visualization

[newpov]

Hey Carson,

Good post. Thanks!

I'm thinking that the heart may serve as a spiritual transformer or balancer between the totality of activity in the top 3 chakras and the totality of activity in the bottom 3 chakras.

I hope I'm not imposing my will on interpretation of scriptural imagery, but rather making inferences based upon and drawn from an open mind. Of course, even an open mind can be mistaken!  

Willingness to experiment hermeneutically seems personally necessary when others are not present with me to guide my spiritual interpretations and inferences.

The heart with its arterial and venous flows may be referenced in the prologue of Ecclesiastes:

quote:Then back to its circling goes the wind. Into the sea [heart chamber?] go all the rivers, and yet the sea is never filled [because of outgoing arterial flow?], and still to their goal the rivers go.

Many construe the heart only as a metaphor for consciousness or bliss, etc., or as a metaphor for love or devotion.

But where spiritual practice is concerned, could we be overlooking or even dismissing something vitally important?

First words and concluding words in a spiritual work can be pregnant with significance.

Consider the import of the opening words and the concluding words that the English Christian mystic Richard Rolle (died 1349) chooses, I believe with care and spiritual craft, for the Prologue of his Fire of Love:

quote:I was more astonished than I can put into words when, for the first time, I felt my heart glow hot and burn. I experienced the burning not in my imagination but in reality, as if it were being done by a physical fire...

...because I will try to show the superheated and supernatural feeling of love to everyone, the title The Fire of Love is selected for this book.

Note that Rolle above includes explicit reference to "imagination". Bear in mind, what I could is a translation from the Latin by M.L. del Mastro, available used on Amazon.com.

Despite what seems to be an explicit disavowal, Could Rolle be alluding to deliberate light/fire imaging or active visualization of some sort in his spiritual practice?

Would a student who is watchful for irony in spiritual writing, and therefore "contrarian" to prevailing opinion, be enticed and therefore be inclined to follow up on this lead for the few?  

newpov

[CarsonZi]

Hi Brian,

quote:Originally posted by newpov

But where spiritual practice is concerned, could we be overlooking or even dismissing something vitally important?

It's always a possibility, but I can't say for sure because I haven't gotten far enough along to really definitively say.  But I have faith that Yogani knows what he is talking about, he has experimented enough and knows enough about the entire process that if it was necessary to focus on the heart in order to achieve transformation then he would have included a practice within the AYP framework.  I'm sure he didn't include such a practice because he either knew it wasn't necessary, or knew that it would only lead to excessive kundalini symptoms or something.  It's always your perogative to practice how you see fit, and noone is going to force you to stick to one program, but in my opinion it is better to stick with something tried and tested then to completely cut one's own path out of the jungle forest using whatever tools you happen to come across.  With AYP Yogani has given us a integration of yoga practices that seem to cover all the bases yet seems relatively safe.  Adding stuff onto the system is always possible, but it isn't always necessary in my opinion.  You may feel that you need to open your heart chakra because that will help facilitate a complete chakra opening, but what happens when you succeed and put yourself in the hospital with symptoms that the doctors can't figure out because your nervous system wasn't purified enough?  AYP's system includes methods for opening the chakra's but it does so in a way that is safe.  To start targetting your heart area before that chakra is open I think would be an unwise idea.  Too me it seems as if you feel unsatisfied with the progress you are making with AYP alone, and you are looking around for other ways to speed up the process.  This isn't necessary from my experience.  The most intense openings I have had yet have happened on days when I have not had the time to do my full set of practices and have sat for only a 20 minute just meditation session.  Sometimes less really is more.

Love,
Carson[^]

[newpov]

Hi all,

Carson just posted at the same time I was adding the following to my post:

 

quote:Note that Rolle above includes explicit reference to "imagination". Bear in mind, what I could is a translation from the Latin by M.L. del Mastro, available used on Amazon.com.

Despite what seems to be an explicit disavowal, Could Rolle be alluding to deliberate light/fire imaging or active visualization of some sort in his spiritual practice?

Would a student who is watchful for irony in spiritual writing, and therefore "contrarian" to prevailing opinion, be enticed and therefore be inclined to follow up on this lead for the few?

newpov

[Shanti]

quote:Originally posted by CarsonZi

 But I have faith that Yogani knows what he is talking about, he has experimented enough and knows enough about the entire process that if it was necessary to focus on the heart in order to achieve transformation then he would have included a practice within the AYP framework.  I'm sure he didn't include such a practice because he either knew it wasn't necessary, or knew that it would only lead to excessive kundalini symptoms or something.  

There is a lesson on heart opening. The last paragraph (that I have quoted below) includes the heart breathing technique. It is very powerful.. so be careful with it.. but it really works!!![]
 

quote:Lesson 220 - Q&A – Opening the heart chakra
The practices in the lessons are geared toward overall spiritual
awakening, and not so much on individual chakras - except the ajna to
root connection, which is especially important for enlightenment. Of
course, the heart is opened also by this overall purification in the
spiritual anatomy. While meditation and spinal breathing are global
and open the heart "by proxy," other techniques like uddiyana/nauli,
chin pump and targeted bastrika can work more directly in the heart
area as part of the overall process of purification and opening.

In general, I am not for focusing on individual chakra openings,
because how can we know what is the right order? Unfathomable karma
sets each of us on a somewhat different path, and that is why the
broad approach in the lessons is offered, rather than a specific
chakra by chakra approach. In this way we allow pure bliss
consciousness to cultivate natural opening of the nervous system from
within, relying on intellectual decisions very little. Through the
practices in the lessons, we are systematically surrendering to the
process of spiritual transformation that is inherent within us. Of
course, pure bhakti is the greatest of all practices, and you know
that already. If human desire is raised to the level of bhakti
(intense desire for God/Truth), then all the methods of yoga are
stimulated automatically. We only need hear of them once (if at all),
and we are off into practice!

Having said all that, here are a couple of additional suggestions on
opening the heart chakra that are holistic in their effects:

There is a pranayama technique that works directly in the heart that
has not been mentioned in the lessons so far. It is like spinal
breathing, but in reverse direction. We can call it "heart
breathing." It provides the opportunity to bring our ishta (chosen
ideal) directly into our heart using the breath with profound effect.
What we do is inhale from the third eye (point between the eyebrows)
back to the center of the head and down the spinal nerve into the
heart, and then exhale back out the same route through the third eye.
On the inhalation we bring our ishta in, and on the exhalation we
send out impurities. If we slow down the breathing (comfortably), the
effects will be enhanced. Breathing through the nose is preferable,
but not mandatory. This method has great benefit for the heart,
purifying and opening it. During this practice, our heart is filled
with our Beloved and impurities are expelled. It can be done for 5-10
minutes before or after sitting practices, or anytime. Be careful not
to overdo it in the beginning, as it can bring excessive karmic
releases in the heart if overdone. It is suggested you start off slow
and work up gradually according to comfort and effect. This practice
has not been offered in the lessons so far because of the reverse
direction aspect and possible confusion to beginners in the
traditional spinal breathing that is given beginning in lesson #41,
which purifies the heart in a more general way. Also, many people do
not have a clear ishta to use, which can be confusing to those coming
to yoga with a non-worship orientation. This is clearly not the case
with you, so perhaps you can use this practice with good effect. It
may even combine nicely with your other practices. It is in your
hands.

For those who wish to try this practice without a specific ishta
(diety, avatar or guru), the purifying and healing power of universal
Truth can be brought in through the third eye and down into the heart
during inhalation, and impurities sent out on exhalation.

[CarsonZi]

Hi Shanti,

Thanks for the correction, I forgot about that lesson....Had briefly read it in passing due to a link in another post, but obviously didn't register it deep enough within my brain...haha.  I have tried it a few times and found it to be as you said....powerful.  Hence why I ended up leaving it alone and forgetting about it.  Silly me.  

Brian,

Are you currently practicing the Dynamic chin pump?  That also helps to open the heart and upper chakra areas...I added it to my practices a couple of weeks ago and have found my love and devotion steadily increasing day by day.

Love,
Carson[^]

[CarsonZi]

Brian,

Have you tried AYP's Self Inquiry methods yet?  The more I read your posts the more I think you give too much credence to other people's ideas.  You seem to quote someone in every posting[] whether it is the Bible or Vedic scriptures, and I think you should potentially look into leaving the spiritual books alone for a while and try using Self Inquiry as your source of divine inspiration.  All the answers you seek are waiting within to be acknowledged.  The inner guru seems to be trying to get out, but you seem to be pushing him back in by reading and absorbing so much scripture.  I may be WAY off base here, and feel free to tell me so if that is what you think, but after reading and rereading your posts today, this is my inclination or suggestion.  Yogani's Self inquiry book is amazing, and I would suggest starting there.  There are other versions of Self Inquiry such as Adyashanti's version, but I don't think that his is a very good stand alone practice, and I think AYP's is much more well rounded especially if you are already doing DM and SBP.  Hope this helps even a little.

Love,
Carson[^]

[newpov]

Hi all,

I don't know anything about chin pump or self-inquiry, Carson.

Pranayama, the heart organ, and ishta as "loving ones enemies" is taken up in my new thread concerning AYP Lesson #220, http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=4658

I hope all of you join me over there, and offer your own practices concerning your own choice of ishta.

newpov

[Etherfish]

I agree with Carsonzi about the bible taking the bhakti approach and there are many interpretations of it. Trying to use it for instructions can be confusing because much of it has been encrypted, and by different people.

I think it is asking for trouble to try and follow yoga practices from the bible. The bible has been edited and parts eliminated by people who didn't have a complete understanding of yoga.
Concentrating on any one chakra or organ is what Yogani warns about, as "under the hood" tinkering instead of just staying in the driver's seat with AYP practices,
which automatically take care of the chakras when the time is right.

I've found it is more productive to follow AYP practices, and use the bible for Bhakti. How this is done, is pick one passage from the bible, and contemplate on it every day for a couple weeks. (Outside of meditation time of course). You will begin to understand it in a different way than when you just read it. It will increase your bhakti, and thereby make your AYP practices more effective. You will understand it on a different level than before.
I cannot explain why this is so, but it makes the bible more valuable than if you try to use it as an instruction manual.
Sri Yukteswar suggested this, Yogananda's guru, and I have found it to be true also.

[CarsonZi]

Thanks for the suggestion Etherfish.....Lately I've had a bit of a "need" to read the Bible, a I've been debating with my family over the compatability of Christianity and Yoga, and this seems like the perfect way for me to read it.  I have read the whole thing cover to cover twice before, but I think if I do it the way you are suggesting I will get much more out of it this time around.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Love,
Carson

[Anthem]

quote:Originally posted by newpov


SECOND:

Perhaps any answer for the heart organ differs from the answer applicable to all other organs.

Since the heart is centered between 3 chakras above and 3 chakras below, might visualization of light in the heart organ bring about a distribution of energy or a balanced activation of the surrounding 6 chakras? "As above, so below?"

Well I can speak to this from personal experience, if the heart is worked on too often or the openings of the heart exceed those of other areas in the body there can be imbalance in the system as a whole. As Yogani makes clear so often throughout the AYP lessons, spiritual opening has to occur in a gradual balanced way or the results are simply unpleasant.

Hence things are left "under the hood" to avoid our mind's natural tinkering ways. We can not possibly know mentally with great accuracy where our imbalances are and how they can be remedied. Better to treat the system as a whole and this is what AYP practices do.

There is no denying the role of the heart in spiritual opening, but one has to be ready for all that entails and the best way is by twice daily practice as detailed in the main lessons tab above with plenty of self-pacing when necessary.

If there is still plenty of energy to get things going, a great way to use it is in service to others (without motive) and self-inquiry can go a long way too.

Best of luck!

ps- I just read through the rest of the thread noting Carson covered pretty much everything here already.

[newpov]

quote:I think it is asking for trouble to try and follow yoga practices from the bible. The bible has been edited and parts eliminated by people who didn't have a complete understanding of yoga.

Hi all,

Unenlightened or less spiritually aware or awakened editors and translators could be doing the bidding of spiritual authors, carrying the message to the discerning student, without their even knowing or realizing or appreciating what they do. This is because spiritual teaching including yogic instruction may be carried in imagery and sequences of images. Poetry and allusion and irony, and presumably even the faithfully translated and edited parables of Jesus in the New Testament, are appreciated by the relatively few.

Thanks, everyone, for having contributed to this thread!

newpov

[CarsonZi]

Hi newpov,

quote:Originally posted by newpov

Unenlightened or less spiritually aware or awakened editors and translators could be doing the bidding of spiritual authors....spiritual teaching including yogic instruction may be carried in imagery and sequences of images.

Yeah there certainly could be, and may be yogic instructions within the Bible.  But there CERTAINLY is yogic instruction here at AYP.  Why not use what is certain?

Love,
Carson[^]