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Larry Vingelman

Goodreads Author

Born

in Detroit, The United States

Genre

Spirituality, Religion

Member Since

August 2012

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Carl Spackler is a dysfunctional greenkeeper at an up-scale country club. His demeanor is crude and abrasive, his speech permanently slurred. He is the epitome of a man untethered to reality. In one of many wild claims he loves to recall to anyone within earshot, he tells a young employee that he once caddied for the Dali Lama. Asked whether the Dali Lama left him a tip, he replies, “Yes, he gave me total consciousness. So, at least I got that going for me.” This great tongue-in-cheek moment is one of many in the cult classic Caddyshack. Despite its service to comedy, this scene has always resonated with me. Sometimes the catalyst for a life-long journey into self-exploration can originate from something seemingly trivial, like a quiet acci Carl Spackler is a dysfunctional greenkeeper at an up-scale country club. His demeanor is crude and abrasive, his speech permanently slurred. He is the epitome of a man untethered to reality. In one of many wild claims he loves to recall to anyone within earshot, he tells a young employee that he once caddied for the Dali Lama. Asked whether the Dali Lama left him a tip, he replies, “Yes, he gave me total consciousness. So, at least I got that going for me.” This great tongue-in-cheek moment is one of many in the cult classic Caddyshack. Despite its service to comedy, this scene has always resonated with me. Sometimes the catalyst for a life-long journey into self-exploration can originate from something seemingly trivial, like a quiet accident, a mere tip from the Dali Lama.

Life is often so fluid it is difficult to point to any one moment that will have a lasting effect on the remainder of one’s life. Other times, earth-shattering events can be quite obvious. When I was just a boy of twelve years, my father died abruptly. My young, illiterate and now ailing mother never quite recuperated until she too passed shortly thereafter. In Detroit, Michigan where I grew up, working in the burgeoning automobile manufacturing plants was practically compulsory for high-school graduates of low-income families. It was an imperative I gladly undertook along with nearly the entire graduating class of my public high school. For eight to ten hours a day, seven days a week, I transported a large piece of steel from point A to point B. Years passed, then something special happened. A quiet accident. A tip from the Dali Lama. A question I had always asked myself now demanded an answer. Is this it? Is this all life has to offer? Is this the ultimate resolution of my life?

No. No. A thousand times no. I enrolled in community college and graduated at the top of my class. Soon after I was thriving in business school at the University of Michigan. Internships, side-jobs, blood, sweat, and tears. A career with regional banks turned into national ones, until I finally hit my big break. I joined two other young entrepreneurs I had met in business school to develop a new technology. At that time, we just called it a “clicker,” it was a convenient little device that transmitted radio waves to lock and unlock a vehicle from your pocket. Today the technology is so ubiquitous most people just refer to our invention as one’s car keys. As CFO, we successfully initiated our first public stock offering, then a second, followed by multiple acquisitions. After decades of growth and the timely selling of shares, I was finally afford something I never thought possible: time.

Over the course of my life, I attribute my success and positive outlook to yoga, meditation, and eastern philosophy. Each serves a function essential to a fulfilling life. Yoga to prepare the body, meditation to see the light, and philosophy to gain the tools necessary to convey what the light is. For decades I have been toiling with The Ninth Siddhi, an exploratory look into how group meditation can influence world peace. Thousands upon thousands of pages of research have bolstered my scribbles into a finished piece I will pursue until the curtains close.
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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Larry Vingelman My advice to any writer is to write, then write some more, then when you are totally exhausted, write a little more. I remember Ray Bradbury writing, …moreMy advice to any writer is to write, then write some more, then when you are totally exhausted, write a little more. I remember Ray Bradbury writing, “Just write every day of your life. Read intensely, then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on this diet have very pleasant careers.” No one is born a writer. It is an acquired skill. It takes practice, lots and lots of practice. After a while you will begin to get a feel for what works for you. This is when the real work begins. I like the way Isaac Asimov put it, “If my doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood I’d type a little faster.”
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As a TM meditator, I read The Ninth Siddhi with interest and curiosity. I still struggle to understand what Pure Consciousness is. Can you shed some light on this most important spiritual concept?

Larry Vingelman Pure Consciousness, is just another word for transcendental consciousness, transcendental energy, absolute being, transcendental being, or pure awaren…morePure Consciousness, is just another word for transcendental consciousness, transcendental energy, absolute being, transcendental being, or pure awareness. Still others think of it as Unmanifested Being (life) or Samadhi. It is the first truly spiritual experience gained by the initiate. It is the first experience of a higher state of consciousness. Pure Consciousness is an important experience because it acts as a catalyst for other states of being and the perfection of all the Siddhis.

Think of it like this, say you are at the movie theater and just before the movie starts the bright light of the projector shines through the first few frames of the film. Sometimes the projectionists uses these blank frames to get the film started in the projector. Nevertheless, a very bright light appears on the screen. You are very aware of the bright light and marvel at its brightness. Then the movie starts. Now the bright light changes to something familiar to ones perceiving mind, into something familiar to the senses. A little bit further into the movie you become emotionally involved and may be brought to tears, sometimes to laughter. Inevitably, you forget about the bright light that is the underlying cause of the sight and sound you are experiencing. As a matter of fact, once the movie starts, no amount of trying will let you view the screen as the bright light.

The action in the movie is the way we experience our life through our senses. That is, the way we experience the world through sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. But in addition, the movie caused us to create thoughts and those perceptions caused feelings in us. So, we experience the movie the way we experience life, through our senses and emotions. Clearly, the bright light from the projector supports the action in the movie as pure consciousness supports our thoughts and actions. So, we say that pure consciousness is the bright light (transcendental energy) that supports life, living, and loving. When in the study of the Siddhis, we say that pure consciousness is transcendental to our thoughts and actions we mean that it beyond our ability to perceive it through our senses, just like it is impossible to see the bright light of the projector supporting the action in the movie.

But unlike the bright light of the projector, we can experience pure consciousness through meditative practices like those taught in the Ninth Siddhi and by TM. By using TM’s seed sounds (Mantras) or electronic tones as in Robert Monroe’s Semi-Sync technology, we resonant our body and mind with transcendental energy and effortlessly have the experience of Pure Consciousness. As reported for over eight thousands years by ancient sages and modern students of meditation, the experience is described as total and absolute Bliss – a unique combination of love and joy. It is an experience of “Now” without thoughts or emotion having transcended the hyperactive ego. Since Pure Consciousness is not bound by time or space the presence of the moment is felt as eternal. A cosmic sense of self builds to a “Knowing” or deep felt conviction that life survives the inevitability of physical death.

At this juncture of Pure Consciousness and mind, life for the initiate changes. He is forever influenced by the radiance of Pure Consciousness. The Siddhian becomes inner directed. Her life becomes focused on joy, love, and eternal happiness forever.
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Larry Vingelman’s books

Average rating: 3.55 · 11 ratings · 3 reviews · 5 distinct works

	The Science of Breath - Illustrated: Breathing Techniques to Increase Mindfulness by Yogi Ramacharaka, Larry Vingelman (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,142 ratings — published 1903 — 336 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ninth Siddhi: Preparing for a Technological Solution for World Peace 3.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Subtle Energy Healing: Encouraging a Scientific Revolution 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Three Upanishads: Acquire Mindfulness in Daily Life by Paramananda, Larry Vingelman (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dream a Lottery Win Tonight: A Modern Dream Book for Modern Lottery Players it was ok 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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The Ninth Siddhi advocates for world peace through group meditation incentivized by winning lotteries. Dr. Albert Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good Read more of this blog post »

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