Friday, April 16, 2010
Kundalini, Group Consciousness, Evolution
Last night I listened to an internet presentation offered by Craig Hamilton, former chief editor of the magazine then called "What Is Enlightenment?" Essentially, his talk was addressed to those of us who are what he describes as "evolutes," persons interested in the evolution of consciousness. He is now offering a course on the topic of evolution of consciousness, for persons who wish to follow a step by step process of advancement. Here is the site where you can hear the original broadcast:
What Craig said was interesting--he is a savvy, dedicated person with real commitment to the process he describes. However, as he spoke, I realized that many of us--in particular those of us who have been touched at a deep level by Kundalini awakening, have already moved well beyond this stage of need. We are reminded each day that we have entered a new realm of thinking, feeling, knowing. Gopi Krishna told us years ago that Kundalini is the engine for total, worldwide, transformation of consciousness. And many of us have known, intuitively, even at the very moment of awakening, that we are part of this process, and that our mission is to dedicate our lives to moving the project forward in whatever way we can (through our various talents and gifts, as healers, artists, poets, lovers of our neighbors, activists, and all round mystics.)
This morning, I happened to be looking at the archives of some of my earlier posts on this site, and I came across this entry, which struck me as relevant to the whole topic of evolution and how it operates to form "group consciousness," which may emerge as one of the results of evolution as it unfolds.
(from archives, Tuesday, April 27, 2004)
Kundalini Rising and Collective Consciousness
More and more it is happening. One day, you are going along, doing your usual things, thinking your usual thoughts, when--bam! seemingly out of nowhere, a shock wave goes through your system. You feel something happening within which is totally different from anything you have ever experienced before. Ecstatic energies seem to flood your system, perhaps opening the lower portions of your body, perhaps surging upward, enlivening and awakening areas in ways completely foreign to you before this moment.
You ask, "What is going on?" The experience continues, bringing periods of exquisite bliss as well as bizarre behaviors and sometimes pain. Sooner or later, you discover or stumble upon the answer: you have experienced kundalini awakening.
Of course, the pattern varies from person to person. The awakening may be triggered by trauma, illness, events of dramatic intensity of all sorts. It may be brought on gradually, perhaps through traditional meditation or spiritual practices. It could occur simply from being in the presence of a highly developed spiritual leader and her (his ) followers.
Whatever the cause, this event seems to be occurring with greater and greater frequency across the globe. No one is keeping statistics on this. Nobody really knows the overall pattern or ultimate purpose. What we do know is that "something is happening." No one fully understands it or can state its intended goal. But we can speculate as to where this phenomenon is headed.
The current issue of the magazine What Is Enlightenment? is dedicated to what is called collective intelligence. It contains many articles by well known writers, who agree that collective knowledge and group expertise is notably more effective than individual effort in solving problems and achieving desired outcomes, especially in the world of practical affairs, from sports to global challenges. They suggest this reliance on group wisdom may be a manifestation of the evolution of human intelligence posited by many writers of our time.
Perhaps group consciousness extends to realms beyond the pragmatic. Perhaps what the mystic experiences in her state of exaltation, when she thinks and feels beyond her own boundaries, as if knowing the internal thoughts and perceptions of others as well as her own, is a clue to this new state. We are told by various channels and sources claiming knowledge of after-death states that in the spirit realm, each being has instant access to the feelings and mental states of all the others. Some speak of actual cells of consciousness, each unit consisting of a "soul group" of beings who participate a common awareness and collective identity.
What if indeed this is our evolutionary purpose...to achieve a consciousness beyond the individual. To feel with, be with, know with others in a kind of shared empathy, while still retaining our own individual identity.
In the drug exerience, people sometimes attain this kind of consciousness. They say they know intuitively what others are thinking, feel what they are feeling. And the state which makes this possible is one of overwhelming love--seeing with the eyes of love, feeling with the spirit of love. At that moment, everything is beautiful, all beings are oneself.
What if all of us reach this state through evolutionary development to another level of consciousness? What if kundalini awakening is god exploding in our bodies, revealing our true identity as particles of the divine? What if we (our collective cell of kindred souls) had access to the accumulated wisdom and experience of the group, could share in the past spiritual development of all the others? What if we then functioned without the physical containers (bodies) which restrict, without need of the biological supports (food, water, air) which sustain us now? What if this new creation is infused with divine energy, the energy of love, the sustaining element which underlies and manifests as creation itself? What if we become fuller expressions of the divine?
What if the present world crisis provided the impetus for world wide initiation...crisis bringing us to god? And what if we are here at this time to participate in and support this dramatic transition to a new level?
Is this the direction in which human evolution is headed? Does kundalini put us more squarely on this path? Does it draw us closer to the next stage of human development? I think so.
We can never prove it through test or analysis. We cannot force it to come forth. We can merely let it happen, both experiencing and witnessing in silent wonder as the mystery unfolds.
You ask, "What is going on?" The experience continues, bringing periods of exquisite bliss as well as bizarre behaviors and sometimes pain. Sooner or later, you discover or stumble upon the answer: you have experienced kundalini awakening.
Of course, the pattern varies from person to person. The awakening may be triggered by trauma, illness, events of dramatic intensity of all sorts. It may be brought on gradually, perhaps through traditional meditation or spiritual practices. It could occur simply from being in the presence of a highly developed spiritual leader and her (his ) followers.
Whatever the cause, this event seems to be occurring with greater and greater frequency across the globe. No one is keeping statistics on this. Nobody really knows the overall pattern or ultimate purpose. What we do know is that "something is happening." No one fully understands it or can state its intended goal. But we can speculate as to where this phenomenon is headed.
The current issue of the magazine What Is Enlightenment? is dedicated to what is called collective intelligence. It contains many articles by well known writers, who agree that collective knowledge and group expertise is notably more effective than individual effort in solving problems and achieving desired outcomes, especially in the world of practical affairs, from sports to global challenges. They suggest this reliance on group wisdom may be a manifestation of the evolution of human intelligence posited by many writers of our time.
Perhaps group consciousness extends to realms beyond the pragmatic. Perhaps what the mystic experiences in her state of exaltation, when she thinks and feels beyond her own boundaries, as if knowing the internal thoughts and perceptions of others as well as her own, is a clue to this new state. We are told by various channels and sources claiming knowledge of after-death states that in the spirit realm, each being has instant access to the feelings and mental states of all the others. Some speak of actual cells of consciousness, each unit consisting of a "soul group" of beings who participate a common awareness and collective identity.
What if indeed this is our evolutionary purpose...to achieve a consciousness beyond the individual. To feel with, be with, know with others in a kind of shared empathy, while still retaining our own individual identity.
In the drug exerience, people sometimes attain this kind of consciousness. They say they know intuitively what others are thinking, feel what they are feeling. And the state which makes this possible is one of overwhelming love--seeing with the eyes of love, feeling with the spirit of love. At that moment, everything is beautiful, all beings are oneself.
What if all of us reach this state through evolutionary development to another level of consciousness? What if kundalini awakening is god exploding in our bodies, revealing our true identity as particles of the divine? What if we (our collective cell of kindred souls) had access to the accumulated wisdom and experience of the group, could share in the past spiritual development of all the others? What if we then functioned without the physical containers (bodies) which restrict, without need of the biological supports (food, water, air) which sustain us now? What if this new creation is infused with divine energy, the energy of love, the sustaining element which underlies and manifests as creation itself? What if we become fuller expressions of the divine?
What if the present world crisis provided the impetus for world wide initiation...crisis bringing us to god? And what if we are here at this time to participate in and support this dramatic transition to a new level?
Is this the direction in which human evolution is headed? Does kundalini put us more squarely on this path? Does it draw us closer to the next stage of human development? I think so.
We can never prove it through test or analysis. We cannot force it to come forth. We can merely let it happen, both experiencing and witnessing in silent wonder as the mystery unfolds.
(P. S. I learned something new today. Patricia explained to me that by clicking in the center of the photos I put up (from my camera and certain others) they will automatically expand and thus give a more dramatic effect. Try it, especially the wonderful picture of the waterfall I put up on April 10 from Laura/prissybev I was happy to receive and test this new information and thus confirm that consciousness does indeed evolve!)
