow the exhalation on it's own.

Work your way up to the 10-15 sec.. If 7 sec. is all you can get right now, comfortably, then stick with that. On inhale,breathe and expand into the belly first (diaphragmatic breathing),then up into the chest. This is a full yogic breath. Longer inhale and exhale will come with practice. Relax the epiglottis just a bit on the exhale for a smoother,relaxed exhalation. Work on relaxing the abdomen when inhaling and exhaling. The only time there should be abdominal tension is on the emptying of the breath at the end of the exhale. Relax the tension again upon inhale. All this will come with practice. You're learning a new way of breathing,so some tension and clunkiness are normal in the beginning. With time,you will relax into it more and the process will gradually get smoother and more refined. The best advice right now is not to strain so much. Relax more and make it an enjoyable process. For the asana,use a small cushion or something similar to elevate the hips a bit. This should fix the circulation problem. Also consider looking into a couple of yoga "hip openers", to relax and open the hips a bit.

That was prayers original purpose. Not asking for more things from an imaginary deity,in an imaginary heaven. Doesn't matter what name or image any religion has given to "god",but the name or form is a subtle vibration,focused on in the mind as mantra or image, that brings one into absorption with that vibration,thus becoming one with "god" which is yourSelf. In both cases whether it's mantra or image,the end result (absorption) is pure silence in stillness,absent of all form.

Yes,this is what awakening is. A realization of the full nature of reality. The mistake many make is believing they are enlightened after awakening. They experienced the truth and think they are done. I can't remember who said it but the quote "if it ain't abiding,it ain't done" is true . Which means if there is not a permanent abiding of that awakened state,there's still work to be done. This is the case for the majority of those who awaken to the truth. They've realized the true nature of reality,experienced their true nature of being pure consciousness and/or pure formless awareness, but have more work to do to make it a permanent state. The work is the clearing of remaining karmic obstructions,and varies according to the individual. In that sense,it could take a few more years to make it a permanent state. The order is such that a person goes from accepting the possibility and begins seeking. Eventually they awaken/realize the truth and from there, integrate to the permanent state. At least that's my experience of it.

Yes . And It's possible for anyone willing to do the work. A casual or simple curiosity won't do it. If the desire is such that you can't leave this life without knowing it,then nothing will stop you from realizing it. And it doesn't have to take 1000 hours or many years.

Divine love can never be described. I'm happy for ya bro

There's the karmic answer,meaning you've done previous work/deeds before this lifetime to have a speedy progression. There's the collective answer,meaning on a global scale,more human beings are awakening, which have an overall "domino" affect on the awakening of more individuals. The internet has played a huge roll in this. Enlightened masters,gurus,teachers,their methods,practices and teachings are only a mouse click away. The biological answer would be that you were gifted with a nervous system capable of handling the energetic component of spiritual practices more smoothly. The less obstructions in the spine and nervous system,the easier it will be for the energy to do it's work. There are enlightened people who've never even thought about spirituality. It just happened. This consciousness,divine intelligence,god,being etc., has it's own way and all of this is speculation. Just be grateful for what it has given you. Spiritually,it is called grace. Just being born a human and having the desire to know it is grace. If suffering leads one to realization, or the pursuit of it,it is fierce grace.

And what Nahm said. I think we posted at the same time,lol . Synchronicity?

Can't kill something that does not really exist,i.e,ego. From the level of your current perception,ego seems be an existent entity. It is only a thought/concept that you believe to be you.It is the 'personal I" of the body-mind that you refer to as "me/my identity". The belief that "I am the body-mind" is false perception. You are aware of thoughts/thinking,and you are aware of a body with senses,emotions etc., So how can you be either if you are separately aware of them. Something subjectively experienced and believed to be "me", is true/real to the experiencer, and the reason why "death" of the false "I" feels like you are really going to die. It's not bullshit to the believer. If one experiences, even briefly,that what they believed to be true is actually just an imaginary play going on in the mind, it throws a wrench in the whole "I'm going to die" drama.

As Prabhaker stated,the journey is not all bliss and happiness. Awakening,ime,was the fun part. Awakening is the real beginning of the journey. You get a real experiential dose of Truth,anywhere from a few minutes, to a few hours,even a few days. Divine love,Oneness,experience/realization that "I Am That", to quote Nisargadatta Maharaj. This lights the spiritual fire ( bhakti) to pursue the path to the end. Once Truth has been seen ,it can't be unseen, nor forgotten, and no rest will be had until one has returned to his/her original nature. A lot of spiritual teachers,guru's etc., talk about the bliss and ecstasy of enlightenment,but disregard or "forget" to mention the turbulent fight to get there. It's not good marketing,lol.

Why are you interested in practicing Kriya? This should be addressed first. If it is for siddhis or experiences or to be more "special" than others then you're doing it for the wrong reasons. Most likely, if it doesn't give you what you want ,you'll quit anyway. Experiences won't last forever,they come and go, and you'll just end up where you are now. Kriya is a spiritual practice to help you realize what you and reality,truly are.That is it's purpose. Be careful not to treat it as some new toy or hobby for the ego to play with and throw away when it get's bored or feels it's not getting what it wants.

I would suggest cutting back on the 30-40 minute concentration, to around 20 min. There is such a thing as energetic overload,and having never engaged in energy practices,you're waking up a powerful energy that needs to be respected. I did the same thing when I first began doing Kriya 2 years ago. You get these powerful experiences and it is quite amazing what this energy is capable of. But if it's not respected it will lead to some pretty severe physical and mental symptoms like moderate to severe headaches,nausea,mood fluctuations,insomnia,"head pressure" which is hard to describe,but suffice it to say,it's not something you'll want to have to deal with,rises in body temperature which can feel like an inner sunburn. If you start to experience any of these or other uncommon negative symptoms,cut back on the number of practices,and/or, their duration, until you stabilize again. I haven't looked at the book,but if you're doing kumbhaka (breath retention) and bandhas(body locks),these are really powerful kundalini stimulators and should be used with care. Pace yourself,don't overdue the practices,and they will benefit your life in wonderful ways.

"Faster" will be determined by how dedicated and determined you are to want to realize Truth. For me it was do or die,nothing less. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Kriya and meditation go hand in hand,but if you have to choose one over the other, proper meditation would be the practice to go with. Besides stimulating the kundalini, Kriya silences and prepares the mind for meditation. Kriya without meditating afterward can also cause an imbalance in the energy (kundalini),producing unwanted symptoms of energetic overload. Not fun. So,to answer your question,doing both is the "fast track" to awakening. After a few months of steady,daily practice, start throwing in some self inquiry, and well...strap in cause it's just a matter of time.

Consciousness is always conscious and never unconscious. Pure, objectless,formless consciousness,the One reality,is all there is. The beginning of ignorance or unconsciousness,is when we mistakenly believe we are the objective "personal I" thought/idea, and forget our true original nature. The "I" thought is the first most subtle object of perception to appear in consciousness,and from which all other thoughts and objects of perception manifest. Consciousness is conscious. There is no "I" that is conscious. Proper Self inquiry leads to this realization. "I" is a thought appearing in, and perceived by, the pure reality that is prior to all manifestation. Who/what is conscious? The mind thought, "I am", may arise. To which you question "who/what am I". The I thought will disappear,proving it to be an illusion. Thus revealing the one pure reality..Consciousness, that is prior to "I-ness",objects or otherness. Nothing exists without the knowing of it,therefore consciousness is the knower and known. Not 2 but One. It's the same thing when J.Krishnamurti said "the observer is the observed".