Kundalini Awakening

 

Kundalini-experiences are often understood in terms of the Hindu chakra system, the understanding of psycho-spiritual energy centers along the spine. According to Hindu tradition the Kundalini raises from the root-chakra up through the spinal channel, called sushumna, and it is believed to activate each chakra it goes through. Although the opening of higher chakras are believed to mark advanced spiritual enfoldment, it is important not to measure spiritual growth solely by the opening of higher potentials. According to this view chakras might be under- or overdeveloped, and lower chakras are thought to be just as important as higher.

Kundalini Yoga is a meditative discipline - or a system of meditative techniques and movements - within the yogic tradition that focuses on psycho-spiritual growth and the body's potential for maturation. The practice of Kundalini Yoga consists of a number bodily postures, expressive movements and utterances, characterological cultivations, breathing patterns, and degrees of concentration.

The movements and the body-work should not - according to some scholars of religion - be considered mere stretching exercises. The concept of life-energy - pranotthana - is central to the practice and understanding of Kundalini Yoga. It also gives special consideration to the role of the spine and the endocrine system in the understanding of yogic awakening. Recently, there has been a growing interest within the medical community to study the physiological effects of meditation, and some of these studies have applied the discipline of Kundalini Yoga to their clinical settings.

The main emphasis is a difficult regime of breathing techniques meant to increase the store of "prana" in the body. The well known physical postures are only meant to be an aid to maintain peak physical fitness, so as to support the real work of the breathing practices. All of this has, according to tradition, to be accompanied by prolonged and unbroken meditation practice.

Many people want to know how to awaken the Kundalini.

There is a very powerful technique for Kundalini Awakening based on a Kriya Yoga technique. This technique will not only awaken the Kundalini energy, moving you towards spiritual enlightenment, it also can improve your health and remove all stress and unhappiness in your life.

This Kriya Technique for Kundalini Awakening is probably one of the easiest ways to enter a blissful state of meditation. It is what would be termed a “purifying technique” as it will purify the energy channels of your body allowing more energy or Shakti to move through.

Here is the technique in three parts:

The first part of this technique for kundalini awakening is to focus your breath starting at the base of your spine all the way up your spine and out of the top of your head. Do this for the inhale. As you inhale move your focus from the base of your spine, up the spine and out of the top of your head as though your are “breathing up” the energy.

You do not need to imagine anything. This is not about imagination but focus. Focus your breath to move up the spine and out the top of your head.

And the focus should be relaxed. You are not to force anything. You are simply gently suggesting the energy to move in this direction. So do focus the energy up but allow the kundalini energy to move on it’s own without force.

It may seem quite strange to focus your breath where your breath does not go but it is very effective. Breath is energy, “prana.” And simply by focusing the breath in a certain area, the energy moves to that area.

After practicing this for a while, you will start to feel the energy rising. The sensations will be subtle at first but over time can become very blissful. It can almost feel like an orgasm, a rush of bliss moving up your spine.

The second part of this technique for kundalini awakening is it to move the breath down your front as you exhale.

As you exhale, move the breath from the top of your head to the third eye, (located between your eyebrows) then to your throat and then to your heart chakra, located at the center of your chest.

Stop the breath at the center of your chest. And then again, inhale from the base of your spine, repeating the process above.

The third part of this technique for kundalini awakening is to awaken the energy. Because an enlightened teacher would not give this technique without initiating you into this technique. This calls for the teacher to give you shaktipat, to actually awaken your kundalini by touch, chanting or simply by focusing their energy on you.

So to awaken this energy yourself, there is an easy technique but a very important one. And that is to silently repeat the name of an enlightened teacher, Guru or Saint that you feel connected to whether you have met them or not. If you are of a particular religion, you can repeat the name of a saint of that religion. Otherwise, choose an enlightened teacher who you admire.

You can repeat the name as you inhale, and repeat the name as you exhale. The reason for this is that you take on the Shakti (energy) of what you focus on. So simply by repeating the name of an enlightened Guru or Saint, you take on their energy, their state of bliss. This technique is thousands of years old and is still used today because it is so effective.

If this step makes you uncomfortable, you can repeat “peace” instead.

Really, you are awakening that which is in you, not something from the outside. But enlightened teachers are the outward manifestation of what is inside you. A Saint or Guru have awakened what you wish also to awaken. So by focusing on their name, you awaken that energy in you. It has nothing to do with them as a personality or body but the energy that naturally radiates from them.

Kundalini energy

 When the Kundalini springs forth, there is a tremendous energy surge. It is likened to a cosmic explosion within a tiny structure, the body. This may be felt throughout the body as a vibration, buzzing, stinging sensation sometimes see as a kaleidoscope of rushing dancing lights in the mind's eye. An inner light, heavenly sounds, mystical chimes, or the cosmic all-pervading Om sound may be heard and felt. There may be a strong overall electrical feeling to your body. This may also make you more sensitive to many vibrations of daily activities: sounds are louder, colors are brighter and clarity of surroundings and thoughts. One may have dreams of spiritual and religious symbols, most notably a snake integrating within your body. The psychic sense of smelling sweet odors, hearing music and singing. The existence and development of the Kundalini will mark the person with the permanently co-existing awareness to God/Tao/Spirit, a feeling of Bliss, Oneness, Ecstasy, Nirvana. Many scholars feel opening the heart chakra is often the key to awakening the Spirit of the Kundalini. Thus an overwhelming love for all things.

The power that is released is (may be) very uncomfortable the first time you feel it. And you will realize that something is drastically different. The surge is incredible, springing like a snake with such force up through your chakras that your awareness is heightened to an insurmountable level. It may "strike" you by surprise the first time. While meditating this may happen and it easily breaks your concentration because of the surge. It breaks concentration from the mere force of it. One cannot stay "there" for long without some practice. Total awareness and concentration is required within this level. One is ultimately propelled through space and time.

Upon doing energy exercises (meditating) you may later feel a very strong but gentle figure-eight motion of the energy coursing through the chakras/body/mind. You may even feel like your body is actually moving like a gyroscope as the vortex of energy circulates. It is an amazing feeling! Don't awaken or lose concentration - it is the Kundalini. At this point there is a symbiosis within your body. Just Be.

Since we are dealing with Universal Energy, the Kundalini energy works on the chakras as well; cleaning any residual by cleansing and heightening the chakra pieces of the energy puzzle. This is why some people may feel so much discomfort at times. But in essence, the discomforts shouldn't last too long. It is a good sign to actively work on the chakras and it's properties, cleaning, clearing, grounding and most of all circulating the energy. The chakras hold memories, feelings and emotions so it's important to regularly clean and clear these points to allow for smooth Kundalini energy to flow. Also, one should get used to the 'new' energy of the whirling open chakras before 'attempting' to 'touch' the Kundalini force. In the dam example mentioned earlier, the water/energy needs to flow. If you recognize it early you can get a good start in dealing with the energies.

Power of the Energy expressed in the body as Kundalini

Kundalini can be described as a great reservoir of creative energy at the base of the spine. It's not useful to sit with our consciousness fixed in our head and think of kundalini as a foreign force running up and down our spine. The concept of kundalini can also be examined from a strictly psychological perspective. From this perspective kundalini can be thought of as a rich source of psychic or libidinous energy in our unconscious.

According to yogic terminology the force of Kundalini is supposed to be raised through meditative exercises and activated within the concept of a subtle body, a body of energy and finer substance

 In reality Kundalini is the power of imagination, the power of fantasy, which takes the place of a real function. When a man dreams instead of acting, when his dreams take the place of reality, when a man imagines himself to be an eagle, a lion, or a magician, it is the force of Kundalini acting in him. Kundalini can act in all centers and with its help all the centers can be satisfied with the imaginary instead of the real. A sheep which considers itself a lion or a magician lives under the power of Kundalini.

Kundalini is a force put into men in order to keep them in their present state. If men could really see their true position and could understand all the horror of it, they would be unable to remain where they are even for one second. They would begin to seek a way out and they would quickly find it, because there is a way out; but men fail to see it simply because they are hypnotized. Kundalini is the force that keeps them in a hypnotic state. 'To awaken' for man means to be 'dehypnotized.' In this lies the chief difficulty and in this also lies the guarantee of its possibility, for there is no organic reason for sleep and man can awaken.

Theoretically he can, but practically it is almost impossible because as soon as a man awakens for a moment and opens his eyes, all the forces that caused him to fall asleep begin to act upon him with tenfold energy and he immediately falls asleep again, very often dreaming that he is awake or is awakening.

There are certain states in ordinary sleep in which a man wants to awaken but cannot. He tells himself that he is awake but, in reality, he continues to sleep—and this can happen several times before he finally awakes. But in ordinary sleep, once he is awake, he is in a different state; in hypnotic sleep the case is otherwise; there are no objective characteristics, at any rate not at the beginning of awakening; a man cannot pinch himself in order to make sure that he is not asleep. And if, which God forbid, a man has heard anything about objective characteristics, Kundalini at once transforms it all into imagination and dreams.

Kundalini is a Sanskrit word meaning either "coiled up" or "coiling like a snake." There are a number of other translations of the term usually emphasizing a more serpent nature to the word - e.g. 'serpent power'.

The caduceus symbol of coiling snakes is thought to be an ancient symbolic representation of Kundalini physiology.

The concept of Kundalini comes from yogic philosophy of ancient India and refers to the mothering intelligence behind yogic awakening and spiritual maturation. It might be regarded by yogis as a sort of deity, hence the occasional capitalization of the term.

Within a western frame of understanding it is often associated with the practice of contemplative or religious practices that might induce an altered state of consciousness, either brought about spontaneously, through a type of yoga, through psychedelic drugs, or through a near-death experience.

 According to the yogic tradition Kundalini is curled up in the back part of the root chakra in three and one-half turns around the sacrum. Yogic phenomenology states that kundalini awakening is associated with the appearance of bio-energetic phenomena that are said to be experienced somatically by the yogi.

The coiled and dormant 'feminine' energy, refers to the vast potential of psychic energy contained within us all. It is normally symbolized as a serpent coiled into three and a half circles, with its tail in its mouth, and spiraling around the central axis (sacrum or sacred bone) at the base of the spine. The awakening of this serpent and the manifestation of its powers is a primary aim of the practice of Kundalini Yoga. The image of coiling, like a spring, conveys the sense of untapped potential energy that will spring into action soon. For now we remember in small doses.

Crown Chakra

 Sahasrara (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, IAST: Sahasrāra, English: "thousand-petaled") or crown chakra is the seventh primary chakra, according to Hindu tradition.

The Sahasrara is described as having 1,000 multi-colored petals, which are arranged in 20 layers, each layer with approximately 50 petals. The pericarp is golden and within it a circular moon region is inscribed with a luminous triangle, which can be either upward- or downward-pointing.

The Sahasrara, or white lotus, is located either at or slightly above the top of the head.

Center of the top of the head

Pineal - Connects to 8th Chakra - 6 inches above the head - Right Eye

Vitalizes the cerebrum (or upper brain) and anchors the etheric stream into the physical body. It is the direct connection to our Higher Self and brings reverence, knowledge of Infinity, insights from the Spiritual Self - or Etheric Double and brings dedication to God from the Spiritual Will.

This seventh chakra is a blending of blue, the power and will of the God, and pink, the love and compassion of the God. This blending creates balance and harmony for our spirit and allows wisdom to flow into the soul. The crown chakra accumulates all the energies and emotions from the lower chakra points and transmutes them by "fire". The sacred Violet Flame "burns" off residual fears, doubts, and apprehensions opening our energetic body to receive the highest vibrational light.

This chakra is the most penetrable for light. This represents deep all embracing wisdom. When clean, one knows and understands everything. Nothing is obscure concerning life. When two people mix the energies, the crown chakras and the throat chakras are often involved. When they talk together the lights mixes. But if the crown power point is clean then it is relatively unimportant if they have verbal dialogue. The yellow light will reach each other telepathically. The silent transference of wisdom from the one to the other will take place with no words.

Wisdom can also be transferred from one to another through the eyes as well. When a person has a very clean crown chakra the yellow light turns to a soft golden. This color wraps the person in an aura that has a most beautiful influence on others. It is important to cleanse this due to the amount of light that penetrates it.

When two people have blocked chakras there is an unpleasant muddy color. Misconceptions appear like they only live once, thoughts on time and space and how it does not relate and other connected concepts of thinking. Grotesque symbols of limitation appear thus hindering further growth.

 The Crown Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with unity or separation, and just as the Root Chakra showed our connection with Mother Earth, this chakra shows our connection with Our Father, Which Art in Heaven. At first, it is associated with our connection with our biological father. This becomes the model for our relationship with authority, and this becomes the model for our relationship with God. When there is a sense of separation from our biological father, the person closes this chakra, and the effect on the consciousness is a sense of isolation and aloneness, being in a shell, and difficult to make contact with those outside the shell.

The person feels as if they are hiding from God, or hiding from themselves, not seeing what is true for them in the deepest part of their consciousness, the part we call the soul.

This chakra is also associated with a sense of direction.

The parts of the body controlled by this chakra are the pineal gland, the brain, and the entire nervous system as a system.

Immortality, Angels, Grace, Communing with the Divine Forces, Self-

Realization.

Location    -     Top of head, surrounds the entire scalp

Color             -     Violet (From the highest spiritual level can be seen as a yellow-green color.)

Attributes   -     Inspiration, wisdom, cosmic consciousness, spirituality, higher selves, umbilical cord to God

Element    -       Thought

Gems/Minerals      -           Diamond, quartz crystal

Musical-Vibrational Note   -    B

Aromatic Chakra Oils            -     Frankincense, Myrrh, Violet

Foundation         -        Blissfulness and refined thoughts

When unbalanced you may experience       -    Depression, lack of grounding, lack of inspiration due to disconnection from spiritual source

Through the Crown Chakra you can literally reach the heavens or other energy realms. You can rise through the center of your head and "astral travel" with your Guides. You can project healing, and pure, unconditional love energies anywhere in the Universe. This is where the "power of prayer" becomes reinforced. This is the center where you bring in the Spiritual Forces through Shakti Energy to purify the body and join the kundalini energies in order to reach a "nirvana" or total purification and recalibration of the cellular structure and DNA system of the body. You can "erase karma" through Divine Grace brought through the Crown Chakra into the Heart Center.

Brow / Third Eye Chakra

Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, IAST: Ājñā, English: "command") or third-eye chakra is the sixth primary chakra according to Hindu tradition.

Ajna is white in color, with two white petals. Inside the pericarp is the Shakti Hakini.

Ajna has two white petals, said to represent the psychic channels (nadis) Ida and Pingala, which meet the central Sushumna nadi before rising to the Crown Chakra Sahasrara. The letter "Ham" is written in white on the left petal and represents Shiva. "Ksham", written in white on the right petal, represents Shakti. These two petals also represent the manifest and the unmanifest mind, and are sometimes said to represent the pineal and pituitary glands.

The seed syllable is Aum, or "Pranava Om," the supreme sound.

The Ajna chakra is positioned in the stomata, in the brain, directly behind  behind the center of the forehead. Its ksehtram, or superficial activation site, is in the eyebrow region at the position of the "third eye.

The sixth chakra is the center of clairvoyance, visions, transcendence of time and space and integrates all the gifts of wisdom from the Spirit to bridge yourself with the Divine. People who have developed this ability to "see" more that most people have a bright shining ball here that protects and draws energy into the brain.

When two people mix the energies from this chakra their clairvoyance increases. If they both are relatively pure in this center, their understanding of different things will be increased considerably and figures appear around them that are shining green and beautiful as seen from the higher realms. With very clear people there is seen a ring showing the whole story of creation with the deep understanding of what has happened to him/her and the other within the whole dimension of time all at once.

Third eye problems are mutually intensified if the chakras are unclean, especially in a marriage or other relationship. I one person has an unclean power point then the other must be careful not to be affected by all things that come from there. This is often the reason for divorces. The one with the cleanest chakra intuitively feels betrayed, left out or has simple jealousy. If one is on the way to spiritual enlightenment then be aware of ways to protect from unwanted influences.

The third eye (also known as the inner eye) is a mystical and esoteric concept referring to a speculative invisible eye which provides perception beyond ordinary sight.

In some traditions such as Hinduism, the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows. In other traditions, as in Theosophy, it is believed to be connected with the pineal gland. According to this theory, humans had in far ancient times an actual third eye in the back of the head with a physical and spiritual function. Over time, as humans evolved, this eye atrophied and sunk into what today is known as the pineal gland.

The Brow Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with the spiritual view, and the home of the Spirit, the Being within. This level of consciousness is associated with what western traditions call the unconscious or subconscious, the part of our consciousness that directs our actions and our life. From this level we are aware of the motivations behind our actions. We can watch our outer theater from an inner point of view.

This chakra is associated with the carotid plexus, and the nerves on each side of the face, and the pituitary gland. Headaches in the temples or center of the forehead are associated with tensions at this level. This chakra controls the entire endocrine system as a system, and the process of growth.

The Brow chakra, also known as the Third Eye, is associated with extra sensory perception (ESP), the set of all inner senses that correspond to the outer senses, which together comprise spirit-to-spirit communication. The element associated with this chakra is a vibration known as the Inner Sound, the sound that one hears in their ears that does not depend upon something in the physical world. Some consider it a pathological condition. In some of the eastern traditions the ability to hear this is considered a necessary prerequisite to further spiritual growth.

  

Location      -    Between the eyebrows, pituitary gland

Color    -  Indigo blue (From the highest spiritual level can be seen as a clear green.) The color associated with this chakra is Indigo, midnight blue, the color of lapis lazuli, or the color of the night sky during a full moon.

Attributes     -    Intuition, imagination, visualization, concentration, thought, psychic vision, spiritual love and connection to all things.

Element    -     Light

Gems/Minerals     -   Amethyst

Musical-Vibrational Note   -    A

Aromatic Chakra Oils             -    Camphor, Eucalyptus, Jasmine, Lemon, Rosemary

Foundation     -          Perceive higher zones/planes, essence within the astral and dreaming worlds.

When unbalanced you may experience   -           Headaches, poor eyesight, lack of concentration,

In certain dharmic spiritual traditions such as Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna, or brow, chakra. In Theosophy it is related to the pineal gland. The third eye refers to the gate that leads to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. In New Age spirituality, the third eye often symbolizes a state of enlightenment or the evocation of mental images having deeply personal spiritual or psychological significance. The third eye is often associated with religious visions, clairvoyance, the ability to observe chakras and auras, precognition, and out-of-body experiences. People who are claimed to have the capacity to utilize their third eyes are sometimes known as seers.

Throat Chakra

  Vishuddha (Sanskrit: विशुद्ध, IAST: Viśuddha, English: "especially pure"), or Vishuddhi, or throat chakra is the fifth primary chakra according to the Hindu tradition.

According to the Hindu culture, this chakra is described as having a white color with 16 purple or smoke-colored petals. Within the pericarp is a sky-blue downward pointing triangle containing a circular white region like the full moon. This represents the element of Akashi or aether.

Vishuddha has 16 purple petals upon which are written the 16 Sanskrit vowels in golden;

अ a    आ ā   इ i     ई ī     उ u    ऊ ū    ऋ ṛ    ॠ ṝ

ऌ ḷ     ॡ ḹ     ए e    ऐ ai   ओ o   औ au अः ḥ   अं ṃ

NB: Some vowels listed above do not strictly correspond to the grammatical definition of a Sanskrit vowel, specifically ॡ ḹ, अः ḥ, and अं ṃ. See Sanskrit Phonology for details.

The petals correspond to the vrittis of the mantra Ong [Aum], the Sama-mantras, the mantras Hung, Phat, Washat, Swadha, Swaha, and Namak, the nectar Amrita, and the seven musical tones.

The bija mantra (seed sound) is the syllable हं haṃ, and is written in white upon the chakra.

Vishuddha is positioned at the neck region, near the spine, with its Kshetram or superficial activation point in the pit of the throat. Hence, it is also known as the throat chakra

Located between the shoulder blades. Vitalizes the lungs and voice. Communicates the concrete thoughts received from the Solar Plexus.

 The Throat Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with expressing and receiving. Expressing can be in the form of communicating what one wants and what one feels, or it can be artistic expression, as an artist painting, a dancer dancing, a musician playing music, using a form for expressing and bringing to the outside what was within. Expression is related to receiving, as, "Ask, and ye shall receive."

The throat chakra is associated with abundance, and with the state of consciousness called, "grace," where it seems that what you want for you is also what God wants for you. Accepting what the abundant universe offers you requires a sense of unconditionally receiving.

This chakra is also associated with listening to one's intuition, and flowing in a particular way where it seems that the Universe supports you in all that you do. It is the first level of consciousness from which one perceives another level of intelligence functioning, and one's interaction with this other level of intelligence.

Parts of the body associated with this chakra include the throat, shoulders, and arms and hands. and the thyroid gland.

The sense of hearing is associated with this chakra, and the element of ether, the most subtle physical element, corresponding to what we find in deep space. The ether is the crossover between the physical and the spiritual dimensions. Someone looking at the world through this chakra watches the manifestation of their goals. The Will Arm represents manifesting what you want, and the Feeling Arm represents manifesting what makes you happy. Hopefully, the two point to the same thing.

This fifth chakra deals with the power of the spoken word. Discernment, discretion and compassion coincide with purified spiritual thoughts. The beautiful sound of creation of your voice harmonizes with the Divine creating a wondrous flow of music to the heartstrings of the people around you.

When this chakra is clean one feels complete unshakable peace. Strength in one's higher divine self. When two people mix these energies from their throat chakra they will talk together actively and intensely. If one tries to dominate then the color turns dark. Dark ogres or power symbols will appear as mentioned previously in the Solar Plexus Chakra. When there is no desire to dominate the most beautiful blue color appears (as seen from the higher realms). Within this color symbols of strength and solidarity appear, like a beautiful sword.

There is humor when there are no negative forces at work. It is one of the most important of God's qualities...humor. A good joke may be a good idea when the conversation becomes a bit unpleasant. We all know that humor is disarming.   

Location -           Throat area

Color            -  Sky blue (From the highest spiritual level can be seen as a clear sky blue.)

Attributes -   Communication, creativity, expression, eloquence, link between emotion and thought

Element     -      Sound

Gems/Minerals    -    Lapis lazuli, sodalite, blue quartz

Musical-Vibrational Note   -    G

Aromatic Chakra Oils            -   Benzoin, Bergamot, Blue Chamomile (German), Frankincense

Foundation         -    Vibrational resonance to focus and direct

When unbalanced you may experience       Difficulty communicating, emotions are caught in the throat, congestion, soreness, scratchy throat

Thyroid, parathyroid - Alimentary canal - Lungs

Self-expression, communication, affluence, discernment. This is the Mother Chakra and begins the three YIN or female energy chakras of the body. You can inflict pain or kindness with the voice. What is more important to know is the voice represents our "Intent". We will decree a thing and it will be so. Therein lies the mystery of manifestation. As Louise Hay states in "You Can Heal Your Life", ..."where thoughts go, energy flows." Our life experiences comes directly from our thoughts, then speaking it, then our actions. Inherent within every intention and desire is the mechanics for it's fulfillment. The voice had great organizing power.