Hello, help with a wonderful dream, please

[blissfulbunny]

Namaste,

Greetings everyone. I am new (I was here years ago).

I recently had a wonderful dream that I seem unable to interpret. It is like a treasure, so any reverent help is greatly appreciated.

Recently I read somewhere (Lakshmanjoo?) that there is a time between sleeping and waking that is the state of Shiva. I have had sudden images at this moment before.

This time, I popped into a state of alertness where I was no longer asleep, but not yet awake, eyes still closed; this only lasted for several seconds. Above my face as I had slept was a golden yantra, twinkling/shimmering in waves from my right to my left.

Then there appeared an exquisite golden orb to the right of the yantra, touching it. It seemed to be gently hammered gold, but it was shinier. It looked like there were two circular parts to this orb, almost over the top of each other (it could have been one orb). If the orb was the sun, the shining was internal, for I could look at it and enjoy its beauty.

So many pranams to my Guru.


https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2AjAGZaYBpU/WC9Ay6Xz7hI/AAAAAAAAfJc/4Xw85zuDrMAHxSNR5Q9MPe1DWotP6UZtwCLcB/s1600/Pic%2B-%2B51%2B200.png


Pranam,

Jana

[realdemigod]

Namaste,
I think that was Turiya state and may be you could start meditating on this yantra if you can visualise it clearly from your dream. Regarding the orb, very difficult to say what it could mean. If it is all gold I would say it could be synonymous to Jupiter and it is guiding you to your expansion of consciousness and if it's very bright like Sun..well Sun represents Soul.

edit: it is strange I was trying to open a website and suddenly this link popped out of nowhere. It is on Turiya so thought I would come back here and share it with you.

http://anaditeaching.com/turiya-the-absolute-waking-state/

[blissfulbunny]

Namaste,

Hello and thank you very much for your reply.

I hadn't thought about the state. Thank you for that! I was thinking only about the symbolism. It is a state of absolute stillness. Beyond stillness. Pure stillness. Pure awareness, though only for a few seconds (so far).

I'm glad the link found it's way to me through you, LOL. I have begun to study it in depth. There is a lot there.

[I wonder if the state of Turiyatita as an addition to the four states might somehow have any similarity with the five states in Trika Kashmir Shaivism (https://books.google.com/books?id=Dbf8VHcPoGMC&pg=PA71&dq=The+Five+States+of+the+Individual+Subjective+Body&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqhOvo8s_QAhUmh1QKHUevBrgQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=The%20Five%20States%20of%20the%20Individual%20Subjective%20Body&f=false)(?) Likely a coincidence.]

I will share with you that I see the yantra often while awake when I close my eyes. It joins the "everyday" golden lights that play on my eyelids when I close my eyes. It unfurls, then furls back up and disappears again quickly. It's shape is unmistakeable. This started within the past year.

Please Sri Yantra take no offence with my little play on words: I call it my "cosmic doorbell." Maybe it's my cosmic alarm clock!

I will follow your suggestion about meditating on the yantra.

Thanks again. I cherish your reply.

~Jana

[realdemigod]

Namaste,
You are welcome!. I'm not well versed with Kashmir Saivism nor the states of reality. I just realised that I didn't see the yantra properly when I replied. If Sri Yantra is what you see, then it is the grace of the Great Shakti and considering your affinity toward Kashmir Saivism it is a clear sign you are on the right path. In case you are interested I like this French author - Daniel Odier. He learnt from a Yogini in India called Lalita Devi about Tantra and Kashmir Saivism. He talks a lot about Kashmir Saivism in his books.

[blissfulbunny]

Namaste,

Hi thank you for the reply. No worries at all, I am always a beginner. I study Vedanta as well as Trika Kashmir Shaivism (Swami Muktananda did also). But yes, Trika Kashmir Shaivism is my path.

Thank you for the reference to Daniel Oldier and Lalita Devi. I had not encountered his works before. I am enjoying his website.

The "dream" is amazing. I continue to find more meanings in it about all that is most important in my life.

I feel impressed to share a teaching from my Shree Guru that is very powerful in my life right now: You are a soul. The worth of a soul is very great. If you know this, then your sadhana will have new meaning and confidence. Then you will know the true worth of a soul.

Pranam,

Jana

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté & svāgata te

Namaste,

Hi thank you for the reply. No worries at all, I am always a beginner. I study Vedanta as well as Trika Kashmir Shaivism (Swami Muktananda did also). But yes, Trika Kashmir Shaivism is my path.

Thank you for the reference to Daniel Oldier and Lalita Devi. I had not encountered his works before. I am enjoying his website.

The "dream" is amazing. I continue to find more meanings in it about all that is most important in my life.

I feel impressed to share a teaching from my Shree Guru that is very powerful in my life right now: You are a soul. The worth of a soul is very great. If you know this, then your sadhana will have new meaning and confidence. Then you will know the true worth of a soul.

Just a few things for your kind consideration... trika in and of itself contains within it non-dual kaśmir śaivism. In kaśmir śaivism it operates on the notion of the trika ( 3 fold) system. We know this as śiva , śakti and nara ( properly spelled as naraḥ. These are the 3 energies of Śiva-Bhairava i.e.
· parā śakti - considered Supreme energy (śakti)
· parāparā śakti - considered medium śakti
· aparā śakti - lower śakti
Within these 3 energies the whole universe and every action ( worldly, mental, physical, spiritual, etc) exists within these 3 śakti-s. So within kaśmir śaivism and the trika philosophy or trika śaivism is composed of 4 schools of thought. I am sure you are aware of them and I will not pursue it here. So the point is, you can just say trika, or non-dual kaśmir śaivism, but trika non-dual kaśmir śaivism is redundant ( see the point ? ).

Now of this dream... Note the value is not so much what you saw but the position in consciousness that it occurred. This ~position~ for lack of a better term is call the gap, turiya (the 4th), etc. This is what is to be groomed. There are other names for it, but this gap is the 'gold' and not so much the yantra ( albeit a nice thing to see). This gap comes every day for all of us , some have the attention and discrimination (viveka) to experience it , others not so much.
Now when does it come? Just before we wake in the morning. That is what you have described, just before waking, yet not fully wake nor fully asleep - a twilight time. This is called saṁdhyā. It occurs between sleep and wake and dream conditions. Note that I did not say sleeping conditions as this saṁdhyā can occur too for those that day dream. It is there. In fact it is there all the time and it peaks through , through these gap times when we are innocent and not trying to ‘catch’ it.
This saṁdhyā is also found during the day... just before sunrise, but not sunrise. Just before sunset but not sunset; around midnight and around mid-day. All transition times from one time to another , but of neither. See the point? There is that gap time, and that = saṁdhyā. Hence the world also provides these times to support us to experience saṁdhyā within us.
And these times are used for meditation. Most to many know brahma-muhūrta. It is that time in the morning most conducive for meditation and for attuning oneself to this saṁdhyā. If you look in the jyotish folder I offer a post of all 4 muhūrta times aligned to this saṁdhyā . Note that one muhūrta = 1/30th of the day or 48 minutes ( 48 minutes x 30 = 24 hours = 1 full day).

So, the gold in your dream/gap/ saṁdhyā is not so much your 'vision' but the experience of this gap – that is to be groomed again and again. What then occurs? Cloud pouring virtue ( these are śeṣa-patañjali’s words from his yogadarśana).

इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ

[blissfulbunny]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté & svāgata te

Just a few things for your kind consideration... trika in and of itself contains within it non-dual kaśmir śaivism. In kaśmir śaivism it operates on the notion of the trika ( 3 fold) system. We know this as śiva , śakti and nara ( properly spelled as naraḥ. These are the 3 energies of Śiva-Bhairava i.e.
· parā śakti - considered Supreme energy (śakti)
· parāparā śakti - considered medium śakti
· aparā śakti - lower śakti
Within these 3 energies the whole universe and every action ( worldly, mental, physical, spiritual, etc) exists within these 3 śakti-s. So within kaśmir śaivism and the trika philosophy or trika śaivism is composed of 4 schools of thought. I am sure you are aware of them and I will not pursue it here. So the point is, you can just say trika, or non-dual kaśmir śaivism, but trika non-dual kaśmir śaivism is redundant ( see the point ? ).

Now of this dream... Note the value is not so much what you saw but the position in consciousness that it occurred. This ~position~ for lack of a better term is call the gap, turiya (the 4th), etc. This is what is to be groomed. There are other names for it, but this gap is the 'gold' and not so much the yantra ( albeit a nice thing to see). This gap comes every day for all of us , some have the attention and discrimination (viveka) to experience it , others not so much.
Now when does it come? Just before we wake in the morning. That is what you have described, just before waking, yet not fully wake nor fully asleep - a twilight time. This is called saṁdhyā. It occurs between sleep and wake and dream conditions. Note that I did not say sleeping conditions as this saṁdhyā can occur too for those that day dream. It is there. In fact it is there all the time and it peaks through , through these gap times when we are innocent and not trying to ‘catch’ it.
This saṁdhyā is also found during the day... just before sunrise, but not sunrise. Just before sunset but not sunset; around midnight and around mid-day. All transition times from one time to another , but of neither. See the point? There is that gap time, and that = saṁdhyā. Hence the world also provides these times to support us to experience saṁdhyā within us.
And these times are used for meditation. Most to many know brahma-muhūrta. It is that time in the morning most conducive for meditation and for attuning oneself to this saṁdhyā. If you look in the jyotish folder I offer a post of all 4 muhūrta times aligned to this saṁdhyā . Note that one muhūrta = 1/30th of the day or 48 minutes ( 48 minutes x 30 = 24 hours = 1 full day).

So, the gold in your dream/gap/ saṁdhyā is not so much your 'vision' but the experience of this gap – that is to be groomed again and again. What then occurs? Cloud pouring virtue ( these are śeṣa-patañjali’s words from his yogadarśana).

इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ






Namaste,

I thank you so much for your reply. Perhaps I received as a gift a mystical purse lined with black velvet. There was a gold trinket inside to embellish the gift.

If I understand, meditation is the means for grooming saṁdhyā? May I ask, are you a practitioner of the Yoga School of Pantanjali?


Thank you,
Jana

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Namaste,

I thank you so much for your reply. Perhaps I received as a gift a mystical purse lined with black velvet. There was a gold trinket inside to embellish the gift.

If I understand, meditation is the means for grooming saṁdhyā? May I ask, are you a practitioner of the Yoga School of Pantanjali?
Thank you,
Jana

Yes, you are correct. meditation (dhyāna) contains 3 parts per śeṣa patañjali’s work (darśana – insights, knowledge, ~philosophical~ work):
dhyāna ध्यान - meditation
dhāraṇā धारणा - fixity, the act of holding, singleminded-ness ( some call ~ fixity~), one-pointedness.
samādhi समाधि- is one pointed absorption; One can say the mind is absorbed or 'concentrated' - but it is not the act of concentrating

Now when we say 'grooming saṁdhyā' it means making it more available to us. It is there already. We are only allowing the conditions for it to occur. When this saṁdhyā is experienced as pure awareness it = samādhi. Some say it the other way too... when saṁdhyā is held, then one experiences samādhi and this samādhi is none other than pure awareness itself.

Note too the notion of 'held' used above. This 'held' is done effortlessly. If it is forced or contrived then the mind is too engaged and an expectation is set. Expectation holds the mind on the surface waiting for something to occur. Just this waiting keeps it engaged and therefore does not settle down peacefully , for that is the nature of this pure awareness , perfectly balanced peace.

Regard (myself) being a practitioner of this school. The darśana (school) that I follow incorporates patañjali’s yogadarśana ; he is held in high regard.


इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ

[blissfulbunny]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté


Yes, you are correct. meditation (dhyāna) contains 3 parts per śeṣa patañjali’s work (darśana – insights, knowledge, ~philosophical~ work):
dhyāna ध्यान - meditation
dhāraṇā धारणा - fixity, the act of holding, singleminded-ness ( some call ~ fixity~), one-pointedness.
samādhi समाधि- is one pointed absorption; One can say the mind is absorbed or 'concentrated' - but it is not the act of concentrating

Now when we say 'grooming saṁdhyā' it means making it more available to us. It is there already. We are only allowing the conditions for it to occur. When this saṁdhyā is experienced as pure awareness it = samādhi. Some say it the other way too... when saṁdhyā is held, then one experiences samādhi and this samādhi is none other than pure awareness itself.

Note too the notion of 'held' used above. This 'held' is done effortlessly. If it is forced or contrived then the mind is too engaged and an expectation is set. Expectation holds the mind on the surface waiting for something to occur. Just this waiting keeps it engaged and therefore does not settle down peacefully , for that is the nature of this pure awareness , perfectly balanced peace.

Regard (myself) being a practitioner of this school. The darśana (school) that I follow incorporates patañjali’s yogadarśana ; he is held in high regard.


इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ



Namaste,

Thanks very much for your reply.

I am a practitioner of the Pratyabhijñā School of Kashmir Shaivism. Śāmbhava Upāya is my predominate means. My practices and increasing control of my mind are spontaneous, not structured.

I will myself to look around and see only One, including my body, everything (bliss comes). It is quite brief. Another step back and I know myself as this One (more bliss). Sometimes space and time slip away. I dissolve into myself as Paramashiva for a moment, again quite brief. So far awareness of my limited self remains. I do this over and over. This personal practice has arisen spontaneously as I have thought of Shiva.

NOTE: Any and all attainments always come from my Shree Guru.

Learning about Hindu philosophy very important to me. It is knowledge I crave. I will always be learning. It is very much worth constant effort.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with me.

Jana

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté




I will myself

you have peaked my sense of curiosity on your terms used that can possibly lead us to more insights...may I ask you to share your terms\experiences or how you parse out the following for me and the reader (via the following question)?


Is this 'I' you call out different than 'myself' you mention ? Can you differentiate between the two? if so, how and how would you define them?
On what level is 'will' working? Where is it being engaged?



thank you

इतिशिवं
iti śivaṁ

[blissfulbunny]

"I will myself"

Somehow I missed this small quote in your post.

You have chosen the best part of my post! It is challenging for me to answer, partly because I try these things without study or direction, relying upon an inner experience I assume comes from a past life. Writing about it is very revealing. I am trying on some ideas.


When I say that I will myself...

"I" is my consciousness. It is what I experience in meditation. I can focus my consciousness. This consciousness includes my mind, but "good" meditation means leaving all but this point of consciousness behind on a journey I experience as "inner."

"Myself" is my subtle, steadied mind. I can will a steadied mind, "myself," as a subtle mind completely apart from the world of the senses and the magic of maya. The mind is my tool. I use it to create a little path for myself.

I focus my consciousness on a center point inside, (the center point where a solid state of equipoise is). My mind becomes very steady. I can use my mind then to "create" a state, an inner picture made of consciousness, the experience of consciousness at work. It is inside, but it is real to me.

It is interesting to realize that I am stepping backwards. This helps me to not define or contain what I am becoming. It is a point of consciousness.


So. My dharana is to first create a dualism in my mind. I am not all of this, including the part I think of as me. I create a place to step where I am not identifying with anything except as a point of consciousness. I am identifying as not this. Neti.

But then I want to become absorbed in Shiva, to leave multiplicity, to identify as One with no other.

I will my mind to "imagine" there is another step behind me. When I slip into this place, I am one with Shiva. I recognize Shiva as myself. My consciousness is made from His consciousness. I "remember" there is only One. You! Me! Ha ha!!

I smile as I have been on a long journey, but only stopped by for a snack. I want to live here. I have turned on the road that leads only to return to Shiva. I looked behind once. Yes, I am going through with it.