Guest guest Posted July 29, 2001 Report Share Posted July 29, 2001 Hello, Um, let me think a minute. I don't feel sleepy, I'm pretty much awake I think. It is just like there is nothing in my mind except for a sort of foggy thing I guess. That it just came in my ears or something. Leaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2001 Report Share Posted July 29, 2001 As long as you're alert and awake then I think it's good. (I wanted to be sure you didn't mean that you're falling asleep.) I'm not a meditation teacher so take everything I say here with a grain of salt. I usually try to limit my advice to things I've experienced myself, and I'm going a little bit beyond here. I think it seems like fog because it IS like fog, in a way. When we're in fog, sounds get damped. Now your thoughts are damped. Your mind is interpreting the new experience in terms of an old one that you already know. When I first experienced quiet mind, I was very aware of how it affected the sense of sight. Since you're blind, I imagine you'd be aware of how it affects sound. That's why the fog-sound thing occurs to me. I think probably the sense of fogginess will go away soon as you get used to being quiet. Then it will sort of become deeper and more interesting in a way. One thing you might try is keeping the quiet while you do things. Can you stay in the quiet while you wash the dishes? - Joe0464 Realization Sunday, July 29, 2001 6:19 PM (no subject) Hello, Um, let me think a minute. I don't feel sleepy, I'm pretty much awake I think. It is just like there is nothing in my mind except for a sort of foggy thing I guess. That it just came in my ears or something. Leaf ..........INFORMATION ABOUT THIS LIST..........Email addresses: Post message: Realization Un: Realization- Our web address: http://www.realization.orgBy sending a message to this list, you are givingpermission to have it reproduced as a letter onhttp://www.realization.org................................................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2001 Report Share Posted July 29, 2001 Hi Gary, What a nice suprise to find that you've been here. This list has been inactive for so long, like a field in the winter. Now Leaf has supplied the spring sunshine and all kinds of unexpected flowers are popping up! > On purely logical grounds, if a teacher is necessary > to achieve enlightenment, then how did enlightenment > ever come about? Who was the first teacher? And who > taught the first teacher? On empirical grounds, too. Occurs to me that many people who are widely regarded as fully self-realized (whatever that means exactly) came to their realization spontaneously, without teachers. Three that come to mind are Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Shivabalayogi, and Sri H.L. Poonja. I sometimes wonder what happens to children who have similar experiences if they happen to live in the United States or other countries whose cultures don't recognize such phenomena. After Ramana Maharshi's self-realization, he went into something that resembled a coma for three years, stopped eating, etc. Are there children in his condition in American mental hospitals? Even in India, these experiences are often treated like illness. Sri Poonja was an example of that. Regards, Rob - " Gary Schouborg " <garyscho " Realization " <Realization > Sunday, July 29, 2001 12:33 PM Re: (no subject) > Leaf, > > > Hi, > > i have yet a few more questions. I've noticed that I am pretty much the > > only one to ask questions on this. Okay, Here are my questions. > > First, I read something on this website about getting to enlightenment, and > > they said that it was nearly impossible to get to enlightenment. Of course, > > this deeply saddened me because I want to get to enlightenment. Is it true > > that it is nearly impossible, that it takes lifetimes to do nomatter how hard > > you work? > > As Rob said, some people come to it naturally, either because they're > genetically gifted or their parents had the wisdom to allow them to listen > more to their bodies than to social expectations. > > I believe enlightenment comes in degrees and that full enlightenment means > that you can live in peace every moment of your everyday life, even if you > do technologically complex work. My impression is that Realization > correspondents have had at least one moment of such inner peace and can > experience it every day along a continuum, from once to every moment of the > day. > > > My second question is that sometimes, it seems as though my thought process > > completely shuts down and I am just left with peace. What is this? > > > It sounds like what some call full absorption or samatha. The important > point is that you are, at least according to my theory, momentarily in > direct touch with the most primitive energies of your body. That is > enlightenment in its simplest form. Full enlightenment would be the ability > to keep in touch with that primitive energy even when conducting your > practical, everyday affairs. > > As to whether everyone needs a teacher, I first want to thank all the other > contributors for nourishing me with their wise and poetic responses to your > question. I agree with them that a teacher is not necessarily needed and > that you already have your real teacher within you. On purely logical > grounds, if a teacher is necessary to achieve enlightenment, then how did > enlightenment ever come about? Who was the first teacher? And who taught the > first teacher? > > That having been said, a good teacher is often useful for encouragement at > least, but also because there are many ways in which we can become confused > along the path to enlightenment and a wise teacher can help us avoid getting > lost. Ultimately, however, you cannot avoid the fact that you yourself must > choose to follow one teacher rather than another. No one can decide for you > whether or not you're on the right path and whether or not your teacher is a > good one. > > Best wishes, > > Gary Schouborg > Performance Consulting > Walnut Creek, CA > garyscho > > Publications and professional services: > http://home.att.net/~garyscho > > > > ..........INFORMATION ABOUT THIS LIST.......... > > Email addresses: > Post message: Realization > Un: Realization- > Our web address: http://www.realization.org > > By sending a message to this list, you are giving > permission to have it reproduced as a letter on > http://www.realization.org > ................................................ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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