A scholarly article that compares the cross-fertilisation between Buddhist and Hindu Tantra...

"We participate in the life of a Creative Universe, surrounded by masterpieces of rivers, stars, children and flowers. All of us are both works of art and artists by nature. The great poetry, music and painting of masters down through time -, like Picasso, Walt Whitman, Mozart and Van Gogh - have tried to communicate that to us..."

Physicists are close to the realisation that the universe is the projection of a "CPU" (Central Processing Unit), using a binary code mediated by flashes of light - in the way a computer creates the illusion on a flat screen. Dr James Gates has also found elements resembling "error correcting codes" that help to maintain the illusion. If we can go beyond time and space and look down at our third dimensional reality, we will see that our reality is also made of flashes of electrical signals or light. In other words, this is the state of our reality before it is processed by our consciousness. The reason why we perceive things as solid is because our bodies and consciousness encode the energy patterns around us as solid. It is at this moment that we are tricked into believing that our reality is made of solid materials... Is it our consciousness that creates the reality, or is it a higher consciousness beyond time and space? In any event, it appears we can no longer ignore the big philosophical questions about meaning, significance and the idea of a creator...

How meditation is both less and more than we are led to believe my some sources. It's not an avoidance of life; on the contrary. We still have to work through the stuff that it dredges from the darkness into the light. But it's worth it...

Think it takes months or years to experience the benefits of meditation? There are changes from the very first session.

It is the radical transience of the world that makes it both tragic and beautiful, like the cherry blossom in Japanese aesthetics. The tragedy is that nothing actually exists; it is all passing away the instant it forms. The beauty is that we have the means to be aware of this, a moment to know the profound poignancy of this tiny corner of reality. —Andrew Olendzki

There is an advanced spiritual practice within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition known as the Rainbow Body practice. It consists of the practitioner being able to dissolve the coarse aspects of the body and mind into light at the time of death and even during their lifetime. David Wiclock reports that there are over 180,000 documented cases of people transforming into a “light body” after death...

The Buddha was very "scientific" and rational in his approach to the human experience of reality - and the innate characteristics of our being. 2,500 years later modern neuroscience finds agreement with his teaching that there is no constant and discrete "self" that we can identify with. Whether you find this disturbing or a relief, well, it depends on your viewpoint...

Of course, all of the psychedelics are available as homeopathic remedies. Because they contain none of the original chemical they will not get you high in any way, but if indicated, they will help deal with the spiritual issues... They are particularly indicated for PTSD trauma.

Beautiful reflections on a classic meditation text  that describes doorways for entering divine awareness right here in the midst of everyday life. "The Vijnana Bhairava Tantra appeared in Kashmir around 800 AD, as far as we can tell. The tantra is set as a conversation between The Goddess Who is the Creative Power of the Universe, and the God who is the Consciousness That Permeates Everywhere. For short, they call each other Devi and Bhairava, or Shakti and Shiva. They are lovers and inseparable partners, and one of their favorite places of dwelling is in the human heart. The text is friendly, inviting us in to play..."

Christopher Wallis (Hareesh) has a PhD in Tantric Studies from Berkeley, and has also been involved in yoga and meditation since age seven. He knows what he's talking about. He argues that the chakra system has been oversimplified. It is a system of transformation (the literal meaning of the word tantra - "weave" or "loom" is a metaphor) and there are many different approaches depending on needs, and many different systems. It is not a fixed reality. For instance, the seed syllable LAM is associated with the Earth element, not Muladhara (root) chakra, as is taught. If you are using YAM (Air/wind) when meditating on Anahata (heart) chakra and your relationships are unstable, then use LAM. You can do that...

"Enlightenment is a destructive process.
It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier.
Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing
through the facade of pretense. It’s the
complete eradication of everything we
imagined to be true."
– Adyashanti

From Fritjof Capra, author of the Tao of Physics and the Turning Point... An amazing overview of the convergence of science and spirituality…. This article is deep. meaningful and powerful. It's not just about Science, its about creating a shift in the global culture for how we view the Universe and our lives

Most people doing spiritual work begin to encounter synchronicities. As this author explains, this occurs because we begin to tap into our Higher Mind or our pure energy body: "...the part of human consciousness I call the Higher Mind is where the energies of the earth plane merge with the energies of the spiritual plane. These energies contain information, including information from the unified field as Divine messages to facilitate our higher paths in life."

"The worst thing you can ever do is to search for enlightenment, for liberation. This keeps you back. It keeps you back because there is a self that is searching. There is an I that is searching. There is a me that is trying to become something, and the whole idea is to remove something from your consciousness. Therefore, the process of realization is removal, not adding. Removing this and removing that. Removing all concepts and all preconceived ideas... And what is left will be nothing, no-thing. You are that. You are that no-thing."

Transcendental meditation demystified...

The great cosmic joke is that you are what you are seeking. “I laugh when I think how I once sought paradise as a realm outside of the world of birth. It is right in the world of birth and death that the miraculous truth is revealed. But this is not the laughter of someone who suddenly acquires a great fortune; neither is it the laughter of one who has won a victory. It is, rather, the laughter of one who; after having painfully searched for something for a long time, finds it one morning in the pocket of his coat.” - Thich Nhat Hahn