Eden's Enlightened Adventures

Ive not posted on this website in a while, mostly due to life intruding and not having stable internet time, but I will now carry on where I left off with my last account (roboto212) with stuff happening in my practice. The link to the journal I was running before can be located here kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/thread/43...27s+Practice+Journal .

Having gotten back to the Big Island of Hawaii, and feeling very settled with where I live now, and also feeling a sense of stability and calm (or having a better relationship with the constant unstability/impermanence of the universe) I would like to continue a journal, kind of alongside Ron's, as I have been talking to him through facebook and feel we are in very similar places.

I am actually about to leave for a 10 day Vipassana Retreat here on the island, so I will report back with a lengthy write-up on that whole deal.

My practice lately has been what I think is 3rd gear. I can no longer absorb into the witness the same way, its more like the witness is seen for a split second then there is an automatic "who knows the witness" and feelings of expansion, light, a noticeable "hum" which is actually a silent hum, pleasantness opening up. The witness is really just a flicker, recognized as nothing more than more sensations seen as not-me.

What im having trouble with, and Ron suggested I check out Kenneth's video on Direct Mode, is how to stick with DM. I see where it comes into use when approaching 3rd gear more, as the expansion, openness, pleasantness opens up more as "I" surrender, and though i havent played with it with more enthusiasm, DM helps to ground stuff that is otherwise preventing the surrendering from naturally happening.

Ok I will post more after the retreat, with more detail. Thank you so much KFD, you are an amazing Sangha.

I have a friend attending that retreat, and I am going to a 10 day held locally next month. Look forward to reading how it turned out.

Enjoy the Big Island, I miss it sometimes, and random memories from there often pop up in my meditation.

Aloha Eden! We are in similar places in more way than one.

I look forward to your journal and can't wait to hear what happens during the retreat.

OK well I did not end up attending the retreat, too much happening with developing the land we just bought here in hawaii, meetings and such. I am slightly dissappointed that the retreat was not in my flow of things, but my meditation has been continuing regardless.

Over the last week ive been working with what im pretty sure is Direct Mode that kenneth prescribes, and have been reading others journals such as Antero's and Ron's journals to kind of get an idea how their process works out.

I watched The Direct Path videos on youtube of kenneth and Jgroove going over how DM works, and ive found this to be the most helpful video. I really appreciate the part where Kenneth calls it a deadman switch, and you can hold it for as long as you want peace , all you have to do is pay the toll for the train ride.

What ive been experiencing is this quick switch to 3rd Gear, where I almost notice this ever present awareness and begin open up to it. Ive also noticed that the witness is no longer the same as it used to be, there is more space between "Me" and the witness. Like if I flip into the witness, there is an automatic "who knows this witness?" and flip to the 3rd Gear, the pleasantness, fluttering, humming, openness, expansion, peace begin to open up. WHen I do this there is a kind of border or limit to how expansive it gets before "I" get in the way.

This is where Ive been using Direct Mode I believe. I begin to feel the body while in 3rd Gear, and immediately recognize various tensions, or agitation in the body. Some times it just feels like there is a kink, mostly in my back, spine sometimes in my head, near my third eye or pineal gland. I let awareness simply rest on these tensions, there is nothing to really do but let this awareness naturally rest on these tensions. They begin to dissolve and almost "evaporate" and the openness and expansion continue.

cont.

As I continue to hold the "Dead Man Switch" as Kenneth calls it (I love that name btw !) the expansion and pleasantness and peace continue to deepen.

Ive also noticed that DM can be complimentary to the Inquiry into my state of mind by asking the question "how am I feeling in this moment of being" or simply "how am I feeling right now?" and there is a noticeable kind of reversal of attention, like attention looks at itself? if that makes any sense. If I do this inquiry alongside 3rd gear and DM, I notice even subtler layers of aversion to this moment, and continuing this inquiry deepens the peace. Continue to do these practices and I notice there is nothing that remains except Happiness .

I was reading owen's journal the other day and noticed he has been deepening his concentration practice, and ive been curious to see where that would bring me. Ive been including some form of 30 minute concentration meditation each day, my favorite so far is Buddho, breathing in with "Bu" and breathing out with "Dho". This seems to bring a really hard 1st jhana, the rapture being very strong and like owen "almost overwhelming". I really want to continue to see where the concentration using the breath will bring me, maybe deepening and hardening the jhana factors?

Ive noticed some cycling, but my relationship with it now is way different. Even if I seem to be in some Dukkha stuff, I tell myself this is no excuse to not be happy right now in this moment.

More later on the Dukkha stuff.

My practice lately has been really illuminating lately .

I just finished reading "The Six Yogas of Naropa and Teachings on Mahamudra" and am intrigued by the Inner Heat or Tummo meditation, and am looking to pursue it, but I am understanding more and more about Mahamudra (not that there is much to understand, its just clicking more and more in each moment).

My mantra lately has been "just relax"'¦ literally saying this in my mind in each moment "breaks the yoke" (this is such a gem of a quote from that book, breaking the Yoke, this is literally what it feels like).

I have been dealing with some physical sickness and notice that even during physical pain, if there is tension in the mind or body, I use the "just relax" mantra, or "be the peace" and the yoke breaks, the tension is released, the kinks are released, openness, pleasantness, peace of mind open up, gratefulness for how simple this Simple thing really is. Wow I finally get it, even after having discovered 3rd Gear a month ago, am just now getting it that this is it, each moment, all I needed to do was simply relax.

"Don't worry, be happy"


I cant recommend Kenneth's video on the Direct Path enough, that video and this book finally smacked me in the face and made me realize that this was as that simple as that .

"Just Relax"