Shaktipat
Saktipat or Śaktipāta is a Sanskrit word in the Hindu spiritual tradition that refers to the act of a guru or spiritual teacher conferring a form of spiritual "power" or awakening on a disciple/student. Śakti translates as spiritual energy and "pāta" as descent(to fall down). Shaktipat can be intermediated by the spiritually enlightened master either by transmission of sacred word or mantra, a look, a thought or by touch. The touch is usually given to the ajna chakra or third eye of the disciple. Shaktipat can be transmitted in person or at a distance, through an object such as a flower or fruit, or via telephone or letter.
Śaktipāt as an act of free will of God is an act of Divine Grace (anugraha), completely undetermined. It cannot be forced to come by any action but it always comes of the free will of Śiva. However, the attitude of the recipient must be open towards such influx of illuminating Śakti, otherwise it will not be imposed by force as every human being is endowed with free will, including the freedom to reject God.
Śaktipāt as a contact of consciousness The guru passes his knowledge to his disciples by virtue of the fact that his purified consciousness enters into the selves of his disciples and communicates its particular characteristic. In this process the disciple is made part of the spiritual family (kula) - a family which is not based on blood relations but on people of the same knowledge.
Levels of intensity of Śaktipāt
In Kashmir Shaivism, depending on its intensity, Śaktipāt can be classified as:
• tīvra-tīvra-śaktipāta - the so called "Super Supreme Grace" - produces immediate identity with Śiva and liberation; due to the extreme intensity of this grace the physical body dies; such a being goes on to become a siddha master and bestows grace from his abode (Siddhaloka), directly into the heart of deserving aspirants.
• tīvra-madhya-śaktipāta - "Supreme Medium Grace" - such a being becomes spiritually illuminated and liberated on his own, relying directly on Śiva, not needing initiation or instruction from other exterior guru. This is facilitated by an intense awakening of his spiritual intuition (pratibhā) which immediately eliminates ignorance.
• tīvra-manda-śaktipāta - "Inferior Supreme Grace" - the person who received this grace strongly desires to find an appropriate guru, but he does not need instruction, but a simple touch, a look, simply being in the presence of his master is enough to trigger in him too the state of illumination.
• madhya-tīvra-śaktipāta - "Medium Supreme Grace" - a disciple who receives this grace desires to have the instruction and initiation of a perfect guru; in time he becomes enlightened however he is not totally absorbed into this state during his lifetime and receives a permanent state of fusion with Śiva after the end of his life
• madhya-madhya-śaktipāta - "Medium Middle Grace" - such a disciple will receive initiation from his guru and have an intense desire to attain liberation, but at the same time he still has desire for various enjoyments and pleasure; after the end of his life, he continues to a paradise where he fulfills all his desires and after that he receives again initiation from his master and realizes permanent union with Śiva.
• madhya-manda-śaktipāta - "Medium Inferior Grace" - is similar to "Medium Middle Grace" except that in this case the aspirant desires worldly pleasures more than union with Śiva; he needs to be reincarnated again as a spiritual seeker to attain liberation.
• manda - "Inferior Grace" - for those who receive this level of grace, the aspiration to be united with Śiva is present only in times of distress and suffering; the grace of Śiva needs to work in them for many lifetimes before spiritual liberation occurs..
Type of spiritual grace When is the moment of liberation? What one needs in order
to attain liberation? What is the defining quality
of the recipient?
tīvra-tīvra-śaktipāta
Super Supreme Grace immediate nothing exterior, only
the grace of Śiva capability to abandon duality
tīvra-madhya-śaktipāta
Supreme Medium Grace immediate nothing exterior, only
the grace of Śiva intuition of nonduality (*)
tīvra-manda-śaktipāta
Inferior Supreme Grace after meeting a perfect guru
the presence of
a physical guru
total surrender for his guru
madhya-tīvra-śaktipāta
Medium Supreme Grace at the end of life in this physical plane the initiation
and instruction of a guru
intense spiritual aspiration
madhya-madhya-śaktipāta
Medium Middle Grace after living for some time in a paradise the initiation
and instruction of a guru
spiritual aspiration is more intense than worldly desires
madhya-manda-śaktipāta
Medium Inferior Grace in the next physical incarnaiton the initiation
and instruction of a guru
lower aspiration than
worldly desires
manda
Inferior Grace after many lifetimes of incremental progress the initiation
and instruction of a guru and lots of time
(*) Abhinavagupta distinguishes here two sublevels:
• those who's intuition (pratibhā) is firm
• those who's intuition is hesitant, who need more practice in order to stabilize; they would take a guru, study the scriptures or practice yoga[13]
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tantric Buddhist/White Tantric Healing
Tantric Buddhist/White Tantric Healing Yoga is an ancient discipline that offers a broad range of tools which can be useful in promoting health, aiding in healing and facilitating spiritual transformation.
**************************************
Though today, Yoga is mainly associated with the practice of physical postures and a few basic breathing techniques, there is more depth to this powerful discipline than has existed for more than two thousand years. It may seem trivial if so much importance were given to Yoga, over such a long period of time, if all it was, was a bunch of postures, that addressed only the physical needs of an individual.
On the contrary, Tantric Healing Yoga is a holistic healing discipline that addresses the needs of the whole person through continuous adaptation of its many tools to suit the student’s unique and changing needs. This is why, with the compassionate guidance of a skilled teacher, Tantric Healing Yoga is as appropriate for the young as it is for the old, as appropriate for the stroke victim lying immobile in a hospital bed, as it is for the flexible, athletic dancer. This is why it may be said that Tantric Healing Yoga is for everyone. It offers a wide range of tools which include physical practices, special breathing techniques, powerful meditative practices, symbolic gestures and use of vocal sounds, guided self inquiry practices and more.
When appropriately administered, Tantric Healing Yoga practices may be used in a wide variety of purposes such as
* in promoting and maintaining physical and mental health
* in serving as a complimentary system of holistic health care - both
preventative, and curative
* in relieving stress and promoting efficiency
* in aiding to face and deal with challenging life situations
* in providing and guiding us in spiritual transformation
The aim of Tantric Healing Yoga is to promote health and facilitate healing in a holistic manner, by allowing the healer to design and teach appropriate and unique practices that empower the students in their recovery.
A Holistic Process
Tantric Healing Yoga does not look at our individual system as one that is made up of parts. Rather it looks at our human being as one holistic entity that is made up different dimensions (physical body, breath, mental, personality traits, and emotions) that are mutually dependent on and mutually influence one another. It propounds that an illness at the body level, need not exist because of a cause in the body level, but could also manifest because of a problem in another dimension of the body.
For example, it is now proven that one possible factor that could contribute to heart attacks could be stress. And one cause stress could come because of emotionally unstable relationships. Thus an emotional cause may manifest as a physical symptom. The contrary could also be true. So are innumerable other possibilities. Thus Tantric Healing Yoga Therapy teaches us that, in choosing and designing practices for healing, we must understand such dynamics in the student (patient), before coming up with a unique solution.
Understanding this situation, the ancient masters presented tools of Tantric Healing Yoga, which were able to influence multiple dimensions of our human system, rather than just one. Thus a practice administered at the body level, may not only have an impact on the body, but has the potency to impact the other dimensions as well. Similarly a deep meditative practice may not only influence our mind or emotions, but may also have an influence on our physical body. Thus a good Tantric Healing Yoga practice empowers the whole human system, rather than parts of it. This is the beauty of Tantric Healing Yoga, and hence its potency in healing. Thus a Tantric Healing Yoga Therapist needs to be competent in the wide range of Tantric Healing Yoga’s tools, rather than just a few of them.
Some of the common tools used in Tantric Healing Yoga therapy include:
· postures (asanas)
· special breathing techniques (pranayama)
· meditative practices (dhyanam)
· social attitudes (yama)
· guided self inquiry practices (svadhyaya)
· symbolic gestures (mudra)
· use of vocal sounds (mantra)
· dietary recommendations (ahara niyama)
· lifestyle changes (vihara niyama)
. Tantric Touch
This list is not comprehensive, but is indicative of what is possible in Tantric Healing Yoga therapy. Also, often these tools may not be taught in isolation, but may be grouped together to come up with an effective practice.
An Individual Process
To make healing effective and potent, we must understand and interact with patients individually, rather than prescribe practices in groups, though some exceptional situations may even allow that. When we interact with students privately we can understand their individual illnesses, their causes and what are the individual abilities of the student, which can help us design practices that will be the perfect fit for them. Can a doctor prescribe the same pill to patients irrespective of their complaint? Similarly a Tantric Healing Yoga therapist has to interact with the student privately to help heal them. Otherwise it will not be an effective process.
A Self Empowering Process
A powerful component of the healing process in Tantric Healing Yoga is that it empowers the student to heal themselves. Unlike in surgery, where a surgeon operates on a passive and often unconscious patient, or touch therapy, where the therapist works on a patient, in Tantric Healing Yoga the student has an active and often complete responsibility in the healing process. The Tantric Healing Yoga Therapist’s role is limited to one of understanding the student’s illness, and teaching appropriate practices that the student will have to do it themselves. An important job is also to review and verify the appropriateness of the practice.
Since much of the healing happens due to the regular practice by the student, a key responsibility of the Tantric Healing Yoga Therapist is to inspire and motivate them to maintain the practice. This is often the key to the success of a good healing process.
What I Offer
Healing and Wellness
Tantric Healing Yoga offers developmental and therapeutic Tantric Healing Yoga programs that address the needs of the whole person according to the individual's capability and interest and which specifically seek to empower each client in their own healing and wellness processes.
Personalized Individual Tantric Healing Yoga programs
I offer one-on-one consultations and classes.
I design and monitor a course of practice that directly addresses the student’s specific needs, abilities, situation and therapeutic and/or wellness goals.
Initial Consultation:
First Session - 90 Minutes initial intake, consultation and program
Second Session - 30 Minutes - Follow Up
Rate: $250.00
Subsequent Follow-Up Sessions:
45 to 90 Minutes (depending on each individual)
Rate: $100 an hour (pro rated)
In preparation, please wear loose and comfortable clothing and we will provide anything you might need.
All sessions are held in my private studio near the Indian River in the Cocoa/Rockledge area of Florida.
EMAIL ME FOR MORE INFO: kathryn@kathrynstouch.com
**************************************
Though today, Yoga is mainly associated with the practice of physical postures and a few basic breathing techniques, there is more depth to this powerful discipline than has existed for more than two thousand years. It may seem trivial if so much importance were given to Yoga, over such a long period of time, if all it was, was a bunch of postures, that addressed only the physical needs of an individual.
On the contrary, Tantric Healing Yoga is a holistic healing discipline that addresses the needs of the whole person through continuous adaptation of its many tools to suit the student’s unique and changing needs. This is why, with the compassionate guidance of a skilled teacher, Tantric Healing Yoga is as appropriate for the young as it is for the old, as appropriate for the stroke victim lying immobile in a hospital bed, as it is for the flexible, athletic dancer. This is why it may be said that Tantric Healing Yoga is for everyone. It offers a wide range of tools which include physical practices, special breathing techniques, powerful meditative practices, symbolic gestures and use of vocal sounds, guided self inquiry practices and more.
When appropriately administered, Tantric Healing Yoga practices may be used in a wide variety of purposes such as
* in promoting and maintaining physical and mental health
* in serving as a complimentary system of holistic health care - both
preventative, and curative
* in relieving stress and promoting efficiency
* in aiding to face and deal with challenging life situations
* in providing and guiding us in spiritual transformation
The aim of Tantric Healing Yoga is to promote health and facilitate healing in a holistic manner, by allowing the healer to design and teach appropriate and unique practices that empower the students in their recovery.
A Holistic Process
Tantric Healing Yoga does not look at our individual system as one that is made up of parts. Rather it looks at our human being as one holistic entity that is made up different dimensions (physical body, breath, mental, personality traits, and emotions) that are mutually dependent on and mutually influence one another. It propounds that an illness at the body level, need not exist because of a cause in the body level, but could also manifest because of a problem in another dimension of the body.
For example, it is now proven that one possible factor that could contribute to heart attacks could be stress. And one cause stress could come because of emotionally unstable relationships. Thus an emotional cause may manifest as a physical symptom. The contrary could also be true. So are innumerable other possibilities. Thus Tantric Healing Yoga Therapy teaches us that, in choosing and designing practices for healing, we must understand such dynamics in the student (patient), before coming up with a unique solution.
Understanding this situation, the ancient masters presented tools of Tantric Healing Yoga, which were able to influence multiple dimensions of our human system, rather than just one. Thus a practice administered at the body level, may not only have an impact on the body, but has the potency to impact the other dimensions as well. Similarly a deep meditative practice may not only influence our mind or emotions, but may also have an influence on our physical body. Thus a good Tantric Healing Yoga practice empowers the whole human system, rather than parts of it. This is the beauty of Tantric Healing Yoga, and hence its potency in healing. Thus a Tantric Healing Yoga Therapist needs to be competent in the wide range of Tantric Healing Yoga’s tools, rather than just a few of them.
Some of the common tools used in Tantric Healing Yoga therapy include:
· postures (asanas)
· special breathing techniques (pranayama)
· meditative practices (dhyanam)
· social attitudes (yama)
· guided self inquiry practices (svadhyaya)
· symbolic gestures (mudra)
· use of vocal sounds (mantra)
· dietary recommendations (ahara niyama)
· lifestyle changes (vihara niyama)
. Tantric Touch
This list is not comprehensive, but is indicative of what is possible in Tantric Healing Yoga therapy. Also, often these tools may not be taught in isolation, but may be grouped together to come up with an effective practice.
An Individual Process
To make healing effective and potent, we must understand and interact with patients individually, rather than prescribe practices in groups, though some exceptional situations may even allow that. When we interact with students privately we can understand their individual illnesses, their causes and what are the individual abilities of the student, which can help us design practices that will be the perfect fit for them. Can a doctor prescribe the same pill to patients irrespective of their complaint? Similarly a Tantric Healing Yoga therapist has to interact with the student privately to help heal them. Otherwise it will not be an effective process.
A Self Empowering Process
A powerful component of the healing process in Tantric Healing Yoga is that it empowers the student to heal themselves. Unlike in surgery, where a surgeon operates on a passive and often unconscious patient, or touch therapy, where the therapist works on a patient, in Tantric Healing Yoga the student has an active and often complete responsibility in the healing process. The Tantric Healing Yoga Therapist’s role is limited to one of understanding the student’s illness, and teaching appropriate practices that the student will have to do it themselves. An important job is also to review and verify the appropriateness of the practice.
Since much of the healing happens due to the regular practice by the student, a key responsibility of the Tantric Healing Yoga Therapist is to inspire and motivate them to maintain the practice. This is often the key to the success of a good healing process.
What I Offer
Healing and Wellness
Tantric Healing Yoga offers developmental and therapeutic Tantric Healing Yoga programs that address the needs of the whole person according to the individual's capability and interest and which specifically seek to empower each client in their own healing and wellness processes.
Personalized Individual Tantric Healing Yoga programs
I offer one-on-one consultations and classes.
I design and monitor a course of practice that directly addresses the student’s specific needs, abilities, situation and therapeutic and/or wellness goals.
Initial Consultation:
First Session - 90 Minutes initial intake, consultation and program
Second Session - 30 Minutes - Follow Up
Rate: $250.00
Subsequent Follow-Up Sessions:
45 to 90 Minutes (depending on each individual)
Rate: $100 an hour (pro rated)
In preparation, please wear loose and comfortable clothing and we will provide anything you might need.
All sessions are held in my private studio near the Indian River in the Cocoa/Rockledge area of Florida.
EMAIL ME FOR MORE INFO: kathryn@kathrynstouch.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
What is My White Tantric Practice?
As a Tantric Practitioner (or Vajrayogini) I both practice and teach Tantra, Sat Nam Rasayan Healing and conduct Satsang sessions.
TANTRA
Tantra is a spiritual path for integrating body, mind and soul. It differs from other paths in its honoring of the body, using the senses, sensuality, and feelings to help you evolve spiritually.
Tantra assists you in realizing your full potential as a human being. If you choose to live from the Tantric perspective, you will transform your life. You will discover bliss.
You may apply Tantric practices and principles to many areas of life - to relationship and loving, spiritual practice and lifestyle, physical and emotional well-being.
The benefits of Tantric practice include:
* Deepened relationships
* Emotional freedom
* Expanded intuitive abilities
* Sustained health and vitality
* Boundless love
* and Playful, ecstatic awareness
As you explore further in this website, you will discover much more about Tantra. Please read on!
At the heart of Tantra is love.
The practices and rituals of Tantra, both spiritual and sensual, work to create the conditions necessary for love to flourish and endure. When we achieve states of presence, energy flow, relaxation, harmony, and connection, love emerges and opens the heart. To bring about the conditions that generate and sustain love, we can learn to rely upon Tantric practices to create more of these positive energy states. Tantra, therefore, is not just something to do in our bedrooms, but rather a complete way of life.
As a Tantrika, I follow regular practices to quiet my mind, open my awareness to sensation, raise my energy vibration, and cultivate a sacred attitude towards myself, others, and events in my life. As part of my practice, each day I create a time to connect with my body and spirit. I use the Ipsalu Tantra method to attune to my inherent Bliss vibration: I awaken my body, still my mind, arouse my shakti energy, draw that lifeforce into my higher chakras, and enjoy a meditation where I connect with what is present and what I want to create in my life. By the end of my practice my body is buzzing with blissful vibration. I feel spacious, centered, grounded, and ready to bring my vibrant energy with me out into my day.
Cultivating states of presence, energy flow, relaxation, harmony, and connection is not always easy. A lifetime of hurts and other negative experiences have gradually limited our ability to be present and to express the essence of who we really are, fully and freely. We slowly become cut off from our feelings and the ability to experience our sensual creative energy in a connected, joyful, loving way.
In a subtle, gentle, yet powerful way, Tantric loving brings healing. It breaks up and washes away residues of our past that hold us back from limitless love and intimacy. Tantra teaches us not only how to be great lovers, but how to be great healers for one another as well.
Tantra represents a unique paradigm for conscious living and loving. It offers a passionate and expansive way of life for those seeking to connect with their sensuality in a positive, heart-centered way, a way that celebrates freedom of spirit and body alike.
In principal, the Tantric Practitioner learns to focus and amplify life-force energy ("Chi" or "Prana") by combining various breathing and body awareness exercises. When the practitioner holds a high vibrational field of life-force energy around an affected area, she or he facilitates healing through the process of resonance and entrainment. Everything vibrates. When two things vibrate at different frequencies, there is a tendency for the vibrations to come together. Most often, the slower vibration will rise to match the faster frequency. There are many kinds of examples of entrainment: over time, similarly tuned electric oscillators will match frequencies; disembodied animal hearts when placed near each other and kept alive in a lab will all beat in unison; and when women share a dormitory, over months they will often start menstruating at the same time. Tantric Healing uses resonance and entrainment to facilitate healing. The practitioner learns to raise his or her vibration and create a high level of energy. If that energy field is placed around an area of pain, stress, inflammation, or disease, that part of the body will entrain to the higher frequency and allow one’s own biological intelligence to do whatever healing it deems necessary. Tantric Healing provides healing energy for the practitioner as well as for the person seeking healing. Using Tantric breathing techniques and body awareness exercises, the practitioner can hold an extraordinarily high vibration, influencing the person in need of healing to match the vibration of the practitioner. The practitioner will not become drained from doing the work. Most often, the practitioner feels emotionally uplifted as a result! I show people that they can actually dramatically change the taste of wine by directing energy into it; we're definitely affecting the very physics and chemistry of matter. I see that in the future, when research has been done, life force energy will be appreciated as being real ... and powerfully impacting physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and psychology. Our world will forever be different as people realize that their love has impact and their love has value. Healing is a fascinating process which is generally very poorly understood. While many people think they can heal other people, it is of utmost importance to realize that all healing is self-healing. I see myself as being simply a "catalyst" for self-healing. Cells desire to be well, and given the right energetic, emotional and nutritional environments, they will do just that. The body has an extraordinary intelligence and ability to heal itself. My favorite definition of a healer is someone who was sick and got well; a great healer is someone who was very sick and got well quickly.
Origins of Tantra
Tantra is a spiritual teaching and philosophy that originated in
It originated in ancient Vedic times, in matriarchal cultures such as that of the
The essence of Tantra has taken many forms of expression and appears in virtually every culture in history, e.g., Chinese Taoist Tantra, Native American Quodoshka.
Tantra is a timeless phenomenon as well as a global one. Even today in the West it satisfies many of our most essential needs: love, connection, intimacy, play, harmony and balance, inspiration, relaxation, celebration, physical and emotional well-being and spiritual fulfillment.
The Word Tantra
Tantra comes from the ancient Sanskrit words tanoti which means "to expand" and trayati which means "liberation." This implies that you can be liberated by expanding your consciousness.
Another definition of the word Tantra is “web” or “to weave.” Tantra is an interweaving of the energies of many levels of consciousness from the mundane, to the most erotic, to the most profound.
“Tantra” also signifies scripture that contains Tantric spiritual teachings.
Tantra Yoga
Like other Yogic traditions, Tantra Yoga uses the tools of meditation (dhyana), conscious breathing (pranayama), physical gestures (mudra), sacred sounds (mantra), sacred geometry (yantra), body positions (asana), muscular contractions (bandhas) to achieve self-transformation, conscious awakening, and spiritual evolution.
Tantra is generally divided into two main streams: Red Tantra and White Tantra.
White Tantra or Tantra of the Right Hand (Dakshina Marga) involves the meditative techniques of Tantra and is essentially a celibate, ascetic path.
I DO NOT TEACH OR INVOLVE MYSELF IN THE PRACTICES OF RED TANTRA.
The interrelated notions of the Goddess, Kundalini, the Subtle Body, and the Chakra System are central to Tantra and its aims.
The Goddess
Tantra reveres The Goddess.
In ancient times, The Goddess was worshiped as the embodiment of eroticism and the source of all creation. Every woman was seen as Shakti - The Goddess incarnate. Each woman is a Shakti. Shakti is the Hindu Goddess, or archetype, of the divine feminine.
Shakti also refers to a particular quality of energy that is feminine and rises upwards in the body, such as earth energy. It was worshipped in ancient
Re-awakening the Goddess is central to modern Tantra. Although both the masculine and the feminine energies are equally important, the extra focus on the feminine is necessary in order to counterbalance the predominant masculine energy of our present culture. Daily life in this busy world does not encourage women or men to recognize or acknowledge the Goddess, but rekindling a woman's energy brings forth her Goddess nature. Tantric practices allow the Goddess in every woman to emerge. Both the woman and her partner benefit. The free flow of a woman's energy activates her shakti, creating an atmosphere for spiritual enlightenment. Her pleasure and desire for lovemaking will increase and may even surpass the pleasure potential and desire of the man.
In Tantra, I honor the Goddess. I enjoy teaching these techniques and initiating those new to Tantra into the art of honoring the divine feminine.
Kundalini
The main purpose of the tantric path is to activate Kundalini energy in the body. Those who achieve this awakening live in an ongoing state of bliss.
Kundalini is the most powerful and refined energetic force available to us as human beings.
The term means "she who is coiled" and is traditionally depicted as a serpent, coiled and sleeping at the base of the spine. When awakened, it begins to uncoil as it climbs up through the chakras to the crown. For thousands of years, the serpent has been used in many cultures to symbolize rising consciousness.
A minimal flow of Kundalini exists in everyone already. It is the energy that animates the body and the physical senses and provides a base level of consciousness. As the flow increases, we begin to access higher realms of consciousness into the spiritual dimensions.
Kundalini is activated by the energy of Shakti energy. Shakti is generated through conscious lovemaking or specific yogic techniques designed to activate this energy. The tantric path sees our energy as an important expression of Kundalini.
A full Kundalini awakening occurs only when a perfect balance of masculine and feminine exists in the body. Maintaining a balance between these energies is the essence of Tantric practice.
Like a cobra which has cast its coils
spiraling conch-like three-times-
and-a-half round Shiva, her mouth
laid on that other mouth
which leads to bliss,
the enchantress
of the world,
slender as a lotus stem,
bright as a lightning-flash,
lies sleeping,
breathing softly out and in,
murmuring poems
in sweetest meters,
humming like a drunken bee
in the petals of
the muladhara lotus,
how brightly her light shines
--Satcakra-nirupana Tantra
For a more in-depth discussion of Kundalini and how it works, refer to the excellent chapter on the subject in Bodhi Avinasha’s The Ipsalu Formula: A Method for Tantra Bliss or Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s complete book Kundalini Tantra.
The Subtle Body
The Subtle Body
Since Tantric practices directly influence the energy of the subtle body, a basic understanding of esoteric anatomy is useful.
The Western view of anatomy encompasses systems of the body that we can see: the skeletal system, muscular system, nervous system, etc. Eastern medicine (i.e. Ayurveda, Chinese medicine) teaches that a subtle body also pervades our anatomy.
The most important aspect of the subtle body is the system of energy centers, known as chakras. The subtle body also contains several hundred thousand energy channels, called nadis. There are three principle subtle channels, the sushumna (central), the ida (left channel) and pingala (right channel). The subtle body is also called the energy body.
If you have ever done yoga or received acupuncture, you have already experienced the awakening of your subtle body.
As kundalini awakens, it rises up through the sushumna, moving through the main chakras of the subtle body. If there are energy blocks along this central energy "highway" the kundalini will not ascend through all of the chakras.
A heightened awareness of your energy body translates to intensified levels of sensation and pleasure. When your energy body is awake, even the slightest touch may arouse great bliss. I can teach you how to awaken the energy body of your beloved, inspiring in him or her unknown delights!
The Chakra System
The chakras are concentrated vortices of energy within the subtle body, centers of consciousness. They are way-stations along the upward path of the Kundalini. Our bodies actually have many chakras, both big (e.g. at the crown of the head) and small (e.g. at the pads of our fingers). “The chakras” refer to the seven main chakras "situated" along the axis of the spine. All the chakras have the potential to become powerful erogenous zones!
| English and Sanskrit Name | Location | Color Symbol | Central Issue | Goals | Intuitive Abilities |
| Crown Chakra Sahasrara | Top of head | Violet | Awareness | Wisdom, knowledge, consciousness, spiritual connection | Knowingness |
| Sixth Chakra Ajna | Center of head | Indigo | Imagination, intuition | Clear seeing, non-judgment, accurate interpretation | Clairvoyance, the ability to see spirit |
| Fifth Chakra Vissudha | Throat | Blue | Communication, creative expression | Clear, authentic communication and creativity | Clairaudience, the ability to hear spirit |
| Fourth Chakra Anahata | Heart | Green | Love, self-affinity | Compassion, tranquility, self-acceptance, good relationships | Connectedness to one's truth or soul purpose |
| Third Chakra Manipura | Solar plexus | Yellow | Power, will | Vitality, spontaneity, strength of will, purpose, self-esteem | Effortlessness |
| Second Chakra Svadhisthana | Low belly, genitals | | Sexuality, emotions | Feeling, fluidity, pleasure, healthy sexuality | Clairsentience, the ability to feel energy, emotions |
| Root Chakra Muladhara | Base of spine | Red | Survival | Stability, grounding, physical health, prosperity, trust | Groundedness |
Although we cannot see or feel the chakras with our physical senses, they are evident in the shape of our physical bodies and in the way we think, feel, and handle life's situations.
Sometimes these energy centers become clogged or blocked due to negative experiences, physical pain, emotional traumas, social programming, cultural conditioning, limiting belief systems, or adverse life conditions. Blocks result in an incomplete or unbalanced experience of life and limit the expression of our own true life force energy. If you have ever experienced a "knot in your throat," for example, due to holding back tearful emotional expression, then you have experienced a block in the 5th chakra. This block acts as a limit, restricting the full expression of your inner world to the outer. Can you recall a time when you have experienced a "heavy heart," a block in the 4th chakra? Grief, resulting from hurts to the heart, blocks the heart's natural lightness and expansiveness; the heart becomes heavy and closed. A heavy heart prevents us from engaging in nourishing, loving relationships, and our life may feel incomplete as a result.
Awakening and opening all of our chakras allow us to express ourselves as unique, whole, and fully-realized individuals.
Tantric practice provides means to fully awaken and open the chakras, with particular emphasis on the second, fourth chakras and sixth chakras (sex, heart, and spirit), integral to our experience as expansive, joyful beings.
Ipsalu Tantra Kriya Yoga is a unique approach within the variety of Tantric paths. Faithful to ancient Tantra's original purposes and researched techniques, it is an adapted system to meet the interests of people in the western world at the present evolutionary level. Ipsalu Tantra is a profound and playful way for learning to live in bliss. What distinguishes Ipsalu is the focus on realizing your true Self, attention to emotional flow, and the skillfully designed sets of yogic techniques for safely activating your kundalini (most powerful and creative) energy.
"Ipsalu" in Sanskrit means "transcending illusions of desire." By freeing and integrating ego desires, you realize your bliss body. Frustration, separation, boredom and fear melt away for they are simply clouds over the magnificence that is present inside you. The union of sex, love and pure awareness within your body, with a beloved, in each moment, with everyone, with all of existence is indescribable joy. It is the essence of your nature.
SAT SANGThe Satsang Association is a companionship between those who are open to the truth in all religious traditions and are seeking to know the absolute, the source of all life those, who also accept their need for guidance, challenge and support in the concrete living out of their ideals.
Satsang members recognise the barriers which are at the heart of many of today 's social evils, barriers which create fear and suspicion and thus keep people in conflict.
In small, often unnoticed, yet significant ways they are working to transform fear into respect and understanding - wherever they live and work.
The Satsang Association have been forming internationally around the initiative of Sister Ishpriya's spiritual teaching and guidance.
Satsang members make a serious commitment to:
-
•their personal growth in spiritual awareness and practice
-
•helping remove the barriers of prejudice and ignorance which divide persons from each other
-
•building up relationships of compassion and appreciation across frontiers of race, language, culture and religion.
Tantra provides connection with individuals on a true Tantric path. By utilizing the teachings of past Tantric Teachers and Healers, a powerful energetic path, which is a Sakthi Pat that takes into consideration all of the fundamentals of the Tantra Sadhana, I support your Spiritual Journey.
Tantra is a spiritual path to return home that enhances love within the self and between couples, by discovering the Tantra Goddess...
This is NOT a Tantric Goddess for people looking for sex, sexual partner connections, better sex teachers and/or seeking to otherwise explore their sexuality externally. True Tantra explores one’s own inner sexuality.
LET ME STATE UNEQUIVOCALLY: I AM NOT A PROSTITUTE AND I DO NOT HAVE SEX WITH MY CLIENTS
White Tantra does not teach people how to improve their relationships through “better sex”.
White Tantra or Tibetan Tantric Buddhism is a highly spiritual path that empowers individuals and couples to make love in every moment by increasing their capacity to share love, not have lots of sex.
Without love between couples, all the “better sex” workshops in the world will not provide intimacy or empower soul growth.
Better sex is a result of a mutual expression and sharing of love between partners who have had a long standing friendship before entering into divine union.
SAT NAM !
Thursday, April 10, 2008
KUNDALINI AWAKENING
KUNDALINI AWAKENING
Kundalini is the potential form of prana or life force, lying dormant in our bodies. It is conceptualized as a coiled up serpent (literally, 'kundalini' in Sanskrit is 'coiled up') lying at the base of our spine, which can spring awake when activated by spiritual disciplines. The Kundalini is curled up in the back part of the root chakra in three and a half turns.
"Kundalini is the energy of the Divine as it is experienced in the individual. Kundalini binds us when we project its energy into the world and yet, kundalini liberates us when we return this energy to its divine origin."
Spiritual practices like yoga and meditation focuses on the raising of the kundalini from the chakra at the base of the spine to the chakra in the crown of the head � awakening a powerful transformative energy.
"Kundalini energy has the capacity to wash away our deepest tensions, eliminate our misunderstandings about our true nature, and to expand the flow of creative energy and consciousness within us.
Kundalini is both the energy and essence of life and the practice of becoming aware of it."
Kundalini Yoga
The practitioners of Kundalini Yoga concentrate on psychic centers or chakras in the body in order to generate a spiritual power, which is known as kundalini energy.
The practice of Kundalini Yoga comprises of awakening and then forcing this energy, flowing through nadis or channels, up the psychic channel of the sushumna, which runs from the base of the spine to the brain. The three main channels running alongside the spinal cord are ida, pingala and the sushumna. When this kundalini energy, pictured as the serpent residing in the first chakra at the root of the spine (muladhar chakra), is raised up through the rest of the chakras until it reaches the seventh and the highest chakra (sahasrara) located at the crown of the head - self-realization occurs. This induces the blissful state of samadhi. The school of Sahaja Yoga is very similar to the Kundalini school.
Tantra Yoga
The roots of Tantra Yoga go back to ancient fertility cults of India. The history of this strain of yoga, like the Kundalini school, is linked with the worship of Shakti, the primordial female energy. The objective of Tantra Yoga is to merge with the Ultimate by the arousal and channeling of sexual energy.
The Tantra school equates spiritual awakening with the awakening and rising of the kundalini power. According to Tantra, the kundalini is present in everything, even in the smallest of particles, in the form of cosmic energy. Only a fraction of it is operative, while an unmeasured residuum is left 'coiled up' and untapped at the 'base root'.
Kundalini and Shaktipat
Shaktipat is the Direct Transmission of Spiritual Energy. Tantric practices recognize that spiritual freedom is realized through our own inner practice and the transmission of energy (shaktipat) from a teacher that awakens the kundalini energy. Shaktipat means the descent of grace, and it is a vitally important presence in the awakening of the kundalini. It is the fire that ignites the rising of the kundalini.
Kundalini and Chakras
The chakras are any of the nerve plexes or centers of force and consciousness located within the inner bodies of man. In the physical body there are corresponding nerve plexuses, ganglia and glands.
The seven principal chakras can be seen psychically as colorful, multi-petaled wheels or lotuses. They are situated along the spinal cord from the base to the cranial chamber.
Additionally, seven chakras, barely visible, exist below the spine. They are seats of instinctive consciousness, the origin of jealousy, hatred, envy, guilt, sorrow, etc. They constitute the lower or hellish world, called Naraka or patala. Thus, there are 14 major chakras in all.
The seven upper chakras, from lowest to highest, are:
1. muladhara chakra (base of spine): memory, time and space;
2. svadhishthana chakra (below navel): reason;
3. manipura chakra (solar plexus): willpower;
4. anahata chakra (heart center): direct cognition;
5. vishuddha chakra (throat): divine love;
6. ajna chakra (third eye): divine sight;
7. sahasrara chakra (crown of head): illumination, Godliness.
The seven lower chakras, from highest to lowest, are
1. atala chakra (hips): fear and lust;
2. vitala chakra (thighs): raging anger;
3. sutala chakra (knees): retaliatory jealousy;
4. talatala chakra (calves): prolonged mental confusion;
5. rasatala chakra (ankles): selfishness;
6. mahatala chakra (feet): absence of conscience;
7. patala chakra (located in the soles of the feet): murder and malice.
Kundalini and Nadis
Nadis are the astral tubes made up of astral matter that carry psychic currents. It is through these Nadis (Sukshma, subtle passages), that the vital force or Pranic current moves or flows.
Kundalini when awakened, will pass through Sushumna Nadi and this is possible only when the Nadis are pure. Therefore, the first step in Kundalini Yoga is the purification of Nadis. A detailed knowledge of the Nadis and Chakras, is absolutely essential. Their location, functions, nature, etc., should be thoroughly studied.
The three main nadis are named ida, pingala and sushumna.
• ida nadi: Also known as chandra ("moon") nadi, it is pink in color and flows downward, ending on the left side of the body. This current is feminine in nature and is the channel of physical-emotional energy.
• pinga nadi: Also known as surya ("sun") nadi, it is blue in color and flows upward, ending on the right side of the body. This current is masculine in nature and is the channel of intellectual mental energy.
• sushumna nadi: The major nerve current which passes through the spinal column from the muladhara chakra at the base to the sahasrara at the crown of the head. It is the channel of kundalini. Through yoga, the kundalini energy lying dormant in the muladhara is awakened and made to rise up this channel through each chakra to the sahasrara chakra.
Preparation for kundalini activation
Fundamental practices for activation of Kundalini shakti:
1. Purification of the body with the aid of Neti, Dhyoti and Vasti.
2. Practice of eight kinds of Pranayam (Yogic exercises).
3. Practise essential mudras such as Mahamudra, Mahavedha, Mahabandh, Viparitakarani, Taran, Paridhan, Yuktichalan and Shaktichalan
ABOUT KUNDALINI ENERGY AND KUNDALINI AWAKENING AND RAISING
WHAT KUNDALINI ENERGY IS
Kundalini is a dormant energy within most peple.
In Hindu mythology, Kundalini is a serpent goddess who lies asleep at the base of the spine, coiled three and a half times around the first chakra. Her name is Kundalini Shakti, and she represents the unfolding of the divine Shakti energy, the energizing potential of life itself, a living goddess who enlivens all things.
Under certain circumstances, the Kundalini energy awakens and begins to rise through the body, piercing and opening the chakras as she moves in her undulating, snake-like fashion. As Kundalini releases stored and blocked energies, her movement can be quite intense, sometimes painful, and often leads to mental states that seem out of this world.
Circumstances that stimulate Kundalini awakening are many and varied, but are usually triggered by such things as extended periods of meditation, yoga, fasting, stress, trauma, psychedelic drugs, or near death experiences.
Kundalini is a condensed, primal force, similar to the potential energy found in water. When released, it creates a vertical connection between the chakras by opening the subtle channels known as nadi, most specifically, the central channel that moves up the spine called sushumna. If we put water through a small hose at very high pressure, the end of the hose will undulate like a snake. Similarly, the intense energy of Kundalini undulates in the body as it rises through the chakras.
Kundalini can also be seen as a result of the chakras connecting to each other.
Theoretically, as the chakras enlarge, the spinning of one can enchance the spinning of the one above or below it.
Kundalini is basically a healing force, but its effects can sometimes be quite unpleasant. Such effects may last for minutes, days, months, or even years.
If you find yourself dealing with uncomfortable Kundalini awakening symptoms, you should:
1) Purify the body. Abstain from recreational drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and caffein, prescription drugs. Avoid food additives, high sugars, or greasy foods. Eat well, especially protein which is generally grounding. Get massage and vigorous exercise.
2) Reduce stress. If you are in for a major spiritual transformation, make time for the necessary changes in your life. You may need to devote more time to your spirituality or health.
3) Find Support. Find other who have knowledge of this experience.
4) Educate yourself. Read about Kundalini, Kundalini awakening,Yoga and learn about Chakras.
5) Treat underlying psychological issues. As Kundalini brings up unresolved issues, this is the best time to deal with them. It will make the ride smoother.
6) Examine your spiritual practices. If you have not been practicing meditation, yoga or some spiritual practice, it may be time to begin. You might need to stop meditating for a while if it increases unpleasant Kundalini awakening symptoms. See what increases or decreases the unpleasant effects.
7) Practice grounding. Kundalini is most difficult when the energy is moving upward without enough energy moving downward to balance. Investigate the possibility of the first chakra issues that need to be resolved in order to give a firmer base. Practice grounding exercise daily.
Kundalini Awakening definition and the path
Kundalini Awakening - the sure shot method for awakening of the kundalini.
Before we discuss about kundalini awakening... we need to understand the meaning of kundalini! The kundalini Shakti is that hidden positive energy stored in every human being by awakening which every human being reaches the level of Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed.
The awakening of the kundalini is possible by practicing the right Yoga and Meditation. In the normal circumstances the awakening of the kundalini is supposed to happen within a period of 1.1 million manifestations in form of a human being. A serious seeker of spirituality always desires Kundalini awakening at the earliest. Why?
Every true seeker of spirituality understands that unless the kundalini awakening occurs... one shall not be able to reach the level of Nirvikalpa Samadhi and the stage of self realization. Kundalini awakening is a hundred percent must before one can gain enlightenment in this life.
Apart from practicing the Shavasana pose in Yoga and also Neti as advocated by Maharishi Ramana... one needs to practice absolute celibacy for the kundalini awakening to occur.
Kundalini awakening is not something which can be taught in form of books... it only comes from experience. As we proceed on the path of pure spirituality while practicing absolute celibacy Brahmacharya vrata and Meditation... we shall find one-day that our kundalini awakening has occurred.
Kundalini energy stored within our spine slowly recoils itself. It is as if God is directly lifting us straight up for us to realize God with a short period of time. It is a very noble experience for every true seeker of spirituality.
For the kundalini awakening to occur... we need to preserve the monthly quota of energy given to every man and woman. We just cannot let this energy find pure physical channels of pleasure.
The path of kundalini awakening shall become clear from the following example-
In the normal routine if we are required to take 11 million steps up the ladder of spirituality... then it is also possible that we take the elevator straight up and cut short the path.
This elevator... the shortcut is the path of the kundalini which can be awakened by preserving the cosmic energy provided to every human being every month. As the stored energy increases... so does the journey expedite?
Every true seeker of spirituality has to one-day switchover to the recourse of kundalini awakening for the normal path may take millions of manifestations... a long journey indeed!
As the kundalini Shakti raises from the base of the spine towards the centre of the forehead... one shall experience very fearful flashes. It is really frightening sometimes for the kundalini awakening is accompanied by the shadow of a mammoth king cobra with many heads glaring at you from a short distance.
The coiled Serpentine kundalini Shakti has been compared to the power which one experiences while watching a coiled snake coming out of slumber. It is too frightening an experience and many seekers of spirituality leave their journey midway.
The coiled Serpentine energy known as kundalini Shakti is not to be feared of. We have to under all circumstances look at the face of the cobra with a feeling that we have to overcome the fear imbibed within us. Fearing the coiled kundalini Shakti shall be of no help.
The practice of absolute celibacy brings about a radical change in the personality of a serious seeker of spirituality. As we conqueror the coiled kundalini Shakti... we shall find an enormous glow on our forehead visible to the mankind.
The glow on the forehead of any human being directly represents the inner thinking process of any human being. More the glow... the higher the human being is supposed to be on the spiritual pedestal.
We may indulge in kundalini awakening right now or in subsequent manifestations... there is absolutely no escape. We have to indulge in kundalini awakening in one of the manifestations so that our soul (Atman within our body) regains its pristine pure from at the earliest and liberates forever from the cycle of birth and death.
In the last 150 years two persons have very successfully awakened their kundalini and realized god. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana while proceeding on the path of pure spirituality in search of God had their kundalini awakened fully. It was only after their kundalini had awakened were they able to reach the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
Every true seeker of spirituality understands the importance of kundalini awakening. If we are to realize God within our lifetime... we have to awaken our kundalini fully in the present life. Unless we take the lift straight up... we shall not reach the level of an awakened one... a living Buddha!
Kundalini awakening... however fearful it may seem to be... is representative of the positive powers of the cosmos overtaking the Satanic powers forever. Every God realized soul reaches the level of a Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed only after having conquered the negative forces for ever by awakening of the kundalini.
Kundalini awakening is better possible in a Man... The prime reason why in the whole history of mankind only two ladies had their kundalini awakened fully Gargi, the bachelor philosopher and Maitreyi the famous wife of Sage
Jnanavalakya!
Gargi was that special lady who having awakened her kundalini indulged herself in the famous dialogues with Pundit Mandan Mishra on the topic of sex. Gargi finally defeated Pundit Mandan Mishra for she was a truly God realized soul. Pundit Mandan Mishra had yet to awaken his kundalini.
Sage Jnanavalakya was that dominant force in the times of king Janaka that even before the contest amongst 10,000 pundits and sages gathered on stage had begun... Sage Jnanavalakya ordered the prize money to be taken home. Sage Jnanavalakya was a truly God realized soul. His kundalini had awakened fully and he knew that none in the assembly had reached his level of spiritual attainment.
Kundalini Awakening: a must if we are to realize god within our lifetime!
Maitreyi... his dutiful wife was never after the mundane affairs of life... she yearned for gaining self realization within her lifetime. She knew well that her husband could impart her pearls of wisdom gaining which she could get her kundalini awakened and finally reach the stage of enlightenment.
The Gargi and the Maitreyi colleges in New Delhi, India are reminiscent of those enlightening times in the history of mankind which remind us that kundalini awakening is also possible for a woman.
Summing up I need to emphasize the fact that the precious semen is required to be stored if we truly desire Kundalini awakening at the earliest. It is only when the stored semen rises through the spine to the level of the centre of the forehead... shall we gain enlightenment within this life.
KUNDALINI AND THE AWAKENING OF SPIRIT
As humanity accelerates towards the millennium, more and more people are reporting spiritual experiences and opening into awareness that physical reality is only a fraction of all that is.
How does spiritual emergence begin?
No one knows for certain just what kick starts the unfolding of spiritual potential. For some, spiritual emergence is a gentle and integrated process which develops as a natural consequence of many years dedicated to service and prayer or meditation under the guidance of a teacher or guru. Others may experience a more abrupt awakening, possible due to practices which awaken transformative energy before the person has done the necessary groundwork.
It is thought that practices such as yoga, bioenergetics, polarity work or breathwork cause the awakening of Kundalini energy which heralds the transformation of spiritual potential. Kundalini is the Hindu word for the sacred, transformative energy that awakens consciousness. According to esoteric literature, this energy has been coiled at the base of the spine in a latent form since birth, awaiting the stimulus to unfold its potential.
As this energy becomes active, it is usually sensed as a vibrational or energetic force in the body, together with a strong sense of spirit. Its movement may be experienced as a rushing, outpouring, a steady streaming up the spine, or a slowly coiling spiral motion.
Another common catalyst seems to be intense physical or emotional distress. As people confront the limits of their endurance and come face to face with death, they will often move into non ordinary or transpersonal states of consciousness. Thus experiences with natural disasters, near death experiences, or life transitions such as pregnancy, midlife or separation, may be emotionally tense situations which can lead to spiritual awakening. Regardless of the specifics of each individual’s experience, the Kundalini awakening heralds a great period of change in a person’s life.
What is spiritual emergency?
When spiritual seekers or even those who do not consider themselves to be on a spiritual path find themselves experiencing levels of awareness or energy transformation that they are unable to handle or for which they have no reference, then the result can be a state of emergency. In this state, a person feels highly vulnerable and oversensitive to incoming stimuli. Typically they feel overwhelmed, fragmented, fearful, confused and disoriented. With their absorption in inner processes, they may not be able to look after even basic self care.
All these situations can be bewildering and frightening, and at these times these people need support and reassurance as they undergo their transformations. The spiritual emergency network in the US seeks to network people and provide information to facilitate a more gentle emergence of spiritual potentials. The network is intended to put people in touch with others who have undergone similar experiences, or with counsellors who are aware of spiritual dimensions of reality.
THE SYMPTOMS OF KUNDALINI AWAKENING
While the awakening Kundalini may be a dramatic experience, the resultant shift in consciousness may be accompanied by years of physical and psychological upheavals. The process of Kundalini awakening can vary greatly from person to person. Some have intense physical symptoms, while others experience mainly emotional or psychological symptoms. It is as if the new energy invites a spring cleaning throughout the entire system, with unresolved physical or emotional conditions coming up for resolution and release. The life transforming changes which accompany a Kundalini awakening cover the entire physiological, emotional, mental and spiritual spectrum. Greenwell (1990) has noted seven categories of symptoms which have been observed during Kundalini awakening .
1. Pranic movements or kriyas
Prana is the Hindu word for vital energy. Thus as intense energy moves through the body and clears out physiological blocks, a person may experience intense involuntary, jerking movements of the body, including shaking, vibrations, spasm and contraction. As deeply held armouring and blockages to the smooth flow of energy are released, the person may re-access memories and emotions associated with past trauma and injury.
2. Yogic Phenomena
Some people find themselves performing yogic postures or hand mudra gestures which they have never learned or could not do in a normal state of consciousness. Similarly, they may produce Sanskrit words or sounds, or have an awareness of inner music or sound, mantras or tones. Unusual breathing patterns may appear with either very rapid or slow, shallow breathing. Some people may not breathe at all for extended periods.
3. Physiological Symptoms
A Kundalini awakening often generates unusual physiological activity as intense movement of energy releases toxins in the body. Symptoms include apparent heart problems, pains in head and spine, gastrointestinal disturbances and nervous problems. Internal sensations have been reported as sensations of burning, oversensitivity to sensory input, hyperactivity or lethargy, great variations in sexual desire and even spontaneous orgasm. Symptoms can be erratic, coming and going without provocation, but are generally unresponsive to medical treatment.
4. Psychological Upheaval
Spiritual awakening offers a direct challenge to the primacy of ego consciousness and the myth of separation. It brings with it a challenge to move beyond the unconscious responses ruled by drives and instincts and remove ego consciousness from the centre stage of the psyche. It comes as no surprise that such a challenge produces a period of confusion and unbalance.
People find themselves beset by inexplicable emotional states as they move to clear out unresolved issues. The emotional roller coaster may swing from feelings of anxiety, guilt and depression, through to compassion, love and joy, with accompanying bouts of uncontrollable weeping.
5. Extra Sensory Experiences
As perception expands outside of consensus reality, people experience atypical visual phenomena, including visions of lights, symbols, entities, or review of past life experiences. Auditory input may include hearing voices, music, inner sounds or mantras. Even the olfactory system may be stimulated with perception of scents of sandalwood, rose or incense. There may also be disruption of the proprioceptive system, with losing a sense of self as a body, or feeling bigger than the body, or out of the body, with the resulting confusion and disorientation.
6. Psychic Phenomena
With the opening up of psychic abilities, a person may experience precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis, awareness of auras and healing abilities.
7. Mystical States of Consciousness
A person may shift into altered states of consciousness where they directly perceive the unity underlying the world of separation and experience a deep peace and serenity with a profound knowing of wisdom.
In some cases, the state of emergency due to psychological upheaval is so acute that it resembles a psychotic episode. Many clinicians still regard phenomena associated with spiritual emergence as indicative of pathology because the signs are so easily confused with the indicators of psychosis, mania, depression, schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder. Many people undergoing spiritual emergency are misdiagnosed and treated with suppressive medication which further complicates their process.
What can be done to support a Kundalini awakening?
When Kundalini awakening happens to people who are not on a spiritual path or who have no context or framework to understand the bewildering upheaval of mind, body and spirit, the experience can leave them fragile and fragmented. As the Kundalini process involves a redefinition and reintegration of self, it adds extra pressure when health professionals or significant others wish to suppress the transformation and insist that the person conforms to old ways of being in the world.
Of greatest benefit is a supportive framework which can allow people to make sense of the intricate connection between spirit and the movement of physical energy in the body, rather than fearing they are going insane. It is more empowering to understand that Kundalini awakening is a process which taps into the blueprint for higher consciousness which is latent within every human. While the enormous changes associated with a spiritual awakening may demand psychological and social adjustments, they are not in themselves necessarily indicative of illness. Communication and connection with others who can provide support and a meaningful context for understanding the process reduces the isolation and overwhelm and can help to minimise the disturbance.
Someone who has the personal qualities of creative adaptation to change and a flexible mental framework is more likely to weather the changes with grace and style than someone who is rigid in their beliefs and world view.
Humanity’s Wake Up Call
Usually the awakening of Kundalini was a process which only occurred after years of spiritual practice and meditation. Yet increasingly, the Kundalini experience is being reported among people who are not undertaking spiritual practices. Since 1993, when Shared Transformation, an American journal for connecting spiritual awakeners first began, it has been contacted by over 700 people in the throes of spontaneous Kundalini arousal (Collie & Kress,1995).
These increased reports of spontaneous Kundalini awakening at this time of planetary upheaval may be indicative of a larger purpose at work, the beginning of a planetary wake up call. Anyone who is on a spiritual path, or engaging in practices which change body energies, such as meditation, yogic practices, breathwork, rebirthing or polarity balancing, may find they begin to resonate with the changing energies at this time and that they begin their own Kundalini awakening process.
Is Kundalini awakening the same as enlightenment?
It is important not to confuse Kundalini awakening with enlightenment. Enlightenment rarely results from a single encounter with the numinous. It is more as if the energetic awakening initiates an expansion in consciousness which sets the scene for a progression of many experiences with transpersonal states of consciousness. The intensity and duration of each of glimpse varies with our readiness to contain and integrate them.
Thus the Kundalini awakening is not an end point in itself, but the beginning of a transformation of consciousness which expands our capacity to KNOW the infinite. Spiritual emergence often includes expanded perceptual abilities, increased energy, creative expression and a dedication to being of service for the greater good.
In her book, The Energies of Transformation, Bonnie Greenwell (1990) gives us an indication of what this transformation may bring in practical terms.
“Most of those who awaken this connection with the ecstatic inner Self will return to being who they were, perhaps doing their lives with more contentment or a gentler perspective, perhaps more involved and committed in service to others, perhaps more energised and expressive, perhaps writing poetry, teaching, loving unconditionally.”(p302)
All our senses are MUCH more awake and alive when the Kundalini is aroused. Because she is sleeping around the sexual region of our body, when awakened often the first thing you feel is more SEXUALLY ALIVE! Thank God! The sexual energy is a beautiful divine feeling and is nothing to be ashamed of.
If you continue to stay in the present moment, you will slowly dissolve the deepest of illusions our mind has been constantly re-creating about a true/false reality, and start seeing The Reality of an ever-present energy of doubt, the truly magical and all-powerful cosmic God-being you truly are. This is the ultimate goal of the human experience.
Kundalini is the potential form of prana or life force, lying dormant in our bodies. It is conceptualized as a coiled up serpent (literally, 'kundalini' in Sanskrit is 'coiled up') lying at the base of our spine, which can spring awake when activated by spiritual disciplines. The Kundalini is curled up in the back part of the root chakra in three and a half turns.
"Kundalini is the energy of the Divine as it is experienced in the individual. Kundalini binds us when we project its energy into the world and yet, kundalini liberates us when we return this energy to its divine origin."
Spiritual practices like yoga and meditation focuses on the raising of the kundalini from the chakra at the base of the spine to the chakra in the crown of the head � awakening a powerful transformative energy.
"Kundalini energy has the capacity to wash away our deepest tensions, eliminate our misunderstandings about our true nature, and to expand the flow of creative energy and consciousness within us.
Kundalini is both the energy and essence of life and the practice of becoming aware of it."
Kundalini Yoga
The practitioners of Kundalini Yoga concentrate on psychic centers or chakras in the body in order to generate a spiritual power, which is known as kundalini energy.
The practice of Kundalini Yoga comprises of awakening and then forcing this energy, flowing through nadis or channels, up the psychic channel of the sushumna, which runs from the base of the spine to the brain. The three main channels running alongside the spinal cord are ida, pingala and the sushumna. When this kundalini energy, pictured as the serpent residing in the first chakra at the root of the spine (muladhar chakra), is raised up through the rest of the chakras until it reaches the seventh and the highest chakra (sahasrara) located at the crown of the head - self-realization occurs. This induces the blissful state of samadhi. The school of Sahaja Yoga is very similar to the Kundalini school.
Tantra Yoga
The roots of Tantra Yoga go back to ancient fertility cults of India. The history of this strain of yoga, like the Kundalini school, is linked with the worship of Shakti, the primordial female energy. The objective of Tantra Yoga is to merge with the Ultimate by the arousal and channeling of sexual energy.
The Tantra school equates spiritual awakening with the awakening and rising of the kundalini power. According to Tantra, the kundalini is present in everything, even in the smallest of particles, in the form of cosmic energy. Only a fraction of it is operative, while an unmeasured residuum is left 'coiled up' and untapped at the 'base root'.
Kundalini and Shaktipat
Shaktipat is the Direct Transmission of Spiritual Energy. Tantric practices recognize that spiritual freedom is realized through our own inner practice and the transmission of energy (shaktipat) from a teacher that awakens the kundalini energy. Shaktipat means the descent of grace, and it is a vitally important presence in the awakening of the kundalini. It is the fire that ignites the rising of the kundalini.
Kundalini and Chakras
The chakras are any of the nerve plexes or centers of force and consciousness located within the inner bodies of man. In the physical body there are corresponding nerve plexuses, ganglia and glands.
The seven principal chakras can be seen psychically as colorful, multi-petaled wheels or lotuses. They are situated along the spinal cord from the base to the cranial chamber.
Additionally, seven chakras, barely visible, exist below the spine. They are seats of instinctive consciousness, the origin of jealousy, hatred, envy, guilt, sorrow, etc. They constitute the lower or hellish world, called Naraka or patala. Thus, there are 14 major chakras in all.
The seven upper chakras, from lowest to highest, are:
1. muladhara chakra (base of spine): memory, time and space;
2. svadhishthana chakra (below navel): reason;
3. manipura chakra (solar plexus): willpower;
4. anahata chakra (heart center): direct cognition;
5. vishuddha chakra (throat): divine love;
6. ajna chakra (third eye): divine sight;
7. sahasrara chakra (crown of head): illumination, Godliness.
The seven lower chakras, from highest to lowest, are
1. atala chakra (hips): fear and lust;
2. vitala chakra (thighs): raging anger;
3. sutala chakra (knees): retaliatory jealousy;
4. talatala chakra (calves): prolonged mental confusion;
5. rasatala chakra (ankles): selfishness;
6. mahatala chakra (feet): absence of conscience;
7. patala chakra (located in the soles of the feet): murder and malice.
Kundalini and Nadis
Nadis are the astral tubes made up of astral matter that carry psychic currents. It is through these Nadis (Sukshma, subtle passages), that the vital force or Pranic current moves or flows.
Kundalini when awakened, will pass through Sushumna Nadi and this is possible only when the Nadis are pure. Therefore, the first step in Kundalini Yoga is the purification of Nadis. A detailed knowledge of the Nadis and Chakras, is absolutely essential. Their location, functions, nature, etc., should be thoroughly studied.
The three main nadis are named ida, pingala and sushumna.
• ida nadi: Also known as chandra ("moon") nadi, it is pink in color and flows downward, ending on the left side of the body. This current is feminine in nature and is the channel of physical-emotional energy.
• pinga nadi: Also known as surya ("sun") nadi, it is blue in color and flows upward, ending on the right side of the body. This current is masculine in nature and is the channel of intellectual mental energy.
• sushumna nadi: The major nerve current which passes through the spinal column from the muladhara chakra at the base to the sahasrara at the crown of the head. It is the channel of kundalini. Through yoga, the kundalini energy lying dormant in the muladhara is awakened and made to rise up this channel through each chakra to the sahasrara chakra.
Preparation for kundalini activation
Fundamental practices for activation of Kundalini shakti:
1. Purification of the body with the aid of Neti, Dhyoti and Vasti.
2. Practice of eight kinds of Pranayam (Yogic exercises).
3. Practise essential mudras such as Mahamudra, Mahavedha, Mahabandh, Viparitakarani, Taran, Paridhan, Yuktichalan and Shaktichalan
ABOUT KUNDALINI ENERGY AND KUNDALINI AWAKENING AND RAISING
WHAT KUNDALINI ENERGY IS
Kundalini is a dormant energy within most peple.
In Hindu mythology, Kundalini is a serpent goddess who lies asleep at the base of the spine, coiled three and a half times around the first chakra. Her name is Kundalini Shakti, and she represents the unfolding of the divine Shakti energy, the energizing potential of life itself, a living goddess who enlivens all things.
Under certain circumstances, the Kundalini energy awakens and begins to rise through the body, piercing and opening the chakras as she moves in her undulating, snake-like fashion. As Kundalini releases stored and blocked energies, her movement can be quite intense, sometimes painful, and often leads to mental states that seem out of this world.
Circumstances that stimulate Kundalini awakening are many and varied, but are usually triggered by such things as extended periods of meditation, yoga, fasting, stress, trauma, psychedelic drugs, or near death experiences.
Kundalini is a condensed, primal force, similar to the potential energy found in water. When released, it creates a vertical connection between the chakras by opening the subtle channels known as nadi, most specifically, the central channel that moves up the spine called sushumna. If we put water through a small hose at very high pressure, the end of the hose will undulate like a snake. Similarly, the intense energy of Kundalini undulates in the body as it rises through the chakras.
Kundalini can also be seen as a result of the chakras connecting to each other.
Theoretically, as the chakras enlarge, the spinning of one can enchance the spinning of the one above or below it.
Kundalini is basically a healing force, but its effects can sometimes be quite unpleasant. Such effects may last for minutes, days, months, or even years.
If you find yourself dealing with uncomfortable Kundalini awakening symptoms, you should:
1) Purify the body. Abstain from recreational drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and caffein, prescription drugs. Avoid food additives, high sugars, or greasy foods. Eat well, especially protein which is generally grounding. Get massage and vigorous exercise.
2) Reduce stress. If you are in for a major spiritual transformation, make time for the necessary changes in your life. You may need to devote more time to your spirituality or health.
3) Find Support. Find other who have knowledge of this experience.
4) Educate yourself. Read about Kundalini, Kundalini awakening,Yoga and learn about Chakras.
5) Treat underlying psychological issues. As Kundalini brings up unresolved issues, this is the best time to deal with them. It will make the ride smoother.
6) Examine your spiritual practices. If you have not been practicing meditation, yoga or some spiritual practice, it may be time to begin. You might need to stop meditating for a while if it increases unpleasant Kundalini awakening symptoms. See what increases or decreases the unpleasant effects.
7) Practice grounding. Kundalini is most difficult when the energy is moving upward without enough energy moving downward to balance. Investigate the possibility of the first chakra issues that need to be resolved in order to give a firmer base. Practice grounding exercise daily.
Kundalini Awakening definition and the path
Kundalini Awakening - the sure shot method for awakening of the kundalini.
Before we discuss about kundalini awakening... we need to understand the meaning of kundalini! The kundalini Shakti is that hidden positive energy stored in every human being by awakening which every human being reaches the level of Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed.
The awakening of the kundalini is possible by practicing the right Yoga and Meditation. In the normal circumstances the awakening of the kundalini is supposed to happen within a period of 1.1 million manifestations in form of a human being. A serious seeker of spirituality always desires Kundalini awakening at the earliest. Why?
Every true seeker of spirituality understands that unless the kundalini awakening occurs... one shall not be able to reach the level of Nirvikalpa Samadhi and the stage of self realization. Kundalini awakening is a hundred percent must before one can gain enlightenment in this life.
Apart from practicing the Shavasana pose in Yoga and also Neti as advocated by Maharishi Ramana... one needs to practice absolute celibacy for the kundalini awakening to occur.
Kundalini awakening is not something which can be taught in form of books... it only comes from experience. As we proceed on the path of pure spirituality while practicing absolute celibacy Brahmacharya vrata and Meditation... we shall find one-day that our kundalini awakening has occurred.
Kundalini energy stored within our spine slowly recoils itself. It is as if God is directly lifting us straight up for us to realize God with a short period of time. It is a very noble experience for every true seeker of spirituality.
For the kundalini awakening to occur... we need to preserve the monthly quota of energy given to every man and woman. We just cannot let this energy find pure physical channels of pleasure.
The path of kundalini awakening shall become clear from the following example-
In the normal routine if we are required to take 11 million steps up the ladder of spirituality... then it is also possible that we take the elevator straight up and cut short the path.
This elevator... the shortcut is the path of the kundalini which can be awakened by preserving the cosmic energy provided to every human being every month. As the stored energy increases... so does the journey expedite?
Every true seeker of spirituality has to one-day switchover to the recourse of kundalini awakening for the normal path may take millions of manifestations... a long journey indeed!
As the kundalini Shakti raises from the base of the spine towards the centre of the forehead... one shall experience very fearful flashes. It is really frightening sometimes for the kundalini awakening is accompanied by the shadow of a mammoth king cobra with many heads glaring at you from a short distance.
The coiled Serpentine kundalini Shakti has been compared to the power which one experiences while watching a coiled snake coming out of slumber. It is too frightening an experience and many seekers of spirituality leave their journey midway.
The coiled Serpentine energy known as kundalini Shakti is not to be feared of. We have to under all circumstances look at the face of the cobra with a feeling that we have to overcome the fear imbibed within us. Fearing the coiled kundalini Shakti shall be of no help.
The practice of absolute celibacy brings about a radical change in the personality of a serious seeker of spirituality. As we conqueror the coiled kundalini Shakti... we shall find an enormous glow on our forehead visible to the mankind.
The glow on the forehead of any human being directly represents the inner thinking process of any human being. More the glow... the higher the human being is supposed to be on the spiritual pedestal.
We may indulge in kundalini awakening right now or in subsequent manifestations... there is absolutely no escape. We have to indulge in kundalini awakening in one of the manifestations so that our soul (Atman within our body) regains its pristine pure from at the earliest and liberates forever from the cycle of birth and death.
In the last 150 years two persons have very successfully awakened their kundalini and realized god. Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana while proceeding on the path of pure spirituality in search of God had their kundalini awakened fully. It was only after their kundalini had awakened were they able to reach the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
Every true seeker of spirituality understands the importance of kundalini awakening. If we are to realize God within our lifetime... we have to awaken our kundalini fully in the present life. Unless we take the lift straight up... we shall not reach the level of an awakened one... a living Buddha!
Kundalini awakening... however fearful it may seem to be... is representative of the positive powers of the cosmos overtaking the Satanic powers forever. Every God realized soul reaches the level of a Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed only after having conquered the negative forces for ever by awakening of the kundalini.
Kundalini awakening is better possible in a Man... The prime reason why in the whole history of mankind only two ladies had their kundalini awakened fully Gargi, the bachelor philosopher and Maitreyi the famous wife of Sage
Jnanavalakya!
Gargi was that special lady who having awakened her kundalini indulged herself in the famous dialogues with Pundit Mandan Mishra on the topic of sex. Gargi finally defeated Pundit Mandan Mishra for she was a truly God realized soul. Pundit Mandan Mishra had yet to awaken his kundalini.
Sage Jnanavalakya was that dominant force in the times of king Janaka that even before the contest amongst 10,000 pundits and sages gathered on stage had begun... Sage Jnanavalakya ordered the prize money to be taken home. Sage Jnanavalakya was a truly God realized soul. His kundalini had awakened fully and he knew that none in the assembly had reached his level of spiritual attainment.
Kundalini Awakening: a must if we are to realize god within our lifetime!
Maitreyi... his dutiful wife was never after the mundane affairs of life... she yearned for gaining self realization within her lifetime. She knew well that her husband could impart her pearls of wisdom gaining which she could get her kundalini awakened and finally reach the stage of enlightenment.
The Gargi and the Maitreyi colleges in New Delhi, India are reminiscent of those enlightening times in the history of mankind which remind us that kundalini awakening is also possible for a woman.
Summing up I need to emphasize the fact that the precious semen is required to be stored if we truly desire Kundalini awakening at the earliest. It is only when the stored semen rises through the spine to the level of the centre of the forehead... shall we gain enlightenment within this life.
KUNDALINI AND THE AWAKENING OF SPIRIT
As humanity accelerates towards the millennium, more and more people are reporting spiritual experiences and opening into awareness that physical reality is only a fraction of all that is.
How does spiritual emergence begin?
No one knows for certain just what kick starts the unfolding of spiritual potential. For some, spiritual emergence is a gentle and integrated process which develops as a natural consequence of many years dedicated to service and prayer or meditation under the guidance of a teacher or guru. Others may experience a more abrupt awakening, possible due to practices which awaken transformative energy before the person has done the necessary groundwork.
It is thought that practices such as yoga, bioenergetics, polarity work or breathwork cause the awakening of Kundalini energy which heralds the transformation of spiritual potential. Kundalini is the Hindu word for the sacred, transformative energy that awakens consciousness. According to esoteric literature, this energy has been coiled at the base of the spine in a latent form since birth, awaiting the stimulus to unfold its potential.
As this energy becomes active, it is usually sensed as a vibrational or energetic force in the body, together with a strong sense of spirit. Its movement may be experienced as a rushing, outpouring, a steady streaming up the spine, or a slowly coiling spiral motion.
Another common catalyst seems to be intense physical or emotional distress. As people confront the limits of their endurance and come face to face with death, they will often move into non ordinary or transpersonal states of consciousness. Thus experiences with natural disasters, near death experiences, or life transitions such as pregnancy, midlife or separation, may be emotionally tense situations which can lead to spiritual awakening. Regardless of the specifics of each individual’s experience, the Kundalini awakening heralds a great period of change in a person’s life.
What is spiritual emergency?
When spiritual seekers or even those who do not consider themselves to be on a spiritual path find themselves experiencing levels of awareness or energy transformation that they are unable to handle or for which they have no reference, then the result can be a state of emergency. In this state, a person feels highly vulnerable and oversensitive to incoming stimuli. Typically they feel overwhelmed, fragmented, fearful, confused and disoriented. With their absorption in inner processes, they may not be able to look after even basic self care.
All these situations can be bewildering and frightening, and at these times these people need support and reassurance as they undergo their transformations. The spiritual emergency network in the US seeks to network people and provide information to facilitate a more gentle emergence of spiritual potentials. The network is intended to put people in touch with others who have undergone similar experiences, or with counsellors who are aware of spiritual dimensions of reality.
THE SYMPTOMS OF KUNDALINI AWAKENING
While the awakening Kundalini may be a dramatic experience, the resultant shift in consciousness may be accompanied by years of physical and psychological upheavals. The process of Kundalini awakening can vary greatly from person to person. Some have intense physical symptoms, while others experience mainly emotional or psychological symptoms. It is as if the new energy invites a spring cleaning throughout the entire system, with unresolved physical or emotional conditions coming up for resolution and release. The life transforming changes which accompany a Kundalini awakening cover the entire physiological, emotional, mental and spiritual spectrum. Greenwell (1990) has noted seven categories of symptoms which have been observed during Kundalini awakening .
1. Pranic movements or kriyas
Prana is the Hindu word for vital energy. Thus as intense energy moves through the body and clears out physiological blocks, a person may experience intense involuntary, jerking movements of the body, including shaking, vibrations, spasm and contraction. As deeply held armouring and blockages to the smooth flow of energy are released, the person may re-access memories and emotions associated with past trauma and injury.
2. Yogic Phenomena
Some people find themselves performing yogic postures or hand mudra gestures which they have never learned or could not do in a normal state of consciousness. Similarly, they may produce Sanskrit words or sounds, or have an awareness of inner music or sound, mantras or tones. Unusual breathing patterns may appear with either very rapid or slow, shallow breathing. Some people may not breathe at all for extended periods.
3. Physiological Symptoms
A Kundalini awakening often generates unusual physiological activity as intense movement of energy releases toxins in the body. Symptoms include apparent heart problems, pains in head and spine, gastrointestinal disturbances and nervous problems. Internal sensations have been reported as sensations of burning, oversensitivity to sensory input, hyperactivity or lethargy, great variations in sexual desire and even spontaneous orgasm. Symptoms can be erratic, coming and going without provocation, but are generally unresponsive to medical treatment.
4. Psychological Upheaval
Spiritual awakening offers a direct challenge to the primacy of ego consciousness and the myth of separation. It brings with it a challenge to move beyond the unconscious responses ruled by drives and instincts and remove ego consciousness from the centre stage of the psyche. It comes as no surprise that such a challenge produces a period of confusion and unbalance.
People find themselves beset by inexplicable emotional states as they move to clear out unresolved issues. The emotional roller coaster may swing from feelings of anxiety, guilt and depression, through to compassion, love and joy, with accompanying bouts of uncontrollable weeping.
5. Extra Sensory Experiences
As perception expands outside of consensus reality, people experience atypical visual phenomena, including visions of lights, symbols, entities, or review of past life experiences. Auditory input may include hearing voices, music, inner sounds or mantras. Even the olfactory system may be stimulated with perception of scents of sandalwood, rose or incense. There may also be disruption of the proprioceptive system, with losing a sense of self as a body, or feeling bigger than the body, or out of the body, with the resulting confusion and disorientation.
6. Psychic Phenomena
With the opening up of psychic abilities, a person may experience precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis, awareness of auras and healing abilities.
7. Mystical States of Consciousness
A person may shift into altered states of consciousness where they directly perceive the unity underlying the world of separation and experience a deep peace and serenity with a profound knowing of wisdom.
In some cases, the state of emergency due to psychological upheaval is so acute that it resembles a psychotic episode. Many clinicians still regard phenomena associated with spiritual emergence as indicative of pathology because the signs are so easily confused with the indicators of psychosis, mania, depression, schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder. Many people undergoing spiritual emergency are misdiagnosed and treated with suppressive medication which further complicates their process.
What can be done to support a Kundalini awakening?
When Kundalini awakening happens to people who are not on a spiritual path or who have no context or framework to understand the bewildering upheaval of mind, body and spirit, the experience can leave them fragile and fragmented. As the Kundalini process involves a redefinition and reintegration of self, it adds extra pressure when health professionals or significant others wish to suppress the transformation and insist that the person conforms to old ways of being in the world.
Of greatest benefit is a supportive framework which can allow people to make sense of the intricate connection between spirit and the movement of physical energy in the body, rather than fearing they are going insane. It is more empowering to understand that Kundalini awakening is a process which taps into the blueprint for higher consciousness which is latent within every human. While the enormous changes associated with a spiritual awakening may demand psychological and social adjustments, they are not in themselves necessarily indicative of illness. Communication and connection with others who can provide support and a meaningful context for understanding the process reduces the isolation and overwhelm and can help to minimise the disturbance.
Someone who has the personal qualities of creative adaptation to change and a flexible mental framework is more likely to weather the changes with grace and style than someone who is rigid in their beliefs and world view.
Humanity’s Wake Up Call
Usually the awakening of Kundalini was a process which only occurred after years of spiritual practice and meditation. Yet increasingly, the Kundalini experience is being reported among people who are not undertaking spiritual practices. Since 1993, when Shared Transformation, an American journal for connecting spiritual awakeners first began, it has been contacted by over 700 people in the throes of spontaneous Kundalini arousal (Collie & Kress,1995).
These increased reports of spontaneous Kundalini awakening at this time of planetary upheaval may be indicative of a larger purpose at work, the beginning of a planetary wake up call. Anyone who is on a spiritual path, or engaging in practices which change body energies, such as meditation, yogic practices, breathwork, rebirthing or polarity balancing, may find they begin to resonate with the changing energies at this time and that they begin their own Kundalini awakening process.
Is Kundalini awakening the same as enlightenment?
It is important not to confuse Kundalini awakening with enlightenment. Enlightenment rarely results from a single encounter with the numinous. It is more as if the energetic awakening initiates an expansion in consciousness which sets the scene for a progression of many experiences with transpersonal states of consciousness. The intensity and duration of each of glimpse varies with our readiness to contain and integrate them.
Thus the Kundalini awakening is not an end point in itself, but the beginning of a transformation of consciousness which expands our capacity to KNOW the infinite. Spiritual emergence often includes expanded perceptual abilities, increased energy, creative expression and a dedication to being of service for the greater good.
In her book, The Energies of Transformation, Bonnie Greenwell (1990) gives us an indication of what this transformation may bring in practical terms.
“Most of those who awaken this connection with the ecstatic inner Self will return to being who they were, perhaps doing their lives with more contentment or a gentler perspective, perhaps more involved and committed in service to others, perhaps more energised and expressive, perhaps writing poetry, teaching, loving unconditionally.”(p302)
All our senses are MUCH more awake and alive when the Kundalini is aroused. Because she is sleeping around the sexual region of our body, when awakened often the first thing you feel is more SEXUALLY ALIVE! Thank God! The sexual energy is a beautiful divine feeling and is nothing to be ashamed of.
If you continue to stay in the present moment, you will slowly dissolve the deepest of illusions our mind has been constantly re-creating about a true/false reality, and start seeing The Reality of an ever-present energy of doubt, the truly magical and all-powerful cosmic God-being you truly are. This is the ultimate goal of the human experience.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
TRATAKA - Eye Gazing
Trataka (in Sanskrit to look, or to gaze) is the practice of staring at some external object. It is used in yoga as a way of developing concentration, strengthening the eyes, and stimulating the Ajna chakra.
In its first stage, the practitioner fixes his attention on a symbol or yantra, such as the Om symbol, a black dot, or the image of some deity, and stares at it, paying attention to each thought and feeling as it arises, and letting them go, so that the mind is completely absorbed in the symbol. The practice continues until the eyes begin to water, at which point they are closed, and relaxed.
The second stage is staring at a candle flame. The practice is the same up until the eyes begin to water, after which the eyes are closed, and the yogi tries to concentrate on the after image, and hold it for as long as possible. At first, it will be a real after-image, but later, it will exist only in the mind's eye, and the exercise in concentration comes from trying to maintain it there for a long period of time.
Trataka is supposedly the technique which sadhakas use to develop psychic powers. Trataka on the Sun or one's own mirror image is considered to be extremely powerful, but without a guru's assistance it can be dangerous to try these.
Trataka
This practice is also called Eye Gazing and is used to develop concentration. When one sits and gazes continuously at some object, the process is called Trataka.
Method
Sit on a rug or your yoga mat in the squatting position. In yoga, this is called Sukhasana. Keep the waist, back, neck and the entire spinal column erect. Be relaxed and sit in a calm manner, breathing normally. Make a sign on a piece of paper like a cross or a circle. Hang it on a wall in front of you at the level of your eyes at a distance of about 2 meters from you. Now, fix your sight upon the sign or image without closing your eyes. Concentrate only on the sign or image. Continue to gaze, non-stop till your eyes start watering or feel the strain. Once this happens, close your eyes, and imagine that symbol to be in the eyebrow center and concentrate upon that sign through the mind's eye.
You can also do Trataka by concentrating on the flame of a candle or lamp. Light a candle or lamp and place it upon a table or stool at the level of the height of your eyes. Please make sure there is no turbulence in the air around because the flame of the candle should not flutter. Keep the candle at a distance of 2 feet from you. Now fix your gaze on the flame. Continue to gaze without blinking till you feel the strain on the eyes and they start watering. Then close your eyes and visualize the flame at the eyebrow center through the mind's eye. Gradually increase the time with practice.
Benefits of this practice:
Trataka cures several eye diseases. Eyesight improves and it reduces lethargy. It increases the power of concentration.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
TRADITIONAL TIBETAN BUDDHIST ENERGY HEALING AND TANTRIC MASSAGE
The technique for this healing practice originated from the pure tradition of Tibetan Buddhism which was founded by Buddha Shakyamuni in India
This method uses a twofold application of Tibetan Medicine Buddha practice and Yoga massage as taught by the Buddhist master, the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, who is also a practitioner of Tibetan medicine and one of the tradition holders from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, including Vajrayana (or Tantric) Buddhism.
Medicine Buddha is the supreme healer and king of physicians who expounds the Medical Tantras and is revealed through meditation as inseparable from our own innermost nature. The healing qualities of wisdom and compassion are expressions of the self, manifesting radiance at the heart of all existence.
As said in the text:
Mind of yours is emptiness and luminosity conjoined
Without birth or death, it is the Buddha of Immortal Light
When we recognize the pristine nature of our mind as no other than Buddha,
Looking into our own mind is resting in the mind of the Buddha
Healing is restoring balance, perfect health, the cessation of all suffering. Tibetan Buddhism healing ranges from naturopathic healthcare to esoteric yoga which purifies the body’s inner essence, eliminating the basis from which disease can arise.
Unique to the Tibetan Buddhist concept of healing is the ideal of achieving liberation from the suffering of conditioned existence.
In Buddhism it is said:
Until ignorance and craving are removed from the mind-stream,
no matter how healthy we may think we are, we are still ill.
This primordial affliction of contracted awareness is capable of being cured
only through the supreme elixir of spiritual practice.
A mental problem is any kind of energy origination from the mind, or emotions such as anger, worry or fear that cause stress. It also has the power to remove obstacles that prevent you from fulfilling your happiness.
PRELIMINARIES TO BUDDHIST TANTRA
"Tantra activates many powerful subtle energies in our body and mind and,
if we do not have any mental training or discipline,
this excess energy will take the path of least resistance
through our negative emotions of attachment, jealousy, pride, egotism, and so on"
Lama Ganchen
SECRECY
"Pure intellect, indeed, detached from soul, is the death of Man. Intellect, self-confident and isolated in arrogant complacency, does not ennoble Man. It humiliates him, deprives him of his personality. It kills that loving participation in the life of things and creatures of which the soul, with its emotions and intuitions, is capable. Intellect, by itself alone, is dead and also deadly - a principle of disintegration."
From Giuseppe Tucci's "The Theory and Practice of the Mandala" - Rider.Why are Buddhists so secretive of tantra? Tantric practice is a highly advanced form of psycho-physical exercises in order to achieve transformation of one's body and mind quickly into the perfected state of a Buddha. Simply said, these methods are not without danger when used without the proper guidance and precautions. To avoid people getting involved in these practices without proper guidance, the practices are kept secret for people without explicit permission to practice from a qualified teacher. Often, teachers require disciples to do extensive practices before being allowed any permission; more about that is written in below paragraphs on prerequisites and preliminaries. So please keep in mind that the secrecy around tantra is basically for safety, just like it is proper to lock a gun away from the reach of children.
Whatever is included on these web pages about tantra is general knowledge which is allowed for uninitiated to read, and is intended to at least take away some misunderstandings about tantric practices.MOTIVATION FOR PRACTICE
To clarify where tantric practices fit in the Buddhist system, it may be useful to explain a bit more about the various motivations or scopes. Traditionally, only the "small, middle and high scope" are taught to distinguish the various motivations for practising. Here, I would like to present a somewhat unconventional approach, starting even below spiritual practice:
- The "Animal Scope": Wanting immediate happiness for oneself.
- The "Worldly Human Scope": Wanting immediate happiness for oneself and others.
- The Buddhist Small Scope: Wanting happiness for oneself in a future life.
- The Buddhist Middle Scope: Wanting to escape the cycle of uncontrolled rebirth for oneself. (Hinayana)
- The Buddhist Great Scope: Wanting others to go beyond suffering forever (enlightenment), and reach Buddhahood oneself to help others on their path. (Mahayana)
- The "Buddhist Tantric Scope": Wanting others to be happy as soon as possible, and reach Buddhahood oneself quickly to serve them. (Vajrayana)A teaching from "Being Peace" by Thitch Nhat Hahn:
"A woman who practices reciting Buddha Amitabha's name, is very tough and recites "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA" three times daily. Although she is doing this practice for over 10 years, she is still quite mean, shouting at people all the time. She starts her practice lighting incense and hitting a little bell.
A friend wanted to teach her a lesson, and just as she began her recitation, he came to her door and called out: "miss Nuyen, miss Nuyen!".
As this was the time for her practice she got annoyed, but she said to herself: "I have to struggle against my anger, so I will just ignore it." And she continued: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
But the man continued to shout her name, and she became more and more oppressive.
She struggled against it and wondered if she should stop the recitation to give the man a piece of her mind, but she continued reciting: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
The man outside heard it and continued: "Miss Nuyen, miss Nuyen..."
Then she could not stand it anymore, jumped up, slammed the door and went to the gate and shouted: "Why do you have to behave like that? I am doing my practice and you keep on shouting my name over and over!"
The gentleman smiled at her and said: "I just called your name for ten minutes and you are so angry. You have been calling Amitabha Buddha's name for more then ten years now; just imagine how angry he must be by now!"PREREQUISITES
The following aspects are considered prerequisites before a disciple can engage in tantric practice:
1. Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
2. Renunciation: a realisation is best, but a proper understanding is essential.
3. Bodhicitta: a realisation is best, but a proper understanding is essential. For most of the initiations, it is required to take the aspiring Bodhisattva vows or the Bodhisattva vows.
4. Emptiness: a direct realisation is best, but a proper understanding is essential (see the page on Wisdom).
5. Reliance on a spiritual teacher: proper confidence in a teacher and verifying his/her qualifications is essential.
6. Empowerment or initiation: without this ceremonial permission to practice by a qualified teacher, tantric practice is improper.
7. Tantric vows: for the higher tantric classes, one needs to take tantric vows. These vows are secret to the uninitiated, so students need to take 'a leap of faith' and trust the teacher and the practice before taking them.
8. Faith/confidence: solid confidence both in the teacher and the teachings is essential to avoid serious karmic problems when doubts arise. 'Blind faith' will generally not have the power to pull someone through when things are difficult.The only proper motivation to practice tantra is bodhicitta, or the wish to become fully enlightened in order to help all sentient beings. This is the reason why at least an understanding of bodhicitta is essential prior to engaging in tantric practice. To enforce this motivation, usually, an extra prerequisite is taking either the Aspirational Vows or the full Bodhisattva Vows.
Next, at least some understanding of the philosophy of emptiness is essential for tantric practice, as this is the basic mental state in which tantric practice becomes more than just ritual or strange practice of imagination.
Ideally, a tantric practitioner should have full realisations of bodhicitta and emptiness instead of merely a conceptual understanding. In that case, tantric practice can guide one very swiftly to the state of Buddhahood.
PRELIMINARY PRACTICES
Some teachers (depending on the specific tradition and individual student) require one to engage in the so-called preliminary practices before giving initiation to disciples. However, the first four practices mentioned below (mandala offerings, refuge, Vajrasattva and prostrations) are generally the preliminaries for a traditional "3-year and 3 month retreat".
These preliminary practices traditionally consist of :- Making 100,000 mandala offerings to generate merit by generosity; (see instruction on the Osel Shen Phen Ling website)
- Reciting 100,000 refuge prayers (to increase one's confidence, see the page on refuge)
- Reciting 100,000 Vajrasattva mantras to purify obstacles (see Teachings on the Vajrasattva Retreat by Lama Zopa Rinpoche)
- Making 100,000 prostrations to counteract pride (see image on the right, and read a description by Sakya Pandita).Depending on the teacher and the disciple, other practices are sometimes done:
- Offering 100,000 water-bowl offerings (create merit by generosity)
- Reciting 100,000 Guru's name mantras: Guru-yoga, to generate confidence and establish a deeper relationship with the teacher
- Making 100,000 clay images or 'tsa-tsas' in Tibetan (see picture)
- Reciting 100,000 Samayavajra mantras (somewhat similar to Vajrasattva)
- Making 100,000 fire offerings to Vajra Daka (Dorje Khadro).Not only are these excellent methods to accumulate the necessary positive energy (karma) to have success with the practice, but they also help in the purification of obstacles to the practice.
LINKS
On mandala offerings.
A Hindu explanation of mantras.
Prostration teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, how to make prostrations, Prostrations by Lama Gendyn Rinpoche
Water-bowl offering teachings
Incense offering
More on making tsa-tsas
An exploration of the "Ngondro Practices" by Lobsang TashiA nice teaching by the American nun Thubten Chodron can be found on the Dharmafriendship site under "Articles".
An interesting description is found on the YogiChen website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
