Happy Perihelion, January 4th, 2006

PLEASE SEE NEW VERSION UNDER HAPPY 2006 CARD
I'd like to send all Dear Hearts reading this page a very Happy Perihelion greeting, celebrating the day that the earth's orbit approaches the nearest to our parent star. Three Kings Day (Epiphany) I think originated intuitively/subconsciously from this Perihelion snuggle. It varies from Jan 2-Jan 5, this year on Jan 4th at 15 hours Greenwich, which falls I believe at 11 PM Pacific. I'll celebrate whenever the clouds part during the preceding daylight hours. I always experience the sunlight at that time of year to have a champagne-like quality - very heady and bubbly.

Out of the Body vs. Downpouring of Light

Dear A:
Good to read from you! I always enjoy your postings.I think you probably are correct that once 'beyond' the lower jhanas/body bliss states, blinks as well as other body-centered techniques become baggage, so to speak. I think the same can be said of my other simplistic approaches, but until I'm permanently established in a relaxed, pristine awareness, I may have to rely on what few natural instruments I possess. After all, even the Buddha holds a vajra in one hand, and in some Tibetan visualizations, a sword as well! Could the 'sword' be the blink - the thought 'swatter?'
Also, I'm very interested in what Sri Aurobindo described as 'the divinization of the body,' and thus am not so much interested in 'transcending the physical' as I am in purifying and 'convincing' the body cells that they, also, are made of light (bio-photons) and thus unconsciously enlightened. However they seem to take some serious convincing!
The purring technique I use I find directly relates to The Jewel Ship's vajra- breathing "Om Ah Hum" -- an inhaled nasal "OM" to a held 'AH', and an exhaled 'HUM' through the mouth. For many years I've found that prolonged "OM-ing" leads naturally to a type of snored motorboating of the lips on the exhale, a soft-palette/septum rattle on the inhale, and the resonated trachea. The latter in turn leads to the intense bliss of the vibrated aorta that is situated in front of the trachea, and thus in turn vibrates the whole circulatory system (blood transmits sound vibration quite well, it seems). Could the vajra thus symbolize the 'purr'? Or at the
very least the vajra-breath that leads to the purr?
My main interest is in an approach to enlightenment 'access to which is denied no one' and that, dancing as it does in the meadows outside all traditional paths, is thus is open to all comers. Now you can ask, 'How does this differ from the Tathagata's teachings?' All I would suggest is that "the simplest approach for today may have to come through a combination of body-mind states" that are not seen as too alien or 'foreign' by the average person. H. H. The Dalai Lama also seems very interested in a rapprochement between neuroscience and Buddhism, perhaps for the same reason. Especially in these benighted times, easy access and simplicity seems to be the key. Thus I try to demonstrate by example how, for example, one can increase one's bliss tolerance by, for easy starters, purring for five minutes upon awakening.
This dzogchen list may be too advanced for such simple procedures, and also specific in its focus on a traditional (abeit fascinating) approach. But I have been finding that the further afield I search, the more parallels I discover amongst the so-called advanced teachings of the old ways and the ones I keep stumbling upon. The former may just have to be re-cast in a more contemporary language to become more widely accessible.
Does this make sense? With the world tipping towards more and more violence, I think we desperately need to demonstrate that the end of suffering is an innate birthright of all beings.
And thanks for asking, A! I always appreciate your thoughts.

Drill Sergeant teaches No Mind

I thought I posted this earlier, but can't find it so here goes:

ATENNN....SHUN!!!
What does the Army Drill Sergeant expect when he/she shouts this
order?
"Backs straight! Chins in! Eyes forward!"
Try that posture. What does 'eyes forward' really mean?
And what's the Sergeant trying to do when he/she pushes
his/her face within inches of yours?
Sergeant Padmasambava: "Dogface!"
Private Dogface: "Here, SIR!"
Sergeant Padmasambava: "WHO you looking at, Private!?"
Private Dogface: "Er, you, sir!"
Sergeant Padmasambava: "Don't you look at me, Private! Who you looking at?"
Private Dogface: "No one -- er, nothing, SIR!
Sergeant Padmasambava: "Cor-RECT!"

I think I've discovered a link between this military 'attention'
position and what is called 'Abiding in the Self.'

Here's the exercise:

1. Widen the eyes as much as possible into a stare and lock them.
2. Hold the forehead muscles up.
3. Allow the corners of the mouth to smile and lock them.
4. Flare the nostrils and lock them.
5. Hold this 'Padmasambava Look'
Observe the energies being released in the lower belly, chest and
arms.
Observe the deepened breathing.
Increase your bliss tolerance level as much as possible, please.
6. When the eyes begin to tear, observe the energies behind the
tearing, then lower the eyelids enough to keep the eyes moist -
(the half-lid-lowered position).
7. You should, if I'm not mistaken, experience a near-orgasmic heart
rush within seconds. (your mileage may vary)
8. Of course you should not become attached to these extreme bliss
states, right? After all, what's extreme bliss? Just another
illusion to overcome. Right?
I said, 'RIGHT?' Hey, will you stop rolling on the floor with
your tongue sticking out, please, and listen to me?

COMMENT: The interesting thing about this posture is that it
sort of duplicates what the drill sergeant expects you to do when
he/she shouts 'TENNN-SHUN!' (except for the rolling on the floor, etc.
part).