Terms

None of these terms are defined in the sense of a set of word-images that might be placed in a dictionary. They are comments, ideas, questions, quotes, notes, and thoughts that have helped me with my questing, my understanding. Perhaps they will help you question and quest. They are only loosely organized. I have not created a way of grouping them. Not one thing about this section is stable or solid or clear to me. These are terms that I have had occasion to question in my mind and I present them to you with my understanding.

 "One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness light. "Carl G Jung 

Agnosticism - God is unknown and unknowable because God has not revealed himself to man. The finite mind cannot comprehend God. Absolute God cannot come into intimacy or make himself known to finite mind - man. Cannot prove or disprove - does not affirm or deny

Awakening resulting from transcendent and profound insight, which causes us to see more. It is a sphere where dualities, pairs of opposites do not exist.

Be in the moment - fully conscious awareness - there are big moments - and little moments. In the moment can be an expanded awareness of the present moment and all the moment is defined by - the environment, the space, the time, the situation, the attitude, the entire scene.

The more intimate moment - the "little" moment is a movement beyond the definitions. It is into the timeless, the spaceless, the momentless-ness - into the fullness of the whole, the nothing, the void …creation.

Go Beyond - Go beyond virtue, vice, opinions, and beliefs. Go beyond mental constructs built by ordinary mind. Go beyond non-activity. Go beyond the direct path. Go beyond sudden illumination. Go beyond thought, existence, good and evil, time and space. Go beyond. To go beyond is to immerse worldly mind in original mind, which contains all because it is void.

Channeling is transmitting messages and/or information from disincarnate beings through the voice and body of incarnate being. It can also be connection with dreamtime entities.

Consciousness usually carries a meaning of awareness. There are many additional meanings. I will add more on consciousness from time to time, including my personal understanding of levels of consciousness. see conscious

Alliah Consciousness - field of crown consciousness - begins in brow chakra - "wishing" for others to awaken - carry transmission - rite of passage - make peace with....... become constant transmission - Alliah field is what goes with you after death - your attributes / "what you carry", the part of you that doesn't change, i.e., grace, light, social consciousness, all worlds as one. To find - go to the heart, ask that the blossom be realized.

Unconscious -

Collective unconscious -

Personal unconscious -

Controlled Folly is a a term Carlos Castaneda coined which describes the ability to move through daily life, even the distasteful aspects, appropriately and impeccably. It is a way of living fully in the moment, absorbed and without self-importance. It is doing one thing and doing it impeccably. It is doing without doing.

It is knowing that you are actually doing something else, something Supremely important in its mundanity. The only importance our actions can have is the meaning we place on them. Controlled folly is doing for the sake of doing without regard for reward or recognition. Self importance and the meaning we believe others place on our actions, places limits on us. The concept of important activities and unimportant activities is only in our definition of those actions. We give away our power by allowing others to manipulate us through our own thoughts.

Surrendering self importance does not preclude self care and self respect ... both of which we rely on for emotional well being and for proper action in the world. Authentic self care and self respect are necessary attributes of an awakened individual.

Creation reality - Start with nothing - things boil, we sing and dance - form begins, vibration forms a shape - dancing solidifies it ... Process becomes a reality - it is done through "dreaming" through mind, through singing, through dancing. It cannot be fenced, owned, bought, sold .........

Chakra - Chakra knowledge comes to us through age-old wisdom from the East. The word Chakra means ‘wheel’. Chakras are energy centers present in two forms, one positive and one negative. Living organisms obtain their pranic force through their ethereal body which like the physical body assimilates and dis-assimilates. Chakras are organs of the ethereal layer of the body. There are physical yoga postures to facilitate activation of these wheels. Physical postures, verbal sounds, musical sounds and colors ... or combinations, are ways of activating these centers of energy called Chakras.

Dharmas are thought quanta - "states of being" which arise and die. Each moment is now. the succession of moments is perceived as time. "I" am a series of separate mental events temporarily associated with a physical form, a series of separate births and deaths of physicality defined as form.

Deathless state - that essence - the you, you really are - that which does not die, which exists beyond what can be conceived from the limits of the state of form. State of Samadi - of oneness. Rather than living outside and looking into the oneness - rather than moving up and into the oneness - rather than looking at the world, you are the world. How do we live in this deathless state? We live life as if it matters. We live life as if God couldn't come and sent us instead. We Remember Who We Are and that there is only One of us.

 Detachment - One way of being detached is to close off, to step back and watch, as if we are not connected. A more complete and productive way of detachment is to be in the unified state of witness with the divine at all times. Detachment includes the knowing of how to love the way "God" loves. Rather than suffer life as if it has anything to do with the individual and separate "me" - detachment is to be the witness who sees that there is only one and there is nothing to be separate from. Detachment is to step beyond the separate-ness to the awareness of nothing to detach from. "I", "Carol", "my life" has nothing to do with me. There is no separate "me" to have to do with.

Discipline - a spiritual practice

Dreaming - see Gateways of Dreaming

Dreamwalker A dreamwalker is one who works with and within the dream to understand, to create, to heal, to meet with wisdom spirits, to journey this realm (out of body), to work with other worlds and realms, to teach, … to be one with the ultimate ONE.

Dreamtime - the path taken in the creation - the other worlds - principles and powers emanating from the dreamtime sometimes determines what happens in this world - Is the source of creation of the ordinary world and is coincident to and parallel to ordinary world time/space. Where one can be in two places at the same time, the past, present and the future fold into one another. Everything is in constant flux and flow and can be influenced. Our union with source. There is no distinction between culture and nature, the human world and the cosmos, dreamtime and this reality time. Where we the song, the singer, the creation symphony and the creator. Shamanic journeying with drums can take one to the dreamworld.

Dreamrealm - In the most simple conceptual framework, it is any of many alternate realities. Realities are multiple in nature. There are other worlds similar to ours.

Dreaming, Lucid is a pathway for many individuals. Some people 'just do it' without any methodology.

Dhyana - go to Tantra Dhyana

Empowerment - transmission received from a master allowing a student to learn and engage in a practice associated with a particular deity. This is also called an initiation.

Enlightenment - full awakening; buddhahood; the ultimate goal of buddhist practice; attained when all limitations have been removed from the mind and one's positive potential has been realized; ultimate compassion, skill, and wisdom lived fully.

Entrainment is a term to express how the human body responds to sound, color, light,  music, all types of sensory input.  The body assumes a sympathetic resonance with stimuli much the way a tuning fork or a musical instrument come into resonance.  This process of entrainment keeps us in resonance with the planet.  When two or more vibrating bodies or realities come into resonance they create a process of harmony.  Many of us watched as a teacher struck and rang a tuning fork.  Then they would place another tuning fork near it and it would begin to ring also. 

Fearlessness must be the manner of walking the path, but this does not mean fearlessness without appropriate caution. We learn to walk without fear. Many times that means face the fear, face it down, and do it anyway. Fear serves only to warn. After the warning is received then it begins to block action and consciousness. Fear blocks Light. Fear acts as a filter blocking our contact with consciousness. We cannot determine if our intuition is giving us information or if our fear is in control. We must release fear if we are to be conscious.

Fifth World - Many Native American cultures view the evolutionary stages of this world through the image of separate worlds. The reference to the fifth world is from the teachings of the Hopi. The Hopi have kept their part of the "knowing" less influenced by outside forces than any other North American culture. Many of the books about and by the Hopi are excellent. "The Hopi Survival Kit" is one of the newest and discloses more of the long hidden secrets than I have seen in any form available to the general student/public.

Focused Surrender has to do with no expectation of outcome. It is a process of creation through doing the preliminary work, then moving out of the way and allowing the thing to be or not to be according to the higher good. It is a way to create change without force. It requires intent and a decision to change or influence. The process is 1) Thought, 2) Examination of the thought, 3) Engaging awareness (over time), 4) Breathing life into the thought ... then 5) Releasing the intent ... to be or not, without attachment. We view outcome with a sense of complete detachment, not getting involved with succeeding or failing. Allow. Attachment blocks action. We may wish to extricate ourself from the mundane and to focus only on our path. This includes capitulation and recapitulation ... surrender (under specific conditions) ... giving up resistance ... acquiesce. All that we hold on to, give our energy to, traps our energy and it then becomes unavailable to us. Surrender releases this trapped energy. But dropping responsibility in the world is not living impeccably, or living consciously. We may know (or think) that the activities at hand may be of no universal significance. However, in this present moment nothing else exists. We can be in the joy of not knowing what will happen next.

Genuineness (Truth) is the ability to be freely oneself, without phoniness, without role-playing, without defensiveness. It is when external words and behaviors match inner being. It is being authentic in every way. It is the ability to communicate with sincerity about relevant concerns. It is being self-actualizing. It is recognizing the aspect of mutual teaching/learning in each and every relationship. Being genuine is walking our personal truth. It is seeing self, not as having arrived at some level of attainment, but as continually being in movement. It is the activity of being fully present in the moment. There is no defensiveness because a self actualizing person living in genuineness does not have to protect 'self'. This occurs because of self acceptance ... both strengths and weakness, successes and failures. A self actualizing, genuine person does not judge or moralize ... themselves or others. They exhibit a spontaneous warmth and intimacy. They can flow toward possibilities without being incapacitated with anxiety. They may feel stress and tension, but are not immobilized by them. 

Gnosis - An eclectic system of philosophy and religion which flourished during the first six centuries of this era - A rival of Christianity. - It sought to mediate many versions of Christianity, taught that knowledge more than philosophy or faith was the means of salvation. All existence - spiritual and material originated in the Deity by successive emanations - aeons - Christ was conceived to be highest aeon - combined eastern, Platonism, dualism and Christianity - superior wisdom - knowledge of mysteries or spiritual truths

Illumination is the discovery of reality existing beneath appearances. Illumination is awareness of place one occupies in this reality and beyond.

Illusory Body is a subtle body from generated thought he practice of the completion stage of highest yoga tantra.

Impeccability is dictionary defined as without flaw or fault. The concept in use here is more closely understood as the proper use of energy. It is the ability to temper or tone your spirit while you are being trampled upon, the ability to grow and improve while the tyrants of life are in full attack (Castaneda). Our tyrants are our 'button pushers'. It is through them that we learn to have a calm conscious interior as well as exterior.

Implicate - enfolded order- Bohm - On one level - everything is attached to everything else. On another level - objects appear dispersed and autonomous.The phenomenological world - the world we believe to be solid and stable is actually unstable - always changing and mostly in potential ... continual flux-uation ... individual material properties are never as important as over all systems ... of possibilities and connections.

Unbending Intent is being involved yet detached. It is our aim, our purpose, our state of mind operative at the time of and directed toward action, meaning and significance. It is being able to immerse in the action at hand so completely that no one can detect the detachment. Unbending intent is alignment of attitude and behavior. It is being in resonance rather than dissonance. It is performing actions fully in line with ideals. Unbending intent is like a laser beam, invisible until it touches something. Then you can see it. When used with power it can record, it can alter things, it can slice through and it can destroy or create.

Investigation - a belief which you have yourself tested and found reasonable, and which is for you good and that of others. Kalama Sutta

Liberation is a fundamental change in perception, ideas, and feelings. Free from any idea of death, one frees oneself in one's present life and with out leaving it.

Mahavipashyana meditation is awareness of the overall pattern rather than details.  There is a vast expanse of space between us and objects.  We are aware of the space and anything can happen in that space.  We do not impose our conceptualization of the space. It remains open to all possibilities.  It is allowing things to be as they are ... no effort.

Meditation - (see How to Meditate) single pointed concentration - full focus of the mind on an object or a state of mind - a process of moving beyond ordinary awareness into the stillness or the void. Meditation is sometimes used to mean contemplating an idea or an object. It is meditating on something. Often we can meditate on a problem or a question and find a solution through meditation. Sometime meditation is used to achieve a higher state of mind, a trance, or an altered or expanded state.  It might be called a meditation of concentration. It is focusing the mind on a particular point so as to be better able to control the mind.

Mind is comparable with space, neither interior nor exterior. In its "depths" there is only the Motherwomb, the void, the potential of all creation. there is no place where mind is born, no dwelling place of mind, no cessation of mind, no past, present or future, no time, no space. It is void of any qualities or essence; it is impossible to grasp. It is found in the deepest meditations of mindlessness.

Mystic - Mystics have a way of seein g and knowing, an internal way of attaining knowledge and utilizing awareness beyond the conventional sensory perception input. Mystics have a way of examining conventional sensory perception beyond the ordinary limited interpretation. Iinsight has nothing to do with "what I, or someone else, 'want' it to be". It might also be said that a mystic is unconcerned with fame or money - or outcome. This is expression of the concept of non-attachment or detachment.

Native American Church - see peyoteism.- and see Native American Church for Carol's experience.

Nirvana 

Non-Attachment to Outcome is indifference with compassion. Everything is undertaken unemotionally, in a detached manner without any desire to succeed or any apprehension of failing. All attention is focused on process. It is being fully in the moment with no past and no future. "Be concerned with the deed alone, never with its fruit. Never let the fruit of the deeds be thy motive, as thou shalt never attach yourself to action" (Bhagavad Gita). Also, "as the ignorant one acts through attachment to action, the wise one acts without attachment, for the welfare of the world."

Noos - mind, logy - The science or study of intellectual facts or phenomena - noologist

Non-action - doing without doing - allow the currents of existence to flow freely without preventing or guiding - Watch it like an interested spectator, perhaps amused, but always detached, still feeling one with the spectacle, immersed in the flow. - non-activity - not quietism or inertia or abstention of doing. There is a joy in solitude, but not indispensable. Eating, sleeping, walking, speaking, reading, all habitual behaviors continue.

Personal responsibility - If we do not do what we agreed to do, if we do not fulfill the commitment we made to co-create this new reality, the reality of the rainbow bridge, If we are not responsible, then it does not happen. The future is up to each of us being the whole of us. When one fails to be personally responsible, the necessary effort falls to others. Some of us are carrying the "work" of many who decided to not carry their share. It is not that some can do the work of everyone, it is that we must all move into the future together. If we do not go together, we do not go at all. If only some are carrying out their responsibilities, then the creation will be less than it could have been.  

Perfection

Peyoteism - also known as Native American Church is a ceremony and is a sacred path to spiritual connection. Peyote, an hallucinogenic cactus, is considered "medicine" by Native  Americans, who are the only ones that can legally use the substance. The meetings are generally held in a tipi and it is an all night prayer ceremony with peyote songs, a water drum, a staff, prayer fans, and other sacred paraphernalia.

Physics - Quantum Physics - subjects are interrelated without and force acting on them or any communication between them. Matter (objects) relies on an observing consciousness to activate potential. Nuteonianism - Objects become connected through "forces", are "naturally" separate ... matter is primary level of reality. We are things made up of matter.

Prajna Paramita is Excellent Wisdom. It is going beyond wisdom. it is "direct path". It is sudden liberation" after a lifetime of seeking. Prajina Pramita is not to spread teachings too lightly ... to those whose intelligence (perception) is too limited to grasp meaning.

Also: the golden goddess seated on a blue lotus and white moon mat. Mature, beautiful, wisdom, ripe, full, complete, "the Mother of the Buddha" whole body of golden Buddhas - a great galaxy.

Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi swaha.

One-pointed mind (focus)

Rainbow Bridge - 

Reality is the space between.

Real-ization is the process of making real, of bringing into reality. It is reality of thought or reality of physical manifestation. It becomes within our power to make 'real'. This task begins with real-izing in our thoughts. This is opening our thinking processes to perceive beyond our limited boundaries. Then after thought real-ization, we can real-ize in three dimension, we can create. Before we develop this ability we must have the other

Samadi - is the direst experience of the oneness. It is full union with the collective One. There are defined and recognized stages or levels of samadi, but I won't attempt to describe them here. Samadi is the "outcome" of deep meditation. It is the experience of stepping beyond the expectation of outcome into complete non-attachment. Samadi for me is the dissolution of awareness of the physical into the fullness of the void, the potential of all creation.

I occasionally describe my experience of samadi as the sensation of a sugar cube being dissolved in a cup of water and feeling itself to be a part of the great oneness of water. Then, the cup of water is poured into a lake and the feeling is once again that of being a part of the great oneness of water. Then, the lake is emptied into the ocean. The sensation of oneness with water is once again there but there is the knowing that the ocean is only a small cup of some greater "water" to be experienced. AND! The sweetness of the sugar remains.

Samsara is a vicious cycle of transmigratory existence characterized by suffering.  Nirvana is cessation of ignorance and conflicting emotion.  It is freedom form compulsive rebirth.  Mahamudra is recognizing that Samsara and Nirvana are not different.

Samskaras, the interpretations of mental formations.

Self /self - Self with a capital S is the "god" or "big" self. Self with a lower case s is the small or individual self. "I" (separate self_ made up of thoughts, desires, motives).

Self Actualization is looking at the world in a holistic manner that allows one to reach for their highest path and highest potential without any attachment to success or reward. When deficiency needs are met, people tend to operate out of Being needs (Maslow). Being needs are gratified with love and enhancing one's potential and, are no longer concerned with ego gratification. Self actualizing individuals no longer look at the world as right and wrong but how the "wrongs" can be very right. This includes the ability to 'self-care'. "Draw first from the well to nourish and give to yourself, then there will be enough to nourish others." Self actualizing individuals carry the transparency of an enlightened being ... lighted from within and allowing that light to shine through.

Self Actualization is not merely a trait or characteristic ... it is a description of the whole person in process ... (Jacquie Small). It is the process of being fully in the moment, without self-consciousness. We do for the sake of doing not for the perception of others. The self actualizing person is able to sort personal feelings and values from an unexamined belief system. This individual listens more to personal internal voices of truth and less to noises of culture, society and the world. Arduous preparation becomes common as values change or direction alters. This preparation leads to greater self actualization.

A Self Actualizing person begins to experience "peak experiences" which are recognized moments of ecstasy, or mystical experience. Peak experiences are those moments that bring tears to the eyes from the bliss of the moment, those moments in which the ordinary can become instantly sacred ... love, music, art, poetry, a sunrise, birth, compassion ... other joy-full moments. Then these moments begin to be a part of ordinary experience. The peaks become the norm for the self actualizing person.

Senses are susceptible to education. Acuity can be increased and extended bar beyond current use. Suspect the information given by the senses. Suspicion and doubt are an incitement to research (question and discover) and research is the way which leads to knowledge.

Shamata is a basic meditation practice.  It aim is to quiet the mind and focus it free from distraction. Shamata means peacefulness and its focus is seeing the precision of situations at every moment. It is an attempt to see now-ness in action. When you see the now-ness of the very moment, there is no room for anything but openness and peace.

Simultanaity equal and seemingly opposite truths that might appear to be mutually exclusive but in fact can both be true.

Subtle Bodies -  (see Yoga, Chakras, and Subtle Bodies section of my site) a group of forms that exist around the body and participate in/with physical function - forms that are in varying degrees of contact with universal consciousness - awareness can be generated through meditation and practices such as tantric practice - see illusory body

Sweat lodges are small (5 to10 feet across/about 4 feet high), tightly enclosed, usually dome covered, spaces created for the purpose of a sweat ceremony or ritual. Rocks are heated in an outdoor fire pit a few feet away from the small entry. When the rocks are red hot they are brought into the lodge and placed in a central pit. Water is poured over the hot rocks creating steam. The purpose is primarily cleansing of a spiritual, and physical (like detoxification) nature. Sweat lodges can also be doorways to dreamrealms for visionary experiences. All tribal cultures have slightly different rules, associated rituals, and expectations. 

Tantra -(see Tantra section of my site)- modern tantric teachings are attributed to Shakyamuni - His tantric name, Vajradhara, was given secretly. The teachings have four main levels: 

• kriya - action
• charya - performance
• yoga - union
• anuttara yoga - supreme yoga - It is considered to be the "highest yoga". Note - many of the various yogas refer to themselves and the "highest yoga". The primary distinguishing characteristic is that it needs no external ritual. Do not dare to mistake this statement for any sort of release of the requirement of discipline. The "ritual" is the unwavering discipline of living the teaching each moment.

Stages of anuttra yoga -
kyerin - the generation stage - literally, the stage of generating the discipline of path. This is the identification completely with the aspect of enlightenment.
dzokrim - the completion stage - where the practitioner "lives life". It is the manipulation of the subtle psychophysical energies to bring about profound transformation of consciousness of self and others.

Tantra Movements constitute the objects ... material reality ... a continued and infinitely rapid succession of flashes of energy - "tsal" (particles or instantaneous events appearing as a wave). The two theories of this movement are: 1) continuous - as the flow of a quiet river and 2) discontinuous - intermittent, separate flashes of energy. Intervals are almost non-existent.

Taoism -

Toning - A skill to practice to simply explore sound and its effect is to learn to tone.  Spend time making sounds ... use different vowel sounds. Open your mouth and let sound emerge. Then change the volume and/or the tone of the sound. When the vibration is centered in the mid-point of the skull, the brain, and it feels as if it originates there, then be conscious of different affects on body, mind, and sprit from different sounds. Touch the top of the head, feel the vibrations. Change the sound and touch the body to feel where the vibrations are centered. Use intuitive sensing to be aware of the color and the light of the sounds. Then sense the sound, the color and the light of silence.

Tonglen is a meditation practice for developing compassion. It begins with aspiration to help others. The way to help others is to develop sympathy and friendship for yourself then to extend that out. Your greatest obstacles ... anger, poverty, frustration, pity ... become your link with understanding the confusion of other people. In shamata practice you learn to work with these things by training yourself not to dwell on them, but to see them with tremendous precision and realism. In tonglen practice, that precision and realism continues but with an emphasis on the heart.  It is a heart matter, not a head matter.  Tonglen practice develops the heart.  As always ... aspiration, willingness, and practice are necessary as is basic goodness.

Transcendental insight - constantly utilized - continually perfecting itself with exercise.

Transmission - God/sacred moves through (not creating) from one to another -can be direct, through touch, through thought, through prayer - "hollow bone" - moving through the "holy" person to other - perhaps through the nervous system - the non-locality of consciousness.

Transubstatiation - communion - Christ - the bread and wine actually becomes the body and blood of Christ

Unity of the Universe - we experience immense compassion with penetrating vision, "seeing". We see that the separate self of substance is an illusion. The outside world and the inner realms are arbitrary. Everything takes place in One field of forces ... both matter and mind. Matter (form), energy, mental events, and physical events are the structure (the fabric, the net) of consciousness. There are continuous changes in the sea of primordial energy. Mind and the physical world are only different aspects.

The Void - In this void are born, act, and disappear all the phenomena perceived by our senses. We only imagine these scenes unfolding outside ourselves. The void is pure, unmixed. It is a state in which the elements do not produce any combination ... the elements do not give rise to phenomenon ... only latent, non-manifest forces exist. The void is inconceivable because of complete absence of manifestation. The void can only be experienced though union, through becoming void.

Yoga - yoke, being yoked. the suppression of the movement of the mind (see Yoga, Chakras, and Subtle Bodies section of this site).

Vedanta - Vedanta is the philosophy that developed out of Vedic oral traditions and scriptures. It is translated as the "conclusion" of the Vedas, which includes texts like the Upanishads, the Brahma-sutras, and the Bhagavad-Gita. According to Vedanta philosophy, the human soul is part of All-awareness (Brahman). The human soul got involved with mental activity and is reborn until this circle is broken through remembrance of clear Awareness or Consciousness. It compares with a dream: We are reborn into the dream-state again and again unless we would find a way to stay awake. As all scripture and sage teaches, waking up from our mortal dream is indeed possible. Vedanta is movement toward unity consciousness - purpose of study is the knowing consciously and unconsciously where we don't know unity - that is where we feel pain.

Zen -

Kalachakra, Glenn H. Mullin

Empowerment

Liberation

Tantric Grounds and Paths

Shambhala

Dzogchen

Mahamudra

 Paramhansa Yogananda, yogi

Sri Aurobindo 

Morphic reasonance

Different religions carry different attributes

Christianity - carries the heart

Hinduism - easiest relationship with divine - the avatar

Buddhism - carries the purity of mind

Indigenous cultures - carry form - earth connection - etheric - temporal bodies

Judeasim - Unity with God alone - god that cannot be named - contains the lost tribe

Siekism - carries sound

Jainism - carries purity

Zorostorianism - carries the relationship to elements as sacred

Taoist - carries the natural flow

Islam - carries the fulcrum for oneness

 

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