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Tetsunori Tawaraya 

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Gods Living In The Body?

In the early 1970’s, I was training in Chinese Internal Martial Arts under a Daoist Master from Taiwan. As my teacher began to explain the deeper “secret” teachings of the Daoist Internal Neigong System, I suddenly found myself in a state of deep internal conflict over something that he had said.

My instructor explained that his teacher Master Ho, had taught all of the senior disciples that inside the human body are various “gods.” If you know their Secret Names and their True Forms, and pray to them, you will receive their hidden internal powers and will be able to use this magical energy for both healing applications and combat.“

It is important for the reader to understand that up to this point in my life, I had been raised in a strict Christian Household. I had been a pastor of two Half-Way Houses, was a Song-Worship Leader in a "spirit-filled” Pentecostal Church, and was leading Bible-Studies every Wednesday night. Therefore, my immediate “fundamentalist” response was to leave the class and never return.

After a week, I was approached by one of the senior disciples, and questioned as to my absence. I explained to him that I could not accept Master Ho’s Theology, and the belief in certain “gods” living within the human body. He suddenly laughed, and then explained, “No, Jerry, that is not what the Master was speaking about. What he meant was simply inside the body are various internal organs. When you understand their energetic form, and speak their proper sounds, these special organs will vibrate. Once they begin to vibrate, you can access and draw upon the Qi and Shen that maintains and supports that internal Organ System.” I immediately responded, “Well, why didn’t he say that?” To which the senior disciple responded, “He did. It is simply the ancient Chinese custom of repeating esoteric teaching in the exact same way that his master taught him. This is part of the cultural transmission you receive as a disciple of a Daoist lineage.”

I eventually came to understand that when the imagination begins to construct mental images of certain energetic patterns, the Shen (Heart/Mind) will suddenly be able to access the energy of these forms. For example, once my Tibetan Nyingma teacher was instructing students, when a violent thunder storm suddenly arose and began to quickly approach where he was teaching his disciples. He looked at the storm and told his disciples that the storm was a little child throwing a temper tantrum. Therefore, he immediately gave the storm a “name,” and asked his disciples to speak to the child, call it by its name, and simply ask it to calm down. As all of the disciples began to call the storm by its name, and speak gently and lovingly in order to calm the “disruptive child,” to their amazement, the storm suddenly vanished.

Figure 1: Essence Spirits of the Brain

In the same manner, according to ancient Daoist alchemical teachings, the internal organ energies can be suddenly transformed from a disruptive negative state to a balanced energetic state, depending on how the individual approaches the Qi of the internal organ system. All thought forms, whether benign or malignant, are composed of internal belief structures that create and mold energy. As the energy of the created thought form continues to gather, it begins to coalesce and mold, causing and forming energetic clusters. An energetic thought cluster is considered to be a condensed form of energy. That is, the thoughts and emotions fuse within the cluster, condense, and form an energetic mass.

The belief that formulates the thought form, is created through the emotional charge existing within the individual’s mind at the time of its creation, and initiated through conscious or unconscious intention. The initial thought form is then constructed from energy that has been gathered and created within the body’s internal energetic fields. The energetic field surrounding the charged belief eventually manifests into “what is and is not” in alignment with the individual’s internal belief structure.

Throughout my many years of training, my teachers have always reminded me that, “The imagination leads the Mind, and the Mind leads the Qi.

With this esoteric understanding in mind, it is important to note that after performing the "Purification Stages” of Daoist Alchemy (i.e., cleaning and activating the various internal channels), a disciple was then taught how to energetically fuse with each of the internal organ icon deities. For example, the Essential Spirit of the Brain is known as “Niwan” (“Mud Ball”). According to the Yellow Court Classic (Huang Ting Jing - 黄庭经), all spirits that are expressed on the face have their origin in the “Niwan Palace,” which is located in the center of the Upper Dantian and governed by the True Lord Taiyi.

My teacher explained that when the Nine Spirit-Souls of the True Lord Taiyi [“Great One"—i.e., Divinity, or God] change form, they become Sacred Spirits (Ling Shen), and have the names "High, Supreme, Great, Void, Immortal, Mysterious, Upper, Spiritual, and Heavenly” (see figure 1). They are known as the “Nine Perfected Lords,” and symbolically represent the spiritual energies of the Nine Chambers of the Upper Dantian. When energetically combined, they become the spiritual form of the True Lord Taiyi, manifesting within the human soul.

In ancient China, because each of the internal organs could be energetically manifested as a spiritual form, healing was sometimes addressed to the deity responsible for overseeing that specific organ system (see figure 2).

Figure 2: The Organ Spirits of the Body

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Are there any beginners rituals of Crowley that can be tried out, preferably without much effort or bloodshed?

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

There are many rituals written by Crowley that do not involve bloodshed. Perhaps the easiest one, and the most common, is the ritual of “saying Resh.” Based on Liber CC: Resh vel Helios or Liber Resh, it consists of four daily adorations of the Sun at dawn, noon, dusk and midnight. The objective of the ritual is to focus the mind on the center of our solar system and to build an affinity between that star and ourselves (AL I.3).

In his Confessions, Crowley stated:

The object of this practice is firstly to remind the aspirant at regular intervals of the Great Work; secondly, to bring him into conscious personal relation with the centre of our system; and thirdly, for advanced students, to make actual magical contact with the spiritual energy of the sun and thus to draw actual force from him.

Crowley considered this ritual to be one of the most important parts of Thelemic practice. Originally written for use by members of the A∴A∴, it has now become a standard practice across Thelemic communities.

Though Crowley included a series of postures to be utilized with the ritual, these are less commonly practiced. Considering what Crowley wrote in his Confessions, I don’t think this is a problem. It is the purpose and the goal of Resh, not necessarily the details of the ritual itself, that should be the focus of the practice. I believe this is why Resh is so popular. A peson does not need to master a complex set of postures to begin gaining benefits from the ritual.

You can read the text of the ritual here. I would strongly encourage you to read Hessle’s article The Point of View of the Sun, as it provides some excellent commentary and context for the ritual. And, the YouTube channel WorldWideResh provides videos of the ritual being performed, along with several variants, in a variety of locations.

Love is the law, love under will.

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Thelemic Yoga

Note: Crowley originally adapted the Raja Yoga practices as set forth by Swami Vivekanda. Over time Thelemic yoga evolved to include some Buddhist philosophy, western mysticism, etc. The steps below are briefly described, thus any aspirant wishing to look further into Thelemic Yoga would do well to read Part 1 of Crowley’s “Magick in Theory & Practice”. Feel free to message me for a link to the PDF version.

8 steps of Thelemic Raja Yoga:

1 - The practitioner adapts an ethic which is supportive of their spiritual growth. Yama, those things that he/she will not do.. Niyama, those things that he/she will make sure to do.. In Thelema this is slightly complicated since everything for a thelemite is relative rather than absolute.. Creeds that buddhists, hindus, etc. use are of little use to us, thus each must create their own which makes sense for their current level of attainment. Essentially it boils down to “do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”.. You do what is right for you while allowing others to do what is right for them, letting go of any ego need to tell them how to do something or to criticize their actions.. Basically live + let live.

2 - Control of body through asana, learning to stay in one meditative posture for at least an hour until the body is under the control of the will.

3 - Control of prana through the use of pranayama. The breath being utilized as the route to feel/move prana. The body as well as the mind come into a more balanced state with this practice.

4 - Control of mind through pratyahara. Begins by watching the mind to learn how it functions, then applying exercises of restraint on speech, body, then thoughts.

 5 - Meditation of the focused mind through dharana. Utilizing the control learned in pratyahara to become fixated on one object/symbol. Practically identical to the fixation exercises dzogchen utilizes. 

6 - Prolonged dharana without breaking concentration results in dhyana.. A unification of subject to object. The practitioner experiences a loss of self while experiencing a unity with whatever symbol they are meditating on. 

7 - Prolonged dhyana without breaking concentration results in Sammadhi.. The experience is now of unification with the whole of the all rather than mere unification of subject/object. This is a first hand experience of non-duality in the manifest reality.

Note: In Thelema Dhyana + Sammadhi are considered to be varying degrees of the same phenomenon, both relating to knowledge & conversation with your HGA.

8 - Last step, prolonged sammadhi results in Nibbhana/Nirvana.. This is the final step in Buddhist realization/attainment. The all becomes the Not. This is a state of both life as well as death, existence as well as non-existence, The All as well as The Nothing. A first hand experience of utter non-duality. Where Sammadhi still fell in the realm of “existence” versus “non-existence”, Nibbhana/Nirvana surpasses all.

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Good Morning Magickal Beings!!! Howdy Ho!! Have A Fantastic Day!

#goodmorning #howdy #sunny #amun #prismetamagick #cyberia #cyberiandreams #dreamingincyberia #funlovingbuddies #sunlovingbuddies #toof #beautifulday

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“You must love her because many have tried and failed. And she wants to know that she is worthy to be loved, that she is worthy to be kept.”

— Junot Díaz (via quotemadness)

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https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd54yCOgLWO/

Tune into the power of your breath. Welcome your sacredness and allow yourself to be inspired by your inner experience - your own truth.

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Sustaining Practice

‘If you find some difficulty in your practice, that is the warning that you have some wrong idea, so you have to be careful. But do not give up your practice; continue it, knowing your weakness. Here there is no gaining idea. here there is no fixed idea of attainment. You do not say, “This is enlightenment,” or “That is not right practice.” Even in wrong practice, when you realize it and continue, there is right practice. Our practice cannot be perfect, but without being discouraged by this, we should continue it. This is the secret of practice.’

- Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.

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Samantabhadra: The Primordial Buddha

O great being, listen to me! My nature is like this: I am just one unitary whole and yet revealing, I reveal two aspects, and emerging, I emerge as the nine lifestyles, and integrating, I integrate into natural perfection, and abiding, I abide in the spaciousness of reality, and existing, I exist as pure mind, and shinning, I shine in the sky of pure rigpa, and embracing, I embrace life-forms and environment, and manifesting, I manifest as matter and energy.

Yet revealed, I have no concrete attribute, and I cannot be seen as an objective entity, and I cannot be known in verbal expression, and since my nature does not follow from a cause, I am free of all verbal imputation.

To understand my nature with certainty, take the sky as the illustration, “unoriginated reality” as the definition, and the elusive nature of mind as the evidence.

As “sky-like reality” it is indicated by the simile of sky or space; as “nonreferential reality” the impossibility of its objectification is indicated; as “inexpressible in words,” the expression “inexpressible” shows my nature to be without reference.

This concise teaching serves to clarify my actuality, it should be enough for you to realize my reality. If this does not suffice, then no matter how I speak of it, we shall not meet, and straying from me, obfuscating my nature, you will fail to realize the heart of reality.

– Samantabhadra

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The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya Which Liberates Upon Seeing

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The confusion of "I"

When one considers our lacking any real existence outside of our relationship to the environment a thought comes up, “what if the idea of I is a misconception?”

The idea of a self that strives and changes is an illusory concept as all that occurs is a different compositing of THE experience.

All is one matrix of an experience. Once that is accepted and integrated you are free to simply let go into the ride as the ride and rider both.

It could simply be a big old misunderstanding–this idea of a separate self. The universal consciousness developed the ability to perceive itself from the inside out and without anyone to guide itself made up some crazy theories about the confusion it experiences.

Partly playing a game with itself; breaking the illusion for shits and giggles from time to time.

“The universe is the practical joke of the absolute at the expense of the particular.” - Crowley

“Listen, great being! Realize my nature, the supreme source that is pure and total consciousness. Teach that all the phenomena of existence are only myself!” - Samantabhadra Buddha

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Metta Sutta

‘This is the work of those who are skilled and peaceful, who seek the good:

May they be able and upright, straightforward, of gentle speech and not proud.

May they be content and easily supported, unburdened, with their senses calmed.

May they be wise, not arrogant and without desire for the possessions of others.

May they do nothing mean or that the wise would reprove.

May all beings be happy.

May they live in safety and joy.

All living beings, whether weak or strong, tall, stout, average or short, seen or unseen, near or distant, born or to be born, may they be happy.

Let no one deceive another or despise any being in any state, let none by anger or hatred wish harm to another.

As a mother watches over her child, willing to risk her own life to protect her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings, suffusing the whole world with unobstructed loving-kindness.

Standing or walking, sitting or lying down, during all one’s waking hours, may one remain mindful of this heart and this way of living that is the best in the world.

Unattached to speculations, views and sense desires, with clear vision, such a person will never be reborn in the cycles of suffering.’

- Metta Sutta, version by Gil Frosdal in Teachings of The Buddha edited by Jack Kornfield.

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“If I have harmed anyone, in any way, either knowingly or unknowingly through my own confusions, I ask forgiveness. If anyone has harmed me, in any way, either knowingly or unknowingly through their own confusions, I forgive them. And if there is a situation I am not yet ready to forgive, I forgive myself for that For all the ways that I harm myself, negate, doubt, belittle myself, judge or be unkind to myself through my own confusions, I forgive myself.”

— Buddhist Prayer (via hotsuburbanmom)

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From whence the smoke?

Meditations with the white smoke

"Once your arm is tired, drop your arm and keep focusing on that spot on your forehead. See yourself breathing in white smoke and breathing out grey or black smoke. As you breathe in, imagine that the white smoke is filling your body and pushing out the stale black smoke." - Josephine McCarthy, in #Quareia Module 1 - Core Skills Lesson 1: Meditation Techniques https://www.quareia.com/apprentice-module-1

Where does this smoke come from? Where is it living before I breathe it in? Smoke does its own thing, how do I get it to fill my body? How to control or guide smoke?

Problematic, unclear, and allover the place. Faint and confused, then rolling scrubbing, then thick and dense. What is the practice? Then the exhale, how does the white stay to keep filling/filled, where does the dark smoke go and how does it interact with the light? If this is a specific guided training, earlier lessons building on the next, what is it I need to practice?

What is its density? How do the two interact?

Tibetan drip? Chinese Tao? Tonglen, multitude of Taoist breathing techniques, what shall it be?

At first it is like Tonglen, only in reverse https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-tonglen/ but there is enough imagery and sensation to work with.

Then the various kinds of Taoist breathing techniques rush in to help make this happen.

The open, practical aspects of these trainings so far are perfect for an old chaote. I was just envisioning more of a structure. Perhaps that will reveal itself further down the road.

Module 1 - Core Skills

Lesson 1 - Meditation Techniques

#Quareia