SPIRITUALITY STUDIESVolume 7 / Issue 2 FALL 2021
Content issue Spirituality Studies 7-2 Fall 2021 Publisher: The Society for Spirituality Studies Published in partnership with Monastic Interreligious Dialogue and European Union of Yoga Available online: www.spirituality-studies.org Editor-in-Chief: Doc. Dr. Martin Dojčár PhD. Graphic Design: Martin Hynek Contact: editor@spirituality-studies.org ISSN 1339-9578 Editorial Martin Dojčár Donate Spirituality Studies’ mission is to deliver the top quality of studies, articles, educational materials and information related to spirituality in its multiple forms. At the same time, the journal provides a forum for sharing personal spiritual experience. By combining both academic and experiential approaches to spirituality the Spirituality Studies aims at providing a unique platform for dialogue between a variety of viewpoints, approaches and methodologies in the study of spirituality. Spirituality Studies publishes all articles with accordance with the open access policy allowing their unlimited public use. Please consider donating to support continual publishing of Spirituality Studies as an open access journal for free. 01 02 From Individual to Universal: A Story of Kundalinī Awakening Monique Rebelle 12 Qi: A Personal Take on the Intersection of TCM and the Natural Sciences Mark Westmoquette 24 What Is Behind the Window? Ontological Question of Spiritual Experience Between Rudolf Otto and Carl Gustav Jung Andrej Rajský 36 Aging, Cultivation, and Transcendence in Confucianism Seongmin Hong 48 Three Types of Medieval Allegory as a Basis of Later Christian Spirituality Rastislav Nemec 60 Adaptation to Cancer in the Context of Spirituality Mária Dědová, Gabriel Baník ← ← Cover: Half Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old [Confucius] Author unknown (1279–1368) Album leaf, ink and colors on paper Wikimedia Commons 70 Spirituality and Religious Orientation in Relation to Posttraumatic Growth in Cancer Patients Mário Schwarz, Lucia Vavrová
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 1 EDITORIAL Editorial It is self-transcendence that stands at the core of every authentic spirituality. No matter what form of practice one’s spirituality takes, self-transcendence is always involved in it as a movement going “through” or “beyond” our “ordinary” human experience as the Latin etymology of transcendence suggests: “moving upward” (Lat. scandere) “through” or “beyond” (Lat. trans). In its original sense, self-transcendence denotes a process of reaching “beyond” our self-image, i.e. , our identification with a particular psychosomatic structure. In the European tradition going back to the antient Greek philosophy, Aristotle expressed the idea of “becoming” by the term energeia (Gr. ενέργεια; Lat. āctuālitās) and gave two examples of what he meant by it – pleasure and happiness. Both are of experiential nature, and both are manifestations of energeia. In the Indian tradition dating back to the Vedic times, notably in its Tantric branch, a similar idea is expressed particularly by the notion of Kundalinī. The same is true of the Buddhist Mahāyāna Tantra traditions, and the “esoteric” Chinese traditions of Taoism, although obviously individual theories and interpretations may differ one from another. Cordially Martin Dojčár There is another framing notion Aristotle relates to energeia – dunamis (Gr. δύναμις; Lat. potentia) as the inherent “capacity” or potentiality “to be” (Gr. εἰμί, “I am”). This ousia (Gr. οὐσία; Lat. essentia or substantia) is hidden “beyond” sensual and conceptual dimension of our reality and needs to be uncovered (Gr. ἀλήθεια). When this happens, wisdom arises. As the symbol of wisdom on the cover of the current edition of Spirituality Studies is depicted Confucius (551–479 BCE) – the quintessence of Chinese sages: philosopher, politician, leading figure among those, who established the foundations of the Chinese civilization. All those, who contributed to the 2021 Fall edition of Spirituality Studies, are shedding light on the process of self-transcendence in the areas of their interests, whether it is a personal experience with Kundalinī rising and subtle energies, gerotranscendence, medieval allegory, or the processes of adaptation to cancer and posttraumatic growth in cancer patients. Let me invite you, dear readers, to learn more from their inspiring takes on the pages of the Spirituality Studies journal.
2 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 From Individual to Universal: A Story of Kundalinī Awakening Received September 13, 2021 Revised October 10, 2021 Accepted October 11, 2021 In her article, the author provides a description of her spontaneous spiritual experience of the Kundalinī awakening accompanied with the interpretation of selected aspects of this transformative experience in particular with regard to its central elements conceptualized in the notions of consciousness, the subtle body, chakras, and Kundalinī. Monique Rebelle Key words Kundalinī, subtle body, chakras, consciousness
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 3 Monique Rebelle 1 Introduction I was born in Poland. Although being grown up in a catholic country, I had no religious affiliation, nor interest in having one. On the other hand, I had a curiosity about life and desire to know the truth. I left Poland on my own as a teenager with an idea of finding the truth through art. When my spontaneous experience happened, I was thirty five – a mother living unhappily without her child, a “starving artist” on a shoestring budget, renting a dusty attic in a not-that-great part of Los Angeles. By then, I had a history of unusual experiences, psychic premonitions, telling dreams, powerful insights and inspirations, and intense emotions. For About the author Monique Rebelle is a spiritual teacher, painter, and an author. Born in Poland, she dedicated her life to art at the age of fourteen. In 1992 she experienced a spontaneous Kundalinī rising. Subsequently Monique has spent twenty-five years evaluating her experience and eventually began providing spiritual teaching. She authored the book Transcendence Calling: The Power of Kundalini Rising and Spiritual Enlightenment. Her email address is info@moniquerebelle.com. ← ← Entrance © Monique Rebelle years I kept focus on my artwork, which was my own investigation into the unknown, my life philosophy and my subconscious spiritual practice. At some point of my journey, after years of struggle, months of depression and at the verge of suicide, I went through an experience I had no previous idea existed. I hadn’t even known the word Kundalinī before, I hadn’t believed in chakras, and I had only a vague idea about spiritual awakening. The experience changed it all at once.
4 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 2 The Sudden Experience of Kundalinī 2.1 AMental Struggle That morning I woke up sensing the nervous breakdown closer than ever before. I could not find peace. I was well aware that thirteen years, that I had given myself to succeed, had gone by and I had not realized my goals. I had failed. Next to that earnest realization, nothing else mattered. I started to have suicidal thoughts. Initially, they would come and go, but eventually there was nothing but suicidal thoughts and strong inclinations to fulfill the urge right away. I hated myself and blamed myself for failing. At the same time, the idea was horrifying. I had always been a positive person who considered suicide an unacceptable solution. Now, as I found myself in an emotional state of unbearable discomfort, it felt that the only way of coping was to end the torture. At around 2:20 pm I was determined to get razor blades, however, there were none in my place. On the way to the store, as I came downstairs from my attic studio and walked down the hall to exit the house, I took a glance at the bathroom door and suddenly decided to take a shower. I was not at all in a mood for it but contact with water had been soothing to me. I was still trying to do whatever I could to stop myself from what I thought was the only right thing to do. I climbed into the tub, turned on the water, and… quickly collapsed in resignation. It took all my energy to comply with the order I had given myself entering the bathroom: not to allow negative emotions to take over my mind. Throughout the years I had trained my mind to paint in any emotional state. I often felt very sad or frustrated but learned to push through it and work anyway. My actions were instinctive, yet surprisingly effective. Sometimes, I could even observe the emotional charge I felt, disappearing into the painting with my paint brush serving as a bridge between me and the canvas. Now, without a painting in front of me, I needed to consciously focus on the technique I practiced so far without thinking. At first, I decided to find out the nature of the emotion that had such control over me. What was that force wanting me to destroy myself? Where exactly was it? What was it doing to me? It was extremely painful, but I knew that in order to deal with it, I needed to feel it completely. I set out to identify it. A thought depression came to my mind and I saw it as a step forward. Depression was covering me like a dark, dense cloud, but at the same time I figured that the cloud was limited by its name and therefore it was not boundless. I realized I could possibly step out of it. When painting, I was simply moving my focus away from my emotional state onto the canvas, but now I had nothing to move it into. I still desperately had to do something and I forcefully made that step taking my focus away from the emotion. I was aware that the emotion was just nearby, I could not deny it, but at the same time I found myself in a space I had never known before. It was like an emotional vacuum – a very particular state accompanied by a vision of a desolate landscape without a focal point. There was no more pain and no joy either – there was nothing. I called it emptiness. Seconds later, the wave of agony hit me again. This time I knew what to do, and I repeated the process of stepping out of the dark cloud. I ordered my mind to focus on not letting the emotion back in. It worked again several times, each time a bit longer. The first few times I couldn’t breathe during the process, because breathing was bringing the emotion back in, but soon I was able to focus on breathing slowly, and the emotion was not coming back. I laid in the tub without any emotion, just breathing. In that state of “emotional emptiness” I could clearly see what was happening with my mind. It did not stop processing because emotions were not there. My mind kept on going, obsessively tracing back in time to figure out what did I do to end up this way. Then I realized, that even if grave mistakes were found, I could not take back time and fix them. They were no more repairable. Over and over my mind kept on getting back to the same solution: The end to my life. That became the final answer and there was no more mental struggle and no more emotions. I surrendered. After a minute or two with my eyes closed, I was ready to get up and proceed with the plan. Then I opened my eyes.
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 5 Monique Rebelle 2.2 A Kundalinī Awakening Right in front of me, on the background of the white wall of the tub, a rope of lambent rainbow light was moving slowly. It was somewhere between one and two inches in diameter, its speed was constant. I stared at it as it kept on twisting and turning quite beautifully. It seemed to originate from my crotch, looped around my legs, sometimes reaching above the edge of the tub, then spreading around my body in wider loops. I continued examining it in a detached, somber manner, but the longer I observed it the more frightened I became. The terrifying part was, that I could very clearly tell that what I was looking at, was not of the world I knew– it came from somewhere I had no knowledge of. It was completely beyond my experience and comprehension. I could not trace any connection between my state of being and the beautiful, serpentine ray of light glowing and dancing peacefully. My reality was senseless, hollow, doomed, and yet I found myself surrounded by a dense flow of rainbow light, clearly visible and gliding gently. I kept on watching in shock as the light slowly swirled around me and in instinctive reaction I jumped up in horror before I knew I was doing it. I was rushing out of the tub as fast as I could, but when the door was half-open and I was taking a step out, I noticed, in disbelief, that the rainbow was still around me! Just as I initially thought, it was coming out of me. I saw it circulating through me and I realized I could not separate myself from it – it was a part of me! Seeing that made me think of two options: I could either freak out and screaming as loudly as possible, release the terror I felt by jumping out into the empty hall, or I could conquer my fear. A moment later I decided to stay in place saying to myself, “no matter what happens, I am going to watch this.” I closed the sliding glass door and sat down in the tub again. This time I crossed my legs and faced the wall with the window. 2.3 Uncovering the Present Moment I was calmed down and waited quietly. Seconds went by and I began to doubt if anything else was going to happen, when suddenly my vision began to fill with pictures, images in motion, comparable to short video clips. I saw a small child, then heard that child’s thoughts in my head. As the imagery continued, I began to recognize the situations the child encountered. With a great surprise, I realized that the child was me. I was looking at myself (from the past) standing below myself as a present observer, from a distance of about six feet. Childhood, youth, and adult life – the episodes from my life appeared one after the other. Each scene had to do with a specific thought, an important decision about some aspect of my life. Some of the images I remembered well; they had been in my awareness as I was growing up. Others appeared to me as if some unknown source of information supplied my memory, but once I saw them, I could also recall them as true scenarios from my past. Within just a few minutes, I was able to review all the events of my life, recall my exact thoughts along with their development, and see the chain of events and decisions as something that brought me to where I was in the present moment. It is difficult to explain how I was able to follow the thoughts that spanned the course of my life, but my mind had no problem with it. During the entire process, I remained completely aware of what was going on. It was really about those initial thoughts, that developed into feelings, opinions, stances, and conclusions that created who I was. I watched them one by one and followed their development until they were carried into the present. At the very moment, when the thought I followed reached the present, it would become resolved and it would just vanish! The thoughts in that process were comparable to bubbles of oxygen in water, moving up to reach the surface then subsequently vanish. I saw my life in detail, comprehended every second and all became clear. I realized that my life was resolved! There were no more questions or doubts – no thoughts lingering in my mind. All of them finalized and dispersed. Now I could still observe new thoughts coming up. There were just a few, all connected with my observation of
6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 the process. With ease, my mind was resolving them on its own, with me just watching. As the thoughts again vanished one after another, I felt my consciousness rapidly transforming. My whole identity was shifting. Who, I thought I was, became obsolete. Now I saw it as a dried-up shield of mud, separating from me, falling away. The sweeping motion altered the substance of mud. It turned into a dense, almost solid smoke, dissolving into nothingness. What used to be an integral part of me, detached, fell apart, then disappeared. The realization came with a sudden, tremendous release and lightness. That what I was NOT was gone! There was no longer any need to put any labels on myself – I existed in full capacity with myself conscious of the changes taking place. That experience taught me that my attention is in fact capable of following one thought at a time, observing its track and its final resolution. The thought, once completely clear in meaning, function, and logic, just disappears. I could do it with any thought and the result would be the same: full clarity and exponential expansion of mental capacity. I also realized that every vanishing thought results in a gain of uplifting light and clarity of the mind. I now had access to all my thoughts as they freely appeared. The scope of my mental vision became boundless. I did not need to be anybody or to think of myself as somebody. Liberated, I was engaging in watching my own passage into something I could not yet give a name to. I had no more problems – they were all gone. I realized that what was gone was the Ego, while my consciousness was now simply present and observing. I felt so horrible just minutes before, and my life was so unbearable. Guilt and regrets were hunting me, I was lost, could not find the way out, ready to end my life. And then the miracle happened. I saw clearly that the miracle was not reserved for me alone, and what I experienced had a universal potential. I said to myself cheerfully: “If this happened to me, it could happen to everybody!” Feeling so much more joy and lightness, I could perceive an infinity of concepts readily accessible all the time, and I knew that there was no question that needed to remain unanswered. My mind opened with full awareness and could investigate any chosen issue correctly, down to its final resolution. At that moment there was nothing left to solve and no need to experiment with it anymore. 2.4 A Gift of Eternal Love My attention shifted and focused on observing the process as it continued. There was no rainbow, but a whitish radiance that soon became sprinkled with golden sparks. It felt like the light and the tiny gold speckles were flowing through me. I became weightless as a beautiful golden light was descending on me like a gift and I became ecstatic – feeling like being lifted up and levitating above the bottom of the tub. I also began to feel support and care given to me, which was so surprising, as I never asked for anything like it or ever thought it was even possible. I had a distinct sense that there was an entity nearby, I felt its closeness and it was wonderful. The presence was beautifully attractive, safe and its energy was giving. I felt it approaching and I leaned toward it without control, but control was not needed. Slowly and gently but without any hesitation, the presence took hold of me. It felt like I was falling in love without any intention of turning back. Several seconds later, in a very distinct moment, I felt a physical touch right in my heart. I did not imagine it, I actually experienced it. I could never have even dreamed what happened next, when the presence bestowed its love on me. I knew that I had always, somewhere deep inside, hoped and blindly searched for that love, but I had never been able to even imagine it. The presence reached all the way into my heart with true love, and an overwhelming, unmistakable sense of fulfillment took me over. It was more real than any love, I had ever felt before. I was loved truly, and I loved truly, leaving nothing behind. It was all love, in every way, not only a sweet, beautiful feeling but also a passionate fire. The Presence knew me intimately, my every thought, every emotion, and completely loved me. I felt it strongly, without any doubts. I was very present, and I knew where I was and what was going on. It felt like the target was hit and that feeling would never go away. Love had found me, and I had found it. I was home forever. Nothing was given up, everything was gained. I realized that the state of ecstasy was permanent and always accessible, and although at the time it was given to me intimately and exclusively, that love is there for every being all the time. I could see that just like me, all beings are loved eternally, ecstatically, beautifully, and even madly. Love is always there for everyone to receive, just as we are, in any state and any circumstance, at any time. The space and colors surrounding me were flowing, translucent greens and pinks of infinite depths. I was now free to love, right to love, and full of love for the whole world. I realized that I was here to give love endlessly, just as it had been
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 7 Monique Rebelle given to me. The preciousness of that realization became sacred. With my whole being, I held that sacred love as the meaning of my life, as the meaning of all life. I began to send my abundant love to all beings who were living their lives feeling unloved. It happened naturally – my heart poured out love. As that took place and I witnessed it, I eventually comprehended that it was precisely what Buddha and Jesus taught and did. Now, I knew the secret. They had received that same love and spent their lifetimes giving it and teaching it. My desire for peace and love in the world was not just a naïve, silly fantasy of an inexperienced youth. Rather, I concluded, love is the wisest, deepest truth of life and came to an understanding that Christianity began with acknowledgment of that universal love. It became clear to me, that although love is always there for us, we are too busy, or rather attached to our physical, emotional, and mental realms, to feel that love. I started to think about the problems of the world, about how blinded we are by the material reality. By the time I experienced the revelation about love, all my potential needs and desires were satisfied in surplus, and I was united in love with the real source of love. Now, without any personal needs and completely fulfilled, I could see clearly and lovingly, the rest of humanity, with all the people and their problems and suffering, and I knew that I had been given wisdom that could help the world. “This is what it is all about!” I thought. Love was flowing in abundance from my heart naturally, without me making any decisions about it. I felt my open, compassionate heart giving love to the world. 2.5 An Expansion of Consciousness Moments later, I humbly contemplated the magnitude of the sacred truths that were revealed, when suddenly I began to hear music. At first, I thought it was coming from somewhere in the house, but soon I realized that the growing sound of a heavenly orchestra was only around me. The concert was full, monumental, beautiful, and so arousing, I was soon mesmerized by it. The air turned blue and was getting still bluer and denser. The choirs of angelic voices sang in notes too high for humans to reach, and as low as the Buddhist chants and lower. The harmonies were spell bounding, and I was swaying, entranced. As the music continued, I noticed the air getting even darker blue and shapes coming out of darkness. Soon I could see illuminated images of figures scrolling in front of me. They were passing slowly and as they reached my eye level, each of them introduced themselves and deeply gazed into my eyes. I accepted their greetings and felt they were acknowledging my state and knew more about it than I did. I understood their appearance meant introduction into their realm. At that time their individuality did not matter, nor did mine. Our connection was about their work and the purpose of my induction into the world they existed in. Without words I was given access to shared knowledge that was guarded by the group I was now a part of. I had no words for what was going on, but at the same time, I knew it without words. With reverence I watched the figures slowly fade into darkness, when the next stage of my transition began.
8 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 2.6 Immortality Revealed The vision appeared out of a dark purple background, but I had no idea what I was looking at. In front of me was a neon green grid of thin laser lines disappearing into infinity. The lines crossed evenly, and every crossing had a little neon blue light with a white, pulsating center. As I kept on asking, investigating the meaning of the image, an intuitive answer came with certainty: I was looking at the matrix of creation! The pulsating lights contained coded information about each life, past and future. They were sources of each individual life story. I wanted to know if my life was there too, and I began searching the infinite grid, hovering over the matrix of creation. Eventually, soon after diving into the unknown, I suddenly felt one of the blue lights had my essence. There it was, in that tiny blue capsule! I looked around and realized that the substance of each life is created beyond the frame of time we are accustomed to. It was already there before we could see it or identify it. It existed in another dimension. It was a rather somber discovery that all lives have a coded destiny that is simply formulated on a grid, but it would quickly become of minimal importance. A few moments later it was replaced by an eruption of conscious energy that could not be described by words. It was not a vision, and its appearance was not external. It was inside of me, an immense, tremendous realization that eventually formed into a statement. Whatever I had experienced or imagined before disappeared compared to the magnitude of this new realization. I felt arising from the inside, like an atomic explosion, but silently – a free and boundless being. Then, the statement I AM came from the depths of my existence. Something immense emerged and spoke and it was not possible to add anything to it. That state of glorious recognition lasted for a while. I was acutely aware of all that was happening and what had happened up until that moment, and new realizations did not contradict one another as I was in a state of full awareness and comprehension. I could see at once through all the worlds I had visited so far. My existence now presented itself on the background of eons of time, throughout the lifetimes. I was a single unit of consciousness existing independently of any measure. The illusion of the material world became thoroughly clear and my soul – the Self was forever released from earthly concerns. It was clear that the sense of individual identity remains with the soul throughout lifetimes and that all souls have similar characteristics. The eruption of conscious energy I described above, led to the next stage, and allowed me for a particular discernment that in turn led to another astounding realization. I noticed that soul, while timeless, appears on the background of physical reality as a creator of itself, in a burst of creative impulse. That moment of discernment illuminated my very reason for being. It became clear that the deep, irresistible pull into the creative process, is the intrinsic nature of all souls. All the pains of mortal life were worth that clarification. Following the observation about the soul creating itself was another discovery: Existence comes into being continually expressed by that blissfully sublime, yet unimaginably potent force. All is created simultaneously, in every moment anew, just by the energy of a thought. The sphere of thoughts is instantly comprehended and arranged into concepts that are, in that state, still abstract. Four years prior to the present experience, I had an epiphany about the abstract dimension while painting. I realized what had happened then. I existed in that sphere again, this time clearly one of the thoughts, observing my own becoming. I began wondering what gives soul the energy to create itself, when the question eagerly appeared, “what creates all of life?” The answer came in fast and clear, promptly after the question, and my mind was blown again.
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 9 Monique Rebelle 2.7 Union with the Ultimate Consciousness The answer was inspiration. I naturally grasped that thought and in the same moment became it. My awareness, in an instant, expanded in all directions, reaching everywhere. I perceived that I AM the creator in the moment of creating. I connected with the Ultimate Consciousness, the Only One God, Brahman and I became IT in omnipresent lucidity and bliss. I became present in the moment of being created by consciousness and I was creating that consciousness by the same action. As soon as that realization became complete, everything was flushed away by the brightest Light that suddenly engulfed me. Soaring like a comet in that boundless illumination, I tried to find more thoughts, but there was not a single thought left. There was only very bright Light. The state of full consciousness exists in the absence of all thought. Just by being in the state of constant, inexhaustible inspiration, in peaceful ecstasy of potential creation, all life is realized. I say “potential” because it is the essence of consciousness that creates unlimited potential. The experience of life is a result of our multidimensional perceptions. That stage of union with the Ultimate Consciousness was light and blissful awareness: no thoughts, no changes, no time. It was not possible to think or measure anything, yet the awareness was absolute, beyond any knowledge. The precious sacredness that was initiated with the discovery of ever-present love was carried to the state of unity and peace in full capacity of being. When the process was complete, I just sat motionless, until I knew it was time to get up and get out of the tub. All was clear, but I could not find words to describe it. I went upstairs to my studio. Although I was very aware what happened but would not be able to express it – my mind was blown. The lid was blown off the top of my head, I did not want or need to think. I had no program to follow or a dream to fulfill. I knew I was going to do something, but I did not care what it was, because I was free. Whatever I did was already complete. In place of any mental analysis of what took place, I had only awe and total reverence. The scope of what I experienced was beyond any possible rationalization – I was more than amazed and wonderstruck. The recognition of the unbelievable greatness that presented itself to me demanded nothing short of complete devotion and surrender. “This is how religions are born,” I said to myself.
1 0 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 3 What I Have Learned frommy Experience The transformative experience described above opened my understanding to a variety of spiritual topics including human subtle body and its subtle energies. What exactly have I learned from my experience? The following interpretation represents only a small part of my major insights. 3.1 The Subtle Body In my experience, as my consciousness was “traveling” upwards the spine, it was passing through what I recognized as “dimensions of perception”. In my understanding, the dimensions are ever-present fields and chakras serve as the gates to them. Through these dimensions of perception we experience life from different perspectives and thus come to different conclusions about life. 3.2 The Kundalinī Energy I went through the full Kundalinī rising experience without knowing anything about it. Kundalinī is considered to be resting at the bottom of the spine in the sacrum area in the physical body, between the first and second chakra of the subtle body. According to my understanding, as it creates the body, from being a formless entity without any characteristics, it becomes survival, sexual, and creative. When Kundalinī is awakened and risen – moving through each chakra and finally reaching above the top of the head – spiritual enlightenment takes place. I understand that it is not yet the permanent state of enlightenment, as for that our consciousness needs to reside permanently in the heart center. Accordingly, to my observations during interactions with my students, partial Kundalinī awakenings are more common, but can cause various physical, emotional, mental, and other problems. During a partial Kundalinī rising the current is unable to break through heavily congested or undeveloped chakra(s). Therefore, in my teachings, I focus on clearing the lower chakras and cultivating the upper ones, and not on arousing Kundalinī. I have experienced that Kundalinī can arise and become visible uncoiling outside of the body. During a full, complete process of ascendance, its current enters the chakras and clears up all the congested and stagnant energy. Thus, Kundalinī arousal can revitalize human body and empower it with a lot of extra energy. My abundant, seemingly tireless physical energy after the experience was astounding me for years. 3.3 Dimensions of Perception My consciousness moved through seven dimensions, and I realized that each of them is operating on a different principle. Many of my observations align with the existing information about the Kundalinī energy and chakras, as well as the process of Kundalinī rising. The root chakra is the gate to the first dimension, which opens to us the realm of material reality we experience. That intricate reality includes our bodies and all the physical world. It is the “flesh and blood” of our being. The second chakra is the gate to the second dimension related to the realm of emotional experiencing. In my experience Kundalinī is able to move through the second chakra when there is no “emotional content” in it. At the beginning of my spiritual experiences, I actually instinctively arrived at that state of “emotional emptiness”. The full Kundalinī current cleared up all the lingering emotional blockages forever. Thirty years later still, none of my deep, heavy emotional problems ever came back. The third dimension accessible through the third chakra is, in my understanding, the dimension of will and goal oriented, discursive thinking. I perceive Ego as a dominance of the first three chakras in our subtle body system. From a practical point of view, when the emotional, i.e. , second chakra was emotionally neutral and with my mind being trained to focus and surrender, Kundalinī could enter the third chakra and clear it up. When this happened, all my thoughts arrived to the present moment and subsequently vanished. In this way Kundalinī passage through the third chakra released the hold of Ego and freed my mind. The fourth dimension is, based on my experience, the dimension of sacred love, that is, the source of all love we experience, both personal and universal. I also learned that all concepts originating from the power of goodness belong to that dimension. Like all other dimensions, sacred love exists beyond the construct of time and can be accessed through its gate chakra, which is the fourth one. In the first part of the passage through the fourth chakra, I experienced receiving the grace. After I received the grace, I became aware that all
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 1 1 Monique Rebelle is loved and in love forever. I also found, that after a full Kundalinī rising, practice is still needed to bring consciousness to settle in the heart center. Passage of Kundalinī through the fourth chakra initiated the element of sacredness that continues as Kundalinī goes higher. The fifth dimension I found to be an exchange of energy. Energy can be exchanged via various ways. We mostly experience it through sound, but there are also other ways we can receive and give energy. I realized that spiritual healing needs the fourth chakra participation but is facilitated by the fifth chakra. To my understanding, the sixth dimension has many layers, such as visions and intuitive explanation of visions, perception of the known reality as an illusion, understanding of the hierarchy of chakras, realms of archetypes (including deities), conceptualization of all religions and various esoteric systems, and so on. I experienced that the process of Self-realization takes place in the last layers of the sixth dimension. This is when we realize we are eternal and exist beyond any earthly measures. The seventh dimension appears to me as the witnessing consciousness – observing and discerning wisdom. The process of Kundalinī movement through the seventh chakra was most incredible. As my Self-inquiry continued, Oneness with what I call Ultimate Consciousness took place without thoughts and in complete, all-encompassing Light. 4 Conclusion The transformative experience of my life has taught me that consciousness is not human, nor non-human. Consciousness transcends human reality and creates it at the same time. As such, it is always accessible. The key to it is hidden in our “ordinary” human consciousness. But even that doesn’t seem ordinary to me. Through the lens of my transformative experience human consciousness appears to me structured – multidimensional. My experience has also showed me the way, how to uncover its structure. The “path” goes through our subtle body when Kundalinī travels up. When Kundalinī is able to make the transit through all the major seven chakras, one’s individualized consciousness unites with the Ultimate Consciousness. At that very moment, individuality is transcended and the real (unimaginable to us) consciousness reveals itself.
1 2 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 Qi: A Personal Take on the Intersection of TCM and the Natural Sciences Mark Westmoquette
Mark Westmoquette S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 1 3 Received May 21, 2021 Revised July 10, 2021 Accepted July 11, 2021 In his paper, the author describes his own personal journey of discovering and understanding of subtle energy (Zh. Qi; Sa. prāna) as a way of furthering the virtual dialogue between natural sciences and spirituality. Using his own personal experiences from yoga and meditation as motivation, he discusses the way he has come to understand subtle energy in terms of the various scientific definitions and types of energy. In this regard, he considers the correspondence between subtle energy and the bioelectromagnetic field of the body, as well as how some physical effects could be understood if, under particular circumstances, this field came into body-wide coherence or resonance. Different types of energy are also explored as corresponding to the Qi of the meridian channels of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In conclusion, the author comes to such understanding of the notion of energy, which reaches the limits of language-based definitions, and this limit points at the potential of a more holistic understanding of energy and the nature of the Universe. Key words Qi, prāna, subtle energy, meridians, TCM ↑ ↑ Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 or “The Eye of God”
1 4 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 About the author Mark Westmoquette, Ph.D., obtained his doctoral degree in astrophysics in 2007 and subsequently spent seven years as a professional astronomer. After training as a yoga teacher in 2009, he has taught yoga worldwide. In 2015 he spent a short period as a Zen monk, and after recently living for two years on the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, he now teaches yoga, Zen, and mindful stargazing from his base in London. He is the author of four books: Mindful Thoughts for Stargazers, Stars: A Practical Guide to the Key Constellations, The Mindful Universe and Zen and the Art of Dealing with Difficult People. Mark’s email address is mark@markwestmoquette. co.uk. 1 Encountering Subtle Energy I’ve always had a very rational, mathematical mind. When I was eighteen (in 1999) I went to University College London to study astrophysics. A year or so before, however, when I was about seventeen, I got into target rifle shooting as a sport. When I joined the university shooting club and started getting more serious, I read it would be helpful to start doing something like yoga to improve body and breath awareness – two things essential in target shooting. I found a yoga class in the university gym and started going regularly. Having not been particularly sporty as I grew up, I enjoyed the physical challenges yoga presented and I marveled at how other students were able to gracefully flow through a sun salutation and do headstands. However, I was almost completely put off by talk of subtle energy – chakras, and prāna. The fluffy, pseudo-scientific language of esoteric energy jarred immensely with what I was hearing in my physics lectures. From my young, hyper-rational perspective, the existence of prāna was undoubtedly imaginary (or at best ungrounded in any scientific reality). It was too “woo woo” for me! So, in those first few years, I gravitated towards physically stronger, less “spiritual” yoga classes, and felt uncomfortable every time mention of prāna or chakras came up. In 2007 I met my Zen teacher Daizan Roshi. He perceptively presented meditation practice to me in an appealingly scientific way. He suggested that I see my body as the lab and follow the methodology he described, but that there was no foregone conclusion – it was up to me to find out for myself what the effects of meditation were. I committed to a daily meditation practice and began investigating my mind-body from this new angle. Daizan is also a yoga teacher and had started running Zen-Yoga teacher training programs. I felt very drawn to this, so in 2009 attended one of his intensive residential training courses in Devon, UK. I had several experiences on that teacher training retreat that blew my mind with regards to my understanding of subtle energy. First came after doing some simple Qigong based
S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 1 5 Mark Westmoquette movements. When we held our hands apart with eyes closed and concentrated our awareness on the palms, I felt a magnetic kind of resistance and attraction between them. I now know many people can feel this (see e.g. , Kam-Chuen 1991, 75; Jahnke 2002, 100; Cohen 2018, 207), but this was my first undeniable physical experience of Qi energy – and it forced my rational, scientific self to take notice. On the retreat we did yoga nidra (Rama 1986; Desai 2017) every day. During this daily practice, Daizan introduced us to the practice of allowing the digestive fires of the belly to blaze up through the central channel and melt the cool nectar from a point known as bindu in the head (Mallinson 2004, 113; Tracy 2020). After some days of working with this, the instruction was to let the nectar melt down into the fire. At the point for me when the nectar connected with the fire, I experienced a totally unexpected, very pleasurable – almost orgasmic – ripple of sensation through my body, and my back convulsed with a series of jerky movements. In the years that followed, I worked with various other yoga teachers in developing my practice. Through them I started to hear about, then come across, others whose bodies would jiggle and convulse during their practice – sometimes in the spine, sometimes in the legs or arms. All this again blew my mind! These pivotal events were irrefutable – I’d felt them and seen them for myself. But (in my experience) modern physics or biology had nothing to say about what might have caused them. In yoga, Qigong and Zen, they’re understood as being caused by energy – prāna or Qi – but what exactly causes the feeling of magnetism, the spinal convulsing, or the intense pleasurable feelings? And what kind of energy is this? These questions prompted me to begin a deep inquiry into the possible nature of Qi and prāna, and how to square it with concepts of energy that exist in physics. I’m positive I haven’t got to the end of this inquiry, and I acknowledge I may not reach a fully satisfactory conclusion in my lifetime, but I’d like to explain where I’ve got so far. 2 The Natural Sciences’ Perspective on Energy The Sanskrit word prāna and the Chinese word Qi (also Chi) are often translated into English as “energy”. However, the original words are very difficult to define and consequently translate into one equivalent word. The poet William Blake takes the view that “energy is eternal delight” (Blake 1975). In the book Energy Medicine East and West: A Natural History of Qi, the editors (Mayor and Micozzi 2011, 321) compiled a list of the words most used within the book in association with Qi or prāna and came up with the following: flow, circulation vs. block, energy, balance or homeostasis, life force or vitality, breath or wind or cloud-vapor, heat, movement or dynamic. I think this list well describes the range of meanings we find in Eastern teachings about Qi or prāna. Let’s now look at what energy means from a Western standpoint. Strangely enough, the meaning of energy in English is also hard to pin down (perhaps just as much as Qi). The Oxford Dictionary of Physics defines energy to be “a measure of a system’s ability to do work, measured in joules” and that it “can be classified into two forms: potential and kinetic energy” (Oxford Dictionary of Physics 2003, “energy entry”). The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “the power and ability to be physically and mentally active” as well as “the power from something such as electricity or oil that can do work, such as providing light and heat” (Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary 2008, “energy entry”). Other definitions include “the capacity that an object has for performing work” and that “work is done by a force acting on an object” (Halliday et al. 2010, 183; Malone and Dolter 2010, 94). Thus, we find a similar range of associated terms relating to the Western concept of energy: power, ability, doing work, capacity, force, transference, heat, and light. In physics, we learn that energy can exist in a variety of forms, such as potential, electrical, mechanical, or nuclear. It’s been found empirically that energy can be converted from one form to another, but seemingly neither created nor destroyed (a finding that’s been enshrined in the law of conservation of energy). Let’s examine the types of energy known to physics that are found in the human body. I’d like to note that nuclear energy is not mentioned here since it’s not found in body – thankfully! (Nuclear energy arises from fission, decay, or fusion of an atomic nucleus, and is distinct from the energy of other atomic phenomena such as ordinary chemical reactions, which involve only the orbital electrons of atoms.)
1 6 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 2 1 Electromagnetic energy is found in: • The molecular bonds between the atoms and molecules, such as H2O, that make up our tissues (in the form of electrostatic attraction between atoms that share pairs of electrons, forming a covalent bond; Malone and Dolter 2010, 58). • Nerve impulses (in the form of “action potentials”– waves of alternating charge polarity that pass along the membrane of a neuron; Garber 2002, 173). • Currents of charge that pass-through bone and connective tissue (fascia) generated via the piezoelectric effect by compression or tension forces as we move. The piezoelectric effect is the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. Certain cells in bone and fascia sense the current that’s generated and react by laying down new material to optimize the strength of the tissue (Myers 2020, 20). • Direct electrical currents and polarity differences that are found in the body, including skin electrical resistance and currents that exist particularly after injury (Becker 1985, 105). • The electromagnetic field in and around the body. Physics tells us that all moving electrical currents generate an electromagnetic field. This field generated by the electrical activity of the heart is detected with electrocardiograms (ECGs) and by the brain with electroencephalograms (EEGs). The electromagnetic field penetrates the body and extends outside the body, diminishing in strength with distance like all electrical fields (Becker 1985, 81; McCraty 2015, 36). • The thermal infrared radiation emitted by the skin surface (what’s detected by infrared cameras; Halliday et al. 2010, 1094). Chemical energy is manifested: • In the metabolic processes of the body. Oxygen is absorbed via respiration (and waste CO2 emitted) and combined with glucose (formed from the fats, proteins and carbohydrates that are absorbed from our food) to form ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is the main energy currency of organic cells, driving muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, chemical synthesis, etc. In essence, all chemical reactions are the result of the transference of the electromagnetic energy of electrons. Most reactions entail the replacement of weak molecular bonds with stronger ones (Odya and Norris 2017, 28). • As chemical messengers called hormones (e.g. , adrenaline, serotonin, histamine) when in the blood or neurotransmitters in the brain. These pass energy around the body in the form of information and impulses to action (Odya and Norris 2017, 168). Kinetic energy is manifested: • In the form of heat. Any atom or molecule above absolute zero (-273 ˚C) will vibrate. This vibration is called thermal energy, or heat. The vibrations cause the radiation of heat energy in the form of photons in the thermal infrared range (8–15 μm; Halliday et al. 2010, 640). • In mechanical stress. Even at total rest, the tissues of the body are under mechanical tension and compression. This is how the body keeps its shape. As we move, the transmission of tensional and compressional forces follow certain lines of myofascial connection across the body (Myers 2020). • In the rhythmical movements of the life-sustaining functions of the body (e.g. , the respiratory rhythm, heartbeat pulse, craniosacral rhythms, etc.). • In body posture (e.g. , body language, semaphore) and body movements (e.g. , waving goodbye). Potential energy is manifested: • In the gravitational pull of Earth on our body – the higher we climb, the greater potential energy the body gains. Gravitational potential energy can be a distinct source of fear when we’re standing on a cliff edge! (Halliday et al. 2010, 215). • In the elastic qualities of the body’s tissues. For example, when we throw a ball, we know to swing our arm back before accelerating it forwards. Part of that back-swing is to elastically stretch the tissues in our arm, so that when we throw (via muscular contraction), that elastic potential will be released and will increase the speed of the ball (Halliday et al. 2010, 217; Schleip and Baker 2015, 229). • In the chemical potential energy of stored fats, glucose, etc. A candle, for example, converts chemical potential energy into heat (thermal kinetic energy) and light (electromagnetic energy) (Odya and Norris 2017, 28). • In the mass of every particle that makes up the body. In his theory of special relativity, Einstein derived his famous equation E=mc2, meaning energy is equivalent to mass, or put another way, mass is simply a manifestation (or solidification, confinement, or localization) of energy (Einstein 1905, 639). There’s one more form of energy I want to mention. You won’t find it in a physics textbook, but nevertheless it’s very real; that is intention. Intention is a type of mental energy and represents a determination or commitment to doing something by carrying out a volitional action or set of actions. Intention acts to bring together and direct all the energies we’ve mentioned thus far for a particular purpose and can be exceedingly powerful. Intention built the pyramids, sent a man to the moon, and is the creator and destroyer of civilizations!
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