Practice Report - Alfredo D - Friday, 11/23/2012

Meditationtime Forum Post

Date:  Posted 5 years before Dec 08, 2017

Alfredo 5 years ago

ॐ नमः शिवाय

AM Practice

Woke up at 5:00 AM (Brahma-Muhurta). Practice was good overall and lasted approximately 85 minutes.

Svadhyaya: Continued with “Yoga Sutras”, Vibhuti Pada. Also read a few pages from “The Life of the Buddha” by Nanamoli.

Dedication: 10-minute mantra session doing Tratak (eye concentration) on effigy of Lord Shiva using a Maalaa. Practice dedicated to Lord Shiva. This mantra session practice I have done on and off since initiated into it by Swami Jyotirmayananda in the year 2000. I am steadying now in conjunction with the Kundalini yoga.

Breath Infusion: 45 minutes of Bhastrika prânâyâma while doing several asanas. Infusion emphasis was on the lower trunk and the feet. Session was quite strong. Weather in Miami continues to be perfect for this practice, cool and crispy.

Meditation: Consisted of 30 minutes with concentration on Naad sound after bringing the concentration slowly to the back of the head. I continued the “investigation” into the node(s) of Naad, started yesterday. Naad faded after about 15 minutes (common for my AM practice), thus I shifted the concentration to the back of the head, trying to keep it there with effort (Dharana).

Spiritual State of Mind: Sadhana continues to be centered on the following pillars:

1.  Doing as much Bhastrika prânâyâma as possible to affect quick changes on the subtle body, manly towards the goal of celibacy and urdhvaretas.

2.  Controlling thoughts by using Pratipaksha Bhavana (rapidly changing bad thoughts for the thought of God using Brahman-Abhyasa, often using a mantra as the tool), knowing that the mind can only entertain one thought at a time.

3.  Emphasis on the psychology and knowledge of the subtle body.

4.  Started the practice of not eating anything solid after 6 PM.

Dream recall: One dream recalled vividly of social/family import.