Cajun; If you really are serious about going deeper, you can learn how to stop your breath and heart rate. You must find an adequate teacher you can really trust, and there are'nt many in the USA I would trust with this. But I have found one of the best here, and his name is Brother Achalananda Vice President of Self Realization Fellowship (SRF).
Has anyone heard about/ been able to activate the pineal gland to produce DMT? (Dimenthyltrptamine) The only resource I have ever run into about this is Dr. Rick Strassman's stuff on the web.
Rick Strassman on Dmt the pineal gland-YouTube.
DMT:The Spiritual Molecule(2012)-Hulu

I haven't listened to this yet.
http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2012/07...ss-meditation/

Live Webcasts: Shantideva's "A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life

There will be live webcasts of His Holiness the Dalai Lama teachings on Shantideva's "A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (chodjug)" at the request of a group of Southeast Asians at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, India, on September 4-6, 2012. There will be live webcasts in English, Chinese, Tibetan and Russian languages. The live webcasts can be viewed at http://dalailama.com/liveweb

For times in your region: 9:30am IST on September 4th in Dharamsala, India, is the same as 5:00am BST on September 4th in London, England; and 9:00pm PDT on September 3rd in Los Angeles, California, USA

ooh, thanks for sharing this! i hope it gets recorded! i'll be asleep tonight during the broadcast.

i've been lurking in this thread for awhile and i thought i should pop in and say hi :)

i used to practically live at a tibetan buddhist temple when i was a teenager and i got really involved there. i still practice meditation now and read a lot but have felt disconnected from any kind of local group for awhile. i've enjoyed reading everyone's posts here.

in my experience that feeling only comes after a LOT of mindfulness and insight meditation. to be honest you kinda have to get past the boring suck with basic forms of meditation to get to the good stuff, and even then it goes in circles/waves. i've always been taught that in the context of buddhism, feeling attachment to the good meditation experiences is an unskillful emotion though. that may or may not help, hehe.

i've also felt a strong sense of deep meditation sometimes when in dhikr circles. muslims - particularly sufis - have a tradition of reciting parts of the qur'an or the names of allah and in a powerful dhikr circle the recitation actually changes the energy in the room. and sometimes when listening to synchronicity meditation - it is supposed to actually change your brain wave patterns and it definitely does SOMETHING to my brain because i can feel it really deeply.

for me meditation is like exercise. it sucks and i don't wanna, but when i do it, i feel better. and when i do it on a regular basis, i notice changes in my life and behavior, like the ability to be mindful with normal tasks, be a better listener, respond more with compassion. and eventually i become more at peace in meditation and outside of it. sometimes that leads to more intense meditation experiences, but i was taught that that shouldn't be the focus or goal of meditation (for me at least).

i definitely agree that flying in subspace has some connections...i love that blissful feeling. it's different than what meditation feels like for me. but it can also be a state of heightened awareness.

karma
 

I dont i.d. as Buddhist but would say that I have been Buddhist minded for around 20 years. I have visited a local monastery on numerous occasions and when I lst went was taken aback when a monk said to me "there's no such thing as an innocent child" I felt "how nasty is that" - it took me quite a while to understand what he meant, though he never elaborated on his statement - maybe it was to get me thinking - it certainly did. Of course, it was there all the time, that old thing Karma, natural law, what we sow we reap, however you want to put it. We are all born by our own desires and "blessed" with the karma of previous lives, so as that beautiful, wide eyed baby, we are there by our own doing. In Buddhism (and many other religions/beliefs) its thought that our actions in the present life (& sometimes those past) create the reality of our next one - who we are, how we are, to whom we are born, whether we are well or ill, whether rich or poor - all designed by ourselves to finally and hopefully "get it". This is my understanding of life anyway, obviously not shared by everyone.
That made it easier for me to understand the difficult lives and death of my parents who were practically saints yet had it so hard, my gender dysphoria, the confusion and pain and reality of it. The pain, cruelty and injustice humans inflict upon one another. I was able to accept these things and see that they are all the karmic result of the lives we lead and our inability to understand natural laws. So now when im tempted to do something naughty, illegal etc. Im a little ashamed to admit that its not always the goody two shoes in me that decides "better not" - its the self preservation - thinking, "nope, im not going to reap the rewards of that one" and keeps me (mostly anyway) on the straight and narrow. When I try to push it all aside, low and behold, i get a reminder right on the chin and know its time to get back on track.............there really is no way out - lol!:hangloose

I also follow the teachings of Christ as I believe he like the Buddha who was born a long time before, is a fully realised being who brought truth to the world. Both taught people to look inside to find it for themselves and the Buddha encouraged us to question everything, including what he taught so we could really understand why we are here and the impermenant nature of everything. They came at it from different angles but the main message to us was to be compassionate, not only to others but firstly to ourselves so that we are better placed to help those around us. Some people might see this as selfish but to me it makes sense. I dont call myself a Buddhist, if i admit it, i am not good at commitment and i couldnt take the 5 precepts because i drink alcohol, not a lot but it is a mind altering substance - but then so's coffee, lol! Actually, i have just learned that the Buddha took cannabis as part of his diet - i dont do drugs but have heard its a good medicine used in the right way.
I think the lst thing that drew me to Buddhism was when i saw the Dalai lama interviewed and when asked how he viewed his enemy, the Chinese, where Christ was reputed to have said "love your enemies" - the Dalai Lamas reply was "there is no enemy, we are all brothers, all the same.........." For a man who has had his country ravaged (firstly by the English in l912, colonel younghusband) and then the chinese inthe l950's, his people still persecuted, the panchen lama kidnapped as a 5 yr old and replaced by the chinese chosen lama, hes one heck of a guy and has such an infectious laugh. Hes the kind of guy, who when looking at the magnificence of the Himalayas, would notice a tiny flower at his feet and marvel at that............so my journey began - and yes, its great to hear others experiences too..........

over to you..............

Buddhism Quotes
 

Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger Instead of getting angry nuture a deep caring respect for troublemakers because by creating such trying circumstances they provide us with invalueable opportunities to practice tolerance and compassion- Dali Lama

Does anyone else here engage in moving meditation? I have found that when I run, I meditate with much more focus than I do when I sit. My wife and children have even noticed that after I run, I am so much more at peace and focused than before. I have found it to be a great way for me to meditate.

I tend to do a walking meditation when I have my mind set for that. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of walking meditations. And I will apologize early if this has been mentioned already. I haven't taken the time to read through the thread just yet, but I will.

I was just reading -- at dinner tonight -- a description of the Dalai Lama's meeting with Thomas Merton (in Re-Enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West by Jeffrey Paine). What was really cool though was Merton's encounter with another lama, the last one he saw before he left India.

Anyway, all this lama would teach Merton was the very advanced technique of shooting consciousness out of the fontanel at the time of death. Merton wrote in his journal something like that doesn't seem too useful. But within a few weeks, Merton was dead. Accidental electrocution. The Lama said later that he could sense that Merton did not have long to live and did not see the point in teaching him anything else.

I guess when Merton met the Dalai Lama earlier in his visit, they both got on the floor so the Dalai Lama could help Merton with his lotus position. Don't you wish they'd gotten a picture of that?

http://www.saieditor.com/img/merton_hh.jpg