Consciousness

John Walker74 said:Seriously though—do I really sound like a lefty to you?

I’m a righty, obviously—using my right hand to act, while the left just... receives.😁 😉

I was being quite literal—you have to essentially "disable" your dominant hand, so righties end up resting their left hand against their right palm!
When you mentioned using your right hand for the left, I thought you meant you were neutralizing your more active hand—that's all I meant...
😉 😁

I usually carve out about ten minutes a day for meditation. I’d love to dive in deeper, honestly, but when you start balancing daily responsibilities with all the other hobbies I enjoy, things tend to shift—so it just happens whenever it can. That said, every once in a while, when I really feel the pull, I’ll settle in for a full hour of practice.

I’ve been practicing meditation for about six years now—though, if I’m being honest, there have been some pretty significant gaps in my journey. Right now, my main focus is working on making that daily practice a non-negotiable constant. My philosophy is that the real path forward lies in heightened awareness... paying attention to every single step, every breath. The results have been incredibly fascinating, and I’m still just scratching the surface.

Grizzly was asking whether I developed my own techniques. The answer is yes. Regarding that, the reason I rarely quote anyone else is simply because I’m quite self-taught. In my view, intuition is the absolute bedrock of meaningful personal growth—which is why I truly believe it’s best to discover these things entirely on your own terms. That way, we move toward our goals in a way that feels most authentic to who we actually are.

Sophia Williams said:I was being serious here: you have to deactivate the dominant hand, so these kids today are putting their left hand on their right palm!
When you mentioned putting the right hand into the left one, I honestly thought you meant deactivating the more active hand, you know? That's all I was getting at...
😉 😁

Look, if I'm right-handed, then wouldn't it make more sense for my right palm to be open toward me, meaning the right palm goes on the left?
I just don't feel comfortable doing it any other way.😁

🙂?

Personally, I stretch out on the ceiling and just don't deal with any of those issues at all. 😛

hollowviper72 said:Grizli asked if I developed my own techniques from scratch. And yeah, I did. If you're wondering why I rarely cite other people, it’s because I’ve always been pretty much self-taught. Honestly, I feel like intuition is the absolute bedrock of any real personal growth... which is exactly why I say it's best to discover these things entirely on your own terms. That way, we go where we need to go and actually do things in the way that works best for us personally.

Following anyone else just blinds you...

I totally agree—you have to follow yourself. 🙂

As for me? I've kind of stalled out on this whole thing... Reality has sort of clouded everything up again...

It's killing me...

You guys seem to be really hitting your stride here... Bravo... 🙂 I mean, please, keep going, I'm loving reading all of this...

In the meantime, I'm going to try to dive deep into myself... I'm actually really looking forward to it... No books, no podcasts, nothing.

Yeah, I totally agree—I wouldn't be able to do it in an armchair either. The spine needs to be perfectly straight; anything else is just exhausting for the core...
Do you usually sit cross-legged, or more like a lotus position? I switch it up all the time—sometimes one, sometimes the other, or even something else entirely.

There’s also this great little exercise for when you're trying to really tune into your spine. You just visualize yourself gently stretching out each vertebra, one by one. You start at the head, slowly curving downward bit by bit. Once your chin hits your chest, you move down through the thoracic area, then the lumbar, until you finally reach the point where your upper body is hanging down and your hands are resting on the floor. Your legs should stay extended (well, slightly tucked, technically), but don't lock up your hips—they need to move fluidly with your lower back as one unit. You might hit a spot where it feels a bit tougher to move. That's basically where stress is getting stuck. When you hit one of those spots, you just need to ease back up and "smooth it out" by repeating the motion about 15-20 times. To finish, just hang there for a few seconds before slowly working your way back up to an upright position.
I love doing that first thing in the morning and right before bed. Honestly, maybe it isn't even about spirituality, but the stretch feels amazing and is so good for you. There are other moves too, but they're hard to put into words... you really have to see them to get it.

restlessmarlin6 said:What's up with me? I've fallen a bit behind on this whole discussion... Reality just hit me hard again...

And honestly, it’s absolutely killing me.

Tinach,

what's actually the issue here; who am I supposed to go beat up?

Oh, I almost forgot—don't forget to keep breathing while you're going through the motions! 😁 You really want to exhale on the way down and inhale as you push back up. It’s a little exhausting trying to focus on all those moving parts when you're just starting out...

John Walker74 said:Well, if I'm right-handed, then my right palm should be facing outward—meaning the right palm stays on the left side...
I just don't feel comfortable doing it any other way...😁

🙂?

No, actually—you need to use your left hand to steady that dominant hand... Just to help it settle down, you know?

Gaudrath said:I can hang upside down from the ceiling and I don't have any issues... 😛

Honestly, ceiling lighting is just completely "out"...😉 😁

Yeah, usually Turkish style... honestly, you just reminded me of those belly dancers from overseas or even some Gypsy dance troupes... man, I love that stuff.

By the way, I think you described that exercise pretty well.

Since we’re on the topic of meditation, let me tell you something: nothing works without physical activity!
¨Getting into real, solid, consistent sports~that is the true medicine for the soul.

Gaudrath said:I can hang from the ceiling by my hands and I don't have any of those issues. 😛

Wait, are you actually being serious right now? 😁

Flemming said:No, you actually need to close off that more active palm with your left hand... just to calm yourself down, you know?

But I don't need any of that because I feel perfectly fine just the way I am, and honestly, that whole approach doesn't even suit me—I'm not looking to "calm down," I'm trying to open up, get it?🙂

John Walker74 said:By the way, that exercise seems really well explained.

Yeah, we were all pretty blown away when we practiced that back in our college kinesiology labs. We actually did about four or five other routines that were way more complicated—honestly, they're almost impossible to describe on paper because you really need someone there to correct your form so you actually get it right. Most of us were pretty much "body blind" at the time. You really have to put in the work to become fully aware of your own physical presence.
After doing about an hour and a half of stuff like that (which is basically just deep stretching), I felt just as wiped out as if I'd crushed a heavy session at the gym. But the next morning? Not a single ounce of muscle soreness to be found... 🙂

Gaudrath said:Baph:
Look, you see, the issue here is that that isn't even the right sentence. 🙂The correct version uses the verb "to manifest," not "to come." There is a massive distinction there. I have to reiterate: a teacher does not necessarily have to be a human being; they can be any segment of the Totality. The point is that the teacher exists as a principle rather than an individual. The fundamental difference between a principle and an individual is that a principle teaches simply by existing—it provides an existential example—whereas an individual often carries their own personal agenda.
Consequently, a student simply perceives (the principle) the teacher within objects, phenomena, and even people that they previously were unable to comprehend in such a way. It's because they weren't ready. Do you follow?

No.
The only thing emerging through the fog for me is that, according to your logic, the teacher doesn't actually exist. If he doesn't exist, then he cannot manifest, because everything is ultimately just inside the head of the student, who is, in reality, also the teacher.

Gaudrath said:Honestly, the only problem is that this sensation—as I mentioned before—is far too vast for classical thought-words. I can mention feelings... the feeling of the planet beneath my feet. The feeling of the mass of the clouds. The feeling of the stream of consciousness from billions of living beings all around us. The feeling of the timelessness of the moment... and so on. But those are merely words, and they cannot convey the essence of the matter. For another person to grasp the essence, they must experience it themselves. I once tried to explain to a friend what it feels like to let your consciousness flow through a tree. I didn't succeed in person while standing next to a particularly beautiful tree, so I doubt I would have much more success doing it over the internet... 🙂

God knows, I don't understand any of this, nor do I see any sense in it.
To me, it sounds like pure daydreaming.

And, at least in my opinion, "the feeling of the stream of consciousness from billions of living beings all around us" doesn't sound like a particularly pleasant thing at all.

Ryan Wilson2 said:Honestly, I don't see the logic here, nor can I find any actual sense in what's being said.
To me, the whole thing just looks like pure daydreaming.

Don't be like that. You're going to end up accusing the man of being completely half-baked if you keep this up. 🙂

Alexander Parker69 said:Give him a break. You're going to end up calling the guy a total fraud if you keep this up.🙂

😁 😁 😁

I figured I’d jump in and share some of my own experiences. I’ve been practicing meditation for years and years now. Let me tell you about my absolute favorite way to do it: washing the dishes. I get totally centered and completely clear my head. Nothing can break my focus—not mosquitoes, not ants, not even a literal tank rolling by or some loud country music blaring from the neighbor's radio. It is pure bliss! 👋 As the water flows over my hands, I feel the very essence of life moving through me. Once you catch a glimpse of that spark, you realize you're one with everything. People always say sitting meditation is fine, standing is better, but movement-based meditation is the gold standard. That’s why nothing beats my dishwashing sessions. 😍
Plus, there’s something about the ritual itself; it feels like I’m tapping into the energy of all the generations before me who found their zen while doing the same chores. 😎
My second favorite method? Gathering hay and straw. You need the right gear—pitchforks and rakes—and the practice is incredibly powerful because of the constant motion. I usually do it out in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization. I start at sunrise and wrap up just as the sun is setting, taking a quick break in the middle of the day. The whole time, my mind stays centered and quiet. OOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Look, please don't bring a whole circus of nonsense into this thread, though I suspect you might anyway.😠

One of the "achievements" of Maharishi's leadership is ensuring every Westerner finds themselves a personal guru. The price? Handing over 10% of your monthly income as a fee for "initiation"—which really just means being assigned a specific mantra and receiving a lesson on how to meditate properly.

Scientifically speaking, the benefits of TM can be explained by entering an alpha state of consciousness—essentially "resting while awake." One prerequisite, as someone already mentioned here, is reducing thought activity; ideally to the point where you aren't thinking about anything at all.

Even Fromm pointed out that this is the ultimate antidote to stress.
Yet, if you read the TM literature, you’ll find nothing but self-congratulatory fluff. They won't give you the actual mantras or the concrete methods without a guru standing there to collect his cut...

I'm not an idiot; I'm not dropping a few thousand dollars just to be handed a mantra. Is it actually possible to pick one myself and get the same results? I fail to see why a mantra from some guru would carry more weight than one I select personally.

Fleminje, what you wrote regarding astral projection isn't quite right.
It's inaccurate. You don't need a near-death experience to have a profound, real encounter. An NDE is essentially the same thing as etheric projection (projecting into the physical world). During etheric projection, there is no way to tell you aren't in reality, except perhaps for the ability to fly or pass through walls. Some people even report getting out of bed and going through their daily routine, completely unaware they were in a projected state. It’s the same for those who die prematurely before they realize what's happening.

Astral projection, however, can be identified by an environment that feels "off" compared to reality. Matter becomes fluid, shaped by thought. The simplest litmus test? Look at your hands and watch them start melting. The sense of consciousness and reality is just as intense as in an NDE or etheric projection; sometimes, for experienced projectors, it's even stronger.

Certain techniques rely on visualization—creating a duplicate environment into which you shift your awareness. Initially, there's zero sense of reality, but with practice, that sense of realism becomes as solid as classic AP (where you lose awareness of the body), similar to the moment you realize you're dreaming.

As for my own experiences, I vividly remember an instance of AP when I became lucid within a dream. I wanted the dream to stop, and suddenly, I found myself in a nearly physical environment—my own room, though it was astral. The level of consciousness was phenomenal. I was fully present, and the impact of that AP left me reeling for three days straight. I felt as though I were radiating heat. I'll provide more details later, provided you all share your experiences first. I've broken the ice; now it's your turn.

Karen Sanchez19 said:Look, I’m not an idiot; I’m not about to drop several thousand dollars on a single mantra. Is it even possible to just pick one yourself and get the exact same results? I honestly don't grasp why a mantra handed down from some guru is supposed to be more effective than one I choose for myself.

The claim is that it doesn't yield the same effect. However, I’m not entirely sure if what you're describing can even be classified as a mantra received through a guru's initiation. Since money is being exchanged here, it fundamentally clashes with the supposed relationship between a guru and a student. Even if you frame it as a donation outside the fee, paying for an initiation feels a bit 🤔 suspicious. Commerce and spirituality rarely play nice together. Therefore, I see this as a purely technical matter; I wouldn't necessarily link it to those specific "guru mantras." That said, even in Transcendental Meditation groups, they hold certain ceremonies in front of a portrait of Maharishi. They might argue it's just a personal preference, but it functions as an initiation, and I assume that in those moments, Maharishi is being accepted as the (formal) guru. So, all that talk about it being strictly a technical or health-related procedure doesn't quite hold water for me.

Traditionally, during an initiation, you'd bring a gift for the guru, like some fruit or flowers, or something similar.
But when they start looking for cash, 🙂

P.S. Just a heads up, let's try not to lose our minds before we even figure out what's going on. 😬

Look, please don't bring a whole circus into this thread, though I have a feeling some of you might try.

Are you talking about my post?
I was just trying to say that clearing your head is possible anytime, anywhere, for anyone. Honestly, the biggest group of people who have mastered the art of zoning out is probably sitting in lecture halls at a state university right now. 😁 Sure, it’s a bit of a joke, but it also points toward things like moving meditation, Tai chi, ritualistic dance, and that whole lifestyle centered around mindfulness. The topic here is Awareness—how to expand it. Meditation is great, but is it an end in itself? To me, what really matters is who you become because of it and how it actually shifts your daily life. In my opinion, someone could meditate all day long and feel "above it all," but if their real-world life is a constant wreck of drama and conflict, then what was the point of all that meditating?