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Bill Gray's Meditation Bio

Subject: the meditation bio

Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 10:14 AM

From: Bill Gray <grusic@hyper.net.nz>

To: <Info@greatwesternvehicle.org>

1). Do you engage in a regular religious or spiritual activity, such as prayer or meditation?

Yes

2) If so, what? Please describe.

Meditation, sutta study (Pali Canon), Solar/Sun/Surya Yoga and assisting others.

3) How long have you engaged in this activity?

Meditation: Off and on for about 12-13 years now. Sutta study: 2-3 years Solar Yoga: 4 months Assisting others: all my life.

4) Have you engaged in other spiritual activities?

Yes

5) If so, what, when and for how long?

Had a brief flirtation with TM during my teens. Also practiced Hatha Yoga for awhile in my teens. Both practiced for less than a year I believe. But since I was a teen, it's hard to say. I was experimenting with a lot of things at the time.

6) Have you ever taken mind-altering drugs, specifically psychedelics, such as LSD, mushrooms, or peyote?  If so, what and when?  Do you still take them?  How often?

Yes, LSD, mushrooms, Ecstasy and peyote. LSD and mushrooms in my late teens and early 20s, several times a year. LSD and Ecstasy a fews times as an adult. Peyote once as an adult. No, I don't still take them.

7) What is the nature of the charismatic phenomena that you experience?  (The kinds of experiences we are interested in are non-normal phenomena, such as auras, chakras, kundalini, kriyas raptures of various kinds, bliss, ecstasy, jhana, visions etc.  Please explain how they manifest in your case.

Hmm, I'll have to gather some resources from my blog:

http://nirodhasati.blogspot.com/2004/11/mystic-visions-meditation.html

http://nirodhasati.blogspot.com/2004/11/ohh-energy-i-feel-that-energy.html

http://nirodhasati.blogspot.com/2005/02/window-dressing-and-beautiful.html

http://nirodhasati.blogspot.com/2004/11/24-nov-04-tsondu-hut-retreat.html

http://nirodhasati.blogspot.com/2004/11/sensory-meditation.html

http://nirodhasati.blogspot.com/2004/11/jhana-dreams-dreams.html

I've gotten to the point in practice where I manifest some form of Nimitta at all times now. Usually present is ringing in my head and a feeling of pulsating energy within the body. I have also noticed that whenever I wake up now, the ringing in the head is quite loud. I also manifest kriyas now during every meditation session. This presents itself as shaking and rocking. Sometimes I'll get one big jolt followed by pleasure. At other times I will rock rhythmically at an increasing frequency until I'm actually in Jhana. Also, I have progressed to the point of being able to manifest some level of Jhana at every session over 45 minutes. Sometimes Jhana will come on very quickly though, particularly if I do progressive muscle relaxation prior to a session.

8) When did these phenomena first occur? How frequently do they occur? Do they still occur?

I had a brief glimpse of Jhana in early childhood, while Sun gazing, and a couple of times in my early teens while doing TM. In the mid 90s, in hindsight, I was manifesting Jhanas while doing mantra meditation, but not consistently. Now that I am more diligent in practice, the Jhana is manifested pretty much whenever I sit and pay attention to the Nimittas long enough.

9) What do you believe is the origin of these phenomena?

I have no idea really, but since I have a rather scientific bent I would assume there is some sort of psychophysical origin for them.

10) What do you believe stimulates these phenomena, and reduces the occurrences, frequency and intensity of these phenomena?

Bringing an unruly mind under gentle control seems to stimulate them, along with actively withdrawing from the senses and mind (thought/ideation/emotion). Allowing the mind to run wild and overindulging in sense//intellect pleasure seems to diminish them.

11) Sleep activity, do you dream? If so, how often?

I don't recall my dreams much these days. Since I manifested depression and generalized anxiety disorder in the early 90s, my dreamlike has been spartan. Prior to that I had a very rich dream life.

12) Have you ever had a dream in which you knew you were dreaming, which is the definition of a lucid dream?

Yes, on a number of occasions

13) Have you ever had a hyper real dream? If so when, how often?

Yes, quite a few in childhood.

14) Do believe it might be possible to improve these subjective experiences?

Yes

14) Your gender, age and/or date of birth, where are you from, and what religion and ethnic/socioeconomic group would you say represents your family of origin?

Male, 42, September 16, 1962. Born in the U.S.A., currently living in New Zealand. Family is Afro-American (Afro-Anglo-Native American), working class and Christian

15) If you do not want to leave your name, please leave something, such as a pseudonym that we can use to identify your record with.

William (Bill) F. Gray III, also known as Nirodha around the Net.

15) Do we have your permission to post your bio on the GWV website?

Yes

Thank-you ever so much for your interest in participating in the personal charismatic history program

You're welcome :)

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