#eastern spirituality

[bmtalbott]

“Synchronicity is like a waking dream in which we experience the point of intersection of the timeless with time, where the impossible union of spheres of existence is actual, and where what is inside of us and what is outside of us is unseparated. Like a dream, synchronicity reveals something we dimly grasp, glimpses of the underlying Tao.”

- Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., Synchronicity and the Self

[crazycatsiren]

Chakras - What they really are

(I managed to salvage this post written by @rue-cimon from an old deactivated account. I copied it down here because this was too good a post to lose.)

Chakra literally means "wheel" or "circle" in Sanskrit. The concept of chakras originates from Hinduism in ancient India. These are focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation or yoga practices. These practices are collectively called "tantra".

Although the concept is frequently found in early traditions of Hinduism and are often mentioned in the Vedas, beliefs around chakras differ between various Indian religions. Buddhist texts consistently mention 5 chakras, whereas Hindu texts and sources speak of 6 or 7 chakras.

Early Sanskrit texts speak of them both as meditative visualizations combining flowers and mantras and as physical entities in the body. Within kundalini yoga, various breath exercises, visualizations, mudras, kriyas, and mantras are focused on manipulating the flow of subtle energy through chakras.

Chakras are also present in Ayurvedic traditions.

The belief behind chakras is that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one is the physical body and the other is psychological, emotional, mind, non physical (the subtle body).

The aforementioned subtle body is energy, while the physical body is mass. The psyche or mind plane corresponds to and interacts with the body plane, and the belief holds that the body and the mind mutually affect each other. The subtle body consists of energy channels connected by nodes of psychic energy called chakras.

The chakras - in Hindu and Buddhist texts - are said to be arranged in a column along the spinal cord, from its base to the top of the head, connected by vertical channels. Tantric traditions strive to awaken, master, and energize these chakras through yoga and often with the help of a teacher.

The esoteric traditions in Buddhism generally teach four chakras. In some early Buddhist sources, these chakras are termed as manipura (navel), anahata (heart), vishuddha (throat), and ushnisha kamala (crown). However, a system of five chakras is common among classes of tantra in Tibetan Buddhism. These five chakras are basal, abdominal, heart, throat, and crown, and each chakra corresponds with an element, a Buddha, and a bija mantra.

The more common and most studied chakra system incorporates six major chakras along with a seventh center generally not regarded as a chakra.

The chakras are traditionally considered meditation aids. The yogi starts from lower chakras and progresses to the highest chakra located in the crown of the head, in the journey of spiritual ascent.

In the Hindu kundalini and Buddhist candali traditions, the chakras are pierced by a dormant energy residing near or in the lowest chakra. in Hindu texts she is known as Kundalini, while in Buddhist texts she is called Candali or Tummo.

Some terms and definitions:

Tantra: Esoteric traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism that developed in India mainly during the middle of the 1st millennium CE. The term tantra, in the Indian traditions, also means text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique, or practice. A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras.

Kundalini yoga: A type of yoga focused on channeling energy through the chakras.

Mudra: A symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Mudras have meaning in many forms of Indian dance and yoga. In hatha yoga, mudras are used in conjunction with pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), generally while in a seated posture, to stimulate different parts of the body involved with breathing and to affect the flow of prana and is associated with consciousness in the body. Mudras are also used in tantric practices.

Kriya: Practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali defines three types of kriya, namely asceticism, study, and devotion. Such yoga is called kriya yoga. Kriya is a Sanskrit word that literally means "to do" or "to work".

Mantra: A sacred utterance, a sound, a syllable, word, or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali, and other languages. They hold spiritual and religious significance. At its simplest, the word "om" serves as a mantra. It is believed to be the first sound which was originated on earth. It creates a reverberation in the body which helps the body and mind to be calm. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Not all mantras have literal meanings but rather are simply uplifting.

Ayurveda: An alternative medicine system with historical roots in ancient India.

[compassionmattersmost]

Exploring the Origins of Thought: A Synthesis of Jung, Ramana Maharshi, Kabbalah, and Tibetan Buddhism

In our journey to understand the nature of thoughts and the Self, we find ourselves drawing from the wisdom of various traditions—Jungian psychology, Vedanta as taught by Ramana Maharshi, the mystical insights of Kabbalah, and the profound teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. These perspectives, though rooted in different cultural and philosophical backgrounds, converge in fascinating ways, offering a…

[alchemyofmaya]

The New Age movement taking Eastern concepts of God and spirituality and simplifying them without understanding the depth, the nuances and divine revelations that come from lifetimes of learning and lived experiences — is exactly why so many experience ‘spiritual psychosis’

Not everything is meant for you, especially when you’re not ready.

Whitewashing ancient practices and beliefs will ultimately lead to unwanted results especially when those teachings were clearly not meant for you. That’s why the path of the Masters exists. It’s not about superiority. It’s about Soul expansion.

Many aren’t ready to have that conversation.

[jennystardust-48]

[turiyatitta]

The Dawn of Syncretic Souls

[revdrjamesjshowersjr]

Blessings!!!!

Thank you Hon. Sadhguru for the many hours of audio from YouTube

[livingwellnessblog]

YES, Another REVISION post!

“You rise to a higher level of consciousness by taking your attention away from your present limitations and placing it upon that which you desire to be.” Neville Goddard YES, Another REVISION post! Let’s accomplish two things in this short blog post. How easy is revision? The deeper purpose of practicing revision. Let’s start with HOW EASY IS REVISION? There is one answer, it is easy. You…

[3liza]

the Bosnian war veteran who is a condo security guard on my block, who I'm acquaintances with, drove past my apartment last night absolutely blasting what sounded like techno polka music

[psalmlover]

pink rosary

[rochenn]

Honestly kinda weird what an almost 60 year period of de facto de-christianization in a language and culture otherwise steeped in centuries of Christianity does to a mf.

Like ur always referring to some dude when you swear and curse but you bet your ass most of the ppl around you have never seen a church from the inside unless they took a tour to look at the colorful altars and architecture. It's just history to you. Pretty buildings etc. You don't spare a single thought towards Jesus bc his birthday isn't named after him in your language and his resurrection is linked to pre-Christian traditions that are way more fun than going to church. You forget he exists. You celebrate his days either way, but all of that happens in the shadow of the gods he replaced. God and Jesus are little more than expletives to you.

Still it feels like something was taken from you and you don't know what it is??

[gregoriaofnyssa]

"Did God Make me Wrong?"

I was born with a handful of, on their own, minor defects. But grouped together, and because they were left untreated, I have what amounts to a hormonal intersex disorder-- the main symptom of which is many, many times more testosterone than a healthy woman. I produce slightly more than normal the amount of estrogen and progesterone. My symptoms are somewhat similar to that Algerian boxer, though I (and no other person besides apparently her and her doctors) do not know the details of it.

It was left untreated because I have XX Chromosomes, my periods are regular, and I am not infertile. It is my conviction that no doctor bothered to treat my condition, bothered to treat my hirsutism, acne, and bone deformation, because I was not a very pretty preteen to begin with. The doctors did not consider my appearance something worth saving. It was not good enough to begin with.

So now I am stuck with deformed bones and a hairy face. This one time, I was in a bathroom at a rest stop in West Virginia, and a woman stopped me, and told me she was going to get her state trooper on me, "for being a tranny in the bathroom". No doctor wanted to save me from that kind of fear and humiliation.

I shave constantly, but I know people still notice. They notice the razor burn on my face, certainly. If I waxed, I'd have to let the hair grow out, which I cannot take in public. My friends notice it. My fiancé notices it. I am deformed and I feel it, every single day.

I ask priests, sisters, and better Christians than me, "Why would God allow me to be born like this?" If God Loves beauty, how could he allow such ugliness?

You get the regular, "Oh don't say that :(" "We never notice!" "God doesn't care!" which are horrible lies. But every once and a while, I get, "Your condition is a product of the Fall," which is the only true response.

But how awful is it to have the Fall of Man and the sinfulness of the world written into your bones and growing out of your skin, like a monster.

The only thing I want in the world is to be pretty, and God will not give me it. What is the purpose in this?

[compassionmattersmost]

Poem: Look to the Moon

The finger points to where the moon does shine,But gaze not at the hand that beckons you.Let go the grasp of thoughts that claim as mine,And turn your sight to what is pure and true. Ramana speaks of Self, the quiet core,Where all the world and mind do gently fade.Orgyen’s Pristine Mind, and Buddha’s lore,Reveal the light that nothing can degrade. In God’s vast silence, there you’ll find the…

[nikki-tine]

Totem animal art I don't think I've posted here!

I have Co-Chief totems, but I haven't drawn the other one (a Panther) in a while - I'll post her whenever I get to that. C:

Until then, have Nicolai (Co-chief Totem #1, Fennec Kitsune), Celeste (Eastern Dragon), My Tiger totems (they're a fused pair - their colors shift back and forth, hence the appearance) and Esfir/Essie (Lynx)!

[santmat]

George Harrison's Spirituality & Music - Beatles and Eastern Influences: https://youtu.be/6jm3a_Gvc5g?si=3dERNsMUelZ8_qBY

"Dive deep into the life of George Harrison, the legendary Beatle, and discover the profound influence of spirituality on his music. In this video, we explore how George's quest for spiritual enlightenment shaped his songwriting and personal life. From his embrace of Indian culture and the sitar to his collaborations with spiritual figures and his devotion to the Hare Krishna movement, witness the harmonious blend of his spiritual journey with his musical genius."

I believe the host of the channel, Filip Holm, is a Sufi. His documentaries are always impressively thorough, with this one even mentioning Swami Vivekananda, Yogananda, and the Vaishnava tradition. A great exploration of the Beatles, Ravi Shankar, and the various eastern influences.