Hi Phil

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What to do when the presenting issues and struggles don't seem associated with a chakra, however? I've had many contact me through the years, for example, who speak of painful pressure in their ears, or in one of their ribs (I have this, at times). The worst cases seem to be when the painful experiences are in the brain itself, sometimes accompanied by difficulties in thinking. Sometimes, too, it seems that the autonomic nervous system is out-of-sync with the central nervous system, and all sorts of other problems.

Actually, every symptom within us and reflected back to us from the outside world is associated with a chakra. The ears are associated with the head chakra or could also be throat chakra (one has to try that out) and the ribs are to do with the hearT or stomach chakra. (I had rib pain for years myself, actually)

It is important to distinguish between non-related kundalini symptoms, in which case we can fully focus on the offending chakra or kundalini-related symptoms, in which case we have to do the opposite - focus away from the offending chakra.

When we experience pain in a chakra through kundalini it is often caused through an energetic overload and focussing on the area will bring even more energy into it and more pain. This is also the way to distinguish the two forms of pain: does focussing on it increase the pain (=kundalini) or decrease it (=ordinary pain)

When I work with my clients I focus foremost on all the emotional and relationship related issues. Once we have dealt with them often the kundalini related pain subsides or can be tolerated better.

Often a strong focus on the navel chakra helps because the navel chakra is best equipped to deal with lots of energy. It;s our storage chakra so to speak.

It's also very individual and I try a few things with people but usually they get better.

Tara KundaliniTherapist

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It's the rational mind which screams 'I can figure it all out by myself - I know it all - God is dead' Mad

Then as we get older and more mature we realise that despite our 'oh so rational mind' we cannot figure it out all by ourselves and we become humble and may try to reassess our childhood spirituality.

Wonderful post, Tara. Thank you.

This is what I was attempting to share in some of the earlier posts I wrote here and in other threads about getting to much into my head trying to figure things out about kundalini when i was afraid. In doing so, I lost the very essence of that which sustained me in my day to day living in Christ. I became aware over time of the effect it was having on my relationship with God. Slowly, ever so subtly, my heart began to cool.

Detours are needed to develop our reasoning abilities, this is true. However, many get stuck there and wonder where the initial touch of God went. It is my experience that it is always there, even in the midst of the dark night or periods of testing.

I have been inspired spiritually by a few people who reflect such innocence yet retain a mature intelligence and wisdom beyond their years. Looking at their lives, their relationship with the Blessed Mother and Jesus, it is far from dry, even in times of great affliction. They bear it with patience and even joy, never ever losing their deep connection with God.

I don't think I fully understood what drew me at first to these visionaries, but my heart understood them.

One of my inspirations is one of the visionaries in Medjugorje, Vicka. Her face beams with God's love. Another young woman who is an inspiration for me is the worship leader at IHOP (International House Of Prayer): Misty Edwards. She writes a lot of her music. Incredibly spirit filled, both of these women reflect and have retained this childlike quality. In them I see a reflection of what is within me. In them I see a reflection of what is within ALL of us. The deep need for connection with God, a deep need to love God.

I have been reflecting on this longing for God after reading Stephen's post. It is the child within us that yearns. I sincerely believe in my heart that nothing, NOTHING, can fill this yearning other than God, and every true mystic has discovered this.

I watched a video of Vicka (the visionary) the other day. She was taking questions from an audience. Then it was time for her apparition and she unhesitatingly fell to her knees much like a child, in complete abandon, and began to pray intensely and passionately, dropping to the floor when the Blessed Mother came to her.

I also watched a video clip of Misty Edwards leading worship. Again the same abandonment. She began to sing spontaneously during worship. The power of God was so strong upon her, I could almost not bear it energetically while watching her online. I know this look. I know this state of being. We all long for it. It cannot be had intellectually anymore than we can connect with another when we are in our heads when we make love to a human being we deeply love.

Here are the two short clips below. The one of Vicka and the other of Misty Edwards.

http://www.medjugorjetoday.tv/...arition-on-irish-tv/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OyIHkK8LPw

I would be willing to bet these women have active kundalini. I will be willing to bet both have suffered with it. Actually they have spoken of this suffering in a roundabout way concerning K, and also in a more direct way regarding suffering when the blessed Mother and Jesus has asked them to. But their intention and focus is not there, it is focused inward on the things of God, and this is reflected in their lives and in their faces.

Where I became lost for a time, and lost my balance in my spiritual walk with God, was when I was focusing on the symptoms of K, attempting to deal with it in the practice of mental gymnastics to bring me closer to God. I was wooed into trying to find the answers in a more mental way, spiritually leaving behind my complete and utter dependence upon God. I let go of my connection. I replaced it with numbing spiritual intellectualism which led to spiritual self reliance. On the physical level I was left to my own resources to deal with kundalini. On other levels of being I began to die. At first the ego did not want to see this. As I shared, I had a lot of myself invested within my spiritual identifications.

I cried out to God. I began to pray intensely again, waking up in the early morning hours and throwing myself before my little altar here at my home. Asking God, no BEGGING God, to renew my heart. Renew it, break it, open it. He did.

It is my experience one does not meet God face to face without falling on one's face before Him. God's mercy is needed to bridge the gap of our self sufficiency and restore within us the childlike innocence in which we can see His face.

Yes, Christine! Lovely post!

My psyche comes at longing in a roundabout way, but ultimately any longing is longing for God, and when the images fade, the music quietens, the energy subsides, there is only THAT longing. I think my psyche works how it does because there is so much clutter. It has to create an expression of the longing on its own terms, but when the junk is cleared, what remains is a crystalline vision. Pure longing, childlike. Kundalini is merely a servant of this longing, responding to it, sweeping the path to God.

Misty Edwards has a beautiful "vibe" in that video. Very powerful and pure. And Vicka's smile is sublime. Thanks for these!

Tara,

I like very much that love is the beginning and the end, that power is a false start, that each chakra responds with spiritual grace to love.

quote:

When we experience pain in a chakra through kundalini it is often caused through an energetic overload and focussing on the area will bring even more energy into it and more pain. This is also the way to distinguish the two forms of pain: does focussing on it increase the pain (=kundalini) or decrease it (=ordinary pain)

That's a good, general guideline, Tara. Thank you for sharing this and for your interactions here.

I resonate, too, with your comments about "ribs" and "ears." Usually, for me, it's because of an excess of mental concentration, which I have to be careful about. If I keep my "rules" for taking breaks, it goes fairly well most of the time. Sometimes, however, it seems to be less about the amount of time than the quality of concentration. Reading, in particular, can be difficult, as it doesn't take long before the energetic pattern of the writer impresses itself upon my brain. Sometimes that's enjoyable, but not always. Depends on the writing, of course.

You mentioned reincarnation in another post as a possible explanation for why K process is active in young people. No feathers ruffled, even though Christianity has generally rejected it (the idea of one soul with many bodies is incongruent with the implications of the Incarnation; see this thread and this one for discussions we've had). But it's interesting to hear how people like yourself from other faith traditions understand K process.

We've already touched on early grief and stressful environment as a possible trigger for young people. Several correspondees through the years have wondered out loud about personality types as well. I know of no research on this, but it does seem from my general experience that most people with K are Introverted Intuitive types a la Myers-Briggs. Of course, there are many exceptions, like Teresa of Avila, who was probably an Extravert. Gopi Krishna speculated on some hereditary basis for K awakening, noting that it often ran in families. I think a "kundalini gene" is unlikely, but there could be other factors that heredity, or family history might influence. Then there is the possibility that one is a "person of destiny," for lack of a better word, touched by God from an early age with some special mission in mind. Reincarnation might be a way of saying the same, but for a Christian it would be possible to affirm this in terms of God's election and providence.

I've already mentioned on this and other threads that the approach I'm increasingly inclined to is to speak of K in terms of a spiritual dimension of the unconscious (in addition to a psychological and physiological). K awakening represents an activation of the spiritual unconscious and the potentialities it holds, pressuring for an integration with the psychological and physical aspects of our lives. I think this approach holds promise as there's already widespread acceptance of the unconscious dimension of consciousness, and growing acceptance of the spiritual dimension of human life as well. This language resonates much more with the culture and is less occultish than fiery serpents or energy coiled around the base of the spine or Shakti or whatever. It also opens the possibility of understanding how dissociation and even psychic gifts can be awakened in abused children, who disengage from the outer world and withdraw more into the unconscious, unlocking something of its spiritual potential in the process.

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Originally posted by faustina:
I also watched a video clip of Misty Edwards leading worship. Again the same abandonment. She began to sing spontaneously during worship. The power of God was so strong upon her, I could almost not bear it energetically while watching her online. I know this look. I know this state of being. We all long for it. It cannot be had intellectually anymore than we can connect with another when we are in our heads when we make love to a human being we deeply love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OyIHkK8LPw

Wow. That's pretty special. Thanks for sharing it, Christine. Have you been to that IHOP place in person?

Derek..

No, I haven't yet.. but i am going in June! I am really looking forward to it... I had discovered IHOP and the music of Misty a few weeks ago.. i was deeply touched. I told my husband that i really wanted to take a road trip to Kansas City and pray there at IHOP. a couple weeks later ( on Divine Mercy Sunday) out of the blue, a friend after Mass asked me to go to Kansas with her to visit a nun we love who lives at a convent in Kansas. I told her i wanted to go to IHOP if i was out that way and she thought that was a great idea!

i am looking forward to spending many hours there praying... i will let you know how it goes

quote:

Several correspondees through the years have wondered out loud about personality types as well. I know of no research on this, but it does seem from my general experience that most people with K are Introverted Intuitive types a la Myers-Briggs. Of course, there are many exceptions, like Teresa of Avila, who was probably an Extravert.

Hi Phil
I personally have not worked much with Myer-Briggs but my husband uses it with his clients. So I know it well enough to comment on it.
It is my experience that the kundalini process helps to find in yourself the missing half. For example, I used to be very extravert but kundalini has 'forced' me to develop my introvert side (I have been living in semi-retreat for the last 10 years). I have been very non-intuitive and matter of factly but now I have developed my intuition to a high degree and use intuitive methods as much as a rational approach to solve life's problems.

My husband who is trained to identify the Myer-Briggs type finds it impossible to classify me because I use all the different qualities equally.

Overall, I find that spiritual development is not so much about reaching 'a final state' in some way, but much more a process of uniting seeming opposites - being loving AND powerful, being rational AND intuitive, being self-directed AND totally surrendered to God's will. etc. etc.

I would find it interesting to hear your view on that.

Tara KundaliniTherapist

Tara, I agree: integrating polarities is part of the spiritual journey, and kundalini does seem to assist in this. That applies to the Jungian attitudes (introversion and extraversion) and four functions (sensation, intuition, thinking and feeling) as well. These seem to become more balanced as one ages anyway, but there is a deeper integration with kundalini, I'm convinced. In my own case, Introverted Intuitive Thinking is still my strongest side, but I can use the other functions as well, as needed. That wasn't the case as much twenty or thirty years ago, for sure.

I think the younger one is when kundalini awakens, the more likely one is to demonstrate decided attitudinal and functional preferences. They will not have the luxury of ignoring their unconscious side, however. On the plus side, they probably won't have a midlife crisis, either.

My good friend, Jim Arraj, was a scholar of Jung and he wrote a short essay on Jung and kundalini several years ago.
- see https://shalomplace.org/eve/for.../25010765/m/67210765 if interested.

Hi Phil
thanks for the interesting article. I must admit that I am not such a great fan of Jung. I have read quite a bit about him and from him and he never comes across as a very nice person...

But that aside, I know he opened the notion of transpersonal therapy and therefore I should be grateful to him as I am a transpersonal therapist myself.

In my own personality model (or Buddhist model) I see people more as vessels (or radio station if you will). In our ordinary state we have filled this vessel with a fixed idea about who and what we are (and get very upset if someone does not agree with it). Spiritual practice (and also all other developmental work) weakens this fixation.

Once we become less rigid we open up consciously to other influences (like God or spiritual teachers if we are on the right path) and allow them to 'take over' part of what we regarded 'our territory'. I know you had this experience - I read somewhere that you feel sometimes like God is looking through your eyes - that is what I mean.

Part of this process is that we can tap into an extraordinary amount of energy - the kundalini. Kundalini is like hidden treasure chests that can be found by the earnest seeker and be used to for spiritual development. If we fall over these treasures by accident we are like people who win the lottery - happy at first but then it might ruin our life.

Eventually, as our rigid ideas about who and what we are wear completely away we can allow be (almost) completely taken over by the divine. The more kundalini we have to support this process the more visible we will be to others in our divinity. We will then be recognized by others as a saint (or enlightened in Buddhist lingo)

Tara KundaliniTherapist

It's been mentioned that stress, grief,loneliness can be contributing factors in kundalini awakening. I remember that I was experiencing a major loss & my husband was going through what turned out to be 2 yrs of complications after surgery. It was in the middle of all this I took that homeopathic remedy.

While i was very sick & overwhelmed by my own suffering & others I also started experiencing mystical experiences.

A Priest recently talked with me about my childhood & he said he was not surprised that I had experienced mystical experiences because of the amount of suffering in my childhood. I had experienced many early deaths and losses. There was nothing on earth that was able to touch the deep part of my heart that God did
when He touched it with His love.

Traditional therapy was actually a great mistake & I & my husband regret going in that direction. Transpersonal therapy may have been helpful but not available after 3 sessions. I met one who was graduating with his Masters degree who agreed to do an extensive psychological evaluation on me if I would share my story and let him share some of it in his thesis. When he graduated he went back to his native land. He assured me I wasn't crazy as did 2 other traditional therapists. They were both very humble in saying they knew i wasn't crazy but they were not trained to assist in what I was going through.

Going to Church service & watching everything religious on tv I could find was helpful. It didn't matter what type of Church service I went to if it touched my heart. Reading religious books that talked to my heart especially.

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Originally posted by Phil:
You ask:

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I have often wondered if as humans we all have this energy inherently and some people come in more wired for a K experience and or mystical experience? Is it circumstances that are not entirely pleasant in the early life, that can trigger and break us open to awaken the kundalini? Obviously mine was triggered through a combination of grief and a deep desire for the things of God... i had no idea about energy or anything like that.

I do think you're onto something. The young ego is naturally drawn to engage with the outer environment, but if that's not a safe place, then it often will go inward for refuge. That's not necessarily a bad thing, especially if it's in a spirit of prayer and spiritual seeking. If it's just about escape, however, then there can be serious pathologies that emerge. But in either case, there will be more activation of the unconscious, including its spiritual dimension, which is where I situate what we're calling kundalini here. If that goes on for years, then the active unconscious will "spill-over" into the psyche and the body. This is probably what most people call "awakening of kundalini."

How do you suggest we deal with perceived blockages, Tara? You speak of moving attention away from a chakra where there is too much energy. Is that the same as a blockage?

I think the uncomfortable symptoms in my head may stem from a blockage in the throat.

I'll start a new thread, since we're way, way off-topic for this one.

OK. I'll transfer the relevant posts to it when you've done so.

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How do you suggest we deal with perceived blockages, Tara? You speak of moving attention away from a chakra where there is too much energy. Is that the same as a blockage?

I think the uncomfortable symptoms in my head may stem from a blockage in the throat.

Hi Samson
head pressure is a notorious and difficult to treat kundalini symptom, I am afraid. There is no one size fits all advice for that.

My own approach centres on healing all emotional and relationship issues first (does not take very long with my approach) and then hope that the energy imbalance subsides (if often does).

Generally speaking, if pain/pressure gets worse through focussing on it you should stop giving these symtoms any attention: not talking about it, not thinking about it and not giving it any inner attention. Find yourself a replacement focus (e.g. short repetitive prayer plus appropriate visualisation) to avert you attention if you are tempted to dwell on the pain.

Having said all this it is important to address the underlying issues which is always a very individual process.

Tara KundaliniTherapist

quote:

Originally posted by samson:
How do you suggest we deal with perceived blockages, Tara? You speak of moving attention away from a chakra where there is too much energy. Is that the same as a blockage?

I think the uncomfortable symptoms in my head may stem from a blockage in the throat.

I don't know if this will help at all, but I can relate what happened to me recently. For several months I had been getting severe pain up my neck on the left side and around my ear. It happened every day, and got worse when I would try to "clear" it with energy work or any time I focused on it, as Tara is describing. It also got worse when I was in situations where I had to hold back from saying what I wanted to.

As it happens, I had also stepped up my meditation and regular energy work in the same timeframe. Separately, I eventually noticed that I was no longer spending any time in affective or verbal prayer, i.e. my spiritual practice had become much less relational and intentional. When I began speaking to God again and making my meditation and prayer more relational, the pain went away and has stayed away.

What I'm saying is, I also associated the pain with my throat chakra, and trying to manually fix it by moving energy around made it worse. What fixed it was correcting the associated behavior that corresponds with the throat.

Good luck!

Paul