pointessa

Maha Mudra is not simply a body stretch. At least not in the Kriya Yoga realm. It is one of the cornerstones of the practice. I am not sure where you got this idea.

@Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj I don't want you to think that I am minimizing the abuse you may have suffered as a child, but what is reporting them to the police as an adult while you are still living with them going to do for you? I suspect they will no longer allow you to stay there once you do that. Do you have a place to stay after you report them? Are they still abusing you? Maybe a better plan would be to focus on moving out of there and making plans to support yourself now that you are feeling better. May I suggest that you write these issues down and then try to organize them in order of priority before you take action? Reporting your parents is going to have immediate and long term results, that will start right away. You need to be prepared to deal with this.

One of the wonderful things about Kriya is that it does not come with a specific ideology. Don't get me wrong, if you want to get the best benefits from it one must be willing to be transformed and live in a cooperative state with your surroundings. What is it that is so powerful about it? I don't honestly know, but what I do know is that it is powerful and transforming. The concept of the practice is channeling prana towards the upper chakras. Never underestimate the wisdom of the ages.

Pat, I hope you will share your Iboga experience with us.

Gabriel, try to remember that most people are concerned primarily with themselves. In actuality they spend very little time thinking about you or anyone else. On the other hand, you are always with yourself. Letting go of the need to control others opinion of you will be of great benefit.

I am able to touch my toes but I do have intermittent back pain so I devised a way that always allows me to do it, even with back pain. I have a chair that I sit in and a foot stool that is a little bit lower than the chair. This allows for the legs to be a bit lower and eases the stretch. It actually strengthens the Maha Mudra because I am able to perform it meticulously, so I know it is effective. This makes it so much easier to do the bend and touch the toes. I think this would work really well for those that lack flexibility and those that may be a bit on the heavier or heftier side. If you don't have a foot stool or ottoman, you can just find something to rest your foot/feet on that is a bit lower than the chair you are using. I strongly suggest anyone having difficulty with the bending try it this way. Maha Mudra is so important that we want to do it to get the best effect.. give it a try. Let me know if you have any further questions. By the way you will slowly increase your flexibility with this modification. You could also do Gentle Yoga to increase flexibility. You tube has a couple of good videos that will help. Check out Increasing flexibility with Yoga with Adrianne and Gently Yoga with Shelly Nicole. Try her first video. I do think my modification will help you in the meantime. Also spend some extra time just doing the same thing( working to touch your toes in the same way) when you are not doing Maha Mudra.

@onacloudynight @MM1988 I use the throat restriction when performing Maha mudra

@clouffy Do not buy into those statistics that you stated. If you believe that, you are limiting yourself and you are right, it can become a self fulfilling prophecy. I bought into that at one time. There are ways to get out of depressive cycles.

@Ingit I believe your friend was trying to build himself up in the eyes of the girl that was there. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have the insight to be aware that he was doing this at your expense. You need to tell him clearly that you won't accept that behavior. If you can't do that, you have to decide if you are willing to continuously be the recipient of this kind of behavior . If you are not, don't hang out with him anymore. People don't read minds, it is best to give him the opportunity to change by clearly telling him that it really bothers you.

@Elia Gottardi In a way you have answered your own question. Some aspects of the nature of reality can be very difficult to deal with at first. Once you have the understanding, I don't think you can go back and forget about it. Truth doesn't have that capacity. Hovering about whether to accept and incorporate the truth is more painful and hellish than accepting it.

I'm sorry you are suffering. You will never be able to change the way others behave. Is it possible to just let go of these past situations, don't worry about what you think others think of you? Start this day as a new day without the baggage of the past situations. If you have trouble doing this you might try something like "The Sedona Method". It is a great tool for releasing emotional baggage.

The claim Horus was believed to have been born on December 25 is simply wrong to begin with. Horus' birth was celebrated in the so-called "Epagomenal Days", a four day festival period in the ancient Egyptian calendar which fall between August 24 and 28. Not December.

@Pushkar Don't be surprised if it takes more than one attempt to release a memory with accompanying blockage. It won't mean your first attempt was unsuccessful, sometimes it takes more than one attempt. When you can recall that event and have no emotional response to it, it will be released in full.

I find it really interesting that when you become aware of what the mind is doing with the endless loop of stories and no longer buy into them the stories become more subtle, and harder to recognize. The mind/ego is a cunning thing if it has to be to survive. I have noticed a theme to many of my mind stories. They are geared to give me the feeling of righteous indignation. The stories are along the line of "I'm trying to do the right thing and I am not being understood/appreciated by others. Same theme with different people/places and things plugged in to keep it going.

It is true that there is less activity in the winter season. Can you find beauty in the stillness of it?

@Merch Alternate explanations to your questions of gravity might be density, buoyancy and magnetism.

As far as women go, this belief system is going to continue to cause you a lot of conflict, at least in Western culture. If you could just enjoy a woman for herself and not have preassigned roles established you might find you life much more spontaneous. What you are describing seems to be a well thought out mechanism for control and that will create anxiety and hopelessness.

If you can figure out why you are allowing yourself to be a doormat for others, that will be the start. I wanted to avoid any conflict and I wanted to get along with everyone. There were many willing to exploit that for their own purposes. When you realize that most people are interested primarily in themselves and really don't think about you much at all you can begin to act and be the way you are inclined to. Why make yourself miserable for a fleeting opinion of someone else?

@clouffy Hopelessness, which could be result the of having expectations, attachments, attractions and aversions. Expecting that one should be able to have control of outcomes. I speak from personal experience.

Do you want us to do your homework for you? I will answer your question but first, tell me what you think are ethical issues relating to animals?

Bingo!!! Most people are absolutely delighted to talk about themselves, if you are willing to ask questions and listen. I have never had this not work, never. I have had people say I am one of their dearest friends and I will chuckle to myself realizing they know very little to nothing about me, but I know a whole heck of a lot about them. Become a good, attentive listener and you will have the world at your fingertips. You may eventually, find out that it's not quite what you thought it would be. There are very few good, attentive listeners in this world, if you observe when you are in conversation that most people are just waiting to talk again and don't really, actively listen.

Turn the phone off when you are not using it. Keep it on, only if you are expecting something really important. Use it only for texting, calling and GPS, if needed. Don't make meaningless texts, of non substance just because you can. Make the phone a tool to serve you, do not live to serve your phone. I live near a beautiful beach. Nothing make me more disappointed than watching someone standing or walking on the beach with their head down staring at that frigging phone, it really is a sickness. If I spend time with someone and they insist on staring at their phone, I will ask them to put it down, if they don't I will leave. If you look at it objectively, walking around and having to have this object in your hand or nearby at all times is really pathetic. Go somewhere for a short while and leave your phone behind and observe how you feel. You do not have to have that thing glued to your hip at all times. Remember if you don't make application of what you have learned, it is meaningless.

@CreamCat What you describe as bullshit; getting irritated at other peoples behavior, I call my righteous indignation stories. They are tapes that loop through my mind of scenarios where I was trying to do something good and someone else got in the way , or didn't understand what I was doing, blah, blah, blah. In my stories, I am only trying to do the right thing and .....fill in the blank. If you watch the pattern of those kinds of thoughts, you will see a common theme with different names and places plugged into the story. I can have those loops playing over and over some days. They seemed to be geared by ego wishing to pit itself against something else to gain substance. I know what they are now and rarely will I ever engage in one of them.

I have found Kriya to be the most profound change in my life. It is not a fad, not something to be rushed through. Once you establish a path try to stay with that path, be consistent. It takes consistence and dedication. If you have the discipline to establish a routine and stay with it daily, it may be for you. You might transform in ways you never dreamed.