"Health and wellness are not ravaged globally because of _____ cause. They are ravaged because we have allowed ourselves to be ruled and governed by rapacious egos. Our own included."
I really loved this interview, as he several times gets to the crux of the matter.
My concern about the health warriors (myself included) is that we become so focused on undoing the current medical system of lies that we just create another set of material world idols to worship. Until we realize that all evil (call it unconsciousness or whatever other word fits) is the result of self-love/self-focus, we will continue to create horrible outcomes.
And if one isn't into learning this or that breath practice yet, the mere act of paying attention to and focusing on one's breathing is enough to bring you into the present moment, where all "truth" and actual "health" are found. :-)
Very good interview that sure explains a lot. I think I have avoided exploring yoga further because sitting cross legged is actually very painful for me, even since I was a young kid. I definitely have tight hips and actually tore some ligament once practicing yoga, so I’ve avoided that position. And I keep telling myself that we are here to have a human experience and I’ll have plenty of time to know my true self after my physical body dies. So, in the meantime, I will investigate this breath work in my daily life, quiet my mind and just practice being mindful and being the best human I can be while enjoying this physical life.
This has been a post most needed and Jerad's statements ring true, both experientially and conceptually. Since many of us have not found the font of blessing a valid teacher. We too must be equally valid students.
> Find someone with really deep, real experience to teach you!
REPLY: We the unqualified are to select a valid teacher for us. We the unqualified are then to follow the instructions of our first choice as a teacher who teaches (as do all teachers) that our respect and trust in the teacher is to be unconditional and complete.
We the unqualified are then profoundly troubled should we for any reason begin to doubt our teacher. Some should be doubted and examined in minuet detail.
Thus for me the root teacher is life and we need to examine our doubts with rigor and candor, likewise our chosen teacher. If both withstand the inner teacher and the outer teacher withstand the rigors of your sincere inquiry, we can trust we have found the correct teacher for us.
Still life is a maelstrom of change. Life as teacher will bring new lessons to deepen our understanding and wisdom, the experiences should withstand continuing robust inquiry.
Thus for me the ancient American Indian path of vision quest is valuable in finding ones core inner teacher. Connecting with life. Having found our core inner teacher, we are better able to find our outer teacher.
REPLY Thanks Jared. The answers to those questions depend on the disposition of the individual seeker and their veracity and integrity. And those aspects should always be integral to ones practice.
It is hard to be honest and clear in the beginning. And recognizing one is delusional makes it harder to trust oneself as the distinction between self (embodied being/one with all) and the Ego is almost impossible at that point.
Sincerity is a good beginning for us to proceed. Many of us have very little else to rely on.
We are beginners without a teacher and without a grounded practice. Where to begin? Sincerity of intention is a good start.
I agree about the difficulty of finding a good teacher. One has to sift through all the charlatans without the requisite discernment. Not easy. I have found (like you) that LIFE is the best teacher, as long as one has a way of interpreting the signs - but this is part of the process, trial and error (which usually means lots of trials and lots of errors). Well, this is boot-camp Earth-School after all, so about par for the course.
> Well, this is boot-camp Earth-School after all, so about par for the course.
REPLY: very true.
Still a vision quest may be the best way to get connected to the inner teacher/life. Why? In the old days a brave (squaw too) went out alone with little to sustain him. He could not return to the tribe without a vision. Meaning one could not "see" without the support of nature. If nature did not support you. You die. A vision quest is no trivial quest. So making a true connection is all that keeps you alive. Delusion will get you killed.
If there is another way to know yourself in short order I do not know of it. If you do, I appreciate your sharing.
Thank you wm. I went on vision-quest in 1999 (in the north-american-indian tradition) high up in the mountains somewhere in California. As a result, on day(night)-1 I found myself on a spontaneous shamanic journey - feeling very 'at home' and more 'alive' than ever with this experience. Over the next two years I would (out the blue) suddenly have to go and lie down and I would 'travel' into some other world. It also included some 'remote viewing', dreaming in one gulp whole novels & plays, entering an echo-chamber where people composed music, and sensing some history-changing event was about to happen (3 days before 9/11). I tried to train myself to initiate and focus these possibilities but the spirit-of-life would have none of it. All spontaneous, or not at all. Gradually this capability fizzled out and I felt utterly bereft. (I've never smoked anything or taken any drugs, by the way).
In 2000 I quit my very comfortable academic professorship to see if whatever had been stirred in me needed to find some new creative expression. (You can read my 'story' here on substack, as an interview with 'Unbekoming' -- https://substack.com/@unbekoming/p-143061568)
I'm not sure if there are any short-cuts to 'know thyself' (other than a Near-Death-Experience) but I increasingly live in an interactive mode with Life itself, and Nature -- and have given up on trying to change the world for the better - quite a relief I can tell you :)
> I increasingly live in an interactive mode with Life itself, and Nature -- and have given up on trying to change the world for the better - quite a relief I can tell you :)
REPLY: Yes it is a relief. I was never able to go on a vision quest as the years I was able to go my mentor didn't have enough questers to defer the cost.
His method was quite a process. First you did a 3 day test run in a remote canyon in near San Juan Bautista. There was a sweat lodge that all participated in. Those that survived that experience then did the real thing at very remote places also in California.It was another 3 day journey. No food just water. Quite a rigorous experience. People come back changed for sure.
I know of no other way to get in touch with your true self quickly. Yes near death experience should wake one up for sure. I am guessing as I have not had one of those either. But a vision quest is almost a near death experience.
Finding a true teacher remains a daunting task of those who do not know themselves and do not know they do not know.
My man! Would love to see you look into the ether. When it comes to breathing, we see how powerful it is, but no one focuses on it as if it’s not there.
We need to remember that there’s “something in the nothing” and just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.
When we make ourselves awake of “what appears to be nothing” we’re more mindful of our actions within it and on it. The same that applies to breathing can also apply to concepts like faith, imagination, but what I wanted to mention originally, the ether.
The belief in aether went out with Tesla. It is coming back. 95% of the universe is dark matter and dark energy. We are surrounded with and made of the same stuff that the rest of the universe is made up of.
Well, hello there. I've seen you here before. Thanks for the link. Even though I have no background whatsoever to dare to question dogma, the questions you raise, are questions that I have asked myself for decades now, to the chagrin of all around me (I'm crazy doncha know!!) simply from reading books and taking notes and connecting dots.
Now wait a minute, you just said one thing and now are speaking from the other side of your mouth, I don't get it, makes no sense, has been my observation for ever. Mind spinning, electrons spit firing, non-sensical science has created a curiosity in me I have never been able to suppress. And why would I, it's so much fun to see and remember my theories, when all around me were blaming me (Kipling) when validation came to fruition decades later when some bright soul had the courage to blow the lid off of science (fiction) that I wholeheartedly agreed with. YES!!!, I knew it. It's a great feeling, is it not?
I've felt for some years I need to get into 'breathwork' -- maybe the time is now right -- but my natural clock for decades doesn't like getting up early. Well, that's the first challenge then.
As a happy meditator for the past 55 years, I find it interesting that my doctor needs to take two x-rays of my lungs because they are so big.
I would only like to add to this discussion the wisdom of Esther Gokhale (creator of the Gokhale Method): she encourages focusing on filling the chest with air before moving it down to the abdomen. It not only encourages better posture, it makes room for even more prana!
First I read Autobiography of A Yogi, then I took Inner Engineering program/Kriya initiation from Sadhguru and my life was seriously transformed (from practicing every day).
2-3 years ago I discovered Sri M who has become the closest thing that I can call my teacher/guru. He’s the person resonates with me the most. I couldn’t recommend his teaching (Satsang Foundation) more.
From the bottom of the piece:
"Health and wellness are not ravaged globally because of _____ cause. They are ravaged because we have allowed ourselves to be ruled and governed by rapacious egos. Our own included."
I really loved this interview, as he several times gets to the crux of the matter.
My concern about the health warriors (myself included) is that we become so focused on undoing the current medical system of lies that we just create another set of material world idols to worship. Until we realize that all evil (call it unconsciousness or whatever other word fits) is the result of self-love/self-focus, we will continue to create horrible outcomes.
And if one isn't into learning this or that breath practice yet, the mere act of paying attention to and focusing on one's breathing is enough to bring you into the present moment, where all "truth" and actual "health" are found. :-)
Nice! Thank you Jerad.
Very good interview that sure explains a lot. I think I have avoided exploring yoga further because sitting cross legged is actually very painful for me, even since I was a young kid. I definitely have tight hips and actually tore some ligament once practicing yoga, so I’ve avoided that position. And I keep telling myself that we are here to have a human experience and I’ll have plenty of time to know my true self after my physical body dies. So, in the meantime, I will investigate this breath work in my daily life, quiet my mind and just practice being mindful and being the best human I can be while enjoying this physical life.
Thank you. After only a few deliberate breaths, I'm already feeling quieter, more peaceful. 😌 🙏
Hi Unbekoming and Jerad,
This has been a post most needed and Jerad's statements ring true, both experientially and conceptually. Since many of us have not found the font of blessing a valid teacher. We too must be equally valid students.
> Find someone with really deep, real experience to teach you!
REPLY: We the unqualified are to select a valid teacher for us. We the unqualified are then to follow the instructions of our first choice as a teacher who teaches (as do all teachers) that our respect and trust in the teacher is to be unconditional and complete.
We the unqualified are then profoundly troubled should we for any reason begin to doubt our teacher. Some should be doubted and examined in minuet detail.
Thus for me the root teacher is life and we need to examine our doubts with rigor and candor, likewise our chosen teacher. If both withstand the inner teacher and the outer teacher withstand the rigors of your sincere inquiry, we can trust we have found the correct teacher for us.
Still life is a maelstrom of change. Life as teacher will bring new lessons to deepen our understanding and wisdom, the experiences should withstand continuing robust inquiry.
Thus for me the ancient American Indian path of vision quest is valuable in finding ones core inner teacher. Connecting with life. Having found our core inner teacher, we are better able to find our outer teacher.
REPLY Thanks Jared. The answers to those questions depend on the disposition of the individual seeker and their veracity and integrity. And those aspects should always be integral to ones practice.
It is hard to be honest and clear in the beginning. And recognizing one is delusional makes it harder to trust oneself as the distinction between self (embodied being/one with all) and the Ego is almost impossible at that point.
Sincerity is a good beginning for us to proceed. Many of us have very little else to rely on.
We are beginners without a teacher and without a grounded practice. Where to begin? Sincerity of intention is a good start.
I agree about the difficulty of finding a good teacher. One has to sift through all the charlatans without the requisite discernment. Not easy. I have found (like you) that LIFE is the best teacher, as long as one has a way of interpreting the signs - but this is part of the process, trial and error (which usually means lots of trials and lots of errors). Well, this is boot-camp Earth-School after all, so about par for the course.
Thank you Joshua,
> Well, this is boot-camp Earth-School after all, so about par for the course.
REPLY: very true.
Still a vision quest may be the best way to get connected to the inner teacher/life. Why? In the old days a brave (squaw too) went out alone with little to sustain him. He could not return to the tribe without a vision. Meaning one could not "see" without the support of nature. If nature did not support you. You die. A vision quest is no trivial quest. So making a true connection is all that keeps you alive. Delusion will get you killed.
If there is another way to know yourself in short order I do not know of it. If you do, I appreciate your sharing.
peace
Thank you wm. I went on vision-quest in 1999 (in the north-american-indian tradition) high up in the mountains somewhere in California. As a result, on day(night)-1 I found myself on a spontaneous shamanic journey - feeling very 'at home' and more 'alive' than ever with this experience. Over the next two years I would (out the blue) suddenly have to go and lie down and I would 'travel' into some other world. It also included some 'remote viewing', dreaming in one gulp whole novels & plays, entering an echo-chamber where people composed music, and sensing some history-changing event was about to happen (3 days before 9/11). I tried to train myself to initiate and focus these possibilities but the spirit-of-life would have none of it. All spontaneous, or not at all. Gradually this capability fizzled out and I felt utterly bereft. (I've never smoked anything or taken any drugs, by the way).
In 2000 I quit my very comfortable academic professorship to see if whatever had been stirred in me needed to find some new creative expression. (You can read my 'story' here on substack, as an interview with 'Unbekoming' -- https://substack.com/@unbekoming/p-143061568)
I'm not sure if there are any short-cuts to 'know thyself' (other than a Near-Death-Experience) but I increasingly live in an interactive mode with Life itself, and Nature -- and have given up on trying to change the world for the better - quite a relief I can tell you :)
Hi Joshua,
Thank you for the Link, I will read.
> I increasingly live in an interactive mode with Life itself, and Nature -- and have given up on trying to change the world for the better - quite a relief I can tell you :)
REPLY: Yes it is a relief. I was never able to go on a vision quest as the years I was able to go my mentor didn't have enough questers to defer the cost.
His method was quite a process. First you did a 3 day test run in a remote canyon in near San Juan Bautista. There was a sweat lodge that all participated in. Those that survived that experience then did the real thing at very remote places also in California.It was another 3 day journey. No food just water. Quite a rigorous experience. People come back changed for sure.
I know of no other way to get in touch with your true self quickly. Yes near death experience should wake one up for sure. I am guessing as I have not had one of those either. But a vision quest is almost a near death experience.
Finding a true teacher remains a daunting task of those who do not know themselves and do not know they do not know.
GR8 mental & physical health advice
My man! Would love to see you look into the ether. When it comes to breathing, we see how powerful it is, but no one focuses on it as if it’s not there.
We need to remember that there’s “something in the nothing” and just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not real.
When we make ourselves awake of “what appears to be nothing” we’re more mindful of our actions within it and on it. The same that applies to breathing can also apply to concepts like faith, imagination, but what I wanted to mention originally, the ether.
Here’s an article I wrote on it and how Albert Einstein hurt us more than helped us: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/the-magic-of-albert-einstein
Interested in any thoughts if any.
The belief in aether went out with Tesla. It is coming back. 95% of the universe is dark matter and dark energy. We are surrounded with and made of the same stuff that the rest of the universe is made up of.
Well, hello there. I've seen you here before. Thanks for the link. Even though I have no background whatsoever to dare to question dogma, the questions you raise, are questions that I have asked myself for decades now, to the chagrin of all around me (I'm crazy doncha know!!) simply from reading books and taking notes and connecting dots.
Now wait a minute, you just said one thing and now are speaking from the other side of your mouth, I don't get it, makes no sense, has been my observation for ever. Mind spinning, electrons spit firing, non-sensical science has created a curiosity in me I have never been able to suppress. And why would I, it's so much fun to see and remember my theories, when all around me were blaming me (Kipling) when validation came to fruition decades later when some bright soul had the courage to blow the lid off of science (fiction) that I wholeheartedly agreed with. YES!!!, I knew it. It's a great feeling, is it not?
It is all within you and without you.
Thank you for sharing this simple wisdom.
I've felt for some years I need to get into 'breathwork' -- maybe the time is now right -- but my natural clock for decades doesn't like getting up early. Well, that's the first challenge then.
yes. boom diggity! love sweet love
Pranayama rocks! It brings awareness and life.
As a happy meditator for the past 55 years, I find it interesting that my doctor needs to take two x-rays of my lungs because they are so big.
I would only like to add to this discussion the wisdom of Esther Gokhale (creator of the Gokhale Method): she encourages focusing on filling the chest with air before moving it down to the abdomen. It not only encourages better posture, it makes room for even more prana!
Fantastic!
Kriya changed my life.
First I read Autobiography of A Yogi, then I took Inner Engineering program/Kriya initiation from Sadhguru and my life was seriously transformed (from practicing every day).
2-3 years ago I discovered Sri M who has become the closest thing that I can call my teacher/guru. He’s the person resonates with me the most. I couldn’t recommend his teaching (Satsang Foundation) more.
His autobiography is phenomenal…