My experience of Kundalini developed naturally - and benevolently. I read K. theory but followed my instincts, which allowed the energy to follow a spiritual desire. Eventually, when the force entered the cerebral centres it manifested as perfect intimacy.

If the upflow of k. energy is experienced as love, then I suggest reading the works of Christian Mystics will be benificial. These mystical lovers of God provide the necessary emotional or �soulful� dimension that other spiritual systems lack. For me, Kundalini energy, libido, latent will, love and God are one and the same, and as my understanding of God grows so the �fire of love� evolves. It is not enough to have knowledge in your head; you must also have it in your heart.

Porete was burned at the stake for love, Ebner suffered internal tortures because of the ferocity of love, and Hadewijch loved the fire because it loved her. They were all Christians, but love was more important than Christianity - or rather, love transformed their faith. The God within taught them how to live according to love and this orgasm of Divinity became their master.

Whether one expresses the force of K. in the seventh centre or enters Teresa of Avilla�s seventh mansion the mystical love of One is universally desired. East or West, the path is the same.

quote:

Originally posted by <amatoria.com>:
[qb] My experience of Kundalini developed naturally - and benevolently. [/qb]

Welcome, Amatoria. What a blessing to experience such an emergence benevolently. Perhaps you could share more specifics of your journey, such as whether your experience took place in the context of a particular community or with a guide or mentor? Were there any ascetical practices you habitually engaged or other spiritual disciplines?

quote:

Originally posted by <amatoria.com>:
[qb] I read K. theory but followed my instincts, which allowed the energy to follow a spiritual desire. Eventually, when the force entered the cerebral centres it manifested as perfect intimacy. [/qb]

When you speak of intimacy, you seem to imply a relational aspect to your experience, let's say as distinguished from an impersonal force or even a nonconceptual, nondual awareness?

quote:

Originally posted by <amatoria.com>:
[qb]If the upflow of k. energy is experienced as love, then I suggest reading the works of Christian Mystics will be benificial. These mystical lovers of God provide the necessary emotional or �soulful� dimension that other spiritual systems lack. [/qb]

The Christian mystics did a wonderful job of integrating body, soul and spirit, not giving themselves over to an excess of any of those aspects of our human nature. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, might agree with your critique of any spiritual system lacking a soul-ful dimension. If there is an imbalance in much of our Christian spirituality and piety today, individual and collective, Rohr would say that it comes from its being too rigid and nonexperiential and must be corrected by the cultivation of soul work (He calls it soul allowing).

quote:

Originally posted by <amatoria.com>:
[qb] For me, Kundalini energy, libido, latent will, love and God are one and the same, and as my understanding of God grows so the �fire of love� evolves. [/qb]

Although Christian metaphysics diverge in many ways from other accounts, for instance, as we draw such distinctions as created and Uncreated, immanent and transcendent, natural and supernatural, existential and theological ... and there is no one acceptable Christian philosophy or metaphysics even in my own Catholic church ... most would agree wholeheartedly with your affirmation that our knowledge of God and our love of God are mutually enriching, to use your words --- our understanding grow ing with our love, our love growing with our understanding.

quote:

Originally posted by <amatoria.com>:
[qb] It is not enough to have knowledge in your head; you must also have it in your heart. [/qb]

The Franciscan Duns Scotus (arguing with Aquinas) suggested that knowledge starts in the will and not the intellect, that faith is basic to truth, that faith and love are based on the will, that will is superior to the intellect. I like a path that combines their approaches ... like yours.

quote:

Originally posted by <amatoria.com>:
[qb] Porete was burned at the stake for love, Ebner suffered internal tortures because of the ferocity of love, and Hadewijch loved the fire because it loved her. They were all Christians, but love was more important than Christianity - or rather, love transformed their faith. The God within taught them how to live according to love and this orgasm of Divinity became their master.Whether one expresses the force of K. in the seventh centre or enters Teresa of Avilla�s seventh mansion the mystical love of One is universally desired. East or West, the path is the same. [/qb]

Although there is no one "approved" Christian philosophy or metaphysics or spirituality, even within my own Catholicism, there are some theological doctrines that are considered orthodox. One such doctrine is the belief that humans can live a good and moral life without the benefit of Divine Revelation, that the Holy Spirit animates all people of good will. Those elements of all traditions that conform to truth and possess salvific efficacy certainly comprise one path.

Other elements of the traditions, which are apparently disparate and incommensurable between traditions, in the spirit of Right Speech, inspire us, who are not indifferent, to continue in our search for the most nearly perfect articulation of Truth, celebration of Beauty and preservation of Good, rejecting any indifferentism or facile syncretism.

There is much to be gained by comparative mysticism and interreligious dialogue, such as the fruits of your own experience and study, which you shared here. Many thanks.

pax,
jb

Yes, welcome, Amatoria. Thank you for visiting this site and for your comments.

I have have visited amatoria.com . . . what an awful picture at the top of your home page! . . not sure I understand. Human nature damaged by the fall?

I have also read through your "Evocation of Spirit" reflection and sense there a testimony to a powerful transformative process involving the body as well as mind and emotions. I strongly relate to many of the points made, though I might put some of them differently.

The quote below I thought was good:

The soul is the body of unification; God's Spirit shapes man's senses into His body. The forceful God shifts from sex to soul - from individual to universal - because God's desire is greater than man's carnal desire and He transforms the natural inclination of the sexual animal. The sensuality of man is not the sensuality of God, the sensuality of the soul is unadulterated God: it is God's oneness with man. Man becomes God when his senses are no longer his own and when man's sensual nature is purified he is no longer himself. God keeps the sensuality of the soul for man's awakening; man in himself is no longer relevant.

In Christian spirituality, we speak of divinization--of how our human nature becomes transformed so that it is finally transparent to the Spirit. You seem to be saying something very similar.

quote:

�........with the light of reason human beings can know which path to take, but they can follow that path to its end, quickly and unhindered, only if with a rightly tuned spirit they search for it within the horizon of faith.� (John Paul II, Fides et ratio, , chapter 2, para.16)

There is, indeed, but one path, East or West, still, following it to its end, quickly and unhindered, is another matter

Not sure I agree there is one path, JB. Depends on what you mean by that. Even within a given religion, there are many paths, or spiritualities.

quote:

Originally posted by Phil:
[qb] Not sure I agree there is one path, JB. Depends on what you mean by that. Even within a given religion, there are many paths, or spiritualities. [/qb]

Of course it deserves nuancing and of course my nuances would be the same that JPII would offer you re: what he meant by path, which is broadly conceived, I'm sure, as the good and moral life, in this instance. To expand the metaphor, it ain't a two-way highway but there are many lanes, some HOV and others more eremitic.

The unification of opposites leads to God, that is the basic premise of all self-awareness programmes. Human beings are sexual animals, and it is only natural that we should express God through sex. But sex is not the answer if one wishes to BECOME God. We have no idea of what God is if we continually push God out of ourselves - God is unfathomable, so why bother? God is alien when God is without. But pull God in and God is familiar. Sex turns into Love; incomprehension into enlightenment, and all created things are unified with the death that brings new life. But it doesn’t make the new-lifer happy! He simply knows more in God than in his previous life of ignorance. God’s familiarity has taught ME that the energy flooding my brain doesn’t give two hoots for any desire that does not conform to its greater desire: what "I" want out of life is irrelevant, my life is irrelevant when I am not “God”. I am only needed to bring God into the soul - to unite the opposites. And by making energy God and imagination Soul , I make emotion Love - Hadewijch’s “glue”, the love that binds everything.

I’m glad you responded in such a positive way. I half expected indignant replies from mildly irritated Yoga practitioners who perhaps feel that I am trying to insert Christian values into a tried and tested formula. I don’t consider myself a “Christian”, although if I had to choose a religion it would be Christianity simply for the reason that it conforms to my culture and background. Yet, I am greatly inspired by “quaint” and “archaic” medieval Christian Mystics whose passion for God still embarrasses Christian orthodoxy and make "Good Works" Christians feel uncomfortable. "Why should these eccentrics have the pleasure of God when we have to wait a lifetime for those pearly gates to open?"

If we encourage just one individual who knew nothing about Christian Mysticism to take up the cause and go find God in Love then it will be worth a million Hail Mary's.

I�m glad you responded in such a positive way. I half expected indignant replies from mildly irritated Yoga practitioners who perhaps feel that I am trying to insert Christian values into a tried and tested formula.

LOL! Well, you're much more likely to get an idignant response from irritated Christains here than from irritated Yoga practitioners. Look around this site a bit and you'll see that it's not really about Yoga. The inclusion of information and a forum on kundalini is not typical of Christian sites, but comes from my own experience with the process and my attempt to try to articulate what's happening in a Christian context.

the energy flooding my brain doesn�t give two hoots for any desire that does not conform to its greater desire: what "I" want out of life is irrelevant, my life is irrelevant when I am not �God�. I am only needed to bring God into the soul - to unite the opposites. And by making energy God and imagination Soul , I make emotion Love - Hadewijch�s �glue�, the love that binds everything.

I very much relate to the experience you're obviously speaking out of. It's my experience as well that once this energy process is awakening, the usual ways of thinking of having "one's life" with goals, etc. is over; cooperation with the process is now the agenda, and it very much is a giving birth to God. There is indeed a shift in one's sexuality as well, which usually calls for significant adjustments, especially in married life. As with everything else, sex now belongs to God and must be used in a way that supports the transformative process. Much of what goes on in the world and even in good marriages is dissipation.

Thank you for registering and posting, amatoria.

a million Hail Mary's can be quite the meditative path, discursively

a million Hail Mary's can be quite the contemplative path, nondiscursively

maybe even an acquired or active contemplation

ascetically laying the groundwork for energies both created and Uncreated, natural and supernatural ...

alas, it will always be one small but perfect act of the will, in Love, that pierces the veil into Eternity, whatever one's path

May I add a word from Saint Jnaneshwar's Commentary on Sloka 14 of Chapter 6 of the Bhagawat Gita, a chapter dedicated to the awakening the Serpent Power called Kundalini: On account of the heat [Energy, TAPAS] created in the body by Yogic Discipline, especially by Athletes of the Spirit, the Serpent Power called Kundalini gets awakened. ..it is pinched, so to say, by a posture called VAJRASANA...."That will take us into the field of asanas,the study and practice of which I find improves my Christian Contemplation.Perhaps some others may have something more to say about Postures that pinch Kundalini...Thank you.

This board is awesome! I think people experiencing their first symptoms of mental illness could really benefit from reading this. I do believe many instances of mental illness are caused by this awakening.

I began experiencing this over 13yrs ago. I was 29yrs old, and suddenly I could hear, see, smell, and even feel spirits. It came on so quickly, and I had no idea what was happening. My Christian faith is what kept me from going off the deep end, as I didn't even know I was experiencing something spiritual at the time.

I had many of the same symptoms that schizophrenics have. I was very depressed, too. I literally felt like I was in a sort of living hell. I went to psychiatrists who told me I was too in touch with reality to be schizophrenic, and deliverance ministers who told me I wasn't demon possessed, rather that I was being harrassed by demons. I went along with their advice, and took every anti-psychotic known to man with little relief. I went along with the deliverance ministers who told me to do various things, such as annointing my doors and windows with oil.

We didn't have the internet back then, so I hit the Christian bookstores and read everything I could about spiritual warfare. I felt I was under severe assault by evil spirits. Even after all of my reading, I never found anything that could explain what I was experiencing. In my group therapy, the only other people who even had close to the same symptoms as me seemed to be hopelessly lost in their own world, and definitly were not in touch with reality. They believed things like the tv was watching them, or someone was trying to steal their "star". (Yes, a star as in up in the sky sort).

Before the internet age, finding information like this was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Christian Mystic. I'd been taught growing up that stuff like this was Satanic. I know better now, but it took me many years of prayer, reading the word, and silent contemplation--many years of seeking God with all my heart to even begin to understand.

I researched many different religions. I found a site called beliefnet, and there were some religions I had never even heard of. My faith in Jesus Christ is stronger than ever. I know the Christian path is the one for me, but I did find certain truths in the other paths. And, I have learned not to put others down for their beliefs.

I can't say it's been an easy path, but I praise God for all of it. He's still "refining" me. I think that's what is painful about awakening, the more "junk metal" one has, the harder it is to turn that person into "pure gold". Hard, but not impossible. I believe that God can turn us into pure gold, and it's then that we become perfected in Christ Jesus.