A Formula for Sleeping or not Sleeping...from Ajahn Thate

Lead me from dreaming to waking. Lead me from opacity to clarity.
Lead me from the complicated to the simple. Lead me from the obscure to the obvious. Lead me from intention to attention. Lead me from what I'm told I am to what I see I am. Lead me from confrontation to wide openness. Lead me to the place I never left, Where there is peace, and peace - The Upanishads
*note* Ajahn Thate cracks the mystery of sleeping or not sleeping...lovely:)..this proves that applying the same principles,people get the same results...almost.

As a matter of fact,he explains very well also the process of astral projection,but he doesn't use those terms,maybe because he tried to not led people astray..gotta love these forest monks from the past...by the way,the word ,,bhavanga,, means subconscious(or the astral plane you travel every night you sleep)

I will quote a bit about him"This is why, for the Buddha's teachings, morality forms the beginning of the religious life. The next step is to train the mind to develop concentration (samadhi) and absorption (jhana) through the practice of tranquillity meditation. Once the mind is adept at maintaining a steady focus, we can then develop clear insight (vipassana)."

"While you are training the mind, one thing — strange and striking — may occur without your intending it. That is, the mind will withdraw from its external objects and gather into a single whole, letting go of all labels and attachments dealing with past or future. There will be just bare awareness paired with its preoccupation in the present. This is something with no sense of "inside" or "outside" — a condition whose features are peculiar to the mind itself. It is as if everything has undergone a revolution."

"The visions and signs that arise from the practice of meditation are a strange and uncanny affair. They may delude a gullible person of weak judgment into being so convinced of their truth as to lose touch with reality. For this reason, those who practice meditation should be cautious, examining and reflecting on them carefully."

"Fixed penetration is a superior human attainment. By and large, people who reach fixed penetration tend to focus on the in-and-out breath (anapana) as their object of meditation. As they focus on the breath and come to pay attention to its arising and falling away, or just to its falling away, the mind gradually becomes more and more refined until, step by step, it lets go of all its preoccupations and gathers together."

In his text Buddho Ajahn Thate describes what it is like when the mind has finally rid itself of preoccupation with sensual distractions and is able to focus on the breath, mantra, or a part of the body, in meditation: "When you first enter concentration, this is what it's like: You'll have no idea at all of what concentration or one-pointedness of mind is going to feel like. You are simply intent on keeping mindfulness firmly focused on one object – and the power of a mind focused firmly on one object is what will bring you to a state of concentration. You won't be thinking at all that concentration will be like this or like that, or that you want it to be like this or like that. It will simply take its own way, automatically. No one can force it. At that moment you will feel as if you are in another world (the world of the mind), with a sense of ease and solitude to which nothing else in the world can compare. When the mind withdraws from concentration, you will regret that that mood has passed, and you will remember it clearly. All that we say about concentration comes from the mind which has withdrawn from that state. As long as it is still gathered in that state, we aren't interested in what anyone else says or does. You have to train the mind to enter this sort of concentration often, so as to become skilled and adept, but don't try to remember your past states of concentration, and don't let yourself want your concentration to be like it was before – because it won't be that way, and you will just be making more trouble for yourself."

Be careful that these old forest monks did it the hard way..starting from zero,with no shakti(or power transmission ) and just they were trying to figure out by themselves ..the issue here is whom is trying to figure out ?..be careful that you can spend kalpas (huge amounts of time in indian mythology) playing with your consciousness,as a matter of fact..what bothers me mostly about these hardcore forest monks is that they never believe in kundalini,or the power within you,which can be ignited if you are lucky enough to meet a guy whom has it(like me,for example..)..Since the mind can do only so much..why they refuse the kundalini?..I tell you why..because they love their effort..since YOU are HERE to experience yourself..those buddhists took the original Buddha realization as a standard..the affairs of this kind of serious egotistic seeking from the grasshoppers also makes me puke..since the truth is always present,and manifesting ,and re-creating itself(how else he(the truth) could know itself other then thru us?

I have a dream..says the kripto within you...
of a yogi with the determination of those old forest monks whom dealt on the consciousness levels,and therefore they tried it by themselves...but with the shakti of mine..able to be in the second jhana all the time...I have a dream that this formidable yogi named Kripto the Mighty..with a 12 inch wisdom brain muscle..will revolutionize sahaja yoga  and purge the non-sense of Mataji serious conditionings  on her photo,and on the indian culture she has tried to implement to the whole world..you must wear saris and pijamas and sing indian songs of praising her ass(in other words..she tried her best for you to become a freak indian guy conditioned to the bone to mantras,her photo,her divinity..her pujas where you had  to pay cash(thousands for traveling to India,then her guru tribute,of course....) to worship her feet,etc..her arranged marriages..the best of India indeed..)
What was wrong with the humanity just knowing the system of opening of the real ki channels ,and feeling the cool breeze of your spiritual innate energy...I tell you what was wrong..
What was wrong was that the rest of the humanity was not indian..therefore they had to be converted to full indians in no time(Indians from India,not from america)..
This was the master-plan of Mataji, which failed miserably,indeed..so much for taking over the world.

Will I win this battle?..time will tell...but still..I have a dream...for the emancipation of humans requires they must accept their own  individualities, and their own connection as spiritual beings..so I have a dream...

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual eternal song of Kripto:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
-added by danny-
.......................

12.1 A Formula for Sleeping or not Sleeping   

At this same period, I tried to uncover and understand the condition that exists during the state of sleep. As a rule, we are never aware of the actual moment of falling asleep. It's only upon waking that we come to know that we fell asleep.
Before we fall asleep there will be the state of tiredness, weakness and drowsy dullness of body and mind. The chains of thinking processes become shorter and eventually all awareness of thought-objects is released and we quickly enter what they call sleep.
When we bring in mindfulness to focus on the current condition of that final moment before sleep, we will find that there is only the barest awareness left. It's almost impossible to fix on it, while no mental-objects are left at all. Only the most delicate mindfulness remains present to follow and watch the current condition of the mind arising in that moment. It is like when the mind drops into bhavanga. (bhavanga means subconscious realm..added by danny))
If, at this point, we don't wish to allow sleep to take over, an effort has to be made to look out for a single mental or emotional object. This can then be subjected and held to and taken up for thought-processing. As a result, the mind will brighten up and be refreshed, free from all fatigue and drowsiness. It will also have the beneficial effect equal to having slept for four or five hours.
On the other hand, if we wish to sleep, this is achieved by letting go of that final remaining trace of mindfulness and sleep will come with ease and comfort. This way is especially good because one only sleeps for a very short period, so there is no wasting of time. It won't last for more than five or ten minutes. If you have actually established and focussed mindfulness, as I have been explaining, you can rest assured that you won't be asleep for more than five minutes.
If, rather than going to sleep, you just want to rest body and mind, go and find a suitably quiet and peaceful place to rest in. It can either be somewhere completely secluded or among other people. Lie down, stretch out, relax and be comfortable without tensing any part of the body. Then settle the mind on a single object in that condition of letting go. Let it just remain alone in emptiness for a while, and, on getting up, you will feel in all respects as if you had been sleeping for four or five hours.
This word sleep. In truth, the mind doesn't sleep. It is rather that the body rests, without having to make any movements. Even those who enter the high state of meditation called the attainment of cessation[62] can't be said to have gone into a state of sleep. This is really the state where the meditator supervises the heart with mindfulness to fix it on one mental object.
That object steadily becomes ever more refined — as does mindfulness and the heart — until all feelings and thoughts completely cease due to the strength of the meditator's skilled practice. Mindfulness no longer has anything to do and so fades out completely. Although bodily breathing continues, it has become so subtle and refined that one can hardly say whether it exists or not. In fact, it does exist but it no longer appears to move through the nose. One can compare it to an external breeze that while present is not enough to manifest in the stirring and fluttering of leaves. No one could then assert that no wind/breath exists for if there is no wind/breath there's no air and then all living-breathing beings in this world would be dead.
The Lord Buddha called this 'entering the attainment of cessation', for at this point the nervous system of the six sense doors[63] will not receive any contact. This, however, is different from the state of sleep. When asleep, something may very well impinge on the senses so that one immediately wakes up. The attainment of cessation requires sufficient practice and preparation of heart so that it becomes competent and skilled. After attaining this state many wondrous things[64] can occur. It's not possible to hurt the meditator who has entered into this state — even if someone set him on fire it would never touch him. On the other hand, after entering Nibbana, the body can indeed disintegrate.
The meditator can withdraw from the attainment of cessation through the power of a previously made determination.[65] When they reach the determined time, the breath will gently start to become progressively coarser and coarser until all the bodily functions have reverted to their previously normal state.
Attainment of cessation is not Nibbana but a state of absorption.[66] This is because absorption lacks the right-view wisdom (paññaa-sammaadi.t.thi) that can investigate the root causes of the defilements, such as those of the Sense Sphere (Kaama-bhava) and the Fine-material Sphere (Ruupa-bhava). This is rather the domain of insight-knowledge (vipassanaa-ñaa.na) and right-knowledge and realization of the Path (magga ñaa.na-dassana). All the absorptions are only instruments of encouragement and support, that smooth the Way and enhance energy.
Thus, before the Lord Buddha's Final Passing Away, (Parinibbana) he entered and progressed up through the various levels of absorption. He then returned to the Fourth Absorption, which forms the foundation for insight, and entered Nibbana from there. That was between the Sense Sphere and the Fine-material Spheresupra-mundane dhamma. (lokuttara dhamma). for that forms the base for the
The question might arise here: "So! Why is this old monk going on about the attainment of cessation, about Nibbana and states of absorption? Has he reached and realized these states or not?" The doubter might answer himself with: "Can't one say that this is really a matter of boasting about attaining to supra-mundane states?".
In truth, anyone who attains to the cessation of perception and feeling, or to Path, Fruit and Nibbana, or to the absorption of the attainment of cessation,[67] does not make the assumption that, 'I have reached, entered or reside in such a state'. There is simply a proficiency with the necessary skillful means that leads to and connects with them. Just when the meditator is about to enter such a state, any remaining assumptions and suppositions about 'I' will bring him up short. Otherwise, the average sort of person everywhere, intelligent and knowledgeable about the Teachings and the Discipline, they could all go off together and attain to the Path and Fruit and Nibbana, to the absorption of the attainment of cessation. The whole town, the whole country would all be doing the same!
At the moment of realizing such states there is no hope of making up assumptions and formulations about them. Only after transcending those conditions can one recollect and systematically check back over their successive stages and development. Once having worked it out one will then be able to formulate and set out all aspects of these states.
It's not always necessary for the person who explains about these things to have actually reached those levels. When the Teachings have been set down and their essential meaning established, one has to explain about it to the best of one's own understanding. Sometimes this will be done correctly and sometimes it will be mistaken. If things had not been worked out in this way, how could the Teachings of the Lord Buddha have endured and continued down to the present day?
People listen, yet even though they all may be listening to the same theme, to the same points, many will understand in quite different ways, from different angles. Furthermore, those meditators who have attained to exactly the same stage, via an identical technique, will still find that their individual skill and ingenuity are quite different. 
This is why the Dhamma that one sees by and for oneself is so wondrous and amazing and why it's so difficult to achieve.

Emptiness is the source - The best home videos are here

To nourish the vital energy, keep watch in silence;

In order to subdue the mind, act with non-action.

Of movement and stillness, be aware of their origin;

There is no work to do, much less someone to seek.

The true and constant must respond to phenomena;

Responding to phenomena, you must be unconfused.

When unconfused, the nature will stabilize by itself;

When the nature stabilizes, energy returns by itself.

When energy returns, the elixir crystallizes by itself;

Within the pot, the trigrams of heaven and earth are joined.

Yīn and yáng arise, alternating over and over again;

Every transformation comes like a clap of thunder.

White clouds form and come to assemble at the peak;

The sweet nectar sprinkles down Mount Sumeru.

Swallow for yourself this wine of immortality;

You wander so freely—who is able to know you?

Sit and listen to the tune played without strings;

Clearly understand the mechanism of creation.

It comes entirely from these twenty lines;

A true ladder going straight to Heaven.-Daoist text -

To us all towns are one, all men our kin. Life's good comes not from others' gift, nor ill. Man's pains and pains' relief are from within. Thus have we seen in visions of the wise !." - Tamil Poem-

Hakuin does not sketch himself in the idealized form of an enlightened one, or even in the realistic image of an austere zenji, but as a bald, fat, cross-eyed and hunch-backed old man...but then he kissed you:)...Lovely story of the creation purpose...shakti means manifestation,and shiva means the origin of it..the kiss is the joy of emptiness knowing itself...kisses from the mahayogi to you,grasshoppers from heaven!

Asobi Seksu - Beautiful Shakti Being Kissed by Shiva - A funny movie is a click away