From: Tagi@cup.portal.com (Thyagi Morgoth NagaSiva)
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: tagi, kundalini, and AB's taciturnity
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 09:31:46 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
  <Nov.20.17.33.59.1992.25617@ruhets.rutgers.edu>

[Wow, my name in lights! ;>]

9211.21 e.v.


What has been said so far makes sense to me (even by Lorenzo! :>).
I've only recently begun assembling a comprehensive framework around
Kundalini/Chakra/Sex Magick with relation to structured systems.  My
own practice is completely unstructured and free.

There are some constants I keep seeing and I'll try to condense them
here...

1) Warnings - As has been said, there is usually some warning about
the dangers of awakening the Kundalini 'before one is ready'.  I used
to think that this was all charlatan-hype (and am inclined to assume
this until give reason to assume otherwise), but after some time thinking
about the connections between my own experiences and the practices
outlined, I'd have to agree with them.

The warnings are very important.  Why?  As mentioned previously in this
thread, the structured practices are like scientific means to coordinate
bodily energies.  If we are unused to handling this coordination (and
concentration) then we may find the result of our focus does not align
with our wishes.  I like to think of an infant with a hi-tech laser.
Unless the infant understands the laser and what it can do FIRST, then
she is likely to slice and dice hirself. ;>

Also, it is important to note that just because these fast ways of practice
are dangerous doesn't make them untouchable.  Warnings are simply that -
WARNINGS.  The problem arises when I (or anyone else) decides FOR ANOTHER
what is 'correct' to learn/experiment with.  This is the real problem in
the field of sex magick and Kundalini - politics and secrecy for the sake
of 'helping others'.  I say make the laser available to all and give
adequate warnings.  The experimenter population will keep its numbers to
a reasonable size (what with attrition and the like :>).  Some of the
most powerful mages are those who 'pushed the envelope' despite the odds
and took the chances that most of us would rather avoid (reasonably!).

Our attempts to parent and shield others only result in their disintegration 
and decay, because some people are meant for that type of life (I have 
flirted with it myself on occasion).


2) Techiniques - There are usually techiques offered which will align these
energies and 'purify the chakras' to such an extent that prana/chi/jello
flows through them at will (and this is the real danger).  Energy flowing
through our centers according to an undisciplined will may lead to an
early self-destruction.  This is the reason for all the hoops and ladders
required of students of tantra yoga.  It is a preventative measure which
could easily be lifted, presenting a danger to the student.  If the
student is the one opting for this danger (knowingly?), then the really
wise teacher will give them free reign, in my opinion.  We cannot know
what is the right path for others, and in assuming we do, we set ourselves
up as their gods (silly us!).


3) Descriptions - There is often a complex theoretical (and sometimes
ethical/moral) system attached to these techniques.  It varies based
upon the background, preferences and hang-ups of the guru/rabbi/teacher.
I think that none is superior in any absolute sense, but we might find
some that resonate more deeply with us and for us they are superior.


4) Superstition - In almost all Kundalini information there is some schlock,
put out by hucksters, designed to disempower and to parasite energies (very
often toward society or toward the individual who generates it).  The trick
is to distinguish the schlock from the superb.  There are a number of very
effective ways to do this.

a) Find a teacher you can trust and listen to alot of what they say.  This
works if you have a good sense of people and can 'take it like a baby bird'
(i.e. you do not require that you are the 'discoverer').

b) Learn as much as you can about ALL the systems and then place them in
parallel, eliminating the chaff as schlock.  I've found that this works
very well for me.

c) Pick a system and see how it feels to you.  Take it as far as you can
and then pick another...and another...until you're done (if ever).  This
works for those who like the 'doing' method of learning.

d) Don't bother.  It isn't worth your time.  This is true for most who
dream of 'seeing the Snake through the Gate of Wisdom'.



LAST NOTE:

I actually know very little detail regarding Kundalini and chakra-work.
I'm not a specialist, as I said.  I like to intellectualize these ordered
forms and see how they relate to my own practice.  I have not said what
my practice is, however, so I'll say a few words here...


As I see it there are two major activities one can engage in the process
of release.  One is to rigidly adhere to structure and then learn to tell
which direction to go by how favorably one's results compares to the
structure goal.  The other is to abandon structure and flow with life
directly, watching for signs regarding direction and following one's
Heart or intuition.

With regard to the chakras, I find that my activities awaken these centers
naturally and that they open and close more and more often, when I'm ready,
without my having to consciously focus on them and or force them.  This
is as a result of releasing certainty, coming to know my feelings, being
very open to others and how they are feeling, and learning to sit with
all forms of idea/emotion/act which occurs to or near me.  

I'm reminded of Siddhartha of Hesse's novel, who plays with tradition for
awhile and then abandons it to swim in the energies that are life, not
judging wrong or right, not saying yes or no.  He just goes WITH it for a
bit and then comes to see the parallels amongst all phenomena.  In this
story, his friend, (Ananda I think his name was), takes the Buddhist
path of structure and sangha.  I'd compare these systems like AB and
Hinduism and such with Ananda's approach.  My own is more along the
lines of Siddhartha, and Crowley. ;>  Egotism isn't bad, it's just
different.  Neither the path of denial nor of indulgence will secure
the Middle Way, in my experience.

Thyagi