Westerners and Eastern spiritual practices

Alright, let me try to jump back into this topic...
How is it that in America, we just don't seem to have any real "spiritual" "techniques"?
The "reason" behind it is honestly the same thing you see with those fake "meditation" trends out there:
Basically,

The US is way too much on the yang side of things!
Even women here in America—they’re becoming increasingly yang nowadays!
It's all about "making an impact"—which is exactly what yang energy fights for!


yin---------------------------------------------yang 🤔
receiving---------------------------------------giving
accepting---------------------------------------rejecting
learning----------------------------------------not learning
feeling-----------------------------------------rationalizing
succeeding--------------------------------------trying
entering meditation naturally------concentrating (hard)
being intuitive------------------being rational
not proving anything---------------proving oneself
implosion-------------------------being explosive!
simply being----------------------applying techniques
not fighting-----------------------fighting!
asking questions------------------claiming to know
perception------------------------collecting knowledge

And when someone caught up in the American crowd hits a crisis of their own
yang identity—maybe through stress (too much yang) or emotional outbursts (a flood of suppressed yin)🙂 they immediately pivot toward some yang-style course or a yang-driven technique!

Or they grab some yang book by a yang author, looking for a yang technique to get an instant yang boost for their current state!
Even "meditation" falls into this trap!
Most American products fall under the yang category:
pay-to-use techniques, mantras, or hiring a yang teacher:
meditation classes, yoga, aerobics, and even the rise of various yang-style yoga cults! 😁

In the US, maybe only Tai Chi, certain martial arts, or Aikido actually attempt (at least!) to be yin! 😂

And that is exactly "why" true spiritual development has never really taken root in America.🙂

Mickey Mouse said:Look, it’s not just some random thing—there’s actually a built-in barrier between our conscious and subconscious minds (and honestly, there’s a good reason for that!). Under certain circumstances, you can either tighten that seal or loosen it up. All those deep spiritual practices tend to weaken that barrier significantly.

So, where does prayer fit into all this?

So, who exactly are you even praying to?

Honestly, I feel like there’s only one prayer that could actually work here: "Please, just go away!" 🙂 😂

Amanda Evans29, please, try to stay on track and stop derailing the conversation.

Alright, I'll definitely step it up! 🙂 😁

Enchantress said:But what about prayer?

Prayer is nothing more than a mere formality, a triviality. It is simply an expression of CONSCIOUSNESS—specifically, the manifestation of our own conscious desires.

To suggest that prayer holds some profound spiritual weight is just as absurd as claiming a toilet brush possesses mystical properties; you simply state what you want to happen, and that is the extent of the matter.🙄

You’ve got a point there, Eric Wells3... 😢

Alexander Parker69 said:Every single meditation session starts with concentration. The more you can direct and master your mind—becoming truly aware of and observing its internal processes—the better your concentration becomes. Real meditation isn't just about zoning out or getting lost in daydreams; it’s actually the byproduct of deep concentration. Think of it as the progression from Dharana to Dhyana to Samadhi... concentration leads to meditation, which leads to "transcendence." Meditation, in its purest sense, isn't a standalone technique. Any technique you use is just a precursor to Dharana (concentration). True meditation is the result—it's the state where the mind reaches one-pointed focus.

Try applying some logic to that mind you love concentrating so much. It should be obvious to you that transcendence is a state of consciousness that moves beyond both the subject and the object, bypassing all the processes between them. How on earth are you supposed to reach a transcendental state if the subject refuses to stop clinging to the object? Wherever there is mental direction, there is an object being focused on. Concentration is essentially pinning your attention to that specific thing. Pure consciousness, however, exists entirely free from the experience of objects.

Of course! 👍

Enchantress said:You've got a point there, Eric Wells3... 😢

Actually, Eric Wells3 is dead wrong.

Herpes said:Try using some of that logic you seem so obsessed with focusing on. It should be obvious even to you that transcendence is a state of consciousness that exists beyond both the subject and the object—it moves past all those processes happening in between. How on earth is one supposed to achieve a transcendental state if the subject refuses to stop fixating on an object? Wherever there is mental direction, there are objects present. Concentration is nothing more than pinning your attention onto a specific target. Pure consciousness, by its very nature, is stripped of any experience involving objects.

Blah, blah, blah. Instead of playing philosopher, why don't you actually commit a few hours a day to various forms of sadhana for several months before you start lecturing everyone else? Acting like an expert is cheap.

Alexander Parker69 said:Blah, blah, blah. Instead of playing philosopher, why don't you actually put in a few hours every day for several months practicing different types of sadhana before you start talking? Being a poser is easy.

Maybe try actually living your life for once, Alexander Parker69! Being lethargic isn't some kind of spiritual peak. Honestly, even the simple life of a hardworking farmer in Iowa is more spiritual than your version of "sadhana." You aren't in samadhi if you're still out here rambling and trying to act like you're so enlightened. Experiencing samadhi is actually pretty straightforward—it’s just not for someone as wrapped up in their own head as you are.

Herpes said:Maybe try actually living your life for once, Alexander Parker69! Being lazy isn't some kind of spiritual milestone. Honestly, even the simple, gritty life of an American farmer carries more spiritual weight than your so-called sadhana. You don't go around babbling and acting like a genius when you're in samadhi. Experiencing samadhi is actually quite straightforward, though clearly not for a complicated creature like yourself.

Oh, please. How many people do you actually know who have ever experienced Nirvana? It’s an incredibly rare phenomenon. For most people, just reaching the summit of Everest would be the achievement of a lifetime. I myself caught a mere glimpse of it once, during my most intense period of sadhana, even though back then I had far more desire for it than I do now—more than just sitting here philosophizing—and I possessed much more knowledge and data years ago. Yet, none of that translated into practice. Given how much useless rambling I've had to endure from you, I highly doubt you've actually experienced even a fraction of what you claim to talk about. 😉

Alexander Parker69 said:I've only caught a tiny whiff of that stuff once, right when things were at their absolute peak.

Don't kid yourself, Alexander Parker69. That’s nothing more than some cheap, bottom-shelf moonshine masquerading as the real deal. But hey, whatever floats your boat!
😁 😁 😁 😁 😁

Quincy:

Oh, please. How many people do you actually know who have experienced Nirvana? It’s an incredibly rare occurrence. For most folks, reaching Samadhi is a once-in-a-lifetime milestone. I caught a mere glimpse of it myself, just once, during my most intense period of meditation—even though I spent years accumulating far more data and theory than I ever did actual practice. And yet, nothing tangible came of it. Given all this useless rambling you're doing, I highly doubt you've actually lived even a fraction of what you're preaching.

Please translate🙏 🙏 🙏

Explain the difference between Nirvana and Samadhi.

So those are basically the only Western methods out there for attracting moths to your porch lights! 😂

Quincy:

Spare me the philosophy. Instead of playing armchair expert, try dedicating a few hours every single day—for months on end—to actual, honest practice. Then you can talk. Cheap talk is easy; discipline is hard.

What even is sadhana?

I feel like I’ve already wasted enough time hunting for translations... honestly, you all could have just handed me a glossary from the start.🙂 🙂

Self-reflection... that's my practice. What do you mean, "what kind of sadhana"?🙏

Quincy:

Achieving samadhi is actually quite simple, but it’s clearly too much for a complicated creature like you.

🙏

Karen Sanchez19 said:Please translate what nirvana is versus what savikalpa means.

According to Alexander Parker69's terminology:
nirvana - that peak state of total lethargy where there is absolutely zero chance of getting an erection
savikalpa - a slightly less intense peak state where you still can't get it up unless someone starts pouring moonshine down your throat
😁 😁 😁 😁
In actual terms:
savikalpa - descriptive
nirvana - indescribable

👋

A little word from Bhagawat! 🙂 😂