1997/06/08 15:36
kundalini-l-d Digest V97 #268
kundalini-l-d Digest Volume 97 : Issue 268
Today's Topics: Recent lessons
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Well, I've finally found a personal identification with the word
"detachment". I'll be perfectly honest here and say that when someone has told me that this is my last life I inwardly snort and think of all
of the egiosts who've made that claim in my hearing. I also think about how beautiful this world is, and why would anyone ever want to stop
incarnating here? The goal of enlightenment has seemed shallow and meaningless to me, perhaps because I don't believe that WE can CHOOSE IT
as a goal, or that the people I've met who are pursuing it have hurt those close to them with thoughtless selfishness in the name of
spirituality. In other words, enlightenment may well be a cultural myth.
Oh, you may want to flame me for that; feel free to if you're absolute in your knowledge on the staus of enlightenment.
I did a retreat this week, in the perfect place for me, a crowd of 500
naked partying pagans. This may seem odd, but I can and do turn inward here. Put me on a solitary mountain and a lost trek party will see my
fire and talk me near to death. In a crowd I can feel and see the difference that our solitary path makes for us, see it clearly as if
backlit by fire. I returned to my life more centered, and I could really see karmic
threads we spin among ourselves. Which each thread I "detached" it, and had no karma with others. With this detachment I was able to experience
something new and undiscovered. I've taken criticism for years from my loved ones about my self-love.
They say that I'm arrogant, that no woman should have such a high self esteem (yes, I know, but I do love them even with their biases, and many
feel this way but aren't honest enough to say it). When I detached from their karma I was able to love them with the same effortless
overwhelming love that I previously felt for life and for my existance. Their energy changed and became non-confrontive because they weren't
feeling subconsciously inferior. I found that if I was trying not to overhear an overwhelmingly
negative and loud conversation my irritation and energy around it increased with my resistance. If I loved the speakers with positive
energy then their words would immediately spiral upward into positive statements. ( This isn't news to those of you on the list who respond to
flames with love) I'm watching every thought and utterance, striving to think only
"virtous" thoughts (productive and positive) and words. I'm not giving space to anger or moodiness inside myself, I immediately detach and give
it "no thought" because the thought produces the emotions. The thoughts are trivial and repetitive, serving no useful or loving purpose.
I can't describe the effect this is producing around me, except to say that it's large-scale and subtle. My work week is starting soon, but I
believe that this shift may be permanent. It will be great if it does, no more kundalini mood swings.
This may not be new to many of you, but for me it puts into personal experience what was formerly distant spiritual instruction from some old
dead male (sorry, guys, but the old gurus didn't seem to hold much space for women). To me, the message was to love nothing, blah blah blah,
leave the kids and life and think only of God. And I thought "Who would want that at such a price?" And, "Is this even healthy?"
It's a great relief to have a personal path through the metaphorical mud.
Morgana Date: Thu, 08 May 1997 05:07:33 -0700
From: Dan To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com
Subject: <<
A Cautious Hello (k)ites, A little more than a week ago I posted an opinion of mine
concerning shaktipat not being possible. I also mentioned an incident of
synchronicity in which I went unbidden to a nearby library before my wife was ready to be picked up and the hazy 'ethereal' browsing I did in
several books. The post about shaktipat received comments from villification to
hearty agreement. I had mentioned Muktananda and charges of sexual impropriety
that had been levelled against him; again this received a wide range of responses. My comment concerned the sole pararaph I read in a book that
attracted my (hazed) attention and which fell open to that page. In it sexual manifestations and rising kundalini were said to precede the
development of the ability to deliver shaktipat. My observation was simply that if shaktipat were possible,
Muktananda should (based on that short paragraph) have already moved through that
phase of development especially since his siddhayoga was based on his delivering shaktipat.
That was seen by some as an attack on the memory of Muktananda. Others
expressed great interest in the sex/kundalini/shaktipat connection and wanted to know more; especially the title an author of the book that I
had mentioned. I decided to see if I could find the book to pass on the
information to the five or six people who had asked about it. To give you an idea of
how often I go to the library, when I tried to check out this book, the computer declared me as no longer in its files due to disuse of services
and the librarian had to take down my personal info again to reactivate it.
I found the slim volume on the top shelf in the stacks exactly where I
had taken it down and had flipped it open and read the one paragraph that
caused such a stir. Try as I might I could not get it to 'fall' open to any page that I could find the reference that I was seeking. So, since
Karen was waiting in the car, I decided to check it out and dig more deeply to relocate the reference later; which, resulted in my 'defunct'
library card revelation. Here is the info that a bunch of youse guys wanted:
KUNDALINI The Arousal of the Inner Energy with 61 illustrations, 16 in color and 36 line drawings
by Ajit Mookerjee (c) 1982 Thames and Hudson Ltd. London Destiny Books,
377 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10016 $10.95
The passage I read came from Chapter 5, 'Kundalini Experience
Classical and Clinical', p. 73. "Now I understood that the onset of sexual desire was connected with the process of becoing an 'urdhvareta',
from which one gets the power to give Shaktipat." Now comes the synchronicity clincher! To find that passage, it
took about 45 minutes of careful reading (the index has no entry for
shaktipat). That made me read the text that lead up to the passage that I had read last week when this book dropped open to this page and
commented on at that time. I had thought this and the other three paragraphs in other books I had 'wandered' to and read constituted a
synchronicity in themselves, hah! I have been going through such unbelievable 2nd chakra
manifestations (I have been told by others on the list that that was the appropriate
description) that I was getting to the point of consulting a urologist. Then came the synchronistic 'appearance' of information about them which
was surprising and helpful. In reading the surrounding text, I found out that it was
describing the kundalini awakening of a yogi who went through extreme sexual
excitement, saying, "Every day brought new 'kriyas' and new experiences. One day, my body and senses became possessed by sexual desire ... I was
meditating in my hut at Suki, and in meditation I was happy. Then in the middle of my meditation came a kriya that was utterly humiliating ...
All the love and intoxication I had felt in meditation left me ... Instead, in their place came a powerful sexual desire ... I could think
of nothing but sex! My whole body boiled with lust, and I cannot describe the agony of my sexual organ ... Without saying anything to
anyone, I set out toward the east .. Then, heading in the direction of the holy place called Ghrishneshvara, near Ellora, I came upon the
village of Nagad ... As I was looking around outside, my eye fell on a small 'sadhana [ritual worship]' hut. There had been a yogi doing
'sadhana' there before ... When I sat down inside the hut, my legs immediately folded into the lotus posture, and I started meditating. My
beloved ... aura came and stood before me, and then I heard a voice from within me, "Open that cupboard and read the book you find there" ... I
took it out and opened it. It opened at a page describing the very 'kriyas' that had been happening to me. When I read it, I was supremely
happy; in a moment, all my anguish, confusion and worry disappeared .. I stayed in Nagad for some time, doing my 'sadhana'.
Here follows the brief passage I read last week. Guess who the yogi was
that this entire little vignette was about? ?
? ?
? ?
? ?
? ?
? Yup, Swami Muktananda!
Love and LAUGHING LIGHT,
Dan-RF (BTW the inscription in my wife's wedding band reads "I wuv you!" =-)
Date: Thu, 08 May 1997 05:19:57 -0700 From: Dan
To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com Subject: <<
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(k)uote:
>From the book Kundalini by Ajit Mookerjee:
"The Kundalini Shakti or 'coiled feminine energy' is the vast potential
of psychic energy, the body's most powerful thermal current. The arousal of Kundalini is not unique to tantric practice, but forms the basis of
all yogic disciplines, and every genuine spiritual experience may be considered a flowering of this physio-nuclear energy. Even music and
dance can arouse the Kundalini's dormant force and direct it to higher planes, until its perfect unfolding and our conscious awareness of its
presence within us is realized." BTW this book is a bit less spacy than others that I have had to put
down from lack of comprehension - especially balanced is the discussion of Tantra vs Sex and the hopped-up Western misunderstanding of it as
some excuse for personal sexual gratification. Also, for the newbie (me, me, me!) a ton of the weird Sanskrit terms
are given definitions that even us dolts can understand. Quotes Drs. Lee Sannella, Stan & Christina Grof, etc. Points out that the chakra systems
are variable from author to author and are NOT a description of some physical part of our anatomy, but rather serve as definition points for
discussing experiences in our psyches. I could really relate to many of the things said (we always can when they are in synch with that which we
believe =-). Love and LAUGHING LIGHT,
Dan-RF Date: Sun, 08 Jun 97 13:39:25 GMT
From: cen06681ATnospamcenturyinter.net To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com
Subject: Re: j.campbell/kundalini Message-Id:
Dennis
Joseph Campbell taught mythology at Columbia Unuversity in New York City, for many years. Since his death, I have learned many wonderful things about
him, mostly through the Bill Moyers interviews. I didn't however know that he had lectured on the Kundalini. I would love to have the phone number, to order
these lectures. Thanks Lindewey mcnerneytlATnospamcenturyinter.net
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 97 13:44:06 GMT From: cen06681ATnospamcenturyinter.net
To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com Subject: Re: kundalini/pineal gland
Message-Id:
Dennis As a microbiologist - Medical technologist, I too am interested in the
biological - spiritual nature of the pineal gland, and would like you to sight references as mentioned.
Lindewey mcnerneytlATnospamcenturyinter.net Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 10:29:27 -0400
From: Doug Houston To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com, kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com
Subject: Re: vivartta Message-ID:
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Dennis Quinn wrote:
> > anyone up on their sanskrit....been trying to confirm the meaning of this
> word for a very long time now...i keep coming up null >
> i have reference to this word in one book...but have yet to confirm it > with another source, even after many years of searching.
> > if anyone can assist it would be greatly appreciated...as it would put to
> rest one of those minor unsettled areas of psyche... >
> thanks > dennis
Dennis, I tried this online sanssskrit dictionary with no luck, but you might
have more luck.
http://reality.sgi.com/employees/atul/sanskrit/dict/search.html
Namaste Doug
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 09:43:17 -0500 (CDT) From: hbarrettATnospamix.netcom.com (Holly N. Barrett, Ph.D.)
To: Matthew King Cc: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com
Subject: RE: A few questions about Kundalini.... Message-Id:
Sorry this has taken awhile. I did read the monograph you mentioned
but did not identify with it too much. The spiritual fall for me, if I'm understanding his term correctly, is more of an ongoing and
progressive cycle of expansion and contraction. Right around the time of the opening I could still work -- in fact, because I am a
psychotherapist my work in some ways dramatically increased in quality -- but for several weeks work felt irrelevant because of the intensity
of what I was experiencing inwardly. Everything external felt irrelevant though I was perfectly capable of attending to it. Within
about six weeks I went into a weeks-long period of heightened irritability and anger. Again, I could focus and be civil when I
needed to but I didn't much want to. As for physical symptoms, I notice transitory joint aching, vague "flu"like feelings, some muscle
cramps, some exacerbation of migraine that I've had since childhood (this is common among list-members, also seizure disorders), but for
me, thank God, nothing incapacitating. Since K I have dropped weight, increased energy and look probably 10 years younger so there are
benefits. Maybe that is the main point: Kundalini is intelligent love and wants whatever She wants from us. If it is to Her purpose that you
continue to work to capacity in your present career then that is what will happen. My limited grasp on spiritual knowledge is that we aren't
being asked to disengage from the world, quite the contrary, we are being asked to serve it however we can and what gets burned off in the
fires of kundalini are the webs of self-absorption that cloud our vision about what needs to be done. Also I've felt increasingly the
sense that we become useful to the world in ways we'll never know about. Hope this might be useful to you! Holly
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 02:32:07 +0100 From: Tom Aston
To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com, Nothing Is Subject: Re: comparative buddhism
Message-ID:
In message , Nothing Is writes >
>I wondering if anyone knew off hand or about a book having information >regarding the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism. I am looking for
>comparative aspects of the Gyuto, Karma Kagyu, Sakya and Nyingma schools >in particular. Are all of these schools tantric?
> >Thanks,
>nothing is >
there are a lot of books covering this ground -
the Dalai Lama has written an overview of Tibetan Buddhism
i would suggest you start with a web search engine with the various key words to get a feel for the subject
there is a Tibet Resources page which is useful
in some ways all of Tibetan Buddhism is Tantric
but there is also a strong Mahayana Buddhist tradition too
for a nice introduction try the website of the Padmasambhava Center in
Chicago which has a Tantric art gallery which is very beautiful
but do not dabble in Tibetan Buddhism - go to a lama for teachings or just read the books and be an armchair Tantrika
a long and deep foundation period is recommended for safe practice
yours in the dharma,
Tom
-- Tom Aston
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 08:20:38 -0700 From: Ken McFarland
To: Dennis Quinn Cc: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com
Subject: Re: kundalini/pineal gland Message-id:
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At 02:43 AM 6/8/97 -0400, Dennis Quinn wrote:
>a. as a biologist i have come to understand that this body is a rudimentary >third eye...it can be traced evolutioniarily to south pacific lizards
>living today with 3 eyes....as a rudimentary 'eye' it has lost it's >ability to interpet 'visible' lightwaves, however that does not mean that
>it cannnot, even 'buried' deep within the brain, interpet light waves >invisibile to our regular eyes. it's actual function to the scientific
>community unknown, other than melatonin production. which shows higher >levels of production after the sun goes down....a direct inference that
>the pineal is able to 'detect' day/night.
Dear Dennis,
This is very interesting stuff. If you have references concerning pineal function, other than melatonin production, or it roots as an functional eye,
I would be interested.
Sincerely,
Ken Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 17:48:32 +0200
From: Jason To: "'E Jason'"
Cc: "'Kundalini'" Subject: RE: Androgyny
Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
It is therefore not subjective good or bad that is the shadow but that aspect of the individual which is hidden. In a person who has an
incapacity to love, love is the shadow. The empowerment and exploration of the shadow is the process of the humourless learning to laugh, the
poet learning science and so on. This is a process of balancing. Self effacement and humility is a weakness when a preference and a
strength when a choice. Beyond this comes effective action which is no longer dependent on individual arising but is dependent on the karma or
arising of others. In the arising of kundalini we must accept the process of cleansing but
must also make every effort to construct a vessel into which Shakti has ease of expression. All the difficulties that people experience are not
a reflection of Shakti which is pure Spirit but are an indication of the vessel.
Yes! Intuition has led me here, but you have expressed it so eloquently in words. Suppression of "shadow" becomes further contortion of vessel and therefore further shadow. As we arise we see the shadows of others. We can choose pride and congratulate ourselves on empowering our own shadow. Or we can choose self effacement and humilty to help them to empower and explore their shadows.
Thank you for that, Ed. :))
In relation to Shakti we become feminine or receptive. In relation to our development we become active. People can see this is cultural use of
symbology. It is therefore necessary for us to think about our use of language and the nature of our difficulties with kundalini. Even though
this forum is one of Bhakti Yoga (Devotion and Love) it changes and grows.
I understand how we become actively receptive, but could you please expand on the idea of the use of language/cultural symbols and their relation to the difficulties with kundalini.
I feel that the written word must never be adopted as total truth for all people. Our words and cultural symbols are basically a coding scheme for knowledge and there is an infinite amount of knowledge we have not developed the codes to express. Expressing all knowledge using a coding scheme is believed to be impossible. But each person has the potential to make a contribution to this end by assembling the codes for some previously unexpressed knowledge (as you have done above, which for me was unexpressed until now). The coding of knowledge into language and symbols is a matter of process and is not a matter of accomplishment since knowledge is infinite. For example, Sanskrit apparently has gone much further in expressing intuitive knowledge using their codes than Western language has as of now.
I think this is why science has been led to believe that most people are only using a fraction (I think the figure they give is 10%) of their brain's potential. They are trying to measure this with existing language and symbols. The rest of the potential exists as intuitive, unexpressed knowledge which science is only beginning to understand how to measure.
It is important to remember when reading anything, especially words that try to deal with infinite knowledge, and especially when the words have been translated from a language far-removed from our own, that only 10% of the author's meaning is captured in the words. The other 90% of the author's meaning could not be coded into language. To get the full meaning, it is important to rely on intuition to correctly read between the lines.
Happy reading!
Love. Zympht. Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 12:07:54 -0400
From: "Rick Puravs" To:
Subject: Tibetan Buddhism Message-Id:
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_01BC7404.983A9AC0"
a good book that gives an overview of Tibetan Buddhism, including it's
origins, main traditions, views and practices is "Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism" by
John Powers (Snow Lion)
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Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 13:29:06 -0500 (CDT) From: Nothing Is
To: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com Subject: A not so ordinary day in the life of me
Message-ID:
Yesterday I had my strangest, strongest K experience to date.
The whole day had a strange overtone to it. All day at work my groin area had been numb, like chills, sending energy up my body.
When I got home I started relaxing to go with the energy and clear the blocks. The energy freed up and surged through my body like never
before. This had to be aborted since I had to meet my parents to eat. I made the rare exception of eating meat(chicken) when we met. I normally
avoid large meals, but felt kind felt like I should finish the whole thing in their company.
When I got home I laid back in the couch and threw on one of my favorite cd's "Kind of Blue". Next thing I knew I felt my whole head get
numb from the top down. I laid down to relax my body...as my roomate was playing his bass, particular areas of my body, especially my feet, began
vibrating to the corresponding frequencies almost like I was floating to the music. It felt like someone had jabbed a knife in my stomach as the
energy moved up my spine.Then as I closed my eyes the inner intensity got so strong I had to get up and walk around. If I wouldnt have known
better I would have accusing someone of lacing me with something. Then I went up into my room and laid down with my lights off.
This is where the inner intensity got the strongest. Strange visions of light bodies, notably upsidedown pentagrams. I felt the only way I keep
myself together was to dwell in the heart. As kept a vision of a flower in my heart, all the craziness seem to be a transitory cleansing process.
I swear I started to see through things, I saw the stars outside through my bedroom ceiling. Things slowly got more sane, and tapered.
Next, the worst part. I have been seeing a girl for about a month, and its been a really confusing relationship for both of us. I
pretty much knew that it was going to come to an end, it just didnt feel right. I got a phone call from her, I was in such a strange state of
mind I couldnt answer like a sane person would. Well, maybe the true part of me was more in the open that knew it had to be ended. So
I slowly got to the point trying to be as pacifying as possible. I said some dumb things, just from my mental state, and I know I have hurt her
feelings...now I am burdened with guilt. A day not to be forgotten.
bye,
nothing is Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 15:38:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Dennis Quinn To: Ken McFarland
Cc: kundalini-lATnospamexecpc.com Subject: Re: kundalini/pineal gland/SAD
Message-Id:
i'll do my best, have to understand that i'm digging books from 20 years
ago in reference to the kundalini, as have hordes of biological papers from the ny times and scientific american intermixed with untold other
science papers that are not so neat and semi-sorted as the kundalini.
but off the top...came up with one book titled...
Kundalini, Evolution and Enlightenment...edited by John White..a paperback by Anchor press...1979.....there is a short discourse only
two+ pages titled Neurochemistry and the Awakening of Kundalini by Phillip Lansky he quotes Gopi Krishna's autobiolography, Kundalini, and
from "the Gopi account we that the experience involves the subjective perception of light, "liquid light" and the mental phenomena which might be
called 'hallucinatory.' and "finally, we have already stated that the uppermost chakra is frequently suggested as being associated with the
pineal gland."
"pineal gland is extremely rich in derivative of serotonin called melatonin." 'precise function of melatonin is unknown'
'considerable evidence suggest pineal and melatonin exert inhibitory effect upon male and female hormones'
'sexual homones as testosterone, and estrogen shave been shown to inhibit melatonin production'
'seems reasonable a relationship exists between the pineal gland and sexual function'
'it is well established that the pineal, at least in lower mammals,
contain photoreceptors, and might thus be involed in the perception of light'
'note to interest that melatonin can readily cyclize to a three-ringed compound, 10-methoxyharmalan, which is potently hallucinogenic...it has
been suggested that endogenous formation of this compound may cause hallucination in mental disorder'
* * *
different source...standard Anatomy and Phys textbook...if you want the
particulars about author and such i will provide...
pineal body
'the optic chiasma is a region where the rifght and left optic nerves enter the brain and cross each other...exchanging fibers...the resulting
bundles of fibers are called the optic tracts'
'pineal member of two systems because it acts as part of the nervous systems(it receives visual nerve stimuli) and as part of the endocrine system
(it secretes hormones)'
'functions in support of the body's biological clock'
'one hypothesis states that the visual signals received by the pineal allow to determine day length and lunar cycles'
'lunar-cycle information helps keep the menstrual cycle timely'
'melatonin, whose secretion is inhibited by the presence of sunlight,
might also affect aperson's mood...a mental disorder call seasonal affective disorder (SAD) has been linked to the pineal gland'
sorry, but part two of this will have to follow....hope this is enough
for now....
dennis
Date: Sun, 08 Jun 1997 17:19:41 -0400 From: David Bozzi
To: Kundalini Subject: Re:/pineal gland/dreams/hormone
Message-ID:
Dennis Quinn wrote: (Source:Phillip Lansky,1979)
> 'considerable evidence suggest pineal and melatonin exert inhibitory > effect upon male and female hormones'
This is only true in some mammals who have "photoperiodic reproduction"
cycles. That is, seasonal variation in melatonin level dictate testosterone
level for males and estrus for female mammals.
In photoperiodic animals with long gestation periods
melatonin has the opposite effect.
With reasonable levels of melatonin for humans there is no effect on
testosterone levels or reproduction.
In fact melatonin may protect testoterone levels in humans because
a deficient supply of melatonin reduces all gonadotropin hormones.
No human studies yet with regard to this, though melatonin
supplementation
with rats prevents the normal age related testosterone decline.
(I know it's an old source,Dennis)
> 'note to interest that melatonin can readily cyclize to a three-ringed > compound, 10-methoxyharmalan, which is potently hallucinogenic
It is also interesting to note many people who take
melatonin report better dream recollection and more intense,
vivid dreams.
Happy dreaming.
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