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Author Topic:   Kundalini
26taurus
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posted January 30, 2005 01:22 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Can anyone recommend some good books on this subject? Or relate some experiences? I've been having some strange experiences that I think have to do with awakening Kundalini and I'm trying to dig up as much info as I can. But I'd like to know if anyone knows of some good books on Kundalini or "Serpent Power". Thank you.

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Aen
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posted January 30, 2005 05:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Aen     Edit/Delete Message
LOL

I just browsed 'Soul Searchers: The Hidden Mysteries of Kundalini' by R. Venugopalan. Don't know if it is a good book, but it keeps popping into my mind in a calling way, so I'll go back and buy it anyway. I've learned that if a books wants to be read, better not argue with it.

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Saffron
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posted January 30, 2005 06:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Saffron     Edit/Delete Message
Love and Rockets

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26taurus
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posted January 30, 2005 08:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Thank you both!

I'll make a note and look into them.

Aen,

Yes, indeed. I've learned the same. The books pick you not the other way around.

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Saffron
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posted January 30, 2005 10:53 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Saffron     Edit/Delete Message
Kundalini Express

(excellent) song by Love and Rockets

This is an announcement
For the transcendental run
The train now standing
Leaves for higher planes
Due to a derailment
There will be no other train
So why not hop on this one?
Hear the porter's glad refrain
Each carriage is connected
As is every single train
The rails all form a track
Which is a link within a chain
The chain's connected to another chain now
You will need no ticket
If you wish to ride on this train

All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini

The song is in your heart
Your heart is in the song
The song is of the earth
The song is of the sky

You are disintegrating
Into everything around
Reintegrating
The worm we dug from higher ground
You have let go of ego
Ego is no longer you
Closer to nirvana
Since the porters whistle blew

All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini
All aboard the express kundalini

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26taurus
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posted January 31, 2005 09:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Oh, I see. They are a band. Neat-o!

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coldiron
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posted February 01, 2005 07:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.
You might also check out Essence with Elixir of Enlightenment by Ali Hameed Almaas. It's not strictly about kundalini. It covers a lot of other things and puts kundalini into its proper place in spiritual development (more of a sequence of states than a settled station).

If you want to make a quick choice I'd recommend Almaas over Yogananda but Yogananda is considered to be the classic description of a kundalini awakening.


Take a look at:
http://kundalini.se/eng/
(Quite comprehensive. The section on pitfalls is well worth looking at)
http://www.yogachicago.com/sep00/kriyananda.shtml
(Q&A with a kundalini yoga teacher)

Regards,


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26taurus
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posted February 02, 2005 05:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Hey coldiron! Good to see you!

Funny , I recently finished Autobiography of a Yogi (I started a thread on it a few strings down). It is now one of my favorite books. That book's a life changer.

I will definitely look into Almaas. Thank you very much. And the links! Thank you, I'm going to explore those.

Blessings

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coldiron
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posted February 02, 2005 02:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
And good to be seen 26.

I noticed you'd already read Yogananda after I posted. Must be the mojo at work again ;-)

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26taurus
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posted February 04, 2005 07:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Hi coldiron,

Well, I'm looking over these great links and I'm finding that both of them say awakening or the releasing of Kundalini energy can be dangerous. I havent been "trying" to awaken it, but believe it has been happening on it's own for a long time now. What I am reading explains alot and completely relates what is going on. I think that just by the way I've been living - my lifestyle - has awakened this energy on it's own, without me even really consciously trying. I'm glad I've found these links because I believe they will help to teach me how to "control"....? .....this or learn how to better direct it or live with it. I am having alot of the negative (and positive) side effects mentioned. It's all very interesting. I'm not afraid of it, but do think I need to educate myself on what is going on here. After reading Autobiography of a Yogi, I realized the importance of meditation. But I havent been meditating much although I want to. I know it is important and I guess it just comes down to disciplining oneself. I think meditation may be one of the "answers" in helping me deal with this. Anyway, just kind of rambling here. Thanks again for the links.

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coldiron
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posted February 06, 2005 08:38 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
Hi 26,

As Thufir used to say: "The first step in avoiding a trap is knowing of its existence."

Kundalini is a natural stage in some respects and not necessarily anything to be frightened of. It simply requires a certain caution in order to progress to the next stage.

The "problem" with Kundalini is that it is very attractive and, in some cases, addictive. It's also much more exciting and ecstatic than the thing it is a precursor for. I often think of Kundalini as the storm before the calm and a teacher of mine described it as "spiritual adolescence" with the follow on of "Remember adolescence? Wouldn't want to go through that again!" ;-)

He's quite right. It has that exciting and unbalanced aspect of relearning one's internal landscape that I recall so very well from adolescence. The appearance of powerful emotional and physical responses to stimuli that had previously been relatively neutral. In short it's a matter of relearning how to be at a more complex level of being.

I'll type in the section of Almaas where he describes it very well. He, at least, has a clear picture of what follows on from it and it may help to stabilise and guide through the process.
I've found it useful in the past certainly.

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coldiron
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posted February 07, 2005 12:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
At some point in the practice, the heart center opens, and the person is flooded with deep, intense feelings of joy and love. He feels transported. He has a sense of emotional freedom, sometimes accompanied by beautiful thoughts, images, or visions. The heart is full of love and compassion towards the self and others. Such a person might see lights of various beautiful colours and intensities. He might even feel he is made of light. He might realize “I am the light.”

This is all beautiful and good. In fact, it is necessary for inner development. But this is not yet essence. This kind of experience is what usually happens when one of the chakras in the body is activated. Chakra is an indian word meaning “center” or “wheel.” The chakras are different centers of certain energies; the heart chakra is one of many. They are usually located in the main plexi of the nervous system and are very much linked with the nervous system and its processes. Their function is mainly the coordination of some basic physiological and autonomic discharge processes.

The energies of the chakras are the basic raw energies of emotional states. When a chakra is active, or “open”, we directly experience the basic subtle energies that go into the makeup of the various emotions, instead of the emotions themselves. That is why we experience emotional freedom when the heart opens: the energy frees us, for the moment, from the conflicting emotions that usually fill our hearts. The basic energy of the heart chakra is experienced as love, joy, and bliss. When it is seen, it is seen as coloured lights in the heart, usually golden or green.

The activation of the other chakras will have a similar sense of expansion, freedom, light and so on but not necessarily love. In such openings there is generally a flooding of deep, intense emotions and feeling, usually experienced as a high-energy dramatic happening. The person has the sense that it is a “big deal,” that he is having a spiritual experience or a mystical union. This is true, but it is also true that this is only a transitory stage. All the drama subsides after a while, and other processes, subtler and deeper, begin to take place.

However, because the level of the chakras is dramatic, intensely emotional, and full of visions of beautiful phosphorescent lights, it has a fascinating and captivating effect on the mind. The person keeps seeking these dramatic experiences and is not interested in the subtler processes that are necessary for moving to the essential dimension.

The drama and the flash are mostly the result of the emotional nature of the experience. Each chakra contains so many deep and intense emotions, which have been suppressed and stored up for many years, that when the chakra is activated the energies of all these damned up emotions are liberated and flood the person’s consciousness. The deepest emotions in the heart are those of love and joy, and they flood out in all their intensity, producing beautiful lights, sensations and ecstatic states.

Chakra experiences, such as the experience of the heart opening, are considered by many systems of inner development as temptations. The seeker can become addicted to this dimension of experience and stop there, aborting the process of essential development. This addicting characteristic can be seen in people who are addicted to high levels of excitement. The energy of excitement is the same energy that operates at the chakra level.

The heart chakra, like every other chakra level, functions as an entrance into a deeper realm, the realm of the essence. This realm is a whole universe, the universe of essence. Taking the experience of the heart chakra as the end is like standing at the door of this universe and never entering. It is true that the door is open, but the door is not the essential universe. The door is beautiful, colorful, and fascinating, but it is only the ornamented entryway to a realm that surpasses anything else in beauty and significance. The energy of the chakra level is sometimes symbolized by a serpent, a cobra, the kundalini. This scintillating and mesmerizing image of the kundalini cobra, although beautiful and magnificent, is also used in many teaching stories to symbolize the guardian of a treasure, a guardian that must be vanquished before the hero can gain the treasure. The treasure is the essential realm. The serpent is the guard at the door of the treasure (essence), protecting it and preserving it. Yet this guardian must be vanquished and superseded if the hero is to attain the treasure and enjoy the essential life.

So the chakra level, the realm of the kundalini, is a stage of inner development, not the destination. It can be used to go further. The open heart chakra can be used to go to the experience of essential presence if the individual allows himself to look further, beyond the glitter and excitement, into the deeper, more tranquil, and subtler presence in the heart. In fact, it can happen that the experience of the heart opening results from a contact with the essence in the heart. The presence of essence might, by itself, open the heart chakra. The ecstatic experience is not only emotional but essential—in some cases, the essence is flowing out but is experienced emotionally. In other cases, the flow of essence is mixed with the emotional, chakra-level energy. When a person is captivated by the emotional aspect of the experience, he tends to miss the presence of essence and so misses the opportunity to go on to the deeper and richer realm of essence. However, if he stays present in the experience and objectively looks at its constituents, he might stumble on the essential presence. He then has the opportunity to experience the essential realm in its purity, without the diluting presence of emotions. The quality of experience in the heart will be now very different from that of the chakra level. The first deeper level beyond the heart chakra might be the first essential experience. This is one of the centers that the sufis call the lataif. These centers are sometimes called “organs of perception.”

Quoting Henry Corbin:

In Ibn Arabi as in Sufism in general, the heart(qalb), is the organ which produces true knowledge, comprehensive intuition, the gnosis (ma’rifa) of God and the divine mysteries, in short the organ of everything denoted by the term “esoteric science”(ilm-al-Batin). It is the organ of a perception which is both experience and intimate taste(dhawq)…
Here we have to do with a “subtle physiology” elaborated “on the basis of ascetic, ecstatic and contemplative experience”…
In short, this “mystic physiology” operates with a “subtle body” composed of psycho-spiritual organ

(Quote ends and Almaas continues)

This particular one of the lataif, the heart center, is connected with the experience of compassion. At this level of experience, all of the excitement, glitter, and drama of the heart chakra is gone. Instead, what is experienced in the chest cavity is emptiness. The whole chest feels as if it is all gone. There is nothing left but a very clear, peaceful and silent emptiness. It feels as if nothing is occurring there, yet it is open and lucid. If the person pays closer attention, it will become apparent that this peaceful emptiness is pervaded by a very fine and subtle presence, so fine and subtle that it is usually overlooked by the person having the experience. This fine and subtle presence pervading the emptiness of the heart is the latifa or the first manifestation of it. The person will experience a subtle but exquisite sense of compassion, for himself and all others.

But if the person pays even closer attention, he will see that there is no emotion, no emotional discharge at all. Then where does the compassion come from? The person will see that the subtle presence pervading the chest cavity has a particular quality that we can say is its affect. This quality can best be described as loving-kindness. However, if the person tries to see exactly what the quality of this presence is, he’ll see that it is not exactly compassion or loving-kindness but that loving-kindness is the closest thing in our language that describes it. It has a sense of warmth, gentleness, virgin newness, like that of a newborn infant, but it also has an intrinsic pleasurable quality that is difficult to describe. We can say that it is like pleasurable lumination. Much more can be said about this fine presence.

Calling it loving-kindness is very close but not exact. The emotion of compassion, as it is normally felt, is actually the discharge of the nervous system under the impact of the presence of this subtlety. It is not the presence of but the emotional response of the nervous system to it. It approximates the essential experience but fails to reach it. In this example, we see very clearly the difference between the chakra experience and the essence experience (here on the lataif level). The chakra experience is a discharge process; the essence is more our nature. The first is an activity; the second is an ontological presence.

In spiritual literature, the word heart is sometimes used to denote the heart chakra and sometimes to denote the heart center, the lataif that is called akhfa, “the most hidden.” Sometimes it refers to another latifa, qalb, the one on the left side of the chest.

But sometimes, some teachers, mostly Sufis, use the word heart to denote essence itself, the presence of true nature, in all of its facets.

Many authors who write about inner development use the word heart without regard to the various meanings it has. This is not terribly important for the beginner, but after a while it is of decisive importance for the person’s understanding to know in what sense it is being used. This could make the whole difference in the person’s understanding and experience.

--Ali Hameed Almaas, Essence p28-32

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coldiron
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posted February 07, 2005 12:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
Some other notes on Kundalini and a link to a glossary of terms that Almaas uses:


It is a specific characteristic of Kundalini that it gives the individual an amazing amount of energy, without giving any understanding or wisdom. In the right context, it can lead to wisdom, but on its own does not impart understanding. It does not resolve the individual's personal issues and conflicts. Its manifestation can lead to ego-death and cosmic consciousness, and then the Essence can descend. But if we were to depend on Kundalini, the human dilemma would stay the same, and this does not offer much hope for many people. (The Elixir of Enlightenment, pg 40)

We have just said that Kundalini is an aspect of Essence. This is true, but in a very specific way -- in the sense that Kundalini is a true energy, the energy of Essence. However, Kundalini is usually not seen as an aspect of Essence because it is energy. Essence, in the strict sense of the word, is our being. It is the very substance of existence. The essential aspects exist on the being level and not on the energy level. (The Elixir of Enlightenment, pg 40)


Space and kundalini
It should be noted here that the experience of the column of space and of the mind as boundless space is usually the crown of the process of development of what some systems call the Kundalini. In this process, energy ascends up the spine into the head, causing all kinds of unusual experiences. However, when the process is successful, it culminates in the experience of boundless space. This experience is sometimes called the void, or "akash", a Sanskrit term. We'll see later that this realization is not really the apex of human development. The void is the emptiness which in time will allow the unfolding of the fullness and richness of Being. Just as the void is the combination of the process of the ascent of energy, it will become the beginning point of a process of the descent that will bring the fullness of Being. (The Void, pg 58)
http://www.ahalmaas.com/glossary/

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26taurus
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posted February 07, 2005 04:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Hi coldiron,

Thank you so much for typing all of that out! How very nice of you, I really do appreciate it. Certainly fascinating information and alot to digest. *edit

(*edit


*edit

The information you provided was helpful in proving to me that I am not yet at the "essence" part of it. I do think I've briefly reached it - or a certain level of it, but I could even be wrong about that. It's given me much to think about.

"This particular one of the lataif, the heart center, is connected with the experience of compassion. At this level of experience, all of the excitement, glitter, and drama of the heart chakra is gone. Instead, what is experienced in the chest cavity is emptiness. The whole chest feels as if it is all gone. There is nothing left but a very clear, peaceful and silent emptiness. It feels as if nothing is occurring there, yet it is open and lucid. If the person pays closer attention, it will become apparent that this peaceful emptiness is pervaded by a very fine and subtle presence, so fine and subtle that it is usually overlooked by the person having the experience. This fine and subtle presence pervading the emptiness of the heart is the latifa or the first manifestation of it. The person will experience a subtle but exquisite sense of compassion, for himself and all others.

But if the person pays even closer attention, he will see that there is no emotion, no emotional discharge at all. Then where does the compassion come from? The person will see that the subtle presence pervading the chest cavity has a particular quality that we can say is its affect. This quality can best be described as loving-kindness. However, if the person tries to see exactly what the quality of this presence is, he’ll see that it is not exactly compassion or loving-kindness but that loving-kindness is the closest thing in our language that describes it. It has a sense of warmth, gentleness, virgin newness, like that of a newborn infant, but it also has an intrinsic pleasurable quality that is difficult to describe. We can say that it is like pleasurable lumination. Much more can be said about this fine presence."

Yes, I know what he is talking about here. This is the best - the only, actually, description I've read of this experience.

The notes you added in the second post were extrememely helpful in clarifing what this is all about. And I plan on looking into Almaas some more.

Well, I really could go on and on here. But I feel like I've already talked way too much about myself. I hope my Ego hasnt bored you to tears by now. I will end it here and say thank you again, for typing this out for me. If you happen to have any comments, I would love to hear them. As you can tell I dont have too many people to talk to who could relate to this type of thing and felt you would understand it. "I'm not crazy I swear, it's just my Kundalini rising!' LOL!

LoveLight,
26

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26taurus
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posted February 07, 2005 06:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Someone emailed me some info about ORMUS earlier this week. And now, I just happened to bump into this link. From what I gather it is a gold powder that is made through an alchemal process? It is ingested and supposed to do amazing things to the consciousness. I dont think I'd ever take it though. I have enough strange experiences on my own. Wondering if you know anything about it. A friend of my just ordered some of the powder.

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coldiron
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posted February 07, 2005 07:39 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
Hi 26,

Yeah, sounds like full-blown kundalini activation to me. Contrary to your comment on ego I think you've got a pretty good handle on what's going on and where your at with it. I don't think you're likely to get addicted or harmed but I think you've hit the point where "it is of decisive importance for the person’s understanding to know in what sense it is being used. This could make the whole difference in the person’s understanding and experience."

Be Well!

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26taurus
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posted February 07, 2005 08:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message
Hi coldiron,

I'm glad you responded so quickly so I could edit some things out. I agree, understanding is needed when dealing with this. And I'm thankful you offered to help. I'm interested in the things you say that can stabalise the process and will email you at some point soon. I wrote down your address so you can edit it out. And I understand why you dont want to post these things here. I appreciate all of your help. Talk soon.


26

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TINK
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posted February 07, 2005 08:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TINK     Edit/Delete Message
Ah! coldiron on the Kundalini thread. Why am I not surprised?

Like a moth to the flame, eh?

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coldiron
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posted February 07, 2005 09:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message

How's tricks, Tink?

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juniperb
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posted February 07, 2005 11:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for juniperb     Edit/Delete Message
"To think", a nickle, and a good cup of coffee gets us where?

*edited* I see you`ve edited your response It`s all good ......Edits can be seen

------------------
If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. ~James Herriot

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coldiron
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posted February 08, 2005 05:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
Juni too!

Mmm, starting to feel like old times. Though a little too much like Berneworld for some tastes.

Cosy and warm however. We like that.

Bonne Chance!

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26taurus
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posted February 08, 2005 06:01 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for 26taurus     Edit/Delete Message

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TINK
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posted February 08, 2005 11:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for TINK     Edit/Delete Message
I much preferred the original response.

Tricks are for kids, sssss. Find another hobby.

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coldiron
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posted February 08, 2005 08:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for coldiron     Edit/Delete Message
Well, I kinda preferred the original response myself but there ya go...

It served its purpose in any case.

Bonne Chance!

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