Conversations with My Guardian Angels

[murphythecat]

hi
I plan to do my first retreat in may of 10 days, then plan on doing a 3 month also. meanwhile, I meditate daily and practice mindfulness as much as I'm able to be aware
nice to see your also on that path!!!
I guess that yeah, from all the stuff ive read about the jhanas, once you taste the jhanas, it becomes very easy to not want sense pleasure anymore as what you find is much more pleasurable then what the sense pleasure could ever give you.

ever read about the jhanas? ajahn brahm describes them very well . then, living in a monastery for all your life sounds like a fairy tale rather then a terrible boring place. but until you haven't made important progress in meditation, and I sure havent yet, I'm sure its really hard.

Ive only recently began my daily practice, its very promising and already very transformative!

what happens after a year of solid practice in a temple? stay there forever?

sense pleasure will still be there when you come down from the mountain top. probably better to be able to become aware of stillness in the midst of distraction than to find stillness and then be de-stabilised by distraction again if you ever come back to the city.

i feel like 10 days of silent meditation at a retreat centre can be a very transformative experience if you don't have any experience of living in a monastic setting.

i plan to go to thailand / burma / massachusetts, one of those 3 to go to a 3 month retreat once im done with uni.. il have done 3-5 10 days sittings by then tho, hopefully at least a year or 2 of daily practice

 

[murphythecat]

but, do you think that what you state (and think) about someone has any value or even any truth? especially someone you never met or even ever talk one on one?

for me, its quite clear that what we do, how we act, what we say doesn't define what we are. even ourselves cannot even grasp at what we are until we are able to still the mind of ours. we are like a stream of water. put your hand in a stream of water to try to catch it and all you get is a wet hand for a moment, you havent grasp 1/10000 of what you are. consciousness is like that, a stream, hence the motivation to still the mind, more and more, with mindfulness until we can see more clearly into what we are by purifying our thoughts, actions, intentions.

I didn't imply it... I stated it, flat out. You keep saying you're on a path towards enlightenment, but then - when it comes down to it - you act like everyone else...

You said to What23, at least (unlike you) I don't bear grudges... How do you know he does if it's weird for me to suggest that you do?

I think your aspirations are fine.
Perhaps one day you'll be a monk and be at peace.
For the time being, you're not really any different than anyone else.



Take your own advice?

 

[ForEverAfter]

but, do you think that what you state (and think) about someone has any value or even any truth? especially someone you never met or even ever talk one on one?

Do you?
You've made just as many personal comments as anyone else.

For the record: I planned on going to live in a monastery (for an indefinite period of time) about two years ago until I met a girl that I couldn't leave behind... I'm sure there's much to be gained from going to a retreat, and I most likely will at some point. I don't want to stay, permanently, any more because I'm not in as dark a place as I was and now I want to have a family and buy some property, etc.

 

[Smoky]

i feel, if I put myself in a position where I have no other choice, either practice or lay there with nothing to do, in a temple, ill have no choice but to practice or else its pure torture to not practice and yet not be able to indulge.

This is an interesting understanding. You see for me this is a mind game that can tell me 'either or' arising from my black and white thinking. Only me, not for you.. "If I do this … then only this" for example. A set up that somewhere in-between to be is not okay per say.
I guess my question is - does it have to be pure torture to not do either? I practice, but I also integrate the senses into my daily life in productive ways, artistically is just one way for example.
How about just BEing, in the moment, as IS, without practice or indulgence?

 

[murphythecat]

Do you?
You've made just as many personal comments as anyone else.

For the record: I planned on going to live in a monastery (for an indefinite period of time) about two years ago until I met a girl that I couldn't leave behind... I'm sure there's much to be gained from going to a retreat, and I most likely will at some point. I don't want to stay, permanently, any more because I'm not in as dark a place as I was and now I want to have a family and buy some property, etc.

hehe, nothing wrong with constructive criticism though.

interesting that you considered to go to a retreat. tbh, im just getting out of my 9 years relationship because that I dont want a kid, or a career and she does. I hate working so I couldnt afford to raise a child, get a house, ect. Im quite good in school, but I just cant see it as important in life. ever since ive discovered buddhism, it sort of put everything else in perspective. I dont think though that people stay all their life in monasteries because their life is dark, from what I read, a lot of people disordained and those who stay and are able to live like that do so with absolute joy and gratitude

 

[murphythecat]

This is an interesting understanding. You see for me this is a mind game that can tell me 'either or' arising from my black and white thinking. Only me, not for you.. "If I do this … then only this" for example. A set up that someone in between is not okay per say.
I guess my question is does it have to be pure torture to not do either. I practice, but I also integrate the senses into my daily life in productive ways, artistically is just one way for example.
How about just BEing, in the moment, as IS, without practice or indulgence?

interesting!

do you practice mindfulness? to be in this moment is exactly the point of the practice. but its quite obvious that when you are mindful of every thought and better yet, every sensation in the body, and see that thoughts are a bit more stressful then looking at the body sensations, that you dont need body pleasure and that it only creates more attachment. its like, you can fulfill one body pleasure desire, but as soon as you do, another one will follow right away and steers you away from your mindfulness. its never enough and the more we indulge, the more we want to indulge and the more we need it for our happiness.
it becomes quite clear that everything we do is often not for fun, but to get away from insatisfaction which is in itself only there (the insatisfaction) because we are not mindful of the thoughts process that created that insatisfaction in the mind.

 

[ForEverAfter]

I didn't mean to imply that everyone who stays in a monastery is avoiding darkness in their lives...
I was just talking about myself and my admittedly misguided reasons for pursuing that lifestyle.

Do you think you'd be planning on pursuing the lifestyle, if you wanted to have kids / if you liked working?

There are a variety of reasons that lead people to "get away from it all" for a while, or - indeed - forever.
I think, often, they aren't the "right" reasons... Though, I'm not sure what the right reasons are?

 

[murphythecat]

I didn't mean to imply that everyone who stays in a monastery is avoiding darkness in their lives...
I was just talking about myself and my admittedly misguided reasons for pursuing that lifestyle.

Do you think you'd be planning on pursuing the lifestyle, if you wanted to have kids / if you liked working?

There are a variety of reasons that lead people to "get away from it all" for a while, or - indeed - forever.
I think, often, they aren't the "right" reasons... Though, I'm not sure what the right reasons are?

that said, I love kids and would want some tbh and see my kids grow up and show them my values, my love of music, of life in general, build a family is very appealing, its just I see that as too many responsibilities and I dont think it would ultimately bring me what im looking for.

I think the reasons becomes clear once your in the monastery or well along in your practice, before that, being interested into the path is clearly because of a inner insatisfaction toward the way Ive tried, all my life, to find happiness. maybe there other ways to find peace and satisfaction, but I cant see them anymore and I have a feeling, a drastic change in my daily routine could help!

 

[Smoky]

interesting!

do you practice mindfulness? to be in this moment is exactly the point of the practice. but its quite obvious that when you are mindful of every thought and better yet, every sensation in the body, and see that thoughts are a bit more stressful then looking at the body sensations, that you dont need body pleasure and that it only creates more attachment. its like, you can fulfill one body pleasure desire, but as soon as you do, another one will follow right away and steers you away from your mindfulness. its never enough and the more we indulge, the more we want to indulge and the more we need it for our happiness.
it becomes quite clear that everything we do is often not for fun, but to get away from insatisfaction which is in itself only because we are not mindful of the thoughts process that created that insatisfaction in the mind.

I used to facilitate meditation groups and I also have my own types of practice. And of course to recognize throughout the day what arises, and continue to bring myself back to my center. Although, I don't expect myself to be perfect… If that makes sense? It's okay to enjoy life once in a while, listen to music, have sweets sometimes, utilize the senses artistically to create art out of life. Go out, have fun. As long as one knows their limits. One comes to know their limits from practice, at least in my experience…
I understand attachment, sure. Good point. But there is a duality construct happening sometimes, as with attachment, there is non attachment and detachment. If I hold the mental construct, " If I indulge, the more I will move away from myself all the time " .. then this creates a reality that reinforces this will happen. A self fulfilling prophecy. Living in a duality. If that makes sense? There is never enough drugs, so I don't drugs. But I do feel there is enough today in life and I am satisfied with that. It comes down to seeing the root of the problem. To stand under the roots and see clearly. At least this has helped me, everyone has their own path.
There is enough!

 

[Mysterie]

hi
I plan to do my first retreat in may of 10 days, then plan on doing a 3 month also. meanwhile, I meditate daily and practice mindfulness as much as I'm able to be aware
nice to see your also on that path!!!
I guess that yeah, from all the stuff ive read about the jhanas, once you taste the jhanas, it becomes very easy to not want sense pleasure anymore as what you find is much more pleasurable then what the sense pleasure could ever give you.

ever read about the jhanas? ajahn brahm describes them very well . then, living in a monastery for all your life sounds like a fairy tale rather then a terrible boring place. but until you haven't made important progress in meditation, and I sure havent yet, I'm sure its really hard.

Ive only recently began my daily practice, its very promising and already very transformative!

iv read about the jhanas, i understand they can help one relieve themselves of the stress of daily life, i think they probably help with developing concentration at a faster rate aswell.

but from what i understand, they are states that arise and pass away, they don't lead to the ending of suffering. i think that becoming addicted to jhanas is not so different than an addiction to drugs or any other experiences that is transitory.

 

[murphythecat]

the 9 jhanas states all gives insight as well as pleasure. it cannot not bring insight which in turns can lead to enlightenment. its much better being addicted to jhanas which is pleasure born of seclusion and concentration, then being attached to pleasure born of condition phenomena like drugs. concentration brings purification, taking drugs lead to attachment. I dont see how drugs can be compared to a activity and a state that can only be attained with concentration and meditation, which is purifying in itself and only dependant upon concentration , rather then pleasure from drugs. yes jhanas are conditioned and impermanent though.

the buddha said himself: I will allow myself to the pleasure of the jhanas. its with the practice of the jhanas that he reached enlightenment. The argument you made concerning jhanas raise the question: if its not important, why did the buddha practice them and talk about the jhanas so often?
jhanas are very useful and some monk would say mandatory to bring insight into the nature of reality. read ajahn brahm jhanas books or ayya khema jhanas. its quite clear that its extremely beneficial as well as giving pleasure that is far deeper then any worldy pleasure.
also, it seems to me that if one practice meditation and doesnt practice the jhanas, I wonder what someone is practicing really as the jhanas are the natural step. you cannot just follow the breath and expect to not get into jhanas if you get concentrated.

iv read about the jhanas, i understand they can help one relieve themselves of the stress of daily life, i think they probably help with developing concentration at a faster rate aswell.

but from what i understand, they are states that arise and pass away, they don't lead to the ending of suffering. i think that becoming addicted to jhanas is not so different than an addiction to drugs or any other experiences that is transitory.

 

[Mysterie]

im not saying jhanas don't have any worth, i just think that someone entering in first or second jhana compulsively for a really long period of time, is not really different from any other cravings. its a craving to a pleasurable experience, i don't think its bad to experience pleasure or to want to increase the good times, have less bad times, but within reason i guess.

if someone wants to enter first jhana and thats their practice for their whole life, and they want to do that, thats their prerogative. i just have my sights set higher than on staying in 1 particular concentration state forever.

 

[Ninae]

living in the world shouldn't be holding you back if you are serious about gaining insight into your experience

every second of every day, wherever you are is an opportunity for practice.

The real challenge is keeping your serenity out in the world among people. It's not easy, compared to being in a sheltered monastery, as there irritating elements that brings you out of balance all the time. I think most humans come to this world to live in it and learn from it, but occasionally it might be the right thing for someone to withdraw from the world in that sense, or at least for a time.

 

[Ninae]

I guess that yeah, from all the stuff ive read about the jhanas, once you taste the jhanas, it becomes very easy to not want sense pleasure anymore as what you find is much more pleasurable then what the sense pleasure could ever give you.

I've always imagined when you reach a certain level of enlightenment it will be like being on a permanent high in a natural way. And I can't help thinking it must be far beyond what any drug can make you feel. If we really understood what this means, though, our approach to life would completely change.

I have had some peak-experiences where I've been on a natural spiritual high and it's kind of strange and not really describable. But for most of my life I've had a high enough consciousness that I've lived on quite elated emotional levels. Or probably what would be considered low-level manic is what feels normal to me. But this also creates some problems, I just feel joyless in a "neutral" state, like it's too low for me to accept.

Although I don't know if this is more biological or consciousness-related, but I guess it can be both. I think the main problem is the difficulties with being really grounded in those states (you just "float out" easily).

 

[LuGoJ]

I generally don't believe in this sort of stuff but with the amount of situations I have wound up in where I should have been dead or at least put in the hospital, i'm amazed I've gotten this far. Whether it's an angel, god, a spirit or just plain old good energy in the universe.. it just seems like a bit too much good coincidence to be a fluke or random.

 

[Ninae]

Yes, I haven't just experienced coincidences, I've experienced crazy good luck in too many instances to be realistic. Just so much meaningful random stuff, most of which I've forgotten.

But last summer when I took a deliberate overdose my dad came over earlier the same night. It was too early for him to interfere or do anything when he didn't know but it's one of those things that seem to happen all the time. Although I think parents have some kind of subconscous connection with their child so they can be warned when they are in danger even though it will just come up as a random impulse.

I can imagine something similar can go on as when those images were telepathically placed in my head and it was all I could see all of a sudden. Even if it was something pointless like a pastel-coloured daisy it was what was on my mind at the time. So it seems quite easy to sway the human mind that way.

 

[murphythecat]

hmm, someone who mediate compulsively and is able to attain the jhanas easily is only positive. you need incredible concentration to attain the jhanas, incredible letting go of ego and tuning in the present moment, and concentration is the path to purification. being addicted to something purifying is much less problematic then being addicted to worldly pleasure.

what you say about the danger of jhana is not supported by many monks but I know its commonly mentioned. it seems that the jhana have gotten a bad reputation, but the buddha mentioned them so often, practiced them so often, that its a bit weird what some say about the jhanas. he himself said that when he felt too much suffering from his body, the only way to stop that was to get into samadhi in the jhanas. ajahn brahm, ajahn chah and ayya khema are really helpful here to understand the jhana and they all say it was a milestone in their development.

im not saying jhanas don't have any worth, i just think that someone entering in first or second jhana compulsively for a really long period of time, is not really different from any other cravings. its a craving to a pleasurable experience, i don't think its bad to experience pleasure or to want to increase the good times, have less bad times, but within reason i guess.

if someone wants to enter first jhana and thats their practice for their whole life, and they want to do that, thats their prerogative. i just have my sights set higher than on staying in 1 particular concentration state forever.

all meditation will lead to the jhanas. when you meditate, the jhanas is the natural progression of your mind: you pass from breath to a pleasurable sensation. I really suggest you to read about the jhanas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87xE6ROki80
http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books/Ajahn_Brahm_The_Jhanas.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X4o1Q2QP94
the buddha said himself its after discovering back the jhanas that he got enlightened. he got enlightened with the insight the jhanas gave him.

 

[LuGoJ]

Although I think parents have some kind of subconscous connection with their child so they can be warned when they are in danger even though it will just come up as a random impulse.

This trips me out all of time. So many times I've been around parents where they say "something doesn't feel right" and then they go check on their kids and one is injured or needs their help etc. My mother would often have that too, my dad told me that whenever I got big trouble, my mom always felt ill right before they got the call.

I definitely think there is some sort of connection or energy that family/loved ones develop. Whether it's something spiritual or whether there is some sort of hidden scientific explanation we will find one day, I don't know. All I know is that, what we think we know today, will seem ignorant in 500 years. Who knows though, seems more and more people are skeptical of science and fear it.

 

[Ninae]

This old singer from my hometown had a good angel/deva energy.





It's subtle, but perceptible when you're sensitive to it, and so sweet and uplifting. But she was still just a child and the energy tends to be strongest in the first part of life. It will usually be diluted by the influence of this world over time, as with us all.

But like I say, it's like all share in the same energy and are almost exchangable with one another in some way. Or have less ego/individuality than someone from the human evolution typically has (one of the perks of the human path as this is also something desirable and hard to develop). Like, me and my sisters are all different but still the same in a way, but we have also developed more individuality than some.

 

[Ninae]

I can't believe how angelic she was, LOL, wouldn't say I'm exactly like that.

But I found some more of these transcripts, I think I had 5 sessions over a difficult two-year period, where she elaborated a bit more on my lifetime with Cleopatra. I know this really hurts your crediblity, but it's not like it will be real to me until I can access it in a more direct way, anyway.

It seems as though I tend to or have had a few lifetimes where I'm close to those in power to be one of many who influence them in a more passive way, or by subconsciously providing positive spuritual energy, without being in a position of actual power myself (I'm not really a "ruler soul" - I'm more spiritual or artistic). Also, that lifetime probably wasn't so glamorous at the time, it might seem so in retro-spect, but at the time I would have had no way of knowing she would become one of the most mythical figures in history.

So I might have thought along the lines of "Why not me?" and felt jealous of the unlimited luxury and power she lived in and how she was literally worshipped as a goddess, etc. Although I'm not that ambtious or have that much of an ego I can imagine that would have been a bit much for most.



angelchanneler.readings: did you know that you lived past lives in Egypt?
Jeg: yes the good danish medium I first had told me
angelchanneler.readings: did you also know that you knew Cleopatra personally?
Jeg: really
angelchanneler.readings: yes really
Jeg: was cleopatra black or white?
angelchanneler.readings: white
Jeg: she was of greek origin
angelchanneler.readings: you were close friends
Jeg: oh really
why
was she also an angel?
angelchanneler.readings: yes she was
you and several others were sent as a group
other angels
Jeg: yes
so how did cleopatra get her power?
what was my egyptian name
angelchanneler.readings: she was powerful from the moment she was born
Jeg: i'm more gentle
angelchanneler.readings: however her life did not turn out as was intended
Jeg: oh
what went wrong
angelchanneler.readings: Your name was Neletia
Jeg: oh, i like names starting with n
angelchanneler.readings: you also had jet black hair in that life
shoulder length
Jeg: so what went wrong for cleopatra
angelchanneler.readings: her heart got in the way
Jeg: yes
did she meet a man?
thats what yvonne wassini said
angelchanneler.readings: she met several
Jeg: and killed herself with a snake?
angelchanneler.readings: but not in a bad way
she was very lonely and unhappy
Jeg: why?
angelchanneler.readings: because she could not be with the one she loved the most
Jeg: who was that
angelchanneler.readings: someone of a different culture
Jeg: so she killed herself
someone who invaded them?
angelchanneler.readings: he would never have been accepted in society
Jeg: he was more barbarian
angelchanneler.readings: yes he was
Jeg: yes thats what i hear
so that was true
with she snake
angelchanneler.readings: but he fought for what he believed in
Jeg: also that she lost her connecton to god
angelchanneler.readings: no she never did - she was also an channeler
she believed in her angels
Jeg: what was my life with cleopatra about?
angelchanneler.readings: very quickly as we are almost out of time - you were employed by her
Jeg: ok
as what
angelchanneler.readings: you were very beautiful
Jeg: so did i do spiritual work
angelchanneler.readings: and you had a child
Jeg: ok
angelchanneler.readings: a beautiful boy
the boy was also an angel
Jeg: what was she like to me?
angelchanneler.readings: she was very kind to you
but Cleopatra was not liked by many people particularly women
Jeg: did i like her
angelchanneler.readings: who were always jealous of her
Jeg: so i worked in her palace
angelchanneler.readings: no you did not like her very much but you loved the life she gave you
Jeg: was she very beautiful
angelchanneler.readings: You liked Marc Anthony
Jeg: really?
she can't have been pleasent if i didn't like her
angelchanneler.readings: yes
Jeg: did we have a relationship
angelchanneler.readings: yes you did
Jeg: never imagined that
angelchanneler.readings: it is not so much that you did not like Cleopatra as she was very generous and kind to you - but you envied her life
Jeg: oh i see
was i like a housemaid?
angelchanneler.readings: one of Cleopatra's chaperones
Jeg: what is she doing now?
angelchanneler.readings: Cleopatra?
Jeg: was she marie antoinette
angelchanneler.readings: no she was not Marie Antoinette - Cleopatra was an angel and has reincarnated many, many times since that era



The part about how we went down as a group of angels is interesting and I think what often happens. So, say, we went down as a group of 50 angels and we all had our roles to play, although the others would have worked as supporting characters to the main character. And most of this would probably have been subconscious at the time - even though I guess she might have been famlliar with the spiritual identity of the ones she surrounded herself with (but I think Egyptian culture was quite enlightened at the time).

This can also be very important for someone who's to be in a key position. I once read that when Christ came to earth he was surrounded by a water-tight network of luminous souls to meet on his way as if only one had sent him something dark he could have failed his mission. But most have to take supporting roles as only a few can have the central roles.