Questions and Answers

The following pages are some of the questions that have been asked of me on the forums.

Question: This is not a complaint but a question. Emotional and physical releases can come on suddenly and painfully in meditation, right? I just haven't heard that this experience can be a little difficult sometimes. No mind and allowing helps, but still, the deep releases can be a little unpleasant. I guess I need some validation that all is not necessarily bliss when Shakti is really moving to release blockages. 

Reply: All sorts of 'stuff' comes up in practice regardless of what instigates it. The mode may differ but the principle and the mechanics are the same. We like the good stuff but no one really wants to see or acknowledge the garbage within, but it all needs to be cleared for practice to be ultimately useful. Try to just watch the process happening and not identify with the content Attachment to mental content, emotions etc is like a thick sticky glue. Practice dissolves it so content can arise and pass without concern. The bliss aspect of practice will only truly arise and steady when the mind is free of the dross. Then the bliss is made more permanent. But don't forget, even bliss is just a passing phase.

Question: A few days ago, i saw myself crying in dream over the loss of my father, whereas in waking consciousness i don't ever felt that way. Today morning, i again dreamed, this time i saw my father as happy and healthy, but then i realised that he's gone, and i started crying badly, all this happened in dream, and as i woke up, i started crying. 

Reply: It seems obvious that you are still affected by your father's memory - that's ok to do so too. As you yourself age you will see him in a more understanding light from a different perspective than you do now. This just shows how deeply we affect each other on many levels.All is good and to be expected.

Question: i saw a dream in which, you were instructing, us initiates to group meditate, at least a minimum of 14 members, more will be better. That's all i can remember. And i wanted to know how does group meditation helps shakti's manifestation, does it gets stronger for all that are meditating together in a group. And what about the couple initiates, i guess they are at an advantage, than the single ones.

Reply: Cool... I even get to harass you guys in your sleep. Group effort magnifies individual results by 'normalising' the practice (everyone thinks cos others get the same experience it's 'normal' to report their own results thus giving them confidence to do so). Couples (physical group presence) have the bonus of sharing and supporting each other in a more tangible way. Either way, even if groups are spread out like us the convenience of sharing experience creates confidence and helps diminish or end doubt. There are more subtle reasons too and that works in a similar way to how initiations worked in the first place. 

Question: It almost feels at times that the movement of Shakti and stillness of the mind are one and the same. As if Shakti is calming the mind for me. This happens more and more. Sometimes it seems that Shakti is looking out through "my" physical eyes. This is difficult to articulate but "I" totally disappears. Is this SBT or Shakti working in the senses?

Reply: Both sbt's and Shakti work on the delusion that creates the "I" notion as an agent who owns the senses, but the emphasis is different. That depends on what practice we are using. The results however are the same. As we know, sbt's are a practice that calms the mind, as one progresses so does Shakti. However that silence is produced the mind will still function as required when needed but it works in a way that doesn't create the 'I' - 'other' duality. This is what you are currently experiencing. What sees is Awareness functioning as perception. Shakti is embedded within that Awareness as the mind or intelligence of nature. SBT's do the same thing but the emphasis is on the no-thought aspect of the experience rather than its embedded intelligence which is usually taken for granted. This is why I recommend using both practices, together if possible. They compliment and empower each other. This makes the Sadhaks - Shakta's practice more dynamic than either alone.

Follow on comment: SBT has become so helpful to me. Much more so than the common "witnessing the thought" practice I had been taught before. The spaces are becoming longer between thought. Thank you!

Reply: Witnessing is what happens when perception is functioning. Then conception arises to comment on or think about the perceptions that have arisen. This is when the practice breaks down into chaos. When the practitioner stops witnessing and starts a mental dialogue about the events witnessed. There are many practitioners who fall for this. Noticing spaces between thoughts nips this delusory 'witnessing' in the bud as sbt's have no content therefore starve the divisive thinking process. No-thing to witness, just Awareness as is.

Question: What's the difference between Shaktipat and other spiritual practices? I mean in other spiritual practices when the kundalini is awakened is there really any difference from then on with Shaktipat path?In Shaktipat the only advantage is that you don't have to wait for months or years for the kundalini to be awakened, but in other paths once the kundalini is awakened by relevant practices,what's the difference from then on with Shaktipat? Won't the practitioners of other paths get similar experiences like kriyas,kumbhaka, stilling of mind etc. just like in Shaktipat? Please clarify.

Reply: What you say isn't right. In Shaktipat one may well need to wait some time for kundalini to rise - that is because Shakti first purifies the subtle system and prepares for the arising of kundalini. No manual method can do this. In manual methods there is no way of knowing whether or not the preparations are sufficient enough to arouse kundalini. Shakti is an automatic path, other paths are manual ones, they need to be learned whilst Shakti is the intelligence of nature working itself out in the initiate. In other paths one needs to practice various methods as in Hatha yoga where one needs to learn asanas, kriyas etc. In Shaktipat one just surrenders to Shakti and allows all the necessary experiences to happen automatically. There is no need to learn anything.
Asking what is the difference between paths is like asking what is the difference between a manual car and and automatic one. Shakti is not only the automatic car but is chauffeur driven. Awakening kundalini by itself doesn't mean that one attains liberation or purification of the nadis in a way beneficial to the experimenter. On the subject of kundalini the web is full of warnings on how one should not experiment with kundalini but either learn from an experienced practitioner or receive initiation. Anyone can awaken kundalini, it's no big deal. I even read once that a blow to the base of the spine (not sure if you need a golf club, a croquet mallet or just a swift kick with a steel capped boot) will awaken kundalini - but what happens then? How do the nadis get purified? What does all the preparation work for the subtle system? Does kundalini go straight to sahasra or meander throughout other nadis? How does the shock of an instantaneous kundalini arising play out in the experimenter's mind? All these need to be taken account of before the experiment begins, it's too late afterwards. Shaktipat is the sure method, the thorough way, with full preparation relevant to each initiate. I have never had a negative report since I started around 1980. Neither do I expect to as Shakti knows what it is doing, which is more than I can say for the DIYers. 

Question: It's said that liberation can be found in SBTs (for which no initiation to Shaktipat is needed) then what role does Shakti play & what's the relevance of it's numerous manifestations?

Reply: Thank you for your question... It is an important one. The Space Between Thoughts (SBT's) are both the beginning, middle and the end of the path in which the goal of transcendental pursuit is achieved immediately. However in order to gain the full effect of the practice one needs to have a clear understanding of what the words 'duality' and 'delusion' actually mean. When one's appreciation for the 'duality predicament' is completely understood then SBT's are no longer deemed to be a practice but the 'goal' itself. Those interested will read and re-read the page 'Varnu's questions' many times (and ask whatever questions one needs to) until the 'penny drops'. 
Shaktipat plays an important role for those whose appreciation of the Dharma is not quite up to the mark and insufficient to allow the practitioner to gain full benefits that the dissolution of 'self' and 'other' as explained in the Dharmin site. As long as one's subtle perceptions have been refined enough one will benefit from Diksha and this benefit will have the same eventual effect as the transcendent practice of The Dharmin. Theoretically at least, in a (so called) perfect world Shaktipat Initiation would not be necessary if one's appreciation of the Dharma were solidly established. Running both practices in tandem increases one's chances at a successful outcome far better than using either approach alone.
The manifestations of Shakti are important sign-posts that indicate progress on one's path. As a practitioner sees one's experiences become more refined the confidence in the path becomes further established, which gives additional incentive to more and more practice. However Shakti is a force of nature, its very intelligence produces manifestations which do not work in the same way as the artificial intelligence of the learned human mind. This being so the Initiate often does not understand its workings and its manifestations therefore trust in the process can slip quite dramatically if Shakti's effects work below the threshold of the conscious mind (become subconscious). A mild panic sets in and the emails asking for boosters arrive (Haha).
The sooner one trusts the process and gives their all to their Shakti-practice the sooner the identical end-result as gained from the transcendent Dharma practice will be achieved. It is important to understand though that for full benefit one needs to give their all to either practice. Lesser efforts will give proportionate results. There is no way around this requirement, it cannot be done for the practitioner on their behalf, just as someone cannot eat a meal on behalf of another. We need to commit to whichever or both practice(s) we choose and apply ourselves accordingly.

Question:There has been focus on maintaining contact between shaktas & initiator so wanted to ask if Bernie isn't there tomorrow (God forbid) then what happens to the practice of shaktas who are in early stages? & was not available. How did the journey go after initiation?  Having knowledge of it may help in finding the right path for above query.

Reply: Thank you for your question it is highly relevant. There are two answers to your question – one is ‘yourselves’ and the other is a continuation of the present means of initiation. To explain… "Yourselves"... The first and most important answer ‘yourselves’ simply means that there are among you, now and in the future, those who will develop their Shakti to such a degree that they too will be able to become initiators as I did after my initiation. You are the ones that will develop your practice sufficiently enough so as to be easy transmitters of shakti. This means that the initiators subtle body has been sufficiently affected by Shakti that transmission through the subtle body (by touch) will become possible. As Shakti more fully permeates the subtle body other means of initiations will also become available.
The idea that one needs to have kundalini fully awakened before becoming an initiator is a myth. One needs sufficient permeation of Shakti, but that is all. In the appendix of my initiators book and was said to have sat new candidates in with experienced Shaktas so their Shakti would be absorbed by the candidate, thus making him an initiate.
One should remember though that just being an initiator does not necessarily mean there is a real advancement in the Initiating Shaktas’ fundamental being. They are still in the realm of ‘unfinished business’ that Shakti still has with the initiating Shakta. As an example just about any adolescent male or female are able to become parents, but that doesn’t mean they are experienced or knowledgeable ones – pro-creation doesn’t necessarily guarantee a quality upbringing.
There are many ‘initiators’ on the web that I would assume may be competent initiators but that still doesn’t mean that they are sufficiently advanced to assist their Shakta’s with the ‘upper end’ work of what the initiation is truly designed to do for the simple reason that the initiator hasn’t yet experienced it him or herself. So each initiate should work diligently toward their own progress not only for themselves but for those who they may well be able to assist in the future.
Another point to consider is the one of ‘authorised initiators’. My initiator belonged to the a tradition and was himself a Swami who took certain vows. Those who initiate in the name of his tradition need to have the authority of that tradition. The authority is more a structured formal way of keeping the lineage functional. I do not belong to, nor accept the authority of their tradition and neither do I initiate in the name of their tradition so the formal, structural rules do not apply to me, nor do they apply to anyone I initiate. Each of my initiates are free to experiment with initiation as they see fit – but, the rule applies that it takes more than an initiation to develop one’s Shakti, it takes sound advice and continued support both visible and invisible.

The other answer to the question is ‘continuation’ or remain as is…
On a few occasions I have been surprised by new candidates who reported signs of initiation from using my picture without me having started bringing their picture to mind. This almost always happens when I have sent my photo to a candidate at night with a resolve to work with them first thing in the morning. On waking I get an email from the candidate reporting some of the signs of initiation beginning.
This happens because the picture is used solely for initiation purposes. It has developed a samskara or ‘impression’ of being a symbol of ‘Chaitanya’ or with conscious-life or Awareness. This is difficult to explain but easy to experience, especially with the ‘where am I’ method of practice.
Pictures take on the impression of what they are meant to convey, therefore they have a ‘life principal’ all their own and is why we hang pictures on our walls at home or wherever we wish them to be. It doesn’t matter if the picture is of beautiful scenery or grandma and grandpa. In this way each picture is like a fingerprint or a specific impression that conveys a certain ‘feeling’. The current photo I use also conveys the impression, but one of initiation when used under certain circumstances. Of course this not only goes for my photo, but anyone's photo when the required criteria are met.
So feasibly my photo can become an object of initiation (just as anyone else's can be) when the candidate approaches the photo (mine or whoever) in the right way i.e. sitting in the required manner, open to the experience, bringing the photo to mind, seeking micro-changes within the candidates body etc etc.
My initiator was a ‘jet setter’ Guru and spent little time in my country (Australia). The two alternatives were to connect with his ashrams here or go it alone. I did not connect with his ashram much so I decided to go it alone. One can do this if one has a deep resolve to advance one’s practice so much so that nothing can stop you. If one waivers in their practice they definitely need support. The experiences I received as a Shakta were powerful so I was content on my own. 

Question: After  reading your websites I realised you never mention anything regarding the "lifestyle" (not sure this is the right word) that goes with having an awakened Shakti via Diksha. Are things like a sattvic diet or semen retention useful on this path or are these things simply unnecessary ? and how much alcohol is "acceptable" ? Thanks in advance !

Reply: Thanks for your question. Of course the things you mention - and especially ahimsa or the non-violent attitude is important but there is a more viable approach than simply making rules. Celibacy is covered on my the-initiate.com site under shakti and shaktipat. As for other topics, they are either covered here under Q&A’s or are asked privately if they are more personal. My ‘inside-out’ approach is that it is Shakti who works on the initiate to make a transformation that comes from within. The initiate gradually begins to tire of the toys of life as a natural maturing process rather than have a set of dictates imposed from myself or as a matter of following hard and fast rules laid down from a lineage stretching into the past.
I believe that it is therefore more useful to work with what you have right here and now in the present than to impose a wish-list of rules probably made to be broken, twisted, or corrupted sooner or later. We have seen time and time again how so many spiritual ‘masters’ of all ilks have flagranted their own rules or guidelines only to explain themselves away to compensate for their own shortcomings and failings. My approach allows for initiates to be themselves as they are in this moment and AS LONG AS THEIR PRACTICE IS STEADY they will see their own transformations happen as they grow in their practice. Time and time again I receive reports of how vegetarian diets begin to infiltrate one's life, how alcohol loses its appeal, how smokers begin to lose interest in their cigarettes etc. In this way it matters little if initiates drink, smoke, gamble, have copious sex or whatever. They will grow in the Dharma as Shakti takes the reigns and gently turns them around - from within. To me this is a vastly superior approach than imposing near useless rules that have little, if any effect. 

Question: When did you know that the raising of the Kundalini had started to occur ? did it feel different ? were you able to clearly say "ah that's it, Shakti finally started working with Kundalini instead of Prana" or was the precise moment difficult to pinpoint ? Thanks in advance.

Reply: As said elsewhere Prana and kundalini are the same, it's just that the intensity is different. There is no defining point of 'prana' and 'kundalini', they are just words used to describe the intensity of the same experience rather than two different experiences. In manual paths one is more likely to have an initial kundalini awakening rather than the preliminary prana activity preceding that awakening. This gives rise to the classic 'rush' many practitioners experience and is somewhat a hallmark of the kundalini experience. In Shaktipat this may also be the case in initiates predisposed to the experience, but more often than not the process is a gradual culmination of prana that leads to a kundalini arising. Indeed sometimes it's not only difficult but almost near impossible to differentiate. There are no sign posts, no warning alarms. The rising of prana/kundalini from mooladhar to sahasrar just happens automatically. Its intensity is wholly dependent on the needs of the Shakta. This is something that is generally uncontrollable in manual paths.
The good thing about working with kundalini via initiation is that the various intensities can be experienced anywhere, whilst sitting for practice, (especially) in bed, when causally sitting in an armchair, or just about anywhere. Once one gets used to the experience the intensity gradually strengthens until the kundalini experience is firmly established. You are right, it was difficult to pinpoint. I had done much subtle-body work (gaining sensitivity to it) prior to initiation, which helped a lot. For me I could experience prana rising through sushumna (approximately) around a year after initiation. The intensity grew over the following years. From accounts I have read my experiences were similar to others. Nothing special there...

Question: You always emphasis on the fact that contact is always necessary between the initiate and the initiator but I believe you had the least contact with your initiator so how did you managed it? And also what about the people who now attend mass shaktipat intensives because for them also it is not possible to contact their initiator easily. Could you shed some light on this? Thank you.

Reply: Yes, you are quite right. My initiator was a jet-setter who couldn't hang around to help me grow the experience and his ashram was too far away for frequent visits. So, generally speaking, I had to do it on my own. This is where dedication and commitment come in. My initiator must have initiated many thousands of candidates in his time but those who are still committed some 40 plus years later would be few and far between. As I have stated on many occasion it is Shakti who is the ultimate Guru and the source of the initiates experience, not the initiator. The notion that Guru's control the experiences in the initiate is an egotistical fallacy perpetuated by so-called 'Gurus' who crave power over others. Don't ever fall for it - it's a fallacy, pure and simple, they don't control it, they cannot control it. This isn't to say that the initiator isn't useful after initiations, quite the opposite, but their usefulness lies in their capacity to maintain the initiates shakti-experience. It's just that the initiator is powerless to dictate what those experiences will be.
The Guru or initiator plays another important role - and that is to normalise what can sometimes seem like crazy experiences happening. It is the initiators work to let the initiate know that the near loony experiences the initiate is having is 'normal' at least in the realm of Shakti's influence. There is nowhere else for one to turn to when one is frightened of the experiences arising. As a new initiate I had to learn fast to tough it out and just accept what was happening as part of the process. Back in those days some books and articles on Shaktipat helped me to reach those conclusions. There are, on the internet some 'rescue groups' for those initiates seemingly 'abandoned' by their initiators and left to their own devices. These people appear to assume that the Shakti experiences put their sanity in doubt. Obviously, under current definitions of 'sanity' I can well understand why. This is why I offer a community or 'safe haven' for initiates to explore the full gamut of Shaktipat in a safe and understanding environment and I advise all members to contribute their experiences so that the 'weird' may easily be understood to be 'normal', but just a different kind of normal to the general public.

Question: Yoga - Was discovery from experiences of Shakti ? Could it be possible all asanas, kriyas , bandas, pranayama etc of Yoga science was first felt through shakti to be documented and practised Manually? 

Reply: Not only all yogas but all sciences too are an interpretation and explanation of Shakti - the mind of nature, its influence and power. All great scientists such as Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, the teachings of Rishis and Sages of all times etc are nothing more than mere commentators and discoverers of nature's amazing processes. The infinite internal and external universes are just displays of Shakti at work as nature. The scientist and manual yoga teachers work with the externalised appearance of Shakti's manifestations whilst the Shakta is guided from within, immediately and directly without interference from interpretive minds prone to error, working from inferior mind-teaching. This is why I say that no one should attempt to interfere with Shakti's natural processes. One should only surrender to the Master Guru of all yogas. Your experiences come directly and immediately from Shakti, there is nothing that need be done, nothing else that even begins to come close... 

Question: What is the significance of seeing different images, picture during practice? What is the meaning of these images? Why we see them?

Reply: The significance is that you are developing a subtle sensitivity to other levels of existence that are present at all times and in all places. The experience grows as one learns to silence the mind and relax the body. It is the preoccupation with ordinary daily physical existence that bars the experience for the ordinary person whose only access to these experiences is in sleep when the body and ordinary thinking mind are no longer perceived. Through practice (as per the work site etc) one can learn to ‘tune in’ to these other levels just as one can tune in to other stations on a radio or television. 
As one develops the art of deep relaxation and focused mind one can use a variety of methods that broadens one's understanding of ‘other worlds’ often referred to in the Dharma teachings. These levels also influence the individual as subtle feelings which are perceived in ordinary daily living. Feelings (not emotions) are the general access point for everyone. They are the introductory access point. Knowing this should encourage everyone to develop their capacities further. The practitioner will need to purify both their thoughts and feelings when attempting these practices. They will need to develop a calm clear mind as most teaching tell us to do. The reason for this is that on the subtle levels of awareness like attracts like. If practising with negative thoughts in mind they will attract subtle negative influences to you, of course the opposite is also true for those who cultivate positive influences. This way practice can be done on a daily basis.

Question: One person out of 100,000 has the stillness of mind that you have. Do people notice that there is something "strange" about you ? Can people tell that this guy is "abnormally in the present moment" ?

Reply: I am not sure about the statistics but the minds stillness did not come easily, until the SBT’s practiced established it. It was on that day that it dawned on me that ‘practice’ was nothing more than simply evaporating in those spaces. It was then that the realisation occurred that no matter how many people insisted that they were deluded it was because they really adopted that position as a result of misinformation by other equally deluded pretenders calling themselves ‘masters’
I am sure people thought there was something strange about me long before I took an interest in meditation practice lol. My devotion to it probably confirmed that for them. I am sure that people still sense there is something different, odd or peculiar about me but I should not put words in their mouths to try and describe it. Thinking makes me, its cessation dissolves me. It’s as simple as that. True meditation practice is nothing more than learning the art of invisibility – with thought, now you see ‘me’. Without thought – now you don’t. It is nothing of consequence, cessation at its finest. 

Question: As you know I've been practically no SBTs extensively for quite a while now with marked results in thought reduction. So today in formal meditation as the usual washing machine on spin kriyas subsided I started thinking about Who am I exactly. Not the body, not the thoughts, not sensations etc etc. I'm am nothing whatsoever just silence itself, just silence that perceives all these "things" I opened my eyes and the usual yellow honeycomb pattern covered all surfaces of my room, also the "air" was full off what I would call "sparkles" . In this seeing I realised something that I wanted to confirm with you. I am silence itself but this silence is everything, a massive field of awareness? I ask this as the honeycomb effect has been present for a long time and I can always see this after opening my eyes after any meditation. Is it true that I am the field itself or am I mistaken. Things have gone all the more quiet.

Reply: The problem started when the thoughts. "I started thinking about Who am I exactly." This is a problem that assails every practitioner. The answers the mind offers are either positive affirmations "I am pure being, or awareness, pure consciousness, the witness, Brahman" etc etc or the negative "I am not this not that (Neti Neti), silence, voidness (shunyata), nothingness, emptiness" etc. The problem is that all labels are conditions (even enlightened labels) and as so called 'liberation' is the absence of any label or condition, adding them immediately implies a person who possesses these qualities or traits. This takes the practitioner right back where he or she started from - a 'self', albeit an enlightened self, a liberated self, an awakened self. This is the delusion many so called 'masters' imagine 'themselves' to be. Adding superlatives or worse still mega superlatives plays on the mind of those students who have no understanding of what is meant by the word mukti or liberation. Liberation is the absence or ending of the agency of a fictitious self that takes credit for successes and blame for failures. In the absence of this agent life and dharma plays out as nature and it's intelligence function through natural expression...

Follow on comment: Thanks for the great reply as usual Bernie. The absence or ending of the fictitious self seems like a never ending loop. In meditation I’m left in an aware space with but nothing else happens. Thoughts have subsided and just "noticing" is happening. "I" just stay there waiting. What is being missed if anything where the fictitious self dissolves or fails to arise. The mind has basically shut up now yet something has not or isn't clicking. I read the dharmin each day and understand what is being said on a certain level. This false self has quieted down a lot, is this just a matter of carrying on as I am and things will shift?

Reply: The answer to what one should do in practice is on the-dharmin site. Here is a quick snippet from it that may help you in your practice...

Reply:
Quote: "Q. How does the Dharmin void the senses?
A. The Dharmin makes no effort to void the senses. Why would he need to? The absence of thought is the absence of ‘The Dharmin’ the presence of thought is the presence of ‘The Dharmin’, when thoughts are absent and the senses surrender their cognitions the Dharmin is said to be in nirvikalpa samadhi, when the senses report their cognitions and thought is absent the Dharmin is said to be in savikalpa samadhi, however all this is meaningless to the Dharmin who ceases his existence in the non-conceptual regardless of whether cognitions are functioning or not." 

Question: On your website, the following statement can be found : "Shakti is the intelligence of the universe, nature and the same intelligence that grows your physical body, digests your food, makes blood, repairs damaged tissue etc etc" Why does Shakti even needs to be awakened in the first place ? why are all humans not born with an activated Shakti ? What's the difference between the Shakti that grows the physical body and the one that gives us spontaneous kriyas

Reply: There is no difference, no two shakti’s that performs the seemingly separate functions, both processes of inner development and its external or world building aspect are done by the same shakti. The universe is just a manifestation of shakti’s power regardless of its appearance. For the initiated Shakta the work of Shakti as in ‘Shaktipat Diksha’ is loosely termed as shakti being ‘awakened’ in order to perform inner cleansing of the nadis and guidance of kundalini to sahasrara / hridaya. This ‘awakening’ is actually a redirection or turning around of the functioning of the subtle bodies internal subtle energies that are normally externalised via the senses in normal everyday life. When initiation turns these out-flowing energies around the initiate experiences the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual changes that result from this initiation. The goal of such work is the eventual balancing of those subtle energies that empower the physical and mental energies that give the sense of a delusory functioning individual ‘self’. This transcendence of the delusory self is then known as mukti or liberation. 

Question: Do you still sometimes practice looking into the Chidakasha ? do you have an interesting/funny anecdote of something you saw?

Reply: Chidakasha Dharana has to be one of the easiest practices there is. One only needs to close one's eyes and look into the blackness to do it. The only 'knack' to the practice is patience, patience, patience - and to keep the physical eyes still. The natural mistake the practitioner makes is that the physical eyes are generally used for seeing physical objects so in chidakasha practice one imagines one must move the physical eyes to observe the scenes. In truth, subtle vision has nothing to do with the physical eyes. They are redundant when subtle vision operates. Moving the physical eyes in the vision field just reintegrates oneself with the physical senses and will only end the session. One needs to learn to trust the subtle vision to develop and rest the physical eyes by keeping them still. Whether or not chidakasha occurs at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc jhana is making a simple practice sound complicated and only for those who can attain such levels. I tend to disagree, making a practice sound difficult makes it seem exclusive and not for everyone. Chidakasha is most definitely for every spiritual practitioner who is patient and calm enough to apply themselves. In my early days I applied the practice at home on the couch, at work in the office, on the train heading to and from work, whenever and wherever possible. Simply because I was so fascinated by the landscapes and scenes presenting themselves. The practice evolved itself into my night time sleep as the chidakasha development can lead to full-blown oobe's, if and when the visions 'reality tone' surpasses the ordinary waking states feel of 'reality'.
With a little further practice and familiarity of the subtle vision it can just as easily be achieved with the eyes wide open, just as one can sense the energy body moving within the physical body whilst awake yet relaxed but 'tuned in'. It then ceases to become a 'practice' as such as it then becomes a 'normal' part of one's everyday life. It is no big deal, just a simple extension of the closed-eye sitting practice. The simple rule of thumb is to develop subtle sensitivity whist awake and (apparently) physically aware. What one sees in 'the sky of the mind' is dependent on one's level of development. After the static clears (pretty patterns etc) different 'places' generally appear to the practitioner. If one is not yet relaxed enough the experience will seem as if one is looking at a 3d picture, sometimes from far away. When relaxing into the experience the scene takes life-like proportions and one can find oneself involved within the scene. As an interesting anecdote (well, to me anyway) with a caution attached, was how the chidakasha practice can sometimes develop into a full-blown oobe...
In my early days of experimentation I tried the chidakasha practice whilst lying in the lounge-room on the couch. I looked into the darkness but it wasn't dark enough for me so I placed a soft cushion over my eyes (it covered most of my face really) to make the blackness 'blacker'. Having achieved that I looked into this deep rich blackness and within a few moments I found myself (subtle-body) 'floating' in the middle of the lounge-room. Somewhat delighted, but wondering what to do next, I took the opportunity to experiment with this surprising new development and willed myself to turn around. To my surprise it felt like I had remained still but the room rotated around for me. I repeated the experiment for a vertical rotation (somersault), once again it felt as though I remained still whilst the room rotated itself a full 360 degrees. Obviously the room wasn't moving, but the effortlessness of the movement made it feel as if I was still and the room was moving for me. Then panic set in. I remembered that my body was lying on the couch with a cushion on 'its' face. I thought that I may have suffocated myself and the body was dead. Immediately, as this thought occurred I found myself in a very deep, dark, black presence with a sensation something cross between meat (flesh) and clay - a thick dark heavy presence. It seemed to take a long time for the subtle body to automatically re-align the subtle form with what then seemed to be a revolting meat-body. Upon full integration I again felt the cushion over my face and noted it wasn't obstructing the breathing, the arms holding it hadn't moved throughout the whole experiment.
Needless to say this wasn't a pure chidakasha experience although it began as such. I thought however it would serve as a warning not to place anything (cushions, pillows etc) over your face to enhance the 'blackness'. Simply placing your hand over your eyes or resting your face on your arm when reclining would do a much better job - or better still use a 'sleep-mask' - In private, of course haha...

Question: I have 3 questions: Self realization is about realizing that we are one with everything including the source. You often say that once we achieve self realization we lose the "I" or the "ego". If we lose the "I" then I believe our feelings and emotions should also get dissolved like our "ego" but when I see your comments/posts sometimes they are funny, concerning and sometimes maybe discontent. So, I would like to know how that happens,once you have achieved self realization so how does the transition happens? You also say that once self realisation is achieved there is no "I" feeling hence no karma is generated. So when a person reaches to that stage why is he still able to feel variety of emotions and able to relate(or connect) himself with various aspects of his life? Thank you. I have read it several times that people say they had there kundalini awakened for few years and then it stopped. Could you shed some light on that? Once an initiate stops practicing his kundalini awakening may become dormant but how can kundalini become dormant after is has been awakened? Is it possible that it might not be a kundalini awakening but then how could that experience last for such a long time like years? or is it that the shakti after meeting shiva at the crown chakra starts to move together to the root chakra? I would like to know your views on that.
Sir, you say that the people initiated by you do not follow any lineage. But in spiritual terms how is that possible? I mean even though we may not believe in any lineage but when many initiate look as the picture of one's initiator they feel some sort of connection/energy/kriya. How does that happens? I do understand that those activities are caused by shakti but then in that case why most of us are able to feel the connection with your initiator and not some other guru? I mean I even felt some sensations when I looked at the picture of Gopi Krishna but that may not be the case with everyone but in case of your initiator most of us are able to feel that energy.

Reply:  "WE" don't lose anything. The 'self' and 'other' notions ceases to arise. This is called 'self-realisation' but really there isn't a small individual 'self' realising an infinite eternal 'SELF'. These are just so-to-speak terms used by teachers / students to try to explain that which is beyond explanations. Once the self/other notions cease to arise the feeling of the agent "I" ceases to arise therefore there is no longer the feeling of an individual self that is the doer of deeds, thinker of thoughts etc. Feelings etc may still arise but they do so as impersonal processes, playing themselves out, not as events owned by a fictitious 'self'.
Are these practitioners initiates, or manual experimenters? Shakti induced kundalini work is delicate in the beginning as many of you know. Shakta's can easily lose faith in their practice when quiet times happen. Kundalini can easily return to dormancy if the forces that awaken it (both via initiation or manual methods) cease to operate via loss of interest in one's practice.
Of course there may be some who have intense subtle experiences and imagine kundalini is responsible when really it isn't. Those who use prana boosts may have an initial kundalini awakening, but when the prana subsides and the receiver doesn't follow through with manual practices the experience will fade away. Also those who play with chakra 'balancing' may have many subtle experiences and be told their kundalini has become active when it hasn't really. Chakra experiences can give that impression but if kundalini hasn't activated those chakras they will naturally return to dormancy when their activating energy (of attention) ceases.
My lineage is Dharma Shakti, or Shakti as it is without the need for an extended cosmological worldview that justifies its existence. To me the important thing is to help individuals right here and right now. I have no interest in creating a retrospective rationale. It either works or it doesn't. If looking at a picture of this or that guru helps - then wonderful! I am very happy for you or others. Mine is a practical path of practice and support.

Question: What is the difference between the transmission of darshan (as does mother Meera for example) and shaktipat? Thanks?

Reply: Darshan is seeing, or being in the presence of a spiritually advanced person. In that presence one feels benefited or uplifted. Shaktipat is the transference of spiritual capacity that awakens a conscious automatic process that grows stronger with time, while the influence of darshan may fade with time. Darshan is prana. Shaktipat is Shakti. What's the difference? Prana is living subtle energy or life force. Shakti is both the life force and the 'mind' of that life force that intelligently directs prana to where it needs to go and act or function in a specific way that spiritually evolves that person automatically. The individual only needs to make themselves available for the process to be effective. Any person can give darshan if their spiritual attainment has reached a higher level than the receiver. Shaktipat can only be transmitted by a person who has already themselves received Shakti. 

Question: What about emotions and feelings, how did those changed? With regards to spiritual path?

Reply: Emotions present themselves as part of destiny or prarabdha karma. The seeds of that karma may have been planted long ago as impressions and tendencies but come to fruition in the present. Current actions and emotions are simply a response to life from deep within the sub-conscious expressing themselves in the current present as actions usually attributed to an agent or owner called “I”. Emotions don’t really matter to those who cease the self assertion as emotions are non-dual in nature. Like visual imagery (imagination) they do not bifurcate or divide subject from object until named by the thought process. If the thought processes do not arise the emotions then arise as owner-less processes, they arise from nowhere and evaporate there too.
A handy example is the kettle on the boil. It has taken time for the heat to boil it but once boiled the heat may be turned off or the kettle removed from the heat source. Obviously the water in the kettle doesn’t go cold immediately but takes the required time to revert back to room temperature. The ‘heat’ may be likened to the delusive notion of an I or self who is the owner of thoughts, emotions, feelings and the physical body. Once the delusive I is seen through and it fades from memory the emotions still play themselves out with lessening impact as time rolls on. Stability develops over time and the effects of the emotions correspondingly fade away. As one Tibetan Master said… “Thoughts and emotion - the waves of the ocean”. As for ‘feelings’. I define them differently from emotions. Feelings are pure impressions or samskaras that arise through the senses. Wherever you are, there is a corresponding feeling or impression that arises from being there. Feelings (like emotions) are non-dual in nature provided they are not named. The instant they are named they then become separate from self either implicitly or explicitly. My work sites ‘Where am I’ practice deals specifically with the spiritual work of acknowledging the impressions that arise from all manifestation. 

Question: I know that everyone's Shaktipat experience is different but I have very little jerky or involuntary body movement like some of the initiates. Can you miss stages or might I get it later on in my practise. I have noticed that this happens to the initiates who have been practising much longer than me.

Reply: The jerking movements some initiates get are caused by subtle energy (prana) triggering nerves that in turn activate certain muscle groups, sometimes with interesting results (muscles raising the skin and pulsating, facial grimacing twitching arms, legs etc). These things happen due to blockages and energy releases, re directions and realignments within the subtle energy system manifesting as outwardly observable events. There are no defined 'stages' as such although there is a clear transition from the gross physical body to the subtle body then the causal body to the transcendent - a general reversal or 'evolution' of the process of manifestation or 'involution'. What happens to an individual is dependent on their current development. This could be past work at energy development or purification exercises such as yoga, tai-chi etc or subtle energy work such as tuning into a more refined subtle awareness in oobe's or even psychic training.
Basically, if you have developed a subtle energy awareness in the past it can be a plus for shakti and lessen the need for certain manifestations to take place. Having said that Shakti doesn't work in a one at a time or linear 'a, b, c' fashion. What needs to happen will. Experiences that happen for new initiates may not develop in other more 'advanced' initiates for years. There is absolutely no point in looking over one's shoulder and wondering why his experiences haven't happened to me - if they are meant to they will, if they aren't, they won't, if you aren't ready for them yet they will happen later and if you don't need them they will never happen at all.

Question: On the work site visualisation practices are given. Please could you tell the purpose of it? Can it be used to improve the physical state, is it complimentary to SBT or in contradiction to it?

Reply: Visualisation is a spiritual practice that creates a subtle awareness of mind created worlds. SBT's are transcendental practices that dissolve the self/other duality, they are not related. Practices that have a relaxation component to them may help improve the physical state but that is not their primary purpose, but a positive side effect.
The benefit of visualisation practices is that they tend to steer one away from the physical plane to more subtle levels of existence. One needs to do the practices to gain the full benefit which is exploring the subtle, more refined or spiritual manifestations. From the spiritual aspect this is a step closer to final dissolution which is the same goal as transcendence... 

Question: Over the past few days I've become aware I'm still working from old, childhood patterns. My question is, does practice just take care of all of this, do I need to work on it in some way, or given there is no "I", are these patterns just part of the illusion so nothing needs doing?

Reply: This is why spending time with family is so important, it is a great 'reality gauge' as to how our practice is developing. We may be 'legends in our own minds' (as Dirty Harry would say) but it is family that brings us back to Earth and shows us our true achievements. There is an "I" if it is asserted. There is no "I" if there is no assertion of such. That is the nature of "I" and "other".
The childhood patterns are firmly entrenched in the self/other notions. They arise in the presence of the self/other delusion and so will subside in their absence. Spiritual practice introduces us to a far deeper experience or who we are at our most fundamental level of being thus gradually dissolving these delusions over time. The transcendental practice of SBT's dissolves the patterns of conditioning immediately in the present moment by dissolving at source the assertions that allow the delusions to take place. The more the sbt practice is allowed to take place the less effective the conditioning is...

Question: I'm not asking for medical advice or a prediction of the future, but in your experience, what effect does Shakti have on medical conditions? Will outstanding illnesses get better working with Shakti? I've been told by my doctor's that my pain is a result of nerve damage that will never get better and so I will suffer for the rest of my life. I've also been told it's karmic, it's emotional, it's an imbalance in the energy body and even one person said I chose to be like this and if I didn't work it out she couldn't be my friend anymore! Or does it not matter as is this physical reality just another thing to not get attached to?

Reply: In my own experience Shakti changes physical conditions in order to purge the system of them. Many times I have felt myself coming down with something only to find in an hour or so it has gone while others around me may suffer from them for days or weeks – but I am only talking about the occasional virus etc, not anything chronic or neurological as in nerve damage etc.
Shakti doesn’t directly affect the nervous system, that happens by connection between the subtle systems set of ‘nadis’ or subtle nerves, then their relationship to the gross physical nervous system. If the physical nervous system is in some way irreparably damaged the Shakta may not be physically or mentally aware of the subtle influences affect on their physical system. This does not mean that Shakti is not operating, just that the Shakta is unaware of the subtle influence on the physical nervous system. If there is a complete breakdown of the physical nervous system (neurological disease, amputees, para and quadriplegics etc) Shakti may well take ‘alternate routes’ of influence to provide the same outcome as it would in normally functioning physical systems.
Having said that, the nerve damage that you suffer from will not stop Shakti from doing its work in you. It just means that it will do that work in a different way that is unique to you. Indeed all nervous systems and their relationships to their subtle counterparts are different in greater or lesser degree. That is why each Shakta’s experiences are sometimes very similar and other times very different. You shouldn’t worry that Shakti wont work – it will, but just in a different way, unique to you. As for whether or not Shakti can help your physical condition, only time will tell. It should be noted that Shakti is ‘the mind of nature’ and as such works in two distinct ways...
1. Maintaining every conceivable level of manifestation (including your body) – external principle
2. Assisting the Shakta transcend the delusion of duality via spiritual means – internal principle
Indeed the ‘external principle’ as a product of nature, heals best when it is left to nature. Medications may well be needed to assist the individuals symptoms, but the power of nature should never be forgotten or underestimated. This power is had when the body and mind are put directly under its influence. One should by any means put the physical body in the best possible condition for nature to be effective. This is done by the simple act of meditation, the deeper, the better.
Meditation as therapy (Metatherapy) may not heal the body directly but puts the body in the best available condition for the healing process to arise. Where possible healing will take place also meditation will also stop harmful mental stresses that may deteriorate ones condition further and keep the mind in balance and harmony. For most meditation is learned, for the Shakta it arises spontaneously.
Saying illnesses are ‘karmic’ is true, but there-again everything is karmic. We need to understand what karma really is. It is cause and effect, not retribution for past misdemeanours or rewards for past good deeds. Karma, as actions, produce impressions or samskaras on our minds, these impressions cause us to tend to act in certain ways, theses tendencies are called ‘vasanas’.
The new actions are new karma's which manifest as conditioned mental programs, so the cycle repeats itself, manifesting as various mental attitudes and physical attributes or liabilities depending on one’s previous actions. Indeed ‘we’ are at this time the sum total of all karmic influences that preceded since time began.

Question: If there's nothing but Consciousness  then for example, it doesn't really matter if a woman decides to abort a child or not, right ? it's an illusion that she's preventing an individual from living since there are no individuals. My initiator says that accomplished ones do not see good and evil anymore because they see everything as "just things happening" and I think you agree with this. This (absence of) point of view can be applied to everything can't it ? All emotions seem to be part of the delusion of the self. It doesn't matter what happens, all negative emotions are just self inflicted suffering, correct?

Reply: The Dharmin would not attempt to describe the world as anything -  because that just employs superlatives that are nothing more than grandiose pseudo-religious terminology to take the place of mundane theories of existence. The Dharma is beyond all these pretensions. Zen has an excellent little saying that describes such attempts at ‘masterful statements’ that ending up falling flat on their face… It says “The master opened his mouth to speak and showed his dirty teeth.” In other words ‘descriptions are ugly’. It truly is a case of “Those who know do not speak and those who speak do not know.” The silence isn’t one of ignorance or non-communication, it is a simple understanding what words are and what words do. As Ramana Maharshi once said “The teachings are for those who do not understand the silence.”
This voids the notion of the Dharmin seeing the world as an illusion or indeed anything else. Even the idea of ‘world’ would not arise within ‘him’ or ‘her’ as it would be an acceptance of a delusion namely ‘world’. Descriptions cannot claim the Dharmin, even the notion of ‘Dharmin’ does not arise. If you read The Dharmin the word ‘maya’ is rightly translated as meaning ‘to measure’, not ‘illusion’. As it states, this is what thought does, this is what thought is - a measuring tool that differentiates this from that, self from other. No notion of an alternate or supreme ‘reality’ where there are liberated who can do what they like because they are beyond it all is ever entered into by the Dharmin. The Dharmin continues to act after ‘awakening’ as s/he did before. S/He conform to its laws, morals and ethics, globally and locally or whatever pre-enlightenment mode of conduct was previously acted out. The Dharmin is still empowered by their resultant samskaras and vasanas until their actions are finally spent. The notion of a ‘me’ who is a doer faded long ago so no notion of doer-ship is entertained, only the doing takes place.
Indeed the only difference between the Awakened and the deluded is the deluded’s insistence on paying homage to the notion of a self who is responsible for his actions. The ‘Awakened’ follow through on their past programming or conditioning which follows its natural course to final and complete termination, the delusion of a ‘self’ who enjoys or suffers such actions has disappeared forever. The Dharmin does not suffer. Suffering is the difference between what is and what should be. The Dharmin is at all times in the ‘what is’, hence suffering cannot arise. The self-involved are indeed concerned with ‘what should be’ hence suffering is unfortunately inevitable for them. In the briefest possible answer to your questions heading... Sure, emotions arise, but they do so without the notion of a 'self' being emotional...

Follow on question: So let's imagine that you kindly invite me for coffee at your place. You give me a cup and I look at you straight in the eyes and throw the coffee on your shirt. Would I see that guy that my deluded mind labels as "Bernie" be angry ?

Reply: The way I make coffee I would probably expect you to do that. .You may well see anger, or perhaps other emotions arise and from your perspective you will see that it's Bernie who is angry or otherwise reacting. From 'my' perspective these are just emotions playing themselves out. They do not have an owner who is angry or otherwise reacting. As said before they are owner-less processes. This is not unique to 'me', this is as it is for all. The difference simply being that non practitioners imagine a 'self' who is the thinker thoughts the doer of deeds and the victim or conqueror of circumstances.
This understanding is widespread throughout the teachings. In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna told Arjuna that it was his duty to fight (on the battlefield of Kurukshetra). He was to see it as duty and not be attached to the action as a personal deed. Krishna told him that he had the right to action but not to the fruit thereof. The key tenet of Buddhism is anatta or 'no-self'. One is taught that a person is a constituent of various 'heaps, aggregates or skandhas and within those skandhas no individual self can be found...

Follow on question: Thank you, but there is still something I don't understand. How can there be emotion if the delusion of having an identity is not there anymore ? I thought anger was the delusion that there is an "I" who feels offended and sadness was the delusion that there is an I who doesn't get what he wants. When I read you I feel like one is actually supposed to try to control anger and sadness but simply to get detached from them.

Reply: Anger etc were from the past association or identification with a deluded notion of self. After so called 'enlightenment' there are no further creations or additions of the delusions which maintained that self image. However just as when a boiling kettle is taken away from the heat or the flame is turned off the kettle does not go stone cold immediately but takes time for the cooling to take place. One should not concern themselves over their own emotional states directly. To do so is a delusion trying to control it's own processes and outcomes. What one should be doing is to practice and let the fruits of that practice naturally and spontaneously calm the mind. The initial permanent realisation is called jivan Mukti or 'liberated whilst living'. At the time of death the jivan mukti is then known as videha mukti which is complete liberation and no further return to the world's of existence.
In between jivan Mukti and videha mukti the realised act in a variety of ways. Some are reclusive who have nothing to do with the world. They may be walled off into caves and fed by their disciples until they die. Others are sometimes active in Dharma teachings and yet others are very active. It may help you to read of the lives of these people, especially Ramana Maharshi who was very active yet without the deluded notion of a self who was active. I should also state that in my past work teaching meditation using biofeedback I could often pick up on mental programs, emotions etc that came from long ago in my clients past. It wasn't uncommon to see an eighty plus year old visibly reacting to events that took place in their early childhood. In Hindu terminology these ancient past, hidden sub conscious motivators are called 'samskaras' and their tendencies to produce actions based on those samskaras are called 'vasanas'. This mental conditioning is not added to after jivan Mukti but the old programs need to play themselves out and indeed do so BUT they do so without the delusion of a 'me' who is their victim or conqueror. This is a natural outcome for the liberated whilst living.

Question: Kundalini cleanses our chakras and awakens them but it does that at its own pace. I know that chakra activation and kundalini activation are 2 different things but suppose a person who is an initiate gets chakra healing and activation(as many healers offer it) does it enhances the awakening of kundalini? As one of the task of shakti was to cleanse and activate chakra?

Reply: The same rule applies to initiates as it does to others. If Kundalini hasn't activated the chakra the effects from any healer will just be temporary. Kundalini isn't aroused when chakras activate but the other way round will happen, of course, when the time is right. The best way to activate chakras is to help Shakti activate Kundalini by giving oneself up to the process.... 

Question: Hi Bernie, How to distinguish between the sensation is normal body/mind one and one which is due to shakti. For example my tooth recently had treatment and there was kind of intense sensation there. Also the mood swings and thoughts coming from nowhere. Dose shakti work on hunger/sleep/thoughts/ etc. 

Reply: it is often impossible to know. Initiates have blamed Shakti for everything, from weight loss to weight gain, from a more sound mental state to psychosis, from pains in the body to bliss. In a normal lifetime these might happen anyway. Why attribute these events to Shakt? It is always a handy scapegoat when things go wrong. One member blamed Shakti for marriage break-up and job loss and miserable life. Of course he had nothing to do with it He was just a 'victim'. It is better to not judge, take it one day at a time. Shakti's work is to always assist, it's work is always for one's benefit, never for one's downfall. One should not be paranoid about every pain, mental affliction, mood - blissful or otherwise. One should open up and let the mind of nature do its work without judgement. Let it happen and enjoy the ride. Since 1974 I have never had a single negative experience with Shakti. I could not fathom why anyone else would either. 

Question: I'm wondering when it comes to OBE's is it beneficial to charge up your chakras upon reaching the vibration state, or should one just go with the flow?

Reply: Leave your chakras alone, that's Shakti's job. You can do a few things, you will find them in the work site in the links section.
You need to...
Learn to deeply relax , that in itself is enough to get you out
Go to bed a little earlier to practice and set the alarm a little earlier to practice in the morning
Develop your subtle awareness more in practice and through the day. Tune into it whenever you remember to do so.
They are a few things you can do. What's more important than just learning to have oobe's as a kind of 'trick' is to develop a greater subtle sensitivity - an ability to tune out of the physical level into something far deeper and more refined. After a little practice it becomes very easy and natural. Once you have done this oobe's are just a natural extension of a greater practice. 

Question: Do OBEs become easier as one's subtle bodies get "upgraded" by the work with shakti ?

Reply: Yes, Shakti certainly makes the oobe experience more common and available. But more than that, Shakti radically changes the experience and understanding of what the word 'mind' really means. It is nothing like the ordinary person's experience. I have written about it in my work site and I suggest everyone reads it... 

Question: Awakening of kundalini removes previous karma, right? And due to which it leads to moksha? But even after awakening of kundalini karma is created by whatever a person does after getting awakened. What happens to that karma? I mean a person attains moksha by awakening a kundalini but if after that he attains some karma which requires him to take birth again then what happens? 

Reply: Karma is action, it isn't personal action, just action plain and simple. Due to delusion in us an imaginary ''I'' takes praise or blame for the actions performed. Practice eventually (or immediately with SBT's) dissolves that delusion at its source. The result is that actions then become owner-less processes that arise and subside with no asserted doer responsible for them. this type of karma is called 'Nishkamya Karma' or 'no-doer karma'.
The idea of a 'me' who attains enlightenment is a false one that does nothing other than to perpetuate the self delusion. Enlightenment is the exact opposite. It is the final rectification of that fundamental error in human consciousness, that error being of a one, a person or an "I" that could ever be liberated. This being so no practitioner should ever consider 'enlightenment' as a possession s/he could ever attain.
The experience then of what we call 'enlightenment' is a freedom from the 'self' / 'other' notions. Then actions or circumstances flow freely without the sense of doer-ship or ownership of the processes that really belong to no-one and no-thing. Decisions there are, but no-one deciding, actions there are but no-one doing, thoughts there are but no-one thinking, feelings there are, but no one feeling, and the same with the sensory perceptions.
The sun shines, activities take place in the presence of its light but the sun should not be blamed for the actions that take place in its light. The sun is not responsible for those actions that it gives its light to. Similarly actions take place in 'our' presence as causes from either internal psychological sources or 'external' sources imposed upon it but there does not arise in the (so called) 'enlightened' mind the delusion of ownership of those processes. All actions are merely the interplay of forces from the (so called) past or present. The samskaras and vasanas are therefore void of self.
This does not mean that the 'enlightened' can do as they wish. Create havoc and cause suffering, for the notion of the one who does so has long since faded away. If the 'enlightened' one had no desire to create misery before their transformation from perpetrator to impersonal 'flow' then there could be no such self motivated desire arise after 'enlightenment'. If it does then no enlightenment has taken place. The imagined doer is then just as much convinced of their self-delusion and their so-called enlightenment which is nothing more than a pretence designed to fool 'others' into persuading them of ones supposed attainment... 

Question: If I get Shaktipat in this lifetime and work with Shakti for a few years but then die before reaching liberation, will I need to get Shaktipat again in my next life or will I be born with an awakened Shakti ?

Reply: Yes. Shaktipat affects the subtle body, not the physical although many of the experiences affect the pranic juncture between the physical and subtle bodies, but the effect is primarily a subtle one. As it is the subtle body that transmigrates between the physicals life to life, birth death and rebirth, then so do the benefits locked up in the subtle body. The samskaras, vasanas, vrittis and the consequent new range of karma's derived therefrom are all geared to a more updated version of 'yourself'. So the benefits gained in this lifetime are never lost from here onward. It can be said that even 10 minutes practice will change the Shakta or Sadhak forever in the slightest way, but nevertheless a change has occurred.
I offer another practice that enhances the path of initiation and in a way exposes the goal of liberation from the outset and that practice is called 'the space between thoughts'. In order to appreciate the ramifications of this practice one needs to have a more profound understanding of what 'liberation' really is. I have given a brief understanding of that rationale in my other site www.the-dharmin.com (it is also in the work site). In brief, it is the thinking process that creates the duality of 'I' and 'other'. Where thought is, that duality persists. Where thought ceases then so does the duality.
Seeking the space between thoughts the duality is immediately ended for as long as that space persists. The more these spaces are noticed the greater the period of non duality. There arises a point when thoughts no longer arise unless required (e.g. in answer to a question) otherwise there is silence, peace and no further delusion. This liberation is immediate for all practitioners. There is no waiting for results as results are embedded within the practice itself. There is no need to wait for a build up of practice that would give results in the future, SBT's are not accumulative, they are immediate and direct, here and now.

Question: Are there different strengths of Shaktipat, as a certain web-page says there is?

Reply: Thanks for the post. I have seen this article on many occasions. The facts are that what is experienced is entirely dependent on the initiate and not on the initiator. The initiator is merely a conduit, not the instigator of Shakti. It's work is hampered by a subtle system in need of desperate repair. No guru can magically fix such an impaired system with a magical dose of Shakti, this is just the stuff of fantasy. However the appearance is that some initiates are way more ready than others and it could be interpreted to onlookers that their guru has given this bright initiate a super dose of Shaktipat where indeed no such thing happened. This plays into the hands of unsuspecting candidates who seek an initiator with a record of having given 'powerful' Shakti to his candidates, but really the guru has offered to work with those who are very ready... One only needs to read the reports on my forums to realise how some struggle with Shakti whilst others seem to glide through with excellent experiences... 

Question: So nothing need be done other than seeing, hearing etc. (The mind becomes divisive when it questions what is seen and heard, etc). So stop all questioning would end the seeking and dividing. Just abiding with whatever arises.

Reply: What you say is true, that nothing need be done toward abiding in Dharma - or to put it another way, dissolving in Dharma. However the sadhak is mentally and emotionally geared to look and feel like he or she is doing something, this is where upaya or skilful means (of explanation or teaching) comes to the fore. Practice creates the turning point for the sadhak whose experience finally and irrevocably supersedes his theoretical understanding. The crutches of theoretical understanding can then be discarded.
In truth Dharma is all there is, there is no coming or going to or from Dharma. This is proved every time the mind falls silent regardless of whatever practice is used to silence it. SBT's, mentally tearing the labels off all 'things' experienced through the senses, breath awareness or silent witnessing etc are all means to the silent mind. When the labels we use to define this from that, 'self' from 'other' fall silent, what's left is Dharma. Nothing else is required, nothing more to do. Until that time arises questioning is vital for the sadhak, otherwise this understanding of the nature of thought and its absence that is the catalyst for that dissolution may never arise... 

Question: Apart from physical kriyas (movements, asana, mudra, bandh, pranayama etc) does Dhyana itself help move kundalini up towards its destination or Dhyana happens as a secondary result of practice.

Reply: Let us first understand what is meant by Shaktipat initiation. It is the beginning of a process that comes directly from the intelligence of nature (Shakti). This intelligence does not differentiate mudras from asanas, kriyas from dhyana etc - we do. It works 24/7/365 consciously and/or subconsciously for as long as it takes to complete its task. Shakti has no notion of time nor place so effects can be felt at any time, anywhere. Shaktipat is non-linear in process. It does not work in a one at a time, this first, then that, way. Shaktipat operates in many ways on different levels simultaneously, just as nature (Shakti’s most immediate and evident manifestation) does. Automatic dhyana is much a part of Shaktipat as any other manifestation. All manifestations are out of the Shakta’s control yet the Shakta, through his/her conditioning still imagines that s/he has control over the process guiding him or her. It is this very notion of the agent “I” that Shakti finally eradicates. The sooner this happens the better. This is why I have intertwined the SBT method to run parallel with one’s Diksha.

Follow on question: How would you describe this state? That is, what exactly is it and what is happening with me?

Reply: The experiences you describe are a typical range of experiences the initiate can experience. Though there are too many variations to possibly list, it just depends on where the initiate has come from prior to his/her initiation. Shakti is making headway in that its manifestations are manipulating the internal energies to produce a ‘neutrality’ or balance which can be felt as the stillness you experience. The jerking or jumping is often felt when the subtle body has been moved out of alignment with the physical whilst its work is underway, then brought back or re-aligned with the body. It cannot harm you.

Follow on question: And most importantly, why I never seem to move beyond this point (state)? Will you please advise what to do further about it? Where does a practitioner (in this case it’s me) go from here? (similar questions)

Reply: There is only one way to move forward in this path, or indeed any path toward ‘liberation’ and in one single word it is Surrender. In Shaktipat Diksha it is surrender to the process, in dhyana it is surrender to the rise and fall of the breath or whatever method one chooses. In SBT’s it is surrender to the spaces between thoughts and surrender of “I” the imaginary agent that takes credit for all successes. One needs to understand clearly that the process is in control, not the Shakta. The process knows what to do and when to do it. The Shakta’s job is to ‘step aside’ and allow Shakti to complete its task. The sooner this happens, the sooner results come through. Also, the Shakta needs to have faith in the process and trust it to do its work. Many times initiates report excellent results then complain later that nothing is happening. When questioned later it is found that things are happening but not what the Shakta expects or prefers.
Another point is that it is common for initiates to become blasé about their experiences when the novelty dies off. They look for newer experiences they read about somewhere that have more oomph or offer a bigger bang for their buck. This is not genuine practice, their is no appreciation for the work the process is undertaking and no real understanding of what the process is or does. If the Shakta can truly surrender to the process then results soon follow - but - these results are the type that eventually dissolve the notion that there is a ‘Shakta’ who has these results. The results of any practice including Shaktipat (as said above) dissolve this notion, sooner or later.

Question: While doing so-hum and looking at breathing yesterday it came to my mind that in Buddhism they pay so much emphasis on looking at breath. Bernie, what is the most effective technique to get to samadhi? Would you say breathing technique is the most powerful tool?

Reply: Light years ahead of all practices is sbt's. The instant sbt's arise samadhi arises whereas in anapana sati time is required to silence the mind. The problem though is not with Space Between Thoughts or anapana (so-ham japa) but with understanding what samadhi is. This is common misunderstanding. Samadhi is void of self and other, either via the senses (savikalpa) or void of the senses (nirvikalpa). Most imagine samadhi to be void of the senses therefore they apply mind numbing methods such as so-ham japa (ajapa-japa). With a right understanding of samadhi the lightning fast 'method' of Space Between Thoughts practice produces savikalpa samadhi when sensory perception is required and nirvikalpa samadhi when sensory perception is not required.

Follow on comment: While talking about samadhi many gurus do seem to be reliant more on scriptures rather than on personal experiences.

Reply:There are many 'Gurus' who speak from tradition and not from experience. The end result is some 'questionable' explanations that appear to have the authority of their particular tradition. This is a huge problem with the novice who puts his faith in some of these 'gentlemen' - this is why I always suggest that the practitioner puts his faith in his practice, not the teacher. Also one needs a clear understanding of what the practitioner is doing in his practice and why s/he is doing it. Then you can't go wrong... 

Question: I noticed that when energies moves back in my spine, I get intense pain at certain points especially back to heart chakra ( mid thoracic). Is this is normal process? How long it will happen? Does any kind food, multivitamins, lifestyle, Exercise can help it calm down? Why I get feeling to cry? How long does it take to experience full blown Kundalini rise? Or experience ONENESS? These question may have been answered but I am asking in Benefit of all of us. Thanks

Reply: Pain can often arise in practice. Sometimes it is mechanical (physical), which can be alleviated by chiropractic, exercise, Hatha yoga, stretching exercises, tai chi or chi kung (Qi Gong). It is often caused by energy flow. If it's energy flow it needs to happen and there is nothing you can do about it. Better than vitamin pills is a healthy diet that contains everything you need. Pain is a common experience for many initiates. It lasts for as long as it needs to happen so it could be temporary or it can happen on occasion for years. It is best to let it take its natural course so don't try to take medications for it, they are useless. Having said that, if you have unusual or recurring pain that concerns you see your doctor or health professional.
All Shakti induced experiences can cause many different emotions to arise, some blissful, others arise as deep emotional traumas. This is caused by Shakti burning out old samskaras so the initiate is free from them once and for all. Shanti cannot arise when these sub conscious programs are manipulating the psyche. Full kundalini arousal is different for everyone. For some it is sooner, for others, later. The only way to speed up the process is to practice more often. Oneness (non-duality) can be experienced immediately. Please go to the dharmin page on this site. 

Question: For optimum results what would be the best practice for meditation?. Currently I meditate once a day (night). 

Reply: Best practice is 24/7 and it does indeed give optimum results. So practice whenever and wherever you can both formally (sitting or standing practice) and informally. Shakti loves attention and hates to be ignored. If you ignore shakti she will go away, if you lavish attention on her she will stay, grow and thrive. If you give partial attention to her she will give partial results. For the initiate in a hurry one should devote as much time as possible for formal practice, the rest of the day should be spent in informal practice. That informal practice, first and foremost is to develop that subtle sensitivity, that subtle awareness, of what is going on deep within the subtle body. Feeling the currents and subtle movements of the newly directed energy within. Informal practice can happen anywhere, under most circumstances of life regardless of what you are doing. Having said that there are obvious occasions where you will need to pay full attention - e.g. When driving etc (you will know). 

Question: Why is it that for some, kriyas are uncontrollable (spontaneous).

Reply: All kriyas are controllable, but some are more intense than others. If an emergency came up and you had to stop the session you could. Intense kriyas are for those who are particularly susceptible to Shaktis work. Some fortunate ones have them from the outset while others build them up with practice. The effect shakti has on its shakta is due to the past karma (in the form of samskaras) each has developed. I have worked with those who are vegetarian, pious, holy, practitioners who have got little, if anything out of it. On the other hand so called 'ordinary' people with little, if any preparation have taken to it well - and there again others for a similar background who don't feel a thing.
All in all there is no rationale as to who will benefit, it is always a matter of trying and see what happens A definite advantage, it seems is that those who work with subtle body practices like 'healing' and those who have experienced oobe's are probably going to experience something while those grounded in the physical may not. In Devatma Shakti Swami Vishnu Tirtha given advice for those interested in initiation. Personally I feel learning to sit and allow the body and mind to just 'BE' without trying to control them is probably most useful, that gives shakti free reign in initiations... 

Question: Today while meditating, a thought came to mind, that attachment to body is a big obstacle, and i know that self enquiry can help, but what is the exact process, do you have any idea?

Reply: Attachment to the body is no obstacle at all. It is a strategy imagined by mind that tells a pseudo self that it is attached to its body. Thus creating a need for self condemnation and further discipline required to remedy the attachment by somehow detaching this delusory 'self' from the body. The mind-game then leads this self in a seemingly never-ending mission to reconcile this imaginary problem.
What should have happened is that the silent mind watches thoughts arise, pass and then a space before the next thought arises, passes and so forth. Grasping the thought, no matter how profound the thought pretends to be, and trying to consider the remedy for its pseudo-problem, is just what minds do to keep awareness at the minds most superficial level and never allowing sufficient spaces to arise for it to sink into its source (so to speak). In this instance the strategy worked very well. As one recognises these mind games for what they truly are the practitioner begins to understand these mind games and does not allow them to re-occur. The inevitable success from this will lead to further more "I must be enlightened" mind games. Self congratulations will occur, there will be much self-back-patting until one realises one has fallen into this trap. Many don't recover from this trap and they go on to be 'Gurus' of the lowest possible calibre. Seeing through the traps allows one to disregard all 'accomplishments' and 'achievements' and the delusions of 'self', its failings and achievements all evaporate leaving clarity and peace.

Question: What effect does alcohol have on the shakti and kundalini in general? Does it stop your progress or reset you? Although I don't like to drink very often, I sometimes do in social settings every few months or so, am I doing harm to my progress? On a side note, it seems after meditating for the past few months it does not agree with my system very much.

Reply: One of the best responses I had from a person to person initiation was from someone who had never practiced meditation, was an out and out alcoholic and had no interest in 'realization'. These were early days and I worked with him as an initial 'experiment'. For those who are interested in spiritual pursuit, one should work from where one is right now. Alcohol is fine in small quantities (personally the taste of alcohol is disgusting to me) and the theory that sex will destroy or impede your spiritual / transcendental, work is pure nonsense.
I do suggest though that practitioners avoid 'recreational' drugs as they force doors to the psyche open and can do long term damage, including damage to one's own practice. The key to practice is to start from where you are and if you need to make changes they will come about in time. One will feel a natural aversion to some foods, drinks, old past habits etc. Whatever you do, don't try to change everything about yourself all at once, you will be just setting yourself up for failure... 

Question: i remember you saying if not paid attention to shakti it stops, and also that shakti doesn't stop till it reaches its goal, that it continues for lifetimes if it have to. But in another lifetime, one might not know anything about shakti and the question of attention is irrelevant then, how will it then continue?

Reply: How did you know about Shaktipat in this lifetime? What brought you to initiation and association with the others here and myself? What happens here is just a link in a chain, sometimes a long one. We are all driven by powerful forces whose conscious experiences are just the tip of the iceberg. If now, then as the past, then as the future. Time can be graded into the past, present and future - or just as a never ending present. It depends on where the attention lies. Nothing the shakta or practitioner does ever goes to waste. It doesn't matter how minimal the effort it changes one's life forever.

Question: Why do I see bright lights in my visions? Is there any connection between kundalini awakening and light?

Reply: Depending on what the lights are caused by. If not meaningless neural discharge they could well be subtle perceptions. Tuning in to what's always there but covered by our fascination for the physical plane. The more you tune in the more you will perceive.
The perception of the bright lights may be part of your Shakti Sadhana with Shakti guided prana to ajna, or it may also be a natural response to the chidakash practice too. Either will allow one to tune in to the lights, other levels of being etc.

Question: I know that everyone's Shaktipat experience is different but I have very little jerky or involuntary body movement like some of the initiates. Can you miss stages or might I get it later on in my practise. I have noticed that this happens to the initiates who have been practising much longer than me.

Reply: Don't worry, you won't miss out on anything. The jerking movements some initiates get are caused by subtle energy (prana) triggering nerves that in turn activate certain muscle groups, sometimes with interesting results (muscles raising the skin and pulsating, facial grimacing twitching arms, legs etc). These things happen due to blockages and energy releases, re-directions and realignments within the subtle energy system manifesting as outwardly observable events.
There are no defined 'stages' as such although there is a clear transition from the gross physical body to the subtle body then the causal body to the transcendent - a general reversal or 'evolution' of the process of manifestation or 'involution'. What happens to an individual is dependent on their current development. This could be past work at energy development or purification exercises such as yoga, tai-chi etc or subtle energy work such as tuning into a more refined subtle awareness in oobe's or even psychic training.
Basically, if you have developed a subtle energy awareness in the past it can be a plus for shakti and lessen the need for certain manifestations to take place. Having said that Shakti doesn't work in a one at a time or linear 'a, b, c' fashion. What needs to happen will. Experiences that happen for new initiates may not develop in other more 'advanced' initiates for years. There is absolutely no point in looking over one's shoulder and wondering why his experiences haven't happened to me - if they are meant to they will, if they aren't, they won't, if you aren't ready for them yet they will happen later and if you don't need them they will never happen at all.

Question: I have been meditating since long but I've never felt swaying during meditation before shaktipat session. Since my first initiation session this Sunday i get swaying movements during other meditations (guided) too. 

Reply: Experiencing the swaying movements is an excellent sign, so I think you have succeeded and are now an Initiate - so well done. 

Question: Why is it so that one day after meditation you feel relaxed and joyful while on another day gloominess overpowers you?

Reply: Meditation is a cleansing process that clears out the sub conscious mind - emptying and purifying it of all those impressions that are stored deep within as samskaras. So different practice sessions will produce different sensations.
What is needed to be understood though is that none of these impressions is 'me'. What is aware of the impressions is Awareness alone.
As the subconscious empties then a natural blissful clarity arises. This blissful Awareness is not caused by, conditioned by or dependent upon any circumstance other than the absence of those conditions.

Question: Easy way to sleep? I have hard time trying to sleep since years Thanks in advance.

Reply: Thanks for the question. Here's a few things you can try... 
Try meditation: Meditation can be used in two ways due to its relaxation component. For example with so-ham repetition. For meditation one should use it and maintain awareness. For sleep one should use it and let awareness go, then one sleeps. In both sleep and meditation the full focus should be on the rise and fall of the breathing - then, as said, let awareness slip away.
Pick your meditation time: Meditation before bedtime will charge you up with energy and make sleep redundant. If this happens practice a few hours before bed time if possible.
Break the brain rhythms: Being unable to sleep for some time creates a set of brain rhythms that are hard to break and will keep you awake. If you've tried sleeping but are unable to. You can do this by reading a book and forget about sleeping for a while then try again later and see if that helps. 
Try a blue light filter: Computer blue light is said to keep people awake because it affects the circadian rhythm. Try not to use computers or phones before bed. If you have to activate the blue light filter and see if it helps. Make sure your phone is off before going to bed.
Don't nap through the day: Having naps through the day will effectively make night-time sleep unnecessary. If you can don't fall for the temptation of sleeping in the daytime. Establishing a wake / sleep pattern is important so work out what you need and stick to it.
Try a sleep-aid. Try the 'Brahma Vati' (whatever it's made from) or other over-the-counter 'relaxants' that may help you get a nights sleep. Use them to re-establish the broken sleep pattern (probably 3 or 4 nights) then stop taking them. Don't get in the habit of letting drugs do the work for you. After a few nights see if you can do it on your own.
Check out the web: There are many good ideas and information on the web from experts and those who have already been through what you are going through. Do your research.
See your doctor: If all else fails and you desperately need a good nights sleep see your doctor and talk it over with him or her. 

Question: How mind works? Can you through some light on the topic. Different aspects of mind like memory, emotion, intellect , instinct, intelligence ,ego etc and how all these work together. Any useful further reading reference 

Reply: Thanks for the question. I went into all this decades ago and to be honest have forgotten most of the theory of mind. It’s a bit like trying to figure out how your TV works when all you need to do as a practitioner is simply to find out where the OFF switch is.
Hindu / Buddhist theories up until now have been way in advance anything the west has yet to offer, but with new techniques and research scientists are beginning to find out more about how mind works these days. A truly fascinating field for those so interested.
It is important to understand that ‘mind’ is a functioning of consciousness, it is not an entity. Mind is a junction point where the sentient (consciousness) meets the insentient (brain) thereby giving it the appearance of animation or life to that which is insentient without it. 
It is also useful to remember that ‘ego’ has nothing to do with the origin or first turning of mind from its source consciousness but rather it is the mere development of the personality - it is confused with the false notion of ‘ahamkara’ (I am the doer) which gives the appearance of an individual ‘I” who is responsible for thoughts, feelings, actions etc. 

Follow up Question: Thanks. Can’t resist to ask this one before reading. Where is the switch to off?

Reply: In the space between thoughts... 

Question: In shakti initiation we do, same as or a form of meditation or different from meditation? Reason why i ask this is because in meditation one has to be effortless and let go of things but in shakti initiation we bring our mind to concentrate on your face. 

Reply: The answer to your question is on my site and quoted below. Many members tell me they have read my site when clearly they haven’t. I strongly suggest all candidates read the relevant pages of my site. It can make the difference between a successful practice or a waste of time.
Shaktipat initiation is the start of a process, it is not a meditation per-se. Within that process many manifestations occur, some arise from its own induced ‘meditation’ and many, if not most occur outside those formal meditation periods. 
The process is completely automatic and all one needs to do is surrender to the process. If one attempts to alter or ‘help’ the process one immediately interferes with it and results depreciate proportionately. 
The only exclusion to this assistance is the sitting position whereas one simply sits (or stands) in a position of availability so shakti has the best possible chance of affecting us. 
Bringing the picture to mind is the way I use to initiate the process in others. As soon as results of that initiation are felt then one should then focus on the experiences, not the picture. The picture is for candidates to bring them to the point of initiation. Initiates need not use the picture after initiation when experiences are happening. 
The only time an initiate need use the picture is if one has lapsed in their practice and uses either the picture to assist them or has a private or group session with me to re-invigorate their practice. Once that has happened then the picture (if used) is no longer necessary.
It says on ‘the initiation process’ page of my site…
“Look at the photo but do not raise any thoughts or feelings about it. After some practice you won’t need the photo, you will be able to remember the picture in detail. The initiator uses the candidates photo in exactly the same way as the candidate uses the initiators photo. After initiation the photo is unnecessary as attention is solely on the workings of Shakti. The picture can be discarded if one wishes.”

Question: What causes kriyas? Yeh I know the obvious answers - energy moving, Shakti cleaning nadiis..... But what is it that one day for one person moves an arm or pulls them to the floor and yet for someone else makes them shake their head? Is it, as often said on the Internet, kundalini energy hitting against blockages and when they have been removed by Shakti the kriyas stop? I've noticed many times when a choice needs to be made that kriyas start when I see/pick the "right" choice. Is this a genuine thing or am I making something fit? 

Reply: Needless to say we are all different and the effects of Shakti on each of us will be different according to needs. While the experiences do form a similar pattern they differ in intensity and manifestation. Each perfectly designed for the particular person. Kriyas place pressure on subtle nerves (nadis) which trigger a corresponding response in either the physical, mental or emotional layers of the Shakta.
In a single word - RESISTANCE causes kriyas, mudras, bandhas, pranayama, mantra etc to happen. These all have not only a cleansing effect of blockages in the subtle-system, but they also act as directors or re-routers of the energy system in order to channel it to awaken kundalini and raise it, gradually and spasmodically at first, but more coherently later. They eventually act upon the chakras of the central channel of sushumna guiding kundalini to sahasrara and finally Hridaya.
This ‘removal of blockages’ is often likened to a clearing of obstructions, like stones in a hose-pipe within a particular nadi (subtle nerve) or plexus of nadis. Although this is easy to understand the ‘blockages’ are however on three specific levels, the physical body, the mental body and the emotional body. Depending on the specific needs Shakti automatically orchestrates a plan of ‘purification’ sufficient to do its task for each of these bodies.
There is no fixed plan of execution where kriyas etc occur. One Shakta may need spinal manipulation so these will generally occur at night whilst unconscious. The Shakta may well wake up in the middle of the night twisted and contorted into a position where the spine has been adjusted so the spinal column is more aligned which allows prana ease of access. Those whose spines are straighter will not undergo these kriyas.
Mental capacity is required to appreciate and live the Dharma life, this happens on the level of the intellect. Many of the kriyas develop this capacity often in the stillness of meditation brought about by Shakti’s use of kriyas, mudras etc but also by ‘still mind’ methods of meditation.
This is not the same as book learning or what we would call ‘education’ but arises more as an intuition or ‘inner-teaching’ which matures as the ‘knowing’ / living of the fundamental Dharma life. This silently arises as a feeling of an understanding of ‘things falling into place’ - much like putting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together and seeing the (big) picture. This is probably what you are experiencing when you make those ‘right’ choices.
The next series of blockages are those caused by emotions and feelings stored in both the mind and body as ‘muscle memory’. It is the job of kriyas to neutralise these hidden ‘programs’ (samskaras / vasanas) that dictate our current behaviour from the hidden depths of the subconscious mind. Kriyas act upon these plexuses (plexii ?) of entangled subtle knots within the body. Once again, different emotional makeup requires different responses from Shakti to each individual Shakta.

Response: Fascinating stuff on how the kriyas work on the different levels. I had wrongly thought they were just physical things. 

Reply: The Kriya etc itself is a physical movement or manifestation, but for the initiates they are born from a subtle origin.
The act then affects the subtle nerves or nadis eventually neutralising their external effects on the physical body and redirecting that saved energy to kanda which is the entry at the base of the spine where Kundalini lies. 
The focused energy awakens Kundalini which then rises up through the central channel of sushumna piercing the chakras etc and causing the wide range of signature experiences to happen..

Question: I've noticed you use the term 'self/other' delusion over the years as being the result of thought identification. I have been struggling to understand what this non dual state feels like in terms of ending this self/other delusion.
For e.g. when awareness enters the SBT zone and I look out the window and see other people, I still see them as beings other than me. I cant feel or experience what they are experiencing.
I have read of states of consciousness (described as 'cosmic consciousness' for e.g.) where they say one experiences all that exists including the pleasures and pains of all living things in existence (some near death testimonies + enlightenment testimonies). If one wanted to zero in on a particular being's experience (say a torture victim) apparently the individual in this cosmic consciousness can choose to focus their attention at will and experience what the torture victim is going through (if they so choose), or what an ant or spider is experiencing at will.
Is the above what you mean by self/other delusion? Do you experience all of us as yourself? So when I ask this question of you, do you perceive it as your own consciousness texting it to yourself? Or when we appear on video, do you see us as extensions of yourself communicating with you (analogous to sub personalities in the mind)? Or is it that the term refers to seeing other people as just 'beings' like oneself and their personalities being a mental recording they are lost in (unconsciously identified with)? Also the sense that one shares similar consciousness as others? If the latter, might it be better to affirm their otherness as a reality and not delusion but acknowledge what one shares in common with them?

Reply: Non-duality isn’t a state, it is the absence of all states. Therefore it cannot be understood - only experienced. Though many explanations are given they only feed the mind which is ultimately counterproductive. As we are a practice group only enough explanations are given so the practitioner can use them to have the actual experience.
The terms ‘’self/other’’ delusion is used because they are thoughts that have been attributed to perception. Do you remember my schemata on ‘the mechanics of delusion’? 
They are as follows...
* Awareness (Fundamental being or consciousness)
* Perception (Awareness channelled through the senses)
* Conception (Naming or labelling of the perceived)
* Deception (Accepting as fact those labels as the ‘things’ seen - or identification via the thinking process)
When you look out of the window you see (perception). Then you name what is seen (conception). You are familiar with the notion of ‘people’ so you are comfortable with or established in the naming of what you see when you call them ‘people’ (deception).
What the practice asks you to do is to perceive without concepts or naming - it’s that simple. Then you will ‘understand’ non-duality via your own experience and not theory.
This is ‘savikalpa samadhi’ or non-duality whilst the senses are functioning. If the same perception without conception were happening and the senses were not operating, that would be nirvikalpa samadhi.
States of consciousness are just that - states. They are not the final cessation of all conditions and the duality of delusion. These states are a more refined spiritual set of experiences that may reveal themselves to those on the spiritual path but they are not worth consideration for the transcendentalist. They are used here sparingly and limitedly as in initiations but really pursuing them is more of a distraction than a worthwhile cause.
To quote you...
“Is the above what you mean by self/other delusion? Do you experience all of us as yourself? So when I ask this question of you, do you perceive it as your own consciousness texting it to yourself? Or when we appear on video, do you see us as extensions of yourself communicating with you (analogous to sub personalities in the mind)? Or is it that the term refers to seeing other people as just 'beings' like oneself and their personalities being a mental recording they are lost in (unconsciously identified with)? Also the sense that one shares similar consciousness as others?’
There cannot be the experience of ‘me’ being one with ‘you’. That is a misunderstanding of the Dharma teachings propagated since the teachings first began. Non-duality means just that ‘not-two’ it does not mean ‘oneness’. The true albeit only experience of non-duality possible is the absence of the conceptual overlay of a pseudo ‘me’ relating to a pseudo ‘you’.
When you ask the question you create the assertion that there is a person called (name) who wants to know something - so you ask the person called ‘Bernie’. As a sentient being who knows both sides of the delusion / non-duality experience ‘Bernie’ replies in terms that hopefully will be understood. Once the question has been addressed no more thought is put in to it from ‘Bernie’s’ side. From ‘Bernie’s’ perspective both the concepts of ‘Bernie’ and ‘(name)’ evaporate whilst ‘(name)’ wrestles with the concepts.
‘Bernie’, ‘(name)’ or anyone are just Awareness shining through the sensory perceptions and raising concepts about the perceived. Some give great importance to those concepts. The Dharma life happens when concepts are seen for what they are, used when required and they cease when there is no need or further use for them.
Beginners in practice are advised to observe the space between the concepts - simplicity itself. 

Question: Can SBTs (Space Between Thoughts practice) help attain Nirvikalpa Samadhi since it requires non operation of senses?"

Reply: Yes, it can. It is the best possible help because the mind is stabilised in the space between thoughts. All that is required now is to turn off the senses. How that is done doesn’t really matter. Perhaps so-ham, a relaxation method etc. 
From The Dharmin’s point of view (as stated on site) there is no clamour for nirvikalpa as long as the SBT’s are maintained. Whether the senses are operating or not makes no difference for in SBT’s there is no-one to benefit or suffer from the activity of the senses. 

Follow up Question: Why is it so hard to keep this awareness open? The 'smell from the empty pot of food' drags my attention into thought identification as a reflex - repeatedly. It requires constant expenditure of energy to keep opening awareness to stop the latter.

Reply: This is what practice is for… 
How many years has the notion of a “(name)” who does this or thinks that been around? And before that - how many lives or incarnations has your equivalent asserted ‘itself’? This of course is not just for you but everyone.
Then one begins practice… If it is efficient practice it will gnaw away at the delusion that experiences are the property of individual ‘a’, ‘’b’, or ‘c’. Practice devours this delusion one bite at a time. 
Every time anyone notices the SBT’s, no matter how briefly a little of that delusion is eradicated. So, don’t get frustrated or impatient. These kill practice slowly but surely. As said many times before. The practitioner is often the last to notice the benefits of practice whilst those around them perceive subtle changes. Every minute of practice is money in the bank with interest.

Question: Does Shakti help you make the right choice when faced with a decision? The reason I ask is because I've just been comparing a certain service providers online, and as I read about one in particular, kriyas started up almost as if my body was trying to say, "This one!" 

Reply: Not sure about the kriyas, but as has been mentioned on the forum before there is a deeper level of 'coincidence' or harmonisation with practitioners in their daily experience of life. Things do seem to fall into place more readily as if a second sense were developing a feeling of 'rightness', 'appropriateness' or certainty grows in our actions that has little to do with the conscious mind.
As always, go with the flow and let the influence grow. Relax, sit back and let life unfold. At least in the early stages though keep one hand on the steering wheel until you feel comfortable enough to relax the grip... 

Question: I recently perused a book by a Zen Roshi... Post-initiation, my interest was to see whether there was any mention of Shakti, Shaktipat, Kundalini, etc. 

Reply: You are obviously talking about Rinzai Zen. Soto, or ‘silently illumined’ Zen is a little less harsh.
There is no mention of Shakti etc in either Zen traditions. Ki or Chi is related to prana and not Shakti. Zen has little interest in ‘spiritual’ or subtle energy experiences. They are treated as Makyo or illusions and a bar to transcendence. In a way they are right if the approach is not balanced and there is no teacher to guide the progress. 
As a rule of thumb transcendental practices are a lot quicker than spiritual ones because the subtle and causal bodies are ignored. The drawback to them however is that there are fewer signs of ‘progress’ in them other than an ever increasing stillness and peace. Subtle experiences are usually enticing to practitioners and a far more tangible result of ones efforts.
There is always a pranic value of sitting in the presence of masters and other practitioners, but that can be said for any path. Shaktipat is unique to just about every other tradition. Its mechanism is little understood even by its practitioners and their initiators / gurus who tend to default to their traditional teachings for answers to their questions. In conversation with a Tibetan Loppon of the Rigpa tradition he said that Shaktipat sounded like a disease or pranic imbalance that needed to be rectified through medication. I had to agree with the pranic imbalance part of his assessment - that is what the kriyas and other experiences in Shaktipat were meant to rectify, but a ‘disease' it is not.
“Is the threshold for ignition / initiation extraordinarily high?”
In my experience I have found that ‘ignition’ for candidates is extraordinarily low. I am always surprised how those who seem to have little, if any preparation take so well to initiation. We need be careful though about proliferating its message of availability. Recruitment drives are not the way to go. The offer of availability is there for people who are interested in initiation to search and find initiators. Kriyas too are not the answer for all. Many aren’t interested in a yogic approach. The stillness and silence of say Shikantaza are enough for them.
Shaktipat is an easy but often arduous path for many, this is why I have coupled it with other practices - to keep a balance between spiritual and transcendental practices. If those from all paths and all traditions were truly interested in transcendence and understood the nature of thought and its divisive effects, there would only really be one path taught as an immediate ending of delusion and that would be SBT’s. 
The theoretical and practical path of Shaktipat Diksha is crucial in understanding the nature of the intelligence behind all manifestation but for those who want ‘instant’ enlightenment nothing else come close - or dare I say… “Holds a candle to SBT's” (even a lit one).

Question: What's with the whole torso swaying kriya? I had once read that it's to stretch and loosen the spine. 

Reply: The swaying / rotating is often one of the first experiences to manifest for many after Shaktipat initiation. The swaying is usually the forerunner and may be the direct cause of many of the experiences to come. The swaying is Shakti's way of getting a 'grip' on the physical body in order to create the many other experiences that emanate from it. It puts beneficial pressure on many of the nadis in the lower chakras and may pause the rotation to automatically focus on a particular group of nadis. When it does that one can feel a shuddering up the spinal column. In itself it is not enough to loosen the spine but is the instigator of many of the kriyas that do, so its effect on the spines' suppleness may be a secondary benefit that can occur further on. Having said that though anything is possible with Shakti, but that was not my experience... 

Question: 
1) How best can one help someone in pain, trouble? 
2) Jesus, Sai Baba and other masters used to heal others, if mere presence healed then why was it required then?
3) Does Humanity need healing or should we be allowed to learn our Karmic lessons?
4) Should one practise any healing modality? 

Reply: I'm not sure what you mean by 'heal'. We are a meditation practice group so accepting and believing what you may read in a religious book is a personal choice but not one we need to endorse.However, in a sense healing can well occur and meditation practitioners can assist in certain ways.
Only the mind of nature heals, nothing and no one else, taking credit for healing is neither wise nor advised - healing is nishkamya in nature. The best surgeon or doctor can only create the conditions for healing to arise by giving medicine to assist the process, by bandaging and disinfecting the wound to stop infection, by setting the broken bone for healing to occur etc. In all cases the healing modalities are preparation for nature to do her work so the most effective means of healing is by surrender directly to the source of healing - the mind of nature.
Similarly the diseases of the mind can be healed as best as circumstances permit by putting it in the most conducive condition for healing to occur. This is done by allowing its stresses to dissolve through meditation and relaxation practices that let it revert back to its natural flow of peace and calm.
Those who have learned to do so are by nature conduits for this peace, calm and clarity. Their benign condition is infectious to those around who sense their feeling of presence and flow. 
However it should be noted that pain and suffering are a part of life. Suffering is an important catalyst that discomforts its victim into seeking solutions that may otherwise never be adopted. It is the stress of the mind that causes it to seek peace and perhaps by doing so discover that which lies beyond the everyday detached and deluded mind. Many come to meditation because they suffer from mental agitation for example so suffering can be a helpful part of one's development in their lives.
Above all, death should never be seen as failure or the absence of healing. Death is natures way of inevitably moving one on to their next set of experiences whether here or somewhere else. Death is inevitable even though healing may postpone death to some other time in the future (where are the people now that Jesus or anyone else 'healed'? Are they still healed?)
So it is best to surrender to the mind of nature. Then one is naturally in the best possible state or condition for healing to occur. Then the delusion of duality (the disease that follows us from life to life) is 'healed' at source and that healing has no boundaries in time and space.

Follow up Question: about the path one decides to take i.e. self healing through meditation or seek external help or choosing to leave the physical body and be reborn with suitable conditions. 

Reply: The 'me' that so chooses to do this or that is a product of the thinking mind. The conditions or programming from the past (karma) have effects in the present that will dictate the 'individuals' future. So called decisions are dependent on those previous impressions and experiences which guide the individual to do this or that. In other words, if individuality is envisioned then so is its free will. The 'free will' is entirely dependent on the conditions that currently affect it. Change the conditions then the 'free will' is also changed in accordance with the newest conditions affecting it.
To step it up a gear... One does not choose one's path, one is one's path as long as the conditions are there to support it, when the conditions change the path changes or ceases to be in favour of newer circumstances. The flow and synchronicity practitioners speak of is testimony to this spontaneous activity, void of both an imagined individual free will and an imagined 'I' that possesses it. In briefest of terms - paths are imagined by a fictitious 'I' that has them. Where there is no 'I' there is no path... 

Question: Are the answers you give the ‘right’ ones?

Reply: Hopefully they’re the most useful ones, being ‘right’ implies one fixed overarching standard for all occasions. The right answer then is the one seekers can relate to and use in their practice. Obviously then the ‘rightness’ of the answer is dependant on its effectiveness as a catalyst for productive practices. As that practice matures and develops then a more direct means of expression can be employed for future enquiries where previously they would have been ineffective.
Not that I would compare myself with him (or anyone for that matter) but Ramana Maharshi was once heard to give contradictory advice, in front of many onlookers to questioners over similar subjects. For example He (paraphrasing) told one devotee that he should approach God in a certain fashion and call on him regularly for assistance etc. Ramana then turned to another devotee and told him that God was a figment of the imagination and that really ‘he’ was the inmost self only found in meditation.
When questioned on this Maharshi explained that the answers were personalised to the individual so each could relate to the answer given but may not accept another way of expression.

Follow up Question: Will we reach a stage, as you have, where we will be wise and know the answer to stuff?
Reply: Knowing the answer(s) to stuff isn’t what it’s about. What it’s all about is finding out in the laboratory of your own practices, where each practitioner conducts the experiment of opening up to the mind of nature, silencing the mind in the savikalpa aspect of practice and forgetting the senses in the nirvikalpa aspect. 
My advice is simply designed to give every practitioner the confidence to practice without feeling that they are simply wasting their time - nothing else, nothing more. The wisdom is owned by and inherent in the mind of nature. Tapping in to that mind has the effect of making those who have done so appear wise but this wisdom belongs to nature, not the individual.

Follow up comment: Should we accept what you say as fact and not make fools of ourselves by having a different opinion, or should we still be thinking for ourselves? 
If practitioners simply accepted what I said unquestioningly then I would have failed miserably in my purpose. The theoretical discussions on the board are simply auxiliary to ones’ practice and should never be relied on as ‘fact’. Facts are discovered in practice, not as distributed thoughts from person to person.
As long as the individual ‘self’ is accepted then one should of course think from it. However on further investigation it will be clearly seen that this ‘self’ that we are thinking from is just another thought thus producing the conundrum of thoughts judging thoughts in the context of their own thinking - a ‘self’ validating process for sure.
“I know ideally "I" should be seeking the SBT and not thinking at all, but before "I" get to there permanently, are "my" opinions still valid or is there an ultimate truth that will become clear to "me" when there is no "I/me"?” All opinions are valid but one’s practice and experience (not anything I say) should supersede those opinions - even mine.

Follow up comment: So beautifully put! I hope when I lose my self I'm as equally eloquent.
Eloquence starts in the silent mind, it ends when thoughts take over. Look at the copious teachings of the Buddha, Ramana Maharishi and others. Not a single utterance of the Dharma was based on the thinking mind. They began in silence and flowed from there. It was Bhagavan himself who said that the highest teaching is silence and that the teachings were for those who didn't understand that silence. There must be thousands of spaces between everyone's thoughts, every single day of the sadhaks life. Few are noticed, most slip by. It is when those spaces turn into true silence that the voices of the Masters can be heard ringing in our ears.

Question: Shakti/kundalini and animals - how does it work with them, if at all? Was practising this morning with one of the dogs on my lap and my hands became extremely hot and twitchy. He tolerated it for a while but then jumped down. Can dogs be initiated? Do they have kundalini and if so how does it work in them? They often join me in my Shakti room but this is the first time one has actually been in contact.

Member Comment: I'm no expert but it is common knowledge in India that only Human life is eligible for moksha, even devas are not. probably the heat was result of healing through your palm chakras. they definitely feel positive vibes from you hence get attracted to you

Reply: This is a common view of the process of enlightenment taught to us by those who either don’t really know or really should know better. The role of the animal varies within each tradition. Some exalt them to the level of the gods whilst other traditions see them as unclean, even vile. The problem is that humans have created a thought sponsored view of the universe and their place in it, they imagine themselves to be above all others except the gods and the enlightened. They give subservient roles to the animal dismissing them as means of human survival via toil and sustenance. This indeed is an unenlightened view because it neither appreciates what ‘animals’ or ‘enlightenment’ truly are.
The word ‘animal’ is of course derived from the Latin word ‘Animus’ which simply means ‘to animate’. We, as humans are just as much animals as any other so-called animal as long as that principle of animation, life force, being, or consciousness is functioning within that which is animated.
Enlightenment is not the attainment of some exalted state of being, enlightenment is the absence of all mind-made conditions in the savikalpa aspect and sensory boundaries of the nirvikalpa aspect. As humans (residing in the lunatic asylum’s therapy ward known as “planet Earth”) this needs to be practiced continuously until it becomes ‘natural’ for us to cease these delusions. In the animal it is the default mode of being when its ’physicality’ and sensory perceptions are no longer required.
A humans subtle neurology (nadis/prana) were once free flowing so all chakras activated when required and ‘enlightenment’ characteristics were spontaneous and ‘natural’ (there’s that word again) just like the current animal populace is now. As humans so-called evolution increased to the complex beings we are today a proportionate and corresponding devolution into physical and mental entanglement suffocated the ‘natural beings’ we once were. Animals are free of these complexities.
By ‘natural’ we need to understand that we were once consciously both one with nature (Shiva) and one with the mind of nature (Shakti). Prior to this devolution there was no need to become enlightened and no such thing as delusion. These concepts are derived from the devolution of the process we now know as the evolved thinking mind.
Nowhere in nature could we find something so perverse as a ‘thinking mind’ except from within the head of a human being, such is its fall from its original absence of conditions (grace). Not a single thought produced the multiverses, or this universe, or this galaxy, or the sun and the earth with its manifest life forms. No thoughts, no decisions, no plans - nothing engendered by a single thought produced what ‘we’ are and where ‘we’ are. The petals of a flower, blades of grass, to mountains and oceans were never thought of or decided upon.
Animals are not naturally cursed with a thinking mind. Indeed thought requires specific language components that represents ‘life’ as word-concepts. Of course animals do use sounds as signals to represent various aspects of their lives but there is no overlay of those signals as a replacement of its lived experiences.
Animal intelligence is mainly based in the senses and function efficiently as instinct but these instincts are easily forgotten when at rest. This absence of the divisive powers of a thinking mind and the aware-absence of sensory perception is how the Dharma teachings define ‘liberation’. Hence the subtle energy flow is active throughout its subtle system unhindered by the mental delusions we suffer from. Thus there is no kundalini seat nor need to ‘raise’ energies to its subtle centres, they are free flowing, such is their nature.
The most telling story of this devolution is found in the parable of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden where the ‘serpent’ (played the role of the bad guy in this case) convinced Eve then Adam to eat of the fruit of the ‘tree of knowledge’ from which arose the sensory perceptions devolving into conception (they realised they were ‘naked’) this had them evicted from the paradise ‘garden of Eden’ where all other animals lived. Note, the animals were/are still there, it is only the humans who were evicted.
Of course no animal actually physically lives in a paradise or ‘garden of Eden’, that’s not the point, it was just the author's way of describing the descent of man. Animals live their own spontaneous lives. They are either tearing each other apart, subject to immense human brutality or being slaughtered in their billions by humans for food. It is not the physical condition of the animal that is its paradise, but the fact that the curse of conceptuality has yet to arise in them, hence no need for its so-called spiritual evolution or transcendental fruition. 

Question: You often say two things that seem contradictory to me so I would appreciate if you could elaborate. I don't understand how both of the following statements can be true :
1) Shakti needs attention to actually work
2) Shakti is working even when you can't feel anything or when you're not practising. 

Reply: Shakti certainly needs attention to its processes to get things started. Once it has started and gains sufficient momentum it works in the background even when the initiate is unaware of it doing so. Of course the more attention paid to its processes the more it will run in the background. I have said this all along. Where is the contradiction?
To use an example. A bicycle is pedalled to the top of a hill, on reaching the top and going down the other side one does not need to pedal but can rely on gravity (a force of nature) to take one downwards. If one does pedal towards the bottom of the hill and gains extra speed, going up the next hill becomes even easier than the first hill which took much personal effort.
Working in the background means working at sub-conscious levels below general daily awareness. These are not two processes but a full range single process. Shakti can work on all levels simultaneously. I should add that the notion of 'levels' is just our understanding. Shakti doesn't / cannot use concepts to differentiate level 'a' from level 'b'.

Question: Does the forest appear first or does my thought about it? I know Buddha talked about dependent co arising. Anyway, a thought that we all share the same mind arose and took over my whole body. Now if I imagine my neighbours and everyone, myself sharing the same mind my body vibrates with an almost unbearable vibration of amazement. Your perspective on whether the environment or our thoughts appear first to create our perception? And is the idea that we share one mind valid?

Reply: I don’t want to be the nitpicker, hair-splitter but both the notion of an ‘environment’ separate from ‘I’ and a shared ‘one mind’ that unifies all beg the question that these are realities and factual or at least have the possibility of being true. They are really the workings of the divisive mind to begin with that sees from its own trained perspective. I mention this, not as a ‘smart’ answer to your questions but to demonstrate how locked in to dualism as a reality we really are. We think from the dualistic perspective (the only perspective thinking can operate from) and seek responses based on those perspectives.
The ‘environment’ and its separate observer arise and subside together as concepts. Upon arising these concepts stand as mental ‘bookmarks’ or labels of our experience that can be recalled at any time in our minds to represent the perceptual experience of ‘the forest’ for example. So the concept can stand as a representation of our ‘forest’ reality by simply mentioning the word. In this sense it can be said that the concept of ‘forest’ would appear first - as a re-collection of named experience.
The easy answer to the ‘one mind’ notion is “yes we all share that same one mind” or at least the same Awareness that animates the one mind - but that’s too easy, too simplistic, for the same reasons given above about the forest and its observer. It is wrong to assert ‘one mind’ but it is equally wrong to deny it - once asserted.
This problem of creating assertions to explain Dharma is as old as the philosophies themselves. If you read two Mahayana teachings the Heart and Diamond Sutras they take two distinct tacks. The Heart Sutra emphatically denies the existence of any-thing, whilst the Diamond sutra takes the more conciliatory approach and explains that things are not things but are called “things” (x is not x but is called “x”). Either approach is viable if it gets the point across not to place emphasis on that aspect of mind that habitually divides this from that then seeks their reunification via whatever method one wishes to apply.
The Dharma is not difficult to find. “Open eyes tell no lies” - there is Dharma. The instant Awareness shines either on its own or through the senses - there is Dharma. The instant thought arises to describe this Dharma - there is karma. Nothing need be done other than seeing, hearing etc without the divisive mind providing descriptions of the seen or heard.

Follow on comment: So nothing need be done other than seeing, hearing etc. (The mind becomes divisive when it questions what is seen and heard, etc). So stop all questioning would end the seeking and dividing. Just abiding with whatever arises.

Reply: What you say is true, that nothing need be done toward abiding in Dharma - or to put it another way, dissolving in Dharma. However the sadhak is mentally and emotionally geared to look and feel like he or she is doing something, this is where upaya or skilful means (of explanation or teaching) comes to the fore.
Practice creates the turning point for the sadhak whose experience finally and irrevocably supersedes his theoretical understanding. The crutches of theoretical understanding can then be discarded. In truth Dharma is all there is, there is no coming or going to or from Dharma. This is proved every time the mind falls silent regardless of whatever practice is used to silence it. SBT's, mentally tearing the labels off all 'things' experienced through the senses, breath awareness or silent witnessing etc are all means to the silent mind. When the labels we use to define this from that, 'self' from 'other' fall silent, what's left is Dharma. Nothing else is required, nothing more to do. Until that time arises questioning is vital for the sadhak, otherwise this understanding of the nature of thought and its absence that is the catalyst for that dissolution may never arise... 

Question: I thought about the things you explained yesterday during the weekly video chat. You said that Non-Duality is always there and that theoretically "one" could escape the delusion of "I VS others" in an instant via the space between the thoughts. But does this "realisation" lead to a dissolution of the causal body ? in a previous question you said the causal body dissolves when final transcendence arises. Is it the "absence" of a causal body that allows one not to reincarnate?

Reply: Yes, causation is the tipping point between the manifest (conditioned) and the unmanifest (unconditioned). Only when all samskaras, vrittis and their inevitable karma's have ended is their the final dissolution at death.

Follow on comment: I thought that the dissolution of the causal body could only happen when Kundalini reached Hridaya (putting an end to the cycle of reincarnation)does this "realisation" lead to a dissolution of the causal body ?

Reply: Yes, realization or the complete establishment of Awareness dissolves the causal body. The causal body is simply the cause of manifestation, thereby being the inevitable cause of delusion for those so fascinated by that delusion. Awareness dispels the darkness of causation. The dissolving (flooding with Awareness) of the causal body happens for both the practitioner and the jivanmukti. In times of practice for the practitioner and permanently for the jivanmukti. There are many valid practices that don’t use kundalini yet still end causation for their practitioners - Ramana Maharshi springs to mind as a modern day transcendentalist that spoke of the ‘Heart’ as the source of Awareness yet held no interest in kundalini.
In the path of kundalini-shakti we should understand kundalini as an activating yet stabilising energy that initially invigorates yet ultimately stabilises subtle energies so that the mind ceases to function leaving only Awareness. It is said to reach Hridaya when the practitioners energies are completely stabilised. We must however understand what Hridaya means. As Ramana stated. The Hridyam or the source of being is beyond nowhere and everywhere. It is beyond space, time or causality. It is the seat of undifferentiated consciousness or Awareness. It is only in the body (centre of chest and two digits to the right) for those who identify with the body. When that identification ceases then Hridaya is the All. One creates the delusion of I / Others every time a thought arises. Therefore there is no need to ‘practice’ one only needs to stop creating duality by raising thought.
The situation is a bit like the old gag where the patient walks into the doctor's office, raises his arm and says to the doctor “It hurts when I do that”. To which the doctor replies “Well don’t do that!”. If duality ‘hurts’ then don’t do what creates it in the first place. Nothing technical or amazing need be understood or learnt. Just stop creating the conditions for suffering to arise - namely, thought engendered duality. This is the unconditioned in its most simple and natural ‘form’. Because many teachers and their students don’t understand this (or actively ignore this) mind created ‘practices’ are born with their inevitable confusions that only the mind can bring.
As a nod to convention whereby the self proclaimed ‘deluded’ seek practices to become ‘enlightened’ I have offered the ‘space between thoughts’ practice as an efficient remedy to attain the so called ‘enlightenment’ that really was there before thought began. What stops the realisation from happening naturally and spontaneously is our fascination of form and conditioned being. The Awareness at ‘liberation’ is no different from the Awareness, focused by mind onto the various levels or conditions of consciousness - first of which is the causal body, then the subtle body, then the physical body. Everyone, without exception experiences all three conditions or bodies daily. 

Question: The way you posted your experience about SBT, can you share some experiences/learning from OBEs? Till now it has been more on how to have it but if you could throw some light as how the experience helps in one's transformation then it'll be valuable.

Reply: As a practice group we should all have our own experiences then we know first hand what the experience is like rather than believe others. The methods in my work site listed here will assist anyone to find out what the experience is and how it affects them... - However, there are really too many experiences to go into in detail. The feeling of being a cloud of aware energy, a point of subtle-consciousness that is not impeded by physical boundaries (walls, floors ceilings etc), that can move effortlessly anywhere with a single desire is a radical change to the earth bound physical body that is so cumbersome in every way.
The realisation that first meets one is the feeling of immortality, that one does not and cannot die, that who we really are (as a subtle body) outlives the physical at death gives the most amazing sense of freedom as the fear of death evaporates - and the knowing of what happens after death stays with one for the rest of ones life, even if the experience is never repeated. This is why I encourage all to practice and have the experience for themselves. There is nothing complicated about it, it is simple.
I should add though that although the fear of death leaves one it does not and should not mean that we live our lives recklessly and take risks with ours or others lives. It just means that the final mystery of what happens to us and others is solved once and for all. One should live out one's physical existence with caring and compassion, it's just that we are fully aware of what happens on ours and others final day here on this plane.
With this knowledge in mind we should understand also that there is a final time for the subtle body too, that it is also a manifestation and all manifestations eventually pass and fade away. This is why the subtly aware practitioner turns his attention to the cause and source of subtle experiences and abandons even his subtle perceptions to that animating principle of awareness from which the subtle form derives its consciousness principle.
The subtle world is unlike the physical world in that its appearance and manifestation are ever-changing as it is truly a construct of mind. The most obvious expression of subtle experiences are not in some distant future where practice may take you there but immediately here and now, commonly present as thought and imagination, whereby the subtle world is easily manipulated and changed by the thinking and imagining process.
The reality tone of such acts is muffled and indistinct as one has difficulty bypassing the attention given to the physical body. If this could be done (and practice is the way to do it) then a whole new appreciation and relationship would be developed with the thinking and imaginative processes, however, in most people this never happens. This is quite surprising as no one really questions the nature of thought and imagination. How can we create a landscape in our heads? How do neurons trigger such an event? Of course neurons don't, they are the effect of what happens, not the cause, but until we investigate these inner worlds, places or planes we will never know. My advice is to find out, start from basics and work from there. Do what's required and results will be guaranteed.

Question: Are Shakti and SBT's ('Space Between Thoughts' practice) mutually exclusive?

Reply: In layman's terms Shakti and SBT have the same goal in common - Transcendence - however they go about it in two entirely different ways. Shakti's way is to purify the systems that blocks the experience from happening. Shakti works on the physical, subtle and casual sheaths, coverings or bodies (maya-koshas). Because focus is usually directed on the subtle and casual bodies Shakti is known to be a 'spiritual' practice. After this has finalised non-dual transcendence is the natural and inevitable outcome. SBT's on the other hand avoid all subtle purification (spiritual) work and instead direct the attention away from the very source of delusion, the duality creating thinking mind. 
In the absence of the twin notions of 'I' and 'other' the transcendent goal is 'attained' in each moment where thought does not arise. This is a principle rather than a 'practice' as the only source of delusion is the thinking mind and by definition its absence is 'enlightenment' (delusion and enlightenment are just two more thoughts). Of course, Shaktipat also takes the Shakta to thought free transcendence, little by little, day by day, ever increasing peace in the absence of the 'duality machine, eventually culminating in the long awaited Shanti. SBT practice avoids the evolutionary wait of months, years or lifetimes for Shakti to create the effect. By very definition a moment spent noticeably free of thought is a moment of non-duality or 'liberation'.  Armed with this knowledge a Shakta-Sadhak is able to both submit to Shakti, the mind of nature and also dissolve in the space between two thoughts. 
For explanation these are enunciated as two separate practices. In application they are no different from each other. Whether one dissolve in that mind of nature or voids thought by continuously noticing the silence between two thoughts is irrelevant, because within that space the mind of nature never ceases to function. It is what we are, we are what it is. There is no difference other than than that produced by the thinking mind. 

Question: In the Q&A's on the Work Site, you mention that the transition from prana to kundalini was "difficult to pinpoint," and that "sometimes it's not only difficult but almost near impossible to differentiate." Is this to say that it would be possible for a Shakta not to know that the kundalini experience / arising has started? Or would the intensity of the transition be a sure giveaway / marker? Especially if there is the hallmark sensation in the shushumna? It seems like a gradual / halfway gentle transition would be preferable. The classic rush descriptions sound chaotic and even potentially harmful—physically, psychologically, etc.

Reply: The Shakta would feel something happen. Whether he labels it prana or Kundalini depends on the intensity of the experience in comparison to what other experiences s/he's had or some other external source of information he uses to describe the experience. That is where the difficulty lies. Some with lesser experiences may term a mild experience as 'kundalini' while others used to more intense experiences may simply see a moderate movement of the same intensity as 'prana'. Both are right. Similarly, one may label a movement of air as a breeze while others might call the same movement of air as wind. There is no transition of experience, just a transition of labels used to describe the experience. All experiences the Shakta has can be rightfully either described as 'prana-shakti' or 'kundalini-shakti'. As for the experience being 'chaotic', this is just an evaluation of the thinking mind. No experience that arises from the mind of nature is chaotic. It is the chaotic thinking mind that imagines itself as orderly, when it is suddenly introduced to the true orderliness of nature it feels out of its depth as it has not previously experienced the movements, so therefore is not used to the true orderliness of nature.
This is why the Shakta is told to surrender to the experience and not make any attempt to direct it, for to do so would introduce the minds chaotic guidance to the experience. This is obviously where problems arise. This is why the initiates introductory phase takes place, so that the initiate can gradually accustomize and acclimatise themselves to the mind of nature, so that they learn gradually, session by session, day by day, to trust the process and relinquish all control. The early phase also weeds out all those who are secretly trusting only of their own self control and self direction and develop an impatience to the guidance of Shakti. They are not suitable to a path of gratitude and submission to Shakti, where they enjoy a direction not given by any other human but by the mind of nature alone...

Comment: Here is an interesting article on the possible shadow sides of meditation. Points worth considering: There are different types of “bad” meditation experiences. The same experience (eg loss of sense of self) may be taken as good by some practitioners and bad by others. The mindfulness movement has kind of swept the bad under the rug until recently. “Bad” experiences don’t just happen to those with mental illness. They can happen to “normal” people too. 

Reply: Remember the old gag? The guy walks into the doctors office, raises his arm and says to the doctor "It hurts when I do that." The doctor looks up from his desk and replies "Well, don't do that."
All jokes aside if anyone does anything or experiences anything in meditation practice that is harmful, negative or hurtful in meditation physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually - don't do it. It doesn't matter what the practice is, whether it's mindfulness based or otherwise, just stop. The disclaimer on the initiate website (also, in the site itself) and worksite is full of warnings about the effects of meditation, especially shaktipat. It acknowledges that all meditation practices, regardless of what they are and where they've come from are mind altering processes. It also states that if the practitioner encounters difficulties they should cease their practice. Having said that, psychology is a study of the mind whereas meditation is a practice whose ultimate aim may well be transcendence of the mind. Getting a psychologist to comment on the effects of meditation is like booking your car mechanic to do your hernia operation. Both require expert care, but in totally different fields. 
Buddhist mindfulness practice (along with SBT’s, So-Ham, Shaktipat etc etc) are all transcendental practices that aim at transcending the mind and returning it to source. If that was not one's intention yet you are doing practices that may well bring about a transcendental result you are on the wrong bus. Meditation has many direct and incidental effects that may seem alarming to the psychologist but ‘normal’ for the practitioner. Chief among them is the depersonalisation effect that transcendentalists seek. Persona being a Latin word meaning ‘actors mask’, from the transcendental perspective it is something that needs to be seen through for what it is as a delusory product of the minds perceptual and conceptual processes. However, from the psychologists perspective persona may be seen as the very essence of who we are and should at all times be encouraged and established. 
The confusion arises from the ignorance of both teacher and student. Satipattana or mindfulness technique is a transcendental Buddhist practice whose effects would be seen by western psychologists as dissociative. It's Buddhist aim is pure transcendence by repeatedly seeing the anicca, dukkha and anatta (impermanence, suffering and not-self) of all conditions and manifestation. This practice is perfect for the would be transcendentalist Buddhist, yet wholly inappropriate for a distraught parent or business man/woman looking for some peace. For them simple relaxation methods may be perfectly suitable (we have them here in the work-site) rather than using inappropriate methods that end up being sledge hammer techniques to crack a walnut, producing a sense of alienation, loneliness and detachment from a life they once enjoyed.

Question: You've mentioned that Shakti would become more or less dormant again, if ignored or due to a lapsed practice. I'm wondering if, on the other hand, there ever comes a time when practice is no longer required to maintain... one's stage or progress, let's say? In other words, does the need for practice ever become less or unnecessary for the practitioner of a certain stage? E.g., is daily practice still necessary/required for you?

Reply: Thanks James, it works a little bit differently to that. At the outset there is a clearly defined individual and a clearly defined process. As one immerses oneself in that process it becomes more and more obvious that the individual does less and less and the process does more and more. The culmination of the process is that the individual eventually evaporates as the unnecessary irrelevance that it is and that Shakti is in truth the doer, the instigator and the propagator of all actions as they flow through the mind of nature. The delusory notion of a self as instigator has always been a fallacy from the outset. The conditions of the body were, are and always will be governed by that mind of nature. No individual self knows how to make their own blood, protect the organism from bacterial and viral infections, heal it, or digest food. That is done by the physical mechanism solely guided by the mind of nature. The 'I' notion is an optional extra. It can be imagined or not. If so imagined it is felt to be the doer of deeds and thinker of thoughts and suffers the inevitable consequences. The intelligence of 'those' who do not imagine a self or an individual does not suffer from such delusions.

Follow up question: So let's say, spiritual path, the individual practices x-hours a day to allow Shakti to evaporate the individual / delusory notion of a self. Once evaporated, and after experiencing the grand finale of the spiritual path... Shakti has completed the purification and the experience has stabilised. Would it still be necessary to practice x-hours a day?

Reply: If you read the Dharmin you will get an idea of how questions are answered. The Dharmin makes no assertion, they are left to the adharmins. The Dharmin uses their 'so to speak' terminology to be able to assist them. He doesn't actively participate in their delusions. Many years ago I tried to convince a friend about Ramana Maharshi's teachings. His reply to the 'who am i' question was "who knows and who cares". I wonder what Ramana would have thought about such a reply?

Question: Auras - are they real? I think I saw one for the first time today. I light fragrant candles to keep the doggy smells at bay and having done so and let the lighter go out, I thought there was something wrong with it as I could still see a flame. It was clear, unlike the usual blue/yellow colour, but it was definitely there. I even tried blowing it out but nothing changed. Then I realised I could also "see" a clear outline around the lighter itself about half an inch thick. It just shimmered. Is this thanks to my nightly Chidikasha practice or an overactive imagination lol? 

Reply: In colloquial speak everything animate or inanimate has an energy field or aura surrounding it. Generally they are initially seen as a blue grey in colour, but can reveal a full array of colours depending on what conditions allow and our state of development. Shortly after initiation I could easily see auras around everything. To my surprise even inanimate things like telegraph poles and stairway banisters shone brightly with multi coloured auras whilst door frames had the thick greyish blue auras. So solid the auras seemed that I developed the unnecessary habit of ducking down to walk through doorways etc etc.
One must be careful though not to mistake optical effects and retinal abnormalities for auras. What you've described sounds like the real thing - congratulations, your first aura. The beauty of seeing auras is that it opens one up to an appreciation of the world being more a flow of causative energy where the 'things' embedded within those auras are just a finalisation of that energy as their material objects. 

Question: Would you say there is a purpose to these things like getting sucked into a blue pearl? Is it something to benefit us or is it a benefit to someone or something else? It's not random, like wandering onto a freeway at night... is it? Why is this happening? I mean, my next objective is Kundalini as it has been laid out before me. I am not sure if these roller-coaster rides advance the journey or are just diversions.

Reply: Nothing that happens via the mind of nature is random, although to our limited minds it might seem like it at the moment. It's all a part of the purification process. The lights often give clues as to which chakras are being activated and worked on. Even so they do not always present themselves. If they do they can vary from dull to bright. There are no diversions in Shakti's work. Everything has a purpose and is meaningful. Remember Shakti is the same intelligence that grows and maintains your body and the universe. We as individuals are hopelessly outclassed by such an intelligence. Nevertheless we try through our limited thinking minds and look at the mess we've made of it, take a look at the state of the planet and what we've done to it. If that's what you want to rely as a replacement to Shakti I wish you the best of luck because you're going to need it. Shakti is the perfect method, the perfect way. It needs to be because that intelligence is working on the external version of you as your body 24/7/365. If I were you I would allow it to do is work on that internalising process and leave it to do what it knows best. Get out off its way, leave it alone and make yourself available to do whatever it needs to.

Question: I have been reading the SBT dialogue with interest because I am puzzled by some similar things in my own brief experience. I came here with a practice I learned at SwamiJ called “Silence After AUM.” It seems to resemble SBT in that it trains the consciousness to enter the silent void and dwell there, just using a different mental process than SBT. I’m not developed enough to hold that state for very long, but I did learn to dispense with the method once I “got it.” I found I could focus on the Cave of Brahma/Crystal Palace and just transition (for a brief time) into that state of consciousness. My sinuses would open all on their own, Ida and Pingala would balance, Sushumna would flow freely, and I would often feel a “wash of energy” through my being. So this quickly became one of my favorite practices and I scaled back or dropped several others that had become unnecessary. The funny thing is that since initiation I have had noticeably more difficulty with this. Besides being bent into a pretzel when I do it, I find that entering that state now is like opening a door that got a sock stuck under it, like there’s unexpected resistance there. I find I have to apply the methodology rather than just dropping into that state because the path is impeded somehow. It is noticeably more difficult to focus. And when I get there it’s like it’s not really a silent void anymore. Sort of like the difference between a dark room at bedtime versus one with the light on and a washing machine running in the background. The room is still empty, but… now it is in use.
It would make sense to me that Shakti is now busily at work in my subconscious and unconscious mind, and maybe even deeper than that. Therefore I might no longer perceive the void as being dark and empty, and maybe even find that the pathways of consciousness itself are being modified and reconstructed. SwamiJ has compiled a lot of useful practices but they are all aimed at raising Kundalini yourself. I would do the practices and clearly get the result, but then I would check inside to see if any transformation had started and find… nothing. Maybe that’s why the path was clear and my consciousness found a dark, empty and silent void. Nothing was happening. I gladly trade away the old silent void for the transformative activity of Shakti, if that is what has happened. So… does this make sense or have I gone into the weeds? It seems like the AUM Silence state is what you want to enter in the Space Between Thoughts. Or have I misjudged SBTs? i.e. are SBTs and AUM meditation like apples and oranges that are unrelated to each other?
Could you please say more about what specifically happens at initiation? I came here thinking “Kundalini Shakti” was a single thing and that Shaktipat just raised the dormant energy to Crown. But you separate Shakti/Intelligence from Kundalini/Prana. Some Yoga practices have you select a Hindu god with the qualities that you want, activate it with mantra, and “install it” in a chakra where it then functions like a software program. Do you do something like that at initiation? What got “installed” and “where” is it? I could really use a working concept for what has happened. Is it reasonable to think that as Shakti progresses in her work, that the busy-bee subconscious activity will taper off and SBT/AUM will become clear and effortless again? Should I expect the busy-bee activity to continue until Kundalini reaches Crown and consciousness expands like Gopi Krishna described in his autobiography? I hope these questions make sense even though I sound like a toddler with 10,000 questions. I’m really not worried about anything, just a little puzzled and I like to understand things. Thank you so much for any insight you can provide.

Reply: SBT's aren't related to the practice you mention, That is a conditional practice that takes place after repeating the AUM mantra. SBT's are meant for every circumstance found in daily life. The process, like the goal is without conditions. The SBT practice is therefore vastly superior to any practice that relies on conditions for them to be effective. From what you say your 'cave of Brahma’ practice created a temporary balance without dealing with the hidden mental programming that is the source code of delusion. So while you were having nice experiences of prana/Kundalini rising through sushumna the conditions that create the delusion in the first place were left to continue their work. This is why one continually returns to the delusive state when manual practices finish. An hour in manual meditation practice may be wonderful but the other twenty three hours of the day are a return to delusion.
Shaktipat on the other hand is the epitome of thoroughness. She works day and night primarily on that mental programming that creates the delusion. Once that happens an internal feeling of change and progress can be felt as one moves forward out of one's old delusions as time goes by. Shaktipat is not about the instant gratification the sadhak often seeks. It is about doing the job properly no matter how long it takes. Those who understand this progress in a stable and positive way. Those who don't follow their instincts for the quick thrill and instant buzz that almost always ends up as a dead end path simply because the cause of the primary delusions have yet to be tackled in the push-button methods they employ. The void you speak of (Shunya) is not a dark emptiness or nothingness that can only be found with eyes closed, mind jammed and senses blocked. The true Shunya is found in everyday life under all circumstances one finds oneself - without the naming or labelling provided by the thinking mind. Shunya is found at the bus stop, the supermarket, the city, anywhere in the home etc. It can even be found on the meditation cushion in the space between thoughts. 
Kundalini Shakti is indeed a single element but in the case of the uninitiated that Shakti (intelligence) element has not been invited to act (via initiation) so therefore remains dormant in the prana of the manual practitioner. What happens at initiation is that the Shakti or intelligence element of prana turns the outward flowing prana internally so that nature's intelligence not only works on physical preservation but also turns it's subtle energy inward to mooladhar and upward to sushumna. This is not the simple process that it sounds to be. The human being is a complex entanglement of energies embedded within the darkness of the subconscious mind. Its programming runs very deep indeed. It is the work of Shakti to unwind the mess, clarify and purify the subtle energy system, bring coherence to it and gradually raise its energies from the primordial instincts upward and onward to spiritual purification and clarity. What an initiate with a dynamic practice should expect is a gradual change in one's very being. The change can be so gradual at first that it is often unnoticed by the practitioner and may be picked up by others around him or her. 
One's reactions will change, one may become calmer and less reactive to life. One may feel more relaxed, more content and more unusually and causelessly peaceful. Alternately the less fortunate with more negative karma may have many past issues come to mind, old feelings of resentment and anger may causelessly arise as Shakti rummages through the unconscious clearing out the old negative programming. An unfortunate reaction from the Shakta is that meditation is making them worse and not better, making them more disturbed and not as peaceful as they had expected or read that they should be. However after this initial phase has passed and the garbage removed true causeless and unconditioned peace gradually becomes a permanent feature of the Shaktas life. So stay tuned and give Shakti a fair chance. As your practice develops so will changes within you and create a positive effect. Combined with SBT's the practice is a powerful combination.

Question: You once said that it took 10 years for kundalini to awaken after your initiation. During that time how many hrs. a day were you sitting for shakti to do its prep. work? There is a Shakti initiator who says he meditated 4 hrs. a day and another 8-12 hrs. a day for K to arise during a years period. I am assuming that for those meditating 1-2 hrs. a day - with rare exceptions, K may never arise in the current lifetime, correct? Also during the remaining 7 years after Kundalini arose and completed its work (latter part of the 17 yr. journey), how many hrs. were you able to devote to meditation? I assume K at this juncture must have drawn you spontaneously into meditation each day?

Reply: I can't remember saying it took 10 years for kundalini to 'awaken'. If you have anything in writing I would be happy to take a look at it. What I have said repeatedly is that the difference between prana and kundalini is intensity and that I and many new initiates here have had what could be easily interpreted as kundalini movements shortly after initiation as a matter of weeks or even days. Even yesterday it was reported by one new initiate that he had what I would interpret as a mild kundalini activity on the very day of initiation. Even so, a full blown arising doesn't guarantee instant stability. It can take years for that to happen. Especially if you are trying to juggle work life, family life and practice together. A practitioner safely tucked away in a cave where sadhaks provide him or her with all worldly needs, no job, kids or mortgage to worry about and no bills to pay would obviously be able to provide the depth of practice that would make his or her progress very quick indeed. That obviously isn't the life of the grihastha, or I presume anyone I work with. I don't think that's the important issue for you though. Reading between the lines I think is "How long does it take? Is there a formula for measuring progress?" Unfortunately the answer is "No, it takes as long as it takes." No one starts life with the same attributes. Some have done much work prior to this lifetime and are finishing off. Others are only just beginning their search and practice. Similarly some of your students may have been playing the violin for years whilst others have only just picked up the instrument. The degree of training you provide would indeed be different for each student.
I devoted most of my spare time to practice. I learned to make my practice portable and use any time and everywhere to try to squeeze in practice time in one form or another. Rarely was there time when I couldn't find something to do to keep the momentum going. Even then it took as long as it did. If there is some magic formula that everyone can use that makes it all happen in a brief period of time I suggest everyone adopts it and I congratulate the guru of such a fine method. From the absence of practice reports and the low numbers in the video practice room coupled with the seeming disinterest shown on these forums over the years I would think it a miracle if most here could develop jivanmukti in seventeen lifetimes let alone seventeen years. That's not a criticism, just a dispassionate observation.

Questioner quoting reply: "I would think it a miracle if most here could develop jivanmukti in seventeen lifetimes let alone seventeen years. That's not a criticism, just a dispassionate observation" To be more specific, might the above also apply to the 'engaged' practitioners or is there a glimmer of hope for some of them? Re: the 10 years for kundalini awakening, it was a question I had asked in response to your 17 year journey. You said looking back it seemed like it took around 10 years for kundalini in its well known form to awaken. I take it that meant the shushumna journey.

Reply: How long whatever 'attainments' took me is irrelevant to the discussion. This forum is about you folks, not me. My journey had no preceptor advising me on each step of the path, no one to turn to, errors in abundance. In a Shakti based path (and practising the complementary practices too) engagement is crucial - without it, forget it, it's just not going to happen, don't fool yourselves. Shaktipat is a spiritual path of purification that requires its adherents to surrender to the process as often as possible. 
As I have repeated time and time again, in an SBT based transcendental path no-one needs wait 17 lifetimes, 17 years or even 17 minutes. The Dharma is revealed instantly in the space between each thought. The pity is that members still don't understand or appreciate the power of such a practice. SBT's are head and shoulders above all other practices for their effectiveness. The SBT practice complies with the strict requirements of Hindu non-duality and the Buddhist 'unconditioned' (no 'I', no 'other', no conditions, no labels).
In order to appreciate the power of this method one needs to...
1. Understand what is is that needs to be done. 
2. Discuss it with me. to verify ones understanding.
3. Then one needs to apply it in every possible moment of their daily life - if they are interested in 'liberation', that is.
For the transcendentalist SBT should be first and foremost in ones life. Nothing else should stand in its way. The melding together of the two practices of SBT's and Shaktipat is a marriage made in heaven. One can have both their cake and eat it too. SBT's will bring about the transcendental goal of practice - even in the beginner. Whilst Shakti purifies the subtle system over time. There is no need to ask "Are we there yet?" because. The Dharma 'practice' of SBT's refines out of existence the delusion of an 'I' who is both seeking and attaining.