DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
INVISIBLE GURU FORUM
HTML https://jedmckenna.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Truth Realization
*****************************************************
#Post#: 43171--------------------------------------------------
Dying Well Contemplation
By: Jed McKenna Date: July 28, 2021, 1:01 am
---------------------------------------------------------
The consensus in this community seems to be that death is not
what we think it is or what we learned it is. If I say that Jed
'died', all that means for sure is that the body we identified
with him no longer seems to be around. Long before that body
ceased to be, however, he had discovered that it was never there
in the first place. He left us this shortcut to making the same
discovery for ourselves. - Zara
[hr]
I find it quite amazing how our Western world handles death. In
Southeast Asia, and certainly many other parts of the world,
death is handled in a more pragmatic manner.
In reality, no one handles death at all. Death handles you. Are
you prepared for said ‘handling’? Can you prepare? The following
will certainly assist. But before I get into the core of this
contemplation I need to set up the stage a little.
[hr]
Your reference point for everything is a dream.
I think we can all agree that the body you appear to have is
going to eventually cease to exist and, over many billions of
years, what you once appeared to be will just be atoms in
another star system. That’s where the atoms that created your
current body came from and, eventually, they will go back to.
It’s the way this particular dream works and there are many,
many dreams. Almost all of which are as incomprehensible, in
this moment, as a BIC lighter to a caveman. Put another way, the
real you is on a level above, and thus challenging to know and
see when you assume your body is real and use it as your
reference point. It sounds like a trap because it is one.
Those who set traps never want to get caught in their own traps,
hence, there is always some way out. They have an escape
mechanism built in and this dream is no different. The challenge
is to find it, or perhaps be ready to avail yourself of it at
the appropriate time. Suicide is one obvious way, and under some
limited circumstance it can be appropriate, but let’s leave that
one for another day.
What I am about to point you towards in this contemplation, is
an experience and understanding of death prior to dropping your
body, without the necessity of going Kevorkian.
[hr]
In my teachings I have always held back, as best I could, from
setting students up for a particular experience/outcome.
Whatever arises for you is yours, not mine. With this
contemplation I am going to change course. I will lay out how
and what to do plus I will describe specifics of the experience
you seek. The reason is that it has subtle qualities which may
not be as immediately evident to you. In addition, it’s quite
easy to be sidetracked. I am going to suggest certain things to
be on the lookout for and this will include things to avoid.
One of the challenges around dropping your body is that it is a
rather dramatic change for ‘spirit’, that which animates you.
You have appeared as a body for a significant time and are, most
likely, strongly identified with said body. Change always has
some hidden side to it. Hidden things can be scary while things
that are understood are easier to accept and ‘slip’ into. The
more you can familiarize with what comes ‘next’, the gentler the
transition will be. But how can you experience death before . .
. death?
That’s been the subject of many writings, new and old, famous
and never heard of. Logically, one would have to die first to
experience whatever the after-life has to offer. What if you are
currently in the after-life and have yet to realize it. Is that
too simple? Does that spoil the game for you? Perhaps you, and
I, are in one ‘life’ and there are infinite before and after
versions of it. If you think there was no version of ‘you’
before this human one, I think you’re putting limits on infinity
which just don’t hold true. I don’t take to calling this
‘reincarnation’ . . . because the personality doesn’t
reincarnate, the ‘I am’ does. Perhaps it should be called ‘I am
carnation’.
Regardless of how we frame it, we fail because we are trying to
imagine other ‘before’ and ‘after’ experiences/levels, while
locked into this particular level. However, I am going to show
you the key to that ‘lock’. Stick with me. I want you to find
out for yourself what I am talking about. Your direct experience
is all that matters. By ‘direct’ I mean an experience that
hasn’t been instantly turned into a story by one’s thought
mechanisms… an uncorrupted experience if you will, an experience
which has somehow bypassed the filter of one’s brain. If it
sounds a little tricky, it is.
I trust you are interested, perhaps even a little afraid . . .
great! That’s an excellent starting point and as you will find
out, when there is no you there, there is no fear of any kind.
It has nowhere to reside. This contemplation is very gentle.
Let me list some things that this is not. The reason is I don’t
want you to jump in and say, ‘Oh, it’s this/that’ and drag your
presumption, assumptions and conclusion into the experience.
It’s essential that you experience this as ‘clearly’ as
possible. Hence, start by getting the following points down
thoroughly before we proceed. What this contemplation is not:
[list][li]1.) This is not an experience as much as it is a
‘knowing’, and the difference will be obvious once you have
achieved your objective. Thinking, believing, experiencing and
knowing are all quite different, with ‘knowing’ being the most
profound.[/li]
[li]2.) Done properly, the experience comes to you without
struggle. It will arise to you in a way that can only be
described as ‘ordinary’ or ‘normal’.[/li]
[li]3.) This is not astral projection. For those students who
have experienced astral projection, you will recall that there
is a definite leaving of the body and a remaining connection.
While ‘travelling’ you remain aware that you are out of your
‘body’. This is quite different.[/li]
[li]4.) This is not a near death experience. Near death is only
‘near’ and this goes beyond that. You will not have a body to
look down on an operating table, car accident or the like. There
will be no old you or body available for that.[/li]
[li]5.) This is not lucid dreaming. Most folks have experienced
at least one lucid dream. It can be described as a night dream
wherein you wake up within it and act as the dreamt character
whilst knowing that it’s all a dream. They can be fun, but have
nothing to do with this contemplation. In this present
contemplation you don’t wake up inside any dream. You realize
there is no dreamt human having a dream.[/li][/list]
Well, enough of negativity, how about some information on the
experience/knowing/non-experience of being dead.
[list][li]1.) Once you are there, you will have an immense
feeling of freedom, of lightness. Similar things can certainly
be experienced in other states, but there is a realness and
certitude that you will experience, you will just know.[/li]
[li]2.) There may or may not be other characters within the
experience. You might play with them or not play with them. Keep
in mind that these will all be distractions. Do your best to
stick with the contemplation. Remain disinterested in anything
but your own experience.[/li]
[li]3.) The environment around you can be anything at all and
might change at any moment. Pay it no attention.[/li]
[li]4.) You may have some challenges recalling and integrating
your experience. While this is definitely not a drug experience,
some deep drug experiences require a similar digestion time to
recall and understand. Discipline and focus are called for.[/li]
[li]5.) On the subject of drugs . . . please be ‘clean’ while on
this journey. Drugs will not help you with this in any way. You
don’t need a drug experience, you need to lose all fear of
death, and also of living.[/li][/list]
[hr]
When I first recognized this body did not exist, it was more
than a mental realization. I realized I had always known it -
that there never was a body. So who or what realized that? I
can’t express that in words. It just existed as a knowing. It
was unconditionally realized. It was not a knowing that came
from somewhere or went somewhere. Even the word ‘realized’ is
inadequate. It was a solid, simple and unquestionable fact:
there never was a body. The best I could do to describe it was
that some ‘me’ looked back on what was ‘my’ body, and it
completely disappeared. Furthermore, I knew It couldn’t possibly
come or go, because it never was. It was the death of the body
and it was most pleasant and gentle.
Death is a beautiful secret hidden by a lie. The best place to
hide it is under the fear and illusion that it is painful. Such
is not the case.
Here is a critical point of your experience. I’m going to get to
the contemplation shortly - be patient. I am still ‘selling’ you
on the idea because this takes some serious discipline. The
upside is you will experience what it is like to be totally and
completely without a body. You will realize that what once
appeared to be your body is/was/will be, an absolute and
unquestionable non-entity, a nothing, and that the knowing I
speak of was always so. You always knew it, but had yet to
realize it.
If you will permit the only metaphor I can come up with at the
moment. A friend walks up to you and says, ‘’Hi there, say,
where did that third arm of yours go?’’ You would probably say
something like, ‘’What? I never had a third arm. That’s
ridiculous.’’ The knowing that you have not now, nor ever, had a
human body called ‘you’ is as simple and direct as your response
to your friend’s inquiry.
One final point needs to be grasped. Your success depends to a
large degree on knowing the difference between ‘brain’ and
‘mind’. Without an understanding of this, you’re going to have
some serious challenges completing the contemplation
successfully. Let’s dig a little deeper.
The human brain is like a web browser. When you sit down at the
computer, whatever you see on the display, your immediate
digital world, is like your brain. We lose track of the
complicated array of communications components and networks and
protocols that must operate for anything to show up on the
screen. You write an email and press ‘send’ without giving
thought to the reality that your data may have been relayed
halfway around the world, even into space, before the person
sitting in the next restaurant booth receives it. We live in a
world of vast hidden and seldom appreciated connectivity. Humans
have modelled their True Nature and brought it into their homes.
On a human level we have no less vast a network. Our brain is a
kind of terminal, a receiver of data, and a displayer of
results. The less obvious massive connectivity and source of
data is what I call ‘Mind’. Please keep this metaphor foremost
as you proceed with this contemplation.
Here is another way of thinking about the difference between
mind and brain. Look directly at something. Let’s call this
pointed looking ‘brain’. Now, without changing your head’s
position, let your focus soften and you will get a sense of what
is around you without actually looking at anything in
particular. This ‘softer’ view is analogous to ‘mind’. I trust
that gives you a sense of the difference between the two, and a
better idea of what I mean by mind.
As for the use of the word ‘body’, don’t over complicate things.
It simply means what appears to be ‘your’ body in this human
dream. I am not speaking of astral bodies, dream bodies, or
anything else like that.
[hr]
So, here we go with the steps:
[list][li]1.) This experience is best done in the early morning.
I suggest waking up before sunrise and perhaps using the toilet
and getting a drink of water. Move your body around a little. At
a minimum, get out of bed and walk around for a few minutes.
Then go back to bed.[/li]
[li]2.) Once you have gone back to bed, start your full body
breathing. Make sure you are not stressing about doing it
‘correctly’.[/li]
[li]3.) After a little focus on breathing, do your best to let
your awareness expand into what I have described as ‘mind’. Get
a sense of defocusing on all that is.[/li]
[li]4.) As you breathe in repeat to yourself, ‘mind awake’. As
you do this, make every (gentle) effort to open up to your
expanded awareness of mind. Let your perspective be as wide and
open as possible, embracing of everything.[/li]
[li]5.) As you breathe out repeat to yourself, ‘body asleep’.
Bring your focus back to the body. Continue to maintain your
open perspective throughout your out-breath as best you can.
Your eyes will be closed so just pretend you are observing/aware
of it.[/li]
[li]6.) Use only those two phrases and note that synchronization
between your breath and words is critical. It will eventually
become a musical rhythm.[/li]
[li]7.) One more brief reminder, I have experienced most of the
strange things that can go on around sleep, and this experience,
when done properly, is nothing like astral projection or lucid
dreaming. If you slip into such experiences, I suggest you just
enjoy the ride. But as soon as possible, come back to your
practice as outlined herein.[/li][/list]
So, what’s the catch? This is a task and to complete it requires
practice and discipline. The state you seek is one of being
asleep and conscious at the same time. Sounds impossible, but I
assure you it’s not. I strongly suggest you re-read this
section, perhaps more than once. It is more than worth the
effort. Time to start . . . and time to finish, all anticipation
around dying. Once you have experienced it, even briefly, you
will drop all concerns about death. You will remain sensible and
healthy - that’s just common sense - but the fear of that final
‘exit’ will no longer reside in you.
#Post#: 43172--------------------------------------------------
Re: Dying Well Contemplation
By: feanor Date: July 28, 2021, 2:45 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for the powerful contemplation Zara. Quick question:
how long do you recommend we do the breathing at the start and
then the entire contemplation?
#Post#: 43173--------------------------------------------------
Re: Dying Well Contemplation
By: Jed McKenna Date: July 28, 2021, 5:41 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Jed's intention was that you would first practice full body
breathing until it becomes second nature. Once you've integrated
the breathing practice, it only takes a breath or two to shift
your state of consciousness.
I don't usually recommend a particular length of time for most
contemplations. It's not the time that matters. It's your
ability to immerse into the space the practice is meant to open
up. If the practice is alien to you, it will take longer and be
more awkward at the beginning. In the case of this
contemplation, you need to coordinate breathing, the cues of the
words, the rhythmic alternating of your awareness, and expansion
into the inclusive, defocused space of 'mind'. Each of those
elements will be easy for some people and less familiar to
others. You want to play with it for long enough that all those
separate elements become one thing.
Once you get a whisper of what the practice has to offer, a
scent of it, it's up to you to follow that thin trace as far as
you can. Find for yourself the essence of the practice. Jed was
suggesting you be careful to steer away from a range of
distracting states you might find yourself in. But what is the
state you're actually looking for? Stick with it long enough to
find out, and then stay in it long enough to find out what's
there. You'll have to experiment to find out how long that is,
just as you always have to experiment to make a practice your
own.
#Post#: 43174--------------------------------------------------
Re: Dying Well Contemplation
By: Death_by_SallyD Date: July 28, 2021, 6:23 am
---------------------------------------------------------
:) It's good!
"separate elements become one thing" And vice versa to allow for
the other....
Using the body breathing with mind-awake/body-asleep intention
early this a.m. after meditation/energetic
movements/contemplation.....see this vision as exhale releases
into a egg-shaped (gestation!) cloud of vibration that extends
beyond the echoing remains of previously perceived body. Exhale
sees this progressive disarticulation of the skeleton....the
unified, hardened, rigid structure that seems to hold the body
together....skull/facial bones loosen, disengage.....cervical,
thoracic, lumbar, sacral spine, like dominos or Chinese paper
yo-yo, disengage and subtly elongate....ribs, sternum,
shoulders......arms and legs....click-clack comes unstacked.
Just my way of letting go. The remains of loose skeleton parts
of a body long gone, lying in the dirt At this
point....awareness can explore capacity beyond previous assumed
body limitations. All kinds of interesting
impressions/hallucinations flow through, coming and going.
Intriguing! but nothing to cling to
Further.....
#Post#: 43176--------------------------------------------------
Re: Dying Well Contemplation
By: Kathryn Date: July 28, 2021, 11:00 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you. I would compare my first experience practicing this
meditation to be like I was in a coma, on life-support, but
aware of, for lack of a better word, nothingness. Extreme state
of relaxation and peace of mind.
On another note, to be honest, I have had mixed thoughts — not
in the aforementioned state, not at all — about Peter/Jed/Ken,
and continuing with this forum.
Now, it seems, I have nothing to complain about, or fear, one
way or another, whether I stay, or whether I leave, as, in
reality, it seems always to be the case that “all is well with
my soul.” The outward case is of no account; truly all the
“seen” things, the seemingly “good” and the seemingly “bad,” are
imposters.
If you know how to read the Bible (or any writing), with mind,
heart, and critical consciousness, even the Bible bears this
fact out in many instances, both in the Old and New Testaments.
I just know now not to swallow anything “hook, line, and
sinker.” These two meditations, however, are helpful to me, so,
yes, thank you again for making them accessible.
#Post#: 43180--------------------------------------------------
Re: Dying Well Contemplation
By: zd15 Date: July 29, 2021, 10:52 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you Zara, I will study the artical carefully. Thank you
for sharing!
*****************************************************