When siddhis (abilities) come online, they can come with some surprises. These points can make the adjustment smoother.
Flying:
You’ve probably already noticed that manipulation leads to injury. To maintain the kavach (shield), you have to stay in samyama. From the Self, you can do many stunts without harm.
When you reach stage 4 flying, you’ll find travel at any real speed is hard on clothing. You get why superheros wear tights. Instead, you can amplify your personal space (that shield), creating a bubble around you. Then you can travel at high speed and arrive unruffled.
If you’d rather not take the scenic route, you can also adjust your location metadata to travel immediately to the destination.
Bilocation:
If you’re busy at work, you can always send a copy of your form to another location to get help elsewhere. This is ideal for routine tasks so you’re not distracted by another experiencer.
Mastery of the Elements:
Be sure to “bookmark” your defaults before you change your body’s elemental mix too far. While it’s very possible to maintain an appearance with a unique balance of elements (more space and less earth makes flying so much easier), that word balance is key. If the balance is disturbed, the appearance can collapse. You can call it back via a bookmarked memory. If you forget to do that, you can refer to the casual template. But that’s an ideal and is missing current details like aging. That’s like reinstalling the operating system on your computer rather than restoring a backup with all your data.
Invisibility:
While it’s fun to stay private, be sure you’re dressed for the occasion, anyway. If you stub your toe or otherwise lose samyama, you’ll appear. It’s best if your appearance is appropriate.
Walk Through Walls:
We recommend you practice this on walls that can be repaired easily, in case you slip up. Avoid walls with too many electrical wires or pipes. It’s not comfortable to step into a live wire if you solidify early.
Similar to invisibility, you want to appear appropriate for your destination.
Effulgence:
When effulgence begins, you may have to avoid cinemas, bars, and other darker public places to avoid upsetting others or calling attention to yourself until you have it under control.
Strength of an Elephant:
Before trying to lift something excessive, consider if it will fall apart and make a mess. For example, most houses are not designed to be lifted – even if they can be.
Sure, lifting the house into the sky, then levitating it leads to great views and no property taxes. But it’s unlikely to make the journey. And don’t forget all the wires and pipes connecting it to the ground.
With a little care and attention, your journey into the siddhis can be fun and practical, with minimal mishaps.
Davidya
Early on, I mastered being in the same place at two different times. No telling how far one can go from there.
Excellent, John. Eventually, you can be in the same place hundreds of times. 🙂
I can’t tell if this is serious or not, and I love it.
My dry sense of humor, ZSO. But it is based on the potential behind experiences.
It’s been a couple of years of practicing the Sidhis and I actually don’t experience anything specific, besides a depth of meditation and some hopping at the end, so things like this really make me wonder what I’m doing wrong! Moving past that I saw and appreciated the humour in this, particularly in the comment above.
Hi ZSO
A key detail is the siddhis are not practiced for the predicted results but rather to help clean things out and prepare the physiology to support enlightenment. The results you describe actually indicate you’re doing it right.
Sure, the occasional person has fancy experiences with one or 2. For myself, I noticed a LOT more after I woke up and spent some time in large group practice. But certainly not a full expression.
You can also develop other abilities without such a practice, like remembering past lives.
There are some persistent ideas floating around (pun intended), like that someone in Brahman should be able to fly. Yet those are 2 very different kinds of functioning. Transcending consciousness is not the same as mastery of the space element.
actually according to Maharishi’s teaching, the Self is the home of all the Laws of Nature and when we are actually established in that and are able to function from there we can command all the Laws of Nature to fulfill our desire to levitate. I personally clarified this point a couple of times with Maharishi and it is not ambiguous at all.
“If we find that we cannot levitate we know we have not yet captured the fort”.
That is one of the purposes of Sidhis practice.
1. to establish the ability to project a thought from the deepest level of conscious awareness.
2. it is a “time honored test piece for Enlightenment”
***************************
“By the TM-Sidhi program we directly create an opportunity for wholeness of consciousness to function. This is what the sidhi practice is. We meditate, get to transcendental consciousness and start to function from there in a very, very gentle way. And when we experience what Patanjali* has predicted, then we know that we have succeeded in functioning from that wholeness of consciousness. If whatever Patanjali has predicted is not our experience, then we know that we have not succeeded in operating from that subtle state of consciousness. So we try again in a more non-trying manner. In that way sidhi practices give us a habit; they create a habit in us to function from the least excited state of consciousness, which is a field of all possibilities. And functioning from the field of all possibilities means we materialize our desires quickly.”
-Maharishi
~Seelisberg, Switzerland — June 26, 1977~
~First World Assembly on Law, Justice and Rehabilitation — June 24–26, 1977 — Booklet (p. 136)~
Hi Steve
Yes, I’ve very familiar with Maharishi’s teachings and deeply value what he brought out for the world. However, there’s a small number of places where points have not held up to actual unfoldings. Not a surprise as the wave of awakening began near the end of his life. I believe that’s why he said his work was done.
For example, Maharishi said that witnessing sleep meant CC. I started witnessing full-time on TTC and Maharishi confirmed the experiences. Yet actual CC didn’t come until much later. I’m aware of others with the same (it’s a variation in the process).
Another is this. He associated levitating with different states at different times. By this quote, we should be able to levitate in GC. I’ve heard rumors about a couple of people but the vast majority of people awake, including long-term TM-sidhi practitioners, cannot. Even in Brahman. They get results across many of the siddhis, but not a full expression.
Gaining abilities is one of the least important benefits of enlightenment.
I do agree that if we can’t do a specific siddhi then some aspect isn’t fully on-line. But to me it’s misleading to say we’re unable to operate on that level if we can’t jump through specific hoops. I know people with remarkable skills that clearly operate from there but don’t fly.
This isn’t an idle point. There are a lot of very ripe people who have been doing deep practices for many decades that have not woken up simply because of faulty concepts about what it is. Their expectations are getting in the way. They think they have to be perfected first. Or stress-free. Or pure. Or whatever self-limiting concept…
It’s not a person that wakes up. We wake up From the person. It is Self that wakes up to itself, through this body-mind. That only takes a brief moment of recognition, just enough clarity, not perfection.
The denser layers take progressively longer to catch up to that inner shift. Ditto for later stages. Samyama happens from that least exited state, yes. But it’s expressing up through those layers that many not be as bathed in sattva yet. There is huge variations in how that process unfolds.
There can also be karma, need of the time, and other factors in play. They’ll get easier when the collective supports them too.
Davidya, thank you for making me laugh several times. As you point out, there certainly are a lot of misconceptions. I tried to make light of them in this blog post/newsletter, which, if you haven’t seen, you might enjoy: https://revealwisdom.com/blogs/writings-by-suzanne-b-stryker/enlightenment-misconceptions
Excellent, Suzanne. I laughed at a few of yours too. I had some of my own misconceptions that came to light during the process.
Some you mention are quite odd. I’ve been surprised how many think “You will never feel any emotions, negative or positive.” One of the beauties of waking up is opening the heart and much fuller experiences of emotions, yet without the prior burden of attachment. In other words – the opposite.
Thanks for sharing.
I’ve heard it said that Siddhis can be distracting and are to be let go of. What’s the appropriate approach so they are recognized and not clung to?
Hi Rob
Yes, the Yoga Sutra itself mentions they can be distractions. But the key is, it’s attachment to the results that causes issues (like other attachments). If we simply have the experiences and let them go, not a problem.
When we know they’re passing experiences that come and go and we don’t try to make ourselves special because we had some experience or result, then we’re fine.
As a practice to help prepare the physiology, they can be useful. That’s why Yoga Sutra lists them. And the Yoga Vasishtha describes the benefits of group practice.
HAHA!
🙂
I can just imagine the response if I posted this on Facebook as I do many of your blogs. 😀
You won’t this time? Think some will take offense? 🙂
Yes, I decided to post this one. People loved it, got a lot of giggles, even from the non-meditators. I prefaced it with, “For my meditating friends and those beginning to experience supernormal powers.”
🙂 I’ve had a wave of unsubscribes here, so not everyone enjoyed the humour….
Their loss! If Divinity didn’t invent humor, who did?
This was great, thanks for posting!
Well said, Eira.
You’re very welcome.
Happy New Year from the Canadian west coast.
A Happy and Blessed New Year to you as well! 🙂
I did once use the strength siddhi to help lift a cement sink up a flight of stairs. My contractor looked at me in amazement. “You are the strongest woman I have ever met!”
Yeah, I’ve used it a couple of times, to varied success. Amazing how strong the body can be when you don’t strain and allow it to work.
You forgot attainment of “lightness of cotton fiber” 🙂
That’s actually been my favorite sutra so far.
Good point, Stephen. That one does tend to dry out the mouth. 🙂
We should have had this guidance much earlier in our practice. Can’t imagine why Patanjali wasn’t more detailed in his instructions on Yoga ? Of course 5000 years ago the world was a different place and less complicated. Oh well, better late than never. Thanks!
The Yoga Sutra was kind of a Coles Notes of the day. The much larger treatise on Yoga has been lost, as well as some related works. It assumes some background we no longer have. And it assumes personal instruction many don’t have.
Agreed – 5,000 years ago, the world was very different. It was Treta Yuga, the time of monument building. Consciousness was quite a bit more awake. And 3 of the 4 legs of dharma were active.
Hi David.
Some assume that the monuments were build with the help of the siddhis. But why did people build monuments in the first place? In my opinion, this is at least partly an expression of burgeoing egoism.
Hi Bojan
I suspect the siddhis were probably involved, and other technologies. The movement and placement of giant stones isn’t even possible today.
I’d suggest some of them were celebratory. They certainly are not all tombs as we seem to think today. In those days, leaders were enlightened and generally well regarded by the citizens, so they built monuments to what they represented.
Of course, thats a broad generalization, But I do have some memories of the time. There was a lot of pomp and ceremony and ornate clothing. Great meaning was placed on hand positions and communication happened on multiple levels. Travel was very different. It was quite a different experience of life.
Malika says that TM´s Siddhis program is contraindicated to the Primordial Sound practice. So I will not join that program. But I still understand that Siddhis can come without doing the TM siddhis program.. The primordial sound with the twice a day 30 min practice feels so much more potent than the TM Mantra I used to do for 20 twice a day – so I feel inspired to continue being dedicated to that.
Oh that’s interesting, Hanneh. I’ll have to ask her about that.
And yes, certainly siddhis can arise spontaneously as those channels are cleared. Some start remembering past lives, for example, or have experiences among the stars.
If you have the option, L&Ls Divine Sutras are more powerful than the TM-sidhis. Partly because they invoke Divine qualities rather than abilities. And partly because the technique is more precisely placed. But that does require you be awake.
I know some who do both, but thats a pretty major time commitment.
Your blog is one of the best blogs on spirituality. Why would anyone unsubscribe just because of a little bit of humour? I am surprised.
Both, humour and seriousness, are important on spiritual path…
People are curious. They take things the wrong way, etc. But who knows. Maybe they just have too much coming their way. I unsubscribed from a lot when I started grad school.
On the flip side, people blogging about their cat or making a drama about their relationship get a lot more traffic than this site. 🙂
Hi David, i practice TM Sidhis. Where can i get information about L&Ls Divine Sutras? Thanks for your Blog! Jai Guru Dev
Hi Dario
L&L offer them to people active in their programs who have had a clear awakening. It’s helpful to have practiced the TM-Sidhis. They’re designed to be practiced in a group and are synced online.
https://www.lucialorn.net/teachings
With my eyes closed, I could read script..
Also hear other people’s conversations.
Hi Cynthia
The senses are not confined to the physical sense organs. If they were, no one would experience anything non-physical. Plants wouldn’t be able to sense either.
At first I thought y’all are pulling my leg. Then I instantly accepted it hook-line-sinker. Years ago at a little old residence course (for mere meditators) I was buying the Rain Melody CD. Talking to a fellow meditator I said it creates rain. He said, “you mean it gives you that mood?” I said, “No, it says here on the CD it makes rain.” Thanks for sharing. Why is the world so petrified of silence?
(laughs) Well, Carl, they are practical tips if you were actually experiencing those results. 🙂
On the Rain melody, it’s good to recognize the context. Ghandarva comes from India, a country that is often quite dry. Rain can come by soothing the stress in the environment. So the rain melody is soothing and can be played at any time.
There is a related saying – rain is a sign of a successful yagya. I’ve seen torrential rains after a few yagyas.
Fear of silence relates to fear of the unknown. It can also arise because it brings what is unresolved forward. If we’re afraid of facing our stuff, silence is scary.
The fix for that fear is a good effortless meditation. Then we clear the stress backlog and silence becomes a very nice place.
Energy healing can also be helpful but doesn’t introduce the silence.
Genuinely got to “ It’s not comfortable to step into a live wire if you solidify early”, before I realised that something was amiss here! And I thought Brits could detect dry humour early! 😀
🙂 It’s not my typical fare, although I have occasionally posted something like this.
LOL. Finally practical guidance for the seemingly impossible!
Hey, Bob. Seemingly is the key word there. If you remember far enough back, you’ll come to a time when such things were much more common.
Well, about time this is being discussed! Stories of Neem Karoli Baba appearing and disappearing and being in different places at the same time, wet my appetite years back and I can assure you there are issues that have to be considered before “letting go!” One of the biggest is to practice and re-practice your arrival point and to spend hours in standing closed-eyed, lifting first one leg and then the other, to develop balance.
There were several early attempts that saw me actually rolling into a crowd of people who were at a theater party! It was not just uncomfortable (I had a very sore right shoulder for weeks) but also, as can be imagined, embarrassing! There are plenty of other issues I won’t go into but your warnings David are right on and should be heeded.
Hi Bill
Yes, I’ve read a number of such stories. What struck me was that, even after routinely seeing siddhis, some people didn’t consider themselves worthy. Easier to put yourself down rather than do the practices.
You raise a good point. Not just dressing appropriately but inspecting the arrival point so you arrive appropriately. Still, we can’t control all the variables. The kavach is very useful for crashes, both for yourself and others.
Similarly, hoping a rapture doesn’t unfold in public.
https://davidya.ca/2008/09/02/the-raptures/
Hello David, in addition to this possible spectacular performance I experience the TM-Sidhis to be a very, very powerful tool for the removal of stress and imbalances, for the tapas effect. For smoothening the road and preparing the ground.
Exactly, Kjetil. If we practice the siddhis to get abilities, we just create new attachments.
Thanks for clarifying that this is intended in a lighter vein. When I first read it – I was dismayed because I thought these abilities were common place to people on this blog – and I don’t have any of them! Sometimes spiritual progress is a long path and so many things need to be cleared. Now that I know that is not serious – I can see the humor.
🙂 Sorry, K. The humor was a little dry. Such things are more common in high ages but much less so in the current time.
One of the reasons seems to be lifespan. In higher ages, we live longer and thus have more time to culture sattva.
BTW – I can note that my sense of humor does show up in other places like image choices, and occasionally, post titles. I like subtle. 🙂