Bodhicitta

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

Bodhicitta is the ideal of enlightenment, and the love of that enlightenment that we use to turn our hearts and minds away from the path of degradation and the endless formation of karma, to the generation of virtuous action. We begin to actively consider the ideals of love, compassion, generosity, kindness, patience. We begin to actively reject the dark energies of jealousy, hatred, greed, envy.

The Bodhicitta is the seat of the deep heart, the place where all four bodies intersect: the physical body of matter, the subtle physical body of energy, the causal body of mind and mental formation, and atman the throb of pure consciousness.

The Bodhicitta is a fountain of one hundred fibers that connect to the brain from this seat in the heart, animating the space between the heart and the brain and producing the event that we call existence, all the dynamics of separate existence, all the qualities of being.

In its highest form, the Bodhicitta is a distillation of consciousness at the top of the central nerve which forms a white drop whose movement from the crown of the head down through the brain and into the heart is one of the agencies of the highest mysticism.

The Bodhicitta is all of these things - deeper, and deeper, and ever deeper. It is the cosmic force of creation and the ocean of infinite consciousness expressing themselves in the fabric of the life of the individual. It is every thought, every feeling that you have ever had in the chain of your existence. It is all the dynamics of every desire of your being every hope, every success, every failure, every lesson learned. It is the living, breathing, soft, tender center of life, where the awesome force of God and the infinite sweep of creation arise inside each and every heart and mind.

The Guru moderates the speed of the unraveling of the karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING
Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The optimum situation is one in which you maintain a sense of identity as the universal identity is brought forth. If a person gets too much energy too fast they lose touch with the world. The landmarks of their reality change so quickly that they can't keep up with them and become disoriented. The Guru moderates the speed of the unraveling of the karma so that you feel more or less like yourself as you go through all this. You feel a constant sense of pressure and change, but maintain a sense of identity and remain connected to the world.

Guru's Grace & Unraveling of Karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

It is the impact of the Guru's grace that causes this very intense and rapid unraveling of karma. This creates tremendous pressure within your system, and the pressure exerts itself on your psyche, your personality, your emotions, your physical body, your health. It's important to remember that this pressure is a good thing. This is where the rubber meets the road in spiritual life.


People can do spiritual practice for lifetimes with great effort and intensity, but without the grace of the Guru they'll certainly get some experience and learn things, but the unraveling of the karma will not have been triggered. Up until this happens, all spiritual practice is aimed at gaining the Guru's grace. And having gained the Guru's grace, spiritual practice then becomes aimed at withstanding the Guru's grace.

Unraveling of Karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The unraveling of karma is a very powerful and very intense event. Delivering the shaktipat impulse begins the unraveling of karmic impressions, and regular exposure to samadhi accelerates this process. This is what we do here at Hard Light.



It's up to you to go through all these processes and maintain your equilibrium as the transformative force of liberation flows through you. There are powerful psychological, emotional, and physical aspects to this process that you have to contend with. Regular physical culture keeps the body flexible, vibrant, and strong. Daily meditation on the higher principles of enlightenment keeps the light strong within.



Truth be told, it is the withstanding of the unraveling of karma that most spiritual training is about.

Karma & Shaktipat

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

All the impressions from all our lives are stored within us as karma. This karma acts like a cloud or fog which limits us to operating within the system of the senses, binding us to the wheel, and perpetuating the generation of more and more karma. Shaktipat, the liberating impulse, sends a signal to the individual soul for this karmic information to begin to unwind from the system.



The daily bread of spiritual life is the unraveling of these karmic impressions, and they must be unraveled down to the very last thread. Spiritual training and practice serve as the support system for this process of purification. All the spiritual disciplines are designed to help speed up the unraveling of karma.

Shaktipat

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

When the instruments of awareness are kindled and accelerated through Shaktipat, the impact is sometimes dramatic and sometimes subtle. The language of this communication is vibration; a very subtle vibration between the teacher and the student. The process of awakening does not rest on an understanding of concepts; it goes deeper than that. The force of it flows by touch from those who are awakened to those who want to be awakened.



This way of awakening people, this transmission of vibration, is ancient and unfailing. Once planted within your system it can only do one thing—awaken. Once the seed of awakening has been planted, it only awaits the accumulation of needed qualities—the ability and the desire of the student to undergo the process. Its most potent food is the hunger to know God.

Shaktipat

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

In essence, the Intensive is a day-long conversation with the Guru, a day-long conversation with the force of Shaktipat. The very form of the Intensive is the instrument of Shaktipat, that energy which when transmitted into your system, carries the signal of awakening. Only a single atom of this energy is required for each person.



Shaktipat, once given, cannot fail. It's not a matter of if you will awaken, but when. It is only regulated by your own skill, the intensity of your nature, and what you are capable of enduring in the transformation process. Whether it happens fast or slow doesn't matter. The intensity, spread out over time, does not decrease the impact of its force.

Soham Mantra

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

As you come to recognize that the vibration of Soham is not your voice, but the voice of God, and you learn to watch the vibration of the speech of God within, you'll notice that it's one unbroken stream; the quality of consciousness at the point of individual identity and the quality of consciousness at the point of union with God are the same. It's just your attention which interprets them differently.



Having received shaktipat, the transmission of God's grace, the entire spectrum of attention becomes open to you. It's just an issue of learning to listen. Listening is the key; meditate and listen to what's inside.

Soham Mantra

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

With each and every breath, the Soham mantra vibrates within the sushumna, the central nerve that runs from the root chakra at the base of the spine to the crown chakra at the top of the head. This mantra is the spontaneous vibration of God resonating within the human form; it is not produced by the sound of your voice or your mind. This divine vibration within your being opens the gate at the base of the spine and at the crown of the head so that the light of infinite consciousness can flow in; when this happens, the vibration of the Soham goes higher and higher, raising your attention.



This is a profound mystery, and it is the way of awakening. In this way you will make the journey from the lower depths, where you have taken false refuge in confusion and ignorance, obsessed with the belief in your individual identity, to higher and higher frequencies of connection with God. In the end, your attachment to a personal identity will dissolve, and you will surrender the identity of your individual nature completely, merging with the universal nature of God.

The Ego

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The ego is a despotic ruler and defines existence so very narrowly. You've gone through lifetime after lifetime wrapped so tight that your head's about ready to pop off your shoulders if anything happens to you that the ego can't take. The smallest upset causes a psychic seizure; you clench up and wall yourself off from the flow of your own truth, your own Self.



The study of the relationship of the spinal cord to the earth is one that you must learn to do at all times and all places. After a while you'll feel how the tension around the spine begins to release, restoring the flow of vitality within. It's like awakening from some strange dream. The experience of the Self is broad, generous, and fearless.

Arise Spontaneously in the Self

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The bellows breath is the best method to release and surrender the spine to the draw of earth's gravity. This is especially important in times of intense pressure and transformation.



The ego-based identity attempts to hold the spine away from its basic relationship with the earth, and this breaks the flow of energy between the spine and the brain. The ego has as its fundamental nature the reflex of separation, and attempts to control the flow of consciousness at the level of the body because the body is the ego's basis of identity.



The whole idea of spiritual life, the whole idea of meditation, is not to form a belief system, but to arise spontaneously in the Self, to directly experience the subtle vibration of God within. It is the instrument of your being that has this experience, and relaxation is the key.

Red & White Bodhicitta

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

If you've studied yourself closely, you'll notice that there are two primary energies in the body. They are characterized by the red bodhicitta and the white bodhicitta. The red bodhicitta is analogous to the ida, the energy channel located on the left side of the spine. It is the feminine vibration that is the foundation of energy and mind capacity. The white bodhicitta is analogous to the pingala, the energy channel on the right side of the spine. It's the energy that produces the creation and dynamic of the world. 



The interaction between these two energies gives rise to all the dynamics of the architecture of the human form. The human form is an inconceivably complex equilibrium of these yin and yang energies. This equilibrium arises in the seat of the bodhicitta at the heart. It is the anchor and foundation of your existence. It is a deep, gravitational center that holds the atoms of consciousness into the collection of the appearance of your existence – physically, energetically, and mentally.

Four Bodies

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The primary nature of enlightenment is empty. It does not have a point of origination where it comes into existence, nor does it ever cease to exist. It is neither infinite nor finite, as these would be qualities. Yet we see that the idea of enlightenment has a resonance in all of the dynamics of perception within a human being.



We as human beings are not a single body with a single perceptive field or point of view. The hard-wired architecture inside the human form manifests itself in four bodies: the physical body of matter; the subtle physical body of energy that animates the physical body; the causal body of mind and mental formation; and the atman, infinite consciousness.



Enlightenment comes into contact with these four tiers of human consciousness, comes into view, through the very act of perception itself. Yet it remains completely empty.

The Nature of Perception

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

When you have interruptions of attention, you have to recognize them and analyze them. The nature of an object will constantly change when observed, revealing more and more of itself.



This is one of the basic tenets of quantum mechanics: an object is changed by our observation or perception of it. This idea is fundamental to advanced yoga.

Uninterrupted Attention

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

It takes a while to learn how to use forceful, uninterrupted attention to squeeze a subject down to the point where you can manipulate extremely subtle layers of consciousness. That's why you have to sit around meditating for a few years.



You'll go through a period of time where you experience interrupted attention. One moment you'll be experiencing uninterrupted attention and then you'll touch a place and a huge throb of karma will release all kinds of wild emotions, and your attention will fly off in nine different directions. This is a typical experience when you're going through a phase of strong purification. Sometimes the blast of purification will be so strong that a couple of days will go by before you'll say, Wow, what happened? I was doing this and now I'm doing this and I don't remember changing.” Then you bring your mind back onto the object of your attention and you continue to squeeze it.



Once you fasten on to your thread you have to learn how to use forceful attention to hold the line; lots of details must be accounted for at the level of thought, mind, speech, and action until an uninterrupted chain of attention is fulfilled.



It's the same thing with everyday life. If you want to get anything accomplished in this world you have to clearly discern what it is that you want to do and pursue it in an uninterrupted, forceful line of attention and action. People who've mastered uninterrupted attention seem to be able to accomplish anything in life; whatever it is they want to get done, gets done. On the other hand, people who are easily diverted and interrupted can make a thousand great starts but just a short way down the road they wander off the path unable to remember what they were doing.

The Speech of Dharma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The world turns on kindness. The presence of kindness eventually draws the presence of dharma, and the possibility of liberation. There are world systems that do not have dharma. The evolutionary turn to get to that place where dharma would appear for the very first instant for the first time in any eternity changes everything for every single being in that world system.

There’s a very powerful... what you would call battle between the forces of light and darkness. A million acts of treachery and a million-and-one acts of kindness – that one extra act of kindness makes the difference. It’s the speech of love, the speech of dharma. The force of dharma is strong in this world. There is a rhythmic visitation to this planet by the Original Soul – incarnating physically. When He’s not present He leaves an army of servants behind. That’s a kindness.

See the Truth of Any Situation

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

Nine times out of ten, a given situation will be afflictive by its very nature; it will involve the suffering of any number of beings. But that doesn't mean the quality of truth is not unfolding within that setting.



The ability to see through to your obligation in any situation, to see the truth of any situation, is the dynamic expression of uninterrupted attention. Uninterrupted attention allows you to be present without diminishing yourself or withdrawing into fear. At the same time, you must not demonize others and place all blame on those around you while letting yourself off the hook.



You have to squeeze a subject long and hard to get to the heart of it. There is a very vivid and hair-raising space of awakening in every situation wherein the truth can be recognized. It is the flow of uninterrupted attention within oneself that makes this recognition possible.

Warrior

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

In spiritual life you are a warrior. You will become capable of placing your attention on any subject, even if it's painful, fearful, threatening or dangerous. This is a form of attention that all warriors must become trained in, because they must be able to place themselves intelligently into the proximity of danger, death, and injury, and yet keep their mind very clear and do what needs to be done.



This is why people are drawn to the life of a warrior; they love the challenge of being able to express uninterrupted attention in the face of the most terrifying situations. As a spiritual warrior, you will be called upon to face extremely intense situations; these will come in the form of information, knowledge and truth about yourself, about others, and about the world. You have to awaken to the fact that you are surrounded by universal suffering.

Karma

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

You can carry issues with you for years and years that you don't address. Because of fear, aversion, or afflictive emotions, every time you touched a difficult subject the mind was interrupted. And now suddenly you're old, and still you haven't addressed it. Then you die without having addressed it, and this just means that you'll have to reincarnate to deal with it.



Sooner or later, all these issues will have to be dealt with. They are the rocks, roots, weeds, and tree trunks that you'll most certainly run across as you plow the field of your life. Where do you get the energy to offset the obstacles in your life, to give you the courage so you can address these difficult areas? By giving rise to love of the enlightened condition, you draw energy from the very center of your being. It is a well of infinite consciousness, and a resource of infinite energy that will give you the power to deal with the problems and issues of your life.

Bodhicitta

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The practice of Bodhicitta is a fundamental part of your daily spiritual training. By giving rise to love of the enlightened condition and sensing the presence of the spontaneously arising enlightened mind at the seat of the heart, you will experience the truth that enlightenment is not something outside of yourself, but exists within you as you.



Bodhicitta is the ultimate power of attraction that draws the infinite points of Self to a single place, encompassing the totality of the human experience in a single gesture. It posits the existence of the human form and its emptiness at the same time, expressing both the conditioned aspects of limited existence and the infinite consciousness of enlightenment.



It is the presence of enlightenment within that pervades all conditioned reality. As you bring your mind, energy, and attention to bear on the Bodhicitta, expressing it consistently, again and again, you establish a karmic connection to the ocean of enlightenment that exists within you.