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The Varieties of Mystical Experience

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Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#11

Post by siavosh »

nprateem wrote: post #9
bzmrgonz wrote: post #8

What I find most intetesying is the concept of rehashing, that mystics pickup where other mystics left off, sometimes after decades have past. I think in today's world, given our newly acquired technology of AI, we can finally stitch all the mysticism pieces which have been woven by past mystics with the aim of finally creating the big picture and hunt for naturally occurring patterns. I for one want to find what Jes…

Be still and know that I am God. Pretty sure that's in the bible. But I think they're missing quotes: Be still and know that "I am God" (i.e. know it for yourself). At least that's how I interpret it.

This seems remarkably in line to some Buddhist/Hindu/Non-Dual meditation techniques.

Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#13

Post by argentinian »

siavosh wrote: post #3

Are there any good broad multi-tradition books on mysticism?

I found interesting this article about common ideas among mystics from different traditions: https://centerforsacredsciences.org/index.php/Articles/the-m...

Then the site offers a recommended reading list, if you wish to go deeper into some of the traditions: https://centerforsacredsciences.org/index.php/Library/recomm...

Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#14

Post by argentinian »

nprateem wrote: post #10
siavosh wrote: post #3

Are there any good broad multi-tradition books on mysticism?

Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza has promise. The meditation in that (especially the focus on pushing the cerebrospinal fluid up the spine) is probably the clearest instruction you can find (and mirrors the primary meditations in Taoism and Indian yoga).

The cerebrospinal fluid already surrounds the spine and brain. "Pushing it up" sounds a bit like pseudo-scientific new agey talk.

Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#15

Post by argentinian »

bzmrgonz wrote: post #8

What I find most intetesying is the concept of rehashing, that mystics pickup where other mystics left off, sometimes after decades have past. I think in today's world, given our newly acquired technology of AI, we can finally stitch all the mysticism pieces which have been woven by past mystics with the aim of finally creating the big picture and hunt for naturally occurring patterns. I for one want to find what Jes…

I believe that when you read different mystics the repeating patterns are explicit. Of course an AI could process and summarize a big amount of diverse texts, but I wouldn't expect to learn anything new from that, because I believe the patterns are easy to notice after some investigation.

Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#17

Post by buildsjets »

argentinian wrote: post #14
nprateem wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza has promise. The meditation in that (especially the focus on pushing the cerebrospinal fluid up the spine) is probably the clearest instruction you can find (and mirrors the primary meditations in Taoism and Indian yoga).

The cerebrospinal fluid already surrounds the spine and brain. "Pushing it up" sounds a bit like pseudo-scientific new agey talk.

It is TOTALLY psuedo-scientific new agey talk. That doesn't necessarily negate it's validity. What determines it's it's validity is whether it is a testable and repeatable method to accomplish a result, and whether it can be learned, then communicated / taught to others.

Aleister Crowley said in Magick in Theory and Practice:

"In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them."

So, have you studied and received training and tried your own personal practice in pushing up your cerebrospinal fluid / manipulating your kundalini energy / grounding your root chakra / whatever new-agey terms your chosen method uses? Or are you dismissing the validity of these methods without firsthand experimentation because of how other people in your society have trained you think and because you do not like the terminology that they use?

Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#18

Post by buildsjets »

siavosh wrote: post #3

Are there any good broad multi-tradition books on mysticism?

I'm about halfway though "Angel Tech: A Modern Shaman's Guide to Reality Selection" https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Tech-Shamans-Reality-Selection/... which is a very interesting book that attempts to de-mystify mysticism using more modern concepts and language. Don't worry, no actual angels are involved nor does it either require or prohibit any particular religious faith. But it does require you to LARP as a robot if want to try their techniques.

It is loosely based on the Buddhist 8-fold Path as interpreted by Tim Leary's (yeah, him, sigh) 8-circuit model of consciousness, but also discusses tarot, cabala, alchemy, the Hindu Chakra System, western magickal esotericism, the usual boring stuff everybody gets taught in grade school.

It's better than most, but unfortunately like a lot of other books on the topic, knowledge of all the background material really is required to get a full understanding and appreciation of the content. I've just never found the time to sit down and actually read "Ulysses."

Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#19

Post by argentinian »

buildsjets wrote: post #17
argentinian wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cerebrospinal fluid already surrounds the spine and brain. "Pushing it up" sounds a bit like pseudo-scientific new agey talk.

It is TOTALLY psuedo-scientific new agey talk. That doesn't necessarily negate it's validity. What determines it's it's validity is whether it is a testable and repeatable method to accomplish a result, and whether it can be learned, then communicated / taught to others. Aleister Crowley said in Magick in Theory and Practice: "In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of G…

I agree that that by itself, even when it's anatomically incorrect, that doesn't negate it's validity to produce effects and I like Crowley's quote.

I don't consider Joe Dispenza a good and experienced meditation teacher, and I don't consider serious his use of pseudoscientific explanations. Still, what he says may be helpful for some people, but I believe that there are much better meditation teachers.

Re: The Varieties of Mystical Experience

#20

Post by tnias23 »

buildsjets wrote: post #17
argentinian wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cerebrospinal fluid already surrounds the spine and brain. "Pushing it up" sounds a bit like pseudo-scientific new agey talk.

It is TOTALLY psuedo-scientific new agey talk. That doesn't necessarily negate it's validity. What determines it's it's validity is whether it is a testable and repeatable method to accomplish a result, and whether it can be learned, then communicated / taught to others. Aleister Crowley said in Magick in Theory and Practice: "In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of G…

Assuming that this suggestion of “pushing up” CSF is possible, if taken literally, it would increase intracranial pressure (ICP). The normal ICP range is around 7-15 mmHg, and pressures outside this range can reduce cerebral perfusion, with increases potentially causing cerebral ischemia and brain herniation. Therefore, maintaining normal ICP is crucial for brain health. Let’s assume this supposed technique alters ICP minimally enough to stay within the normal range. I am not aware of any evidence suggesting that ICP at the higher end of normal (or anywhere within normal) is associated with health benefits.
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