Comments on: Snake. But as RF would say, “It’s not what you think…”

By: donutszenmom

donutszenmom — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:32:08 +0000

Oh, I quite enjoy Brad Warner’s books. He has an interesting “take” on practice. I love that he says it is boring. But I thought we were supposed to keep that a secret.

I am going to a little day-long retreat at my zendo on Saturday, Arturo. Looking forward to it a lot!

By: Arturo

Arturo — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:39:06 +0000

Hi Karen
Your post reminds me a bit of the youtube video Boodie posted in her blog. hehe. Seems like a very nice meditation experience. I hope to have my tatami mat, zabuton and zafu set up by the weekend, after shifting things around. I just arrived from the Zen Center bookstore, where I found a new zafu and some books – one by Brad Warner, “Sit down and shut up”, another a tiny book that’s easy to carry, “Awakening Loving-Kindness” by Pema Chodron.
Cheers, Arturo

By: Ursula

Ursula — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:08:42 +0000

My dear Zee, you did not lie to me.
I have not so much words at the moment (you understand perhaps), but I hope you feel good. sunshine

By: Ursula

Ursula — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:32:46 +0000

I hope very much that you are well again Zee. What a message. I know that it is no joke with your heart. Oh mei. sunshine.

By: (0v0)

(0v0) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:07:41 +0000

Mundalini. That’s funny. But it happened back when you were still the Tin Man.

Karen you might want to take the blog private before people find out you are doing bloodless heart transplants here.

By: zee

zee — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:12:31 +0000

oVo did you noticed I agreed with Cody and he loves me… because zi have a new heart, Doctors warned but I did not listen, smoked too much… 

kundalini?, of course it is more then metaphor. It is a lie. The energy circulates all the time. It is our life force, breath, thought, meaning of words, words, world, worlds… Once upon a time, with old heart, I smoked outside and while standing I went to sleep. I looked the people walking and each of them had a black energy going upward their head. Is it kundalini or mundalini? You tell me.

Regrding RF… well I am joking, I don’t know the guy and there is no urge to know him. That tells me a lot.

By: (0v0)

(0v0) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:21:03 +0000

Hello. Funny thing about the subtle body, huh? The throat trick (and others) does suggest a concatenation of jalandhara-uddiyana-moola and whatever else. A realm not only of consciousness but of physical experience. (Not that I’m drawing distinctions, Zee. Don’t freak out, sweetheart.)

Next thing we know I’ll be trying to say that the nadis are more than a metaphor! Godhelpus.

But about the metaphor thing. I only got through the first 30 minutes of the shala talk you linked yesterday, so did not hear if he actually uses the flopping fish imagery I like so much. I hope so! In person, when he talks of these things, you can see and feel him engage them. Every time, he rolls his eyes back and blisses out for a second. Yet
I did sense that RF gives a pretty abstract “definition” of kundalini in The Yoga Matrix. Something about the true kundalini experience being an infusion of love and the snake being an expression of that experience in the heart.

Well yes, that makes sense to me. Very much. But when we talk about the subtle body, and about the travel of energy in the spine, I want to say that this is more than metaphorical.

It’s probably very easy to get lost looking for kundalani-as-fountain-of-youth. Probably more self-deception there than self-discovery! Maybe this is why such wise people as RF present it more abstractly or (like SKPJ) rarely present it at all.