a seamless thread of continuity - imagine being inside a hollow sphere, and everything is "projected" on the inside surface, everything = sleeping, dreaming and waking. Everything is the same distance from self.
witnessing is the ego getting a taste of self and thinking it might just survive this enlightenment thing and live forever . . . that's why it's accompanied by some pretty happy thoughts . . . of course realizing that the ego barely even exists at all is when you finally jump ship. on the inside surface--- In [email protected], Duveyoung <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Vaj, > > The below doesn't seem to have enough definitional clarity -- the > meanings of words are kinda fuzzy. My quibbles below. > > Edg > > --- In [email protected], Vaj <vajranatha@> wrote: > > > > From "Yoga an Psychotherapy, The Evolution of Consciousness" > > > > "The Mandukya Upanishad says of this state which lies beyond waking > > consciousness and dreaming sleep: > > > > The third aspect of the Self is the Universal Person in dreamless > > sleep-prajna .... He experiences neither strife nor anxiety, he is > > said to be blissful .... Prajna is the Lord of All .... He knows > > all.... The sphere 0f prajna is deep sleep in whom all experiences > > become unified or undifferentiated, who is... a mass of > > consciousness... who is full of bliss... who is the path leading to > > the knowledge of the other states.27 > > > > But this universal state is split off. It is experienced separately. > > It is not remembered. > > The unconsciousness of the thoughtless-sleep state is the one thing that > differentiates it from "enlightened" thoughtless-sleep. While awareness > is always present, it should be noted that awareness is not conditioned > with the quality of "being recallable." An enlightened person doesn't > remember awareness as a "process of the past," but instead, since > awareness is ALWAYS THERE, it is known to the enlightened to be the same > no matter where in time or space it is symbolized, and even if "a memory > of awareness" could be conceived, it would always have the same > identical presentation, and no difference is no difference, so no memory > is needed when it's right there in one's face! > > The waking consciousness-even the dreaming > > consciousness-are too limited to cope with it. It remains unknown, a > > four-hour mystery that takes place each night, hidden between our > > dreams leaving occasionally just a hint of "other- worldliness." > > This "hint" must be counted as a wisp of the oncoming dream state or > waking. Thoughtlessness is thoughtlessness. That said, Patanjali says > that this state is one in which the thought "nothingness" is being > considered. > > > Though this way of understanding dreamless sleep seems very foreign to > > Western thinking, the Upanishads go even further. They describe a > > fourth state. It is still more advanced than the third. It is what > > results when the expanded consciousness is brought back from dreamless > > sleep into dreaming and waking consciousness. This is considered more > > evolved than the third state because it is the result of a massive > > reintegration. > > This is poetry -- very hard to resonate with it. Turiya is amness, not > a processing of an evolution. > > The universality of deep sleep is carried over into the > > other levels of consciousness. One maintains the all-encompassing > > awareness, the serene and universal consciousness constantly. > > Nope, any "one" is impotent -- there can be no causal agent of amness. > If all-encompassing awareness were something a doer could do, it would > be of little worth since its eternal nature would be gainsaid by the > imposition of the assertion that it needs to be "maintained." > > He > > maintains (ahem) contact with the brilliant light of cosmic awareness > while > > also remaining in touch with the usual levels of waking consciousness. > > This "fourth state" is called turiya. It is the perspective from which > > all can be observed, controlled and integrated. > > Turiya cannot be a perspective since it is, if anything, all > perspectives in seed-form: OM. Nor is there any observing done by > amness. Observing is a process contained within the potentiality of > amness, but the gunas must get out of balance and manifest an > ego-process for any observation to occur. > > It brings total > > awareness of all the compartments of the mind, all the lower levels of > > consciousness. > > Awareness is always whole, so it is illogical to think that it can ever > be in a lesser state. Thus it is always "total." Because an ego denies > its true status, it contends that awareness is limited because the ego > cannot see some things that are too subtle for the current refinement of > the ego's ability to attend. Awareness is never limited -- only the ego > can take on such a quality. In other words, God knows, the ego blows. > > > > For example, the dream state becomes totally accessible. A yogi who is > > approaching this highest state of development can maintain > > consciousness during the period that would normally be dreaming. > > ALL THIS is consciousness, and it needs no maintenance by a persona. > The "yogi" mentioned here is merely the ego of the yogi which is a > process that can happen in a dream, but only amness, awareness, can be > considered "there" when nothing is happening in thoughtless sleep. > > This > > explains how he might be able to practice continuous deep sleep; > > There's no "he" to practice. There is no doership. Ego is sleeping > during thoughtless sleeping. > > how > > he would be conscious enough of the sleep cycle to enter it where he > > wished and stay as long as he needed. > > A "he" is never sentient, never conscious. If a "yogi" wakes up and > says, "I decided to be aware of my dreams last night," he's lost in > egoic ignorance. Rather, a true yogi will say, "Last night, dreams > happened, and this nervous system is subtle enough to remember them upon > awakening." > > It also implies that one could > > maintain awareness of the external world even while in the delta > > stages of sleep. > > This just astounds me. There has never been a mother ever that wouldn't > instantly wake up if her child cries. BLAM she's there -- straight out > of dreamless sleep. Why? Because awareness is an all time reality, and > the mother's ego is awakened by, hmmmm, could it be THE ABSOLUTE? This > is one of the ways we can tell God exists and cares for Maya's > illusionary entities that seem sentient. > > If consciousness is truly integrated, then from the > > vantage point of this higher level both the dreamless sleep and the > > external world should be perceptible. > > Perception is a process; if the external world is perceived, then it is > a subtle form of the waking state OR, again, it is God doing the > perceiving like the case of the mother hearing a baby's cry. And, > again, consciousness is always fully integrated, nay, cannot be anything > but whole, and it is merely the ego's skill-level of subtlety that is > being more or less integrated. > > This contradicts all our > > customary ways of thinking about deep sleep, of course. It is normally > > assumed that one is totally oblivious during this deepest level of the > > sleep cycle, that he can be aware of nothing around him. > > Again, this is a confusing of awareness with perception. > > > > > In an experiment done with Swami Rama at the Menninger Foundation, > > this usual conception of delta level sleep was found to be inadequate. > > > > After producing theta waves, the Swami said he knew exactly how the > > inner states of awareness were arranged in respect to the brain wave > > frequency bands. Then he said, 'tomorrow I will consciously make delta > > waves for you.' I replied that I doubted that he would succeed in that > > because he would have to be sound asleep in order to produce delta. He > > laughed at this and said that I would think that he was asleep but > > that he would be conscious of everything that occured in the > > experimental room. > > > > Before this test he asked how long I would like to have him remain in > > the delta state. I said that 25 minutes would be alright and he said > > he would bring himself out at that time. After about five minutes of > > meditation, lying down with his eyes shut, the Swami began producing > > delta waves, which we had never before seen in his record. In > > addition, he snored gently. Alyce, without having told Swami that she > > was going to say anything (she was in the experimental room observing > > him during this test) then made a statement in a > > low voice, 'Today the sun is shining, but tomorrow it may rain.' Every > > five minutes she made another statement and after 25 minutes had > > passed the Swami roused himself and said that someone with sharp heels > > had walked on the floor above and made a click, click, click noise > > during the test, and a door had been slammed twice somewhere in the > > building and that Mrs. Green had said-and here he gave her statements > > verbatim, except for the last half of the fourth sentence, of which he > > had the gist correct though not the words. I was very much impressed > > because in listening from the control room, I had heard her sentences, > > but could not remember them all, and I was supposed to have been > awake. > > 28 > > He sounds like a real yogi who knows that God is doing all the > perceptions. > > > > Yoga nidra [yogic sleep] can be considered "semi-samadhi" in which the > > consciousness remains in an active state while the body, nervous > > system and brain remain completely relaxed. This might be thought of > > as voluntary, fully conscious sleep. The sleeper remains alert, > > observing himself sleep. > > Again! A sleeper is a sleeper is a sleeper. The ego sleeps, God never > does. > > It is said that those who know the techniques > > of yoga nidra, by slowly increasing the duration of their meditation > > have reached the point where they no longer need the kind of sleep > > that most people require. Advanced yogis consider spending eight hours > > in sleep a waste of time. Gandhi made a practice of determining before > > he went to bed exactly how long he would sleep-averaging about two and > > a half hours. Napoleon Bonapart apparently had a somewhat similar > > ability. It is said that he often slept while on horseback, but that > > he was always fully alert the moment the occasion demanded it. > > > > This recalls the ancient Indian saying that a yogi should sleep "like > > a dog naps": fully alert, though completely relaxed. His sleep is > > under his control. > > Control -- this and other words like it keep the egoic golem shambling > about and encourages the mind to try to find the pot of gold at the end > of the rainbow. There's nothing to quench one's thirst in a desert > oases mirage. > > Ordinary sleep is, by contrast, a state of deep > > inertia. Yoga nidra, on the other hand, is a deep meditative state, > > which approaches turiya, the state beyond." > > >
