WEBVTT 00:00:03.310 --> 00:00:07.740 Prior to the dawn of Western civilization and written language 00:00:07.740 --> 00:00:13.940 science and spirituality were not two separate things. 00:00:13.940 --> 00:00:16.840 In the teachings of the great ancient traditions 00:00:16.840 --> 00:00:19.779 the outer search for knowledge and certainty was balanced 00:00:19.779 --> 00:00:21.869 by an inner feeling of impermanence 00:00:21.869 --> 00:00:27.119 and intuitive understanding of the spiral of change. 00:00:27.119 --> 00:00:31.490 As scientific thinking became more dominant and information multiplied, 00:00:31.490 --> 00:00:36.000 fragmentation began to occur within our knowledge systems. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.230 Increased specialization meant that fewer people 00:00:38.230 --> 00:00:40.950 were capable of seeing the big picture, 00:00:40.950 --> 00:00:45.430 of feeling and intuiting the aesthetic of the system as a whole. 00:00:45.430 --> 00:00:52.430 No one was asking, "is all this thinking good for us?" 00:00:57.220 --> 00:01:01.420 The ancient knowledge is here in our midst, hidden in plain view. 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:06.850 But we are too preoccupied with our thoughts to recognize it. 00:01:06.850 --> 00:01:10.090 This forgotten wisdom is way to restore the balance 00:01:10.090 --> 00:01:14.539 between the inner and the outer. 00:01:14.539 --> 00:01:14.789 Yin and yang. 00:01:14.789 --> 00:01:21.789 Between the spiral of change and the stillness at our core. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:59.159 In Greek legend, Asclepius was the son of Apollo and the god of healing. 00:01:59.509 --> 00:02:02.909 His wisdom and skills for healing were unsurpassed 00:02:02.909 --> 00:02:09.909 and he is said to have discovered the secret to life and death itself. 00:02:10.490 --> 00:02:13.290 In ancient Greece the Asclepian healing temples 00:02:13.290 --> 00:02:16.290 recognized the power of the primordial spiral 00:02:16.290 --> 00:02:21.360 Which is symbolized by the rod of Asclepius. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:26.150 Hippocrates, the father of medicine, 00:02:26.150 --> 00:02:27.860 whose oath still forms the moral 00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:30.510 code of the medical profession is said to have 00:02:30.510 --> 00:02:33.950 received his training at an Asclepian temple. 00:02:33.950 --> 00:02:37.390 To this day, this symbol of our evolutionary energy 00:02:37.390 --> 00:02:40.310 remains as the logo of the American Medical Association 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:47.310 and other medical organizations worldwide. 00:02:48.540 --> 00:02:51.840 In Egyptian iconography, the snake and bird represent 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:58.840 the duality or polarity of human nature. 00:03:02.079 --> 00:03:07.030 The snake, the downward direction, is the manifested spiral, 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:13.680 the evolutionary energy of the world. 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:17.500 The bird is the upward direction; the upward current oriented 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:21.519 towards the sun or awakened single-pointed consciousness; 00:03:21.519 --> 00:03:28.519 the emptiness of Akasha. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.579 Pharaohs and gods are depicted with awakened energy 00:03:36.579 --> 00:03:40.280 whereby the Kundalini snake moves up the spine and pierces 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:47.280 "Ajna chakra" between the eyes. 00:03:48.980 --> 00:03:52.950 This is referred to as the eye of Horus. 00:03:52.950 --> 00:03:58.200 In the Hindu tradition the bindi is also representative of the third eye; 00:03:58.200 --> 00:04:05.200 the divine connection to spirit. 00:04:07.930 --> 00:04:10.560 King Tutankhamen’s mask is a classic example 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:17.560 showing both the snake and bird motifs. 00:04:19.010 --> 00:04:24.539 The Mayan and Aztec traditions combine the serpent and bird motif into one god. 00:04:24.539 --> 00:04:27.050 Quetzalcoatl or Kukulkan. 00:04:27.050 --> 00:04:30.740 The plumed serpent god represents the awakened evolutionary 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:34.650 consciousness or awakened Kundalini. 00:04:34.650 --> 00:04:37.919 The person who awakens Quetzalcoatl within themselves 00:04:37.919 --> 00:04:41.800 is a living manifestation of the divine. 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:46.389 It is said that Quetzalcoatl, or serpent energy, 00:04:46.389 --> 00:04:53.389 shall return at the end of time. 00:05:01.400 --> 00:05:06.330 The snake and bird symbols can be found within Christianity as well. 00:05:06.330 --> 00:05:08.630 Their true meaning may be more deeply encrypted 00:05:08.630 --> 00:05:14.310 but the meaning is the same as in other ancient traditions. 00:05:14.310 --> 00:05:19.270 In Christianity, the bird or dove often seen above Christ's head 00:05:19.270 --> 00:05:23.580 represents Holy Spirit or Kundalini Shakti 00:05:23.580 --> 00:05:29.110 as it rises to the sixth chakra and beyond. 00:05:29.110 --> 00:05:36.110 The Christian mystics called Kundalini by another name; Holy Spirit. 00:05:38.610 --> 00:05:45.330 In John 3:12 it says, "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 00:05:45.330 --> 00:05:51.120 so must the son of man be lifted up." 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:56.060 Jesus and Moses awakened their Kundalini energy, bringing awakened consciousness 00:05:56.060 --> 00:06:03.060 to the unconscious reptilian forces that drive human craving. 00:06:03.370 --> 00:06:05.900 Jesus was said to have spent forty days and forty nights 00:06:05.900 --> 00:06:12.550 in the desert, during which time he was tempted by Satan. 00:06:12.550 --> 00:06:18.470 Similarly, the Buddha was tempted by "Mara" as he sat to reach 00:06:18.470 --> 00:06:25.470 enlightenment under the bodhi tree, or wisdom tree. 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:30.750 Both Christ and Buddha had to turn away from the lure of sensory 00:06:30.750 --> 00:06:37.750 pleasures and worldly grasping. 00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:45.069 In each story, the demon is the personification of one's own attachments. 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:06.409 If we read the Adam and Eve story in the light of the Vedic and Egyptian traditions 00:07:06.409 --> 00:07:11.180 we find that the serpent guarding the tree of life is Kundalini. 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:16.340 The apple represents the lure and temptation of the external sensory world, 00:07:16.340 --> 00:07:19.199 distracting us from the knowledge of the inner world, 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:26.199 the tree of knowledge within. 00:07:33.620 --> 00:07:38.530 The tree is simply the network of Nadis or energy meridians within ourselves, 00:07:38.530 --> 00:07:45.330 which literally form tree-like structures throughout the body. 00:07:45.330 --> 00:07:48.470 In our egoic quest for external gratification 00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:52.720 we have cut ourselves off from the knowledge of the inner world, 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:59.720 our connection to Akasha and the wisdom source. 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:09.759 Many of the world's historical myths about dragons 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.120 can be read as metaphors for the inner energies 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:15.560 of the cultures in which they are embedded. 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:22.560 In China, the dragon is still a sacred symbol representing happiness. 00:08:24.189 --> 00:08:27.620 Like the Egyptian pharaohs, ancient Chinese emperors 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:30.819 who had awakened their evolutionary energies 00:08:30.819 --> 00:08:36.169 were represented by the winged snake, or dragon. 00:08:36.169 --> 00:08:40.578 The royal totem of the Jade Emperor or Celestial Emperor 00:08:40.578 --> 00:08:46.110 shows a balance similar to Ida and Pingala. 00:08:46.110 --> 00:08:50.200 The yin and yang of Taoism, awakening the pineal center 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:57.200 or in what in Taoism is called the Upper Dantien. 00:09:06.829 --> 00:09:08.640 Nature is full of different light detection 00:09:08.640 --> 00:09:11.220 and assimilation mechanisms. 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:15.880 For example, a sea urchin can actually see with its spiky body 00:09:15.880 --> 00:09:19.930 which acts as one big eye. 00:09:19.930 --> 00:09:22.730 Urchins detect light striking their spines and compare 00:09:22.730 --> 00:09:29.730 the beams' intensities to get a sense of their surroundings. 00:09:36.940 --> 00:09:40.260 Green iguanas and other reptiles have a parietal eye 00:09:40.260 --> 00:09:44.180 or pineal gland on top of their heads which they use to detect 00:09:44.180 --> 00:09:51.180 predators from above. 00:09:56.890 --> 00:10:00.300 The human pineal gland is a small endocrine gland 00:10:00.300 --> 00:10:04.410 that helps to regulate waking and sleeping patterns. 00:10:04.410 --> 00:10:06.950 Even though it is buried deep inside the head 00:10:06.950 --> 00:10:12.040 the pineal gland is sensitive to light. 00:10:12.040 --> 00:10:15.120 The philosopher Descartes recognized that the pineal gland area 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:20.630 or the third eye was the interface between consciousness and matter. 00:10:20.630 --> 00:10:23.339 Almost everything is symmetrical in the human body. 00:10:23.339 --> 00:10:30.339 Two eyes, two ears, two nostrils-even the brain has two sides. 00:10:30.589 --> 00:10:33.970 But there is one area of the brain that is not mirrored. 00:10:33.970 --> 00:10:40.029 This is the pineal gland area and the energetic center that surrounds it. 00:10:40.029 --> 00:10:43.170 On a physical level unique molecules are formed naturally 00:10:43.170 --> 00:10:46.760 by the pineal gland such as DMT. 00:10:46.760 --> 00:10:52.810 DMT also forms naturally at the moment of birth and at the moment of death, 00:10:52.810 --> 00:10:58.610 literally acting as a unique bridge between the world of the living and the dead. 00:10:58.610 --> 00:11:05.209 DMT is produced naturally during states of deep meditation 00:11:05.209 --> 00:11:09.990 and Samhadi, or through entheogenic means. 00:11:09.990 --> 00:11:14.519 For example, Ayahuasca is used in the shamanic traditions 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:21.519 in South America to remove the veil between the inner and outer worlds. 00:11:23.170 --> 00:11:27.050 The word pineal itself has the same root as pine-cone 00:11:27.050 --> 00:11:32.680 because the pineal gland exhibits a similar spiral phyllotaxis pattern. 00:11:32.680 --> 00:11:36.370 This pattern, also known as the flower of life pattern, 00:11:36.370 --> 00:11:41.209 is common in ancient artwork depicting enlightened or awakened beings. 00:11:41.209 --> 00:11:45.170 When the pine cone image is seen in sacred artwork it represents the 00:11:45.170 --> 00:11:49.730 awakened third eye; single pointed consciousness 00:11:49.730 --> 00:11:54.670 directing the flow of evolutionary energy. 00:11:54.670 --> 00:11:58.589 The pine cone represents the flowering of the higher chakras 00:11:58.589 --> 00:12:05.589 which are activated as Sushumna rises to the Ajna chakra and beyond. 00:12:06.570 --> 00:12:10.279 In Greek mythology the worshippers of Dionysus carried a thyrsus 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:16.410 or giant staff wrapped with spiraling vines topped with a pine-cone. 00:12:16.410 --> 00:12:20.880 Again, representing Dionysian energy or Kundalini Shakti 00:12:20.880 --> 00:12:27.880 as it travels up the spine to the pineal body at the sixth chakra. 00:12:31.130 --> 00:12:33.750 In the heart of the Vatican you might expect a giant sculpture 00:12:33.750 --> 00:12:39.620 of Jesus or Mary but instead we find a giant pine-cone statue 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:42.940 indicating that in Christian history there may have been knowledge 00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:46.010 of the chakras and Kundalini but for whatever reason 00:12:46.010 --> 00:12:47.630 it was kept from the masses. 00:12:47.630 --> 00:12:51.360 The official church explanation is that the pine-cone 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:58.360 is a symbol of regeneration and represents new life in Christ. 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:10.240 The thirteenth century philosopher and mystic, Meister Eckhart said, 00:13:14.930 --> 00:13:20.630 "The eye with which I see God and the eye with which God sees me 00:13:20.630 --> 00:13:25.560 is one and the same." 00:13:25.560 --> 00:13:31.160 In the King James bible Jesus said, "the light of the body is the eye, 00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:38.160 if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:52.089 The Buddha said, "the body is an eye." 00:13:52.089 --> 00:13:57.560 In a state of Samadhi one is both the seer and the seen. 00:13:57.560 --> 00:14:04.560 We are the universe aware of itself. 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:18.170 When Kundalini is activated, it stimulates the sixth chakra 00:14:18.170 --> 00:14:21.480 and pineal center and this area starts to regain some of its 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:26.910 evolutionary functions. 00:14:26.910 --> 00:14:29.410 Darkness meditation has been used for thousands of years 00:14:29.410 --> 00:14:35.870 as a way to activate the sixth chakra in the area of the pineal gland. 00:14:35.870 --> 00:14:41.670 Activation of this center allows a person to see their inner light. 00:14:41.670 --> 00:14:45.570 Whether it is the proverbial yogi or shaman retreating deep into a cave 00:14:45.570 --> 00:14:51.529 or Taoist or Mayan initiate, or Tibetan monk, all traditions incorporate 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:57.320 a period of time during which one goes into the darkness. 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:04.320 The pineal gland is the gateway to experiencing one's subtle energy directly. 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:10.029 The philosopher Nietzche said, "if you stare into the abyss long enough, 00:15:10.029 --> 00:15:17.029 eventually you find that the abyss stares back at you." 00:15:17.660 --> 00:15:24.660 Dolmens, or ancient portal tombs are among the oldest remaining structures on Earth. 00:15:26.209 --> 00:15:32.230 Most date to the Neolithic period of 3000-4000 BC and some in Western Europe 00:15:32.230 --> 00:15:35.980 are seven thousand years old. 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:40.319 The dolmen was used to enter into perpetual meditation as a way 00:15:40.319 --> 00:15:47.319 for a human to bridge the inner and outer worlds. 00:15:47.329 --> 00:15:50.980 As one continues to meditate in total darkness eventually 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:57.980 one begins to observe inner energy or light as the third eye becomes active. 00:15:59.829 --> 00:16:04.199 The circadian rhythms which are governed by the sun and the moon channels 00:16:04.199 --> 00:16:11.199 no longer control the functions of the body and a new rhythm is established. 00:16:16.509 --> 00:16:19.110 The seventh chakra, for thousands of years, 00:16:19.110 --> 00:16:21.920 has been represented by the "OM" symbol. 00:16:21.920 --> 00:16:28.459 A symbol which is constructed by Sanskrit signs representing the elements. 00:16:28.459 --> 00:16:32.339 When Kundalini rises beyond the sixth chakra it begins to create an 00:16:32.339 --> 00:16:34.850 energy halo. 00:16:34.850 --> 00:16:37.410 Halos appear consistently in the religious paintings of different 00:16:37.410 --> 00:16:44.410 traditions in all different parts of the world. 00:17:31.060 --> 00:17:34.100 The halo, or the depiction of an energy signature, 00:17:34.100 --> 00:17:38.450 around an awakened being, is common to virtually all religions 00:17:38.450 --> 00:17:42.760 in all parts of the world. 00:17:42.760 --> 00:17:46.390 The evolutionary process of awakening the chakras 00:17:46.390 --> 00:17:49.980 is not the property of one group or one religion, 00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:56.980 it is the birthright of every human being on the planet. 00:18:07.770 --> 00:18:12.180 The crown chakra is the connection to the divine; 00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:15.460 that which is beyond duality. 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:21.850 Beyond name and form. 00:18:21.850 --> 00:18:28.400 Akhenaten was a pharaoh whose wife was Nefertiti. 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:32.020 He is referred to as the son of the sun. 00:18:32.020 --> 00:18:37.320 He rediscovered "Aten", or the word of God within himself, 00:18:37.320 --> 00:18:44.320 uniting Kundalini and consciousness. 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:50.820 In Egyptian iconography, once again the awakened consciousness 00:18:50.820 --> 00:18:55.080 is represented by the solar disk seen above the heads of gods 00:18:55.080 --> 00:19:02.080 or awakened beings. 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:06.620 In the Hindu and Yogic traditions, this halo is called 00:19:06.620 --> 00:19:13.620 "Sahasrara", the thousand-petalled lotus. 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:23.450 The Buddha is associated with the symbol of the lotus. 00:19:23.450 --> 00:19:26.720 The phyllotaxis pattern IS the same pattern as can be found 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.240 in a blooming lotus. 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.430 It IS the flower of life pattern. 00:19:31.430 --> 00:19:33.210 The seed of life. 00:19:33.210 --> 00:19:36.560 It is the fundamental pattern into which all forms fit. 00:19:36.560 --> 00:19:43.560 It is the very shape of space itself or a quality inherent to Akasha. 00:19:54.140 --> 00:20:01.140 At one time in history, the flower of life symbol was prevalent all over Earth. 00:20:02.830 --> 00:20:05.560 The flower of life is found guarded by lions 00:20:05.560 --> 00:20:12.560 at the most holy places in China and other parts of Asia. 00:20:16.550 --> 00:20:22.020 The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching often surround the yinyang symbol 00:20:22.020 --> 00:20:27.430 which is yet another way of representing the flower of life. 00:20:27.430 --> 00:20:30.200 Within the flower of life is the geometric basis 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:32.620 for all of the platonic solids; 00:20:32.620 --> 00:20:37.440 essentially every form that can exist. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:39.930 The ancient flower of life begins with the geometry 00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:45.170 of the star of David, or upward and downward facing triangles. 00:20:45.170 --> 00:20:49.480 Or in 3D these would be tetrahedral structures. 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:55.540 This symbol is a yantra, a sort of program that exists within the universe; 00:20:55.540 --> 00:21:01.440 the machine which is generating our fractal world. 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:04.150 Yantras have been used as tools for awakening consciousness 00:21:04.150 --> 00:21:05.870 for thousands of years. 00:21:05.870 --> 00:21:10.650 The visual form of the yantra is an external representation 00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:17.650 of an inner process of spiritual unfolding. 00:21:17.870 --> 00:21:21.780 It is the hidden music of the universe made visible, 00:21:21.780 --> 00:21:28.780 comprised of intersecting geometrical forms and interference patterns. 00:21:39.390 --> 00:21:44.980 Each chakra is a lotus, a yantra, a psycho-physiological center 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:51.980 through which the world can be experienced. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:22:01.740 A traditional yantra, such as can be found in the Tibetan tradition, 00:22:21.300 --> 00:22:24.660 is invested with rich layers of meaning, 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:29.880 sometimes incorporating a complete cosmology and world view. 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:33.000 The yantra is a constantly evolving pattern 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:35.150 which works through the power of repetition 00:22:35.150 --> 00:22:37.830 or iteration of a cycle. 00:22:37.830 --> 00:22:41.730 The power of the yantra is all but lost in today's world 00:22:41.730 --> 00:22:44.720 because we seek meaning only in the external form 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:51.720 and we do no connect it to our inner energies through intention. 00:22:59.250 --> 00:23:01.640 There is a good reason why priests, monks and yogis 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:04.510 traditionally have been celibate. 00:23:04.510 --> 00:23:08.430 Today all but a tiny few know why they are practicing celibacy 00:23:08.430 --> 00:23:11.640 because the true purpose has become lost. 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:16.020 Quite simply, if your energy is going into producing more sperm or eggs, 00:23:16.020 --> 00:23:19.430 as the case may be, then there is not as much to fuel the rising 00:23:19.430 --> 00:23:24.270 of Kundalini which activates the higher chakras. 00:23:24.270 --> 00:23:31.270 Kundalini is life energy, which is also sexual energy. 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:37.550 When awareness becomes less focused on animal urges 00:23:37.550 --> 00:23:41.800 and is put into the objects reflective of the higher chakras, 00:23:41.800 --> 00:23:48.800 that energy flows up the spine into those chakras. 00:23:49.800 --> 00:23:54.790 Many of the tantric practices teach how to master sexual energy 00:23:54.790 --> 00:24:01.790 so it could be used for higher spiritual evolution. 00:24:07.260 --> 00:24:09.600 Your state of consciousness creates the right conditions 00:24:09.600 --> 00:24:12.520 for your energy to be able to grow. 00:24:12.520 --> 00:24:16.140 Entering a state of consciousness takes no time. 00:24:16.140 --> 00:24:20.900 As Eckhart Tolle says, "awareness and presence always happen in the now." 00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:23.880 If you are trying to make something happen 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:28.240 then you are creating resistance to what is. 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:31.010 It is the removing of all resistance that allows 00:24:31.010 --> 00:24:38.010 evolutionary energy to unfold. 00:24:38.010 --> 00:24:41.750 In the ancient Yogic tradition, yoga postures were used 00:24:41.750 --> 00:24:44.750 to prepare the body for meditation. 00:24:44.750 --> 00:24:49.530 Hatha yoga was never intended solely as an exercise regime, 00:24:49.530 --> 00:24:54.450 but as a way to link one's inner and outer worlds. 00:24:54.450 --> 00:25:01.450 The Sanskrit word "hatha" means: sun "ha", and moon "tha". 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:05.230 In the original yoga sutra's of Patanjali 00:25:05.230 --> 00:25:07.230 the purpose of the eight limbs of yoga 00:25:07.230 --> 00:25:10.770 are the same as the Buddha's eight fold path; 00:25:10.770 --> 00:25:14.760 to liberate one from suffering. 00:25:14.760 --> 00:25:17.780 When the polarities of the dual world are in balance, 00:25:17.780 --> 00:25:21.110 a third thing is born. 00:25:21.110 --> 00:25:23.850 We find the mysterious Golden Key that unlocks 00:25:23.850 --> 00:25:28.270 the evolutionary forces of nature. 00:25:28.270 --> 00:25:35.270 This synthesis of the sun and moon channels is our evolutionary energy. 00:25:43.840 --> 00:25:46.350 Because humans are now identified almost exclusively 00:25:46.350 --> 00:25:49.180 with their thoughts and the outer world, 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:51.820 it is a rare individual that achieves a balance 00:25:51.820 --> 00:25:55.640 of the inner and outer forces which allow Kundalini 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:59.620 to awaken naturally. 00:25:59.620 --> 00:26:02.720 For those identified only with the illusion, 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:06.700 Kundalini will always remain a metaphor, 00:26:06.700 --> 00:26:12.280 an idea, rather than a direct experience 00:26:12.280 --> 00:26:14.360 of one's energy and consciousness.