ShaktiMama

Excellent point. My kundalini woke up before reiki initiation was given to me. For me, Reiki is a very,very mild energy. My body is used to handling much higher voltage and is able to modulate the input and output. Vajrasattva still finds it beneficial to use with people. It is helpfull in quieting kundalini symptoms. I was once with a dear friend speaking at a meeting. He is long time xing yi practitioner and teacher. He was also a close associate of Dr. Glenn Morris. A female reiki master and participant asked us what was so special about kundalini energy versus reiki energy. My friend gave her a taste of the kundalini energy and she began shaking like a leaf in the wind. Her body was relatively cleaned out energetically from her reiki practice but wasn't accustomed to running higher energies. I find this true of most yoga participants and those who practice qigong without the understanding of what energy truly is. They tend to be much easier to light up because their channels have been cleaned out with their practice. s

It just showed up when my kundalini awoke. It is one of my favorite colors and lapis is one of my favorite jewels. hugs, s

ahem....that's space cadet to my friends, guys. It explains why I am losing the ability to differentiate verb tenses and other grammatical stuff. The more I vanish into the void the worse my English writing and speaking skills get. I keep fussing over verb tenses and agreements when I write. "is that a future thing or past or present or....?" Daily concerns of people of the ordinary world are becoming puzzling. I imagine this is part of the kundalini road. I have started to become viscerally aware of timelessness. I used to have flashes of it but now it is almost coming into constant awareness. It leaves me....amused. Shakti blue kisses, s

I am not a master nor have I ever claimed to be. Some think I am but I am not. There are many out there who have demonstrated more mastery than myself and do not claim to be masters. Spending a weekend with Jenny Lamb reaffirmed that for me. s

Woo Hoo! on a side note...i apologize for not making some of the skype practice and study group you are having...i am busier than a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin chairs as they say in the south. I keep you all close in my thoughts and in my heart. Blessings s

Do I even say this without risking the hounds coming out? I was telling Santiago Dobles on the phone Saturday night, who is the director of KAP, that there are a lot of similarities between the two systems. If you have done both you will see them. Some of the similarities are of basic moves like standing stake or bringing down the heavens. Some are not basic moves but are in both systems. The good teachers that go teach will tell you about the meridians that are affected and so forth. The really good ones will tell you about the esoteric side of the form. The excellent ones draw you into their energy field and impart Divine Wisdom in very subtle ways. What makes a big difference is who is the teacher, how they relate to ALL THAT IS, and how much juice they carry. Both Santiago and Jenny both say, Learn one system really well. Jenny says if you learn one system really well there is no real need to go learn another (if enlightenment is your goal). She calls people who do that spiritual shoppers. Santiago, myself, and Dr. Glenn Morris would say go out and keep learning. Keep what you need and don't spit on the rest. You would be very industrious to do that many hours of qigong in a day. I once made a similar comment to Sifu Bernard Shannon, who is the head of the International Medical Qigong Institute in Palm Valley. He had taken a group of us to Beijing to study for a couple of weeks with Master Duan Zhi Liang. Which one do I practice of the several systems that I know? He said alternate systems. Like do one form on Mon Wed Friday and then the other system on the other days. Hope that helps. s

I just finished a weekend with her in her home. She lives about 30 miles from me. She is a treasure. She is full of life, laughs easily, and has a big smile. Loves jokes. She radiates a pure, refined energy. She says it's not from her but from the Divine who is with her always. I recently said this to my friends and students: "Training with Jenny Lamb was a wonderful experience. Great teacher and such a shining pure light. I am so sore. She really worked us. I will be going back. It is not just the forms that are great it is the presence of a great, divinely inspired teacher that makes it an excellent experience. Jenny says she doesn't give transmission but being in her presence is transmission." Jenny told us that her gigong was to develop a pure spirit and for spiritual developement. The health benefits are secondary. She said that everything you need to know for enlightenment is in this class. I can not recommend her highly enough. She has a wonderful husband and an incredibly intelligent dog whom I call guru Lucy. It was snowing hard one day and she and her husband made lunch and tea for us because the snow was so deep on the roads. There were only four people in my class. If you go, make sure you go with an empty cup. In other words, shut up and train. She is unique. Jenny says she will not be teaching any more gigong seminars. She almost canceled the one I was just in. If you watch her DVD and practice you can apply to take some of her retreats. She says she is looking for ten good people to train as healers. She does not certify people to teach her qigong. So if you want to train with her sign up soon because she is inclined to cancel. She is going through a major shift in her life and only wants to work as a healer and train healers from now on. She is done with the martial arts period of her life. Shaktimama PS. Jenny was *emphatic* that she and Max does not teach the same thing. No, I didn't question her about it. She says enough about that issue on her website in the FAQs. Don't waste hers and your time asking about it. I did want to add that she now considers herself a Buddhist and not a Taoist.

First I would like to say this thread is an example of TTBs at their finest. What thoughtful, kind responses. Secondly, I do the same thing. What you can do is just put it out there and see what kind of response you get. I have done that and sometimes get an ass whupping because of it. Lessons learned. A lot of times I don't get beat on. Thirdly, you can save a draft and come back to it in a couple of days. Sometimes the issue resolves its self I have found. Fourth, sometimes you just got to let it fly. We all have our bad hair days. Those of us who are thoughtful will see that. The rest of the commenters just ignore. (hard to do,I know). Fifth: (!) some of those alter subcharacters (archetypes) in our life do have our best interests at heart (usually survival) but are unrefined in approach. It takes a while to develop the healthy inner adult to modulate those other voices. I find I just say to those "voices": thanks for your concern but please sit in the corner while I take care of this. Sounds like you are taking the right steps to develop your Inner Adult. Susan

Offered for your consideration. Right Bucks.pdf

I come across Chinese dragons (the ones with the frills around the face) often. They are common among the kundalites. When I was in the UK teaching a few years back I was privileged to have a gentleman on my table for a session who had one of the most powerful dragons I have seen and felt come roaring out of the top of his head. Definately frilled, a bluish steel gray. It's energy was strong and palpable and almost pushed me off my chair. I will never forget that. The gentleman was pretty ill at the time. I find the frilled kind more than the European looking types. The Chinese type are more associated with majestic, godly qualities. The Japanese and European ones not so much. Dr. Glenn Morris and I were talking one day about the Japanese dragon. They are more considered to be greedy and of lower character because of their habit of hoarding treasures. He told me to look out for people in the Japanese martial arts who had some kind of dragon in their name that was given to them by their Japanese Sensei or Soke. It was particularly given to Westerners who were too proud and arrogant. It was an inside joke in the leadership because giving one of them a name like the Gold Dragon was indicative of what the leaders really thought of this person but conversely the person thought it was a badge of great honor. It's definately a political move. My own dragon is an irridescent sparkling black and is a hybrid of a cobra and a chinese dragon. He morphs back and forth between the forms. He has a name and he is seen around me by others. I would suggest if a dragon appears to you it's time to make their acquaintance on a more personal level. s

That is what all the KAP teachers do. We all have main ways of earning a living other than teaching KAP. I am a nurse, Santi is a music producer and session guitarist who is under contract to Nickelodeon right now, Tao teaches yoga, Dr. Morris was a university professor, a couple others work for Nissan, another is a teacher in public school I think, another is an officer in the Air Force.... I would love to be teaching full time but I am dependent on a steady paycheck in the regular world to keep from living on the streets. Maybe someday. s

and pay rent, and car insurance and car payments, airplane tickets, publication expenses, rental hall expenses, a million incidental expenses like child care and help those who cant pay...and on and on and on.... s

Hudun? Could you point me to where I could read those kick ass answers to this? thanks, s

It didnt take long, did it? That's why I pretty much refrain from commenting. If people want to know Ken's professional qualifications: http://www.kenwilber.com/professional/landing/index.html s

Hi Kate, Just to stimulate conversation; find out what people might think. Also to place as a resource. I don't think it was a justification. It was written in 2006 and he had been around long enough to get over any unease or conflict he may have had about charging for tuition and time. More than likely he was answering some questions posed by people who have difficulties resolving this issue or wonder why it is even an issue. I wasnt there but Ken and the Integral crowd are very popular in my area (he lives in downtown Denver or he did until recently,) so based on our shared acquaintances I do know it is out of character for him to be justifying anything he does.

I really wanted to know what people think about it. I wanted to see what kind of discussion it might initiate. This is issue comes up now and then on the bums. I also thought it would be a nice reference to put in the archives if people wanted to ponder this more deeply. I thought it was illuminating to view where the idea of non payment for spiritual teachers began or became institutionalized. Ken's been around for at least 20 years and is quite popular because of his views. He also has many haters. He is an interesting, knowledgeable fellow and has had quite the impact in modern times with his Intergral Theory. He is polarizing and irreverent. I appreciate people who are iconoclastic and not afraid to look closely at our sacred cows. Wilbur isn't justifying at all IMO. That's not what I saw. You can read more about him on his blog. The pdf is actually more of a podcast that I downloaded to listen from Itunes but it came in this pdf form for some reason instead.

Pulsing is not necessarily a bad thing. In the first ten years or so in my practice there was a lot of pulsing while my body harmonized and healed itself. It never hurt although it could be quite forceful, like intense pounding. When the dysfunctional comes in harmony with the healthy parts the pulsing diminished and disappears into constant flow like when the rapids have become the flowing river. And yes, I always felt better afterwards even blissed out. So I use energy in a non-directed way for healing versus the directed way from years ago. This means I let my hands be drawn to the area that needs harmonizing and my hands will begin to pulse with chi flow. First, usually rapid and intense, then as time goes it softens and stops. That's when I know I can pull my hands away. Speaking from my own experiences, s

Nice advice. NEVER FORCE chi. Energy does not flow through tension. There is a reason energy flow does not happen in that kind of spot. Is there bone pinching, muscular cramping, muscle memory of trauma, energy block? Take care of that first. Chi flow stoppage is a message to slow down. The results of forcing chi thru the head, those that I know of personally or relayed to me by those who are knowledgeable are headache or chi head, chi derangement, hair loss (BALDNESS!), vertigo, burns, mental instability which can be as extreme as psychosis. play safely, s

Snakes, snake imagery, dragons, all played a huge part in the process of my kundalini awakening. Visions of snakes proceeded each new energy burst of kundalini to take me to another level. The whole process can be enjoyed. I used to say my life became more fascinating after the kundalini awoke because I felt like I was playing in an incredibly beautiful and strange fantasy, sci fi movie...except it wasn't acting. Regardless of the warnings and the karmic theory involved explained in the unfolding it still is one of the most precious moments in my life. Because of the k awakening I no longer fear death. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am more than this body, this mind, this existence, this consciousness. Not in an intellectual understanding but one that developed because of an empirical involvement in my own transformation. s

You are welcome.

My kundalini has been awake since 1991 and by 1998-97 it had become fully complete in its circuit from from my feet, all the way up my back, through the top of the head, and all the way back down the to the feet. It circulates and fills up my body all the time. I can feel it radiating from deep within my bones. Although it became complete I was really just an infant and the rest of my life has been in learning how to live with Kundalini Shakti and to be of service to the world. The earth energy is very important...extremely so IMO...to a kundalite. Our bodies are a nexus point between heaven and earth. Maturely developed kundalites will run energy between heaven and earth and back again subconsciously and continually. They will also radiate that energy out from their center out like an expanding sphere. Our bodies are crucibles of alchemy. It is forever transforming itself from immaterial to material and back again. Like water which rises from the earth as dew and steam to condense in the heavens and fall back to earth again as water to continually recycle itself. Adding earth and sky energy ups the intensity and the power that we have as alchemists. We (Kundalites)call that energy that arises out of the ground the Earth's Kundalini. We teach our students to access this in their practice for keeping strong and grounded. Some will differ or disagree in the wording with me. The earth has its own meridians (lay lines)and central core that is connected to us just like the heavens do. It is possible to cultivate that connection until it becomes a part of your own energy system. You can work with the chakra below your feet that is always rooted in the earth to strengthen this connection consciously. You can learn to modulate the intensity that flows out of the earth so you don't get shocked or knocked over. That is part of the "rewiring" of the energy system that occurs so you can carry higher and higher voltage when kundalini starts to work in our bodies. The current in your body wants to be connected to the current in the earth and the current in the heavens. For some, when k is activated, their left big toe gets a burn mark where the energy enters the body and begins its ascent toward the heavens transforming the body as it moves. Some have burn marks, like I did on my body, where the energy surfaced along the skin. This is why it is so important to stay hydrated during this process and grounded. Personally, I have had my spine straighten out and adjusted when the connection of energies is made between heaven and earth. It will pull me taught like a string. I find that my students will naturally start to stand straighter and with better posture. Hope this helps some. I am just speaking from my own experiences and the experiences of my students. Susan

I think you have some very good advice here...some gentle and some not so gentle but still good advice. A teacher said to me, years ago, when you practice, practice perfect, not just practice, practice, practice. It is perfect practice, perfect practice, perfect practice. The more I learn the more I realize I still have so much more to learn. In Dr. Johnson's school, we were told not to teach qigong until at least a minimum of 3 years of daily practice and to be authorized by a teacher. Here's one of the places I learned. You might check it out. Some times they will come to your area and train people if there is enough interest. You will get good, solid foundational basics from them. These people are masters. http://www.medicalqigong.org/ Good luck, Susan