Question from a Seeker:
I’ve been spiritually seeking for a number of years and one
thing that really seems to bother me is this fascination with Kundalini. I was
fascinated with these Kundalini sensations because of the orgasmic oneness and
union that accompanied them. Recently I'm also interested in working on my humanness and
cleaning up all the messes associated with that. I am less interested in
mystical states of permanent bliss or unity. The problem is that my ego/mind
has started tempting me to have Kundalini experiences and I’ve been feeling
this energy in my body (particularly in my face area), which is difficult to
avoid. When I follow this energy and try to keep my mind concentrated on it for
too long, I get panicked and it feels like my body is going to explode/die if I
continue, so instinctively I stop and try to move on. But the energy keeps
interfering with my ability to enjoy life and to live freely. This seems to be
the main thing that keeps the ego sense of me alive and well (the other thing
is probably a fear of utter despair and depression at seeing my illusions
shattered,) I recently found that if I stop trying to control these energies I
feel better. Is it better to just
let them happen or to try to stop or manage them?
Response:
Kundalini is the life force experienced as a subtle energy
running through the body and you are right in your discovery that the easiest
way to live with it is to relax and let it move as it seems to want to. Usually if you just lay down on a bed
when it starts it will shake you up for awhile as it removes stresses out of
the system and opens up stuck areas in the body, and then it stops after a few
minutes, or feels just like a quiet hum or vibration the rest of the time. It can feel blissful (but won't always)
when you let it move and cause a lot of discomfort if you contract against
it. It can also be scary when it
is intense but if you can substitute curiosity and openness for fear it will go
much better for you. It is not especially useful to concentrate on it or try to
intensify it, much better to kind of shrug it off and wonder what the energy
might be trying to clear out now (you won't often know).
It is also very useful to clean up any "messes" in
your life, practically speaking.
Stress, toxic habits and relationships, stuck anger and resentment and
other divisive personal issues give the subtle body lots of issues to work out
and make energy releases, emotional upheavals and even pain more challenging in
this process. Think of kundalini as trying to make you very open and free
internally, keeping all your channels open, and having to clear out any
negativity or suffering that is in the way.
Other than "cleaning up your life," the ego, which
is just your mind identifying with your thoughts about it, needs to let go of
trying to control this or any other aspects of the spiritual process. You are
new to this process and it is here to support shifts and changes in
consciousness that will allow consciousness to awaken to itself -- there is
nothing in it for the ego, which is why resistance comes up. If you are on a spiritual
path and do regular silent sitting or meditation or even prayers of gratitude,
this will further support an awakening.
If you are doing lots of energy practice, using drugs or following
shamanic, breathwork or other intense practices you may raise more energy than
you want to handle and more mental confusion along with it. You might get some value from reading
my two new books "The Kundalini Guide" and "The Awakening
Guide" that are designed to help people understand and support the
awakening process. You might
benefit from listening to the talks at www.adyashanti.org as Adya is a
wonderful teacher of awakening. This process will interfere with your
fun-loving life and ultimately demand you align yourself with the most
authentic and natural path within you.
You will learn to find peace and happiness within, but first
any beliefs and illusions that contradict what is true will be challenged until
you see them clearly enough to let them go.
The longing of the heart to know truth or know "Who I
am" or know God -- however you would phrase the longing that has drawn you
into spiritual practice -- is an important aspect of awakening. Trust that rather than your thoughts
about what it means. It is a
mystery just how we awaken and what we discover, one the mind cannot grasp.
It is rare for someone to stop this process, although
occasionally it will stop temporarily if the major stressors and preoccupations
of living become overwhelming. But
learning to understand and support it make it a lot less challenging and open
up more opportunity to find bliss and joy as the body and spirit become more
open and alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment