Tantric Qigong Karma Burning: Chakra Issues,  Breath, Emotional Intelligence and Evolution

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Referring to the tendency of modern technology to be shaped by Paleolithic emotional patterns, Einstein was alleged to have said “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity…All our lauded technological progress–our very civilization–is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal…The human spirit must prevail over technology.”  How can we achieve this process of accelerated evolution implied by Einstein?  Try this breathing technique when you feel emotionally challenged: Keep your back straight, inhale slowly and deeply to a count of 5, exhale slowly to a count of 5. Repeat 1-3 times or until calm. If you know the Third Eye Balancing technique, you can also use it to balance your mental / emotional state.

Do this interpersonal experiment: the next time you are confronted by someone who is experiencing great anxiety, anger, or pain, ask them to take a deep breath. The person controlled by the atavistic urges of the amygdala will blast you for suggesting this. The more evolved will endeavor to comply.  

The intention to mediate our bestial aspects is associated with the higher cortical centers which can override the amygdala / brain-stem reactions. I have yet to see a convincing medical explanation for how this intention is generated; this may remain one of the ancient mysteries of spiritual masters. Certainly once put in motion, Intention from our higher centers can subsume and mediate automatic neuro-muscular and endocrine reactions. By asserting control through our higher cortical centers we unite the yin and yang portals of the psychic bridge (third eye) and neutralize the more barbaric urges of the brain stem.

In short, the amygdala represents our primitive aspects and the anterior cingulate cortex and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex develop our higher civilized and spiritual aspects. You can see by the diagram that the anterior cingulate cortex / lateral orbitofrontal cortex is in a direct line between the amygdala / brainstem and the neocortical centers controlled by the third eye (Ajna). It is one of the functions of Cobra Breath to unite and balance these centers, bringing vital, primal energy to the higher centers while soothing and calming the atavistic beast within us. © 2012 Keith E. Hall, www.inner-tranquility.com  All rights reserved.

Tantric Qigong Karma Burning: Chakra Issues,  Part 2,  Chakras 1 & 2,  Third Chakra, 4th Chakra,

Karma Burning  Karma Burning in the Lower Chakras  1 2 3  4 5

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Karma Burning: Ajna, the 3rd Eye:  Serenity / Equanimity

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As we delve into the emotions related to the head chakras, we may be surprised to find that little to none are resident there. Emotions are deeply connected to the body and the somatic chakras, whereas the chakras of the head are more connected to mental and spiritual realms. If one were to affix an appellation to the emotion of Ajna, it would be inner peace, tranquility, equanimity, or serenity.

Equanimity…is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion

 and love. The Buddha described a mind filled with equanimity as “abundant, exalted,

       immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will. -Gil Fronsdal, Insight Meditation Center

Equanimity can be seen as evolving from a state of stability or composure arising from a deep witnessing and acceptance of this present moment.  Far from analytical aloofness, spiritual equanimity results in a clarity and a kind of calm, warm, state of being.

Serenity is defined by some dictionaries as “a disposition free from stress or emotion”, and “steadiness of mind under stress.” Stress, as we know, is a combination of anxiety, discomfort, and irritability brought on by the inability to fully control a given situation. In other words; fear, pain, and anger: the emotional denizens of the first three chakras. The ability to maintain a serene affect when challenged by the negative emotions of the lower three chakras is a prima facie case for a certain degree of self mastery.

While the emotions present in the fourth and fifth chakras do not have any negativity in their resident aspects (Love and Joy), these emotions can have a dynamic quality to them that affects the body quite strongly. At times the emotions of Love and Joy can be overwhelming, and in their most profound expressions can fill the body with an energized exuberance.  While a delightful state, this is quite different than the calm landscape of serenity. Using the model of Kundalini ascension, one could see how the exuberance of chakras 4 and 5 could “boil up” and gradually evanesce or distill into a refined sense of presence and inner peace at the sixth chakra.

            God grant me the serenity

            to accept the things I cannot change;

            courage to change the things I can;

            and wisdom to know the difference. –Reinhold Niebuhr

This famous quote from the Serenity Prayer is interesting in terms of the dynamics of the chakras. We have serenity, a function of the third eye, acceptance, an energy of the 4th chakra, courage, which can be a power of the third chakra, and wisdom and discernment bring us back to the third eye. In other words, intention, steadfastness, and surrender when enjoined can help create presence and wisdom.

Limbic resonance, aka empathic resonance, is a psychiatric theory delineating how humans and mammals in general express the capacity for sharing deep emotional states which arise within the limbic system through non-verbal interconnectedness or a kind of psychic quantum entanglement.  These states include the feelings of empathic harmony (dopamine circuit), and the emotional states of fear, anxiety and anger (norepinephrine circuit). This theory is the first well defined medical hypothesis to address the mechanics of non-verbal emotional communication in both humans and some animals.  What psychiatry is attempting to describe in neurologic terms, Tantric and Taoist practitioners attain through the practice of meditation, conscious movement and techniques such as mantra, Transmuting Breath, and Cobra Breath. Inner tranquility and attentiveness would be prerequisites for conscious mastery of the lower emotions, non-verbal attunement, and the attainment of harmony, syntony, and empathy.

If we think about this in quasi-Taoist terms, serenity and equanimity could be seen as the fulcrum of balance between negative and positive emotions, between the soma and the subtle energy bodies, between our embodied sense of the heavenly (cosmic consciousness) and earthly realms (vitality, emotionality, and sensuality). © 2012 Keith E. Hall and www.Inner-Tranquility.com. All rights reserved.

Karma Burning  Karma Burning in the Lower Chakras  1 2 3  4 5

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Chinese Snakes on a Plane?

Well, maybe on your plane of consciousness

Sunday, February 10^th 2013, is the beginning of the Chinese New Year of the Water Snake, a time of change and newness. Snakes can disturb political hierarchies and World Orders. For instance, the events of the Great Depression, the Pearl Harbor bombing, and the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center all occurred during snake years.

However, Water Snake years, such as 2013, tend to encourage the development of wisdom and can be a time auspicious for spiritual growth. Considered one of the symbols of transformation, the snake is  associated with major changes due to the way it sheds its outer skin to reveal new inner growth. It is an excellent year to finally invest your time and commitment to develop the skills of introspection and Self Mastery.   What will this portend for Cobra Breath aspirants? (c) 2013 Keith E. Hall and www.inner-tranquility.com  All rights reserved.

Personal growth through the processing of karmic patterns

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Karma Burning

Level 2 Cobra Breath deepens our energetic and psychic balance by activating the neural and subtle energy roots of the chakras. In essence, each chakra manages a realm of emotion, somatic structure, mental process, perception, and personal experience. Thus, how we define and experience ourselves to be is mediated by the physical energies and software imprints of each chakra. To attain a liberated state of being, we must therefore explore the many “subroutines” that have been downloaded to our chakra system, and re-write the ones that create negative emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and self-limitation.

Karma burning can be thought of as a collection of techniques, rituals, meditations, and other processes to attain liberation from the unconscious patterning that controls our lives autonomically, i.e., from your subconscious. Like a crucible, this process can create a certain subtle heat and light which penetrates the psyche thus purifying our mettle; our mind, emotions, and the somatic record of our past.

Sometimes traditional yogic and Buddhist techniques for karma burning visualize this process externally and anthropomorphically. For example, there are the images of Kali (the destroyer of Time), which may seem violent and gruesome. This is a representation of our fear of change being overcome by calling on an ally: the power of the deity. We fear the little death of the egoistic patterns we have lived with, no matter how dysfunctional, harmful, or self limiting they are. We are loathe to give them up even though we suspect that we would be better off if we could grow out of them and re-define ourselves anew.

Joseph Campbell has said the Buddha has two aspects, one peaceful, and the other wrathful. Just like the Hindu paradigm of Kali, if one remains attached to one’s self-definition and world-view, the Divine force of conscious evolution will become increasingly insistent. If our resistance remains high, then this force can be perceived as a threat, and can be visualized externally as if it were a wrathful deity who lops off the head of our egoistic perceptions, and devours our negative emotions, thoughts, and actions. This Kali-esque aspect is sometimes symbolized in Tibetan Thankas (also spelled Tangka, Thangka, or Tanka) where the deity is depicted as manifesting in a fierce form to free us from samsara – our limited perceptions, unsettled mind, ignorance, suffering, emotional bondage, and self-centered behaviors.

The hero whose attachment to ego is already annihilated passes back and forth across the horizons of the world, in and out of the dragon, as readily as a king through all the rooms of his house. And therein lies his power…  – The Hero with a Thousand Faces

For some of us, this is a very real psychic battle between our core patterns that were imprinted at an early age and our innate desire for freedom. Perseverance and courage, the same qualities displayed by any deity or hero, are required to attain a state of relative liberation.  We can concoct many, many reasons for not doing this work: not enough time, competing interests, stress, a general feeling that we are just fine the way we are, and an infinite number of other reasons. There is only one real reason for pursuing this process: to attain true and utter freedom from our past and be Present in the clear light of self-knowledge. This will result in Moksha (moksa, mukti) or Nirvana – the attainment of emotional, mental, and spiritual liberation.

The best techniques of karma burning usually involve a process of remembering past events; historical, imaginary, and perceptual. Once this history is brought to our conscious mind and soma, and processed through Witness Consciousness, the karmic patterns are transmuted, thus freeing enormous psychic energy and transforming our limitations into wisdom and liberation. © 2012 Keith E. Hall and Inner-Tranquility.com. All rights reserved. Karma Burning  Karma Burning in the Lower Chakras  1 2 3  4 5

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Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

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Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, one of the oldest extant mantras in Hinduism, is considered to be a Mukti (liberation) Mantra. It can be translated as “Om, Reverence to the Lord Vasudeva” This mantra is sometimes represented as a chant or stotra to Krishna or Vishnu. Vasudeva is an alternate name for Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu the Preserver. In Hindu theology, Brahma is the creative force, Shiva the destroyer or agent of change, and Vishnu is the deity of balance, salvation, and preservation.

Some aspirants feel that the mantra can also be translated as something like “Homage to the Enlightened One Within” aka, your inner Divine Self. Swami Kripalu has been purported to have said that Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya could be taken to mean simply “Thy Will Be Done.” This translation would indicate the complete surrender of the individual to the Divine.

On both physical and psychic levels this mantra is used to bring balance to oneself – Yin and Yang, active and receptive, and one’s male and female polarities. It can be used in conjunction with Solar / Lunar practices and Level 2 Cobra Breath, bringing balance to the major spinal nadis. These nadis must be balanced before true Kundalini can be activated safely and without drama.

Those of you familiar with the Sanskrit “Tantric vowels” or Bijas, can map out which of your chakra energies are activated using this mantra. In a sense, this is a good mantra to balance your chakras, spinal channels, and inner and outer divinity. (c) 2012 Keith E. Hall / Inner-tranquility.com. All rights reserved.

It’s a good idea to get a recording of this mantra if you would like to learn it.  I have reviewed hundreds of recordings of this mantra and present my preferences below.

Top Contenders, and the nominees are:

Multi-Colored Chant ~ Chaula Hopefisher

This is perhaps my favorite rendition of Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, the primary reason being that it is eminently sing-able by non-professional singers and tone deaf devotees like me. Ms. Hopefisher does a lovely job of creating a simple tune that anyone can follow in a call and response format. Highly recommended but difficult to find.  Check it out on Amazon:

Multi-colored chant

Mantras for Precarious Times – Deva Premal This is a somewhat fast rendition of the mantra, with a simple tune that most people will be able to sing along with. Very nice.

Divine Melody – Anand Richa

This young artist from India has created a lovely, heart-centered, devotional version of the mantra. Very sweet and pretty easy to sing along with. Some interesting Indian musical accompaniment . Very touching. You can download her album here.

Hidden in the Name – Wah!

You can sing along fairly well with this cover of Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya and it has some interesting electric guitar giving it an unusual electronic jazzy kind of sound. And, a little wah wah pedal, just like the group’s name! Call and response format.

The following are also excellent:

Breath Of The Heart - Krishna Das

Renown on the kirtan circuit, Krishna Das presents an accomplished, masculine version of this mantra.

Pros: Starts out as a traditional sounding devotional stotra. Slow and soulful.

Cons: Some notes are held a long time. About 2 ½ minutes into the mantra the speed picks up and he does a sort of Hindu scat kind of chanting. He adds other mantras and warbles into the mix making it difficult to sing along with. A little over 6 minutes into the chant he adds piano and a fast rendition of the chant. Good for listening, not so good for singing along unless you cut out the middle, and just go with the first 2 ½ minutes and the last 3 ½ minutes. Still, very good for getting you into a wild, free, communal kirtan spirit.

Embrace – Deva Premal

A truly masterful and heartfelt rendition. The only caveat: She sings so well that she may be difficult for some non-singers to follow. Still, great for listening and following along as well as you can.

Sing, Dance, Enjoy! – Henry Marshall and the Playshop Family

A wonderfully lyrical and upbeat version. The CD and MP3 album also contain some other beautiful and powerful chants.

Kirtana – Robert Gass

Beautiful, lyrical call and response format.

The Sound of Om – Thomas Barquee

Pros: Starts with a lovely quiet melody, some nice sitar

Cons: Almost 4 minutes into this the pace picks up and the melody changes making it hard to follow. Probably more music than chanting. Better for listening than trying to chant along with.

MP3 Downloads of Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

(c) 2012 Keith E. Hall and www.inner-tranquility.com. All rights reserved.

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Level 2 Cobra Breath

The second level of the Cobra Breath opens a rarely used energy channel along the spine and helps to more deeply activate the roots of the Chakras, balance your polarities, activate and transmute karmic patterning, and begin to connect your spiritual pole with your earthly pole.

It is best that a student practice Cobra Breath 1 on a daily basis for at least a year before being initiated into Level 2 Cobra Breath. Some Western teachers push students into Level 2 Cobra Breath with only 40 days of Level 1 practice, often with much drama. This does a disservice to the student as there is inadequate preparation and follow-up support on a daily basis. Merely energetically activating one’s karmic patterns is no guarantee that they will be transmuted.

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Chakra Activation

Like the central nervous system, the chakras have their roots in the spine. The second level Cobra Breath stimulates these chakric roots and therefore activates the domains of awareness, emotion, and actions governed by these chakras.  Cobra Breath Level 2 can help clear the karma of the chakras, releasing repressed emotions / inner child issues to be Witnessed and processed.

It is imperative that a practitioner of Cobra Breath 2 have a well defined Witness consciousness and be able to be self-responsible. If not, the Level 2 Cobra Breath will merely exacerbate these karmic patterns, creating more misery and drama in one’s life.

Muscular Armoring

Bioenergetic holding patterns or armoring are the somatic aspect of our repressed emotional karma.  We repress or “hold” back our emotional responses to avoid external reaction to negative emotional triggers. This energy is stored as tension in the body, but is not quiescent. On the contrary, these held patterns will run in the background of our consciousness, affecting our perceptions, mental / emotional states, and behaviors. This results in our patterns being recreated continuously, often creating a victim consciousness which will tend to make us more emotionally reactive and defensive. Cobra Breath will not necessarily clear these patterns without Witness and processing. Some somatic work such as T’ai Chi, Qigong, yoga, Rolfing, and Somatic Release along with Presencing, Conscious BreathWork, or Bioenergetic Analysis, etc. can be helpful in rooting out these patterns thus releasing the stored emotional energy to be acknowledged and understood.

Balance

The 2nd Level Cobra Breath allows solar / cosmic energy to descend into the body through a specific channel, awakening the chakras, and balancing the male and female energies.

There are 5 major energy channels or nadis in the spinal region. Four of these are polar channels (male and female, or yang and yin) and these must be cleared and kept in balance to provide a strong, safe “containment vessel” for true Kundalini to arise. If not, unresolved emotional history can be activated, causing disruptive emotional crises and sometimes physical discomfort or injury.

Contraindications

As in Cobra Breath 1, there are definite prerequisites and contraindication associated with being truly eligible to integrate the power of the Second Level Cobra Breath practice. Some signs that you need to dig deeper before accepting this initiation are:

-Blaming others

-Taking things personally

-Depression

-Rage / Anger

-Anxiety / Neurosis / Obsession – Compulsion

Prerequisites / Guidelines for Sadhus

Some good guidelines to assess your readiness to incorporate Second Level Cobra Breath into your sadhana include:

-Knowing how and beginning to transmute your Karmic patterning

-Accepting Self-Responsibility for your thoughts, emotions, and actions

-Being able to be Present with a well developed Witness Consciousness © 2012 Keith E. Hall and www.inner-tranquility.com. All rights reserved.

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Swadhistana: sex, pain, and pleasure

Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.
Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the
physician within you heals your sick self.
… Therefore trust the physician, and drink
his remedy in silence and tranquility.
- Khalil Gibran

Swadhistana, the second chakra, may be the favorite of neo-Tantriks, hedonists, and those reveling in emotional drama. Swadhistana governs the emotional realm, more specifically; one’s unconscious and unresolved emotional karma which can be entangled with one’s sexual energy and life force.

The duality of the second chakra balances pleasure seeking with pain avoidance. By pain, I mean emotional pain e.g., unresolved trauma, sadness, and loss.  Now, everyone will feel at least a hint of sadness from time to time, sadness being an authentic core human emotion. What makes a huge difference is how conscious we are about the roots of our suffering.

Pleasure, of course, is often thought of as the “antidote” to pain.  This is not as cut and dried as it might seem. Pure pleasure and pure pain i.e., agony and ecstasy, are rarely experienced in an absolute form by any given individual in the human world. There is often a spectrum or melding of these polarities. This is where the emotional experience of bitter-sweetness derives from.  One can be experiencing a pleasurable feeling and yet also have it tinged with sadness and poignancy.

Pleasure and sex are often vigorously condemned by puritanical cultures and fundamentalist religions across the world. However, there are certainly theories and philosophies that claim that pleasure can set you free, or is your birthright. This is not a very popular paradigm for fundamentalists, dictators, and authoritarians in general. Guilt and fear just make people so much easier to control.

Sadness / loss / loneliness

Language… has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone. – Paul Tillich

Sadness / loss / loneliness combined with a bit of the “glue” of fear will tend to result in some degree of depression. Depression is a process of suppression, a locking down of one’s life force. When your chi is vital, lively, and dynamic, as it is when doing qigong or having a blissful mediation session, it is impossible to experience depression.  It is interesting to note that many of the antidepressants e.g., Fluoxetine, developed by big Pharma tend to suppress the vital energy (jing ching) of a person, while attempting to medicate away the listlessness of depression. The price one pays for pharmaceutical management of depression may often be impotence or the loss of sexual interest. Perhaps psychiatry should return to body-centered psychotherapy instead of 5 minute appointments to prescribe palliatives.  Conversely, activating one’s sexual energy in a way that results in a satisfying full-body orgasm may alleviate depressive states. Does better sex = better mental health? I think I’d try that prescription first.

In truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. – Kahlil Gibran

Primal scream therapies and neo-tantric Kundalini practices that push a lot of energy into the Swadhistana chakra tend to hyper-stimulate the emotional issues resident there. Depending on the ratio between transmutation and irritation of the karmic energy, re-grooving of the karmic patterns and potential detriment may occur. Some of the energy may be blown off, in a cathartic frenzy, but the excessive amounts of vital energy pumped into the karmic pattern can simultaneously strengthen the “software” managing the suppression of unconscious emotional pain, thus reinforcing our sense of victimhood.

Transmutation Breath and Cobra Breath, being that they draw energy from the first (Muladhara) and second chakra, are good ways to transmute emotional pain. Cobra Breath in particular can be quite an outstanding technique for re-writing the software of pain and sending the refined energy to Ajna, creating Witness Consciousness.  © 2011 Keith E. Hall & Inner-Tranquility.com

Emotions and the Chakras:  part 1,  part 2,

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{Negative emotions}…are just the habit patterns of our mind continually playing themselves out in different scenarios – A’dzom Rinpoche

I have been known to say that the chakra system controls every emotion that you experience. While this is true, it might be more accurate to say that the chakras control your emotions and your emotions control your chakras. They kind of feed back upon and affect each other

The chakras are mediators of physical, emotional, mental, and karmic processes within your body and bioenergy fields. Whether you believe in karmic carryover from past lives or not, the hardware of the chakra system is given to you at birth. Along with birth trauma, this hardware is populated with software quickly downloaded from your parents, family, teachers, and your social milieu in general. Your thoughts, actions, even your perceptions contribute to this process as do those of the others around you.

The attainment of personal freedom and Self Mastery require that we begin to understand, clarify, and transmute the karmic effect that runs through our chakra system. This endeavor is made more challenging by the fact that all the chakras are affected by all of the other chakras. Although some chakras are more tightly bound to certain others, ultimately all of these energy centers are unified and strongly influence each other. (You can visualize this more accurately by viewing some of the outstanding chakra / Bioenergy paintings of Alex Grey.)

For an example of this principle of chakric / emotional interconnection, let’s take a look at anger. The transmutation of anger has been commercialized through many types of “anger management” courses. Often, these courses are not very effective in the long run. To authentically transmute anger, we would also have to manage fear, emotional trauma, spiritual will, intention, and surrender. To try to “box in” and address anger without considering the emotions managed by its neighboring chakras, is likely to be doomed to failure, or at best, a very short-term success. So, we really cannot approach the clarification of the chakras piecemeal, we must have a unified and truly holistic approach.

The chakras seem to organize themselves into 3 groups by physical location and energetic purpose. The first 3 chakras are closely wired and are located in the abdomen and pelvis. The chakras of the chest and throat, and the centers in the cranium are also connected to a high degree and their functions are related and influence each other as well.

Muladhara: The first chakra

The root chakra, located in the perineum, is the foundation of our physical body. Connected to the foot chakras as well as the other chakras of the pelvis and belly, the root chakra concerns itself with the maintenance and well being of our physicality. The basic emotion resident in this center is fear; a spectrum than spans slight anxiety all the way to howling, “run for the hills” terror.

“No one here gets out alive.” Jim Morrison, Five to One

I think humans collectively have always been quite an anxious lot. Politicians, marketers, corporate execs, con artists, Wall Street, and other terrorists know this and seek to manipulate our fears to their advantage. The power of fear over us can be more easily understood when one realizes that all fear, when reduced to its most basic level, is fear of death or debilitating injury. All of our anxieties, neuroses, perhaps even clinical phobias, when fully analyzed and reduced to their most basic constituents, will reveal fear of death / helplessness at their foundation.

Fear is the energy that catalyzes the “fight or flight” response, which all sentient organisms possess. Humans, as they evolved into a group distinct from other primates, kept many of their primitive survival tactics. Although we have the largest brain of any primate, we are physically the weakest of this ape-like class. Our big brain eventually put humans at the top of the food chain, but initially this cerebral endowment was of limited value. Our physical weakness left us at a distinct disadvantage, potentially making us prey to any stronger, faster, fiercer animal. Before the advent of weapons technology (clubs, stones, spears), we depended on defensive ploys similar to other primates faced with a predator. We yelled, beat our chests, huddled, hid singly or in groups, and ran. Millennia after the development of weapons and civilization, we still subconsciously fall back to a great extent on these old favorites.

It is not death or pain that is to be dreaded, but the fear of pain or death. – Epictetus

In these pre-historical times, it was easy to see one’s response to fear. The threat presented itself and you either ran or hit it with your club. Simple. In these more “civilized” modern times, we have many strata of cultural software layered over these basic instincts, yet the underlying reflexes remain the same. It’s just that we are no longer able to reflexively express them without penalty. Going postal on your boss, spouse, or other acquaintance will no longer set you free. Quite the opposite, usually. So the power (life force, chi, qi, ki) of this response usually remains locked up, frozen in our bodies and minds, and can do us great harm unless we learn how to transmute this energy into something more useful.

Fear can be thought of as the “glue” that holds the other dark animal emotions together, and prevents their release or transmutation. Without fear, sadness, trauma, and anger could be easily dissipated. It is this powerful survival instinct that resides at the core of all fear that prevents this from being accomplished in the pre-awakened person.

Outside of the globally statistically rare exposure to physical violence in today’s world (random urban violence, the participation in modern warfare, and other human on human violence having replaced animal predation), our anxieties have become more like phobias than the direct deadly threats of ancient times. Fear has become more rarified in the sense that immediate death due to an attack from an actual predator is increasingly unlikely. We’ve killed most of them off and, with few exceptions, the ones who are left are highly wary of us. As we have evolved, our fears have become more subtle, convoluted, and less directly linked to bloody carnage.

Fear Then and Now

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. – Bertrand Russell

It might be instructive to take a look at three classes of fear in terms of their expression and function in both the ancient and modern world.

Fear of being cast out.
Then: The dearth of safety in numbers makes one more prone to attack by predators. Loners become food and may lead predators to the main herd.
Now: Social awkwardness, embarrassment, a paucity of Facebook “friends.” The desperate need to belong often still secretly dogs the masses and even an occasional iconoclast. Many folks are still subconsciously concerned that loners and nerds could lead a lion back to pillage the village.

Fear of being incompetent, of being criticized.
Then: If you’re bad at hunting, gathering, clothes and shelter making, you’re not going to be much in demand in the tribe. See “being cast out”
Now: Losing or failing at your job or avocation leads to a loss of self-definition and raison d’être for many. Loss of control, competency, and influence can subconsciously be equated with, starvation and death.

Fear of physical inadequacy.
Then: disease / injury can lead to a reduction in value of the individual to the greater group. The altruistic response was to go sit on an ice floe.
Now: We don’t generally recommend a one-way trip on an iceberg these days. Still, injury, debilitation, mental and physical defects often make many people somewhat queasy, even though this may be considered to be politically incorrect. As a society, we usually prefer to group these folks together in institutions.

Collectively, it appears that we are still as twitchy as a wild monkey or Neanderthal. This can be problematic when you possess projectile weapons and biologic and nuclear arms. The modern socially acceptable gambit is to suppress these fears, to internalize and rationalize them. This can result in a suppression of chi or life force, and can lead to the development of stress and depressive mental states. Or, we can elect to just throw poop on our antagonists.

Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. – Rumi

Think you have no fear? In reality, the person who is without fear is probably either deceased or severely impaired in some way. Fear, as a survival response, is hardwired into the brain stem and, as long as you own an undamaged one, you are going to be in possession of this basic response. For those of you who may believe that bravery is equated with a lack of fear, consider that courage is not the absence of fear, but perseverance in the face of it.

Now for the good news.
The energy of the first chakra can be relatively easily connected to the third eye. Utilizing the back channel of the spine (as in the practice of the Transmuting Breath or Cobra Breath) connects the perineum to the spine, brainstem, and limbic system; some of the most ancient parts of the brain. These transmuting techniques then purify and direct this energy to stimulate and “grow” the spiritual centers of the neocortex, the newest and evolving part of our brain. What started out as energy trapped in an unreasonable cycle of negative programming, can be re-written, freeing your qi for more constructive and enjoyable pursuits. (c) 2011 Keith E. Hall & Inner-Tranquility.com. All rights reserved.

Emotions and the Chakras:  part 1,  part 2,

Karma Burning, Kundalini, Kali, and the Chakras

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Methods of Practicing Cobra Breath

There are four main classes of technique for practicing Cobra Breath. Two require partners; two can be done by oneself. Two are sexual, two are non-sexual.

Solo Practice

Version 1: Probably the most popular, or at least the most practiced, form of Cobra Breath sadhana is to practice Cobra Breath as a meditation technique by oneself. No particular materials are required; one just practices the Cobra Breath as a meditation and internal energy technique for awakening the higher chakric centers, particularly the third eye and the Mouth of God. Fourteen repetitions daily of this breath are recommended, though more can be done as you like.

The indications, in addition to being initiated into Cobra Breath, are that one have a quiet space to practice, be able to sit without excessive movement, know the forward position of Khechari Mudra, and keep the spine very straight. Keeping the spine straight will ease the flow of energy and prevent the re-grooving of karmic patterns.

Version 2: It is possible to do the Cobra Breath sexually by oneself. This can add a bit more energy to the practice, and perhaps accelerate the development of cleansing Kundalini energies. To do this, one self-pleasures to near the edge of orgasm, and then performs the Cobra Breath with a very tight root lock. Generally, one to three repetitions of Cobra Breath are enough to transmute the sexual energy to the higher chakras and prevent ejaculation.

Partner Practice

Yab Yum Pose

Version 1: To practice non-sexually with a partner, one needs to be deep in their energy field. There is a certain level of energy intimacy involved here. A mild form of this practice would be to sit back to back and perform the Cobra Breath with both of the partners synchronizing the breath. Having the spinal nadis in alignment and touching each other tends to create an energetic balance which can deepen one’s experience of this practice. Alternatively, two partners can perform Cobra Breath in the Yab Yum position. An advantage of this position is that partners often can get the first and second chakras physically closer, which can add a bit more energy. When the energy of Cobra Breath reaches the third eye, this position allows to the partners to perform the Tantric Kiss, which further stimulates the energy of Ajna.

Version 2: This is the version of Babaji’s Cobra Breath that gets all the press. Using Cobra Breath sexually with a partner holds the potential for the highest level of energy generation and transmutation. Yab Yum is the position usually recommended, although any position that allows the spine to be straight and also allows for the performance of the Tantric Kiss will work just fine. Yab Yum has a certain advantage in that the orientation of the position allows for the lower chakras to be aligned with the polarity of the Earth, and the head chakras are aligned with the heavens. This puts the entire spinal system and nadis in a straight line, resulting in an ease of energy flow between the Earthly and Heavenly chakra energies. The electromagnetic fields of Earth and Sky strengthen and cleanse one’s own bio-magnetic field. This practice is best done with a partner of similar spiritual vibration, or at least the ability of both partners to raise and synchronize their vibratory fields. To state this in another way, care should be taken that your partner is at a similar stage of evolution as you are, or surrendered enough to follow the vibratory energies to be in harmony. The same general indications of the other three versions apply here. © 2011 Keith E. Hall. www.inner-tranquility.com All rights reserved.

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Babaji’s Cobra Breath

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The Cobra Breath is one of the most powerful tools for spiritual awakening on the planet. Originally transmitted by the Mahavatar Babaji, Cobra Breath is an advanced, powerful Kriya method for transmuting primal energy that can lead to Cosmic Consciousness and Self Realization in one lifetime.  It has been said by Kriya masters that a million disease-free years are needed to evolve a human mind capable of experiencing Cosmic Consciousness.  Cobra Breath practice enables one to move at a greatly accelerated pace as one repetition of the Cobra Breath is equal to one year of spiritual practice.

Cobra Breath Kundalini

The Cobra Breath is an esoteric, sacred tradition only transmitted orally from teacher to student  through direct lineage from Babaji.   The true Cobra Breath has never been written down or recorded. When receiving Cobra Breath, it is important to be properly prepared and have an appreciation of this gift when being initiated. Cobra Breath is a powerful method for quickly opening Ajna (the third eye).   As this center is awakened, you become able to perceive reality as it really is (through witness consciousness), rather than our usual manner (maya.)

Witness consciousness is the ability to maintain our center in the midst of emotional upheaval and is essential to any advanced practice of Kundalini.  Witness helps us see beyond the unconscious beliefs, early childhood patterning, judgments, and trauma, to the Divine within all of us. This brings light to our dark aspects speeding our spiritual development.

The Cobra Breath pulls Shakti energy into the secret Kriya Channel, charging the spine with energy and changing the electro-magnetic properties of the cerebro-spinal fluid, allowing Kundalini to move up the spine and activate the third eye. The nervous system is transformed and you awaken to higher consciousness.

Prerequisites / Guidelines
Now, I want to be clear here. Cobra Breath is not for everyone, certainly it is not for beginners. I have seen a lot of grief and drama occur in persons not authentically prepared for this high level practice. What you are unwilling to transform within your subconscious will be reinforced by any true Kundalini technique. The Taoists sometimes call this “circling the midplane.” You have to be ready to let go of that which no longer serves your higher interest. The readiness of any given individual has to be assessed by a teacher in person. Here are some general guidelines:

– Transmute your Karmic patterning
Karmic Patterns are old habits based on early childhood and adolescent trauma and imprinting. We accrue these patterns from our parents and family, persons we associate with in life, even birth trauma itself. Karma burning is best accomplished through deep meditation with a guru and, to some extent, through body centered psychotherapy such as Bioenergetics. Truly understanding and transmuting the held energies of of our Inner Child is essential. This requirement alone eliminates the vast majority of people.

– Become Self-Responsible
Most people never do this. We prefer to see ourselves as helpless victims of circumstance and the actions of others. “You hurt me” “that thing you did made me so angry”; these “you” statements are an attempt to project responsibility onto others, thereby avoiding the hard work necessary to empower ourselves to take responsibility for our thoughts and emotions. If we blame others, we can never own our emotions and master our Self.

– Be Present
We live in anticipation of the future while repressing aspects of our past that we don’t like. We shuttle back and forth between past and future, robbing ourselves of our life and re-creating old patterns of being. As Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” Allowing our thoughts to travel indiscriminately between past and future is the scam we use to avoid doing our spiritual work and thereby staying in our dysfunctional comfort zone. True creation and spiritual evolution occur only in the moment.

There are many practices that can achieve the above goals. However, not all spiritual roads have the same speed limit. Given that the practitioner is authentic in their sadhana, the pace of awakening will depend on the level of consciousness of the individual, efficacy of the technique(s), outside cultural and interpersonal influences, and the amount of time invested. Some preparatory rules of thumb:

Hatha Yoga: at least 3 years of daily practice, 1 hour or more per day. Some Masters require 12 years. Hatha yoga alone is not enough, one must be able to enter into deep states of meditation while staying totally present. Breathwork is also essential.

Tantric Qigong / T’ai Chi: 1- 3 years of non-martial oriented practice, along with meditation. Bioenergetic analysis and Breath work can be very helpful when done in conjunction with this training.

Kundalini Yoga / Chakra Yoga: most forms now taught in the West require several years of training and daily practice. This practice is not well grounded, so one needs to master some T’ai Chi,Tantric Qigong, and Bioenergetics.

Contraindications
As I stated above, most people are not going to be ready for Cobra Breath in this lifetime. Even some who are teaching Cobra Breath have not fully prepared themselves, and thus pass on their kundalini-energized dysfunctions to their students. I have observed many astounding examples of this occurring. Here are some warning signs that a person is not yet prepared:

– Blaming others: A person who feels they are victimized and others are at fault is a sure sign of that person not being ready.

– Taking things personally: Like the above, we feel others are directing their “stuff” at us. Another’s drama has nothing to do with us, yet the ill-prepared student will perceive this as an attack and take it in, setting off a host of defensive mechanisms.

– Depression: Depression is a suppression of life force. It is the “flight” portion of the animal “fight or flight” response. Cobra Breath will just create more sadness.

– Rage / Anger: This kind of person is heavily invested in the “fight” part of the “fight or flight” response. Usually this kind of person blames others, though if he or she turns this energy inward, the ensuing self-judgment will begin to affect one’s energy system, mind / emotions, and the physical body, often creating a dangerous and unstable condition. This also holds true for highly manipulative control freaks.

– Attraction to Catharsis: Neo-tantric and the now discredited Primal Scream therapies are disadvantageous practices with regard to Cobra Breath in particular, and attaining self knowledge in general. Karma merely circles the midplane and becomes even more ensconced within the psyche as it is reinforced by the indiscriminate stimulation of this high level energy. This “letting off steam”  feels like a “breakthrough” to  some people, but long term observation tends to reveal that not much changes. Drama Queens and Kings who practice this are poor candidates for Cobra Breath. I am continually amazed at the number of false neo-tantric teachers who recommend this process. Suicides and false memories of childhood trauma have been linked to practicing Primal Scream and catharsis.

– Anxiety / Neurosis / Obsession – Compulsion (OCD): Fear and its compensatory mechanisms bind up large amounts of primal energy. This bound energy has nowhere healthy to go. Adding more energy with the Cobra Breath will just increase the frenzy, tipping an individual into increasingly unhealthy states of being.

Physical Contraindications: Untreated hypertension, chronic headaches, drug addiction, chronic dysmenorrhea (Cobra Breath may increase pain and blood flow), anyone who is physically very ill.

Energy Idiot-Savants: I have heard some faux teachers of Cobra Breath make statements to the effect that “only those who are prepared will be attracted to Cobra Breath.” This New-Ageism is totally fallacious. I certainly have seen persons who are attracted to Cobra Breath significantly harm themselves physically and/or mentally by insisting they are ready when they are authentically not. Usually, an unprepared person will not get much from Cobra Breath. It just doesn’t work for them. I believe this is a kind of built-in protection for the “innocent”, just like a baby would not be able to drive a truck. They’re just not big enough to reach the ignition, steering wheel, and pedals, so nothing happens.

Occasionally though, an “energy idiot-savant” may get their hands on the Cobra Breath. This is a very tricky situation. The “idiot” part has not achieved sufficiently deep inner transformation to be healthy and ready for Cobra Breath Initiation, while the “savant” portion can be surprisingly adept at moving the Kundalini energy. This is a sort of “irresistible force meets an immovable object” conundrum and big drama and potential harm can occur. This can be partly ameliorated by living in an ashram with your teacher, or at least having regular contact, support, and instruction. Thus, attempting to receive Cobra Breath long-distance, or in a one-shot weekend workshop without regular support can either be dangerous or ineffective in the long run.

Reading all the above cautions can make Cobra Breath seem a little scary. If you truly feel anxious about it, you most likely are not ready. If you are interested, make sure you develop a daily practice (see guidelines above) and stick to it. Most people will self-select themselves in or out of this practice, and energy idiot savants can be screened out by the exceptionally perceptive master. Cobra Breath remains one of the most efficacious and profound tools for Awakening available to the dedicated student of the spiritual path. (c) Keith E. Hall & www.inner-tranquility.com

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