The concept of the Kundalini serpent’s transforming evolutionary energy is based on the experiences of countless Spirit Warriors from many religious traditions including Taoism, Hinduism, Sufism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Hermeticism. Although its existence has not been confirmed to the satisfaction of mainstream Western science, (nor has the existence of God, for that matter), it is nonetheless a useful explanation for many otherwise unexplainable and seemingly unrelated phenomena: for example, the effectiveness of acupuncture, the unusual experiences and abilities of some spirit persons, and even the “missing link” that separates primitive hominids from today’s Homo Sapiens.
The intuitive understanding is that evolution in consciousness and spirituality is not solely the result of mental striving, but of cooperative interactions between mental and physical energies. The Kundalini life force, a combination of both, moves through seven chakras (the number varies in different traditions) or invisible focal points in the body which are connected by channels. The invisibility of these entities does not disprove their existence: think of electromagnetic radiation such as radio waves, microwaves, X-rays and gamma rays.
Each chakra represents the confluence of a specific mode of physical and psychological energy. The three lower ones — Earth, Sexual, and Power — govern the basic needs for survival, procreation and will. The upper four — Heart, Communication, Intuition, and Crown — influence more advanced psychological and spiritual activity. The Crown is our connection to sacred Unified Consciousness, and the Heart is the centerpoint, or bridge, which connects and integrates the upper and lower chakras by means of empathy, understanding and compassion.
I’m no expert in these matters but I’ve read that in the majority of people the lower chakras are activated first and the Crown and Heart Chakras are usually the last to be completed. However, in extremely cerebral and spiritually oriented people, it is possible for the upper chakras to be awakened before the lower ones. In either case, no one gets from zero to one hundred in an instant! Evolutionary growth is a slow process, not a quick-fix product.
Thus, someone with a partial Kundalini awakening can acquire great compassion and intuition and still experience difficulty with intimate relationships because of unhealed issues concerning family of origin, sexuality, or power. Another could be a brilliant communicator but out of touch with physical realities like nurturing the body or monitoring what energizes the body and what depletes it.
The point is not literal belief in Kundalini energy and the chakras, but whether or not these symbols give spiritual meaning to personal experience and promote soul-making. Although this is what religions are supposed to do, there came a time when my religion no longer did this for me. But experiencing the reality that “masculine” mind and spirit have no priority over “feminine” physical sensation and emotion was a major breakthrough that got me growing again.
By reuniting our minds and bodies, Serpent Mother returns us to the magical childhood mystery of living in the here and now, but with an important difference. This time we know the place for the first time and experience appreciation and gratitude for what Jungian analyst Marion Woodman calls “the eroticization of all of life.”
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A Dream from Mother Wisdom
November 8, 2024
6 Comments
Last night I had a dream. I feel the need to share it with you today because it illustrates the main point I’ve been trying
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WELL DONE! This is a wonderful explanation… I loved it! xoxo
Beth,
Thank you. Your accolade is music to my soul.
Jeanie
Thanks, Jean. It seem the image of serpent biting its tail (Ouroboros) is a symbol of the return to the wonder and awe of mind and body as One with Self and World.
Dear Julie,
I love this wonderful insight. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
Jeanie
Oh, Better & Better yet, Jeanie!! You just keep adding more magical fuel to the alchemical flame!! This article is so rich and deep, it is difficult to find a single focus…..
However, “the eroticization of all life” seems such an illuminated way to sum it all up. In my heart, I have always thought of this as “the emotional lushness of all creation.” Problematic is our growing habit of “receiving” impressions from the media (which the brain cannot distinguish from real impressions from the natural world)—this is forming a kind of dependence of being spoon-fed experiences from outside. It seems to me that the “evolutionary energy” as you so aptly call it arises from within, transforms us, and then uses us to transform the world. Rather than waiting for something to arrive from without, we become transmitters of something that arrives from deep within—we radiate, I believe, what has transformed us and that shining benefits all that it touches.
Again, thank you for drawing so many threads together in such a glorious tapestry! Your interpretation of these matters makes them transparent as diamond of the first water.
Gratefully,
William
Dear William,
The “emotional lushness of all creation” is a beautiful and meaningful phrase. I love it as much as Woodman’s. I could not agree more that our task in this age of mega-media bombardment is to consciously balance the messages we receive from outside with the messages coming from within. Becoming conscious, independent and original is the only way we can ever contribute to the transformation of the world. When the media understand and convey this all-important truth we will know that they, too, are joining the transformation.
For my interpretation to be compared to the “diamond of the first water” is an extraordinary image and compliment.
I sincerely thank you.
Jeanie
Hi Jeanie,
Thanks for another thoughtful post. This passage spoke to me:
“Thus, someone with a partial Kundalini awakening can acquire great compassion and intuition and still experience difficulty with intimate relationships because of unhealed issues concerning family of origin, sexuality, or power. Another could be a brilliant communicator but out of touch with physical realities like nurturing the body or monitoring what energizes the body and what depletes it.”
I see myself and a close friend in this, and am heartened by the reminder that we all develop in the ways and at the times that are most appropriate to our individual journeys.
Thanks again,
J.
Hi Jerome,
Thanks for stopping by again. I’m so glad my posts are speaking to you.
I’ve never met anyone who has attained a full and never-ending state of enlightenment, so have a difficult time believing it exists. The Dalai Lama says everyone experiences “down” times of heightened awareness of our failures and flaws. It’s simply the human condition.
This means enlightenment is not a finished product at which one arrives for all time, like a new car that rolls off the assembly line, but an evolutionary process of continual openness, learning, growth, and awakening. Different models of cars have different strengths and weaknesses; so do different humans.
I see the secret of enlightenment as a “religious’ attitude of powerful intention, commitment, and persistence in the ongoing search for truth, self-knowledge and compassion (toward yourself as well as others) no matter how much failure or growth you experience. With this attitude, you cannot help but grow increasingly conscious. You appear to be one who is already on the path of the authentic Spirit Warrior.
Warm blessings to you, brother traveler.
Jeanie