Sunday, January 14, 2018

A resource list for foundation Tibetan spiritual support practices (particularly Bön ) - for solitary practitioners

A lot of people these days are keen on Tibetan meditation and mindfulness practices but not everyone is aware of the underpinning skills and techniques that can support those practices.
For those of us who live in remote locations or lack the wherewithal to go on overseas retreats or even pay for expensive online courses there is a wealth of information on the web these days to get you started. It wasn't always that way. There was a time when, unless you could travel to Tibet or India and convince a teacher to take you on, you had little hope of learning anything other than about the importance of the Four Immeasurables: Compassion, Joy, Love and Equanimity. These days there is plenty of information out there but sometimes you need to piece it together. Ligmincha learning gives a good run down of their teaching topics which you can find at http://www.ligmincha.org/index.php/en/programs/overviews-of-teaching-topics.html but there are some pretty advanced topics covered there.
So what are the basics? This is where I give my disclaimer that I really am just a solitary and somewhat eclectic practitioner. So I can't tell you what will work best for you. If you dive into these practices you do so at your own risk. Listen to your inner wisdom and/or find instruction. That said here is what I find useful and strive to do every day.
Starting your day with connection and intention
  • Any daily life activity can be turned into the path by doing it with mindfulness, compassion, joy, love and equanimity. I see joy as including gratitude. I see equanimity as encompassing egalitarian principles and non-judgement, not grasping onto somethings as better while running away from what we don't like. The principle of equanimity also encompasses non-interference, as much as possible leaving things as they are. I remember my life partner and I once had an old Toyota Corolla we'd bought for a couple of hundred dollars and proceeded to run it up and down the road to work for many years. It had regular basic maintenance but we didn't fix things unless they were broken or close to breaking. Fix one thing and you might put more pressure on something else. It was about maintaining the balance of the system that was the car. The lesson here being not to poke and prod at life unnecessarily.

  • Gratitude: My favorite way to get my intentions straight for the day is to wander into the warmth of an early morning shower, giving thanks to the five elements. The water of course, its warmth, breath, the stable earth beneath my feet and the space all around me. Giving thanks to those spiritual and guardian beings I relate to. Once warm and dry I throw on some light loose clothing to prepare for practice. It's time for my morning practice.

  • Prostration: The very notion of prostration can conjure up all sorts of nasty connotations for those of us in the west who distrust the establishment and authority figures but you're not dealing with governments, dictators or slave owners here. Prostration is a time to visualize all that supports and protects you, your fellow practitioners (even those you may never meet), those who give you guidance on the path and any beings you see protecting you. Prostration is about acknowledging and honoring that support. I also see it akin to bringing down the light to earth as we might do in a ritual of magic. Geshe Yongdong gives a very good overview . You can also watch  Tsem Tulku Rinpoche teaches PROSTRATION (1 of 2) and adapt it to whatever tradition you are following, replacing the chant with the one you use. For a yidam I personally choose to visualize Shenlar Okar as I can easily equate the limitless white light he represents to Christ consciousness.  He is the "subtle body of limitless form" version of Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, the founder of Bon. Prostrations are similar in some ways to the Indian "salute to the sun" exercise so you can expect similar health benefits from the exercise. Try to work out where your head is going to be when you meet the ground and have a nice bit of carpet or a cushion ready. The custom seems to be doing a minimum of three.
  • Dedication: By dedicating your practice to the benefit of all beings you clearly state your intention. You're not just taking time to do your morning ritual for your own health and spiritual progress but also for the people around you and indeed the whole cosmos. Feels more important now doesn't it. This dedication can be alternatively done or repeated at the end of your morning's practice.
Tsa Lung exercises and Tibetan Yoga. See:
Meditation - opening the heart. Inner Refuge. Dzogchen (pronounced Tsoh-chen)
There are any amount of tutorials and guided meditations on youtube. Just search for "Tenzin Wangyal guided meditation". Check out also the Openheart.fi youtube channel or the Openheart.fi website for some extra  practical tips. The profound talks channel has a lot as well by the likes of Alan Watts, Adyashanti and Sadhguru. These last three all follow what I call the non-dual tradition which deals with a view of the world that transcends all polarities and is best understood, not with the mind but with heart, through direct experience such as meditation.
Openheart.fi introduction to Dzogchen meditation:
Also check out his awakening and the two part formula:
Tummo as a tool to support transformation
There is not a lot of freely available information about this practice but a number of traditions have published the following:
  • Clear Light of Bliss: Tantiric meditation manual by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso gives an explanation of the stages of meditation of inner fire.
  • The Bliss of Inner Fire: Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa by Lama Yeshe gives a broader overview
  • The Power of Tummo - Free Video Teaching by Tulku Lobsang (in English and Spanish) This is not a how to video but it does give a very good overview of why you would practice it. Worth watching.
It's best to tread lightly into this practice as it can unblock emotional energies stuck in your chakras and channels and you really don't want all that stuff coming out at once. This is one practice you could really get yourself in trouble with so respect it, take it nice and slow and precise. Listen to your body and your inner guru.

Start with mastering vase breathing. See  Chumba Lama Tibetan Breathing Yoga. Then add the visualization. To get a better understanding of some of the physical mechanics behind Tummo or indeed an alternative route to raising kundalini (for those who don't want to undertake Tummo without the appropriate training) check out

Asanas, Mudras & Bandhas - Awakening Ecstatic Kundalini (AYP Enlightenment Series Book 4)
The way of meditation website lists a lot of the benefits that come from this practice. While the main reason we practice Tummo is for inner happiness one of the more noticeable physical benefits is that it improves your digestion. It also improves your ability to tolerate the cold which, with something akin to a Maunder Minimum nearly upon us (as at the start of 2018), might be a really good thing.
While you can practice Tummo in any upright seated position I have found that cross-legged or even better, the lotus position works best. If you thought, like me, that your not capable of getting into the lotus position check out: Develop flexibility for Yoga (Padmaasan - Lotus Posture) w/ Eng Subs. After doing this for a few weeks I could finally do it - at age 57. Okay one side works better than the other but I'm getting better the more I do it.
Mantras
At the other end of the day: Getting ready for bed and the practice of dream and sleep yoga. Whatever you're working on or thinking about just before bed can pop up in your dreams. Sometimes this can be a useful thing. You may dream the solution to a problem. But if we wish to use our dreams as another place to do spiritual practice it might pay to read or watch something inspiring or contemplative before bed. Imagine your thoughts are like baggage you take into your dream world, what are you packing? Of course a good way to clear the day is to practice the nine purification breaths, make an intention or dedication for our sleep. Listening to a guided meditation is a good way to transition from the day. Then practice your dream and sleep yoga:
The cyber sangha
You might be on your own but there are, these days, a wealth of forums, social media and online courses that can provide support.

Other media


If I've missed any useful resources, or indeed support practices, please leave a comment.


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Thursday, January 11, 2018

Ancient Secrets of Siberian Wisdom: gleanings from Olga Kharitidi's "Entering the Circle"

Olga Kharitidi's "Entering the Circle" first came out in 1996. I came across it in a second hand bookshop and the proceeded to consume it. This well written, first person account of her foray into the Siberian wisdom tradition and the legendary land of Belovodia is an easy read.

Several things got me taking the highlighter and sticky labels to my copy:

1. The idea of a spirit lake as the home of the inner being. Having immersed myself in Tenzin Wangyal's teachings on finding inner stillness, silence and spaciousness the concept of spaciousness being a spirit lake resonated well. Olga asserts that while it is important to create our physical reality we must not lose our connection to this inner reality or will become slaves to our creation and dead inside. I liked how she equated physical reality with a shore around the spirit lake. The shore is nothing to be afraid of as long as you realize it is "your own creation".

2. Around page 103 Olga relates an visit, early on, to a healer who used music to heal. He tells her that music could create miracles if we would only put the right intention behind it. Have we lost much of the soul of music by only creating to the mass market. Isn't this what makes the classics of Bach and Mozart so enduring, the expression of emotions in music, uplifting, inspiring and at times challenging? Simply folk tunes take us back to our roots. Irish tunes and shanty, at times bawdy and at other times funny or nostalgic do the same. Blues connects us with the struggles and heartache of the singer. The power of intention makes music special. We need to use its power more.

3. On pages 137-8 Olga outlines the three main processes working that drive humans. The past, the present and the future. While there's nothing new in us missing the present moment by immersing ourselves in thoughts of the past or possible future I do rather like how she describes it. "They speaking inside their heads about the past, reconstructing it by changing or erasing the things that don't fit" with the image of themselves they're trying to create. Of the future she peaks of how we try to image our future self, what it will be, do, look like etc. But, she warns, even the present can present problems as we work to ensure others see us as we wish to be seen. We gather around us people who reinforce our self image and our ideas while disliking those who don't. We can transcend these three processes by keeping an awareness of our inner self, our spirit lake or inner space. This heart self "is where real freedom and magic start".

4. On page 159 she entertains some interesting thoughts about the quantum reality. The particle versus wave nature of the universe and relates this to independent individuals . Like particles we can see selves as separate (like particles) or as a seamless wave "with no boundaries at all."

5. Finally, for me, what stands out in the later part of the book is "The first rule". Olga describes five attributes: truth, beauty, health, happiness and light. To find the right path through anything in life the being instructing her says "for each decision you face you must ask yourself if the choice you make will satisfy the five necessary attributes". Certainly a tall order but one to keep in mind. It reminds me of the main character in "The Celestine Prophecy" where he has to choose which way to go so he chooses the brighter one. This is illustrated elsewhere in the book where a story is told of a man who found Belovodia, the mythical land, akin to Shamballa, where no one ages and everyone is spiritually evolved. Although later it is revealed that the only gateway into this fabled land is through our connection with our inner being.

It is remarkable that the author, a psychiatrist practicing in Russia at the time, undertook the journey she did and had the courage to share it with us. I believe she now resides in America and has gone on to write a novel "Michael Gate" and another work entitled "The master of lucid dreams", which I've yet to read.
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