- Franz Kafka
When the central channel (referred to as sushumna in yoga) is open and energy flows freely, you can feel ecstatic sensations in the centre of the brain as the upper centres become energised. It's important to relax the body, including the eyes, head and brain itself.
I feel it like a sort of exhilaration, like the first time I went on a rollercoaster or cycled my bike fast down a hill etc. It's an electrically alive feeling.
I hear this is just the start: what starts as a trickle becomes a torrent, apparently.
I know that meditation is lauded, and I practice it myself, but I do wonder if it is good for you.
My best definition of “good” in this context is “closer to your true self”, or possibly “happier and content”.
I fear that meditation will make me lose my drive (generated, in part by my ego).
Meditation helps you to see when these different modules are acting "illogically". Being run or called when unnecessary. A good example is the fear of public speaking. Whichever module is running is based on instincts learned millennia ago. Now it merely hinders us. I very strongly believe that meditation will make you (anyone) more happy and content. I haven't gone as far as I'd like to with it because of this same fear of losing my drive.
This suggests connecting neural network inputs to the middle of another (or the same) network - essentially exploring own architecture
For authentic sources, start with the book The Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon (real name Sir John Woodroffe). He was a Britisher who was a High Court Judge in Colonial India who was so fascinated with the entire subject matter of "Tantra" that he studied Sanskrit under native Indian scholars and translated a lot of Tantric texts into English. For a nice picture book with rare photographs on the same subject matter, see Kundalini: The arousal of inner energy by Ajit Mookherjee.
The above will give you a solid foundation after which you can move on to other original texts.
PS: I took a look at the AYP website. It is junk and i wouldn't trust it. When the author is advertised as "Yogani, is an American spiritual scientist" and equates "Tantra == Sex" it is nothing but a marketing scam. Stay away and read the original texts and form your own interpretation.
And of course, how could an American have anything valuable to say on the subject of yoga? /s
Ok champ you obviously know best. Good luck. Jeez...
My post was intended to point people to the authentic sources of Tantra/Hatha/Laya Yoga. If you have a different opinion, that is fine.
Leaving aside the fact that the language of The Serpent power is NOT difficult, two of the three people i have mentioned are Britishers while one is an American. Thus all of their writings are comprehensible to a westerner though the subject matter is complex and takes some time to comprehend.
To also contribute to the discussion. I often joke that it takes effort to mess things up. You could instead lay on the beach enjoy the evening breeze than putting in that effort. So before you delve into that process, take a step back and think carefully what you want out of it.
I like long walks accompanied by music (ambient music). Walking can be a deeply meditative experience, just pick terrain that won't give you trouble (no high traffic streets, no steep hills etc) and just go. Walk until your body starts doing it mechanically, and don't focus on the destination nor in search of stimuli. Maybe because walking exerts energy, it can be more effective than just sitting or laying down - when you are really energetic and not tired. Maybe because the scenery changes and it acts as a context switch to our minds.
It has been both effective as a form of emotion regulation, coming up with novel solutions, and just feeling more in sync with myself.
So too has evolution - through the happenstance and accidents of natural selection - ended up relying on the movement and use of the human body to regulate hormones, neurotransmitters, and who all knows what else. Exercise can help release endorphins, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin...
Unsuprisingly, when we muck with that, there are problems. Not needing to move to avoid danger or to collect nutrition for basic survival is an extremely recent thing on evolutionary timescales, so this wasn't a problem before.
The key word here being “practice”. I doubt anyone achieves these ecstatic states without it.