Kava and Living in the present

[GreasyNegus]

I just recently read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (great book) and it basically stresses paying attention to repetitive thought patterns such as anxious thoughts and allowing yourself to witness these thoughts from an observers point of view. In other words "be aware of when your brain is trying to think and you have no desire for it do so." Then ask yourself questions such as "Am I at ease at this moment?" or "What thoughts are my mind producing?" If you detect unease or background static see in what way you are avoiding or resisting life by not living in the now or constantly thinking of the past or present and not focusing on what is happening in the present. The book goes over a lot of things and not just negative thoughts, but also being mindful and not judging people. After reading this book and having tried Kava I really think the two can go hand in hand. Compulsive thinking is an addiction for a lot of people and people with anxiety have it even worse. I really think Kava's ability to eliminate background static and changing how you think through the techniques in this book can cure a lot of peoples compulsive thinking. Anyone read the book or have any thoughts?

 

[burnstrees]

I love the thought about not judging people! Over the past year or so I've chosen to do the same, and by doing so I've let go of a lot of judgement towards myself. It is very liberating! I will definitely have to check this book out.

 

[Mesh]

Sounds like a good book with alot of potential. Living in the now is something I've been interested in for a while. Have you ever tried or read about meditation? It's something that has helped me out tremendously.

 

[DylanJ]

The thing about living in the present and intoxicating substances is a point that Eckhart brings up often in his books and videos. I have been immersed in Advaita Vedenta/Self inquiry now for nearly a decade. It is often referred to as the most direct path in spirituality and also the most challenging. Eckharts realization was definitely inspired by the Great Sages including Ramana Maharshi who I feel has a much more in depth over standing. Eckharts writings are a good introductory though. The key is basically not to turn the teachings in to an intellectual understanding but to move into an actual experiential realization. Now to Kava and Self Awareness or living in the present moment. While intoxicating drugs do seem to help one be more present in the moment the effects are actually not conducive to Self Realization. This is because when under the influence of any substance you are actually descending below thought into a more animal or vegetative state as opposed to transcending thought or rising above it. This is a point Eckhart and many sages stress. If you have any questions about this please feel free to ask.

 

[DylanJ]

Haha maybe I better drink a few shells and get back to basics

 

[Steve Mariotti]

This smacks of "mindfulness" which distills a lot of long-standing meditation practices down to accessible and spirtual-terminology-free techniques that I've found greatly increase my mental calm. There's even an app for that, "Headspace" which was an excellent introduction to mindfulness techniques for me.

It's very relaxing but also somewhat frustrating to try to calm my mind, which is darting off in all sorts of directions all the time. It's hard not to think. Or to not think about not thinking. I used to do 15-20 minutes after work before dinner just to switch gears. Kava serves the same sort of purpose: to help me transition from being intensely focused and results driven to being unfocused and completely open.

Good stuff.

 

[DylanJ]

There are many misconceptions that arise from an intellectual understanding of mindfulness, I'm not sure this forum is the correct place to go in to depth with it. I will just say a few things, the aim of the "practice" is not actually to help the "me" but to bring about its annihilation! Or to have it merge into its Source. In that case the "thought free" state or having "no thoughts" is not the absence of thought itself per say but more so the absence of the "thinker". Of course you can only go so far with semantics which at best are fingers pointing at the moon, that is why experiential understanding is the only true beacon.

 

[2Intense]

I took a meditation class and the instructor used The Power of Now as his "bible". Tolle is a little out there for me. I am currently reading, Teach Yourself to Meditate in 10 simple Lessons by Eric Harrison. Eric is an Australian that learned meditation in the Buddhist tradition. He later rejected it, explaining the choice, "I am inescapably fair skinned Westerner of Irish decent, steeped in the whole European tradition. The spirit of restless inquiry that we find in men like Socrates, Shakespeare and Darwin is in my bones. The idealism of the East, despite it's charms, just can't compete." There is nothing mystical behind mindfulness and meditation (focus) it's just good sense and science. Unfortunately it is also counter to our current multi media, mutli task, smart phone way of life. I do not mean to sound like I know it all. Hell, I do not know all the questions! I will say meditation works and I highly recommend Harrison's book.

 

[Adriano]

Kava for me seems to make me very aware of thoughts, anxieties and whatnot. Sort of like usually I go along not realizing how much
clutter there is. Its a good way for me to practice letting go of it all so that I can be in the moment and enjoy the kava and be 'mindful' which
to me is being 'mind silent'. Also I think of Kava as a Spirit that lives with the Kava plant. So when I take it I try to convey how much I
appreciate the opportunity to share and be with her. I find when I do she sticks around longer. I mention this because when my 'talking'
mind starts thinking about this or that, yesterday or tomorrow, Kava sees that I'm not that interested and leaves.

 

[Rookietwoshoes]

While intoxicating drugs do seem to help one be more present in the moment the effects are actually not conducive to Self Realization. This is because when under the influence of any substance you are actually descending below thought into a more animal or vegetative state as opposed to transcending thought or rising above it.

Given that last statement, how does drinking Kava impact your own spiritual path ? Do you find you drink less of it ? Do you feel guilty or worse off after imbibing?

I'm very interested in learning more about Advaita Vedenta . Where would be a good place to start?( Or feel free to PM me.) Thanks in advance!

 

[DylanJ]

Given that last statement, how does drinking Kava impact your own spiritual path ? Do you find you drink less of it ? Do you feel guilty or worse off after imbibing?

I'm very interested in learning more about Advaita Vedenta . Where would be a good place to start?( Or feel free to PM me.) Thanks in advance!

I will PM you and we can reason

 

[DylanJ]

Given that last statement, how does drinking Kava impact your own spiritual path ? Do you find you drink less of it ? Do you feel guilty or worse off after imbibing?

I'm very interested in learning more about Advaita Vedenta . Where would be a good place to start?( Or feel free to PM me.) Thanks in advance!

I PMed you, get back to me when you can. Blessings

 

[Rookietwoshoes]

I PMed you, get back to me when you can. Blessings

Thanks for pm'ing me!
But back to my original question, how do you reconcile drinking kava and remaining true to your spiritual path?

 

[ApéroNoble]

Rooks getting PMs out the woodworks in her valentine accoutrements

 

[DylanJ]

Thanks for pm'ing me!
But back to my original question, how do you reconcile drinking kava and remaining true to your spiritual path?

The answer is one that conveyed over words is very hard to clarify. As I said this path brings one to the "realization" that I am not the "doer". That is the culmination of wisdom. At that point the body and mind and actions continue but because the identification with the "I" thought is dead there is no "one" to experience the fruits of the actions. This isn't something that you announce to society or it can be. These paradoxes can only truly be understood by reaching That oneself. Otherwise again we just get lost spinning the wheels of the mind on the roads of philosophy which is of no help. In this case complete reconciliation had occurred so I remain unaffected. That's the short answer

 

[Mesh]

hmm.. where to start? Very deep meaning and wisdom in these posts there are..
Some of the things I like to ponder are from something I read, can't remember where. Where do these thoughts originate from? Who is the one thinking these thoughts? And, Who is the one listening to these thoughts? More often than not, the thoughts are not your own. They're thoughts and things other people have said at some point in time, which then begin to reverberate in your own head and you then begin to think you are the one who "created" the thought. Also, the one who is thinking the thought and the one who is listening to the thought are different from one another.
Just wanted to share a tiny piece of my journey and my own experience in meditation/self awareness. To those that have trouble with meditation, I can only say this, keep trying and keep practicing! It gets easier the more you do it. I have been into meditation on and off for quite some time now. When I first started I was barely able to clear my mind of all the clutter for even 2 seconds, and wondered if I was ever going to be able to accomplish a state of ("thoughtlessness" - (probably using the wrong word here but I think you guys get what I mean.) After months of practice I was able to clear my mind of all thoughts for 15 minutes at a time! Occasionally stray thoughts would make it through, when this happens the trick is to not pursue the thought and to not try and force it out. I just let it float for a second and 99% of the time the thought will float away.
Hope this mumbo jumbo makes sense to someone, a little krunk atm

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Bump! @Kapmcrunk can we please start a kava and meditation area ... I think it's important because kava really is the only "intoxicant" that doesn't disrupt this state of consciousness they ^ we're all talking about... @Squanch72 look there's already a thread about eckhart hahha...

To the other people that wrote in this
Kava does not block presence.
Eckhart wasn't really inspired by anyone. He actually had no clue what had happened to him in his 20s when he woke up. He didn't even realize he wasn't thinking alot he just noticed the world was peace full this actually sent him on a "quest" you could say to figure it out .. when he realized that all these buddhist monks were TRYING to get to the state he was in . It clicked and he realized what had happened to him .

That's essentially the point... you can realize all of this stuff without ever having a mental conception about it...

 

[wanderingwoodsmith]

@Mrbinx69 I second the idea of a kava meditation area. It is something that is really lacking in today's fast paced outward-thinking society. We all need to slow down and look inwards, before we send this diabolical world straight to hell.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Exactly ! In no way is it going to be a political or religious debate section. Kava will be sure of that
But we talk enough about this subject on here amongst ourselves ... and clearly there's a group here for it... every week there's a new question that's a little more spiritual, such as kava and dreams .. kava spirit, meditation and kava.. how kava falls into the spiritual side of addiction recovery ect.

 

[wanderingwoodsmith]

I 100% agree. Politics and religion have nothing to do with meditation and spirituality. I hope enough support the idea to kick this off. I have been trying to get back into meditation, and a sub-forum would be a great place to go for inspiration and for a reminder to focus on what's important.