Self-Knowledge and Self-Realization

Dear Ed,

Practicing on the hara or the heart center seem very different. Heart center appears like a horizontal meeting into the sense of presence, when the hara a vertical dropping of oneself into the void. Is it better to choose one of those two centers to dive within or depending on moments attention can shift from one to the other? At the moment it is difficult to imagine that they are leading to the same goal.

Dzogchen practice is to abide in that state of presence which is the common note to any experience (even the experience of emptiness), is that the same method that you describe as abiding in the ultimate subject?

This document of yours is a beautiful gift for seekers, I cannot relate to many of Rajiv experiences though, as my experience is pretty simple: more or less crystalised sense of me, sense of presence, occasional transparence, silence and movement... 

With Gratitude

s.

RESPONSE:

It is of no value to ask how one technique from one tradition compares to another technique in another tradition.

It just leads to increased conceptualization and is a distraction.

The Hara techniques leads to different experiences from the heart technique, but in the end, you are beyond them all.

It is like comparing push ups with sit ups, the feeling is different, but in the end, you are not the body at all. You are not the body or the experiences at all. You are trying to explore your inner world and find it is not you, and by finding what is not you, you eventually find the pure you.

Try the Hara technique, it is deeper.

Ed

To Me:

Dear Ed,

Diving into the sense of presence is really natural and blissful, when the mind is totally focused it feels like geting absorbed into sleep. This diving into the presence appears to be directed more into the heart center but I do not need to focus specifically in a center and just dive in I Am. I feel that I could in sometime just abide there and be absorbed most of the time. Let's see.  

In sitting meditation I do direct attention into the hara, like you say that's much more dramatic, I can feel even strained by the exercice. I can experience at the same time that something is attracting me down, and on the other something is preventing me to drop totally, I suppose I have to practice more and more letting go for the grip to loosen up.

It appears that my presence and actually everything experienced is surounded by silence, this silence is more or less heavy, does the mind will surrender more and more into that silence and finally the understanding will dawn that I am that?

With Gratitude as always,

s.

RESPONSE:

You are making good progress.

Actually, being aware of the coming and going of sleep is the best you can do, as the awareness of the sleep state is of nothingness, because the body is not functioning producing conscioiusness. Therefore you are experiencing one nothingness state in deep sleep. It is not a waste of time at all. Enjoy not knowing anything. 

Ed