El Collie, Kundalini Pundit, Compassion Personified, and My Inspiration

During her lifetime El Collie selflessly helped thousands of people with her newsletter, her countless email responses, and her many real-world, nonprofit writings about Kundalini. She is and always will be my greatest Kundalini inspiration, and one of the greatest persons I've had the honor of knowing in my lifetime. I believe she's on the higher planes still helping Kundalini suffers all over the world. I miss you El, and I thank you for all the help and support you gave me.

Extracts from Kundalini: the Evolutionary Energy in Man

One morning, during the Christmas of 1937 I sat cross-legged in a small room in a little house on the outskirts of the town of Jammu, the winter capital of the Jammu and Kashmir State in northern India. ..Long practice had accustomed me to sit in the same posture for hours at a time without the least discomfort, and I sat breathing slowly and rhythmically, my attention drawn to the crown of the head, contemplating an imaginary lotus in full bloom, radiating light.

During one such spell of intense concentration I suddenly felt a strange sensation below the base of the spine, at the place touching the seat...the sensation was so extraordinary and so pleasing that my attention was forcibly drawn towards it.

..I had read glowing accounts, written by learned men, of great benefits resulting from concentration, and of the miraculous powers acquired by yogis through such exercises...with a great effort I kept my attention centered round the lotus. Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord.

Entirely unprepared for such a development, I was completely taken by surprise; but regaining self-control instantaneously, I remained sitting in the same posture, keeping my mind on the point of concentration. The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light. It is impossible to describe the experience accurately. I felt the point of consciousness that was myself growing wider, surrounded by waves of light.

It grew wider and wider, spreading outwards while the body, normally the immediate object of its perception, appeared to have receded into the distance until I became entirely unconscious of it. I was now all consciousness, without any outline, without any idea of a corporeal appendage, without any feeling or sensation coming from the senses, immersed in a sea of light, simultaneously conscious and aware of every point, spread out, as it were, in all directions without any barrier or material obstruction.

I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined in a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exaltation and happiness impossible to describe.

Source

Kundalini: Known Side Effects

Problems have been known to occasionally arise from Kundalini rising. The following side effects have been noted by numerous teachers. These problems can persists for moments, hours, days, months, years or decades. They can also reoccur. All students with an active kundalini, experience at least a few, if not many, of these side effects. Generally these problems begin to occur after a few months (less likely) or years (more likely) after starting a contemplative practice, but in some cases they begin very soon after starting meditation or yoga.

Summary of Known Problems: Death, pseudo death, psychosis, pseudo psychosis, confusion, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, sadness, suicidal thoughts, urges to self-mutilate, homicidal urges, arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), exacerbation of prior or current mental illness, insomnia, inability to hold a job, inability to talk, inability to drive, sexual pains, temporary blindness, and headaches.

According to Transpersonal theory, and eastern spiritual traditions, these problems are thought to arise as karma - deep physical, psychological and emotional material - is brought to the surface of the mind as a result of yoga and meditative practice. Consultation with a meditation teacher who is not trained in kundalini techniques or with a psychiatrist, medical doctor or therapist who is unknowledgeable about this process often leads to confusion and misunderstanding. Using Western medicine to treat or suppress the kundalini symptoms is not recommended, and might in some cases, have undesirable side effects. Grof noted that suppressing kundalini's side effects with psychiatric medicine could lead to death. However, Lukoff et.al note that there may be times when medication can play a role in recovery, and integration of spiritual experiences.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Illusions about Kundalini

There are a variety of odd notions about what the kundalini is and does when it is aroused. This brief article was written to help the reader dispel these illusions, and perhaps more clearly understand this subject.
Illusions

Kundalini has nothing to do with sexual fluids or ojas. The kundalini is a fiery, Divine energy. It is not a fluid. It does not increase with the accumulation of semen in the male prostate, or ejaculatory and lubricating fluids in the female's Bartholin's glands. These fluids are a reservoir of prana, or life force, which people often confuse with the kundalini.

Sexual tantra, which in some individuals can bring about a partial awakening of the kundalini, does not produce enlightenment. Sexual tantra (e.g., sustained sexual intercourse, karezza, or maithuna) can awaken some individual's kundalini shakti into a Subplane of the Biophysical Universe. This is very ecstatic, but has nothing to do with enlightenment. Enlightenment occurs when your attention becomes fixed on your ensouling entity and you discover its eternal nature. You do not need to have sex to achieve this state.

The awakening of the kundalini does not automatically bring spiritual powers over nature (siddhis). Spiritual powers are chosen and anchored by the ensouling entity when the siddhi yantra that embodies them have been integrated into the vehicles of the Superconscious mind. They don’t automatically appear like magic.

The kundalini only rarely can be used to actually produce spiritual transformation, and this is a very dangerous practice that must be carefully supervised by an Adept. It is, for example, used to make the transition between the Lower and Higher Subtle Realms. It is also used during the Fifth Planetary Initiation. Don't try this one at home without the coach.

Kundalini raised up into Cosmic and Supracosmic Octaves, beyond an individual's spiritual cutting edge, does produce deep Samadhi—but often creates many problems. When the energy of the kundalini is raised beyond your ensouling entity, the higher octave of your will cannot control this energy to bring it back down. If a Kundalini Master or Guru is not present to assist you to bring it back, you may be locked in Samadhi with the kundalini burning ever upward. Then your life becomes a total nightmare.

Mudrashram Institute of Spiritual Studies

Cracking Up by El Collie

Even the blissful and joyous experiences can be judged as madness by others -- or by ourselves. Christina Grof said that she denied the reality of her own tumultuous years of awakening after the process smoothed out. She told herself she had simply been crazy or spiritually grandiose during that twelve year span.

The paranormal, mystical and psychic aspects of spiritual awakening are most daunting for those whose prior worldview excluded the possibility of such phenomena. It can help to realize as the astronaut Edgar Mitchell has observed, "There are no unnatural or supernatural phenomena, only very large gaps in our knowledge of what is natural... We should strive to fill those gaps of ignorance."

What seems like encroaching insanity is different for each of us. A man who had been blind from birth had little trouble accepting Kundalini experiences which might have been very frightening to someone else, such as spontaneous out-of-body escapades. But he was seriously concerned over his mental stabilty when he began having inner visions and was able to see colors for the first time in his life.

A woman felt extremely threatened and confounded after experiencing a trance state in which invisible beings planted gems in her chakras while she watched helplessly, unable to move or defend herself from them. In our culture, such an account sounds crazy... or possibly like an encounter with hostile UFO aliens. What is most interesting about this is that shamans from Native American, Siberian, Aboriginal and other cultures have long reported similar incidents, where sacred stones or magical crystals are inserted in their bodies by initiating spirits. The Sioux holy man, Fools Crow, spoke of a time when the Great Spirit had implanted seven stones in his body to make him a medicine man. (The stones suddenly apppeared in his body while he was on a sacred quest.) Says his biographer Thomas Mails:

"One stone was in his back, just below the left shoulder blade, and the rest were just under the skin of his left arm and hand. On one occassion he made me feel the stones and move them around to show me how easily it could be done. It was uncanny, since they could be moved an inch or more in any direction... The stones ranged in size from one-eighth of an inch to one-quarter of an inch. They were round, smooth, and hard as any rock is.

"He told me how the stones knew when a bad incident was about to take place. They began to move rapidly around. Then he would pray that people's hearts would change and the bad would go away so that good could replace it. Also, when he prayed each day the stones sometimes gave him messages from Wakan-Tanka and the other powers."

Kundalini can be terrifying to those whose religious training condemns as evil all psychic and paranormal manifestation. When confronted with evidence that flies in the face of whatever we have believed to be true, we have two choices: (1) to reject the testimony of our mind and senses; or (2) to re-evaluate our prior beliefs and learn what we can through honest examination of our own direct experience. The second choice gives us permission, perhaps for the first time in our lives, to trust in ourselves.

Staying Centered

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Science Explains Kundalini

Bentov's physio-kundalini model outlines the following stages in the meditative process:

1. During meditation the breathing becomes regular. This regulated breathing controls the rhythm of the heart 9.

It is interesting to note that 'The secret of the golden flower' says that the breath energy is the handle of the heart, thus inferring that the heart rate cannot be influenced directly, only by altering our breathing pattern 10. This stage correlates with the awakening of the yuan chi at the lower Tan tien.

2. When the heart pumps this causes a pressure wave to travel down the aorta. When this wave reaches the aortic bifurcation, the part where the aorta splits in two to supply blood to both legs, a portion of the pressure wave is reflected back towards the heart. When this wave reaches the aortic valve (at the heart) it causes the heart to beat again. This creates a standing wave between the heart and aortic bifurcation, which in turn causes a rhythmic up and down micro-motion throughout the body 11.

This stage of Bentov's model correlates almost exactly to the Kan/Li cycle, if we consider that the aortic bifurcation is at approximately the same location as the lower Tan tien. Bentov's model has a wave travelling up and down between the heart and aortic bifurcation, the Taoist text states that in the Kan/Li stage energy flows between the seat of fire (the heart) and the seat of water (lower Tan tien).

3. The micromotion of the body causes an up & down motion within the cranial vault. This creates a gentle bumping of the brain against the cranial vault. This interaction of the brain and cranial vault creates acoustic (and possibly electrical) plane waves, which in turn set up a resonant wave in the hollow, fluid-filled ventricles inside the brain 12.

This idea of an energy which firstly moves between the lower Tan tien & heart (or middle Tan tien) and then between the lower Tan tien and the brain (upper Tan tien) is paralleled in the Taoist practice of 'opening the thrusting vessel', mentioned above.

4. The movement of the fluid in the ventricles acts on the nerves of the middle ear, causing inner sounds to be heard 13.

This offers a physiological explanation of the inner sounds referred to, by Taoist mystics, as 'the hiss of the dragon and the roar of the tiger'.

(It is also worth noting that the lateral ventricles resemble the Indian description of the third eye chakra which is described as a flower with two petals, one to the left and the other to the right of the centre.)

5. The acoustic standing waves in the ventricles creates an up & down movement in the corpus callosum (the bundle of nerves connecting the two hemispheres of the brain). This is translated into electrical energy within the brain tissue. The electrical activity follows a circular path through the sensory cortex, which leads to corresponding sensations in various parts of the body 14.

"It has been found by researchers that the 'energy sensation' travels up the legs to the spine to the top of the head, then down the face, through the throat, to a terminal point in the abdomen." 15

Whilst Bentov's research was primarily concerned with Kundalini yoga, it is interesting to note that he found that the energy sensations experienced by meditators follow a path that is very similar to the microcosmic orbit of Taoist alchemy 16. This is a stark contrast to the path of energy discussed in the classical texts of Kundalini yoga which describe a path of energy starting at the perineum, ascending the spine and ending at the crown of
the head 17.

6. Through regular meditation, the circuit through the sensory cortex begins to polarise the grey matter in one specific direction. This creates a permanent circuit in the brain and helps to release stored stresses, which may account for the lasting changes in physical and psychological functioning caused by meditation. This circuit grows to include the pleasure centres in the limbic system, the motor cortex (which controls the voluntary muscle movement) and areas of the visual cortex. Effects of the stimulation of these areas include feelings of bliss, spontaneous bodily movements and sensations of being surrounded by a brilliant light 18.

As we know from our earlier discussion of the stages of Taoist alchemical meditation, the sensation of bliss and golden light are both signs which confirm great progress towards the meditators 'return to the source' or union with the Tao. Our Taoist text also mentions that the establishment of the
microcosmic orbit can lead to spontaneous movement, in full agreement with Bentov's research. The idea of meditation establishing an electrical circuit in the brain finds a number of parallels in the Taoist tradition. Mantak Chia has a number of advanced alchemical formulas that draw energy into the brain, these include the 'sealing of the five senses' and 'congress of heaven & earth', which fuses the energies of the pineal & pituitary gland in the cauldron of the hypothalamus 19. The Mao Shan Taoist tradition has a practice known as 'walking the nine chambers of the crystal palace
[upper Tan tien]' which involves visualising various deities within different parts of the brain 20.

These nine chambers are the highest field of the elixir, chamber of the mysterious elixir, chamber of the Jade Emperor, chamber of the moving pearls, chamber of splendour, purple chamber, chamber of the ultimate, cover of heaven and the chamber of government. The third eye is also mentioned but is considered as an opening rather than a chamber, as such it is called the 'Entrance of the spirit' 21. These chambers may be an analogy used by Taoist mystics to convey the formation of the aforementioned electrical circuit within the brain. The walking through the chambers would represent movement of electrical current or qi from one part of the brain to another.

In conclusion it can be seen that there is some merit to the idea that Taoist alchemy may be a description of a natural process which occurs through the practice of meditation, regardless of the particular technique or tradition, and not merely a collection of ancient visualisation techniques. This is not to say that the ideas contained within this paper are the truth of the matter, but rather that they should encourage further investigation into these
ancient arts, and comparison with contemporary research such as that done by Itzhak Bentov and others. I welcome feedback on this article and hope that it inspires the reader to re-examine the wisdom of the ancients.

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Meeting A Holy Man

" A festive mood prevailed along the river bank as pilgrims chanted mantras, sang devotional hymns like Hare Hare Ganga (Long Live the Ganges River), lit oil lamps, released flowers into the water or sat shaving their heads bald before their ceremonial dip.

Besides the river’s holy and mystical attributes, the other attraction at this auspicious festival is the opportunity to seek blessings from the thousands of monks, spiritual gurus, living saints and masters that attend.

The Naga Babas, better known as Naga sadhu (naked holy men), are especially sought after as this is the only time they emerge from their remote dwelling places around India. Naga sadhus renounce all earthly pleasures in their attempt to attain spiritual enlightenment. While these hermits usually shun all contact with the outside world, at this festival, they are quite hospitable.

I met one such naked philosopher sitting in one of the 50,000 tents lining the riverbank and came away with great admiration for his simple life. It might be devoid of comforts and sensual pleasures but that meant it was also free of materialism and all the negativity that entails.

His nakedness was the extreme expression of the idea of having no possessions. Sometimes, he seemed to fall into rather provocative poses but the point of his nudity had nothing to do with eroticism; rather, it showed that he was beyond sexuality.

The moment he made an eye contact with me, he invited me to sit beside him before a small fire over which he was boiling some tea with milk and, in the process offering darshan (blessing) to devotees coming to him. For devotees, receiving the darshan is a way of tapping into the divine energy of such spiritual leaders.

Women, who are forbidden to look at the holy men directly, joined the line with their heads bowed down and sought his blessing by touching his feet. Women who are experiencing bad karma, however, are allowed to take a brief glance at the sadhus as it is said that holy men can partially take on an individual’s karma. This is because sadhus are regarded as representatives of the gods and are highly respected."

The Star Online