Kundalini and "no self"

[de_paradise]

One of the most important lessons of a continuous Kundalini awakening, with all the unpleasant and weird energetic effects is that "you are not really in control" of your body, emotional states, proclivities, etc. The ego really hates this, it wants you to know that its static version of you is under control, and that any Kundalini weird stuff is akin to a temporary sickness. But in Kundalini, you are constantly reminded that you have no control, you are not doing it, its changing you, somehow slowly your personality is changing. One can fight this (wah, I want to be a rich entrepreneur), not some lame ass kundalini guy who stares at trees) , or go even deeper towards a more important message:

 

 

There is no inherent self, or, there is no self that exists on its own independently, or, the static, isolated self is an illusion. We are a sum of all of the parts, causes, conditions, interactions. Clearly the Kundalini energy effects are not part of the self we consider to be the self: and yet there is no denying that they are there. You have to take into account that you are part of an energetic world and that these forces are working through you. You have to admit, and even contemplate that yes there is a self, but it's not the inherent self you thought. Energetically you are simply part of a landscape. There's a sense of you'ness being in control, and at the same time not.

 

If, instead of going into the self-pitying ego, when we are feeling heavy Kundalini effects, we can use it to make progress by contemplating how we are not separate, there is no inherent self that is apart from the Kundalini. There is a larger field of consciousness, and you are simply a part of it, like a blade of grass in a field. It is not some weird outside force, nor is it some weird little tree growing inside you from the base of your sacrum. It is the field of consciousness reminding your ego "small self" that you are field of consciousness too. It is the real you and you can love it. You can actually surrender to the idea that there is no you existing on its own. Buddhists contemplate this by using logic, but Kundalini people get this lesson for "free" in the form of weird energetic effects. Only to use this free lesson, one needs to contemplate non-separateness, and "no independent self apart from the vast conscious energy fields", and not just compartmentalize or ignore the effects.

[mike 134]

Nice essay, but I beg to differ. I myself control me, not something called kundalini. I have desires that are my own, not anybody or anything else's. I have free will. I can do whatever I want and when I want, even if it is morally objectionable or even illegal.

 

 

wah, I want to be a rich entrepreneur

 

I'm an entrepreneur on the side, but I'm not rich just yet

[juliank]

The contemplation of non separateness is easy. It's being a living expression of non-separateness that is the trick that is most difficult to sustain off the mat, out of the retreat, and in the day to day of life. i think that may have been the main motivation for starting my other thread about Ego. Namely, what way of navigating Ego's claims upon the self proves more fruitful for being that living expression of non separateness and not just the contemplation of it.

[de_paradise]

Ha, it seems we are thinking on and practicing similar stuff, which is why I posted my thoughts on your other thread. I think the fruitfulness of non-ego behavior in society, living expression, becomes more obvious in compassion practices ( assume you are on a path to become a Buddha) where the self-cherishing mind is deliberately dropped and worked with and the expression of love and compassion deliberatly increased, leading to: stable mindedness and a state where a feeling of connected, non-seperation awareness. That blissful connected state is the fruit of the compassion practice, the release of the self-cherishing mind, but the compassion practices have the pre-requisite of working with and resolving attachments.

 

I wouldnt disagree with your statement on kundalini not being you or your choices, (although in my case its more obviously so) but one can use the disagreeable k sensations as a lever into a sense of one-ness is using something negative and possibly turning it into a super positive. As part my arguement is that there is no inherent seperate self, I am putting us into a logical box anyway. So you could say that they were your decisions and your kundalini, but at the same time there is no separate you to have decisions and kundalini.

 

I chose the wanting to be rich example as this has been by far my biggest attachment and obstacle to the path. It was this fear based thing I have had my whole life, even as a child. Not all people have this issue, but I find alot of men are programmed to be the "success stories."

Edited December 3, 2013 by de_paradise

[de_paradise]

Buried in the Buddhist jargon of my post is actually a method, simply: Identify oneself with the Kundalini energy and what it represents (cosmic, evolution, intelligence, all pervasive, all connecting), using the term Kundalini instead of Buddha-nature or God, instead of identifying with the small static "ego self" People with Kundalini symptoms are constantly reminded of Kundalini in kriyas, energy surges, tickles, weird things. Use the reminders to identify with the one-ness rather than as pesky annoyances to the the small self. See oneself as an energetic being part of an evolving energetic landscape, and see other people also as parts of the same energetic landscape, and the Kundalini potential in them, rather than their separate ego selves.