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Kundalini — Power From Below
 by Brigitte Arora

Kundalini is the energy that powers our biological life.  It is the generator out of which the fires of life are stoked.  It is the sustainer and regulator of our life force and the driving power that fuels our evolutionary, transformative journey.  The main goal of a fully risen Kundalini is to Awaken us to a state of Higher Consciousness — Cosmic Consciousness — and transform the old animal body into a spiritual one. Kundalini power can change us quickly and dramatically.

Kundalini power has nothing to do with religion.  However, It has been incorporated to become part and parcel of some religions and cults.  

Kundalini is a Sanskrit word that means coil; coiled like a snake.   It is also referred to as the Serpent Power or the Serpent Fire.  Throughout human history, Kundalini has been represented by the symbols of the serpent, fire and the snake.  When the snake is shown as coiled it represents Kundalini in Her dormant state.  When it is shown coming out of the crown on top of the head, it symbolizes the field of energy of a risen Kundalini.

Kundalini power comes from below.  She lies in the perineum and is held stable and secure at the sacrum on the spinal column.  There She rests dormant until She is Awakened.  Once Awakened, She begins to move upwards along the spine.  As She ascends the spine, Her main targets are the seven psychic ‘centers’ that are situated along the spinal column.  However, She can diverge at any point and spread out into all parts of the body.  Her work is to cleanse and alter the organs and all other systems that compose the body. 

Her circuit begins in the area of the genitals and ends at the crown of the head.  When fully aroused, She will pierce through the crown; the area often referred to as the

Sahasrara.  There are also three main psychic nerves, known as  ‘nadis’.  The main nadis, which follows the path of the spinal cord, is called the Sushumna. This is the channel through which Kundalini ascends and descends.  There are also two minor nadis. The one running up the left side of the spinal column is called the Ida and considered to be the feminine, cooling and intuitive energy.  The one running up the right side is called the Pingala and believed to be the masculine, rational energy.

Like electricity, Kundalini energy is neutral; She does not discriminate.  She breaks down all the barriers within the physical body and removes ‘knots’ that are blocking the major centers or ‘chakras’. These centers are the main distributors of Her energy. Through Her cleansing power, She begins to alter these centers until they are fully opened and transformed. 

The cleansing process begins at the base of the spine, which is the lowest center; also called the Muladhara.  From there, She gradually works Her way up to the crown center at the top of the head, known as the Sahasrara.  It takes years or life times for a center to be fully cleansed and opened.  After all the centers have been cleaned and transformed, they will be connected and able to work together in a united harmony.  This is the first goal that needs to be accomplished in order to continue the transformation of our current biological body.

The ultimate goal of Kundalini power is to transmute the physical body of the old man.   Out of the old body She will forge a new body — one that will be formed and sustained by the vibrations of a higher frequency level.  This new body will be the new form for a New Species — called Cosmic Man.  Cosmic Man belongs to the Transcendent Realm.  Cosmic Man’s Beingness is of a Higher Consciousness — Cosmic Consciousness.  Cosmic Man is in full contact with his Soul and indirectly with THE DIVINE. 

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In most people, Kundalini is by and large in a dormant state.  Very few are aware of Her existence and Her purpose.  However, there are times in peoples’ lives when She is aroused for short moments to a small degree due to some enchanted moment of pleasure.  Most, who experience these unexpected moments, simply refer to them as a ‘chill up my spine’. Who has not felt, at one time or another, this cool tingling stream that runs up the back of our spine and sometimes continues to move up to the head; making our ‘hair stand on end’. This stream of coolness is Kundalini on the move!

Kundalini can be aroused to action by something as simple as a sunrise, listening to our favorite music, reading an inspirational book or being absorbed in a joyful reverie.  She can also Awaken spontaneously during moments of crisis — through receiving some kind of emotional or physical shock.   She may also become active during childbirth due to prolonged pain and from repeated pressure being exerted on the area of the perineum. Mind-altering drugs and prolonged periods of sexual arousal can also Awaken Her.  The main trigger for Her arousal occurs when the lower self consciousness — the personality and the ego — are relegated to the background of awareness through the quieting of the mind.

Kundalini power can be roused to rise to higher levels and Her stay on some levels can be prolonged. This is done through the practice of various yogic disciplines and through intense meditations.  If someone, who may not be ready to receive Her power, intentionally activates Her, it can be highly dangerous.  We must be advanced far enough on our evolutionary path, so that our physical body has already begun to adjust itself to higher vibrational levels.  A receiver must be physically healthy in order for the body to be able to tolerate and sustain Her forceful energy. We must also be mentally and emotionally stable enough to deal with whatever results are brought about. 

The power of Kundalini not only creates but can also destroy — by burning out our entire biological system!  The brain and the nervous system of the old body bear the brunt of the pressure exerted by Kundalini’s forceful energy.   Through Her cleansing, sensitivity is greatly increased.  The physical body, the emotions and the intellect become sensitized to a degree, which is out of proportion with what is normally bearable when we are within our normal lower self surroundings.  The lower self world has now become a hazardous environment for our well-being.  We must find a way to readjust our self to our old world.  This is one of the most difficult adjustments to make!

At rare times, Kundalini can, without any warning, spontaneously erupt in someone in all Her full-blown power.  She will have made a complete circuit, moving up from the genital area to the top of the crown in the head. This spontaneous rising appears to happen often to those who are not prepared or those who have never even heard of Kundalini and even to those who are not leading an aware spiritual life.  Of course, they might have been prepared for this moment through their previous life times.  Perhaps, this sudden, out-of-the-blue, spontaneous rising is a final test — an assessment for those who are presented with the opportunity to take this crucial defining moment in their evolutionary journey!

If Kundalini rises and Awakens someone who has no knowledge of Kundalini, then the receiver is in perilous danger!   It is dangerous even for those who have been preparing for this moment.  The impact of the experience is so overwhelming and so astonishing that we will question our sanity.   We are left in a stunned state; we simply cannot comprehend what has happened!  Intuition tells us that it is best not to mention this to anyone.  And we are right — who would believe such a far-fetched story!

In my case, it was the descent of Grace that was my salvation.  Grace channeled the Kundalini power upwards.  At the same ‘instant’ when the Kundalini fire ascended and reached Its highest point at the crown of the head — Grace descended.  And through this fusion, Self-Realization was triggered. 

When the power of Kundalini pierced through the crown of my head, I found myself behind a wall of flames — a barrier of red fire!  This barrier began to part swiftly and opened up in front of me.  I found myself flowing through the red fire, which slowly faded to orange hues and then ‘opened up’ to a white light.  When I, who was only a pinpoint of consciousness, crossed over into this white light — Self-Realization occurred. 

The descent of Grace is the saving moment for those who have a spontaneous full-blown Kundalini rising.  Without Grace channeling the Kundalini power into the vastness of our spiritual Beingness, the Kundalini power would descend back down and be absorbed into our lower self consciousness — where, through the ignorance of the lower self values, She would be able to be misused for the darkest worldly gains.

Why are some fortunate enough to have the benefit of Grace?  I can only surmise at this point, that Grace comes to assist those whose time has come for this momentous and crucial turning-point on their spiritual journey.  This is a leap of freedom — one that will take us out of the dark confines of the ‘fishbowl’ of the lower self consciousness and establish our roots within the consciousness of our Higher Self.   And this is accomplished through Self-Realization.

Help for obtaining deliverance from bondage to our lower self consciousness only comes after we have surrendered our ego and our self-will. We will feel humbled and become aware of our smallness within the vastness of Existence only when we stand alone in our nakedness and vulnerability. It is then, that Grace comes — picks us up, dusts us off — and points us in the right direction.  

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Few, who have had a spontaneous rising of a full-blown Kundalini, culminating in Self-Realization, reveal this to anyone.  However, we would like to share it with others — in fact, we feel almost compelled to spread the good news about the enlightening knowledge we received.  This is especially true while we are still in the first stages of exhilaration from Self-Realization.  Yet, we know that the experience would sound too otherworldly to be believable.  We know that our account would most likely be taken as the ravings from a drug induced, delusional episode. 

Once the initial euphoria of Self-Realization has calmed down to a level where better reason can prevail, we feel disinclined to reveal such an intensely intimate experience.  How could we even find the right words — for explaining the unexplainable; especially, when we our self don’t even understand the how, why and the ‘now-what’ of the entire mystery, which has transpired.

There are some, who will eventually discuss their Kundalini Awakening.  But on the average it takes twenty, thirty or more years before we feel ready to do so because much time is needed to come to terms with the experience and reach an understanding of what had happened and for what purpose. Most have the need to discover whether or not they have a mission to fulfill and if they have an obligation to share with others what they have learned.  If so, then through what medium is this sharing to be accomplished?  

Some will receive a ‘call’.  A ‘call’ that is too strong to ignore.  It will drive them far from home — a home that has now become an oppressive environment. They can no longer breathe in the old world.  It has suddenly shrunk to insignificance and feels confining and suffocating.  The attachments that they have to others and which they lived for are now all unraveling.  Giving up all security and stability is a price they are willing to pay in order to follow this siren ‘call’ that has evoked a powerful yearning to go out into the freedom of the unknown, on a quest for knowledge and understanding.

A few might retreat into a reclusive life.  Some might simply continue on in their old environment and circumstances but search for a way of incorporating their new understanding and their new value system into their old life, in a productive way; not only for themselves but also for all of society.  Others might continue on as always, spending the rest of their lives suppressing what they have experienced and learned.  Rejecting and trying to stifle their newfound consciousness will split them in two.  They will miss the opportunity to integrate their lower self consciousness with their Higher Consciousness.  They will lose a precious opportunity. Perhaps their time has not yet come but eventually it will.

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Kundalini has ignited to Her fullest potency.  Her internal fire is now burning — cleansing and transforming all the layers of the deep-rooted cellular structure of our lower self.  But, She takes the route of least resistance. Therefore, She can rise up as well as descend.  If Her full power descends and settles back down into our lower self consciousness, then Her force will only reinforce our personality.  Our ego will now be in a position to seize all our new gotten powers for its own desires. 

The direction of the Kundalini fire depends on our level of evolutionary consciousness.  Her goal is not only to transmute and strengthen our new form, which She is creating, but also to search out all our emotional and intellectual weaknesses.  She will uncover them all; bringing them to the surface for us to see.  She will force us to come face to face with the reality that is our self.  We will never be able to hide from our self again.   From now on, we will stand naked before our self.

All the hidden forces of our desires, impulses and our suppressed denials will now come to the surface to be exposed and laid bare to our awareness.  Our mental control and will-power will be greatly weakened and overridden by Her dominance over all our actions.  Without any comprehension of what has happened to us, we would most likely find our self incapacitated by uncertainty and fear.

A tremendous power is now racing through our body.  It is a power not under our control.  We are completely at Her mercy!  We feel as if we have been taken over — and we have!  Kundalini energy is now charging throughout our entire system, contacting and touching all the parts of Beingness.  Her fire and Her transformative intent will spare nothing.   All we can do is ‘hang-on’ until She subsides back down to a level where we can regain a controllable balance for our self.

Under the powerful influence of the Kundalini fire our body, emotions and mind are functioning in a totality of disorder. Our central nervous system has lost its equilibrium. All our senses are heightened.  All sounds, all colors, all movements and any and all disharmonies lash jarringly out at us.  Our nervous system is assaulted from all sides by the normal everyday sounds of society.  I found that my system was greatly soothed and calmed when I was within the surroundings of Mother Nature and away from towns and people.

Our body and emotions are engulfed in the vortex of a high voltage current. Our endocrine system is overly exerted and excited — particularly the pituitary, our master gland.  Our system is being bombarded with excessive adrenaline and flooded with hormones.  We have little control over our emotions.  One minute they are up and the next minute they are down.  We are very aware of all our emotions — as they happen. We have now acquired the ability to stand back and get outside of our emotions and observe them.  We know that we are not our emotions.  However, as long as we are in this unbalanced state, we often don’t have the strength needed to be an objective observer.

The sex center is now overly aroused and we might find our self caught up in sexual fantasies; even to the point of trying to make them actually come about.  I sensed a distinct division between the male and female aspect within myself, the animus and the anima.   It seemed the masculine part of myself had come to the forefront and was now the dominating force of the sexual center.  I experienced the one-pointed, aggressive rawness of male lust.  That experience made me realize how much self-discipline the male of our species must learn in order to restrain his natural sex drive. This is even more difficult when living in a society that promotes sex and aggression at every turn!

 I was shocked and awed by this powerful and all consuming drive and how it could drown out all other considerations in its pursuit for sexual conquest.  It takes a strong willed effort to bring the heightened urges of the sex center under control.  A strong willpower is exactly what we don’t have at that time; but we must find it.  If we don’t, we might become a prime candidate for a mental and physical breakdown! There is a good chance that we might embarrass our self to no end through our run amok sexual escapades.

 Kundalini will continue to manifest Itself in various ways throughout our bodily structure.  We might begin to experience cold waves undulating through different parts of our body.  We might feel that we are freezing and that we are unable to get warm, even though it’s in the heat of summer. We might wake at night, thinking that our bed is shaking when it is actually our body that is vibrating inwardly.  This is caused by a pulsating surge of power that comes in wave-like movements, which travel up and down our spine.  At times, we can actually hear the loud humming sound produced by this power’s vibrations.  This humming sound is similar to the sound produced by high-tension wires.

We might experience severe and persistent itching, mainly on the scalp and the arms. This itching is a pulsating, crawling sensation but is fixed in one place.  It can almost drive us mad because no amount of scratching can alleviate it. We might feel chronic pains in certain areas of our body.  Some can go on for years; yet, physical check ups find no cause for these pains.  At times, our body might feel weightless. There might be episodes when our body feels elongated and when walking, we have a sense of floating and feel that our feet are not even touching the ground. 

There were times when I felt myself to be physically invincible.  I took several falls, which under normal circumstance would have caused injuries.  However, each time they occurred, it felt like an invisible force cushioned me against an impact with the ground.  I had a sense of my body being supported and then being gently eased down to the ground.    I always observed myself when falling and it always proceeded in slow motion.   At those times, I didn’t feel connected to my body and watched from afar, as if I were a spectator. 

The body will cry out for release through physical movement and we will intuitively take up strenuous activities. I felt a desire to go hiking, climbing hills and walking for ten or more miles each day, without feeling in the least tired.  This hiking was normally done in the full heat of summer.  This need for movement was overpowering and occupied most of my attention for the next three years.  I only learned later, that this excessive need for movement was a critical necessity for discharging the excessive energy racing through my system.  Again, Intuition had served me well!

We might feel obsessively confined when indoors and feel that we cannot breathe. We have a compelling need to be outside under the open sky and be in touch with the sights and sounds of Mother Nature’s tranquility.  I had a craving to be out in the sun.  I couldn’t get enough sunlight nor enough heat.  My body kept thirsting for more.  The body seemed to receive nourishment from the sun.  The heat did not sap my strength, no matter how hot it was.  It seemed to only give me more energy.

The body began to crave more natural and simpler foods.  Eating meat became repulsive to my body.  I was made a vegetarian!  It was not the mind but the body that rejected meat, fish and fowl.  The mind continued off and on, for some years, to crave the old meat eating diet and at times I gave in.  But each time after eating meat, I would feel repulsed and gradually my mind stopped craving it. The new, more spiritualized body being forged requires a lighter diet.  It is only the old animal body that desires to eat other animals. 

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If we want to continue to move forward with our spiritual transformation, we must now practice the redirecting of our focus.   We must choose to take only those decisions that follow the path of the Higher Values and reject those that reinforce the values of our old lower self.  Each time we choose to live by a Higher Value our lower self consciousness will shrink and our Higher Self Consciousness will expand. The increasing ability to stay for longer and longer periods within the Higher Self Consciousness depends on the increase of our Essence.   Essence is the fundamental core of our Immortal Beingness!

 It is now imperative that we become an aware and vigilant partner with the Kundalini process.  There will be many times when Her power will try to seduce us with temptations — temptations, which will take us away from our goal of spiritual growth.  When a temptation is placed before us we must make a conscious choice of whether to move forward into the realm of Higher Values or give in to our ego; thereby, reinforcing the values of our lower consciousness. As long as we remain under the influence of our ego, it will fight us tooth-and-nail in order to appropriate all temptations for its own purpose. This is why it is so important that our willpower and our determination to move forward into the spiritual kingdom remain intact.

We might find our self suddenly in possession of occult powers, also referred to as siddhis.  We find that we can read people’s minds or that we can see their auras.  We know what events are going to happen, before they do.  We have visions and prophetic dreams. We might acquire a mesmerizing and appealing personal power that draws people to us.  It is a power that could also be used over others to influence and control them.

No matter how fascinating these powers might be, they belong to the lower self consciousness and should not be used.  These powers have no real use except for misuse; they have nothing to do with spiritual growth.  We must not get caught up in them but pass them by.  Many leaders of spiritual organizations, in the East and the West, have been overcome and corrupted by their personal powers.  They became con artists harming many trusting and sincere seekers in their lust for control, sex and money and in their need to be worshiped.  Those who get trapped by these powers will eventually have to reap a high spiritual price.

 

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I was blessed by the coming of Grace!  The power of Grace was my salvation!  Grace descended in order to guide the Kundalini power upwards into the Transcendent Sphere.  Grace descended at the same instant that the Kundalini energy ascended and pierced through the crown of my head.  When this fusion happened, Grace used Her authority to direct the Kundalini energy in the direction necessary for the activation of Self-Realization.  In this way, Grace brings about Self-Realization for those Beings whose evolutionary turning point is at-hand. 

The purpose of Self-Realization is to realize who we really are and to bring about a transformation of our consciousness.  It is an all-encompassing transformation of the physical core of our Beingness — of the Awareness of ‘Self’!  This is done through the gradual elimination of our lower self consciousness and promoting the growth of a Higher one.  The resulting fusion of consciousness evolves a third state of consciousness — Cosmic Consciousness.  It is a new state of Beingness for a new species.

Once Self-Realization has been activated, the Kundalini energy will again retreat downward.  However, She does not retreat back to Her sleeping state.  She will remain at a level where She can support the immediate aftereffects of all that Self-Realization produces.  In my case, it took approximately three years for Her to subside to a point, where I was once more in a balanced enough state to continue on with my daily activities.

During those three years, the Kundalini energy intermittently peaked, catapulting me into Higher-Realms-of-Realities.  At other times, She kept me functioning at an energy level, which was well beyond what the normal person would have been able to tolerate. I was filled with vitality and an exhilarating feeling of ‘aliveness’ that few humans would believe possible.  Thankfully, I was levelheaded enough to keep a firm footing in terra firma and not allow myself — in spite of my frequent desire — to retreat into the seduction of the Mystic Sphere.

The ability to establish an Aware contact with our Higher Self is a direct outcome of Self-Realization.  And, if we surrender totally to our Higher Self, we will always be Aware of our Higher Self being at our side — as a constant companion and guide.  But, we must surrender totally!  If we do not, we will not be alert and able to hear our Higher Self’s voice or feel Its presence.  This voice comes in the form of Intuition, which is the ‘language’ of the Higher Self.  Intuition arrives suddenly, in a flash, and then is gone just as quickly.   Our Higher Self will communicate to us all we need to know.  Our calls will always be answered and our needs fulfilled. We will be guided and aided in how best to respond to the effects of the Kundalini power.

The first answer I received was that the risen Kundalini power and my Awakening to Self-Realization was benign and for my best interest.   I didn’t have a clue why all this was in my best interest or where these events were taking me.  However, I knew beyond a doubt that I must surrender in complete trust to Intuition in order to survive the Kundalini onslaught and Self-Realization.  It was my only guide and my only deliverance from possible disaster and the only hope I had of successfully dealing with Kundalini’s rampaging energy and with all the changes and effects, yet to come. It was only years later that I came to understand that my birth into Self-Realization and the rising of Kundalini were two separate powers, with two separate objectives. 

A fully risen Kundalini changes us quickly and dramatically.  She works on the transformation of our physical body.  In the beginning, we have no control over Her actions.  We are completely at the mercy of Her all powerful energy. All we can do is ‘hang on’ until that energy subsides.  When out in public, I was always on edge when sudden, unpredictable body movements placed me in some embarrassing situations.  I gradually learned how to gain control over these movements. 

I found that if I held on to a solid object, like furniture or a wall, then my body would stabilize and these movements would end. Sometimes, this occurred during meditation. My body would begin to float upwards but as soon as I placed my hands on the floor and became ‘grounded’ my body would become ‘solid’ again.   There were times when my hands would suddenly begin to make graceful movements as if in tune with some far-away music.  At other times, the Kundalini current would travel up into the head and cause my ears to begin moving back and forth. 

On various occasions, I would suddenly find myself being ‘taken up’ and absorbed into Cosmic Consciousness.  When that occurred all desire for where I was going or what I was doing would evaporate.  I would then find myself with all my thoughts stopped, being directed by the flow of the Cosmic Consciousness.  By the time we become aware of this sudden shift of consciousness, we might already find our self in a dangerous situation, especially if we are driving a car.

When the process of entering Cosmic Consciousness begins, a disconnection with our physical body takes place.  It recedes into the background and is no longer in charge.  The body’s reflexes slow down to almost nothing and the body’s survival mechanism withdraws.  Slowly, as the process deepens, we begin to lose awareness of our physical body.

 

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The Kundalini power significantly increases our creative abilities.  She will greatly expand our already existing talents and skills, adding a new depth and originality to all our works.  Other artistic capabilities, of which we were not aware, will be revealed. We are spontaneously taking up painting, writing and other artistic pursuits.  We are   amazed that without any formal training or even any former interest in these arts, we now excel in them. This is because we are Aware of and feel the Higher Guidance, which is inspiring and aiding us in creating.

Our intelligence and ‘reasoning’ power has increased; a new dimension has been added.  Now, we have our footing within two different consciousnesses. This provides us with an all-encompassing overview, a broader sensitivity and depth and a larger understanding of all situations. We have the ability to ‘stand back’ from any situation, even our own, allowing us to remain an objective observer with our emotions and thoughts in neutral.  We are always able to see ‘both sides of the coin’.

We might suddenly discover that we have acquired mesmerizing oratory skills and   find our self able to go before large crowds without fear.  The trust in our Higher Self will provide us with all the right words for what we want and need to say and allows us to speak effortlessly and with confidence.  People are very much drawn to us; they find us charismatic and interesting.  The opposite sex in particular finds us attractive and exciting.  All these new found attributes of our persona do not feed our ego but leave us feeling grateful and humbled. 

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In our process of transformation the mind is the biggest hurdle to overcome.  Most of the changes we make, after our Awakening, do not become stabilized and permanent immediately.  The Mind fights against most of the deep-seated changes that we try to bring to fruition because most of these changes are anti-mind. The Mind does not want to surrender and will fight to retain Its domination over us.  Most people are dominated by their Mind.  This must be reversed.  We must bring Mind under our control.   In fact, we can even exist without the Mind — the Mind is not who we are! 

The Mind functions like a computer and knows only what others and we feed into it. It can only function and communicate with words and is the direct opposite of Intuition.  The Mind is a persistent chatter-box that likes excitement.  It constantly fills our head with all kinds of desires, fears, what-ifs, fantasies and dramas; this is Its life-blood.  The Mind has Its life only within the lower self consciousness; It cannot go beyond this border. It can accompany us part of the way during our transition into the Higher Consciousness by way of the lower self consciousness.  But, once the Higher Consciousness becomes the dominant force, the Mind will begin to recede and eventually drop out.  The Mind dies with the physical body and the personality. The Mind does not have access to the Transcendent Realms. 

The Mind works to eliminate any peace and tranquility in our life.  It does not seek unity, serenity or harmony; It rejects it.  Sitting quietly and silently will prove this to us.      It cannot tolerate being pushed into the background and will begin to assert Itself by starting Its roof-brain chatter and taking control (over us) again.   The Mind likes to separate, dissect and break everything down into minute units of specialization.  It compartmentalizes and keeps everything in a separate box.  The male Mind of our species is particularly good at doing this!

 

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My transformation still continues but it does so, for the most part, in a gentler way.  Often, I am aware of the Kundalini energy at work as It moves from area to area.  But, I have become accustomed to these continuous alterations being made to the body and no longer pay much attention to it.  

 I am now alerted, by an inner ‘knowing’, whenever a major change in my biology is preparing for an important shift.   Usually, several months before this shift is ready to materialize, I begin to feel a spot of  ‘sensitivity’ within the heart center and sometimes in the solar plexus.  At times, I know Intuitively what that change pertains to and will have already been reflecting on it for months before it actually materializes.  Most major physical shifts that happen affect and transform our body as well as our emotional and intellectual centers.  These centers are also influenced by biological changes.  Sometimes, we can feel an almost immediate impact within our emotional and intellectual life.  At others times, there can be quite a gap before the change made becomes digested and integrated into the old way of responding and thinking.

On several occasions, the choice was left up to me whether I wanted to make a change or not.  I was ‘asked’ if I was willing to make a specific change, now, in order to move on to the next phase of my spiritual growth.  I had already known for a while that it was time for me to let go of a specific situation. However, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to or not as I still had some qualms.  So I just ignored the question but several months later I was asked again.   Even though I was still in a dithering mode, I knew the time was ripe and I said yes.

As soon as I consented, the alterations that occurred to my psyche began to drastically change the course of my life — immediately!  It was truly astonishing to see my life change so quickly in the direction of the choice made.  The changes, which our decision brings, come about without any thoughts or efforts on our part.   We have to do nothing except make the decision.  All the rest just follows automatically.

 This particular change had to do with leaving my ‘middle age’ behind and moving into the fringes of ‘old age’.  This is not a pleasant prospect when thinking about it.  But as always, once the thinking stops and the ‘let-go’ is accomplished, all doubts evaporate.  We discover that we have gained freedom by letting go of all the baggage that comes with middle age.  And we discover that the new stage of life we are now embarked on is a whole new adventure to be looked forward to.

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There is another important fact involving the physical transformation. A full Kundalini rising has some very unsettling long-term effects on the body. Of course everyone is different but I suspect that others also have experienced Kundalini symptoms and have attributed them to normal type illnesses.  I had no idea that there was anything strange about my symptoms and my illnesses.  My doctors and I believed that all my symptoms actually were due to some quite serious problems. Though, with each ailment, the doctors always seemed a bit puzzled. Something always seemed a bit off.

For instance, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.  I had been experiencing and suffering all the symptoms for months.  The doctors, however, were puzzled because I did not have an enlarged goiter nor did I have the bulging eyes; both are main symptoms of hyperthyroidism.  Yet, all my outward symptoms and laboratory work showed beyond a doubt that I had hyperthyroidism. I was in such a bad state that the doctors wanted to operate immediately.  They were afraid that my heart would give out.  I refused the operation.

 I was put on medication and told that I would have to take it for the rest of my life.   I took the medication for about six months.  Then, one day, quite spontaneously, I decided that I did not want to be on medication for the rest of my life and threw the medicine in the wastebasket.  For me ‘that was that’ and I never gave it another thought.  All symptoms of hyperthyroidism disappeared. It was gone!

  I had several severe bouts of nervous hyperactivity. One such episode sent me to the hospital for three days.  I could neither sleep nor sit still.  My senses of hearing, sight, and smell as well as my emotions were amplified to such an extent that the outer world had turned into an enemy-of-destruction.  A flood of energy kept me on the move.  I spent most of those three days walking up and down the corridors of the hospital.  The doctors didn’t know what to do with me.  All the medications provided to calm me down were ineffective. I really thought I would go mad if I continued on in this way.  Then — just as quickly as the episode occurred it disappeared and never came back again.

 There were several other diagnosed ‘illnesses’ that followed the same pattern.  With each illness there was something ‘off’.  And in each case, the illness would simply disappear after some time.   I had other symptoms of illnesses and decided not to consult a doctor even though some of the symptoms could be quite worrisome.  They all eventually just disappeared.  By now, I had also discovered that it was dangerous for me to take medicines for illnesses that just kept going away on their own.  I decided it was safer to just let them run their course.  I instinctively feared the doctors, their treatments and any eventual medications more than any disease. 

Many years after my Awakening, when I was able to put ‘two and two’ together, I began to understand all these curious ‘illnesses’.  After experiencing the many physical transformative effects due to the Kundalini Awakening, I came to the conclusion that all these earlier ‘sicknesses’ I experienced were not really sicknesses themselves.  What I experienced was only their symptoms!  This was akin to getting an injection to prevent a disease and then coming down with a mild case of it. 

I concluded that these symptoms came to the surface due to the power of the Kundalini cleansing process.   She cleaned; the body expelled the toxins and the ‘illness’ symptoms were the result. Many of these symptom-illnesses had started and continued over a period of fourteen years prior to the Awakening of Kundalini!  I assume that during this period Kundalini was already actively engaged — rising and receding and working on the transformation of my body.

  I will relate an incident that occurred to me only a year ago.

 I had laser surgery for a cataract removal in one of my eyes.  All went well with the surgery and the next morning I began my post-operative treatment.  I had to take several medicines and four different eye drops on a rotating basis, throughout the day.  In the evening, I took a particular eye drop for the first time.  Within five or six seconds there began an itching sensation in the palm of my hands.  I knew this to be a sign of a slight allergic reaction.  I’ve had small reactions to medications before, so I was not alarmed.  I laid down on the bed and within a few more seconds the soles of my feet also started itching.

 Now I began to take notice; this was not the norm.  This itching escalated with lightning speed.  I jumped out of bed trying to walk it off.  Walking had usually stabilized earlier allergic reactions.  I walked over to the open window to breathe some fresh air.  Suddenly, a ‘lead ball’ of massive weight and with enormous speed began traveling up the front of my chest.  I remember thinking ‘I am in deep trouble’!  The ‘lead ball’ reached the area of my heart — and that was the last I remembered.  I had gone into a full anaphylactic shock! 

My next awareness came with me thinking, ‘Why is my room looking so strange’? After a few seconds of puzzlement, I realized that I was lying on my back on the floor and looking up at the ceiling and my head was hurting.  It then dawned on me, that I must have become unconscious and fallen backwards onto the floor.  It took about ten minutes before I was able to gather my thoughts enough to correctly dial one of my friends.  I remained disoriented for about forty-five minutes. 

When my doctor was notified he was astounded that I had an allergic reaction to these eye drops.  He said that in more than twenty-years, he had not known anyone to have an allergic reaction to these drops.  He insisted that I stay with my friends overnight, in case I had more repercussions from the reaction or from hitting my head.   I felt fine the next morning except for a slight feeling of weakness.   It took me a couple of weeks to recover my full strength.  Another consequence from the reaction was that my hair began falling out in strands.  It continued for about three months and then gradually stopped.  The hair eventually grew back. 

I found the whole incident extremely curious and interesting. No more than fifteen or twenty seconds passed from the time when the itching began to the time I lost consciousness.  I had felt no fear and neither did the body.  Throughout the incident, I was aware of my feelings and at the same time I participated as an objective observer.  That ‘lead ball’ puzzled me. What had it really been?  It felt like it had been the size of a marble;  ‘an atomic ball’ — containing the weight of the whole world.  I first became aware of its movement as it sped upwards from the area of my solar plexus.

After months of analyzing this incident, I came to the conclusion that this atomic ball had been the life force — Kundalini.  The onset of the anaphylactic shock had triggered Kundalini to rise.  She had gathered together all Her energy, which was dispersed throughout my body, and coalesced It back into this atomic ball — which is Her condensed structure.  She was on Her way out of my body.  If She would have exited my body, my umbilical cord with the material world would have snapped and my body would have ‘died’.  

Her atomic structure would then have become my pathway — a dark and speeding super-sonic tunnel — that carries our Beingness out of this life.  At the other end of the tunnel the Immortal Light of my Soul would have been waiting.  So, why did Kundalini stop short of leaving my body?  In other words, why didn’t my body die?  The body didn’t die because I only had the symptoms of an anaphylactic shock!  I wasn’t meant to leave this world yet, or I surely would have.  I feel certain that this episode occurred so I could gain more understanding of the workings of the Kundalini power.

*********

It took many years to reach a stable balance between the lower self consciousness and the Higher Self Consciousness.  To reach that point, I had to climb to the heights of mountaintops.  Occasional falls occurred but with each fall and the ensuing lessons learned, I became stronger.  The same was the case with my descents into the shadows of deep valleys. 

Later, I came to understand, that these peaks and valleys are essential for helping us to advance further.  The extremes, existing within me, became neutralized and balanced through these ascents and descents.  All the loose parts and divided pieces of myself united together into solidity and stability. Nothing is free on the spiritual path — all must be earned through our own efforts!

 

A divine force shall flow through tissue and cell

And take the charge of breath and speech and act

And all the thoughts shall be a glow of suns

And every feeling a celestial thrill

 The Spirit shall take up the human play

This earthly life become the life divine

                                                                     Sri Aurobindo from his book Savitri

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