i received this information and survey questionair from a
friend, went through the website and questionair. however, there is
something subtle that's not quite right...
here's the message i received:-
Please post this request at your dharma and yoga
centers:
The Great Western Vehicle is conducting research into the phenomena
of
meditative absorption. If you believe that you may be experiencing
any
kind
of subjective phenomena that is associated with the practice
of
meditation,
such as meditative absorption, then we would like to receive your
case
history.
After some time of gathering case histories we hope to select a
group
of
subjects who fit certain criteria who will allow us to test them
while
they
are in meditation. However, wiliness to be tested is not a
criterion
for
filling out our case history questionnaire.
From an exhaustive cross-cultural study of the literature of gnosis
we
have
found that meditative absorption has certain common
characteristics
that
nearly every subject manifests, regardless of their culture
or
religion. If
you manifest any one of the following characteristics while
in
meditation,
then it is very possible that you are indeed experiencing
meditative
absorption, and we would therefore like to receive your case
history.
Some of the characteristics of meditative absorption are as
follows:
1) Tactile sensations that are associated with the chakras, such as
a
tingling or a pressure at the chest, throat, forehead or crown of
head.
2) Tactile sensations in the hands or feet that could be perceived
as
heat,
or tingling or a pressure in the hands and/or feet.
3) Sounds that may emerge only during meditation, or at first
only
during
meditation. Those sounds could be a rushing sound like the wind,
a
water fall or the rain; a chirping sound like cicadas or crickets;
a ringing
sound, like a bell, or a high pitched electronic sound; or, the
sudden
onset
of tinnitus after the practice of meditation, and exacerbated by
the
practice of meditation.
4) Sweet smells and/or tastes, such as incense or honey, that
only
arise in
association with meditation.
5) Luminance or an increase of light or visual images in
association
with
the practice of meditation.
6) Any sense of vertigo or the feeling of flight from the practice
of
meditation.
7) Increased lucidity during the sleep cycle or occurrences
of
Out-of-Body
experiences (OOBs).
If you have any of these symptoms from your meditation practice,
then
please
consider filling out the GWV Meditation Questionnaire at this
URL:
http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/casehistories/questionnaire.htm
A service of GWV Meditation Research
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/meditation_research/
If you live in the San Francisco Bay area then this Sunday there
will
be a
potluck in San Francisco to discuss the GWV's research into
the
phenomena of
meditative absorption.
Oct 29th, 11am-3pm, Sunday, "Ecstatic Buddhism, where Siddhartha
Gotama
meets Teresa of Avila" dialog, meditation and potluck lunch at
101
Alpine
Terrace (cross street with Duboce, one block Mission side of
Buena
Vista
Park in Cole Valley), SF, 94117, Info: Yogi Hendlin at
[email protected]
or (510) 472-2948
Kindest regards,
Jeffrey S, Brooks
(sámañña Jhananda)
the Great Western Vehicle
PO Box 41795
Tucson, AZ 85717-1795
PO Box 93
Bolinas, CA 94924
http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/
If you value the service of the GWV, then please make a
contribution
today,
so that these services can continue.
http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/support.html
initially it looked very interesting because i also experienced
various kinds of meditative phenomena and this article was relevant
enough to get my attention, interest and engagement but i slowly
realised something and i didn't take part in the survey at all. but
instead i wrote an email to them and expressed some understanding
and enquiries. i didn't tell them that they were wrong in any way.
just that, for my action - i couldn't just do nothing when it comes
to authenthic dharma that's needs to be expediently right and truly
beneficial to the world for genuine spiritual awakening sake. it's
ok to have fun, relaxed, experiment and investigate but we cannot
afford to lose our mindfulness anytime.
