If I may make a suggestion, after you make your seiza bench (it's very easy) Dharma | Seiza | Michigan Buddhist a bit of advice, DO NOT cut the leg peice at 14 or whatever inches, cut it at 13, that way you make 1 angled cut and have 2 even pieces. Whoever drew up those blueprints doesn't know crap about blueprints it would seem. You can put something like a folded up comforter, or a pad (I use a blanket so the legs don't sink down in, that way I have a firm seat), and then go to the Salvation Army or GoodWill, and try to find yourself a wool blanket. Wool is a very good material for insulating you from the Earth energies. Also I highly recommend a dhoti. I don't know if it's placebo, but my mind is so much easier to focus and is so much clearer while wearing one. Get a white one though, as other colors can signify things, orange/saffron are for Masters. Mine is made of a silk and cotton mix, silk being the BEST cloth to insulate energies. Here is a video about the benefits of wearing a dhoti. You can find the same one I got on amazon.com, it only costs 23$ [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOFU3K6yCaI&feature=related]YouTube - Importance of wearing Dhoti[/ame] Just so you know, Chaitanya is sort of like "Divine Consciousness" in a rough translation.
Ty for the advice. How often do you wear the dhoti? Do you just wear it in meditation or when you are at your house and then take it off when you go out in public?
I appreciate all the replies, as they are all helpful. I'm still in the process on cleaning and rearranging my room, so whenever I get this all done, I'll try some of the guides out and post any results I get. Do candles or incense help?
Yes, I only wear the dhoti for meditation and other spiritual related things. It's good to have a spot (the best would be an entire room) dedicated to only the use of spiritual practice, that way the energy produced will accumulate, and it's also a psychological thing where you will more easily go into the necessary state of mind when entering. Personally I just have a corner of my room sectioned off as I don't have an additional room to use. Also it's a good idea to wear the same clothes for your spiritual practices (that can also include reading scriptures) and to not wash them unless they begin to smell. However with much practice the body will actually begin to emit a flower like fragrance so this would no longer be a problem. Yes, incense is good as it will help set your mind in a particular state, and if you only burn it (or a certain type of it) for your meditation your mind will begin to associate it with meditation and it will help you get into a relaxed mindset easier. I was using candles before but now I use a diya lamp
meditation is easy stuff to get into, read a decent amount of theory first then start off, anmolmehta.com is a great website. My preferred routine is to do about 20 minutes of stretching, 10-15 minutes of breathing excercises, then 45 minutes of meditation, daily. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvtx62lUho0]YouTube - Most Powerful Yoga Breathing Exercise (Pranayama)[/ame] great breathing excercise. The best tip I can give is don't meditate for any other goal than highest truth. Things like intuition, charisma and tranquility are gifts that will come to you and be your servants as you progress but don't waste time chasing them.
So you know, what that guy is teaching is not real kriya. Real kriya can only be bestowed by initiation, and even at that it takes YEARS to be able to do a perfect kriya, in which you gain 1 year of spiritual evolution in a 30 second breathe. However, it is not the most powerful at all, for if this man was showing you the most powerful version, not only would he immediately lose all benefit of doing the kriya, but he would be abandoned for lifetimes to come as far as a Master goes. He would have broken his divine oath, and thus "walk the desert for 40 years" so to speak. Theurgy has it's own "kriya" type of pranayama, EVERY legitimate system has these powerful techniques. My lineage has a technique that produces not 1 year, not 5 years, not 10 years, but 1000 years of spiritual evolution in a 1 minute technique. If you were to do this technique without being ready, it would cause a seizure/stroke and potentially (potentially=95% chance) death. If you want to do Kriya, get initiated into it, because otherwise it will either not work, or you will do serious damage to all of your bodies. Heck you can send a whopping 43 dollars to the Self Realization Fellowship, or even pay in smaller increments, and you will be sent bi-weekly lessons that will lead you up to a point where in 2 years you will be eligible to apply for the Initiation into the first version of Kriya (there are 4). However their technique is slightly lacking. Ananda.org is your best bet, but you will need to travel. You could perhaps order the SRF lessons, do them, wait until your deemed worthy of Initiation and then go to Ananda Sangha for the full legitimate Kriya Initiation (as to not waste time being turned away with only beginner techniques to prepare your bodies for the Kriya). Also Yogiraj SatGurunath Siddhanath is a legitimate Master to learn it from, and also does tours so that you can get him when he is closer to you rather than flying to India and going to a forest Ashram.