Diksha

It is now a few months since I received my first deeksha (July in the Bay area), and it is interesting to look at the process.

What seemed clear right away is that the deeksha facilitates what appears to be a genuine awakening process, as described (and experienced) in many traditions such as Buddhism.

It also seems that there is a "menu" of typical experiences among those receiving deeksha, and each individual will have a selection from this menu.

When I received my first deeksha, I experienced a very strong pressure on my head along with a tightening of the muscles from the neck up. I also went into samadhi and experienced "empty light" which "dropped into" my body right after the deeksha session. That evening and the day after, the Witness emerged as very strong. I was completely functional, but had trouble accessing any personal information - as I discovered when talking with a woman the day after (on the way from the Portland airport to the train station).

I experienced a very strong headache and neck-up muscle tension in the following days, climaxing about four days later, and then going away as I went to a conference the next weekend. (Less interesting: during this conference, I could see energy in/around everything more clearly - as if the volume was turned up.)

The following weeks, the experience of "no self" became very clear. I found myself as the Witness, and the world of phenomena as a seamless whole. My human self had no independent or fixed existence, it was just part of the much larger flow of energy and matter.

And then even later, I have had experiences of no "I" to be found anywhere. It is just what is, as it is. No separation into subject or object, experiencer or experiencer. I could see clearly how it is believing in the thought "I" which creates the impression of experiencer and experienced. Of course, I can still add a layer of abstraction and differentiate out different aspects of Existence this way, but it is clearly just something added to it - not inherent in what is.

From the very beginning, there was also the sense of "declutching" as they speak about. I can see habitual patterns of emotions/thoughts coming up, but there is no need to attach to them. They just come and go as guests. And if I do attach to them, it does not seem to last very long and it feels "fake" even as it happens, as if I am just hollowly acting out old patterns which has no reality to them anymore.

The deeksha energy went down from the head/neck area to the rest of my body after a few weeks, maybe especially in/around the heart area.

My partner, who received deeksha at our homeplace the same weekend, has gone through a similar process. She awakened to/as the Witness, had "declutched" and experienced the deeksha energy in/around the head and throughout the body relatively frequently.