Memeito

Actually, Kriya Yoga is supposed to be learned only under the guidance of a guru, there are only a handful of books that attempt to teach you how to do it all by yourself.

I'm refering compared to other types and styles of yoga, in my city there are courses and classes for Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Sahaja Yoga, Taoist Yoga, Yogalates, etc. Why choose Kriya Yoga instead of the others?

What are the advantages of this type of yoga, over other versions?

Did you manage to see or hear something at a distance, that was confirmed later and proves that your spirit was actually out of your body?

I tried years ago astral-projecting and in my opinion it is simply lucid dreaming. After I would exit my body and go around the neighborhood, I would see things that don't exist there in real life - different buildings, statues, people, etc. The more I would get away from my sleeping body, the more bizarre things I saw... One night I took a book, I opened it at a random page without looking, and put it on a closet in a different room. I then astral projected and went there to see at what page was the book opened, but I couldn't see any number... Did anyone actually had any success with astral projecting, seeing things at a distance ?

I tried various methods of meditations and positions, and if I am lying down I often zone out, start daydreaming or fall asleep... The best posture is when I sit on a chair and keep my back straight(the lotus position hurts my knees and hips so I don't do it). The second best - on a chair with the back supported but the head straight. If I rest my head however, it's pretty much the same as if I am lying down - I quickly fall asleep.

I tried yesterday the "do nothing" meditation while lying and it was much easier, my mind was very calm, I had very few stray thoughts, but I would also get very sleepy and my eyes would close fast. Any suggestions?

You just have to be aware of the pain, and not try to divert your mind and think at something else... Once, I was in great pain at the dentist and discovered that if I actually focused my attention on the pain, it was much more manageable than if I tried to think at different things and let my mind wonder from one thing to another.

If you meditate on various "chakras", you are simply concentrating on various glands from the body, who can become over-stimulated and release increased quantities of hormones: testosterone, adrenaline, etc...This is what causes the jerks, twitches, shaking, hot flashes, etc...

I'm curious, do many people in India or China meditate since there are hundreds of millions of Buddhists there, is meditation a required practice for the regular, average Buddhist?

If not, why is it difficult to be aware of what is happening around me, when I'm doing various things as opposed to being relatively easy to be aware when I'm just sitting and doing nothing? For example if I sit alone in a quiet room, I can easily get in a state of hyper-awareness - I am aware of my body, my thoughts, my surroundings, etc. - I am totally present in the moment... However, if I go to a crowded place, like a supermarket or a mall, I find it really hard to be aware, there's simply a sensory overload, there's so much stuff happening around me that if I try to become aware, my mind feels overwhelmed like it is multitasking and I start to bump into people, or do weird things... However, if I stop trying to be aware, I can function normal on "autopilot" without doing anything strange...It's like I can't be aware and doing more things at the same time.

Some spas have sensory deprivation tanks where you float and experience a state without sight, sound, smell, gravity, etc...Hallucinations however appear pretty fast, if the mind isn't stimulated it starts to make stuff on its own...

Are they real? Is everyone capable of developing them through training or do they appear only to certain individuals? Can meditation unlock such abilities? Does enlightenment bring with it powers such as clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, etc?

Then you aren't really "doing nothing" if you are listening and being aware...

Hmmm....You know, I googled "fast enlightenment" and found a thread on another forum where a guy says that you can get enlightened in 15-30 days by using a method known as "Mahasi Style Noting". Anyone knows anything about this? In the same thread somebody else mentions that there "Dzogchen and Bon" techniques that can shift you into enlightenment in an hour or two.... Is anyone familiar with any of these?