Kundalini Splendor

 http://amyedelstein.com/new-ecology-teleseminar/

Here is the link to the wonderful teleseminar that Amy Edelson gave recently on evolutionary mysticism and the new ecology.  It is well worth your time.

Evolution of consciousness is a topic that interests most of us, especially those who have experienced Kundalini awakening, for many of us (including me) feel that Kundalini is itself the main engine for the spiritual revolution we are now experiencing.  Any offers a clear and compelling account of such early evolutionaries as Teihard de Chardin and Shri Aurobindo.  Teilhard felt strongly that there was a clear direction of ascent in the evolutionary process, and that ultimately we would reach the "Omega Point" where the human would encounter the divine.

Sri Aurobindo likewise envisioned a thrust toward the divinization of the human.  Here is what has been said of this idea:

 The central theme of his vision was the evolution of human life into a life divine. He believed in a spiritual realisation that not only liberated man but transformed his nature, enabling a divine life on earth. In 1926, with the help of his spiritual collaborator, Mirra Alfassa ("The Mother"), he founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. He died on 5 December 1950 in Pondicherry. (from Wikipedia)

Amy also presents a most thoughtful description of the new ideas on the evolution of nature as a potent and extremely sacred element of our existence.

I was struck in particular with her account of a coffee table that sat in her house when she was a child.  Amy loved this table and used to  play on it and in fact felt a bond with it as if it were a living friend.  Indeed, this table had been crafted by a very gifted Japanese artisan/wood carver, whose works  were later displayed in the Metropolitan Museum.  I am especially interested in the experience she describes because I likewise have felt the very special energies emanating from certain works of art, such as paintings, vases, and wooden sculptures.  For example, once when I visited the Asian Museum in San Francisco, the energies flowing from a large Chinese vase were so strong I had to step back and move away from it.  When I went back to read its description, I discovered that this was a very special vase, fired in the emperor's kiln many years ago to celebrate his inauguration and the beginning of a new era.

Another time, I was contemplating a painting by Rothko in the Detroit Institute of Art when I again felt such strong vibrations coming from the piece that I had to step back.  Rothko is famous for his use of wide bands of color in and as his paintings.  I had always wondered why he did this and why others liked them.  But––until then––I had only seen reproductions of his work.  Now I was standing before the original painting and it appeared to retain and emanate the energies of the artist himself infused in the course of his creation.  It was extremely powerful and my friend felt them also.

These experiences confirm my belief that we exist in vast field of energy that connects us all and that certain beings (especially artist and poets and composers) are able to tap into and transmit this field in a special way.

Amy also discusses the sacred quality of nature, an aspect which we can each connect with as a feeling of oneness and joy.  I fully believe in this notion, since I have been a nature mystic since childhood.  When I was young, children could roam the woods and fields freely, and each time I entered such places, I felt instant connection and indeed went into what I now recognize as an altered state of consciousness.  I was elated to be in what was to me the terrestrial paradise.  I was very surprised later when I discovered that not everyone had such transcendent experiences in the natural world.  Such writers as Emerson, Thoreau, and certain romantics of the nineteenth century all shared this sense of deep connection with the mysterious and often magical powers of earth itself.  Today Mary Oliver carries on this same veneration for the amazing frequencies of our natural surroundings.

When I was in Ireland, I sensed the astonishing vibrations coming up from the earth at certain sacred places, always as bliss.  At Tara, I thought I might faint from the radiant energies rising from the ground to the surface and up through my body.  I experienced this same effect several times as I toured the country, especially at such sites as sacred wells and monastic ruins and I understood much about the response of earlier peoples to certain places in the countryside.

Who can explain this phenomenon to someone who has not experienced it?  What does it signify, other than manifest proof of our deep connection to the the sacred energies of earth as an expression of the divine essence?