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IWOW - Part 3 - The Serpent and the Lotus

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    Prior to the dawn of Western civilization
    and written language
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    science and spirituality were not two separate
    things.
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    In the teachings of the great ancient traditions
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    the outer search for knowledge and certainty
    was balanced
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    by an inner feeling of impermanence
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    and intuitive understanding of the spiral
    of change.
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    As scientific thinking became more dominant
    and information multiplied,
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    fragmentation began to occur within our knowledge
    systems.
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    Increased specialization meant that fewer
    people
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    were capable of seeing the big picture,
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    of feeling and intuiting the aesthetic of
    the system as a whole.
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    No one was asking, "is all this thinking good
    for us?"
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    The ancient knowledge is here in our midst,
    hidden in plain view.
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    But we are too preoccupied with our thoughts
    to recognize it.
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    This forgotten wisdom is way to restore the
    balance
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    between the inner and the outer.
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    Yin and yang.
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    Between the spiral of change and the stillness
    at our core.
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    In Greek legend, Asclepius was the son of
    Apollo and the god of healing.
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    His wisdom and skills for healing were unsurpassed
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    and he is said to have discovered the secret
    to life and death itself.
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    In ancient Greece the Asclepian healing temples
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    recognized the power of the primordial spiral
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    Which is symbolized by the rod of Asclepius.
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    Hippocrates, the father of medicine,
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    whose oath still forms the moral
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    code of the medical profession is said to
    have
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    received his training at an Asclepian temple.
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    To this day, this symbol of our evolutionary
    energy
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    remains as the logo of the American Medical
    Association
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    and other medical organizations worldwide.
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    In Egyptian iconography, the snake and bird
    represent
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    the duality or polarity of human nature.
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    The snake, the downward direction, is the
    manifested spiral,
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    the evolutionary energy of the world.
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    The bird is the upward direction; the upward
    current oriented
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    towards the sun or awakened single-pointed
    consciousness;
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    the emptiness of Akasha.
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    Pharaohs and gods are depicted with awakened
    energy
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    whereby the Kundalini snake moves up the spine
    and pierces
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    "Ajna chakra" between the eyes.
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    This is referred to as the eye of Horus.
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    In the Hindu tradition the bindi is also representative
    of the third eye;
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    the divine connection to spirit.
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    King Tutankhamen’s mask is a classic example
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    showing both the snake and bird motifs.
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    The Mayan and Aztec traditions combine the
    serpent and bird motif into one god.
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    Quetzalcoatl or Kukulkan.
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    The plumed serpent god represents the awakened
    evolutionary
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    consciousness or awakened Kundalini.
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    The person who awakens Quetzalcoatl within
    themselves
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    is a living manifestation of the divine.
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    It is said that Quetzalcoatl, or serpent energy,
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    shall return at the end of time.
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    The snake and bird symbols can be found within
    Christianity as well.
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    Their true meaning may be more deeply encrypted
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    but the meaning is the same as in other ancient
    traditions.
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    In Christianity, the bird or dove often seen
    above Christ's head
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    represents Holy Spirit or Kundalini Shakti
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    as it rises to the sixth chakra and beyond.
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    The Christian mystics called Kundalini by
    another name; Holy Spirit.
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    In John 3:12 it says, "and as Moses lifted
    up the serpent in the wilderness,
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    so must the son of man be lifted up."
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    Jesus and Moses awakened their Kundalini energy,
    bringing awakened consciousness
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    to the unconscious reptilian forces that drive
    human craving.
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    Jesus was said to have spent forty days and
    forty nights
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    in the desert, during which time he was tempted
    by Satan.
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    Similarly, the Buddha was tempted by "Mara"
    as he sat to reach
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    enlightenment under the bodhi tree, or wisdom
    tree.
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    Both Christ and Buddha had to turn away from
    the lure of sensory
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    pleasures and worldly grasping.
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    In each story, the demon is the personification
    of one's own attachments.
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    If we read the Adam and Eve story in the light
    of the Vedic and Egyptian traditions
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    we find that the serpent guarding the tree
    of life is Kundalini.
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    The apple represents the lure and temptation
    of the external sensory world,
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    distracting us from the knowledge of the inner
    world,
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    the tree of knowledge within.
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    The tree is simply the network of Nadis or
    energy meridians within ourselves,
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    which literally form tree-like structures
    throughout the body.
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    In our egoic quest for external gratification
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    we have cut ourselves off from the knowledge
    of the inner world,
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    our connection to Akasha and the wisdom source.
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    Many of the world's historical myths about
    dragons
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    can be read as metaphors for the inner energies
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    of the cultures in which they are embedded.
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    In China, the dragon is still a sacred symbol
    representing happiness.
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    Like the Egyptian pharaohs, ancient Chinese
    emperors
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    who had awakened their evolutionary energies
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    were represented by the winged snake, or dragon.
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    The royal totem of the Jade Emperor or Celestial
    Emperor
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    shows a balance similar to Ida and Pingala.
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    The yin and yang of Taoism, awakening the
    pineal center
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    or in what in Taoism is called the Upper Dantien.
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    Nature is full of different light detection
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    and assimilation mechanisms.
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    For example, a sea urchin can actually see
    with its spiky body
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    which acts as one big eye.
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    Urchins detect light striking their spines
    and compare
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    the beams' intensities to get a sense of their
    surroundings.
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    Green iguanas and other reptiles have a parietal
    eye
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    or pineal gland on top of their heads which
    they use to detect
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    predators from above.
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    The human pineal gland is a small endocrine
    gland
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    that helps to regulate waking and sleeping
    patterns.
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    Even though it is buried deep inside the head
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    the pineal gland is sensitive to light.
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    The philosopher Descartes recognized that
    the pineal gland area
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    or the third eye was the interface between
    consciousness and matter.
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    Almost everything is symmetrical in the human
    body.
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    Two eyes, two ears, two nostrils-even the
    brain has two sides.
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    But there is one area of the brain that is
    not mirrored.
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    This is the pineal gland area and the energetic
    center that surrounds it.
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    On a physical level unique molecules are formed
    naturally
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    by the pineal gland such as DMT.
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    DMT also forms naturally at the moment of
    birth and at the moment of death,
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    literally acting as a unique bridge between
    the world of the living and the dead.
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    DMT is produced naturally during states of
    deep meditation
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    and Samhadi, or through entheogenic means.
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    For example, Ayahuasca is used in the shamanic
    traditions
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    in South America to remove the veil between
    the inner and outer worlds.
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    The word pineal itself has the same root as
    pine-cone
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    because the pineal gland exhibits a similar
    spiral phyllotaxis pattern.
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    This pattern, also known as the flower of
    life pattern,
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    is common in ancient artwork depicting enlightened
    or awakened beings.
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    When the pine cone image is seen in sacred
    artwork it represents the
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    awakened third eye; single pointed consciousness
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    directing the flow of evolutionary energy.
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    The pine cone represents the flowering of
    the higher chakras
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    which are activated as Sushumna rises to the
    Ajna chakra and beyond.
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    In Greek mythology the worshippers of Dionysus
    carried a thyrsus
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    or giant staff wrapped with spiraling vines
    topped with a pine-cone.
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    Again, representing Dionysian energy or Kundalini
    Shakti
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    as it travels up the spine to the pineal body
    at the sixth chakra.
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    In the heart of the Vatican you might expect
    a giant sculpture
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    of Jesus or Mary but instead we find a giant
    pine-cone statue
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    indicating that in Christian history there
    may have been knowledge
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    of the chakras and Kundalini but for whatever
    reason
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    it was kept from the masses.
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    The official church explanation is that the
    pine-cone
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    is a symbol of regeneration and represents
    new life in Christ.
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    The
    thirteenth century philosopher and mystic,
    Meister Eckhart said,
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    "The eye with which I see God and the eye
    with which God sees me
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    is one and the same."
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    In the King James bible Jesus said, "the light
    of the body is the eye,
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    if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole
    body shall be full of light."
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    The Buddha said, "the body is an eye."
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    In a state of Samadhi one is both the seer
    and the seen.
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    We are the universe aware of itself.
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    When Kundalini is activated, it stimulates
    the sixth chakra
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    and pineal center and this area starts to
    regain some of its
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    evolutionary functions.
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    Darkness meditation has been used for thousands
    of years
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    as a way to activate the sixth chakra in the
    area of the pineal gland.
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    Activation of this center allows a person
    to see their inner light.
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    Whether it is the proverbial yogi or shaman
    retreating deep into a cave
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    or Taoist or Mayan initiate, or Tibetan monk,
    all traditions incorporate
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    a period of time during which one goes into
    the darkness.
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    The pineal gland is the gateway to experiencing
    one's subtle energy directly.
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    The philosopher Nietzche said, "if you stare
    into the abyss long enough,
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    eventually you find that the abyss stares
    back at you."
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    Dolmens, or ancient portal tombs are among
    the oldest remaining structures on Earth.
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    Most date to the Neolithic period of 3000-4000
    BC and some in Western Europe
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    are seven thousand years old.
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    The dolmen was used to enter into perpetual
    meditation as a way
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    for a human to bridge the inner and outer
    worlds.
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    As one continues to meditate in total darkness
    eventually
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    one begins to observe inner energy or light
    as the third eye becomes active.
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    The circadian rhythms which are governed by
    the sun and the moon channels
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    no longer control the functions of the body
    and a new rhythm is established.
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    The seventh chakra, for thousands of years,
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    has been represented by the "OM" symbol.
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    A symbol which is constructed by Sanskrit
    signs representing the elements.
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    When Kundalini rises beyond the sixth chakra
    it begins to create an
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    energy halo.
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    Halos appear consistently in the religious
    paintings of different
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    traditions in all different parts of the world.
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    The halo, or the depiction of an energy signature,
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    around an awakened being, is common to virtually
    all religions
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    in all parts of the world.
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    The evolutionary process of awakening the
    chakras
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    is not the property of one group or one religion,
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    it is the birthright of every human being
    on the planet.
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    The crown chakra is the connection to the
    divine;
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    that which is beyond duality.
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    Beyond name and form.
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    Akhenaten was a pharaoh whose wife was Nefertiti.
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    He is referred to as the son of the sun.
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    He rediscovered "Aten", or the word of God
    within himself,
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    uniting Kundalini and consciousness.
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    In Egyptian iconography, once again the awakened
    consciousness
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    is represented by the solar disk seen above
    the heads of gods
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    or awakened beings.
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    In the Hindu and Yogic traditions, this halo
    is called
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    "Sahasrara", the thousand-petalled lotus.
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    The Buddha is associated with the symbol of
    the lotus.
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    The phyllotaxis pattern IS the same pattern
    as can be found
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    in a blooming lotus.
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    It IS the flower of life pattern.
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    The seed of life.
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    It is the fundamental pattern into which all
    forms fit.
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    It is the very shape of space itself or a
    quality inherent to Akasha.
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    At one time in history, the flower of life
    symbol was prevalent all over Earth.
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    The flower of life is found guarded by lions
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    at the most holy places in China and other
    parts of Asia.
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    The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching often surround
    the yinyang symbol
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    which is yet another way of representing the
    flower of life.
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    Within the flower of life is the geometric
    basis
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    for all of the platonic solids;
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    essentially every form that can exist.
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    The ancient flower of life begins with the
    geometry
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    of the star of David, or upward and downward
    facing triangles.
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    Or in 3D these would be tetrahedral structures.
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    This symbol is a yantra, a sort of program
    that exists within the universe;
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    the machine which is generating our fractal
    world.
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    Yantras have been used as tools for awakening
    consciousness
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    for thousands of years.
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    The visual form of the yantra is an external
    representation
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    of an inner process of spiritual unfolding.
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    It is the hidden music of the universe made
    visible,
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    comprised of intersecting geometrical forms
    and interference patterns.
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    Each chakra is a lotus, a yantra, a psycho-physiological
    center
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    through which the world can be experienced.
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    A traditional yantra, such as can be found
    in the Tibetan tradition,
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    is invested with rich layers of meaning,
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    sometimes incorporating a complete cosmology
    and world view.
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    The yantra is a constantly evolving pattern
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    which works through the power of repetition
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    or iteration of a cycle.
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    The power of the yantra is all but lost in
    today's world
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    because we seek meaning only in the external
    form
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    and we do no connect it to our inner energies
    through intention.
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    There is a good reason why priests, monks
    and yogis
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    traditionally have been celibate.
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    Today all but a tiny few know why they are
    practicing celibacy
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    because the true purpose has become lost.
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    Quite simply, if your energy is going into
    producing more sperm or eggs,
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    as the case may be, then there is not as much
    to fuel the rising
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    of Kundalini which activates the higher chakras.
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    Kundalini is life energy, which is also sexual
    energy.
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    When awareness becomes less focused on animal
    urges
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    and is put into the objects reflective of
    the higher chakras,
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    that energy flows up the spine into those
    chakras.
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    Many of the tantric practices teach how to
    master sexual energy
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    so it could be used for higher spiritual evolution.
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    Your state of consciousness creates the right
    conditions
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    for your energy to be able to grow.
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    Entering a state of consciousness takes no
    time.
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    As Eckhart Tolle says, "awareness and presence
    always happen in the now."
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    If you are trying to make something happen
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    then you are creating resistance to what is.
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    It is the removing of all resistance that
    allows
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    evolutionary energy to unfold.
  • 24:38 - 24:42
    In the ancient Yogic tradition, yoga postures
    were used
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    to prepare the body for meditation.
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    Hatha yoga was never intended solely as an
    exercise regime,
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    but as a way to link one's inner and outer
    worlds.
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    The Sanskrit word "hatha" means: sun "ha",
    and moon "tha".
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    In the original yoga sutra's of Patanjali
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    the purpose of the eight limbs of yoga
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    are the same as the Buddha's eight fold path;
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    to liberate one from suffering.
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    When the polarities of the dual world are
    in balance,
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    a third thing is born.
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    We find the mysterious Golden Key that unlocks
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    the evolutionary forces of nature.
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    This synthesis of the sun and moon channels
    is our evolutionary energy.
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    Because humans are now identified almost exclusively
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    with their thoughts and the outer world,
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    it is a rare individual that achieves a balance
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    of the inner and outer forces which allow
    Kundalini
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    to awaken naturally.
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    For those identified only with the illusion,
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    Kundalini will always remain a metaphor,
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    an idea, rather than a direct experience
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    of one's energy and consciousness.
Title:
IWOW - Part 3 - The Serpent and the Lotus
Description:

more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
Awaken the World
Project:
Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds
Duration:
26:30

English subtitles

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