Magnanimous

Leo, what raises baseline better: 1. Integrating psychedelic realizations? 2. Kriya yoga?

I'm trying to figure out if this was a mystical experience/was about to attain a mystical experience. 20 minutes ago I was doing Kriya Pranayama 1 (JC Stevens version), having my two eyes focused on the spot in between my eyebrows. There was already a bit of yellow light seeping through my closed eyes from a nearby lamp (5m away), but that light was very dim from my view. BUT THEN the light changed from yellow to a white and the white light began to rapidly increase in brightness. The increase in luminosity was like going from a light in a distance to a light that could be seen directly in front of me. The increase in light actually started to hurt my eyes and before it could overwhelm be (and turn full on) I opened my eyes. I breathed in and out hard for 20 seconds collecting myself, then closed eyes and finished off the rest of my pranayamas. No amp up in light returned, but from memory and gut feeling the yellow lamp light that was already seeping into my vision was a bit brighter and had mostly changed colour into the white I had seen from the previous amp up. In terms of my breathing I do one breath between each pranayama so I don't run out of breath. Today depending on how I bad the lack of oxygen was I increased that to two or more. I am two weeks into starting pranayama, give or take. My first five or so days I did 12 pranayama, the next three to four I did 36 pranayama, then for the rest of the time up to today I have been doing 72. In the last 4 sessions I also merged 2 sits of 36 pranayama into 1 sit. And the day of posting this I have been following JC Steven's suggestion of doing pranayamas every hour (I do 2 every hour), to 1. integrate Kriya results into everyday life 2. due to the improvements in everyday life integration eventually reach Sahaja Samadhi. I wasn't consistently doing those extra pranayamas every hour but at the end of the day I did 10. I was thinking that this might be the Light of Kutatsha but the light comes in different shapes. This amp up in light was just covering my whole field of view. It was darker in some areas but whole whole POV was increasing in brightness and I think if I continued there would be no dark left and my POV would be just white light. So yea, was this a mystical experience/was I about to attain one? And any tips relevant for me on handling these mystical experiences? Next time if I can I'll try not open my eyes and let the light shine fully. I'd also like to take this opportunity to ask about the "Don't Half-Ass Yoga" video. Leo says at the end of the practice you go into a period of stillness and that's where you're meant to have mystical experiences. Gamana talks about doing Jnana Yoga (I Am/Attma Vichara/Self Inquiry) after Kriya routine is done. Is Leo's stillness period the same time Gamana recommends the Self-Inquiry? If not it's alright I will extend my routine time to incorporate it. I intuit this is my most serious action on the Forum yet.

I started pranayama nearly 2 weeks ago (72 daily). Since then I haven't seen anything I'd deem significant. Just my mind marginally quieter and it being easier to enter a state of presence defined by Eckhart Tolle. But even then my time in presence isn't super long because I don't have enough practice. What time range will I start seeing serious results? It's not like I'll stop from being demotivated but the whole wait will be a drag if I don't have a timeframe. Also is there anything I can do to get better at fully concentrating on the process of performing pranayama?

Hey Leo, you told me it took 100,000 - 300,000 pranayamas to reach liberation. Wouldn't I have to read all your enlightenment books as well? I'd love to reach liberation in my 20s with just pranayama, but that doesn't sound realistic.

Hey Leo, can newbies read your book?

Leo I'm trying to do pranayama 36 times for 2 sits a day. But my breathing hasn't adjusted to doing those long breaths for such a long time. So in the middle I sometimes quit. Is it ok to reduce the amount of reps I do in 1 sit to 12 or even 10? And can I have a couple seconds/minutes break every 10/12/24 etc pranayamas, just to catch my breath? Also in the coming months will my lungs adjust so that they've comfortable doing 36 pranayama in a single uninterrupted set? How long does it take to do this?

@Human Mint Do you do kriya? If so what kinds of pranayama do you do?

@Leo Gura is liberation the same thing as enlightenment? If not what's the difference?

CONTEXT: My younger brother is VERY Christian - goes to mass every week, prays every day, keeps images of Christ around etc. He also - Doesn't want to get married - Wants to become a priest - Very adherent to Christian moral principles - He doesn't jerk off he has next to none or zero sex drive All of this seems like typical monk/yogi behaviour so should I try do it and if so how? He is already deeply rooted in his faith. But I was Christian until 10, atheist for 3 years, then became spiritual at 13. If I could make the transition then can he?

Hey Leo, now you don't do daily practice what's the point of meditation?

Well then Leo, what's the point of executing on our ambition then? Other than to fulfill personal cravings? If there's any other reason...

@Leo Gura Started learning KP1 today but skipped over Om Japa in the Chakras - JC Stevens said it was a requirement for KP1. Should I bother doing Om Japa?

Leo what sorts of problems do extroverts have? It'd be nice to know before they come up.

Leo would you recommend your books if you haven't started psychedelics yet?

Leo if we do different pranayama techniques how are we meant to determine what potential modifications to use? Do we follow our intuition as Gamana says?