Hi AK Board

A personal account of a spontaneous transcendent episode that matched many features of the Samadhi experience is explored on my website at>

http://geocities.com/maya-gaia/mysticalexp.html

What uniquely suggests the authenticy of this experience is that I was in an utterly naive state regarding knowledge of anything remotely relating to transpersonal or transcendent or meditative experiences, vedantic literature, or paranormal lore at the time. Yet the experience closely followed an anatomy described in the classical Vedic literature with specific features such as the astral cord which I had never heard of.

I've followed up the account with a description of my sporadic amateur efforts to integrate it over the past 35 years via meditation, metaphysical literature and particularly quantum consciousness and physics.

There are also a number of baffling paranormal experience which I experienced- some of which are directly related to the transcendent episode and some unrelated but all suggesting the reality of much of the paranormal.

Thanks for sharing that great experience Mayagaia... That was a truly amazing story! There's much spiritual knowledge/wisdom to be gained from experiences such as these.

With regard to the astral cord phenomenon, it seems that this is the umbilical cord connecting our spritual body to our physical body. I've heard that before a violent death occurs such as that within a car accident, that this "ethereal cord" actually severs before impact, etc. so as to not cause trauma to the soul. Moreover, the soul becomes separated from the body and begins it's extraordinary journey along the Cosmic Path of Universal Union with the all that is. I've heard it described as being composed of a sort of tinsel-like sparkly substance that is very elastic and whimsical in nature. It seems to be akin to a spritual conduit of sorts. I remember after having spent some time in deep meditation I had decided to go outside for some fresh air. I then remember walking into the garage and noticing in front of me a host of tinsel-like sparkles superimposed on my field of vision directly in front of me. I wasn't neccesarily sure what to make of these flittering silver sparkles, but I do know that I can rule out the possibility of them being the consequence of a head rush or a random surge in blood pressure. I have experienced the sparkles seen from a head rush/surge in blood pressure and this was not nearly comparable. However, from what I have heard/read/seen since then it's a good possibility that I was actually experiencing a taste of this astral cord phenomenon or the like.

Thanks again for sharing your profound experience!
Much appreciated,

PUL,
Cosmic_Ambitions

HI Maya-Gaia-
Interesting report! Obviously you have an advanced spititual practice. This site tends to focus on soul retrievals, and similar healing activities, which might interest you as well, enabling you to put your advanced skills to direct use as you continue developing what Buddhists term "right Samadhi".
PUL
dave

Hi Cosmic and Dave,

The constitution and function of the cord seems to vary wildly in both historic and contemporary accounts and suppose the best we can say is that it has something to do with keeping the out-of-body "spirit" semi-connected to a live and not necessarily comatose physical body.

Wish I could claim that I've achieved any spiritual practice or skill in revisiting any level or
dimention of the transcendent realms revealed in my journey but after 35 years I'm still pretty much disabled. The one time I made a serious effort to practice kundalini yoga meditation resulted in a scary, traumatic episode- see warning at:

http://www.geocities.com/maya-gaia/spooky.html#kundalini

Since then I've focused primarily on collating evidence from fields of science, metaphysics and religion to build a tenative/hypothetical model of consciousness that synthesizes what seems the most plausible in light of my experience- trying to keep balanced between healthy skepticism and a completly open mind. In that spirit I look forward to learning more about AK.

HI Maya Gaia-
Your description (on the other site as well) suggests that you are on the proper track toward completion of a spiritual awakening sequence. Generally kundalini arises slowly and in a conservative manner, except for us fools who try to rush things when we are not yet ready. Then the experience is roughly the same as a massive dose of LSD - complete with all the terrors and blisses and confusion. That's normal, and if you continue, you'll discover that your inner awareness will blossom in far better order as the rest of the psyche gets ready for it. Kundalini seems to be both a matter of plugging into the universe, and also of plugging into your own inner energy resources. Experience seems to indicate that if you are practicing yoga for a "GoodReason" (seeking God is a Good Reason, for example) then it is safe to accept the sense of impending death that often accompanies the experience. Else, it can be very scary.

The late Swami Sivananda wrote a few books on kundalini and spiritual experiences. His followers have kept up most of the exercises, but their writings are less useful. You might find Sivananda's works useful to discover where you are in the process.

Samadhi arises in a progression, the first of which is concentration, the ability to focus and exclude the outer world's noise. The second is meditation, deeper insight in a trance state in which the world is excluded as uninteresting, while the focus and awareness are hypervigilant and directed toward the meditation target - this often leads to exotic experiences. Kundalini is usually aroused at this general level. The next level is samadhi, initially sarvastarka, a sense of total unity, yet involvement in something. The final stage is nirvastarka samadhi, in which there is only the One. If you proceed, you will arrive. The key is simply to persevere, and while you persevere, to trust totally in God to protect you, because what you are doing is rather directly moving toward unity with God - This is why it's called "yoga" - from "yug"= to yoke, to join, to unite.
PUL
dave

Hi I read this book written by a medium,who communicated with this soldier,who had died on the battle feild,and this soldier said when he came out of his body he was still connected to it by this silver cord,and he could hear ,the other soldiers saying that he was dead.

This soldier said he had to pull really hard on this cord ,to come away from his body.

Love and God bless you all juditha

dave_a_mbs wrote on Oct 5^th, 2006 at 1:53pm:

The next level is samadhi, initially sarvastarka, a sense of total unity, yet involvement in something. The final stage is nirvastarka samadhi, in which there is only the One. If you proceed, you will arrive. and... ...as you continue developing what Buddhists term "right Samadhi".PUL dave

Hi Dave,

Realize there is an infinity of models for describing  the Simadhi journey and I wonder what is it specifically in your personal kundalini/Simadhi experience that suggests to you that I did not attain a "right Samadhi"?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amit Gotswami writes:  Samadhi, in which the subject-object split is maintained, and thus some residual identiy with the physical body, savikalpa samadhi, is the more common samahdi experience. But there is also mention in the literature of the rare variety, nirvikalpa samadhi, in which there is no division of subject and object and one's identity completly merges with the bliss body, albeit temporarily.

Another scholar of Vedic practice has commented on my account:

I will use the Visuddhimagga by Bhadantarcariya Buddhaghosa, translated by Bhikkhu Syanamoli, A. Semage, Ceylon, 1964.

The first transcendent joy is called the first jhana in the Visuddhimagga system, but you seem to have gone beyond the first jhana. You may have gone beyond all the jhanas to the immaterial states.Tantric systems presuppose the meditlation states in the jhana and immaterial state sequence.

Since you still were involved with space, you would have been in the first immaterial state, the base consisting of boundless space (page 354-360). Very few people reach that point.

If you had gone further, you would have been in a state it sounds like you didn't reach, from your desciption: the base consisting of boundless consciousness. "And at this point it is said: 'By completely surmounting (samatikamma) the base consisting of boundless space, "unbounded consciousness". je emters into and dwells on the base consisting of boundless consciousness." page 361

If after that, you would have gone further yet, you would have been in the base consisting of nothingness. "And at this point it is said: 'By completely surmounting the base consisting of boundless consciousness, "There is nothing", he enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of nothingness." page 363 Obviously, this doesn't mean nothing-at-all. It is something subtle that is like nothing.

Of after that, you would have gone further yet, you would have been in the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception. "And at this point it is said: 'By completely surmounting the base consisting of nothingness he enters upon and dwells in the base consisting of neither perception nor non-perception." p. 365

In the general Buddhist literature, it is said that if you remain in any of the immaterial states, you become one of the formless gods, and a higher god at each higher immaterial state. However, being in such bliss, a god no longer strives to advance to enlightenment, so eventually, after a long period of time, all such gods fall again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually I have abolutely have no desire while alive to repeat my journey or to attain some higher Samadhi state and my venture into Kundalini was simply an effort to establish an integrative communication with the God consciousness I experienced to express my thanks and exchange some level of the felt love. I have no ambition to become a sidhi or channel my chi or become enabled with psychic powers but merely plan to complete my life with concern for Gaia and doing the right thing.

Since I created a gallery of chakra symbols for online meditation

http://geocities.com/maya-gaia/chakframeset.html

I feel some responsibility to emphasize the potential risks for anyone venturing into Kundalini practice.

http://kundalini.se/eng/stories.html

Best Regards Ed

Greetings mayagaia,
I think I've read your websites now, except for the book excerpt from Wade(?).  Of course that doesn't mean I've experienced all you wrote about but in several situations I've come close to it.  A couple of the forces that made you turn back have been met successfully by people here using Bruce M's and Robert Monroe's techniques of 'seeing it Not There' (banishing it from your mind, or presenting it with PUL (Pure Unconditional Love.)  If these blockages were only tests given to you by your Higher Self, rather than threats, you might find that more familiarity with the techniques offered at this site would help you get passed them. It seems a shame to not stay on the path when dave_a_mbs has congratulated you on your progress. He knows what he's talking about, I think.  :)
If one were to continue on such a path as maiagaia's and wanted to read more from the respected Swami Sivananda that dave recommended, which books of his would be good? I just checked with Amazon and they say they have 475 by or about him and his ideas. Say, for a person who's had abit of experience similiar to Maiagaia's but has not resolved it and wants more guidance before proceeding?
bets