The Ancient Secret of THE FLOWER OF LIFE. Review. Part 2 out of 2

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MerKaBa 

An especially big concern is Drunvalo’s aggressive promotion of the MerKaBa meditation and permission to his students to mix it with any other meditation technique which they practiced before.

Meditation

Practicing a serious meditation by myself I know well the teachers'  warning about the danger of mixing the meditations.  

We also have to be aware that western psychiatry won't be able to help in the case of "side-effect" of any meditation as it doesn't have the necessary knowledge.

Drunvalo Melchizedek

Multiplying this risk by Drunvalo's definition that "the brain (physical organ) is the mind ( intangible)“, you begin to question his real ability to successfully teach any meditation.

I also googled the “MerKaBa meditation  Drunvalo Melchizedek”. 

Resurrection or Ascension 

The book was written in the 80s-90s, i.e. more than 30 years ago, translated to many languages, and was sold to thousands of people around the world in addition to the dedicated seminars. 

That must be gathered huge statistics on results. As Drunvalo said it depends on you what you will choose - resurrection or ascension (;D). However, I didn't find anything except a 10-min YouTube video of someone with a chat.

Free Will

We have finally to knowledge that there are no magical short-cuts to the higher realm except the tool which was generously given to us by our Spiritual Father. This tool is our Free Will, for defining our Spiritual Direction (towards Light or Darkness or Degradation) and our Goals for gathering higher energetic potential which will allow us not only to enter the Higher Ẅorld but also to survive in it.

Spiritual Choices 

This path of several incarnations with Spiritual Choices and culmination in ascension is entertainingly presented in my fictional novel "Redemption". The idea of the story was brought to me by my personal Heavenly Teacher on my quest for a new ambitious goal.

Currently, this novel is available in the printed and e-book formats on Amazon and Smashwords.

Invisible Worlds

In conclusion, there is no doubt that invisible matters and invisible worlds are difficult to prove, that the UFOs evidence is hidden by governments as they don't know what to do with that, that our consciousness is very low and it must be raised, therefore there is a need for people who are willing to talk about the spiritual.

Spiritual Philosophers 

Unfortunately, our societies don't recognize the need for independent spiritual philosophers and don't pay them salaries, so sometimes the writers must do compromises and go for commercial success under the pressure of a publisher or an investor. 

Paranormal Elements

Is Drunvalo Melchizedek one of them? We don't know. But his book can be also a great inspirational source whether for a sci-fi movie-maker, fantasy writer, or as a kick-off read for any inquisitive man keen on paranormal elements.

Development of Consciousness. Insight. Part II ( out of III)

MAIN WAYS TO EVOLVE CONSCIOUSNESS

                                                         The Girl With Vision. Photography © Jacklyn A. Lo

Like anything in the Universe, our Consciousness is a subject of Evolution and Devolution.

According to my observations, there are three main ways to evolve consciousness.

1. Personalized Answers & Questions

Always look for answers to your personal questions. The Internet, books, films, or people - all of these sources - are a great opportunity to find out your personal truth. Each answer to your question will increase the share of your wisdom and decrease the share of your ignorance.

However, this method has some disadvantages. Firstly, this is a long-term development; secondly, you must remain focused and you also need good luck.

2. Vipassana Meditation

About 2600 years ago, Gautama Buddha gave people the technique that we call Vipassana meditation today.

Gautama practiced various meditation techniques until he began the Vipassana - "to see things as they are." 

This meditation allows you to learn to control your mind and purify your inner repository - the subconscious.  As a result, a balanced mind and cleaned from impurities subconscious are the goals of this process.

Therefore, we can call Vipassana meditation a high-speed path because it allows you to get rid of the impurity in your subconscious in a relatively short period of time. For Gautama, for instance, it took only one day.

Summing up, the cleaner subconscious allows running through your life project lighter, with fewer errors and attachments. Therefore, the saved time and energy will go to the evolution of consciousness.

However, there are some disadvantages to this methodology as well. For instance, you have to regularly practice meditation; besides, there is physical pain from the long sits; moreover, there are some side effects.

3. Choice of Light

A Spiritual Choice towards Light is a shortcut to enlightenment and consequently full liberation from your reincarnation chain.

What is Spiritual Choice?

For example,  at a certain moment in life, one faces a situation of Spiritual Choice*. The spiritual choice is a test for an individual to define a further direction of movement – to Light or to Darkness. The principle of the choice is based on Free Will, which our Creator generously gave to an Individual. 

Most importantly, the right choice provides you with an upgrade of your Consciousness. The best reference to how Spiritual Choice affects a human is described in the fictional novel Redemption.

Sample

These three ways for the improvement of our consciousness can be compared by traveling by car. 

The first way (Questions & Answers) can be compared to traveling along a countryside road with a 40 km/hour speed limit, i.e. slow.

The second option (Vipassana) is as driving along a highway with a speed limit of 120 km/hour, i.e. faster. 

While the third option, the Choice of Light, is a shortcut. The shorter alternative route allows you to save time and gasoline, and as a result, to arrive at a destination much earlier than using two other methods.

The best result, however, is achieved by a combination of all three methods.

To be continued...

* Note: some people have no spiritual choice because they have already made a final choice of the direction toward Darkness and, as a result, have lost the ability to have free will.

Questions to Ascended Masters

My questions to Ascended Masters on Kim Michael's conference 27-30 of Sep 2018

Kim Michael's conference in Albuquerque, NM, USA

Question 1

Twenty-six hundred years ago, Gautama the Buddha invented a technique called Vipassana Meditation. How relevant is this technique to the modern Western world?

Answer 1 by Gautama the Buddha: 

A) I didn't invent the technique; it was given to me by the Ascended Masters.

B) For people who have been practising Vipassana Meditation in their previous lives, that might be working well. However, for most Westerners, Vipassana is not the best way. We (Ascended Masters) have provided you with a toolkit containing invocations, degrees, etc. to increase individual as well as a collective consciousness.

Question 2

Gautama the Buddha attracted thousands of followers via his teachings when Jesus attracted only hundreds. Was collective consciousness in India higher than it was in Israel in those days or did other factors affect people?

Answer 2 by Gautama the Buddha:

a) The collective consciousness in the Middle East 2,000 years ago was very low. Israel was the darkest place on the planet.

B) Jesus had his own mission there and attracted a number of disciples who continued his mission.

Question 3

Prior to this conference, I received an offer from an Englishman to become a "channeler" by myself. He explained that he had received a week of training to not only become a "messenger" himself but to give the opportunity to channel to anyone who might be interested. For example, he himself got a connection to the Archangel Michael and he provided a connection to Leonardo da Vinci to a client. 

Any comment on that?

Answer 3 by Saint Germain or Mother Mary:

The number of contactees (channelers) is growing. This has happened due to a need to increase the collective consciousness of the people. However, that does not mean that the “pure” spiritual entities must talk through them. The Archangel Michael or Leonardo da Vinci and the information they provide at this conference are from a "pure" source.

The best teaching currently available for spiritual seekers is the information provided via Kim Michael. 

That does not necessarily mean that the channeler lies to himself or to others because of these entities, i.e., the Archangel Michael or Leonardo da Vinci could exist at the lower realms, such as mental or emotional.

Is Vipassana meditation a fast track to liberation?* Part III

Terms and conditions

In order to achieve the objectives of Vipassana meditation, a student should follow the terms and conditions of the course.

There are five important precepts included in the Code of Discipline for new students:

1.    To abstain from killing any being.

2.    To abstain from stealing.

3.    To abstain from all sexual activity.

4.    To abstain from telling lies.

5.    To abstain from all intoxicants.

In addition to the Code of Discipline, a student is expected to accept a teacher (or assistant teacher), the Vipassana technique, and execute all other meditation techniques, rites, and/or any form of worship. Religious objects, crystals, and talismans are strictly prohibited during the course, as well as any form of intoxicants and drugs.

Clothes worn during the meditation should be clean, modest, and comfortable. Music, reading, and writing are not permitted.

Meditation hall

All students must observe Noble Silence. The Nobel Silence has been invented in accordance to prevent telling lies. The Noble Silence will be started at the end of zero day and ends at the afternoon of day ten. During this time you will have a right to communicate with teacher (or assistant teacher) during two periods per day. In the case of questions concerning practical issues, you will have the opportunity to make a written request and leave it in the appropriate place. The usage of cell phone, Tablet PC, laptops is strictly prohibited.

The Noble Silence is not as awful as it might seem. In fact, it helps to save your energy for concentration on the training.

Costs

The Vipassana meditation courses, accommodations, and food are free of charge. A small expense fund is required if you are going to outsource your laundry or purchase bottled water or juice.

Vipassana courses depend on voluntary donations from the people who have attended the course. You can use donation boxes for donations in smaller amounts of money, or deliver a donation to administrator who will be on the premises on the last day of the training. 

I advise you to ask for a receipt for your donation and prepare a printed visit card with your name and email address, because he might tell you that he will send the receipt by email. Ask him when he will be able to send the receipt and take his personal telephone number to call him in case he forgets to do it.

Constraints

The most critical for me was the first day of the course. I choose the Vipassana meditation center close to Pushkar, Rajasthan State, and attended the course at the end of September.

I wasn’t used to the heat at over +35 degrees C (+95 degrees F) overall, and especially in the premises without air conditioning. The temperature one degree higher would make impossible for me to continue the training.

Another huge constraint for me was long hours sitting in the meditation postures. I used to stay in meditation postures for 30 minutes or so, but a 12-hour training session at the Vipassana felt like torture.

So, to be able to successfully succeed in a Vipassana course, it’s essential to start preparation for it as early as possible, at least one-month prior.

*Note:  This article is based on my personal experience and thoughts after my first 10-day meditation course of Vipassana, and is not presented to be an absolute truth. – Jacklyn A. Lo, Author of Redemption novel, http://rbjal.com/

Next article will tell about practical advices and where to go for retreat.

Is Vipassana meditation a fast track to liberation?* Part II

Side effects
As anything in this non perfect world, there can be negative side effects of the Vipassana meditation technique too.
During the meditation, a Vipassana student receives fine (pleasant) or rough (disgust) sensations of the body. His/her main task is to stay indifferent to them. Just as a person sitting on the riverbank observes the river’s flow, this is the same way the practitioner of Vipassana should observe the flow of sensations of his body without any reaction to them, whatever they bring with — pleasure or disgust.

To stay indifferent to the body’s sensations is the biggest challenge for students, and, unfortunately, some people are becoming addicted to the sensations. If the sensation of the body is pleasant, they enjoy it. If the sensation is rough, they hate it. Coming back to the Vipassana courses to enjoy those sensations, the students receive extra negative karma, which course a delay of liberation.

Organization of the training

While there may be a lack of organizing and planning skills generally in India, the Vipassana course is organized very well.

There are ten full days in the training. You will come on the first day or “zero day” for registration, introduction lecture, and other practical things. One of those practical things is delivering your valuables and all communication means to storage.

There is a wake-up ring at 4 a.m. with a following ring of a servant at 04:25 a.m. The training starts at 4:30 a.m. sharp in the main meditation hall.

This is the most intensive course that I have ever attended. A training session lasts 12 hours per day. Ten hours is dedicated to meditation and two hours for a lecture. You will have a chance to ask questions from a teacher or an assistant teacher during lunch and before sleep. You will have time for a nap after a breakfast and a lunch break. There are also additional five-minute breaks available after each one-hour meditation. The ring for a sleep is at 9:30 p.m., and lights must be switched off.

Food is provided three times per day. It’s purely vegetarian, and legumes are served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Animal protein is available only in yogurt and hot milk with butter.

You can get drinking water from the big water tanks installed to the roof, however, the taste of that water is not the same as we are used to. Bottled water is available at your request, and you can pay for that at the end of the course.

Accommodations

The Vipassana retreat territory is separated in two main areas — one part with housing for women, and another part for men. The canteen has the same principle — men and women have meals in separate rooms.

You will be given a private room or a room with a roommate. The room is humble with a little window, two simple beds, and bathroom with toilet and a limited shower. There is no air conditioning, but a mechanical fan provides an air circulation. You have to have your own lock for the door of your room.

Language

The course is available in English and Hindu. However, even if you know English very well, some words of the English vocabulary that are used in the Vipassana session might be unknown to you, and a misunderstanding of a word might lead to the collapse of understanding the concept of the whole lecture.

Many meditation centers offer language translation devices that are easy to use. Ask an administrator of the meditation center where you are planning to attend if they have an audio device in your native language.

  

*Note:  This article is based on my personal experience and thoughts after my first 10-day meditation course of Vipassana, and is not presented to be an absolute truth. – Jacklyn A. Lo, author of Redemption novel.

Next article will tell about terms and conditions on the Vipassana retreat, costs of the training, some constrains and preparation for the meditation.

Is Vipassana a fast track to liberation?

Twenty-six centuries ago Gautama Buddha designed a meditation technique that has been helping people not only train their minds to stay in balance, but also to liberate them from Samsara (reincarnation chain).

Gautama used to say that there were Buddhas (enlightened people), there are Buddhas, and there will be Buddhas after him, but his role is to provide an efficient meditation technique that could help people reach liberation (moksha or nirvana) in the present life that will allow one never to come back to the materialistic reality and to experience suffering again.

Before the invention of his own meditation technique, Gautama had tried different meditation methods designed by others, but he never was satisfied by the quality and deepness of them, so he invented his own, which is known as the Vipassana meditation technique.

What the Vipassana technique is about

In short, the Vipassana meditation technique is about getting rid of addictions that we have accumulated during innumerable materialistic existences. These addictions (filth and/or imperfections) are hidden in the deeper mind — our subconscious.

In the beginning of the Vipassana meditation course, a student’s goal is calming down his or her mind by focusing on breathing and clearing the mind from thoughts.

Then, the students do meditation exercises for activating the subconscious. The access to the subconscious is going to provide an option for self-healing, first of all — a physical body, and later on — a soul.

The subconscious is like a dark room, and concentrating on breathing shall light it, making the previously hidden sins (addictions) visible.

We experience those addictions through the sensations of our bodies.

The goal of these exercises is to keep us indifferent to those sensations.

Why Vipassana

Imagine yourself as a traveler who came to this world with a heavy luggage of karma and a desire to make it lighter.
The project named Your Life is already designed for you, and everything that you need can be found by following the Your Destiny script. Your Life project is interactive, and your task is to correct your sins (imperfections) that you have done during your previous existences and to make your luggage lighter.

You could succeed with this job and return back to Your Home with a smaller bag, or you could fail, generating extra negative karma and return home with a larger bag than before. The smallest group of travelers will come home with no luggage at all. This group of people are the luckiest ones — burning away all sins (negative karma), they generate no reason to return back to Samsara.
One of the techniques that help people grab this good fortune is Vipassana. 

Benefits of Vipassana

The students who are following the Code of Discipline and precisely heeding the teacher’s instructions are getting a chance to get great benefits from the Vipassana meditation.

These benefits are:

·      To train a mind to stay balance in everyday life.

·      To increase the energy level of the physical body.

·      To study the philosophy of Gautama Buddha in the interpretation of his loyal follower, S.N. Goenka, the influential Vipassana meditation teacher.

·      To get in touch with your own subconscious.

·      To get healed.

·      To obtain a release of the old hurt.

·      To get the ability to transform negativity into positivity.

·      To receive a supernatural experience.

·      To network with like people.
·      To reach the ultimate goal of a human being - get redemption from Samsara - an endless cycle of births and deaths.

*Note:  This article is based on my personal experience and thoughts after my first 10-day meditation course of Vipassana, and is not presented to be an absolute truth. – Jacklyn A. Lo.

The next article will tell about possible side effects of the Vipassana, the organization of the training, and accommodations in the retreat territory.