Stillness, Awakening and ACISTE conference

Stillness, Awakening and ACISTE conference

I just completed a weekend retreat called Presence at the Center, a gathering of women committed to spiritual awakening.  If we wish to discover the innate happiness within us it is important to take time out of our lives to rest in our center – the deep stillness available within our hearts, but often clouded over by the demands, distractions and worries of modern  life.  Meditation retreats, especially those held with the added dimension of silence, offer a return to our Self.

I become very busy in those days when I have a retreat planned, especially if I am doing other events such as webinars or consulting with those who contact me with concerns related to their spiritual  process.  It is like riding a fast moving train for several weeks, and then skidding to a halt at the retreat center, where I need to find my own deep silence if I am to invite others into it.  Finding our Self is about Stopping!

Mental activity,  emotional upheavals, multiple engagements in our lives, the many voices surrounding us with expectations – all of these can fall away if we STOP, leaving us in the pure sweet awareness that has always been waiting in the center of the cyclone of our lives.  There is a place within each of us already still, accepting, and open to the quiet joy of being.

You may find when you are first silent there is an upheaval of mental activity, and even of unconscious material that arises.  Both meditation and energy work (such as yoga or  Qigong) open us to that which needs to be seen in order to be released, so that our subtle energy field  can become more free.  Release and insight bring growth and widen our access to inner harmony and relaxation.  Be patient with what arises as it is your own consciousness inviting you to meet, release and move toward awakening.  Suffering unwinds itself from our systems as we learn to meet our life experiences with equanimity and to meet ourselves with love.

Spiritual awakening has no religious preference and is open to all. It is not about a belief, or embracing a system or tradition, although these may offer some initiating practices that will bring an invitation to know Yourself.  Awakening is an intimate touching of our natural state of spirit embodied, a direct inner knowing of our connection with the All.  It cannot be languaged clearly, although poets and sages have found ways to offer pointers.  Unusual phenomena may arise  when we follow our longing to know our true nature, but ultimately the outcome is an awareness that consciousness is vast and unbounded, and a return into a form that knows  a deep relaxation into life.

I will be speaking at the ACISTE conference in Palm Springs the weekend of Oct. -20 -22 on Identifying and Supporting Spiritual Transformation.

Go to www.aciste.com for information about this event, designed to support people who are a spiritual awakening process. ACISTE is the Assn for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences.

 I hope to offer a one-day workshop  on Living with Kundalini the Monday following for people who are having kundalini experiences and  want to better understand the kundalini process..  Please drop me a note at kundinfo@mindspring.com if you would like more information.

Two-Day Kundalini Workshop Available
If you are having experiences with kundalini energy and would like a workshop that focuses on living with kundalini energy and sharing experiences with others I am planning a kundalini workshop Sept 24 and 25, 2011 in Ashland, OR. I will offer an overview of the process and approaches to harmonizing the energy as well as an exploration of the true function of kundalini arising -- the clearing process that opens you up to major shifts in perspective and the embodiment of an awakened life, the opening of the heart and the inner peace that is possible when this process completes itself. This is a two day program from 9 to 6, with 2-hour lunch breaks and will be limited to 12 participants. The fee will be $100. For more information and registration contact me (Bonnie) at kundinfo@mindspring.com. This program is offered instead of the retreat previously announced in this column. To get here you will need to fly into Medford OR, about 15 miles from Ashland.

Kundalini awakening triggers a releasing process for most people -- the clearing of the subtle or energy body. It is as if all of our conditioning, beliefs, and identifications are woven into our energy field and the heightened movement of kundalini is trying to clear out this field, leaving it open and relaxed and making consciousness less subject to holding positions, identifications and reactive patterns we have had all our life. When this shift to openness occurs the mind is more quiet and consciousness more present in the moment, more available to intuitive truth, more likely to move through the heart as love and compassion and appreciation for life. Kundalini awakening is not about power, except for the natural power that comes with authenticity and acceptance of what is, the power to be free of our personal conditioning. It is not about becoming "saintly" but about becoming present, relaxed and in tune with the earth and the natural potential of living in harmony with ourselves and others. When there is sincerity and a commitment to living from Truth each individual who truly awakens finds a unique way of expression in the world, coming from being in tune with an authentic movement deep inside. Some people find a deep healing of emotional and physical issues as the awakening unfolds, but often there is an amplification of challenges during the clearing process. It is as if everything comes up to be met, to be seen clearly and to be released.
Sometimes this clearing and energy awakening occurs before the shifts of consciousness called "awakening" or "realization", for many reasons such as a great shock, an emotional overload, a near-death experience, an intensity of devotion or meditation, doing energy practices such as QiGong, kundalini yoga, martial arts, Reichi, breathwork, yoga breathing practices,tantra or concentrated psychic work. Occasionally it activates in a dream, or with a strongly energetic transmission like Diksha or with a guru. This opening stimulates a great shift in the psyche, the energy field, sensitivity, the release of old memories and many other phenomena as defined on my website, www.kundaliniguide.com.
Sometimes this clearing and energy awakening unfolds after a shift of consciousness that might happen spontaneously or in a meditation retreat or lengthy practice. One might suddenly realize the "Truth" of who they are and feel absolutely free for a while, just open and joyful and connected to everything. Then the clearing begins later, and it is likely this person may feel they have "lost" something. But in fact this is the natural progression -- the passage between seeing the "Truth" and living from it in a stable way. It is like clearing out the house in preparation for moving to another country. Everything must be seen and dealt with. If there is a lot of trauma in the personal history this can be especially challenging and therapy may be helpful as old repressed material arises. If there is a heavy use of drugs or alcohol there can be much need of toxins to be released from the body. It may feel like an invasion but it is actually the true source of your being attempting to transform the old patterns and limitations created by conditioning in this life and perhaps even conditions brought in from other lives.

The more you can relax and allow this process space in your life, and the more you can release fear about it, the easier it will become and the more likely the possibility of noticing the bliss inherent in these energy releases and shifts. You may become more "vata" in the Ayurvedic way of seeing things (Indian medicine system), more light and airy and less focused. So grounding activities can be helpful such as being in nature, gardening, baking, and creative activities. If you are vegetarian it is important to get protein into your diet from beans and root vegetables. Ultimately it is about living on this earth while knowing you are spirit, rather than escaping into a transcendent dimension. You can't be free if you are trying to evade life. Freedom is knowing your true nature and living your human experience with no objections. Being willing to BE. For most people it takes some time to find their way to this quiet joy and presence and the alignment with the Truth they have realized.

I wish you all joy on your journey and that the moving process opens you up to a new world.