Sometimes people new to Trillium Awakening (TA) will ask what techniques this path uses to develop consciousness to a state of awakening. In the Trillium path there are no meditation or contemplation techniques, per se, no daily practice.
On the other hand, the Trillium path does use the field of energy of its awakened participants, be they teachers, mentors, or experienced students, to help catalyze awakening. We refer to this energy field as Being-Force. Everyone transmits his or her own energy, but the transmission of those who have awakened through the Trillium Awakening path has the effect of quickening the development (or “landing”) of embodied consciousness in the recipient.
Most paths have their own flavor or wavelength of transmission (I’m not to trying to be overly exact or scientific here!) or what Eastern paths refer to as darshan, or shaktipat. We might consider if gazing is a form of shaktipat. Many students feel that in gazing they enliven awakening energy.
How does one receive this awakening energy? Being in the presence of an awakened person is a powerful medium for transmission. Open-eyed gazing for a couple of minutes with such people is, for many, an even more powerful direct way of receiving the transmission of awakening. At Trillium Awakening sittings and often in private sessions, the teachers lead a brief session of gazing with each participant. (If you’re not quite ready to gaze, simply close your eyes during the session. The teachers will understand.) The time of gazing is a non-verbal meeting; being-to-being. For some this can be stimulating or catalytic but you may not have a conscious experience of that during the gazing. It can be subtle. We simply are present to what is arising in the moment – thoughts, emotions, physical sensations. If we end up thinking about our to-do list, that is okay too. Main thing, don’t strain. Relax.
In addition, one can receive the particular awakening transmission of the Trillium path by reading the words of Trillium Awakening teachers other awakened Trillium Awakening participants. The personal stories of many of these people (including mine) have been published in a book called Dancing in the Fire. See the Trillium Awakening.org website for a list of books. You can also get a surprisingly strong transmission from gazing in the eyes of such a person in a photo.
I would love to meet you and be able to gaze with you. Even over Zoom or Skype! You do not have to worry that I am using my mind to intend anything. I sit in simple innocence, enjoying my time with you, and you can do the same. Whatever happens transpires naturally, with no effort.
In the meantime, I invite you to gaze with my photo or video. This video includes music composed for me by my friend, Daniel Sperry.
Below is a second video which was filmed at a Trillium Awakening teachers gather atop Mt Tamalpias, with a view of both the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay. Saniel Bonder, the founder of Waking Down® from which Trillium Awakening emerged, was doing the filming. In the background I have added the sound of Saniel playing his flute that same afternoon, a love song to this mountain where he has spent so many hours in silent meditation.