At 1.5km above sea level… up a steep hillside there sits a small Tibetan Monastery, in Nepal.
It’s a really small temple space… I’m stood in front of the monastery in the picture… and those doorways lead to a sonically designed space that created really deep altered states in us.
At one end the monk positioned himself next to ancient texts and an array of sound creating tools.
The very fast chanting started… I let my eyes go soft focus . . . and then gently close.
BOOM! The drum hanging next to the Monk was now being struck… and so was the very center of my forehead.
The pressure wave in the room from the drum was so strong, I’d not experienced anything like it… after drifting slightly with the rhythmic chanting, the energy seemed directed at my Third Eye.
My eyes, that had slightly opened (still in soft focus) due to the unexpected sonic waves, then closed again.
The spreading of the sound wave from the percussive source hit my body all over… and yet a powerful tingling in my forehead had started instantly… or that’s where the sound landed and manifested as energy in my body.
As the ‘Activation’ of the Third Eye continued, time dissolved…
Geometric shapes appeared, behind closed eyelids… sensations at the center, of the center of my forehead pushing inwards and expanding outward… in the shape of a flower, tingling and unfolding…
Deep inside, a feeling of bliss in my heart center expanding…
The Set and Setting
For me being in a foreign country*, one I enjoy much …being inside a beautifully colorful Buddhist monastery*… with just the monk* and my wife*, enjoying a very pleasant ambient temperature* of around 29C (84F)… and sitting in a comfortable cross-legged sitting position* etc. are all: (*part, of the ‘Set and Setting’!).
When I’d first sat down, a little excitement was there, ready for the experience, sitting less than 2 meters away from the monk, on the opposite wall, at a slightly lower elevation than him.
The warm temperature and warm colours… the ever-present smell of that magical mix of herbs that Tibetan Incense is made from… in a small, beautifully designed space, space far more sonically designed than I had suspected.
The kind of thing you have to Experience
This type of experience can only be experienced… while I endeavor to describe it to the best I can, along with the benefits of these types of practices (and there are many benefits).
In truth, an MP3 of even the highest quality lacks a lot of this experience. The sound pressure waves of the live instrument, the acoustically designed environment and the quality of sound is so different.
And of course the Set and Setting of the experience is of so much importance.
In many ways these experiences act simply as a guide or roadmap to be able to go there again. You’ve experienced it once… you can access these altered states again.
The notion of ‘plant medicine’ is less empowering than the notion of ‘plant teacher’ because a medicine you need again… whereas a teacher has shown you the way!
Example: the SOMA of the Rig Vedas is almost always talked of as a ‘drink’ (the contents of which still remains a mystery today) but the real SOMA was not ingested, it was created in the neurology of the enlighten ones.
Their control of their own neurochemistry allowed them to re-enter these states at will.
Gaining the benefits anytime.
After 45 minutes (when his potato delivery arrived), the experience ended.
The Spiritual life and the practical aspects of life… intertwined.
…we walked back down the long-winding stairs to the bottom of the cliffside with the Monk, who then hoisted the sack of organically grown potatoes onto his shoulder and, with a cheery smile, set off back up the steep climb.
Joy in each step.
The point is to intergrade all these learnings so that life is enjoyable… it’s not about the practice itself. And it’s easier than you think. It’s not about external influences it’s about you and your neurology… Running Your Own Brain.
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