June, 2004

Great Thunks from E- Mail
Ramon (Ray) Sender = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
June 12, 2004

Subject: tease? bliss tolerance?

To test your bliss tolerance threshold, you can bundle some curly ribbon (the kind that curls when you strip it with a knife blade) ends into a small bundle and run the ends gently over your face. This will, if you're not careful, trigger what I call 'the Shoo Fly Reflex' - a kind of shudder that makes you want to tweak your nostrils. But if you wiggle your big toes, you can withstand the tickle longer and allow currents of tickle-bliss to run up and down your body. I find that over time this sensitizes your skin to a new level of sensitivity that can be quite charming.

I thought of this while pondering the Buddha sitting under the bodhi tree, and thought, "What about the FLIES? The MOSQUITOES?"

Now in Ramakrishna's case, when he went into a 3-day samadhi, totally motionless without breath, there was a little boy whose job it was to brush the ants off his body. So obviously there can be total body paralysis (yoganidra), although in some cases I think it must not be so 'withdrawn' from outer sensations.

Yes?

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June 6, 2004

Hallo, sweethearts!

I'm working on a new exercise : full body tongue nursing... sort of copying the way little babies nurse with their whole bodies, not just with their mouth muscles. Y'all could help me by observing Rafa's nursing 'moves,' and just what happens with feet, hands, other areas. Here's as far as I've gotten:

Roll the tongue back into Kechari Mudra (as far towards the tonsils as is comfortable). You will suck once on the tongue throughout the accompanying inhale.

Place the tips of the fourth fingers in the palms of the hands - for me they lock in place because the bulge under the thumb locks them. Hold the hands out, backs facing up, and tighten them as you inhale up from the chakras on the bottom of the feet while stretching the toes up.

On this same inhale, squeeze the mula, pull in the diaphragm to fill the upper chest, chin muscle up, smile up, flare the nostrils, widen the eyes to emphasize peripheral vision, eyebrows slightly up but a slight tension between the eyebrows. Allow eyes to roll up towards the end of the inhale. Don't be afraid to suck _hard_ on the tongue.

Exhale: release the mulabandha, the toes, the hands, the suction on the tongue (but keep it rolled back), but keep the smile/chin muscle sort of on.

Repeat the inhale as before, and 'freshen' the smile/ chin muscle pull-up

I know - sort of complicated... Actually what I'm realizing is that holding ANY muscle(s) in a lock (bandha) creates an energy rush. Try just keeping the nostrils flared with a smile, for example... I get immediate upwards rushes from the solar plexus... Hard to keep them flared on the exhale... so I have to keep renewing the lock... The smile is easier to 'fix.' Ditto a complete facial expression.

I'm beginning to think that Paul Ekman, the facial expression guy up at UCSF, was kinda off the track with his 'facial expressions are designed NOT to be held, so just memorize the part of the brain that lights up in a 'happy face.'" I mean, that's great advice for the virtuoso, but I think locking a smiling, happy face and holding onto it as long as possible is an interesting exercise. Kechari Mudra helps me hold on for the ride!

Gotta go walk the walk with the Riqui Dog!

Much Love. . . .

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June 5, 2004

Hallo, Dearest P:

All well here. Catching up on things today on line. Had a GREAT meditation last evening that underlined for me the importance of holding a 'facial asana' for an extended period (I was revisiting the placement of the Eight Auspicious Symbols on the face - the Treasure Vase of Compassion on the chin (upward pull on the chin muscle), the lotus (Blissful Liberation) on the smiling mouth/tongue (kechari), the endless knot the circular breath at the nostrils, the two fish the two streams of breath up the _dilated_ nostrils (also interesting mudra) or the Ida and Pingala nerves, if you wish. The Wheel of Dharma I interpret as the Third Eye pathway that begins at the pituitary and then extends like a tube or tunnel into the third ventricle and the pineal gland (the conch shell). The Precious Parasol symbolizes the widened eyes (peripheral gaze) that includes slightly raised eyebrows and slighty wrinkled center brow. The Victory Banner is just that - Nirvana.

Of course this is just my own private 'take' - and somewhere I have a graphic (rummage rummage). Darn, can't find the one I want, but there's the Peacenowthou version on my website: http://www.raysender.com/peacesnd.html (I'm currently expanding the instructions, so it's 'in process')

Anyway, that's all the snooze worth samadhi-ing! Love to All in You That Loves - and if there's anything else, Love to that Also!

R = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
1 June 2004
Hi A:
Utilizing Aziz's description of Sense of Presence in the head, I've more or less localized it in my third ventricle just in front of the pineal gland, although I think a connection could be argued for the amrita as the spinal fluid. The pineal gland remains for me the 'take-off' point out through the top of the head ('seat of the soul' in others' descriptions). I'd love to build a prototype temple - Temple of Ma'at - based on the pineal area as viewed here:
Also, because J told me you're interested in 'meditation gadgets,' I'd be interested to know what you've discovered. I'm currently working on an upgrade to my sun strobe (see diagram2) as well as planning a few other items based on some of the vibro-acoustic devices I've seen on line ( somatron.com ). My intent is to built a waterbed with four subwoofers beneath it that can be driven by the human voice. I think if I can resonate the inside of the body with OM-ing and the outside via the subwoofers and _balance_ the two, any sense of the individual self may disappear.
I like your purple Sri Yantra a lot, by the way. My version of the Sri Yantra 'in action' can be viewed at: Sri Yantra which is an 'insertion' of the Sri Yantra above the Buddha, then reflecting down into his aura, which triggers the Rainbow Body. I also tried to hint at the insight "light = vertical love, love = horizontal light," with the heart as the transformer.
I remain 'deluded' (smile) by the thought that Mother Nature in her overwhelming generosity has provided a number of simple entry points to the high realms of eudaemony. For example: horned rabbit poem Wishing you immediate recognition of your buddhahood in this very lifetime, Ramon
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D. wrote:

> I began to feel that the common denominator is not focus at all, but
> letting go. So I sit without touching anything,
> letting the mind wind down on its own

I like your phrase 'without touching anything...'
And of course your emphasis on just letting go.

I've been practicing a 'whole body breath,' which
I could describe as an inhale that begins at my
feet, coming all the way up to my upper chest and
into the center of the head. On the exhale I
completely 'let go,' although remaining aware
of a growing ball of energy now situated in the
center of my head.

I continue to 'feed' this ball of energy with each
inhale until it drops on its own to the chest and belly.
This approach no doubt is closer to some yoga practices
than pure Vipassana, but it works well for me.
Actually that sense of Presence in the center of
the head is described well by Master Aziz Kristof,
a meditation teacher who spent many years practicing
Zen Buddhism before moving to an experience he
describes as 'the ME...' See his "State of
Presence" at:

http://www.raysender.com/Map of Aziz.htm

May we all Awaken today,

Ramon

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IS wrote:

> So therefore I believe the whole universe is consciousness, conscious because
> it creates things that have never existed before, be its vehicle of creation
> thought, or evolution, that does not matter. We are the luckiest piece of this
> thing we've found; able to sit and chatter about life, the universe, and
> everything, and blessed to be able to begin to realise just how profound, even
> suffering is.

I totally agree - and gratitude and letting go is the path! But we should
realize what a unique opportunity this human incarnation gives us to awaken to THAT.

I think we are the universe's mirror to see/understand its own awakening to
itself in denser and denser, slower and slower vibrational structures. Light
pouring down to discover itself already hiding in the darkest corners...

Light = vertical Love Love = horizontal Light

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"r.o.s. wrote

> Rather than the focus of I am this or I am that, question deeply "Who am I?"
> Eventually you reach the point of the origin; of consciousness, prior to
> thought, prior to mind, the source of all, that which observes.

> > In the books of Moses God says "Tell the people; I am that I am."

> > God lives in us, as us. The source, the original "I AM"
> Our link to God and the infinity that surrounds us. In one instant we can
> burst our boundaries and expand to touch that infinity.

> > Plant allies can give us a brief but insightful glimpse of that truth.

INHALE: "I"
EXAHLE: "AM"
(counting the relaxed breaths to ten and back...)

Saying "I" places the mouth into a smile...
This is another version of the Sanskrit mantra "AH-HAM..." which
means the same thing.

But 'AH' does not necessarily require the smile, which is why "I"
is better.
And then...

"Whom am I?"
Just ask, "So, who wants to know?" and the mind will dissolve.
(Balsekar commenting on the 'I amness' of Nisargadatta & 'Who am I'
meditation exercise of Ramana Maharshi.)

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I don't usually get asked any questions during meditation time, but last night
I did hear, "Do you like it here?"
And I replied, "Yes I indeedy-do!" and was asked again, "Do you REALLY
like it here?" At which point I sang the following song I wrote in the 1960s.