Transitory States

[Fire Walk With Me]

I have found exploration of this in several spiritual paths...from the Japa meditation in Wayne Dyer's "Getting into the Gap" to the practice in sound from the Centering portion of "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones", to the techniques for lucid dreaming, and to the shamanistic practice of "getting behind" things into the true world.

It also seemingly occurs in physics in the very small space between linearity and turbulence, and the same in the behaviour of an audio filter in the tiny space just prior to self-oscillation.

In lucid dreaming, one is recommended to practice awareness of the hypnogogic state, the transition between wakefulness and sleep. To be able to recognize it yet not come back into wakefulness, but to eventually move into it without waking, and to follow it into sleep, while still maintaining awareness...which is said by my mystery school teacher to help overcome the transition to death, especially sudden death.

Dyer recommends looking into the space(s) between letters in a phrase. Centering recommends following a sound down into silence, and examining the point at which sound actually meets silence. The decay of a prayer chime is excellent for this. Shamanism relates much of the same; becoming aware of the enormous, silent place when you are in between breaths, immediately after orgasm, the emptiness after the elimination of waste, etc. The place between release and the building of new tension.

Centering:

16. In the beginning and gradual refinement of the sound of any letter, awake.

18. Intone a sound audibly, then less and less audibly as feeling deepens into this silent harmony.

We are surrounded by these gaps, by these transitory states, these fringe conditions. Seek them, and the secrets they convey.

[Kind of Blue]

1. Thank you, FWWM.

:hi: This is great for increasing awareness as part of living within the moment.

I am particularly interested because of the hypnogogic state that I am quite aware of and signals the deepest slumber for me. I didn't know that it could be followed before sleep takes over. Seems to be a lot of information there in that transition between being awake and falling asleep.

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. All of these states offer a tremendous amount of information

and all are worth pursuing.

I may have gotten the hypnogogic part mixed up with another path; becoming aware =between dreams=, of the clear light, is the goal; my teacher taught to become facile in moving via the will from dream state into partial wakefulness, and back into the dream state without losing continuity. Very useful...and I have to my knowledge never seen the clear light between dreams.

:hi:

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. Also, to become aware of the fifth element, Space, or "Volume".

The medium in which all things arise.

Become aware of the space between yourself and a cloud. Find the spaciousness of the spirit side through meditation, and carry it into everyday awareness.

[Kind of Blue]

4. I like that! I love clouds.

Keep the awareness tips coming, Fire Walk :)