In search of understanding...

[Valdy]

Hello Cal

When I was young I had intense falling dreams before I woke up. When I got older I realized that I had been OOB but having no reference I turned the feeling into a falling dream, I now go OOB and don't have falling dreams anymore.

Right now I feel as if I am imploding at an extremely fast speed. I recognize this speed as the feeling I feel when I am OOB so I am OK with it. It does intrude a lot on my daily life but I just let it, but I have to stay mindful.

I also can allow myself to feel extremely heavy, I like this feeling as it feels like the charisms are interweaving through me and I feel more at peace.

Bless Valdy

[Cal]

Hello Cal

When I was young I had intense falling dreams before I woke up. When I got older I realized that I had been OOB but having no reference I turned the feeling into a falling dream, I now go OOB and don't have falling dreams anymore.

Right now I feel as if I am imploding at an extremely fast speed. I recognize this speed as the feeling I feel when I am OOB so I am OK with it. It does intrude a lot on my daily life but I just let it, but I have to stay mindful.

I also can allow myself to feel extremely heavy, I like this feeling as it feels like the charisms are interweaving through me and I feel more at peace.

Bless Valdy

Well, I've got about a 50/50 chance of either passing out, or remaining lucid when I go OOB. I think this was the feeling I felt when my mind went heavy. Now that you and Sam mention it, it is a very similar feeling.

haha as always Valdy, I like your take on things, you just seem to go with the flow. I dont know if I mentioned, but I was walking around when this has happened, outside even, checking the mail. How would it be? Would my body actually just collapse into a husk, laying on my front porch in whatever fashion it fell, if I were to leave the body? Hahaha

[Jhanananda]

Hello, Cal, and Valdy, Sam is correct that both of your conditions are related to the OOBE.  It is the kinesthetic chairsm, which can manifest as dizziness, vertigo, etc.  Those who spend time in OOBE are more likely to manifest this charism.

It is interesting to note that Cal referenced to "someone is taking a blanket and covering me from my head to my toe and pulling it downward."  Because a number of the mystics and saints of the past have referred to a cloak of the holy spirit was wrapped around them.  So, this is the cloak of the holy spirit and it comes with some vertigo.  However, vertigo, in the context of deep meditation is called, "euphoria."

[Cal]

I can't put my finger on it, but this is the second time I see intense familiarity in a full moon. The first time was the night of the Blood moon, and then again tonight with the full moon. I see a symbol in it and I feel a tranquility in looking at it that is hard to explain. I try not to be superstitious, but it really feels like there is something there. The symbol looks like the star of david with rounded corners and there is a circle in the middle of it. It reminds me greatly of the tunnel that can be seen when going OOB. I could even say the circle in the middle is the kasina before entering the tunnel. I'll just ask, has anyone else seen this symbol in a full moon? Has anyone else felt this "tranquility" while looking into a full moon?

I might add that I have never really taken any interest in the stars or astronomy. In fact, I can remember the only other time I have even took real notice of them. It was in highschool, I had a sort of "revelation" feeling like that the stars were equated to the atom and that like the atom composes the living world, the stars, planets, us, and everything else in the expanse of space made up a giant and the process continued to an infinite proportion. (I was rather high and completely out of my mind when this occured)

I found this after doing a little research, it seems the symbol itself is much older than I originally thought. Although, the symbol im seeing in the moon looks more like #6, but with a circle in the middle.

2nd century BCE – 2nd century CE, characters of Hun-Xianbei script (Mongolia and Inner Mongolia), N. Ishjamts, "Nomads In Eastern Central Asia", in the History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 2, Fig 5, p. 166, UNESCO Publishing, 1996, ISBN 92-3-102846-4

[Jhanananda]

About a decade ago I used the rising full moon as a meditation object and found a deer mouse joined me for about an hour or so of meditation.  I then lay down under the moon, and left the body in an OOBE.  I was brought back from the OOBE by the mouse jumped up and down on my head excitedly to get me to get up and meditate with it some more.  Very early that morning a coyote family brought me back from another OOBE by surrounding my sleeping bag and serenading me. So, you might find similar success in using the full moon as a meditation object. 

[Cal]

About a decade ago I used the rising full moon as a meditation object and found a deer mouse joined me for about an hour or so of meditation.  I then lay down under the moon, and left the body in an OOBE.  I was brought back from the OOBE by the mouse jumped up and down on my head excitedly to get me to get up and meditate with it some more.  Very early that morning a coyote family brought me back from another OOBE by surrounding my sleeping bag and serenading me. So, you might find similar success in using the full moon as a meditation object.

Amazing story Jeff, thank you for sharing it. It reminds me of one of your other stories, the one with the mountain lion. It also remind me of a time I rescued an owl. It seems like these animals have made that same type of connection with you. Perhaps, for them, these experiences will be the closest they get to liberation in their lifetimes. I am very curious in exploring some of this, someday.

I'm also very curious as to why I was so entranced on these two occasions by the full moon. The moon itself as a meditation object does make sense. The thing thats itching me about it is how I was unaware that it was a full moon, and something demanded that I take notice of it, and I've experienced this particular feeling before. For example; I know when I am not alone, the audio charism will flare and I will feel a cloak around me almost instantly. I'll feel heat or coolness across my skin, barely touching it. I become absolutely drawn to it, it demands my attention. This has been experienced with both good and bad auras. With the moon, it also demanded that same attention, although it is not of a direct contact like the others, but it was like I was required by something to take notice of it. This is something I will explore, and perhaps share with the rest of us here.

[Jhanananda]

Perhaps another story will illustrate for you an interesting relationship with the moon.

Having grownup as the bastard child of my family of origin, I chose on my 21st birthday to divorce myself from my dysfunctional family.  As a consequence I was propelled into poverty, which required me to live sleeping on the ground for a year.  I got so much out of sleeping under the stars that I dedicated myself to never sleep inside again.  Well, I returned to sleeping inside, and now I sleep in a van.  If I did not, then I would likely have been eaten long ago by a predator.

One of the things that I found quite amazing in that first year of sleeping under the stars was how, as a lucid dreamer, and OOBE practitioner, I would be pulled back to the body, and role over and look at the stars just as a bolide burst across the sky.

Also, sleeping under the stars every night I became intimately aware of the phases of the moon, to the point that I developed such an intimate relationship with the moon that when I left the body in OOBE I would often visit with the entity who is the moon in the spiritual domain.  She is known by many names in many religions.  I prefer to call her the holy mother.

So, perhaps this explains your intimate relationship with the moon.

[Cal]

۞ This is the Arabic Star of rub el hizb 
http://graphemica.com/%DB%9E/glyphs/times-new-roman-regular

This is a Muslim religious symbol, and is in the Quran. While fumbling around, I found this quote as well;

the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect. For them, it is an essential idea that the Quran also has inward aspects:

The Quran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning (this depth possesses a depth, after the image of the celestial Spheres, which are enclosed within each other). So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth)

I found it interesting that some would understand an esoteric depth, even more-so that one could highlight up to seven depths.

Perhaps another story will illustrate for you an interesting relationship with the moon.

Having grownup as the bastard child of my family of origin, I chose on my 21st birthday to divorce myself from my dysfunctional family.  As a consequence I was propelled into poverty, which required me to live sleeping on the ground for a year.  I got so much out of sleeping under the stars that I dedicated myself to never sleep inside again.  Well, I returned to sleeping inside, and now I sleep in a van.  If I did not, then I would likely have been eaten long ago by a predator.

One of the things that I found quite amazing in that first year of sleeping under the stars was how, as a lucid dreamer, and OOBE practitioner, I would be pulled back to the body, and role over and look at the stars just as a bolide burst across the sky.

Also, sleeping under the stars every night I became intimately aware of the phases of the moon, to the point that I developed such an intimate relationship with the moon that when I left the body in OOBE I would often visit with the entity who is the moon in the spiritual domain.  She is known by many names in many religions.  I prefer to call her the holy mother.

So, perhaps this explains your intimate relationship with the moon.

If only I had the courage to leave everything and live under the stars. I imagine it, with the help of your words as being completely unencumbered. Thank you for sharing this, I've given it much thought lately.

I've also given much thought to the entity of the moon. I feel this is correct, but I do not wish to presume too much. Although I am still on a quest for the symbol that I saw in it, it's quite possible it may have been just my poor vision and an over reaction to what was going on.

I intend to take this weekend as an opportunity for meditation. It worries me to let go of too much but I feel that I must. This burden has just become too heavy lately.

[Jhanananda]

۞ This is the Arabic Star of rub el hizb 
http://graphemica.com/%DB%9E/glyphs/times-new-roman-regular
This is a Muslim religious symbol, and is in the Quran.

arabic start of rub el hizb
Very interesting, Cal, thanks for the link

While fumbling around, I found this quote as well;

the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect. For them, it is an essential idea that the Quran also has inward aspects:

The Quran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning (this depth possesses a depth, after the image of the celestial Spheres, which are enclosed within each other). So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth)

I found it interesting that some would understand an esoteric depth, even more-so that one could highlight up to seven depths.

It is interesting to note that in Islam these levels are referred to as 'Jhina.'  I find it most probably comes from the same source that the Pali term 'jhana' comes from.

I intend to take this weekend as an opportunity for meditation. It worries me to let go of too much but I feel that I must. This burden has just become too heavy lately.

I am reminded of the frequently repeated phrase in the Pali Canon, "Lay the burden down."  It is surely a reference to letting go figuratively speaking, and in some cases literally.

[Cal]

To Cal

Are you afraid of yourself?

This state of being is when you are observing your body and it's activity. Nothing to be afraid of.
To be a mystic or contemplative, one must be a warrior. The weapons should be equanimity and critical thinking. Most of all I would advise you to read the 4 noble truth and try to get the real meaning.

Edit : Sorry for the earlier post.

Sam...lol I wish I had actually "seen" this when you posted it. Instead I was knee deep in my own fears, and missed it. This is a great perspective, even now. Thank you.

[bodhimind]

Very interesting... I increasingly find that it is true that the source of suffering is from attachment... so the more we detach, or let go, or just see it as non-self, then more liberated we are from that suffering.

[Cal]

While fumbling around, I found this quote as well;

the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect. For them, it is an essential idea that the Quran also has inward aspects:

The Quran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning (this depth possesses a depth, after the image of the celestial Spheres, which are enclosed within each other). So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth)

I found it interesting that some would understand an esoteric depth, even more-so that one could highlight up to seven depths.

It is interesting to note that in Islam these levels are referred to as 'Jhina.'  I find it most probably comes from the same source that the Pali term 'jhana' comes from.

Hmm, exploring this almost seems dangerous in this current state of affairs, but it sounds worthwhile. I wonder why it is called jhana, or jhina. Perhaps there is a specific reason for this, somewhere.

I intend to take this weekend as an opportunity for meditation. It worries me to let go of too much but I feel that I must. This burden has just become too heavy lately.

I am reminded of the frequently repeated phrase in the Pali Canon, "Lay the burden down."  It is surely a reference to letting go figuratively speaking, and in some cases literally.

Indeed.

[Jhanananda]

Hmm, exploring this almost seems dangerous in this current state of affairs, but it sounds worthwhile. I wonder why it is called jhana, or Jinn. Perhaps there is a specific reason for this, somewhere.

My guess is that somewhere deep in language that appears to be lost there is a very early use of a term that is phonologically and linguistically related to jhana, or Jinn.  It just so happens that the Pali cannon is, as far as I know, the earliest known use of the term jhana. 

It also so happens that roughly 250 BCE a King from Magadha, which is the region where Siddhartha Gautama lived, conquered India, Persia, and much of Southeast Asia.  His name was Ashoka. In the wake of his conquest he brought, and established Buddhist and Hindu monasteries and temples all of the way to the Persian Gulf.  Around this time we see the earliest references to a Gnostic movement throughout the Mediterranean communities. 

In about 50BCE a king from Afghanistan, who claimed to be a descendant of Ashoka, reestablished the Ashokan empire, which he centered in Sri Lanka.  His name was Milinda. At that time he also established Buddhist and Hindu monasteries and temples throughout his domain.  He also sent diplomatic missions and missionaries to Rome.

Thus, it seems reasonable to conclude that the Gnostic movement was a response to the arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism in Persia.  Thus, the arrival of the term 'Jinn' in Arabic may date back to this period. 

Jinn (Arabic: الجن‎, al-jinn), also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, are supernatural creatures in early Arabian and later Islamic mythology and theology. An individual member of the jinn is known as a jinni, djinni, or genie (الجني, al-jinnī). They are mentioned frequently in the Quran (the 72nd sura is titled Sūrat al-Jinn) and other Islamic texts and inhabit an unseen world, another universe beyond the known universe. The Quran says that the jinn are made of a smokeless and "scorching fire",[1] but are also physical in nature, being able to interact in a tactile manner with people and objects and likewise be acted upon. The jinn, humans, and angels make up the three known sapient creations of God. Like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will like humans and unlike angels.[2] The shaytan jinn are akin to demons in Christian tradition, but the jinn are not angels and the Quran draws a clear distinction between the two creations. The Quran states in Sūrat al-Kahf (The Cave), Ayah 50,[3] that Iblis (Azazel) is one of the jinn.

Etymology

Jinn is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root JNN (Arabic: جَنّ / جُنّ‎, jann), whose primary meaning is "to hide". Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, "beings that are concealed from the senses".[4] Cognates include the Arabic majnūn ("possessed", or generally "insane"), jannah ("garden"), and janīn ("embryo").[5] Jinn is properly treated as a plural, with the singular being jinni.

The anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French génie, from the Latin genius, a guardian spirit of people and places in Roman religion. It first appeared[6] in 18th-century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the French,[7] where it had been used owing to its rough similarity in sound and sense.
Pre-Islamic Arabia
See also: Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia

Archeological evidence found in Northwestern Arabia seems to indicate the worship of jinn, or at least their tributary status, hundreds of years before Islam: an Aramaic inscription from Beth Fasi'el near Palmyra pays tribute to the "ginnaye", the "good and rewarding gods",[8][9] and it has been argued that the term is related to the Arabic jinn.[10] Numerous mentions of jinn in the Quran and testimony of both pre-Islamic and Islamic literature indicate that the belief in spirits was prominent in pre-Islamic Bedouin religion.[11] However, there is evidence that the word jinn is derived from Aramaic, where it was used by Christians to designate pagan gods reduced to the status of demons, and was introduced into Arabic folklore only late in the pre-Islamic era.[11] Julius Wellhausen has observed that such spirits were thought to inhabit desolate, dingy and dark places and that they were feared.[11] One had to protect oneself from them, but they were not the objects of a true cult.[11]

Islam
In Islamic theology jinn are said to be creatures with free will, made from smokeless fire by Allah as humans were made of clay, among other things.[12] According to the Quran, jinn have free will, and Iblīs abused this freedom in front of Allah by refusing to bow to Adam when Allah ordered angels and jinn to do so. For disobeying Allah, Iblīs was expelled from Paradise and called "Shaytān" (Satan). Jinn are frequently mentioned in the Quran: Surah 72 (named Sūrat al-Jinn) is named after the jinn, and has a passage about them. Another surah (Sūrat al-Nās) mentions jinn in the last verse.[13] The Qurʾan also mentions that Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both "humanity and the jinn", and that prophets and messengers were sent to both communities.[14][15]

They are usually invisible to humans, but humans do appear clearly to jinn, as they can possess them. Jinn have the power to travel large distances at extreme speeds and are thought to live in remote areas, mountains, seas, trees, and the air, in their own communities. Like humans, jinn will also be judged on the Day of Judgment and will be sent to Paradise or Hell according to their deeds.[16]

Christian sources

Van Dyck's Arabic translation of the Old Testament uses the alternative collective plural jann (الجان al-jānn) to render the Hebrew word usually translated into English as "familiar spirit" (אוב , Strong #0178) in several places (Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 1 Samuel 28:3,7,9, 1 Chronicles 10:13).[43]

I do not believe that it is a coincidence that the Pali term 'jhana' is also derived from the Pali term for fire, as is the term 'jin' in Arabic.  Both of these terms throughout Asia also refer to spirit beings, and evil places, such as caves.  For instance the use of the term 'Ma Kio' in Zen Buddhism also refers to a dark, or evil, cave of spirits.

[Cal]

This is very interesting indeed. The question that is itching at me at present is "where do we fall into all of this"? Being that we are physically human.

[Jhanananda]

The way I see it, we humans are spirit beings captured for a time in flesh.  When we learn to meditate deeply we return to our spirit being nature, and leave behind the beast.