THE TREE OF LIFE'S THREE TRIADS AND THE CHAKRAS
In the last blog we contrasted the Tree of Knowledge (T.O.K.) with the Tree of Life (T.O.L.) in Genesis. Both Trees are essential but we focus too much on the T.O.K. Many of the hunter-gatherers in the past were living in a metaphoric Garden of Eden with equal focus on both - the "T.O.K." for their survival and a "T.O.L." for spiritual harmony. They had advanced spiritual capabilities. I have visited the San Bushmen on many occassions and noted their adeptness with both polarities - the hard skills and the soft skills.
When we came along with our focus on the T.O.K. and the allure of our material "stuff" everything changed for the hunter gatherers.
"It was only when the white man came that wilderness existed." Luther Standing Bear
Much of what we offered had to do with ego, acquisitiveness and our wants rather than our needs. The stuff we think we need for our survival, when it is just stuff that gets in the way of spiritual growth.
The rules of "Three" maintain that; you can live three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, three weeks without food and three months without human contact (before we begin to lose touch with reality.) This was the reality of the San along with their needs for shelter and fire. When faced with all the alluring aspects of Western influence the hunter-gatherer lost his/her sense of balance and equanimity. Before that they were content having their basic needs attended which gave them much more time for communal activities - fun and games, arts and crafts and spiritual activities such as their out of body trance dancing, divination, healing and plant medicines.
We can also contrast ourselves versus them as below.
Those in the East and West who dedicated themselves to a "T.O.L." relied on sacred texts, meditations, monasteries and ashrams rather that the magic of Nature's polarities and Her secrets that can make one equally spiritually adept.
Yoga has taught us that
We all have the capacity to move this energy and any form of going inward, nature bound or otherwise can generate it.
Ancient wisdom teaches us that we have to find our own way. We have to do what works best for us. The Buddha taught that
"continuing with a spiritual practice that no longer serves you is like carrying a raft on your back once you have crossed the river. "
The San Bushmen were meditated by the polarities of nature; up/down, hot/cold, day/night, summer/winter, sun/moon, terrified/tranquil, thirsty/quenched, hungry/satisfied. As well as; the sights, sunrises, sunsets, moon rises, moon sets, smells, aromas and the sounds or mantra of the bush which turned them inwards.
The T.O.L. is a bit more complicated than the Chakra model but can be simplified by dividing it into Three Triads as seen in the diagram below.
The left side of the Tree contracts or restrains, the right expands. Will holds the balance in the center.
There are five loves; Keter, Wisdom, Mercy, Love and Non-Attachment
and
five fears; Understanding, Judgment, Attachment, Ego and Kingdom.
The five fears have also been called the five judgments.
The fears are connected to Narrow or Monkey Mind, the loves to Spacious or Big Mind.
Each Chakras can be thought to also have a polarity balance of three, formed by the Chakra itself as well as the Sun and Moon channels balancing each one which help to move energy up the central channel.
The diaphragm indicated by a red line above separates the higher chakras of a "T.O.L." from the lower chakras of survival or a "T.O.K."
The red line above similarly separates our survival Sephirot from our spiritual growth Sephirot.
The Yogis teach that the most difficult Chakra to open is the heart chakra. The Kabbalist say that once the student has mastered the love Sephira s/he can teach themselves.
When one reaches the Crown Chakra (or Keter on the T.O.L.) and the Shakti Femine Kundalini (Shechina - the feminine presence of the Divine in Kabbalah) fuses there with Shiva - the male principle, then Samadhi or the ecstatic oneness experience or unity consciousness occurs.
This is also when the Knower - the Known - and the Process of Knowing fuse into one thing. Maslow called this a Peak Experience.
It is common in nature when the Knower (say you,) the Known (maybe a rainbow,) and the Process of Knowing the rainbow become one thing. When two become one.
This mysterious dream song that came to me once may have something to do with this magical process that in reality cannot be explained.
Breath meditation helps to raise the energy from the lower Chakras into the higher ones above the diaphragm. The heart Chakra or Tiferet (Love or Beauty( on the T.O.L. is the gateway.
"What is God, the breath within the breath." Kabir
You will come from doubt to understanding, from understanding to believing, from believing to knowing and from knowing to feeling (being heart felt.) This is the way. The Ancestors
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