Thank you Maheswari!
Co-creators
~ continued from previous post ~
We design and engineer our personal destiny. But that destiny has also been given us by the divine/ god/ the universe. We are creators in the sense that what we construct, out of the raw material of our lives, we can also de-construct. We arrange the elements, and ascribe meaning to life, in accordance with some program, agenda, pattern, matrix, code, configuration, equation, whatever. Something decreed and determined in part by our DNA. But we can change that too, it can be reconfigured. We design the pattern, recipe, formula, code, frequency - for sickness, for health, and for everything else - for empowerment and for disempowerment.
When we whine and complain a lot, it is usually imo because we feel victimized by our circumstances. Often this vicitimization is rooted in both the past and the present. But it is our reaction to these perceived circumstances that holds us in bondage to them as well as to the resultant victim consciousness. And it is through our (new and different) response to life situations that we throw off the chains. Maybe we can’t do much to make the situations go away, that we find ourselves in, but we can absolutely do something about how we react to them.
Surrendering to the divine initially requires a certain ripeness of spiritual enterprise. Kundalini will act as a catalyzing and expediting agency. It may take a while if we are inclined to fight her, but eventually kundalini will force us into a position of surrender (my take on it, others may have differing views).
It is our ego that stands between us (or what we think is us) and god. Ego is the obstruction. Kundalini doesn’t like obstructions. Because she is a manifestation of the divine, she demands that in our relationship with the divine, there be few or no obstructions. The separation between us and the divine is a mental construct. It has been imagined and can be un-imagined. The perceived separation is an illusion - and as such it generally undermines and sabotages support via authentic empowerment. The divine.
We are co-creators with the divine in that we play a decisive role in the management of our lives. But it is one force… and the two apparent parts of that force (the individual and the divine) are in no way distinct or separate from each other. When we live our lives with the certainty that they are separate, we can’t see the world as it is. The perception and meaning we ascribe to our experience is then rooted in misconception and illusion.
JJ Semple has an awakened kundalini and manages an inspirational forum. He always emphasizes the positive active role we play in the process. In his words - ADAPT, IMPROVISE, OVERCOME. He also emphasizes the usefulness of DETACHMENT. These are the strategies and character traits that minimize discomfort and increase the probability of a successful k awakening. JJ has a more scientific, and less spiritual, approach to kundalini. It is definitely an asset in our evolution as a species, and he tends to focus on that aspect of awakening. He is very wise, very empowered, and gives excellent pragmatic counsel in the forum.
May we all be enfolded in love 
edited for clarification & continuity
Thoughts on - what I’m now calling - JJ’s mantra:
Adapt, Improvise, Overcome
The mantra is perfect in terms of simplicity and precision. But I’d suggest two additional corollaries that may help fine-tune and deliver success in one’s endeavors:
The importance of 1)perseverance or ‘the art of refusing to give up’. Perseverance is, of course, essential in overcoming - which is the 3rd element of JJ’s formula for successful kundalini awakening. Personally I’ve found it necessary to employ various techniques that generate stamina for eliminating indulgence in negative attitudes. Attitudes such as despair, disappointment, discomfort and defeat. Consider the advantages of perseverance, however it can be managed.
2)In my opinion, the key to manifesting JJ’s mantra is focused intent. Be extremely clear and precise about what you want and intend. This is what Tony Robbins teaches. Robbins is the author of 2 great books: ‘Unlimited Power’ and ‘Awakening the Giant Within’. I’ve found his perspective and insight useful in helping to make my life the life I want, rather than the life from which I want to retreat. It is imperative to spend quite a lot of time visualizing intricate detail regarding what you intend to manifest (as opposed to being attached to, fascinated with, and focusing your attention on the downside of your challenges).
When negative thinking becomes an obstacle to manifesting my goals, I assign myself a few hours in his books and somehow his bubbling over positivity causes a beneficial change in my outlook. Then I’m more able to evaluate the useful and productive options available to me, rather than obsessing on the ones least inclined to generate success. In fact when my attitude becomes positive, I’m much more able to envision a successful outcome to whatever crisis I imagine myself to be in. Formerly invisible options, options almost guaranteed to deliver success, then become possible and do-able.
With my conviction deeply rooted in the belief that I will certainly overcome most (if not all) limitations and discomforts, I then whole heartedly embrace these better options that my positive attitude has enabled me to realize. It’s not easy. But it is possible.
[OM]
The possibility of extinction
Is there a purpose to our incarnation at this time? Are we on a mission? What do we intend to do with the energy of desire?
As a planet we are in crisis. We are at a critical juncture in the evolution of our species. The question is: To evolve or not to evolve. To continue on, or to opt out and go extinct. Do we really desire to evolve, to survive as a species? It seems like a sizeable minority of the people are too passive and compliant, too willing to go along with foolish agendas and the unnecessary spoiling of our lovely planet. Not to mention the quality of our personal lives deteriorating immensely. This is sad.
Or maybe it will appear as though we are opting out, but instead we are continuing our existence in another density, a higher dimension.
It often feels that our leaders are not very wise in terms of exploiting this planet, her resources and lifeforms. Indeed it is an indisputable fact that multitudes of lifeforms are going extinct on planet Earth. Why is this happening? Will humans become extinct too? What can we do to remedy this situation? Some of us are complacent and unconcerned. Most of us, however, are deeply aware of the issues yet feel helpless, unsure about the role we should play. So we continue to sit back and watch as our planet, and the lifeforms thereon, are utterly destroyed. Truly it is a nightmare. Will enough of us wake up in time? Do we somehow feel that we will be spared this fate? Will we rise above our personal and global suffering enough to make a difference?
Is this the answer?
Imo K awakening is nature’s answer to the global crisis…the universe’s reply to our suffering, complacency, helplessness, despondency, groanings and prayers. Some of us are hoping and waiting for divine intervention. But it has been slowly dawning on many that we are the ones we have been waiting for. We are receiving divine intervention. It is flowing through us in the form of k awakening.
Kundalini is an energy, an energy that we are obliged to utilize wisely. Not just for our own personal benefit. But for the survival of life on this planet in general, and the survival of our own species in particular. K is all about the proper use of desire.
At times it seemed that my energy was a thousand or even a million times more than it had ever been. But for some reason unbeknownst to me, it was being used to torment me. Or so it seemed until I got with the program. Shakti was talking to me but I was flailing around so much I couldn’t listen to her. I was reliving the horrors of past life memories and didn’t know it. I wallowed in confusion, self pity, pain, discomfort… However all those challenges were eventually resolved and I’ve become far more competent at managing anything the universe can throw at me. It is an exquisite exercise in using the energy of desire. It enables one to gain skill and dexterity in processing huge currents of energy through one’s entire being and consciousness. Shakti trains us to get used to it. How can this be anything but an upgrade in our evolution as a species?
Kundalini awakening, whether spontaneous or cultivated, in my opinion is a very precious gift. My sincere request to all readers of this thread is that you somehow find a way to utilize this energy in reversing the course of the planet. Maybe you will find your way to that higher dimension where we may be going. Perhaps you can show others the way. It sometimes looks like we are making a descent into hell. Let’s reverse that. Let’s make it Heaven on Earth. I’ve endeavored to show you how I reversed my own course from debilitating to exhilarating. Now it’s your turn. It would be very nice to hear about your experiences. May we all be enfolded in love 
edited for clarity
Hi parvati9,
I’ve been reading your thread and had a question. Did your K awakening begin spontaneously or did you use spiritual practices to awaken it?
Hi ak33
Thank you for your interest in the thread. It was a spontaneous awakening. I didn’t do anything (intentionally), it just happened. I believe the awakening began in 2000 but due to taking care of my dad, it was barely noticeable. Kind of like it was held in check. After he passed away, the k experience intensified. It’s been going strong about 4 years. Except the last 7 months which have been fairly smooth sailing. 
May we all be enfolded in love
parvati
Playing the cards we’ve been dealt
or not
In terms of hypersensitivity I’m an Ace of Hearts. But when that card is played it is frequently trumped by mean and rude players. So I’ve learned to hold my cards close, count trump, and wait to play my ace. That’s an effective strategy for avoiding unnecessary trauma and it also tends to make you a better player. But if it prevents truly knowing who you are - it may have to undergo serious revision. Sometimes even well meaning (albeit foolish) people who attempt flattery have thrown me off-balance, as well as those who try to bring me down a notch.
Judgment
Case in point. The kundalini awakening began after I had already been taking care of my dad a few years. But Shakti was gentle with me because I had a lot on my plate. In the beginning, I had very little energy for dealing with the difficult personal issues that a k awakening often brings up. Nevertheless Shakti didn’t waste an opportunity to elevate my awareness.
Equanimity is high priority conscious intent for me. So I’m very focused when I get thrown off balance or over react to a curve ball. This was the case when people would judge me for taking care of my dad. Because few people want to make the kind of self sacrifice involved in such an endeavor, they found me a bit odd for choosing to do so. Believe me I had my reasons but was disinclined to share them with mere acquaintances or perfect strangers. Even my close friends thought me a bit strange and would tell me to (I’m not kidding) - “get a life”.
When it first started happening, I could shrug it off fairly easily. However approximately 6 or 7 people called me a saint. And roughly the same number told me I was selfish, inconsiderate and doing a rather poor job of caring for my dad! This upset me - I found it unnerving, unnecessary and quite irritating. Why couldn’t they keep their mouths shut? And why pray tell could no one see the middle ground? No one who chose to comment was capable of seeing the reality of the situation or accurately judging the relationship with my father. If they were, they chose not to comment. As for the more vocal ones - I felt they had no right whatsoever to judge me - saint or sinner.
This started to really bother me and I began to withdraw further and further from people. It seemed like no one was seeing the situation for what it was. The reality was that I loved my dad and wanted to minimize his suffering any way I could. But I was no saint! Why would people say that? It was ridiculous. Okay, so one or two people maybe. But when the 3rd, 4th person told me that - I said what is this?? Just go away and leave me alone! And when people judged me as being a very bad daughter because I was doing my job so poorly - what right did they have to judge me? It was highly unlikely that these people would even consider caring for their parents as I was doing. I wanted them to leave me alone too!
Now here’s where my story gets interesting for those who are still reading. Shakti was gently nudging me to look at something. Of couse I didn’t want to. But she was very persistent. I began to see how I was judging other Christians, most of whom I either didn’t know or barely knew - as being narrow minded hypocrites. Was this fair? I had also been judging God. In fact I was furious with God for allowing all the suffering on this planet and for allowing so many lifeforms to go extinct.
So I was now able to fully experience what it feels like to be targeted by ignorant fools who know nothing about what they are judging. Hmmmm…And then it dawned on me. I myself was one of those ignorant fools. After that, it didn’t bother me so much when people would unrealistically flatter or ridicule me. I stopped feeling irritated by their judgment. I felt compassion for them. I felt compassion for myself. 
~ perhaps to be continued ~
Namaste. May we all be enfolded in love
Perhaps? 
I hope often.
I relate to so many of the feelings you share but I haven’t been through as much energy as you have. I keep forgetting to get one of those bi-metal bracelets but every time I see one I think of you and your sharing. I promise you have an avid follower here and probably a ton more in the forum.
Hi BillinL.A.
Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. Much appreciated.
We really don’t know a whole lot about k awakening. I don’t put faith in what the books say or in theories, assumptions, traditions etc. Only direct experience. Obviously it’s an intensely personal thing. Everyone is different and at this time, there aren’t many people willing to share their k experience. The critical symptoms I focused on might not be worth mentioning from another person’s perspective and experience.
Imo, the high voltage energy that many of us find difficult to deal with, may or may not be what it appears. I think what we are calling a k awakening is definitely analogous to a light bulb being switched on. A bulb that was previously off, and only had the potential to light up. It does seem that some bulbs are spiking in their brightness and others remaining relatively constant. But the significant variable is not the brightness. Or the fluctuations. Or the amount of energy passing through the bulb. The significant variable is that the light has been switched from off to on.
There will, of course, be an intensification of energy in the root chakra as kundalini prepares to uncoil and make her ascent. But if the increased energy happens in a gradual way, it can eventually become extremely intense and one may actually not have even noticed the series of adjustments that have been made. Therefore some people who are relatively advanced in their k awakening may be already adjusted to an extremely high level of energy flowing through them…and so they don’t pay much attention to it because they’re used to it 
I hope that makes some sense (not sure I explained it very well). May you be enfolded in love
parvati
Okay Bill, here’s my question regarding the bolded part: How do you know this to be true? What I’m suggesting is that you could have been through 10,000 times what I have (or more).
parv
Thanks Paravati9 for getting me to wonder about my own energy just in relation to myself and not others. I love to think that I may have already adjusted to a higher level of energy.
Maybe I’ve been through lots of energy in a previous life but I’m not where I want to be now. You’ve expressed the reasons why for me throughout your thread. You’ve shared about working through feelings of victimization, of feeling pain when you think of your Mother, of being intimidated or repulsed by others. I’m still working through all that crap.
Maybe my light bulbs turned on but the dimmer switch is turned to the candlelight setting.
Beautiful comment BillinL.A., thank you.
It takes time to sort out my muddled thinking regarding all this. The thread is an oversimplification of what has been happening to me. My experience has been challenging. I’ve had to lift myself up out of a pit of despair. None of it has been easy. It’s very complex. In my attempt to untangle it, I’ve tried to reduce it to the ‘lowest common denominator’. There will be errors in that type of approach. But it seemed to be the most effective for reaching others in despair over their k awakening - many of whom won’t know that it IS a k awakening.
This is very important:
We have no choice but to assess our energy in subjective terms i.e., relative to our own experience and not someone else’s. The benchmark is usually our perceived energy level prior to the k awakening.
(Your comments have enabled me to realize how vitally important that is)
Attitude is also very important
Would you consider the attitude with which you regard your k awakening? When you say “I’m not where I want to be now”…I think you are perhaps focusing on what you don’t want. Please consider focusing on what you do want. Such a shift in perspective can make all the difference in the world. Can completely turn around our experience from being a drag to being wonderful. Again that’s a bit of an oversimplification. But close.
May we all be enfolded in love
parvati
Attachment and Aversion
There are basically two types of desire or attachment. One is running toward. The other is running away from. What they both have in common is the running. Running is associated with speed and aggression.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is learning to abide in the present moment. It is about completely coming to a standstill. In other words - not running. Neither running towards nor running away from.
Vasanas
Vasanas are the collection of tendencies to continue as we have been. To continue with what has become habitual for us. Patterns. For example, when I thought of myself as a victim, certain neural pathways were traveled over and over again to reinforce how I perceived myself. Once my perspective shifted, I had to FORGE new neural pathways. This is now my preferred route.
However, there is still the tendency to use the old neural route or pathway. This is what a vasana is.
Vasanas don’t disappear overnight. They simply don’t. Through oversimplification I may have given the impression that everything is all hunky dory now. It isn’t. I still struggle with being a victim. But now I see it almost every time it happens. I say almost because I really don’t catch it every time. But most of the time I’m able to shift to the new neural pathway.
Focused intent revisited
In my case, the means by which this shift is accomplished is focused intent.
Breaking the pattern
We’ve all had experience with breaking a bad habit. When we are successful in doing so, we free ourselves from the shackles of that behavior. Usually it takes patience and perseverance to do so. As a child I used to bite my fingernails. But I gave it up a long time ago. This is a very simple example. When working with kundalini, it is a great deal more complex. But the basic principle is the same.
You got me there Parvati!
When I said “I’m not where I want to be now” I was for sure focusing on what I don’t want.
Thanks for so delicately suggesting that I “Please consider focusing on what you do want.” That’s huge in my consciousness trying to avoid the negative and so thinking about negative stuff too much. I’m counting on the AYP mantra (deep meditation) technique to give me a more detached perspective. Talking about it with you helps too.
And you sure didn’t represent that everything’s hunky dory.
The whole drama of you coping and growing with Spiritual energy is so real compared to the news of the day.
Especially real to me cuz I have similar problems and challenges that you express so much better than I do even to myself. So I get devotional complementing someone who shares the way you have and I may have put you on a pedestal a bit. So to cure that…
Parvati9 you really are kind of goodfy. But a sincere good kind of goofy and I like you!
You’re very welcome Bill.
There’s something about your posts that make me think you’ve been at this k awakening longer than I have. You probably have the enviable quality of being brutally honest with yourself. Possibly an indication of what Ramana calls earnestness. It’s the yardstick of success in one’s spiritual path according to him.
May we all be enfolded in love
Pleasure and pain
K awakening undoubtedly involves directly confronting every nuance of our desires, fears and irritations. Pleasure and pain, two sides of the same coin. Attachment (clinging) and aversion (rejecting). It is the nature of desire: what we want and what we want to avoid.
If we tend to obsess and dwell on things, it’s a good idea to learn to obsess about the things we want - as opposed to the things we don’t want. Better to get what we want than what we don’t want. However we need to use wisdom, discretion, and keep an appropriate perspective. The truth is that what we want can trip us up just as easily as what we don’t want. Nevertheless imo learning to create effective strategies for actualizing our goals is as essential on the spiritual path as it is in our mundane lives. Possibly more so.
Spiritual adepts usually suggest pursuing the middle path of detachment which is conducive to a life of peace and harmony. Mindfulness or present moment practice may help to create a solid foundation of peace in our lives. That’s why it was mentioned in a previous post.
Now to resume discussing the issue I had with people who found it necessary to judge me. We were mirroring each other. So when we see limitations in others, those are probably our own limitations we are projecting onto them. When I was running away from them I was really running away from myself. Not good. In a way these judgers were dismissing me, which pushed my buttons because I’m sensitve to being casually dismissed. However, as Shakti pointed out, I was doing exactly the same thing. Once I stopped over reacting…I could see something I had missed before.
Both those who thought I was super cool and those who thought I was super uncool had a problem with what I was doing. They had parents too. Parents who might have needed them. But they objected to what I was doing because to them it seemed that - I didn’t have a life. That’s what my (so-called) friends told me. So, in a way, I was an embarrassment to them. When I was able to view their comments in that light, of course, it caused an entirely different response in me.
And that’s how Shakti does it. She makes us look at our thoughts, feelings and actions in a new light. Things we formerly took for granted - we find we have to question if they are even relevant any more.
May we all be enfolded in love [OM]
Ego Expose
Continuing with the issue I had with false admirers and detractors. They were dismissing me; they wanted to pretend I was 1)spiritually exalted or 2)totally incompetent. By judging me unrealistically, inaccurately, superficially - they were able to serve and indulge their egos. Their intent wasn’t particularly to show disrespect or do me any diservice. (I’m fairly certain they didn’t realize I found their comments offensive and insulting.) Rather their unconscious intent was to prop up their egos. Clearly seeing how all of us were in ego mode has been my catharsis. Kundalini awakening requires a continual flow of catharsis, purging, purifying.
They both found a (sneaky) way to exempt themselves from the unglorious activity of caring for a needy parent. The way they did it was to rationalize either they didn’t make the grade spiritually and so could be excused from the activity - “It obviously requires a saintly type of person to take care of their parent, since I’m only a regular joe, that means I won’t be doing it…but it’s okay because I’m normal.”
OR they weren’t properly qualified, didn’t make the grade in training and could be exempted on those grounds - “It takes a trained qualified nurse or nurse aide to properly care for their parent, the average person is a miserable failure in providing adequate care, therefore if my parents need my help I will put them in a nursing home.”
I don’t have a problem with people putting their parents in a nursing home. It’s done all the time for substantial reasons. (But the average person prabably has hidden guilt issues when they place their parents in a nursing home and it’s human nature to want to rid oneself of that guilt.)
My problem was with them unfairly judging and dismissing me and making comments that were ignorant and uncalled for. Because I’m very sensitive, I just wanted to flee from them. But I too was engaged in propping up my ego. And it has proved instructive to see how that ego propping tactic was working out for all of us.
It suited me and my ego to assign a blanket label to all Christians in general. To be honest it was prejudiced and ignorant, albeit more or less socially sanctioned. Frankly it was beneath me to do so and I must have known on some level that I was fooling myself. Obviously one can’t assume it is an accurate assessment of every Christian in the world.
While I knew better, I continued to rationalize my disrespect because a lot of non-Christians think Christians are narrow minded hypocrites. I had found a way to exempt and excuse myself from doing the right thing. Which is to be fair and realize that every person is an individual and may or may not fit the label they are assigned. (considerably more complicated but that’s the gist of it)
There was a big problem with what I was doing. I am a Christian. It really isn’t right for non-Christians to make a one-size-fits-all judgment. But it was even more unhelpful and unwise for me to unfairly judge the very people most likely to be my dear and valuable friends. Obviously we have something supremely important in common. Our Ishta Devata (chosen deity) is the Lord Jesus. But I was pushing them away from me because of a very inappropriate (and stupid/superficial) kind of thinking.
It goes without saying I’m not stating facts at this stage. Rather I’m drawing conclusions based on indepth analysis of a personal experience and offering my opinion. The example being employed in this and previous posts - is perhaps homely and unappealing but nevertheless it will suffice to make a point.
The ego is unfathomably cunning. It behooves us to stay vigilant regarding its tactics…although sometimes we may need an emissary of the divine to disentangle ourselves from the tentacles and ensnarement of ego. One of ego’s strategic functions is to sabotage spiritual englightenment and occlude or obstruct our contact, connection, attunement, alignment, and ultimately our surrender in relationship to the Divine.
Imo it is impossible to surrender to the Divine when we have already capitulated to the ego, and thus allow it to regulate and control our behavior. In my opinion ego most certainly tries to replace or substitute for the Divine in our lives. The Bible says our god is a jealous god. The standard interpretation is that god is not particularly keen on sharing his reign with the counterfeit divine (a rebel called Satan but could refer to the ego just as well).
The power ego derives, it usually gets from tricking us. And the way it tricks us is by taking control of our mind. Ego is in rebellion against the Divine and ego uses the mind to exquisitely and skillfully manipulate our will.
Our will is essentially derived from spirit, from the Divine, whose nature is fire. Divine will is generally operating at a level far beyond, and above, mental comprehension. Kundalini, a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, is also fire. K awakening is what is referred to in the Bible as baptism by fire. Once you’ve been through a k awakening, you will see why the Bible calls it Baptism by Fire. Our will, when perfectly aligned with the divine, enables spiritual realization or liberation. You know, real freedom.
In the next section perhaps we will look at just how high maintenance the ego really is and the crucial role of managing our attention.
May we all be enfolded in love
(edited for clarity and reduced content)
Mindfulness
It was while I was taking care of my dad that I became acquainted with the practice of mindfulness through Thich Nhat Hanh. I think my k had begun to awaken but at the time it was a lovely gentle experience. Self inquiry (which I don’t regard as a spiritual practice but probably is) was on auto-pilot in the background and although it was working, it was a gradual thing.
The fast track was calling and I wanted something that would pole vault me into enlightenment. I also had been reading books by Eckhart Tolle and wanted to learn how to stay in the present moment. While mindfulness is a genuine spiritual practice, I usually don’t notice it anymore. Like inquiry, it is set to auto-pilot.
For a couple years I applied myself to learn mindfulness. One focuses their undivided attention on a single activity and keeps it there (no multi-tasking at first). So you can really apply it to a wide range of activity: washing dishes, doing exercise, changing the oil in your car, raking leaves, playing the flute, etc. The idea is to keep your mind on what you are doing and that’s it. With diligent practice, I found I could distinguish between when I was engaged in the present moment and when I was not.
My mind didn’t much care for mindfulness and didn’t know how to navigate present moment awareness. Meaning the way my mind (ego) was controling me was pretty much contingent on avoiding the present moment.
It seemed that my mind liked racing, it was a speed freak. Running toward pleasure, running away from pain. Didn’t matter as long as it was racing toward or away from something. My mind enjoyed reminiscing about the past and anticipating the future. Or making plans for the future inspired by conclusions based on the past. (Or reading. I like to read and one can remain in the present moment while reading but it’s not all that easy.)
Almost never the present moment. This seemed odd to me. Why would my mind hate being still? Why did it seem like an antsy child tugging at my skirts to do anything but mindfulness? The one exception was being in water. For some reason my mind enjoyed experiencing water and was content to allow me all the mindfulness practice I wanted as long as I was in water. It’s a mystery but I’m fairly certain it had something to do with my k awakening. Right from the get-go Shakti was urging me to use water therapeutically and showing me how water is very beneficial for calming and soothing the nervous system.
It is said that the mind makes a poor master but an excellent servant. From personal experience I can vouch for the truth of that statement. What I discovered was that the mind (or ego) is an energy hog, like a bloated software program on your computer. Whenever I was not in the present moment, my mind was extremely active inventing things that - upon further investigation - often proved to have no basis in reality whatsoever. Or otherwise proved to be worthless.
My mind, or rather ego, was usurping the majority of my energy. This is what I mean by high maintenance. And it was wasting my energy in futile and foolish pursuits! Once I found out about it, I didn’t feel I could trust my entire bank of energy to my ego. It’s kind of hard to keep a leash on your ego but at some point you really have to give it your best shot (imo).
This post has been about managing attention. Mindfulness practice is attention training. If you’re reading ak33, when you asked about spiritual practices I forgot about mindfulness (and self inquiry). But I didn’t use any practice to (intentionally) cultivate kundalini and I think that was what you were asking. However I would have mentioned mindfulness if I had remembered it. I highly recomment mindfulness practice to everyone.
May we all be enfolded in love
“If we tend to obsess and dwell on things, it’s a good idea to learn to obsess about the things we want - as opposed to the things we don’t want.”
…I really got to do this as I progress toward living in the present moment more and then through samayama and self-inquiry release the things I want into silence.
“The ego is unfathomably cunning.”
“What I discovered was that the mind (or ego) is an energy hog, like a bloated software program on your computer. Whenever I was not in the present moment, my mind was extremely active inventing things that - upon further investigation - often proved to have no basis in reality whatsoever. Or otherwise proved to be worthless.”
…This is some juicy stuff Parvati! And you accuse me of being brutally honest with myself…look at you!
Hi Bill
Thanks. Your input is appreciated. Earnestness, sincerity and sensitivity are my strong suits. Brutal honesty not so much. You long to be a brighter light. I long for brutal honesty. I’ve unraveled a few elaborate hoaxes that have been perpetrated upon myself, by myself. The more I unravel, the more I seem to create. Refuse to play victim anymore but my back is against the wall. There’s a whole lot I’m pissed off about. Not just the folks who burned me at the stake in a past life. And no, forgiveness is not complete there. I’ve barely started. Forgiving my mother was a cakewalk in comparison.
‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ Still working on that one.
May we all be enfolded in love