Dumuzzi

My practice is similar to yours, but I'm not sure this qualifies as tantra. Tantra is very particular, the right rituals need to be done at the right time, the right mantras chanted a hundred thousand times, devotional work needs to be done, sacrifices to deities and so on. The ultimate goal of tantra is to become the living embodiment of a deity, basically become possessed by the spirit of the deity at all times. These are also particular tantric deities the fierce or dark aspects of mainstream deities, that would scare most people. Bhairava, Bhairavi, Chamunda, Mahakali and so forth.

@Rahra I don't think you can destroy demons, they're spirits after all, but you can certainly drive them away. Monotheists and Polytheists may disagree, but the important thing is to respect each other's point of view. I do recognise Brahman, but that is not the same as the storm god or sky god that leads the Christian pantheon and punishes his followers for following or praying to other gods. He even says he is a jealous god, whilst acknowledging that other gods are perfectly real. Sounds a bit cranky to me.

@Swarnim I heard it from Rajarshi Nandy, a well-known Tantrik. He has some excellent interviews on the BeerBiceps youtube channel. However, I don't know how to actually do this, I don't need to any more. All I know is that Western occultists also draw a protective circle around themselves before any ritual. You might have more luck finding info about that online.

As a polytheist, I often get irked by the tendency of monotheists (Christians in particular) to treat all pagan gods as demons and to fail to acknowledge the difference between a god and a demon. This comes from ignorance and medieval superstition, but is super common even today. So, I’ll attempt to establish a syncretic perspective based on my own experiences, that of others and the extensive literature from polytheistic religions that are now available to us. The oldest religion of which we have written records is Sumerian Polytheism, which is most likely a major influence on other world religions in ways we are only beginning to discover. In Sumer, both gods and demons were feared to a certain degree, from which we get the modern concept of “fear of God”. Fear of the gods was born from the acknowledgement of the immense power they wielded over mortal affairs, as they were believed to be responsible for major disasters, floods, famines, pestilence, etc… It was believed that gods would punish mortals both collectively and individually if they were found to deviate from the righteous and moral code of conduct that was prescribed to them in scripture. This belief endures today, with many preachers from various religions blaming natural disasters and pandemics on the supposed immoral conduct of the population. Gods were also often representative of forces of nature and in particular the planets and stars that resided in Heaven. The movement of heavenly bodies was seen as a precursor to natural disasters, which the ancients surmised through a careful observation of the sky over thousands of years, making astrology and astronomy a crucial aspect of religion and society in general. It remains so in India in particular, where nary a major decision is made without consulting the stars first. Even in the modern West many people continue to study the stars to try and decipher their fates and the will of the gods. In Sumer, gods, in particular, the seven chief Anunna gods, were believed to be responsible for weaving the fate of humans, like a strand in a lattice or web of intertwined fates. Whilst fate was largely fixed, the gods could be petitioned to change the fates of mortals if the right libations, sacrifices, offerings, etc… were made. This was common across all polytheistic religions, remains widespread in Hinduism and has seen a revival in Western neo-paganism and occultism. A magic spell is basically just a ritual to petition a god to change some aspect of fate that the mortal might be unhappy with, or a plea for a more favourable outcome. A common characteristic across most ancient religions is the way the gods were seen, generally with a propensity to shine. They were seen as beings of light, which is also why they were associated with the stars and planets. Some gods were literally depicted as shining stars, such as Inanna-Ishtar, whose symbol was a shining eight-pointed star. His brother Utu-Shamash, representing the Sun, had a very similar symbol associated with him. In proto-Indo-European the gods were called Deyvos, which means shining ones. From this we get Sanskrit Deva, Latin Deus and Greek Dios. Consequently, we still use derivatives of this word such as the-ist, de-ist, pan-the-ist, a-the-ist, etc… to denote a particular type of religious belief or lack thereof in a person. We still refer to godly characteristics as div-ine. Divine beings / deities in other traditions often have similar etymologies or else they are given astrological characteristics as children of the sky, just like the stars and planets, such as in Sumerian Anunna or Canaanite / Judaistic Elohim. Divine beings, even saints are frequently depicted in art as pure beings of light, or at least being surrounded with an aura of pure white light. This distinguishing characteristic sets them apart from other supernatural beings, who are too numerous to mention. However, for the purposes of making my point I will talk about demons as they are called in Christianity and most other religions, specifically known as Asuras or Rakshasas in Eastern thought. Gods vs Demons Going back to the beginnings of our current civilisation, in ancient Sumer, a sharp distinction was made between demons and gods. Gods were seen as the representations of cosmic forces and could sometimes be callous, but they were seen as the founders of human civilisation and the creators of humanity. Everything the Sumerians knew was taught to them by their gods, according to their own accounts, though the initial seed was given by a seafaring civilisation that sailed in from elsewhere and in stories were often believed to be half-fish, half-human, perhaps indicating their maritime way of life. Sumerian priests wore fish costumes to honour the memory of these ancient sages. The pope still wears a fish-head hat which is similar to this, probably unaware of the true origins of this custom. But, the gods were seen as the shining ones, beings of light distinguished by their Melammu or Melam, a shining countenance that inspired awe and fear in those that saw it. Whilst they were cosmic beings, representing forces of nature, they could also take human form in order to interact with their devotees, often appearing to them in dreams and visions. Sumerians had a personal deity, often passed down within the family, that they worshipped, which was sometimes different from the chief deity of each city-state. Since each god was responsible for a different area of life (love, finances, health, agriculture, weather, etc…) the appropriate gods were prayed to depending on the particular need of the devotee. Personal gods guided their deities throughout their lives and would provide protection and comfort in times of trouble. The idea of guardian angels probably has its roots in this ancient practice. The gods were generally of Heaven, but some resided in the underworld, like Ereshkigal, its Queen and ruled over the souls of the dead. In most ancient societies, Heaven was the realm of the gods and mortals could not enter, not even after death. They went to the underworld, where they enjoyed statuses depending on the merit they acquired during their lives. Some parts of the underworld were places of punishment, where Galla demons would torture the wicked for an eternity. No doubt, this is where we get the idea of Hell and demons that torture damned souls from. Which brings me neatly to what the difference is between gods and demons. It’s not that some reside in the underworld and some in Heaven (though to my knowledge, there are no demons in Heaven, whilst there are gods in the underworld). According to the Sumerians, demons lack Melammu, they do not have the divine radiance of the gods. They also don’t possess Mes, which are various divine powers, divvied up amongst the gods. Demons also lack the capacity for free will, they simply follow their animalistic nature. Due to this reason, they are generally depicted as half-animal half human, with fangs, claws and such. Like gods, they generally have wings too. Keep in mind, these are astral forms, this is the form in which they reside in the underworld, a vast astral realm that’s outside our dimension, but is also under our feet physically, deep in the earth, existing in vast caverns. It’s important to note that according to ancient lore, most of the underworld is not a place of punishment, but contains vast kingdoms of great beauty, where various magical astral beings reside and rule. In India, this was believed to be the realm of the Nagas, wise, ancient serpents that taught humanity in the beginning. The underworld is believed to have its own oceans, rivers, lakes and ecosystem, slightly shifted into another dimension, so it is inaccessible to us in the physical sense. However, the underworld can be visited astrally, for those that have the ability, and many will journey in it in the afterlife or between lives, depending on their perspective and beliefs. Shamanic Journeying also tends to take place in various realms within the underworld, because it is so close to us in terms of vibrational compatibility. Many will visit in their dreams, often unknowingly. A dead giveaway is when during a particularly vivid dream, we find ourselved floating or flying, often over unfamiliar, majestic landscapes. Encountering a Demon Here, I will recount an experience I had astrally projecting into the underworld and encountering a notable demon that is mentioned in Jewish, Christian and Islamic lore, belonging to a class of beings known as watchers. This happened a few months after my Kundalini Awakening, when I experienced deep Samadhi and a visitation from a Sumerian Goddess. The experience had opened me up to extra-sensory perception and I could perceive the approach of astral beings from then on. A particular spirit, with a fiery element in his make-up visited me from time to time, presenting himself as a potential teacher, from whom I could learn much. I hadn’t yet developed the ability to communicate effectively with astral beings and deities, so our interactions were somewhat laboured and slow-moving. One day, I was sitting cross-legged in my London flat, meditating, when he approached me again and after failing to get his point through, probably out of frustration, more than anything, he pulled me out of my body. I found myself travelling astrally to an underground realm, which I presume to be the underworld. I was floating in mid-air, looking at the walls of a dimly-lit cave, though it wasn’t dark, more like illuminated by some unknown light-source, like a camp fire. There might have been cave drawings, like the ones left by ancient humans, but I can’t recall them exactly. As I was floating around, I flailed my arms and legs to try to get a better look of my surroundings. I eventually managed to turn around and to my amazement found myself looking at a giant being, sitting cross-legged on a rock ledge or pulpit of sorts, possibly sitting on animal skin, though that part is hazy. He had the head of a goat, except with intelligent, inquisitive, human eyes. His body was humanoid, though covered in dark brown fur all around. As I looked into his eyes, I saw amazement and surprise. He appeared to be impressed that I managed to project myself astrally into this underground realm and had full control of my faculties. I noticed as I was looking into his eyes, that our blinks were synchronised, he always blinked at the exact same time I did. From this, I surmised, that we were somehow linked energetically and / or telepathically. It may also have been an indication that he was trying to gain control of me, but I cannot say for sure. In any case, the encounter was brief, lasting a couple of minutes. Once it became obvious that he wasn’t in control of me and that I was seeing him in his true astral form, in his underworld abode, the encounter became pointless and I shortly found myself back in my body, sitting cross-legged in meditation, just as before. I later did research on this particular being and found he was often depicted as half-man half-goat, just like I have seen. From what I have seen, he did not appear malevolent, but he did have his own agenda and seemed to want to recruit me to his cause, which he felt passionately about. I should note that he sought power, even revenge over a group of people he felt had wronged him in the past and he encouraged me to use my newly awakened Kundalini and the powers that might have come with it, as a weapon. This did not sit well with me and I politely declined, though he did make a few more subsequent attempts at recruiting me, which I did not agree to. Finally, during his last visit, I grew tired of his presence and used the power of my Kundalini (Shakti) to drive him away. I generated a huge amount of spiritual fire and formed it into a shield around me. I had to keep this up for around 2 hours, before he finally decided to give up. He did not attempt to influence me after this episode. Some other major differences between gods and demons In contract, my interaction with gods was very different. I have recounted my visitation by the Goddess Inanna many times on reddit and youtube, so I would like to point out the differences here as compared to interacting with a Demon, Jinn or Asura, as the Christians, Muslims and Hindus call them respectively. As mentioned Demons / Asuras are self-serving, usually with an agenda and are slaves of their own passions, desires, hatred, etc… They do not serve a greater cause or higher power. They do not shine like the gods do, but are in contrast elemental beings, made up of one element, like fire, in the case of Jinn. They are limited locally and their knowledge is limited to their own realm of experience. They do not have access to higher forms of power, such as Shakti, which comes from surrender to the divine and serving the greater good, instead of one’s own ego. In Hindu lore, Asuras are immensely powerful beings, usually half-man, half-beast, that gain favours from the gods through spiritual austerities. This might give them things like invulnerability and special powers, which they use to make themselves ever more powerful. Whenever the gods grow tired of their exploits, they manifest an avatar, specifically designed to slay a powerful demon, overcoming their special powers and invulnerability through loopholes and trickery. In Monotheistic traditions, it is angels that play this role and engage in spiritual warfare against them. Another characteristic difference between Devas and Asuras in Hinduism, is that the former drink Soma, the nectar of immortality, whereas the latter are denied this. This idea isn’t unique to Hinduism and can be found in other traditions all around the ancient world. It is in fact the drinking of Soma, which gives gods their shining countenance, their special powers, their immortality, divine wisdom, clairvoyance, ability to see the future, teleport at will, etc… These are in fact the supposed characteristics of higher-dimensional entities as described in detail by famous physicist Michio Kaku in his books. Soma or Nectar is a higher-dimensional substance, which is generally the drink of the gods, but mortals also have access to it through various austerities and spiritual disciplines. Such individuals are often depicted with a halo around their head and can often spontaneously manifest special powers, called siddhis. Visitation by gods The below account is highly personal and whilst I’m generally uncomfortable sharing it, I’m doing so in the hope that it may guide and inspire others. When the Goddess Inanna first visited me in person, she took the form of a being of light, a mini-star or sun if you like. That is in fact the form in which she is often depicted, a shining eight-pointed star. It wasn’t just that she radiated light, her entire being was just that, a radiant star. Her light-body extended outwards, like the spokes of a star, becoming sort of like tendrils or appendages. She could touch me with her “hands” in a physical sense and when she did, her hands felt entirely real and physical. When she touched me, she transferred an immense amount of energy to me. Sumerians referred to this process as anointment, when the shining / melammu of a god was passed on to a mortal, in those times, the special privilege of kings and high priests. Hindus call this process Mahashaktipat, when a god or goddess passes on their power or Shakti to a mortal. Within the Hindu context, enlightened beings, gurus, yogis, etc… also have this ability. Christians refer to this as passing on the Holy Spirit to someone. Baptism is in many ways a remnant of this custom or belief. During subsequent visits, the Goddess did not take such a concrete form and was mostly present energetically. Still, her Melammu or Shining is always unmistakable and she radiates love and benevolence. Her brother, Utu-Shamash has a similar presence, though, since he is the sun god, his light or radiance has a slightly different flavour or even colour. Inanna’s radiance was always pure white light, her brother’s is perhaps more yellowish, like the sun. The two of them enjoy each other’s company and have sometimes visited as a pair. As is common with such visitations, on a handful of occasions, boons were granted to me. Nothing miraculous, but certainly significant in terms of my personal life, health, career and so on. Inanna provided healing and in one case the gift of a romantic relationship. Utu, the sun-god granted me a job I’m still in, which was exactly to my specifications and manifested within 24 hours of me asking for it, after months of fruitless search. Enki helped heal my father from a stroke, to the extent he fully recovered from a partial paralysis on one side of his body. Inanna also visited others on my behalf on a handful of occasions, many years ago. When she did, she either performed healing on those that were visited, or she provided an opportunity for divine communion, which is essentially like a merging of beings and an exchange of energies. Some have described their encounters with her in similar terms to how I experienced them, but there were usually some differences as well. These were people I never met in person, became friend with over the internet and had in fact lived thousands of miles away. When interacting with Inanna personally, the main impression I got was of her compassion and puppy-like eagerness to help others. I was also impressed by her unapologetic femininity, sense of humour, sunny disposition and playfulness, perhaps not something you would expect from a Goddess of War, but then I believe her true core is that of a compassionate Love Goddess in the manner of her original Sumerian form. Her war-like attributes were a later addition, particularly by the Akkadians who attempted to syncretise her with their own warrior Goddess, Ishtar. I often feel that subsequent love Goddesses, like Aphrodite or Venus are much closer to capturing her true character than fierce depictions of her warlike actions by the Semitic peoples that adopted her worship from the conquered Sumerians. She does have a fierce side of course, like all gods and goddesses, but I feel that this was often overemphasised by Ishtar devotees who were extremely warlike. A similar dichotomy exists in India, with various forms of the Goddess, some of whom are fierce and war-like as well (Durga, Kali, Tantric Goddesses in general), whereas others are highly benevolent and loving (Saraswati, Lakshmi, etc…). This duality must of course be understood in its correct philosophical context, which I won’t go into here. The Goddess in dreams In Sumer, Inanna was well known for appearing in devotees’ dreams. Probably each devotee saw her in a personalised manner depending on their own expectations and cultural programming. Many Sumerian Polytheists as well as followers of other religions report seeing and interacting with gods in their dreams. In my own case, I saw many vivid dreams of the Goddess, which were lucid in nature, in that I was fully present in the dream in my astral form, it wasn’t just a projection of the mind. In my dreams I saw her as a fairly normal-looking blonde and blue-eyed woman. She could have easily passed as a local in any American or European town. This was shortly after she first appeared to me and in my dreams I saw her performing a number of supernatural feats, such as flying all the way into space and incinerating her enemies with her gaze. I then did some research and realised that she was described as having those powers in ancient myth. I saw a number of prophetic dreams regarding humanity’s future with Inanna playing a central role in them. These took place seemingly far into the future involving various sci-fi scenarios. Could have been just my imagination of course, but dreams were so vivid and my astral presence in them so strong, that I doubt it. However, I believe the way I saw the Goddess was a creation of my own mind, she was given an appearance I felt comfortable with. Later, I saw fiercer forms of her, which were similar to how tantric goddesses might be depicted in Buddhist and Hindu art. Conclusion Taking a wider view, it would appear that gods represent a much higher order of life than demons. They are cosmic beings of immense power, also capable of interacting with mortals on a personal level, even manifesting a human-like form when needed, especially in dreams and visions. Their primary form appears to be higher-dimensional, whereas the highest of the gods, the creators and ultimately destroyers of our reality, the weavers of fate and time-space, are outside of any concept of dimensions, or traditional limitations of any time. Elsewhere I wrote about some of my very intense Samadhi and oneness experiences, which I conclude are the natural state the gods reside in. They only manifest individual consciousness, and with it a form and name we can identify with for our benefit, or when a certain task requires it. Otherwise they exist as one mind, a collective consciousness if you will. This is symbolically depicted as a divine council that decrees the fate of mortals (the Anunna gods, or the Elohim of Abrahamic religions), a chorus of angels singing in perfect harmony, or in the case of Hinduism and Buddhism, the Devas shifting from one shape and form to another without effort and in quick succession. The syncretism inherent in polytheism is also a tacit admission of this idea. Demons, on the other hand, are separated from source consciousness and are self-serving or more often, serve a higher master, which is different in each religious tradition. In Abrahamic religion, Satan, an all-purpose scape-goat, previously a pretty neutral figure, commands their legions, as an ersatz god of the underworld or god of death. A similar role is played by gods of the underworld / death in other religions. Demons are often sent by them to fetch mortals from the surface world and take them to the underworld, which remains a popular idea depicted in many movies, TV-shows and novels. They may also oppress, very rarely possess people, if they are invited in. It should be noted that possession is something that gods are also capable of and this is a stated goal of Tantrikas in Hinduism and Buddhism, where elaborate rituals and austerities are performed to enable possession by a deity, which is seen as the highest honour, a feat very few are capable of, due to the lengthy preparations and austerities that must be performed, to be able to hold the immense power of divine consciousness. Conversely, some spiritualists open themselves up to malevolent possession by lesser spirits, mostly by practicing haphazardly and without guidance, mixing drugs with spiritual practices, experimenting with dangerous occult rituals and other such ill-advised ventures. For instance, I only recently became aware of the fact, that Hindus, or at least Tantriks, draw a protective circle around themselves before each meditation session, precisely to avoid being influenced or even approached by Asuras, Rakshasas, the wandering spirits of the dead and other malevolent entities. I practiced meditation without the proper precautions and guidance for decades, hence the experience of being courted by a demon, which I recounted above. This is why I am unhappy with some monotheistic exorcists and preachers, who equate pagan gods with demons and draw no distinction between them. This is a serious mistake in my view, as gods are actually the ones that protect mortals from their malign influence. It should also be noted, that demons are not uniformly bad, some can make useful allies. A good example is Pazuzu, anti-hero of The Exorcist movie, who was gravely misrepresented by the creators. He was actually known and invoked for the purposes of protecting children from malevolent spirits like the Lamashtu and Lilitu, the exact opposite of his depiction in the movie. Another thing of note is that exorcists exist in all religions, and if anything they play a bigger role in polytheistic religions. The ancients assigned all manner of ills (sometimes literally) to demonic possession and oppression. In Sumer, there was rudimentary universal healthcare and everyone was taken care of. There were two types of doctors, firstly, a physician, who treated diseases according to scientific principles and an exorcist, who dealt with issues caused by oppressive and malevolent spirits. In any case, the common thread among all exorcists, is that they invoke the power of Heaven, a divine, higher power, in the form of a special prayer and ritual to force the unwanted visitor out. A common bait-and-switch approach employed to drive out Asuras in the Indian tradition, involves invoking a god, who can then persuade the Asura to leave by offering a boon that is far more attractive to them than staying in the body of their unfortunate victim. This way, no force is necessary and the Asura will leave of his own will. What we should take away from this, monotheists, polytheists and whatever other theists as well, is the power of prayer and invocation and the trust we need to place in a higher power to be able to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. It is through the power of the divine, sometimes through the direct intervention of divine beings (gods, angels, heavenly beings etc…) that we can have the strength to have agency over our own minds and bodies and to overcome attacks by beings that are often more powerful and intelligent than us. We will all follow the traditions we were brought up in, or adopted as converts, but it is crucial to respect other traditions, to learn from them and to see the commonalities between them all. Only thus can we avoid demonising the beliefs and deities of other religions and ending up with-witch hunts and moral panics that are based on irrational fear and ignorance. If you’ve read this essay all the way to the end, thank you and may the Great Goddess, Queen of Heaven, cause many blessings to appear in your life.

@Salvijus Thanks, beautifully put

Hi everyone, Yesterday, during deep meditation, I had an epiphany regarding downward flowing Shakti and its relevance to the Kundalini process. It would appear that there are actually two forms of Shakti that manifest in the body. Kundalini Shakti is perhaps the better known form, it is what rises up from the Muladhara and into the crown. However, there is also a downward-flowing process which is meant to balance out Kundalini and this is what I would call Shiva Shakti, the most succinct word I can find for Divine Grace, Shiva’s Grace, the Nectar of Heaven, etc… In terms of felt experience, it feels as if someone (Shiva) was pouring liquid light into your brain via a funnel inserted into an opening on the bulb of your head. This then slowly flows downwards along the spine and acts as a counterpart to Kundalini Shakti, which is fiery and rises upwards from the root. The sensation can be compared to moonlight being poured down your spine. Another analogy would be liquid lightning entering and electrifying your spine all the way to the root. This made me think about the symbolism found in various religions around the world associated with this downward flowing process. As with Kundalini, Shiva’s Grace is associated with serpents due to shape of the spine. Also, the energy appears to be distinctly blue or blueish, whereas Kundalini is perhaps more appropriately described as red-hot. Blue is also associated with lightning, electric sparks and other forms of plasma. It is also distinctly lunar, which is why Shiva is often associated with the moon. However, it is the interplay between these two form of Shakti, Shiva and Kundalini, that is most interesting. They seem to need each other, feed off each other and balance each other out. In Tantra, union of Shiva and Shakti is paramount to understanding the mysteries. However, this is even more fundamental and goes back to the very beginning of our civilisation and religious thought. In ancient Sumer, the fundaments of the religion were based on An, the Sky Father and Ki, the Earth Mother. Their union gave birth to their children, the gods, who were known as the An-unna-Ki. This tradition carried over into other religions and mystical traditions all over the world, often wrapped in symbolism, or as archetypes. The Sky Father is often depicted as a wise old man in the sky who has power over the storm and particularly lightning. This lightning is symbolic of the power of illumination and Divine Grace as a down flowing of the Divine Masculine. A lightning bolt is frequently used to symbolise this power that I call Shiva Shakti. Kundalini Shakti on the other hand rises from the ground, from the Earth Mother and since deep below the earth’s crust we have pure fire, this is often depicted as fiery. Both are necessary for a balanced awakening and those that experience problems with a purely feminine rising process, need to develop the Shiva Shakti side of their awakening, to balance out Kundalini Shakti. You can invoke the Divine Masculine in any form you wish, however I will describe the process here as I do it, invoking Lord Shiva as my protector and the source of this grace. This presupposes that you are at a fairly advanced stage of the Kundalini process, since your energetic system, your Tree of Life, needs to be ready to handle both Divine Masculine and Feminine energies, flowing both upwards and downwards with the roots and the crown of your Tree of Life both being accessible and open to energies from below and above respectively. This will also help with any issues, such as blockages and knots that you encounter during your Kundalini process, as it can smooth things over, acting like a soothing balm. Assuming your crown chakra is open and active, you invoke Lord Shiva. You can just use Om Namah Shivaya or any other common mantra used to invoke him and his Shakti. I will usually see visions of Lord Shiva as a universal being when I do this and it will feel like he is extending his divine grace to me. I might see him touching my head in a gesture of giving a blessing, even feeling the palm of his hand on the top of my head. Then the grace starts to flow into the Brahmarendra below the crown, which is soothing and pleasurable, with the bulb of my head tingling with delight. As Shiva’s grace or Shakti flows into me, it enters the brain stem from there and continues flowing downwards tickling my spine and soothing any overactive areas. Eventually his Shakti will reach the Muladhara at the base of the spine, with his power exiting through the roots of the Tree of Life and nurturing, the Earth Mother. There is then an interplay between the two powers, with the earth also feeding the Tree of Life through the roots and the two types of Shakti complementing each other in a complex process, criss-crossing and mixing, keeping each other in balance and establishing harmony. I find that this method of accessing Shiva’s Grace (the Grace of God) is very effective in tackling any deficiencies in the rising process, overcoming blocks and knots (granthas) or just generally soothing any areas of your energetic body that are overactive or too fiery due to an overabundance or misaligned activity of Kundalini Shakti. I may not have gotten all of the details right and the philosophical underpinnings of it are still a work in progress, but I welcome any input of feedback. Thanks for reading, Om Namah Shivaya

That's a slight misunderstanding of how this works. I can only speak to Kundalini Awakening, but in the end it also leads to non-dual awareness. It's not you that lets go of everything, it's everything else that lets go of you. You become unmoored from your ties that bind, the ropes (Gunas) that moor you to the material world, including sattvic ones, like familial or romantic love, which is then replaced by a different, more universal type of love that is non-dual in nature. The difference is in the lack of attachment and the loss of any desire to control, possess, own others.

@Pudgey You're projecting your own insecurities on to me.

@Pudgey It's completely delusional to claim that one can reach enlightenment by taking drugs. There is no tradition out there, not one, that claims that. At best, some shamanic traditions might use drugs to force a change of perspective, help shatter the false concept of ego, help with shamanic journeying, assist in reaching altered states of consciousness. At most, this may help to speed up or simplify certain aspects of the process, whilst at the same time, carrying considerable risk.

@Tyler Robinson Psychedelics are an accelerant at best. They can show a person a glimpse of enlightenment, but they can't replace the inner work that is necessary to get there. Same with shaktipat actually. DMT is actually endogenous, it is normally released by the pineal gland upon death, to help with the transition into the afterlife but it is also released through the practice of Yoga, Tantra and other mystical traditions. During a Kundalini awakening, once the serpent power reaches the Ajna Chakra, in other words, the pineal gland, it will start secreting DMT on its own, more or less continuously, depending on what is needed. That is why and how Yogis can spend months or years in caves just meditating, they're essentially tripping on DMT constantly. However, it is important to note, that DMT is just the physical manifestation of an interdimensional substance called soma or amrita in Sanskrit, nectar or ambrosia in Greek. Exogenous DMT only mimics the effect of real Soma, it does not lead to true enlightenment for various complicated reasons.

Hi everyone. I wanted to write a bit about my own meditative practice, which I call Shakti Meditation. In case you weren’t aware, Shakti is the Sanskrit term for the divine feminine, in a cosmic sense, as well as locally, where it is known as Kundalini Shakti. This power is known under different names in various cultures. Shekinah in Judaism, Sekina in Islam, Sophia in Gnostic Christianity, Holy Spirit in Christianity, Dzogchen in Tibetan Buddhism and so on. Shakti is often conceptualised as a goddess, though that is only one of her many aspects and forms. When active in the human body, she will often take the form of a serpentine energy that rises from the base of the spine and coils around it in a spiralling fashion. We know this as the caduceus and is the symbol of modern medicine, representing both healing and wisdom as well as self-knowledge. Another name for this serpentine power is Kundalini. I’ve had a Kundalini awakening breakthrough more than a decade ago, though even before that, I started integrating Shakti into my daily meditative practice. When working with her, surrender to and trusting in a higher power is key. Being the anima of the human psyche, she is responsible for regulating autonomous bodily functions and she is essentially what keeps us alive without us even noticing, being responsible for the vast majority of our bodily and cognitive functions. We generally hardly even notice her working in the background and keeping us alive, but Shakti Meditation allows us to reconnect with our deepest psyche and become aware and conscious of the work she does for us every second of the day. Shakti Meditation starts with observing autonomous bodily functions, subtle, gross, psychic, astral, emotional and so on, from a detached, higher perspective. It’s about recognising the nature of the Self as the observer, rather than the doer. In Shakti meditation, the Self does not do, only Shakti does. The Self is in silence, resting in equanimity and lack of attachment to objects in the causal world, whatever form they may take. In this state, thought ceases, mind chatter dies down, there is only the observer being aware of its detachment from what at this point seem like the bodily and mental functions of an outside entity. The Self is satisfied with resting in itself and recognises the fundamental alienness of what it normally thinks of as himself. Looking at this person from the vantage point of the absolute, he sees the weirdness and unfamiliarity of the body-mind complex which clings to an extremely limited identity and existence in a narrow range of frequency within the range of infinite possibility. Thus the body, and its identity, its ego or ahamkara, looks comical in its crudeness and inflated sense of self-importance. There is humour in observing oneself from the outside and the Self may laugh at the absurdity of the situation and the preening and posturing of the ahamkara, which imagines itself to be separate and all-important, when it is but a self-created delusion. As the Self observes that body-mind complex, it will become aware of the subtle processes occurring within, which it may not have been conscious of before pointing its awareness to this object from a new point of view. Aware that it is both the observer and the observed, at the same time, it will become conscious of goings-on within this vibrational matrix that might have hitherto escaped its attention. The Self will notice strange activity in the subtle body, in the form of pranic phenomena, which is life energy moving about the chakras and nadis. Additionally, in the deepest meditation, it will become aware of the working of Shakti which has remained hidden to its awareness up to that point. It will see Shakti both as an extension of itself, as well as an outside entity with independent will and action. As the Self observes Shakti as himself, an aspect of his own awareness, Shakti will come out to dance and play. This is different for each person and can take various forms. In my own process, Shakti is gentle and kind, even playful. She causes waves of bliss in me and extremely pleasurable physical sensations, along with feelings of love, joy and oneness. Although Shakti is generally active in me throughout the day, it is during meditation, times of relaxation, rest and contemplation that she makes her presence particularly felt. Whenever I settle down into a relaxed state, she will immediately activate in the form of a highly pleasant sensation of heat and light at the base of the spine. From here, she will start wriggling her way upwards in a playful, pulsating manner. The sensation of Shakti moving upwards can best be compared to spiritual plasma. It is warm liquid light, which is very soothing, a bit like switching the seat heater on in your car during a cold winter night. As the flow of Shakti becomes stronger, energy centres, chakras activate all over the body, including the feet and hands. The spinning of chakras can often be felt, which is an odd sensation at first, but one soon gets used to it. Apart from spinning, some chakras may also buzz or vibrate, giving off a sensation of electromagnetic activity. Heat and pressure may also be felt at particular chakras during the process as Shakti activates and animates them. In Shakti Meditation, she assumes ever more control of the physical body and mind, whilst the Self remains a detached observer. The Self surrenders control and Shakti assumes control of certain faculties, such as breathing and posture. This is similar to how she acts during our sleep, when we are not in conscious control of our bodies. As she moves upward along the spine and takes over each energy centre and nerve cluster one by one, there may be involuntary movements, even spontaneous yoga postures, which are known as kriyas. For some people these can be quite intense, though in my case they tend to be rather gentle and controlled, as well as temporary. As soon as the flow of Shakti is smooth, obstacles and blocks are cleared, kriyas cease, the flow of Shakti through the Shakti Nadis (especially the Sushumna) becomes unimpeded and strong, like a rushing stream of warm liquid light. As she reaches the third eye region and the top of the head, a reverse flow also occurs, which is more like a slow descent of divine grace, a more masculine energy. This too is plasma-like and appears to enter the brain at the Brahmarendra, at the bulb of the head. This nectar is a viscous, honey-like substance which drips slowly from a higher realm into the brain, causing exquisite pleasure which is felt in the scalp, from where it dribbles down in slow motion. This nectar, also known as Soma, Amrita or Ambrosia, is responsible for illumination and apart from great bliss, it also confers wisdom and insight. At this point, the body-mind, including the Kundalini mechanism operating within it, is a mere instrument for the production of Nectar, which allows the individual Jiva or Soul to reach ever higher levels of illumination. When fully immersed in the act of what I call “the drinking of Soma” some peculiar psychic effects, known as siddhis, may spontaneously manifest. In this higher conscious state, the Jiva feels one with the Universe and recognises its fundamental unity with Brahman. Resting in this state feels like a homecoming, like returning to our natural, fundamental state of consciousness. Whilst the Self rests in itself, Shakti continues her work within the body, clearing blockages and other assorted energetic muck, including burning away karma that has accumulated in the Jiva over many lifetimes and also by just living in the world and encountering the stresses and conflicts of daily life. Simultaneously, the Kundalini mechanism works to generate Soma/Amrita which is distributed all over the body by the chakric system. The objective, apparently, is to slowly build a light-body, which is initially activated when the Kundalini power first pierces the crown. When this happens, it creates a crack in the Hiranyagarbha or cosmic egg, causing the yolk or nectar to slowly dribble down. The dripping of nectar is somewhat continuous thereafter, but it becomes much stronger during Shakti Meditation, when the Kundalini mechanism is allowed to fully express itself in the subtle body and churn Soma. This process is allegorically described in the famous Churning of the Milk Ocean myth, with different devas and asuras representing upper and lower chakras. This light-body is needed as a vehicle for the Jiva to be able to achieve Maha-Samadhi upon death, it carries the soul to the highest realms, like Brahma-Loka and beyond, so that it may attain liberation and return to rest in the highest Brahman.

In this interview, me and Brent continue with his ongoing Kundalini series. We discuss the nature of the Self, the Divine Feminine and Masculine, as it appears around the world, techniques for letting go of blocks and Hangups, non-dual consciousness and much else. If you have any questions about this topic, let me know and I'll answer you here.

Finally, all those psychedelics the dude's been taking are having the desired effect...

@Leo Gura This discussion reminds me of an old joke: What's the difference between the Paedophile and the Pedagogue? - The Paedophile loves children.

Yep, that's pretty much the mainstream consensus on the matter, you won't hear anything else from any responsible teacher. There are other paths of course, like that of the Shaman, Ceremonial Magick, or staying within the Eastern context, Tantra and whatever it is that Aghoris do. These are however believed to be more dangerous than traditional paths.