Mary Sue
I am not sure - was my post helpful? Are you feeling better?

Also to Samson
There are many many Christians who had kundalini awakening. I read all the books of Patricia Treece (the sanctified body), in which she describes all sorts of miracle stories in the Catholic tradition.

All these saints had kundalini awakenings in my understanding. It's just not called that way. There is just no concept in the Catholic tradition why some people are 'favoured' by God with these special powers. But the absence of concept does not mean that there is no reason.

From the Buddhist and Hindu perspective all supernatural powers are due to increased kundalini.

Yes, Tara, but the naming of it brings clarity. Besides, my upbringing was conservative evangelical (Plymouth Brethren)and such things weren't understood. There were, however, signs in my personality as a child, a strangeness, an otherness, and perhaps such things are predispositions. As such, it may be something for child psychologists to take into consideration, thereby laying preparatory ground without being overly preemptive.

Having an evangelical upbringing was a foundation, and the awakening had to find some connection with that, while allowing for development in faith. I'd suggest too it's an important area given the amount of energy that's flying around evangelical circles via the Charismatic Movement.

Yes, indeed Tara. Thanks so much.

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Tara, I like your additions to factors associated with k awakening.

There are just so many things I've heard, including Lamaze breathing during childbirth (Christina Grof); Lamaze is sort of like a pranayama.

The most predictable dynamic is that one begins to hang out more and more in trans-egoic realms either because of meditative methods that deconstruct the Ego for periods of time (mantras, zazen, vipassana, etc.), or becuase of apophatic mystical states. I think the latter is the best way by far to have the process awakened, as the Ego is already being re-integrated into a new relationship with God and the unconscious.

Nearly everyone I've corresponded with who's had K awakening has come to it because of some kind of serious practice of prayer or meditation. Many do Centering Prayer. People who do Centering Prayer regularly for 30-45 minutes a couple of times a day, or who go on these intensive retreats where they do CP for hours and hours each day are ripe for an awakening. Awareness/spiritual energy is being drawn from the levels of psyche and body through these kinds of practices, and the more one does this, the more the more the unconscious dimension of our spiritual nature is stirred to action.

From the Buddhist and Hindu perspective all supernatural powers are due to increased kundalini.

Interesting!

In Christianity, we do speak of spiritual charisms, which are powers or gifts of the Holy Spirit, and are not necessarily instances of kundalini manifestation. We do recognize that people can develop psychic and other powers that might not necessarily be related to charisms.

Tara, in my book on kundalini, I have an extensive section on possible examples of kundalini manifestation in Christianity. The process isn't known or understood as clearly as in Buddhism or Hinduism, but it is named: concomitant mystical phenomena, and includes a wide range of phenomena: levitating, bilocation, inner heat, inner light, inner sound, locutions, visions, trances, seeing the future, and even some miraculous powers. These are not considered sure signs of God's presence unless other factors are there as well (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.). In fact, it is generally acknowledged that people who are possessed by devils have all sorts of paranormal powers as well.

The way Catholic theologians and spiritual directors understood what was happening was that in the spiritual life, the soul was transformed by God to become increasingly docile to express the divine intent for that person. This might or might not include special powers, but always did include faith, hope, love, and a number of charismatic gifts. When they saw extraordinary phenomena, they tried to discern if the source was:
a.) the human spiritual soul, stirred to a deeper and more intense life (kundalini could be involved with this);
b.) the divine
c.) the devil
d.) a and b
e. a and c

Spiritual directors in the Catholic tradition worked with K process in the context of deepening union with God and gave no particular significance to "powers" unless they coincided with charisms, as mentioned above. If they did not, then the development and expression of "powers" was discouraged. As you have expressed, powers without rooting in the divine can lead to all sorts of problems, none the least of which is Ego inflation.

Derek
the list of reasons that you have pulled up only applies to involuntary kundalini awakening. I would add to that all sorts of breathing exercises.
I have had so many clients who tried the breathing of Stanislav Grof - it's unbelievable. This guy has made himself so so much bad karma!!! He must have noticed at some point that his clients went mad and he still continued! I am quite upset about people like that.

It terms of voluntary kundalini awakening - this is how its done:
- breath retention
- celibacy (so that sexual energy can rise upwards)
- and muscle clenching of the pelvic floor (same reason)

There are however authors (like Garma Chang) who say that these exercises produce only 'artificial heat' and not the real thing. To a degree I can confirm that but I am not sure as I did not continue for long enough as I got quite severe negative symptoms.

Phil
thanks for you explanation about kundalini phenomena in Catholicism.

In terms of the involvement of the devil, a Buddhist would say the kundalini powers have been abused by the ego.

As I have pointed out beforehand, kundalini as such is not spiritual - it's just energy like money that you can use for good or bad ends.

In fact, all acts of successful black magic are due to kundalini as well.

Why was there the persecution of witches and sorcerers in the middle ages? Because some of these people (quite a number I would imagine) had real powers due to kundalini and they used it for evil purposes.

got to stop - will finish later

quote:

Originally posted by KundaliniTherapist:
the list of reasons that you have pulled up only applies to involuntary kundalini awakening. I would add to that all sorts of breathing exercises.
I have had so many clients who tried the breathing of Stanislav Grof - it's unbelievable. This guy has made himself so so much bad karma!!! He must have noticed at some point that his clients went mad and he still continued! I am quite upset about people like that.

By coincidence, I was Googling around yesterday to read more on kundalini syndrome and came across this page: http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10767 A poster tells of the troubling kundalini experiences he had after taking up breathing exercises -- and that was after only a month of practice. It all sounds very dangerous to me. Some kind of damage is being done to the nervous system. I looked at a few more pages on that site (AYP site = Advanced Yoga Practices site). There are detailed instructions for these breathing exercises. People are being encouraged to do them on their own at home -- without adequate supervision. The forum contains many posts by people who have run into problems doing this.

quote:

Originally posted by Phil:
The most predictable dynamic is that one begins to hang out more and more in trans-egoic realms either because of meditative methods that deconstruct the Ego for periods of time (mantras, zazen, vipassana, etc.), or becuase of apophatic mystical states.

Right. It's de-repression. The defense mechanisms disappear, either in a well-controlled way, or as a result of being overwhelmed or ruptured. As I sketched out in that video I made a few months ago.

quote:

By coincidence, I was Googling around yesterday to read more on kundalini syndrome and came across this page: http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10767 A poster tells of the troubling kundalini experiences he had after taking up breathing exercises -- and that was after only a month of practice. It all sounds very dangerous to me. Some kind of damage is being done to the nervous system. I looked at a few more pages on that site (AYP site = Advanced Yoga Practices site). There are detailed instructions for these breathing exercises. People are being encouraged to do them on their own at home -- without adequate supervision. The forum contains many posts by people who have run into problems doing this.

Derek
I know that website well - there is a certain KundaliniTherapist posting there - lol - that's me.

Yes, they encourage people to do these exercises but they also caution them a lot. They call it self-pacing - it's simply doing less practice. Yogani, the founder of the site claims that very few people who use his approach run into serious problems. He does give people many warnings indeed.

The problem that I have with his approach is that it does not focus on love. It's all about getting bliss and power. And indeed, the way people interact on that side is quite unloving and many people are quite egotistical. That's why stopped posting there - not a nice environment - (it's much nicer here )

quote:

Originally posted by KundaliniTherapist:
The problem that I have with his approach is that it does not focus on love.

Well, that takes us back to the other thread, the one with the comparative study of Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism. The "altruistic love" that you mention in your book is of course the core of the Gospel. There is a Tibetan Buddhist center only a mile or two from where I live. I have visited their website. Their approach is quite different from any Christian church I'm familiar with. They have two series of classes: one a fixed-length course that you have to sign up for, and the other a drop-in series on different topics. I don't recall ever seeing a church teaching altruistic love in such a systematic way. But perhaps this discussion belongs on that other thread.

quote:

It seems you have managed your own awakening well. Can you say a little more about how it went?

From shaktipat to one year ago was on/off. I flirted with Tibetan Buddhism and yoga but never found something that fitted me. I followed a 2-day course of tummo and 1 year ago manipura opened up. From that moment on, everything changed drastically. Kundalini became constant and everpresent, never too little, never too much. Much inspiration of what exercises I have to do comes from non-carnal intermediaries, and one in particular.

Once the Heart opened up, I was more and more confronted with demons during my meditation sittings. I was taught - and it is a teaching that I think I can make public - that these demons are not to be destroyed nor avoided. I was given the power to change them to angels, sometimes by touching them, other times with a stick or sword. As such, I never became afraid of the evil coming towards me, because a simple (conscious) touch would annihilate them (without destroying them!).
These demons were very strong at times. In one instance, a demon was trying to destroy me. I didn't run, but started jumping around as he tried to smash me under his gigantic feet. After a while, he became tired and fell on the ground, weak enough to become annihilated and changed into an angel.

Perhaps this sounds strange for someone who has never experienced it, but truly, running away from evil is never a good choice. Stand steady, you're not going to die... At this time, I only encounter very little demons during my sittings...

Also, I believe that centering prayer helps a great deal. I do this one a day, in the early morning.

quote:

Originally posted by Derek:

quote:

Originally posted by KundaliniTherapist:
The problem that I have with his approach is that it does not focus on love.

Well, that takes us back to the other thread, the one with the comparative study of Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism. The "altruistic love" that you mention in your book is of course the core of the Gospel. There is a Tibetan Buddhist center only a mile or two from where I live. I have visited their website. Their approach is quite different from any Christian church I'm familiar with. They have two series of classes: one a fixed-length course that you have to sign up for, and the other a drop-in series on different topics. I don't recall ever seeing a church teaching altruistic love in such a systematic way. But perhaps this discussion belongs on that other thread.

One of my main issues with the Catholic mystical tradition is that it doesn't teach anything in a systematic way. The saints were always very concerned with making sure it was apparent that it was the Holy Spirit directing things, and that mystical progress was not the result of some "technique." The downside is that mystical literature is, IMO, very vague and confusing. Catholic mystical literature, from what I've seen, uses very metaphorical and flowery language, to the point where when I was just trying to figure out how to pray and direct my attention, it was of no use to me. One of the things I like about Tibetan Buddhism (what I've seen of it) is that systematic approach.

Paul

Thanks, Paul. I'll continue with this one on the comparative thread https://shalomplace.org/eve/for...6110765/m/1504063338

quote:

One of my main issues with the Catholic mystical tradition is that it doesn't teach anything in a systematic way.

I've responded at length on the thread Derek linked to above as well. Check out Lectio Divina, mental prayer, Centering Prayer, the Rosary, prayer of simplicity, practice of the presence of God, the Jesus Prayer, the Cloud of Unknowing. There's lots of teaching on methods of prayer. If you're not familiar with any of these, then do a search on the Internet.

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