ENERGY SYSTEMS - ANCIENT MAPS TO THE SELF #3

It is best to review the last blog before reading this one.

PATANJALI'S SHEATHS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Patanjali described Five Energy Sheaths which compliment our understandings of how we transcend. They help to complete the chakra model. 

The Food or Body Sheath speaks for itself. It behooves us to maintain this to the best of our body's ability. It is a gift to be in a sentient body. This is why the Ancestors stress sensory driven meditations. We are here to enjoy - but responsibly.

The Energy Sheath is key to moving Kundalini or increasing our vibration with meditation, yoga postures (asanas) and breath meditation (pranayama) or any inner practice.

The Mind Sheath or Monkey Mind (Narrow Mind) is our primitive mind that neuroscience with F.M.R.I. studies has shown to be localized in the primitive brain. It is linked to our survival, fight or flight response and the sympathetic nervous system. Nothing creative occurs here. Monkey Mind dominates - even more than it does in most of us - especially in those with anxiety, depression, O.C.D.  P.T.S.D. and other psychological or emotional imbalances. The only way to tame the Monkey chattering messages of suffering sitting on our shoulders is with spiritual practice. This sheath harbors our primitive emotions and fear - fight or flight and even freeze (panic disorders) and feigning death (in animals.) 

Monkey Mind is the source of our unskillful emotions such as; desires, compulsions, habits (procedural memory) and minor as well as major addictions.

We are entitled to our feelings but responsible for their expression (our emotions.)

Monkey Mind and fear can also induce the toxic emotions of anger, hatred, malice, envy and the desire for vengeance and retribution. These operate in conjunction with our shadow or evil inclination.

Most of us default to Monkey Mind unless we have a regular inner practice.

"Golden verses of Pythagoras speak of storms coming and going. 

The wise person like the good sailor knows how to rid them. 

Know your weaknesses and inclinations that you can temper them with your strength." Anonymous.

The Intellectual Sheath, (Spacious Mind, Buddha Mind, Christ Consciousness or Big Mind) has been shown in F.M.R.I. studies to reside in the prefrontal lobe. Advanced meditators tend to have a greater neuronal density and activity here and default more easily to Big Mind during or more quickly after stress. The Intellectual Sheath is connected to the Causal body and is the source of our creativity as well as; our beliefs, concepts, notions, ideas, ideals, aspirations, discriminations and discernments. This sheath connects us to our parasympathetic, relaxation response which can allow access to love, the Field, our guides, ancestors, dreams and the Creator.

This sheath allows control over our feelings. 

There are only two feelings love and fear. Spiritual practitioners are more easily able to identify when fear is operating and handle it by subordinating it to love. 

Emotions run high - feelings run deep.
Emotions require discipline.
Feelings require nurturing. 

The better one controls emotions the more one can express feelings.

According to Patanjali the Mind Sheath, the Intellectual Sheath and the Ego form a triad which is always in flux. Usually, and especially under stress, Monkey Mind and Ego dominate. This triad has been called the Subtle body. This triad is necessary to keep us safe in tricky situations but otherwise should be put on hold by the Intellectual sheath (Spacious Mind.) This sheath is linked to the Causal body.

Its important to realize that Self-condemnation and recrimination (as in the Higher Self) can put the system in lockdown mode, limiting access to the prefrontal love and love. Shame, which is a crippling emotional force can do the same. Remorse and regret are feeling bad about what we did, shame is feeling bad about who we are. Guilt can lie somewhere in-between depending on how severe it is.

" Self-condemnation strengthens guilt and is one of the greatest impediments on the path of Self-realization." Yoga wisdom

The Intellectual sheath is put on hold when we fail to move our energy from the lower, survival chakras into the upper, growth chakras above the diaphragm and when we reside in the lower chakras.

When our Intellectual Sheath dominates we are able to access the Causal body. 

Meditation, yoga asanas and pranayama help us to get there by increasing our vibration, enhancing the Energy Sheath and subordinating Ego and Monkey Mind. Spiritual knowledge and awareness can also help keep them in check so that we can realize Self.

With all your strength get spiritual knowledge!

"Store Consciousness" is the "soulular" memory of our past lives - good or bad - which resides in our subconscious. These are the skeletons (or blessings) in the closet of our past life experiences which also determine whether we move into the Subtle or the Causal body. When the negative ones come out of the closet, they too are managed by spiritual practice.

In the center of the model is the Sheath of Bliss where the Higher Self resides. Bliss, ecstasy and oneness can be realized when we are able to move our Kundalini, feminine, Shakti, energy into the Crown chakra where it can unite with the masculine, Shiva, to attain Unity Consciousness. This is not easy and unless we are advanced practitioners, usually comes only fleetingly by grace; when the Knower, the Known and the process of knowing fuse and become one thing.

Our task is to prime the frontal lobe with inner practice and subordinate Ego to the Higher Self and Monkey (Narrrow) Mind to Intellectual Sheath (Spacious Mind) so that we can attain equanimity, harmony, serenity, inner peace or balance.

 

ENERGY SYSTEMS - ANCIENT MAPS TO THE SELF #2

Moving Kundalini is to enhance one's vibration. 

The San Bushmen, hunter-gatherers, as shown in genomic studies, were the first people. The original manifestation of Yoga Kundalini or "Num" arose out of the nature bound experience in Africa. There is 28,000 year old rock art from the Apollo cave in Namibia showing trance dancing and shape shifting.

“Wilderness holds the answers to questions we do not yet know how to ask.” David Brower

“Nature hides her secrets with consummate modesty and speaks usually in an unintelligible tongue.” Charles Huggins

This sketch of a rock art figure shows this vibrational "Num" rising up the body of a San Bushman trance dancer. This allows the spirit to leave the body and travel into the Field where s/he can obtain information not localized in space and time. This power has allowed these fascinating people to hunt, gather and heal for millennia. San healers are renowned for their healing power and their hunters for their tracking and hunting expertise. Some do not have to look at the tracks to find their prey. "We put on animal mind as see where they are going..." 

 

This figure above, called the Needle and Thread is from the Nazca lines in the southern desert of Peru. These figures have to be viewed from a plane because they are so large. It is thought by some curanderos to have been related to the shamanic experience and mobilization of this force with the use of mescaline from the San Pedro cactus which is bountiful in Peru. Jungle shamans use Ayahuasca for the same purpose. The figure beautifully demonstrates this energy coiled at the base of the spine (in yoga like a serpent,) then it moves up the spine to the crown. This energy is key to opening up of the Third Eye of the curandero so s/he can divine, diagnose and treat.

THE CHAKRA SYSTEM

There have been many differing interpretations of this energy system over the ages. In yoga there are thought to be 72,000 nadis or energy channels impinging on the seven chakras. The three lower chakras are related to survival and comprise the following.

The first chakra is our primal survival, flight or fight response. 

The second chakra is the sexual center for regeneration of the species as well as for digestion and elimination of the bodies waste products. 

The third is where ego is centered and is our power chakra and how we make our way in the world.

 

The chakras above the diaphragm are our growth centers. 

The fourth, the heart, is the chakra of Love and the hardest one to open.

 The fifth, in the throat, is that of our creative expression. 

The sixth or Third Eye is our intuitive chakra.

 The Crown or seventh, is our connection with the Deity, Unity Consciousness and non duality.

The three main nadis coursing up the spine are the Sun (Pingala) and Moon ((Ida) nadis which spiral around the chakras and the central channel or Sushumna. The Sun Nadi ends in the right nostril and the Moon in the left. This is the basis of alternate nostril breathing and other forms of pranayama which balance the system. The Sun is masculine, left brain, hot (red), expansive and is aligned with our sympathetic nervous system. 

The Moon is feminine, right brain, cool (blue) and aligned with our parasympathetic, relaxation response

. The Kundalini, serpent, Shakti, feminine energy is wound around the lower part of Central (Sushumna) channel. When the Sun and Moon are in complete balance this serpent energy can move up the spine energizing the chakras. If Shakti reaches the masculine principle, Shiva, at the crown, Unity Consciousness or the Oneness experience occurs. The Knower, the Known and the Process of Knowing become one. 

Click on the link to view the San out of body trance dance filmed in the Kalahari in 2000 by the author. Tribal peoples in Southern Africa  have used Kundalini , Num, Umbilini ... to heal, hunt and survive over the eons.

videos_5.html

 

THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF 

 NAVIGATING THE APOCALYPSE 

"To listen a soul into disclosure and discovery is the greatest service one human being can offer another." Quaker saying

Connecting with Self occurs when we balance the polarities found in these energy maps; positive-negative, feminine-masculine, moon-sun, ying-yang, right brain-left brain, and the autonomic, parasympathetic-sympathetic.

"The fundamental notion of equilibrating the opposites is omnipresent in all beliefs. This universal truth is crucial to our understanding of how we transcend, keep well and heal."

 Dave Cumes (Inner Passages, Outer Journeys)

ENERGY SYSTEMS - ANCIENT MAPS TO THE SELF #1

These are the final Blogs in this Series

Modern science creates impressive names for mystical phenomena and things we do not fully understand, such as coherence, physiological arousal, cathartic conversion experience, medical intuitive, distant mental influence on biological systems etc. An understanding of energy maps, however, allows us a deeper appreciation of the Search for the Self and where we are on the journey. 

A byproduct can be the ability to access, experience and use paranormal phenomena. Ancient wisdom warns us, however, not to turn our quest into an ego driven power trip.

"In the samadhi (enlightenment) that comes at the end of reasoning and discrimination no such thing as “I” exists but it is extremely difficult to attain as “I”consciousness lingers so persistently. This is why humans are born again and again."
  Sri Rama Krishna

The essential principle in ascending this energy hierarchy is the yoga concept of Kundalini. 

The Kundalini in the form of latency is coiled like a serpent. One who impels this Shakti to move will attain liberation.”

Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Kundalini is not confined to Yoga philosophy. We all have this primal, feminine, "Shakti" energy, described as a serpent coiled around the base of the spine. All Southern African tribal peoples recognize this feminine power residing in the lower belly. Some describe it as a snake. The Zulus call it Umbilini and the San-Bushman, Num. This power is key to the initiation of the sangoma (Zulu equivalent of shaman.)

The biggest impediment to moving this energy is the ego. 

"God cannot be realized if there is the slightest trace of pride. " Upanishads

There is no room for God in him who is full of himself. The sages tell us concerning the proud man; God says; “I and he cannot dwell together in the world” Talmud

"S/He who loses himself, will find himSelf." Jesus

SOME KUNDALINI MANIFESTATIONS

“A human’s spiritual consciousness is not awakened until his/her Kundalini is aroused.” Sri Ramakrishna

Heat, vibrational energy, creeping sensations, tingling - rising up the spine, light experiences, inner sounds, smells, spontaneous movements, paranormal powers, paralysis, falling, an empty mind, transcendence, being transported beyond oneself, feelings of intense love, empathy, compassion, out of body experiences, shamanic states, connecting with spirit guides or ancestors et al ...

Everyone's experience will be unique so that we should not try to replicate those of others but honor our own, even if less dramatic. 

For indigenous peoples it can manifest as mastery of fire, shape-shifting as well as the large body experience seen in their rock art. The large or elongated body is perceived below when traveling out of body and is later represented on the rock face by the artist as is the shape shifting.

The yogis describe Unity Consciousness or the Oneness Experience occurring when 

THE KNOWER- THE KNOWN-AND THE PROCESS OF KNOWING 

all fuse into one thing.

This is not as exotic as one might think. For instance; 

 THE KNOWER 

you

 THE KNOWN 

say you looking at a rainbow 

 and 

THE PROCESS OF KNOWING 

the rainbow 

fuse into one thing and you become the rainbow.

For most of us it is fleeting but it is an experience of non-duality which can be ecstatic.

"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there." Roshi

Maslow called this a Peak Experience which he said could occur in the following circumstances (among others;) meditation, solitude, sex, childbirth, music, dance, drumming, art, body awareness, in nature and during a scientific discovery.

Some poetic examples of this phenomenon are described below.

"Haze hung over the valley, light as gossamer and clouds partially dimmed the higher cliffs and mountains. This obscurity of vision increased the awe with which I beheld it and as I looked a peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being and I found my eyes in tears with emotion." Dr. L. Bunnell (on entering Yosemite valley with the first white party to ever see it.)

"And then it was as if all the chains of a type of slavery dropped from me with such a rush that they tinkled and rattled in my imagination…a great rush of emotion swept over me that was impossible to describe, except that all its urges and manifestations met in a wordless cry; “I have come home!” 

L. Van der Post. (After he returned from the war to South Africa, having been interned in a Japanese concentration camp. He had this Oneness Experience with a huge kudu bull which emerged out of the bush while he was trekking.)

These experiences are common with drugs, and entheogens - sacred mind-altering plants used in ritual by indigenous peoples. Use of entheogens is becoming common place now in the West. It is good to be careful of ego stepping in after these experiences. The plants should be used to subordinate and humble us, rather than enhance the ego.

"A mere glimpse of reality can be mistaken for complete realization." Gampopa

"Drugs allow us to taste the beyond but do not make us masters of the transcendental." Sri Satyananda

Some adepts have said that dramatic Kundalini experiences are more common when the energy moves in young souls. Older souls are already more energetically aligned and therefore the changes can be subtle. In a sense it is a "slow burn" rather than an inferno. Rather it should be a positive "cathartic conversion experience." One has to be careful moving this energy because it can be confusing and dibilitating to the uninformed. Lee Sannella, a psychiatrist, wrote about how it could be confused as psychosis. This is a spiritual emergency rather than a psychosis. The remedy is to honor it as possibly life-changing rather than suppressing it with anti-psychotic drugs. Stansilov and Christina Grof in the 60's, with their work on L.S.D., coined the term Spiritual Emergency - when spiritual emergence became too intense and an emergency. They founded the Spiritual Emergence Network to help those having these radical, transformative, spiritual experiences.

  

FORGIVENESS #4

"Why do the ancient masters esteem the Tao? Because being one with the Tao, when you seek you find, when you make a mistake you are forgiven. That is why everyone loves it.” Lao-tsu

DEATH AND FORGIVENESS

“It is very dangerous to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities...”

Soren Kierkegaard

Before death it is essential to take the skeletons out of the closet and complete any unfinished business. We must forgive and clean the slate. It can be done after death but this will probably require expert spiritual help. 

It is also important for those passing to release the living from any unresolved commitments. 

We have to forgive if there is a need to do so and also ask forgiveness if required. Forgiveness will release the dead from that particular karmic sin. The dead often haunt the living hoping to be forgiven from their iniquities. Forgiveness is best asked for or given before death but it must be sincere - saying "I think I forgave him..." - is not enough.

After we cross over the veil between the worlds we will need to reconcile our karma with a spiritual tribunal of a higher order. This is not judgment day as such. We are lovingly shown our prior unskillful behaviors and the errors of our ways for which we will be accountable karmically in terms of the next lifetime we will inherit. We often reincarnate into the family or situation that can best test us with our unresolved issues so that we can learn to overcome them.

Most of us will end up in one of the numerous vibrations in the Astral realm, often with our loved ones. 

Once in the Astral we lose free will and the only way we can do correctional service is through the free will of a living loved one. The dead may be able to become a guide to the living which can allow them to complete tasks they did not complete in the prior life time. We actually help our guides by allowing them to help us. Free will is the cosmic law so that we have to develop a relationship and ask to receive.

Enlightened beings in the Causal realms retain free will, can operate independently and no longer need to reincarnate unless they choose to do so for a special purpose.

FORGIVENESS LETTER

So what can we do if we never managed to reconcile before death? My guides help my clients through ritual in reconciling grievances and healing but anyone can do a modified ritual that can have power.

 Forgiveness can be very difficult for those who have suffered sexual, physical, emotional or any other form of abuse that affected the trajectory of that person's life. Lesser amounts of interference may also have prevented their progeny from recognizing their dreams for themselves even if the parent or guardian mistakenly felt they were doing if for the child's good. 

After I had done my internship I shared my plan to be a surgeon with a patriarchal uncle. I should have known better. He dogmatically stated without hesitation: "David you are not surgical material, best you just become a G.P." I did not listen to him and I used his bias as a catalyst to inspire me to go beyond his arrogance. If I had listened, he may have been karmically accountable for sabotaging my future career.

Messages to the spirit world are best done through the container of a ritual which anyone can do. I recommend that the person doing the ritual release all their negativity first by writing a letter of all the things that transpired that caused pain and resentment. No detail should be spared. One should go back in time and describe all the negative things that happened. This may require several days of writing and may involve more than one perpetrator. The intention to let go should be strong. Because this is done in ritual and appealing to the "Field," it is not psychotherapy. The sufferer is soliciting their higher Self, their guides and the spiritual tribunal above for a cathartic release and a healing. 

Once the letter is completed it should be burnt together with dried, sacred plants (cedar, sage etc.) as a carrier of the clearing to the spirit world. The ashes are then wrapped in toilet paper. The sufferer goes to  any body of water - river, lake, creek or ocean - and, throws the past "crap" into the water. The ritual is completed by saying aloud to the spirit world and the offending person; "I am releasing myself from any negativity with this ritual, it is water under the bridge for me and you are hereby released from any karmic implications on my behalf. It is critical to then walk way and not look back as a gesture of certainty and final commitment to the ritual and to the spirit world. Looking back indicates to the Field that you are not sure. 

MALICE IS ANTITHETICAL TO THE HIGHER SELF

"Malice sucks up the greater part of its own venom, and poisons itself." Michel Montaigne

Our primitive harmful emotions include; resentment, anger, hatred, envy, malice and a desire for vengeance.

Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Saint Augustine

Malignant misconceptions are prevalent in our culture and vengeance is a popular theme in violent movies. Forgiveness these days, in many circles, is considered a sign of weakness. Love, compassion, empathy are perceived as lacking strength.

"A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave." M. Gandhi

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the fall of Apartheid in South Africa planned to forgive the perpetrators of their heinous political crimes so that the country could heal and there would not become a blood bath.

Albie Sachs the lawyer who headed the Commission said.

“It is vitally important that we see these mens’ humanity.” 

Both Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu wanted healing and their hope was to reach out with compassion and not revenge. 

Remorse and contrition on behalf of the perpetrators was essential and  was meant to be an opening for healing and repentance. A sincere apology for the atrocity and admission of all that had been done was key.

As a victim of the abuse said to De Kock - one of the offenders - “I hope when he sees my tears he knows that they are not only tears for our husbands but tears for him as well." 

Another thanked him for the truth which helped them to reconcile. 

There were many who disagreed with the principles of the Commission and wanted revenge. Many disagreed with the concept that Karma would eventually reconcile all grievances. There is resentment to this day concerning the events but one thing it lead to during Mandela's presidency was the emergence of a peaceful "Rainbow Nation" where mostly everyone welcomed a peaceful transition. Sadly after Mandela's demise everthing changed for the worse. Mandela had a Gandhi like attitude.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." M. Gandhi

…We must beware of anger and pride which are weapons of chaos, connecting us to our destructive instincts…

"Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord."

Vengeance is not the same as making those who commit atrocities pay the price for what they have done. Vengeance implies a hateful emotion associated with the punishment - someone who delights in carrying out the retribution and seeing the suffering of their victim. Vengeance no matter how satisfying creates a serious karmic burden for the vengeful.

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge … 
I am the Lord.” Leviticus

“Vengeance is Mine, and retribution. 
In due time their foot will slip.
 For the day of their calamity is near 
and the impending things are hastening upon them.” Deuteronomy

“Do not say I will repay evil with evil 
Do not say, “Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me…
 for I will render to the person according to his work. …” Proverbs

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil…” Romans 12:17

“…and do not give the Devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:27