Opening the Third Eye?

[namedforthemoon]

I did a search for this on the board index, but surprisingly, nothing came up. So I'm posting a few questions.

I would like to open my Third Eye. I don't know how to go about doing this, even though I've searched it out on Google. I've read all sorts of things, like you have to go vegan so that you have a light spirit, you have to meditate all the time... And then there is terminology that I really know nothing about, like chakras and kundalini. It's so much information, it's overwhelming, and I don't know where to start. I know there are people here who know and have first-hand knowledge on how to open the Third Eye, and...

I am humbly asking for guidance.

I will probably be asked, "Why do you want to open your Third Eye? What do you hope to gain from it?" Fair questions.

I want to open my Third Eye so that I can be closer to the spirit realm, so that I can communicate with spirits. I realize this is a mixed bag, there are good spirits, neutral spirits, and the not-so-nice spirits. It will probably be scary, but I want to learn to control my fear so that I can navigate the waters safely, so to speak.

Also along these lines, I want to be able to astral project, and to have OBE's. I also wouldn't mind lucid dreaming, but I don't know what I'd be able to gain from that, other than living out fantasies of flying around with just my body and such.

I feel like there is so much more to this mundane life of getting up, going to work, going through the motions... I want to know that there is something else out there. I know there is something else out there, because so many people here have such amazing experiences. I want to have these kinds of experiences. Preferably without doing drugs, lol.

So please. Help me, guide me. Take me under your wing. I want to learn. I'm 39 years old, I'm not getting any younger. I need to start somewhere.

[fraterai]

Just a tip - "opening the third eye" is basically the blanket eastern term we apply to psychic vision, when in the eastern system it is more about projecting power than anything, but anyways, In most western systems, if you want to see or communicate with spirits you need to learn and practice evocation. If you want to open your psychic vision in the old fashion way, you just gaze at crystals, water, stones, etc., this is called scrying. So, you can learn scrying, which is useful for evocation, or you can start to evoke the spirits you want to see and talk to by learning evocation. It is an advanced magical practice so you need basic magical foundations in order to be proficient at it.

"Opening your third eye", will be useless or impossible unless you want to practice the whole system of yoga, which would be best done with a teacher, and understanding all of those terms in the proper context, etc. Scrying and clairvoyance take a lot of mental work, and if you want a good idea of what it really takes you should read Franz Bardon's first book IIH. There are also plenty of resources that will come up if you want to learn scrying. Scrying also has a direct link to astral projection, OBE's, etc.

But the short version is, meditate - learn to listen to your thoughts clearly, learn to control your thoughts, learn to silence them, then one by one meditate on sensory objects such as a mental picture or mental smell, and build up mental pictures. These first few steps can take years of practice for some people, days for others, so be patient.

[Desecrated]

What you are looking for is Franz Bardon - Initiation into the hermetic.

[namedforthemoon]

I think the reason that I'm asking about opening the Third Eye is due to this post (I figure if you see where I'm getting the idea from, you'll have a better understanding of where I am coming from). This is from the_spiral's topic, also in the Beginners Info section, about Am I going crazy or is something trying to contact me (not sure if I have the right format on words there). Someone had posted this response in the thread, and I found it rather interesting:

Re: "Am I going crazy?" Entity contact and mental illness

Postby Indica Auri » Sun May 08, 2016 9:26 pm
Hello, what you are saying is making a lot of sense to me. I started to meditate and do yoga in 2011 but began doing it daily in 2012. I did this without a teacher or any guidance. Which I realized after my experience that it was not a good idea. I looked up kundalini and was practicing to open my third eye. I was doing these things cuz I genuinely wanted to find truth and a bond with God. Sometime in 2013 I started having voice thoughts in my head. Thoughts that weren't my own and they were convincing me in somethings that are crazy but I fell for it. Idk how. It got worse I started hearing voices, seeing shadow people, things would be thrown to the ground. It was so bad I was hospitalized three times. 2 of those times it happened because I would stop taking the meds they prescribed me because I didn't want them. The sad part is I don't remember any of it. I just remember some parts everything else is a blank. I've had a concussion before but my memory got a whole lot worse after this experience I'm sharing with you. I was so afraid because I didn't understand what happened to me. I still don't. That's why I'm on this forum. I want to understand what happened and want to learn the occult the right way. So if anyone has any answers please share them. Also those few yrs were not my only experiences with deities. since I was a little girl deities have shown up in my life. I grew up Pentecostal I referred to them as demons. So I spent a lot of times rebuking these things because I thought I was being attacked. I was diagnosed psychotic. Later on bi polar. The third hospital when I left they told me I was enlightened but I don't understand how. I also don't remember my actions there until I came back to my senses in the last two weeks I stood there. Idk. Any advice would be great too.

Indica Auri

Now, I don't want to end up in a mental hospital like poor Indica, but I would like to open my third eye so that I can see these types of things, without fear.

Desecrated, I am looking at that book on Amazon. It looks incredibly overwhelming, I'll be honest. A lot of the reviewers state that most people won't even be able to get past step one, and someone even said that the publishers of the book say that there are only a handful of people still alive who managed to get through the whole thing. Why do you think this is the right book and knowledge for me? Have you read it yourself and applied the practices? I don't even know what hermetics is. Maybe I should look that up so I can understand.

[Desecrated]

Desecrated, I am looking at that book on Amazon. It looks incredibly overwhelming, I'll be honest. A lot of the reviewers state that most people won't even be able to get past step one, and someone even said that the publishers of the book say that there are only a handful of people still alive who managed to get through the whole thing. Why do you think this is the right book and knowledge for me? Have you read it yourself and applied the practices? I don't even know what hermetics is. Maybe I should look that up so I can understand.

It's a beginner level book that a lot of the members on this forum use and work with. It covers all the topics that you mentioned.
What this book does is give you some simple exercises that you can work on every day for a couple of years to build up the talents that you're after.

If you look in my signature you have the beginners book list for more tips and suggestions.

[namedforthemoon]

Desecrated, I am looking at that book on Amazon. It looks incredibly overwhelming, I'll be honest. A lot of the reviewers state that most people won't even be able to get past step one, and someone even said that the publishers of the book say that there are only a handful of people still alive who managed to get through the whole thing. Why do you think this is the right book and knowledge for me? Have you read it yourself and applied the practices? I don't even know what hermetics is. Maybe I should look that up so I can understand.

It's a beginner level book that a lot of the members on this forum use and work with. It covers all the topics that you mentioned.
What this book does is give you some simple exercises that you can work on every day for a couple of years to build up the talents that you're after.

If you look in my signature you have the beginners book list for more tips and suggestions.

Oh, I see. Okay, thank you. I'll look into getting it so I can start practicing the exercises. [thumbup]

[Nahemah]

It depends on the search term used.

'Pineal Gland' returns 13 pages worth of topics...and when I plugged in 'opening the third eye,' 5 minutes ago, it returned 99 pages worth.

Although,it has to be said, many of these topics are not useful as the terms go wide and very wide indeed. It's fine to start a new topic, as we are aware of the search function's limitations. [thumbup]

There's some great info on that topic from The_spiral.

There are other old and archived topics that may also be useful, but it can be a long slog searching through results for info that suits.

I found this on a quick search on google, does this help any...?

http://www.tantra-kundalini.com/ajna.htm

Indica had a rough time, but that was due to the conditioning of Pentecostal Christianity more than anything else. Care is needed when moving forward with this, like anything which opens the mind and spiritual awareness, but it doesn't mean you will also experience the same difficulties as another person has done.

[namedforthemoon]

Thank you, Nahemah. I'll check that link out.

Desecrated, I just ordered that book you suggested. Any tips for going through it?

[the_spiral]

I feel like I've said a few things on this already, but in summary: there's no shortcut here.

"Third eye" is a vague and broad term that spans several cultural paradigms. Reading up on it more is a good idea before just trying any random exercise you find to open it. In the West, when people refer to "opening the third eye", they often seem to either be referencing neo-shamanic work involving the pineal gland (which I can't speak on, not my path) or a somewhat confused understanding of chakra work in Yoga (which I can, a little).

The third eye most closely corresponds to the Ajna chakra, which rests between and slightly above the eyes in the energetic body, and once properly cleansed and activated grants psychic powers and spiritual vision. It is part of the complete system of "you", and there are five other chakras below and one above (I attached a chart for reference, but there's tons of resources out there on these). Your chakras are also connected by channels (nadi) that allow life energy (prana) to flow through. So you can see the problem with "opening your third eye" before the nadis and lower-lying chakras have been cleansed, balanced and activated. It can cause energy leakage and imbalances in your energetic system, which can manifest as mental or psychic imbalance (like the unfortunate situation of the person you quoted). There's another danger too that isn't as well known: if you haven't done the training to prepare for spiritual vision, you won't be ready for what you see. You won't have the discernment to distinguish physical or spiritual phenomena from your own imagination and you'll get lost very quickly. You won't have adequate protection to deal with the beings who sense your new awareness and suddenly take an interest in you. And the biggest problem: you won't know how to close it again.

So for me, promoting this practice is putting the cart before the horse. You need to develop a strong foundation of Yoga and meditation to raise your awareness and strengthen your energetic body. And often you will find the third eye opens naturally when it's ready. But kundalini should not be raised nor any chakras "opened" before then, it's like sending 1000 volts through an old lightbulb. Something will break. Also there's nothing wrong with doing some spirit contact work during this time. Somebody mentioned scrying here, divination is also good, training yourself in a magical system like Hermetics etc. There are plenty of knowledgeable members here who can give you advice on any practice or system that catches your interest. But the main point is not to be sitting alone with no system or guidance, trying to force your third eye open.

[namedforthemoon]

I feel like I've said a few things on this already, but in summary: there's no shortcut here.

"Third eye" is a vague and broad term that spans several cultural paradigms. Reading up on it more is a good idea before just trying any random exercise you find to open it. In the West, when people refer to "opening the third eye", they often seem to either be referencing neo-shamanic work involving the pineal gland (which I can't speak on, not my path) or a somewhat confused understanding of chakra work in Yoga (which I can, a little).

The third eye most closely corresponds to the Ajna chakra, which rests between and slightly above the eyes in the energetic body, and once properly cleansed and activated grants psychic powers and spiritual vision. It is part of the complete system of "you", and there are five other chakras below and one above (I attached a chart for reference, but there's tons of resources out there on these). Your chakras are also connected by channels (nadi) that allow life energy (prana) to flow through. So you can see the problem with "opening your third eye" before the nadis and lower-lying chakras have been cleansed, balanced and activated. It can cause energy leakage and imbalances in your energetic system, which can manifest as mental or psychic imbalance (like the unfortunate situation of the person you quoted). There's another danger too that isn't as well known: if you haven't done the training to prepare for spiritual vision, you won't be ready for what you see. You won't have the discernment to distinguish physical or spiritual phenomena from your own imagination and you'll get lost very quickly. You won't have adequate protection to deal with the beings who sense your new awareness and suddenly take an interest in you. And the biggest problem: you won't know how to close it again.

So for me, promoting this practice is putting the cart before the horse. You need to develop a strong foundation of Yoga and meditation to raise your awareness and strengthen your energetic body. And often you will find the third eye opens naturally when it's ready. But kundalini should not be raised nor any chakras "opened" before then, it's like sending 1000 volts through an old lightbulb. Something will break. Also there's nothing wrong with doing some spirit contact work during this time. Somebody mentioned scrying here, divination is also good, training yourself in a magical system like Hermetics etc. There are plenty of knowledgeable members here who can give you advice on any practice or system that catches your interest. But the main point is not to be sitting alone with no system or guidance, trying to force your third eye open.

Thank you so much, Spiral. Everything you said here is exactly what I mean when I asked the original question. This is where I need guidance.

You said I need to develop a strong foundation of Yoga and meditation to raise my awareness and strengthen my energetic body. How do I start? What type of yoga? Is it the same as taking a yoga class at the Y? What kind of meditation do I do?

[Desecrated]

You said I need to develop a strong foundation of Yoga and meditation to raise my awareness and strengthen my energetic body. How do I start? What type of yoga? Is it the same as taking a yoga class at the Y? What kind of meditation do I do?

All of that is covered in the book you just ordered.

[namedforthemoon]

You said I need to develop a strong foundation of Yoga and meditation to raise my awareness and strengthen my energetic body. How do I start? What type of yoga? Is it the same as taking a yoga class at the Y? What kind of meditation do I do?

All of that is covered in the book you just ordered.

Oh, okay! Guess I just have to be patient and wait until I get the book, then.

[namedforthemoon]

By the way, Desecrated, I had seen this posted in another thread, and I was wondering if you could expand a bit on some things.

*What are some daily practices one sbould perform that helps focus the mind and improve concentration?

Eat light and nutritious food.
Get at least 30 minutes of sunlight.
Meditation.
Some form of light exercise. (Stretching, yoga, qigong, taichi, so on)
Get at least 6-8 hours of good sleep.

*What types of foods or activities are harmful to one's progression?

Sugar
TV
Heavy food
Unbalance.

When you say to eat light and nutritious food, exactly what sorts of foods do you mean? One culture can think that something is light and nutritious, while another culture thinks something completely different could be considered the same. Also, you say to avoid heavy food. What is considered heavy? One might say that dairy is heavy, but in dairy, there is yogurt and kefir, and both are nutritious by certain standards.

Also, why avoid TV? Is it because of the commercials? What if you don't have to watch commercials? Does that include avoiding movies, both at home and in the theater?

And what do you mean by unbalance?

[fraterai]

not to sound like a broken record, but all of this stuff is in the book too! The idea is to have a general control over your health, you are right, these things are individual and the key point is to be honest with yourself. Experiment and see what foods bring down your energy levels or make you feel healthy, alert, and ready to take on the day. But, in general, whole, natural foods eaten in BALANCED amounts will be more useful to an occultist than un natural, processed, sugary foods. What amount of exercise leads you towards positive changes and thus higher energy levels. TV and music can make focusing/controlling your thoughts very hard. Again, you need to be honest with yourself and find a BALANCE between a good amount of TV/music to enjoy your life but not overdoing it to where it affects your practices. There are many "rules" or guidelines in the occult and the idea is to experiment yourself and see what works for you, what leads you to where you want and need to be.

[Desecrated]

When you say to eat light and nutritious food, exactly what sorts of foods do you mean? One culture can think that something is light and nutritious, while another culture thinks something completely different could be considered the same. Also, you say to avoid heavy food. What is considered heavy? One might say that dairy is heavy, but in dairy, there is yogurt and kefir, and both are nutritious by certain standards.

I know! Isn't it just lovely how fucking vague that is.
These ideas comes from Greek philosophy (mainly Pythagoras) and every person has to find out what it means to them. "Know thyself".
Modern magick is the way of finding out about yourself. And I also like to quote Jesus on this "Physician, heal yourself".
What is light food for you? Food that doesn't make you sick, food that makes you feel good, and food that makes you feel light.

Also, why avoid TV? Is it because of the commercials? What if you don't have to watch commercials? Does that include avoiding movies, both at home and in the theater?

99% of it is just mind-numbing crap. People these days can't go 1 hour without checking their facebook, email, phone, computer, internet, at the same time as they are watching TV and eating microwave food.
If you turn of all electrics for a weekend, you'll be amazed by the kind of things your brain will produce. If you want to open your third eye to look outwards, you really need to start looking inwards.

And what do you mean by unbalance?

It means different things in different situation.
Mental balance can be about finding a balance between the positive and the negative traits of your behavior.
Time managing is a form of balance where you try to balance the time you spend, with the amount your getting out of your time.
Emotional balance can be a state in which you can feel anger one day and happiness another day, But you never dip down into it completely. It's okay to be angry when something bad happens, But being angry all the time, helps nobody.

[namedforthemoon]

Also, why avoid TV? Is it because of the commercials? What if you don't have to watch commercials? Does that include avoiding movies, both at home and in the theater?

99% of it is just mind-numbing crap. People these days can't go 1 hour without checking their facebook, email, phone, computer, internet, at the same time as they are watching TV and eating microwave food.
If you turn of all electrics for a weekend, you'll be amazed by the kind of things your brain will produce. If you want to open your third eye to look outwards, you really need to start looking inwards.

Oooh. This right here really resonates with me. I am stuck to my phone and the computer, and the internet, not tv so much anymore because I only have a few shows that I record and watch when I have time. I remember a time when I was quite a bit younger when there were only 3 channels, and really we only watched one because only one came in clearly. I used to read books. I used to go outside and be out in nature. I do notice that things spin around more and more in my head, in my thoughts, when I'm trying to be quiet, and before the internet, it used to be my imagination, daydreaming, my head making its own stories. Hmm. Now that the internet and computer and cell phone is so ingrained into my life now, it seems like it's an extension, how do I communicate with people otherwise? It's an addiction, and I know it, but society has created this addiction, and made it so that you have to have it. But you're right, I definitely could cut back on it, somehow. Maybe pick a time of day to turn off all of that, and just enjoy what life used to be like.

Thank you for answering my questions, and also to Fraterai.