Kundalini Splendor

Not Being

What is the mirror of Being? Not-Being.
Choose Not-Being, if you want to see the King.
Being can only be seen in Not-Being;
The Millionaire shows his lavishness to the beggar.

- Jalal-ud-Din Rumi
(Translated by Andrew Harvey)

(image from Hubble site)

Last night I had a curious "dream" which contained a message.  Someone was holding a small mirror and a voice said, "Mirrors are the way the living communicate with the dead."  Today I "accidentally" ran across this Rumi poem and somehow it seemed connected, especially if you think of "the dead" as including all those realities that exist only as spirit, not as material beings.
Here is my tentative interpretation of Rumi's poem:  Being is final reality, the divine in all its glory.  Not-Being includes all who realize that they exist only as an infinitesimal particle of that great final reality, not as the "ego self" they imagine themselves to be.
Only when we surrender the sense of separate self and accept that we are, in fact, nothing, will we be graced with "enlightenment," the gift of knowing the ultimate cosmic
essence as it truly is.

_________


THE WINTER OF LISTENING

No one but me by the fire,
my hands burning
red in the palms while
the night wind carries
everything away outside.

All this petty worry
while the great cloak
of the sky grows dark
and intense
round every living thing.

What is precious
inside us does not
care to be known
by the mind
in ways that diminish
its presence.

What we strive for
in perfection
is not what turns us
into the lit angel
we desire.

What disturbs
and then nourishes
has everything
we need.

What we hate
in ourselves
is what we cannot know
in ourselves but
what is true to the pattern
does not need
to be explained.

Inside everyone
is a great shout of joy
waiting to be born.

Even with summer
so far off
I feel it grown in me
now and ready
to arrive
in the world…

And
here
in the tumult
of the night
I hear the walnut
above the child’s swing
swaying
its dark limbs
in the wind
and the rain now
come to
beat against my window
and somewhere
in this cold night
of wind and stars
the first whispered
opening of
those hidden
and invisible springs
that uncoil
in the still summer air
each yet
to be imagined
rose.

© David Whyte: Excerpted from THE WINTER OF LISTENING
In: THE HOUSE OF BELONGING. © Many Rivers Press

El Collie (no longer living on this planet) was one of the pioneer writers on the Kundalini process. Her work began with a simple newsletter called "Shared Transformation," an effort that later evolved into an online book named "Branded by the Spirit."  I am reprinting here the opening section of "Shared Transformation," including a list of signs and symptoms of the awakening process.  To read more of her writings, google her name and check some of the entries.  She is one of the best.


KUNDALINI SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
by El Collie
Many individuals whose Kundalini has been unexpectedly unleashed DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING, and the prevailing social ignorance about this multidimensional transformative process makes it hard to find medical or alternative health practitioners or spiritual advisors who recognize the symptoms, particularly when they are strongly physical. Many people know that the risen Kundalini flings open gates to all sorts of mystical, paranormal and magical vistas but few realize it can also dramatically impact the body. A large percentage of our old Shared Transformation newsletter subscribers reported long bouts of strange illness as well as radical mental, emotional, interpersonal, psychic, spiritual and lifestyle changes. Over and again we hear stories of frustrating, sometimes desperate visits to doctors, healers, counselors, etc. who neither understood nor were able to help with the myriad pains and problems catalyzed by raging Kundalini.
The following are common manifestations of the risen Kundalini:
• Muscle twitches, cramps or spasms. • Energy rushes or immense electricity circulating the body • Itching, vibrating, prickling, tingling, stinging or crawling sensations • Intense heat or cold
• Involuntary bodily movements (occur more often during meditation, rest or sleep): jerking, tremors, shaking; feeling an inner force pushing one into postures or moving one's body in unusual ways. (May be misdiagnosed as epilepsy, restless legs syndrome (RLS), or PLMD.)
• Alterations in eating and sleeping patterns • Episodes of extreme hyperactivity or, conversely, overwhelming fatigue (some CFS victims are
experiencing Kundalini awakening)
• Intensified or diminished sexual desires
• Headaches, pressures within the skull
• Racing heartbeat, pains in the chest
• Digestive system problems
• Numbness or pain in the limbs (particularly the left foot and leg)
• Pains and blockages anywhere; often in the back and neck (Many cases of FMS are Kundalini- related.)
• Emotional outbursts; rapid mood shifts; seemingly unprovoked or excessive episodes of grief, fear, rage, depression
Reprinted for Kundalini Awakening Systems 1 Page 5 of 191
• Spontaneous vocalizations (including laughing and weeping) -- are as unintentional and uncontrollable as hiccoughs
• Hearing an inner sound or sounds, classically described as a flute, drum, waterfall, birds singing, bees buzzing but which may also sound like roaring, whooshing, or thunderous noises or like ringing in the ears.
• Mental confusion; difficulty concentrating
• Altered states of consciousness: heightened awareness; spontaneous trance states; mystical experiences (if the individual's prior belief system is too threatened by these, they can lead to bouts of psychosis or self-grandiosity)
• Heat, strange activity, and/or blissful sensations in the head, particularly in the crown area.
• Ecstasy, bliss and intervals of tremendous joy, love, peace and compassion
• Psychic experiences: extrasensory perception; out-of-body experiences; pastlife memories; astral travel; direct awareness of auras and chakras; contact with spirit guides through inner voices, dreams or visions; healing powers
• Increased creativity: new interests in self-expression and spiritual communication through music, art, poetry, etc.
• Intensified understanding and sensitivity: insight into one's own essence; deeper understanding of spiritual truths; exquisite awareness of one's environment (including "vibes" from others).
• Enlightenment experiences: direct Knowing of a more expansive reality; transcendent awareness
Some people have told us they find the concept of "Kundalini" foreign and prefer to simply call this their "awakening," which is fine with us. But for most who contact us, the Kundalini explanation provides an important framework with which to accept and work with their experiences. We each have a unique way of interpreting, honoring and describing our spiritual wisdom. I do not believe there is only one right way to know or express the truth. Far more important, I believe, is to have an open heart and to be faithful to our own path, wherever it may lead.
We have also been asked why we do not put more emphasis on union with the Divine and God- realization, which are very much central to spiritual awakening. Since everyone experiences and interprets their mystical experiences differently and very personally, to make sure no one will feel excluded, we just speak of "awakening consciousness" or "transcendent states" on the ST Web pages. In our Shared Transformation newsletter, individuals with variant religious beliefs are welcome to (and DO) tell about their experiences of this sort. Some speak of God, Christ, Goddess, the Holy One, Spirit, or simply a magnificent Whole in which we all partake.
Also, for some people, profound spiritual realizations do not occur until months or years after the other signs and symptoms. Individuals who are having experiences of an obvious spiritual nature are usually more able to integrate and benefit from the process, regardless of how they may label it. But those who experience what seems to be illness or weird psychic phenomena often are very alarmed until they understand that they are not sick or crazy. And even the enlightening and beautiful experiences can be
Reprinted for Kundalini Awakening Systems 1 Page 6 of 191
so powerful that people doubt their sanity. This is why the information and validation we offer through Shared Transformations is so valuable.

Earth Song

Listen to things more often than beings.
Hear the voice of the fire, hear the voice of the water,
Listen in the wind to the sighing of the bush:
This is the ancestors breathing.
Those who are dead are never gone;
The dead are not down in the earth:
They are in the trembling of the trees,
In the groaning of the woods,
In the water that runs, in the water that sleeps,
They are in the hut, they are in the crowd.
Those who are dead are not ever gone;
They are in the woman's breast, they are in the wailing of a child,
They are in the burning log and in the moaning rock.
They are in the weeping grasses, in the forest and the home.
Listen to things more often than beings.
Hear the voice of fire, hear the voice of water.
Listen in the wind to the sighing of the bush.
This is the ancestors breathing.


(Traditional from Senegal, translator unknown)

(Intro comment by Sam--from ND Highlights)
Better than Eckhart Tolle, Better than Osho!

Eckhart Tolle and Osho and many other authors, spiritual teachers and gurus are profoundly important, helpful and illuminating but Colin Drake is something else….he’s significantly better at explaining spiritual awakening and how to effect enlightenment and maintain it permanently. Colin Gives the essential facts and tries not to befuddle the reader. He is very experienced with years and years of direct experience of being on the spiritual path and also crucially of enlightenment itself.

This book is very important – if you are on the spiritual path then your days of seeking are over. You’ve arrived at journeys end. This book explains everything you need to know calmly, gently and without mystical gobbledegook to become aware of your true self.

Enlightenment in one easy read is very possible!

Here is Colin’s latest article:

Joy Without a Cause

“I tell you naught for your comfort,
Yea, not for your desire,
Save that the sky grows darker yet
And the sea rises higher.

Night shall be thrice night over you,
And heaven an iron cope.
Do you have joy without a cause,
Yea, faith without a hope?

G.K. Chesterton “The Ballad of The White Horse’

John Wren Lewis describes ‘Joy Without a Cause’ as the name of God, or at least that is how he experiences God. Further the ‘Causeless Cause’ is described by Theosophists as ‘An Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless, and Immutable Principle…’ Divya Jivan, a Vedantist of the Sivananda lineage states that‘ the Absolute is not related to anything. It is the causeless cause of all things; it is beginningless and endless, unlimited.’

Pure Awareness (Consciousness at rest) is this Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless, Unlimited Principle (Presence) and thus can be defined as the ‘Causeless Cause’. When one discovers that, at the deepest level, one is this Pure Awareness and fully identifies with (and as) That, then one is suffused with perfect peace for This is always still, effortless, pure, silent and serene. All of this is easily realized by directly investigating one’s moment-to-moment experience and the format for this is given in the appendix.

This initial realization and the cultivation of this is the first stage of The Bodhisattva Path, of Mahayana Buddhism which they call ‘joyful’:

This stage is reached automatically once one has realized, and identified with, the deeper level of pure awareness. This creates great compassion and joy[1]: ‘Governed by compassion to liberate living beings completely, and always abiding in joy is called the first’ (1.4cd, 5ab).[2]One is now truly a bodhisattva and cannot fall back, provided one does not re-identify as an individual self:

Because he has attained this, he is addressed by the very name Bodhisattva …. all paths to lower births have ceased …. all grounds of ordinary beings are exhausted (1.5cd, 7abc).[3]

Once true self-discovery has taken place, and we experience the peace and joy of this, then all that is required is to cultivate this by further investigation whenever we revert to misidentification of ourselves as a separate object. This is easily recognized for it always will (eventually) produce mental suffering which can be used as a wake-up call to the fact that misidentification has taken place.[4]

This joy and peace is ‘the happiness that needs nothing’ described in an earlier article. Indeed this happiness is the ‘joy without a cause’, being ‘without a cause’ for it needs nothing to manifest but just wells up from the realization of no separation.

This joy has many facets including:

The relief that is engendered by realizing that no separate individual self exists (anatta) resulting in the dissolution of all burdens pertaining to the non-existent ‘me me me’ … enlightenment in the literal sense of the word.

The appreciation that occurs when the world is encountered directly and not through the filter of ‘self’ (grasping, concern, promotion, aggrandizement, interest, security, etc…), for it is found to be much brighter, more alive, friendlier, and less threatening than when encountered from separation.

The peace that is an attribute of the Pure Awareness that we already are, and the realization that this is unaffected by any ‘thing’. For all things are manifestations of Cosmic Energy, movements in Consciousness and all movements arise from, abide in , and subside back into stillness. Thus everything comes and goes in Pure awareness (Consciousness at rest) leaving it totally unchanged.

The joy of embodiment, see earlier article of this name, that is the joy of using the body/mind as an instrument (of Consciousness) for sensing, contemplating, experiencing, engaging with and acting in the world.

The compassion that arises from realizing that we, and all beings, are manifestations of the same essence and that there is truly no separation between us. This combined with realizing that all are equally valid instruments of the Absolute entails honouring all life.

The utter relaxation that occurs with the realization that there is nothing (in terms of enlightenment) to achieve, find, or acquire – as you already are That … Pure Awareness.

The fearlessness that results from this realization … as all existential angst vanishes. This is not the natural caution which results from, and causes us to avoid, real danger – but the unnecessary fear caused by misidentification and its resulting self-image (which appears to need protection), fear of the future and that caused by dwelling on the past.

All of the above stem from realizing (that we are) Pure Awareness – the ‘Causeless Cause’, and as This is causeless then so is the joy that comes from this realization – truly ‘Joy Without a Cause’! This also leads to ‘faith without a hope’ where the faith is the ‘knowing’ that is the result of this realization, requiring no hope for Pure Awareness ‘needs nothing’ … as does the happiness resulting from this.

from Dorothy
I feel that much of what is said in the above article applies directly to Kundalini, especially when it arrives in the form of bliss consciousness.  This is the pure form
of "causeless joy."  One need not be burdened with the intellectual dissection of this state to experience it in full.  When Kundalini ecstasy (or perhaps gentle bliss) arrives, one does not know its actual source (other than Ultimate Reality) or cause--one simply accepts the arrival with gratitude, and offers it up as a form of devotion to all of humanity, or even better, to "all sentient beings."  One then renews one's vow to serve the world to the best of one's ability, with whatever gifts 
have been given.
Sometimes the bliss currents seem to go away, leaving one to cope as best one can with a "dry spell," a time when nothing seems to be happening.  Then--of a sudden--they unexpectedly return and one is grateful for this divine favor.
This happened to me today (written April 20).  I was convinced that the "inner beloved" had permanently disappeared, when, voila!, there it was again this morning--delightful sensation in hands, arms, ears, and, finally, lower chakras as well.  Indeed, this was a return of my familiar "joy without cause," a prize indeed.

Nan Merrill was best friends with Patricia Lay-Dorsey, to whom this blog is dedicated.  Nan, a devoted Christian, translated the book of Psalms to make it less militant, less patriarchal, and more infused with divine feminine energy.  Her translation contains much wisdom and offers a guide to divine connection freed from the ancient patriarchal traditions and vocabulary.  The full collection is called "Psalms for Praying."  It is quite beautiful.
Nan also published a monthly newsletter called "Friends of Silence," which she distributed to thousands of subscribers free.  "Friends of Silence" always contained wonderful quotations from various authors around the world.

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL--MAY YOUR DAY BE FILLED WITH JOY AND CREATIVITY AND PEACE AND THE RESURRECTION OF ALL THAT IS BEST WITHIN YOU!

Psalm One

Blessed are those
who walk hand in hand
with goodness,
who stand beside virtue,
who sit in the seat of truth.
For their delight is in the Spirit of Love,
and in Love's heart they dwell
day and night.

They are like trees planted by
streams of water,
that yield fruit in due season,
and their leaves flourish;
and in all that they do, they give life.

The unloving are not so;
they are like dandelions which
the wind blows away.
Turning from the Heart of Love
they will know suffering and pain.

They will be isolated from wisdom;
for Love knows the way of truth,
the way of ignorance shall perish
as Love's penetrating Light
breaks through hearts
filled with illusions:
forgiveness is the way.

Trans:  Nan Merrill

Andrew Harvey is, to my mind, one of the wisest, most perceptive, most enlightened beings on the planet today.  This interview on YouTube offers a brilliant distillation of the revelations he has undergone over a long and rich life on this earth.  I consider it a treasure and feel it is a "must view."  Do watch it and deepen your own understanding of who we are, what we must do at this critical time in history, and what a true mystic is. You will not be disappointed.  This is a "must see."

Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmHQNGBxtvE   to experience this remarkable discussion.

Published on Oct 13, 2012
Andrew Harvey 'The Death And The Birth' Interview by Iain McNay
Author of 30 books including 'Hidden Journey,' 'The Hope,' and his forthcoming book 'Radical Passion' talks about his life, his awakenings, his 'dark nights' and his work these days encouraging people to explore and engage in Sacred Activism. Talks about his time with Mother Meera, the importance of shadow work, and how as a human race we are right on edge of death, but also a new birth.
'Compassion in Action is the marriage of practical action and spiritual wisdom to create a holy force capable of transforming our world crisis and preserving our planet.'

Where the Soul Is
Finding the Place You Belong

by Madisyn Taylor (from Daily Om)

There will likely be times in your life when your soul evolves more quickly than your circumstances.

There will likely be times in your life when your soul evolves more quickly than your circumstances. Your subconscious mind may be ready to move forward long before you recognize that you are destined to embrace a new way of life. Your soul intuitively understands that changing habitats can be a vital part of the growth process and that there may be one part of you that is eager to move to another home, another state, or another plane of existence. But the ties that bind you to your current mode of being can make moving into this next stage of your life more challenging than it has to be. If you find it difficult to move on, consider that just as people in your life may come and go, your role in others‚ lives may also be temporary. And many of the conditions that at first seemed favorable served you for a short time. When you are ready to match your situation to your soul, you will find that you feel a new sense of harmony and increasingly connected to the ebb and flow of th!
e universe.

Moving on can be defined in numerous ways. Your forward momentum may take you from your current locale to a place you instinctively know will be more nurturing, comfortable, and spiritually enriching. Once you arrive, your misgivings will vanish, and you will know that you have found a sanctuary. Similarly, subtle changes in your values, goals, or emotional needs can motivate you to distance yourself from one group of people in order to reassociate yourself with individuals that are better able to support you. For example, this could mean moving away from your birth family in order to find your energetic or spiritual family. The route you need to travel may not always be clear; you may feel inspired to change yet be unsure as to why or how. Clarity may come in the form of a question if you are willing to seriously ask yourself where your soul is trying to take you.

In a way, moving from one point to another when you feel strongly driven to do so is a way of bringing your spiritual and earthly energies together. It is a two-step process that involves not only letting go but also reconnecting. You will know you have found your destination, physical or otherwise, when you feel in your heart that you have been reborn into a life that is just the right shape, size, and composition.

Brahma

If the red slayer think he slays,
      Or if the slain think he is slain,
They know not well the subtle ways
      I keep, and pass, and turn again.

Far or forgot to me is near;
      Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
      And one to me are shame and fame.

They reckon ill who leave me out;
      When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
      I am the hymn the Brahmin sings.

The strong gods pine for my abode,
      And pine in vain the sacred Seven;
But thou, meek lover of the good!
      Find me, and turn thy back on heaven.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Note:  This powerful poem by Emerson shows how he was one of the first to introduce Eastern thought into the Western consciousness.  At first, the ideas may seem unclear to the Western mind, which insists on reality as a scheme of opposites.  Yet, in this poem, the speaker demonstrates that in the ultimate realms, all opposites are reconciled (for Brahma is all that is)--and that even the "great ones" who strive for enlightenment will not reach their goal, for that is reserved for the "meek lover of the good", rather than the exalted ones.
__

Stephanie Anderson Ladd, who is offering this E-Course, is a friend of mine and I recommend her and her work highly.  She has done extensive research into the Goddess in her various forms, and also has published a beautiful book on the various forms of the Goddess.  Here is her latest offering, which will I am sure be exciting and beneficial.

Here is the information as I received it.  And--when she mentions the free Your Sacred Pleasure Map, you cannot get it by simply pressing "here" (this is a reprint of original site), so I suggest you send a request to her at the address at the bottom.  Perhaps you can see Diva Carla on Youtube as well.

Enroll now in a modern mystery school where you will learn how the archetypal wisdom of ancient goddesses has meaning for you today!

The Next E-Course of the 2014 New Moon Goddess Mystery School
Begins in 2 Weeks!
Spring - April 29, 2014 - New Moon in Taurus - Inanna
What Can You Expect From the E-Course on Inanna?
Inanna is a a goddess archetype who predated Aphrodite/Venus and who shows us how to love ourselves whole-heartedly, reclaim our sacred sexuality, transform our wounds, and stand in our power as feminine beings.


                         
Sumerian Goddess and Queen of Heaven and Earth

Like Persephone and Psyche, Inanna travels to the Underworld and back. She shows us the initiatory process of shedding the old skin, the ego trappings, the false Self, and recovering the authentic Self, who rises to the occasion of her full Being. We will be exploring aspects of our own shadow, making shadow boxes of our discarded and reclaimed parts, as well as exploring what it means to truly let go, including the ultimate letting go: orgasm.

As part of this e-course, special guest Diva Carla, will be joining us for the Full Moon Video Spreecast to talk about The Wisdom of Orgasm. Diva Carla helps women discover the pleasure and sacredness of their sexuality, aspects of the feminine that have been split off under the patriarchy. In the spirit of Inanna, we will explore what it means to own our sexuality as women, and to release our full sexual potential, freeing us to be creative, whole human beings bringing the fullness of our gifts and talents to life.


And, as a special gift to you as well as a teaser for what to expect from our Full Moon conversation, Diva Carla is offering a free course called Your Sacred Pleasure Map, which includes 5 You Tube videos and 5 home play assignments that will get you started on the path to more pleasure and intimacy. This course introduces a woman's pleasure anatomy, the spirituality of sex, and how to get to know your body through practice, taught from the perspective of women’s self-pleasure.

Click here to download the free course: Your Sacred Pleasure Map



Join us for Inanna as well as the other goddess archetypes (Artemis and Cerridwyn) we will be exploring in 2014. With each course you will receive an e-book, videos, audios, discussions with guest artists and surprises as we circle the year together. This e-course can be done at home on your own time. You may take one or all of these New Moon courses. You will also be welcomed to join the Goddess Temple Facebook group to share your thoughts, feelings, and creations throughout the year.

Enroll now for this affordable, exciting e-course!

Click here to register: 2014 New Moon Goddess Mystery School

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Searching for the Dharma

You've traveled up ten thousand steps in search of the Dharma.
So many long days in the archives, copying, copying.

The gravity of the Tang and the profundity of the Sung
make heavy baggage.

Here! I've picked you a bunch of wildflowers.
Their meaning is the same
but they're much easier to carry.

~ Xu Yun ~

(Empty Cloud: The Autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master,
Trans. Charles Luck, ed. by Richard Hunn)

Devoured by Love

The hunger of the soul
for holy sustenance
is vast
and immeasurable.

It is a like a ravening beast
that will gnaw your heart
until you faint
with delight,
a great tree of light
that will plunge
its invisible roots
into your
flesh
and suck out
your marrow
as you groan
in pleasure,
then make of you
a swooping falcon,
predator and prey,
wondering what you
did before
for food.

Dorothy Walters

The Ultimate Authority
Using Our Own Minds

by Madisyn Taylor (of the Daily Om)

Input from experts is valuable but our own sense of the truth is ultimately the most important.

To a certain degree, we rely on other people‚s accounts of reality to inform us of the nature of the universe. For example, we can‚t all be molecular physicists, but we can benefit from taking their findings to heart. In the same way, we often look to teachers, various leaders, and gurus to tell us about the path to enlightenment and the nature of the realm of spirit. While this input from experts is undeniably valuable, our own sense of the truth is ultimately the most important piece in processing the information we take in from external sources. In the end, we are the authorities in our own lives, and we have the final say on whether something generally held as true is true for us. 

We need only take a brief look at history to remember that the religious, scientific, and political establishments that ruled the day were all wrong about something at some point in time. This is the beauty of learning, experiencing, and evolving. While we sometimes wish we could just let someone else decide for us what is real and true, this is clearly not a viable option. The good news in all this is that we can confidently devote ourselves to making up our own minds about reality, taking everything that is handed to us as truth with a grain of salt. 

This does not mean that we discount the information we receive from outside sources. It simply means that we are vigilant enough to question it before we decide whether or not we agree with it. All the information we receive is useful in the process of helping us make up our own minds. As we allow ourselves to sit with the things we learn, measuring them alongside our own inner sense of the truth and our own experiences, we find that making up our minds is a joyful process of integration that grows us into stronger, smarter, more engaged human beings. 

Above Everything

I wished for death often
but now that I am at its door
I have changed my mind about the world.
It should go on; it is beautiful,
even as a dream, filled with water and seed,
plants and animals, others like myself,
ships and buildings and messages
filling the air -- a beauty,
if ever I have seen one.
In the next world, should I remember
this one, I will praise it
above everything.

~ David Ignatow ~

The word vimana appears often in ancient Hindu literature.  It can refer to several things, including a palace or even a flying aircraft.  There are depictions of various kinds of "vimanas" in the ancient literature, including the Mabarata.  There are even instructions for building them.

Given the current interest in UFO's, it is interesting to discover these references in ancient literature and to speculate on their implications.  Some depictions even show what appear to be opposing airships waging combat against one another.

Did the ancients actually construct and fly in these aircraft?  If so, their civilization was far more technically advanced than we have supposed.  Did similar air ships arrive on earth from other planets or regions of outer space to help humanity advance?  Some speculate that this was the case, and point to various images of apparent "space travelers" to prove their case.

Interest in alien visitors has now moved from the pages of the "National Enquirer" to contemporary mainstream television.  Interest is running quite high, and various experts with impeccable credentials are coming forth with evidence (of sightings) that seem undeniable.  Such authoritative spokespersons include astronauts, highly placed former employees of aerospace programs, and certified commercial pilots.  No one knows exactly what these unidentified vessels are, where they come from, or why they are here.  Some seem to be benign on contact (offering healing of physical wounds, for example) and some seem less benign (leaving the recipient of close contact with radiation sickness and lingering illness).

At present, the question of UFO's and alien visitors is a hot topic, one much in the consciousness of the ordinary citizen worldwide. Those of us who have lived over a long span have seen such topics as gender issues, feminism, Kundalini yoga, and alternate health approaches move from the realm of the esoteric to the forefront of popular media.  Change does occur.  We should be prepared for even more change to come into our psychic space, and to arrive ever more quickly.

I suspect that very soon we will see such changes as widespread communication through mental telepathy, teleportation, bilocation, instant energetic healing, and accelerating Kundalini awakenings, to name a few.  We are now in a new age, and expansion of consciousness is all about us.  Those who have already undergone Kundalini awakening are the forerunners of the new era, and what earlier seemed strange is becoming ever more familiar.

Scraps of Moon

Scraps of moon
bobbing discarded on broken water
but sky-moon
complete, transcending
all violation
Here she seems to be talking to herself about
the shape of a life:
Only Once

All which, because it was
flame and song and granted us
joy, we thought we'd do, be, revisit,
turns out to have been what it was
that once, only; every invitation
did not begin
a series, a build-up: the marvelous
did not happen in our lives, our stories
are not drab with its absence: but don't
expect to return for more. Whatever more
there will be will be
unique as those were unique. Try
to acknowledge the next
song in its body-halo of flames as utterly
present, as now or never.

~ Denise Levertov ~

(image from internet)

(The Great Unknowing)

Shaking the Tree

Vine and branch we’re connected in this world
of sound and echo, figure and shadow, the leaves
contingent, roots pushing against earth. An apple

belongs to itself, to stem and tree, to air
that claims it, then ground. Connections
balance, each motion changes another. Precarious,

hanging together, we don’t know what our lives
support, and we touch in the least shift of breathing.
Each holy thing is borrowed.  Everything depends.

~ Jeanne Lohmann ~

Arunachala is considered to be one of the world's most sacred mountains.  Many pilgrims come annually to enjoy the vibrations of the setting and often to do a sacred circumnavigation of the base of the mountain.

The following article was posted on ND Highlights today:

The Hill

by Katya Osborne

What is it about Arunachala that attracts some people to the point
of obsession? There are some who, once ensnared, find it almost
impossible to leave; there are others who pass by and barely notice it.
You drive along the main road in either direction and the countryside
is more or less littered with hills of a similar size and configuration.
Why should this pile of earth and rocks be in any way different? Yet
different it most assuredly is. None of the other prominences has the
power, presence, or sheer personality and exuberance of Arunachala.
Even Bhagavan, if he could be said to be attached to anything, was
attached to this place. On the face of it, it is an inexplicable mystery;
yet it is nonetheless a fact and therefore worth trying to explain.

In the myths of antiquity, Arunachala was acknowledged to be the
incarnation of Lord Siva on earth as the Lord of Fire. Physically it is a
hill, or small mountain, some 2,668 feet above sea level, of apparently
unremarkable rocks physically indistinguishable from any others in
this landscape of scattered hills dotted about on the hot plains.
Bhagavan treated Arunachala as a living manifestation of God, and as
such it is hard to describe. A person cannot be truly conjured up by a
catalogue of physical details, and yet any other sort of description is
even harder to arrive at. To those who are in tune with it, Arunachala
is a microcosm of the world. Its signature on the landscape is so
powerful that is seems to distort one’s inner compass; no hill this, but
an overwhelming presence that makes everything else around seem
shadowy and unreal. It also acts like a prism to intensify all the senses
and emotions. Colours seem brighter; the taste of food is sharper; the
very act of breathing is not just the drawing in of whatever comprises
the local atmosphere, rather it is an effervescent inhalation of
invigorating power. Every sensation seems to be keener; love is stronger,
but then so too is hate. Having heightened senses works both ways,
which is why people come to Arunachala. They hope for release and
enlightenment, but the corollary is that all one’s negative aspects are
also highlighted. They can be dealt with or given in to, according to
the personal application of the individual. People who resonate with
the Hill have a unique opportunity to deal with all the troublesome
facets of their characters, to recognise them and try to eliminate them;
they also have the possibility of elevating their least desirable qualities
and this can happen so slyly that it almost goes unnoticed. Small
skirmishes can become major wars and a mild interest in one’s
neighbours can become malicious gossip. In the same spirit, a lack of
interest in personal possessions can become genuine renunciation and
ordinary thoughtfulness can transmogrify into true spirituality.

It is a mistake to suppose that everything within the ambit of the
Hill is benign. People have been robbed, raped, and have even died on
the Hill. Others have lived there as renunciates, untroubled in a cave
for years. Still others have carried on a life-long love affair with it.
Whatever happens in the world at large also happens on or around the
Hill…but more so.

~ ~ ~

Read the full article at https://s3.amazonaws.com/ramanafiles/mountainpath/2005%20II%20April.pdf

The following passages particularly interested me:

Indeed. this description could be applied to Kundalini awakening, for then often the senses are brighter and the emotions stronger.  And--something similar often happens with meditation itself.  I think the cause is simply the heightened state of consciousness that one may know during such experiences as meditation or entering the "field" of certain sacred places on earth.

Here is what another reviewer wrote about Arunachala:


This is one of the oldest and most holy mountains in all of India. The stories about it date back to the oldest Hindu Scriptures, the Rig Veda. Sadhus have come here for three thousand years, to be with Arunachala. One major spiritual teacher, Ramana Maharshi lived and taught here from 1896 to 1950, and his ashram remains open to visitors to this day. Many people come for a holy walk around Arunachala. It is 14 km. On full moon nights one million people or more may come here from all over South India to walk pradakshina around Arunachala. The big temple, Arunachaleswara Temple, is one of the biggest Hindu temples in all of India. Its roots are 2000 years old. Some people come to visit and never leave. Some people think it is just another dusty South Indian city. Find out for yourself.






__._,_.___

Getting There

You take a final step and, look, suddenly
You're there. You've arrived
At the one place all your drudgery was aimed for:
This common ground
Where you stretch out, pressing your cheek to sandstone.

What did you want
To be? You'll remember soon. You feel like tinder
Under a burning glass,
A luminous point of change. The sky is pulsing
Against the cracked horizon,
Holding it firm till the arrival of stars
In time with your heartbeats.
Like wind etching rock, you've made a lasting impression
On the self you were
By having come all this way through all this welter
Under your own power,
Though your traces on a map would make an unpromising
Meandering lifeline.

What have you learned so far? You'll find out later,
Telling it haltingly
Like a dream, that lost traveler's dream
Under the last hill
Where through the night you'll take your time out of mind
To unburden yourself
Of elements along elementary paths
By the break of morning.

You've earned this worn-down, hard, incredible sight
Called Here and Now.
Now, what you make of it means everything,
Means starting over:
The life in your hands is neither here nor there
But getting there,
So you're standing again and breathing, beginning another
Journey without regret
Forever, being your own unpeaceable kingdom,
The end of endings.


~ David Wagoner ~

(In Broken Country)