Esoteric

@Serotoninluv Thanks, I appreciate your input.

@Serotoninluv So what is the best and fastest method/technique for learning to view your thoughts in your opinion?

@Mikael89 They don't disagree about that. I have Stevens book in front of me. 7th Chakra is not medulla, if you think that read or look more carefully. Also don't overthink it. If you've started doing Kriya Pranayama just focus on following/visualising the breath up the spine to your third eye or the top of your head. Resonate with Ryan? This video is all you need:

My advice would just to sit crossed legged with a straight back a lot. It will get easier and easier. I also went through a lot of physical pain on my first retreat but eventually it will go away and then you can just sit and focus on the technique.

@Slade Just touch the toes and bend the knees if you have to. Eventually you can do it with fully stretched legs.

Does anyone have experience with mixing Zazen meditation with Kriya Yoga? I am a member of a Zen center here and they have weekend retreats and full day retreats sporadically which are very valuable to me. I don't do Zazen as a daily habit though, I just do Kriya Yoga (which has absolutely blown me away in only a few months). The thing is we focus on Hara, the section just below the navel, which is the Manipura Chakra. Are there risks of making this part overactive or shouldn't I worry about it and just let my daily Kriya practice balance it out? Thanks. EDIT, so I guess Hara is just below the navel and Manipura is at or slightly above the navel. But I would still appreciate some opinions on focusing on this area for a long time while doing Kriya regularily.

The obsession with labeling people with spiral dynamic colors on this forum is feeling more and more like a weird form of racism. Which is pretty humorous.

@MrDmitriiV And you are the mighty green/yellow looking down and judging these petty oranges?

Thanks for the advice. I tend to be kinda neurotic when it comes to doing things correctly (work in progress), but you are right. And I actually did shorter stretches and om's today so I could have a better breath flow.

I like Ryan too. I have only watched a few videos with him but I agree that it's refreshing that he is not strict and doesn't seem dogmatic. He has two very interesting videos with Roy Eugene Davis, a direct student under Yogananda. I really enjoyed them. Funnily enough I had a dream about Ryan just this past night.

No, in both Santata's book and KSR it says to mentally chant OM 12 times (it says 6-12 times in KSR). So if you chant for 3 sec for each then it's 36 seconds of holding the breath. 12 secs would be manageable but it seems a bit short.

I don't think it is unethical at all. If you can make a living out of it then great. But I have had friends who are into gambling and unfortunately it didn't end well for them. You easily can get hooked and destroyed if you are a certain type of person, so I'd say be cautious of that. But if you do it well and are aware of the dangers and don't get caught up in anger and other negative emotions then good on you.

For how long do you guys hold the breath in Maha Mudra? I can find myself having to inhale too hard without much control after the stretch but I am guessing I may be holding it for too long. It is kinda vague in the books how long the "OM's" should be during the stretch.

@Nahm That is pretty damn neat. What is it called and where can you get it?

Hellish experiences on psychedelics happens when you don't let go completely. So you can get stuck in ego death sorta but the person is still clinging on. Suffering only happens when you identify with the person and the person is not forever.

I've also been using a Zafu. Bought it from the local Zen center. It's great, and makes a huge difference for me. Remember to get one filled with kapok as it is really good material

@MarkusSweden Just a tip. There are subtitles for Osho's videos (official channel). Just click on the icon next to the settings.

^^Check out the Kriya Yoga Mega-Thread. Everything you need to start is there.

Chakras exists. You can prove it to yourself. And no they don't have actual colors or are physical things in your body, but there are energy centers which you can CLEARLY feel.

Ok thanks. I guess I'll pick up the other one as well.

So I ordered KYE by Gamana to complement Leo's original book recommendation. Is Gamana's other book on Kriya recommended aswell or will these two books be sufficient?

52:50 They discuss Shinzen Young. Of course Rogan is pretty ignorant when it comes to this stuff but he has an opened mind to let people like this on which is great. Would be awesome to see Shinzen Young on Rogan. Tweet the shit out of him!

Mental masturbation

This is part of why you have anxiety. You're trying to feel complete by "external objects"

@Jordan94 Thank you very much. I have seen his name and a lot of people seem to like him. Will check this out