Note: For the complete lessons, see the AYP Books.

Lesson 54 - Kundalini – A code word for sex

From: Yogani
Date: Mon Dec 22, 2003 2:02pm

New Members: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the
archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first
lesson is, "Why This Discussion?"


"Kundalini" has become a buzzword in many of the innumerable
spiritual communities that span the globe these days. It has within
it all the elements that attract people – knowledge, power, mystery,
intimacy, excitement, alchemy, romance, adventure, danger, ecstasy,
and more. But what is kundalini, really?

Put simply, kundalini is our connection between sex and spiritual
transformation. There are a thousand ways to describe this, but in
the end it boils down to the expansion of our sexual function into
the spiritual arena, i.e., upward through our nervous system. Some
say it is a "transformation" of sexual function, but that implies we
are leaving our current sex life behind. "Expansion" of sexual
function is a better description. As we consciously encourage the
spiritual dimension of sex, maybe we will leave worldly sex behind,
and maybe we won't. It is not for anyone to decide but us. It is our
choice. Leaving sex behind is not a prerequisite for entering into
advanced spiritual experience, not in these lessons, and not in life.

For thousands of years, the spiritual traditions of the world have
tried to keep a lid on sex, usually to the detriment of their
adherents, and sometimes with disastrous results. Why? Because sex is
the greatest force in humanity. If it is not coaxed in a productive
direction, it can be destructive. Lacking reliable means to enable
sex for spiritual transformation, the tendency of spiritual
traditions has been to try and squelch it. It is a fruitless
endeavor, this attempt to squelch. The genie always finds her way out
of the bottle. It is not possible to keep her in there for long. When
she is not coming out to make babies, she is expressing in every
other way through humanity – nurturing of the family, money
gathering, the arts, philosophy, science, politics, empire building,
charity, war, abuse, crime. You name it. Much of it is good. Some of
it is horrible. For better or worse, it is all the expression of the
life force in human beings, the expression of human prana. The great
storehouse of prana in human beings is in the sexual anatomy. The key
to spiritually managing sex is not in squelching it, but in giving it
a natural channel to go in that will satisfy its evolutionary
instincts. This takes some conscious doing. We need some more levers
in the form of advanced yoga practices to facilitate the expansion of
sex in a new and natural direction.

So far, we have skirted the issue of sex in these lessons. We have
mentioned the "huge storehouse of prana" near the base of the spine.
We have talked about prana being "drawn up from the pelvic region"
during pranayama. We have described the beginnings of ecstatic
experience as prana moves through the spinal nerve and spreads out
through us. And we have talked about pure bliss consciousness brought
up in meditation illuminating us with pure joy from the inside
through our pranayama-cultivated nervous system. In all this we have
skirted the word "sex." We could continue to skirt it as we move into
advanced yoga practices that directly stimulate our sexual function
upward into greater manifestation in the process of spiritual
transformation. But of what benefit would this continued skirting of
the issue be? Certainly not to your benefit.

We live in a highly scientific age. Above all, we want to know the
truth of things, so we can apply it to better our lives, and the
lives of others.

Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free."

Don't we know it? Look what science (the systematic application of
truth) has done for us in just about every field of human endeavor.
It is spectacular what humanity has done with truth so far. We have
lagged miserably in only one area – the systematic application of the
spiritual truth inherent in our nervous system. Success in applying
spiritual truth immediately addresses the ethical and moral problems
of the world, and the widespread feelings of emptiness and insecurity
that affect so many of us, even as we live in material comfort. The
stakes are high, and we can't afford to skirt anything that has to do
with applying spiritual knowledge in reliable ways.

So, will we be talking about sexual energy in relation to spiritual
development? You bet. A lot is riding on it. We will do so in a
dignified way. Consider it to be an extension of your original
education about the birds and the bees. Now it will be about the
birds, the bees, and the angels. Along those lines. As we get into
it, there will be some amazing surprises. It is like entering a
second puberty.

There is much more to be said about kundalini and the expansion of
sexual functioning -- about the inner dynamics of it. We will get
into that as we review direct experiences. For now, let's focus on
letting that genie out of her bottle in a direction she naturally
loves to go in, up into our pranayama-cultivated nervous system. It
is her home, her temple. There is so much for her to do there, and we
will give her lots of help. Besides wanting to give us a good
housecleaning, she is looking for her lover there, and we will bring
her groom to her. We'd better. She will raise all kinds of hell if we
don't. We will talk about that too.

We are speaking in simple metaphors here about a process that is
embedded in our nervous systems, an evolutionary process that is
completely natural. As we do a few specific things in our daily
practice, nature will take over. The metaphorical language of
kundalini is about nothing other than the inner dynamics of your own
nervous system. So it is with the metaphorical language of every
spiritual tradition. It is always about the human nervous system. The
nervous system is the common link, the one thing that transcends all
differences, the one thing that gives everyone equal access to the
divine, regardless of race, religion, culture, upbringing, or station in life.

Everyone can sense the truth inside, how special each of us is. We
are always on the edge of knowing who and what we are. It is so
close, a part of us, but seemingly just out of reach. No more. If you
really want to you can know the truth and be set free, just like
Jesus said. The essential ingredient in this is your desire. You can
open your gateway to the infinite if you choose to.

The guru is in you.

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