Tuesday, August 09, 2005
The Field
Recently, I have begun to read Lynne McTaggart's book "The Field, the Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe." So far, I have only read a few pages but these are indeed fascinating.
Three notions have emerged with special clarity:
The first is that we are not merely random complexes of chemical reactions, but rather centers of electrical energy, literally "points of light." She puts it magnificently in the opening sections:
"What they (certain cutting edge scientists) have discovered is nothing less than astonishing. At our most elemental, we are not a chemical reaction, but an energetic charge. Human beings and all living things are a coalescence of energy in a field of energy connected to every other thing in the world. This pulsating energy field is the central engine of our being and our consciousness, the alpha and the omega of our existence."
The second revelation is the role of resonance in our lives and of everything in the universe. As wee centers of electrical pulsation, we resonate with all the other pulsating foci of energy throughout the entire cosmos. We are part of one gigantic, vibrating web of being, each particle and atom dancing in constant rhythm with all the rest.
The third (not from her book, but from reflection on it), is that as the light spreads, so must the darkness, and vice versa. The two are ineluctably paired, like it or not. In the world of physics, this is merely a condition of positive and negative, each of which helps define the other (yin and yang, the spectrum with opposing but interconnected extremes, et al). In the world of human affairs, this is more difficult to deal with, but the laws of the cosmos apply here as well.
And, I believe, all of these discoveries have a direct bearing on kundalini, and help to explain some of its mysteries.
Kundalini itself, when it comes to consciousness, is an awakening to the energy body of the self, the "body electric" of Whitman, the "divine subtle skin" of the mystics (I made this term up also). In that awakened state, one senses, feels as if with a sixth sense, the dance of the atoms within, whether as ecstasy or (when blocked) as pain. One knows, with conviction and assurance, what is going on within one's own inner system, the electrical grid which sustains the individual being. The field flows through all constantly (it is the life force), but now one is awakened to it in a new way.
As for resonance--surely the concept of human as energetic field explains why many spiritual teachers and gurus draw others to them in such great numbers. These beings seem literally to vibrate with a special, delightful frequency, and their followers are drawn to this blissful resonance within themselves. Likewise, when we are with a group of advanced souls (as in an ashram or perhaps a church which still retains the feeling level of spirituality), we too may resonate with the rapturous vibrations of the whole. Music, poetry, art--these too can set the vibrations going. The gurus offer "transmissions" which are, in fact, simply the coming into resonant harmony with the former's own vibrational patterns. Likewise, lovers are caught up in the magnetism of the beloved's vibratory field.
The last of my "revelations" is the most difficult to deal with. Yet we know from perennial wisdom there is no positive without negative, no white without balancing black, no right without wrong. Our world today seems to illustrate this concept--the sea of light touching and enfolding more and more, often through kundalini itself. Yet our world is set aflame daily by the extremists who use their power to destroy, not build, to decimate, not create. It is the old struggle between love and hate, violence and peace. Kundalini too is an energy which can be used (I believe) for either positive or negative ends. It is up to us to choose which side we align ourselves with (or perhaps our roles were chosen for us before we came, at this most critical time in human history.)
We are waking up to new truths, innovative views linking science and the mystics of all time. We are here not merely to witness, but to allow the energies of creation to touch us in delicate and intimate ways, to "carry this vibration," until we arrive at critical mass. And who knows what massive transformation will then occur?
Three notions have emerged with special clarity:
The first is that we are not merely random complexes of chemical reactions, but rather centers of electrical energy, literally "points of light." She puts it magnificently in the opening sections:
"What they (certain cutting edge scientists) have discovered is nothing less than astonishing. At our most elemental, we are not a chemical reaction, but an energetic charge. Human beings and all living things are a coalescence of energy in a field of energy connected to every other thing in the world. This pulsating energy field is the central engine of our being and our consciousness, the alpha and the omega of our existence."
The second revelation is the role of resonance in our lives and of everything in the universe. As wee centers of electrical pulsation, we resonate with all the other pulsating foci of energy throughout the entire cosmos. We are part of one gigantic, vibrating web of being, each particle and atom dancing in constant rhythm with all the rest.
The third (not from her book, but from reflection on it), is that as the light spreads, so must the darkness, and vice versa. The two are ineluctably paired, like it or not. In the world of physics, this is merely a condition of positive and negative, each of which helps define the other (yin and yang, the spectrum with opposing but interconnected extremes, et al). In the world of human affairs, this is more difficult to deal with, but the laws of the cosmos apply here as well.
And, I believe, all of these discoveries have a direct bearing on kundalini, and help to explain some of its mysteries.
Kundalini itself, when it comes to consciousness, is an awakening to the energy body of the self, the "body electric" of Whitman, the "divine subtle skin" of the mystics (I made this term up also). In that awakened state, one senses, feels as if with a sixth sense, the dance of the atoms within, whether as ecstasy or (when blocked) as pain. One knows, with conviction and assurance, what is going on within one's own inner system, the electrical grid which sustains the individual being. The field flows through all constantly (it is the life force), but now one is awakened to it in a new way.
As for resonance--surely the concept of human as energetic field explains why many spiritual teachers and gurus draw others to them in such great numbers. These beings seem literally to vibrate with a special, delightful frequency, and their followers are drawn to this blissful resonance within themselves. Likewise, when we are with a group of advanced souls (as in an ashram or perhaps a church which still retains the feeling level of spirituality), we too may resonate with the rapturous vibrations of the whole. Music, poetry, art--these too can set the vibrations going. The gurus offer "transmissions" which are, in fact, simply the coming into resonant harmony with the former's own vibrational patterns. Likewise, lovers are caught up in the magnetism of the beloved's vibratory field.
The last of my "revelations" is the most difficult to deal with. Yet we know from perennial wisdom there is no positive without negative, no white without balancing black, no right without wrong. Our world today seems to illustrate this concept--the sea of light touching and enfolding more and more, often through kundalini itself. Yet our world is set aflame daily by the extremists who use their power to destroy, not build, to decimate, not create. It is the old struggle between love and hate, violence and peace. Kundalini too is an energy which can be used (I believe) for either positive or negative ends. It is up to us to choose which side we align ourselves with (or perhaps our roles were chosen for us before we came, at this most critical time in human history.)
We are waking up to new truths, innovative views linking science and the mystics of all time. We are here not merely to witness, but to allow the energies of creation to touch us in delicate and intimate ways, to "carry this vibration," until we arrive at critical mass. And who knows what massive transformation will then occur?
