Dumuzzi

Many men feel threatened by attractive women. Some are outright terrified. Can't really see into the mind of this one, but he was probably taken aback by your gesture and thought you must be up to no good, perhaps you even have a hidden agenda. In general, if an attractive woman comes up to a man and gives him a compliment, alarm bells start ringing straight away and you immediately assume that she wants something from you, perhaps even something nefarious. IRL when that happens, most of the time it will be a prostitute, pickpocket, scam artist or some other shady figure.

Hi Preety, Sorry to hear about your troubles. The man your parents have chosen for you sounds really unsuitable, I wonder what is the reason for them finding such a terrible match for you? I think you should talk to them about this, from their frame of reference and ask them to keep looking and find a better match, perhaps even employ a matchmaker. I don't think you can avoid marrying as an Indian woman, unless you run away, but in these pandemic times, that is pretty impossible. I'm not sure what other possibilities you have in this situation, a couple of weeks ago I found myself giving advice to an Indian lad in a very similar pickle. I'm not sure what your family's attitudes are towards honour killings, do you think your family might murder you if you outright refuse the match? Can you survive on your own if your family merely disowns you? Is it a possibility for you to move to a bigger city, like Bangalore and cut off all contact with your family and relatives? This is a really tough situation... On the other hand, arranged marriages can sometimes work out, if done the right way. When I lived in Singapore, a Chinese-Mauritian friend of mine specifically asked her parents back home to find her a match. She became frustrated with the dating scene and her inability to find herself a guy that was husband material. She travelled home to Mauritius, met the guy her parents found for her, really liked him, they got married and he moved to Singapore to live with her. They're still happily married. So, arranged marriages can work, as long as all parties agree and there is no force or threats involved. Let us know what you decide to do, personally, I would run away and cut off contact with my family, but I don't know if that's an option in your situation.

I was wondering whether anyone else had experienced Kundalini as a Goddess. During the initial stages of my awakening, during 2011-2012, I experienced Kundalini as a serpentine energy, as descibed by most people and classical works on the subject. During the latter stages, the sensation became physical and whenever Kundalini was active inside me, I experienced a black serpent wriggling around in my body, along the spine, gradually rising ever further upwards and bumping its head against energetic blocks in my body in a rhythmic fashion. When the serpent got stuck, just above the heart chakra and couldn’t push its head through the knot found there, I experienced intense chronic chest pain, heart palpitations, neurological symptoms, such as memory loss and slowness of movement. I then prayed for divine intervention and the Goddess appeared to me in person, performed shaktipat on me, then united with me energetically and allowed me to experience enlightenment, a breakthrough at the final knot at the top back part of the head (I believe this is called Brahmarendra, the cavity of God), which broke with an audible cracking noise. Then, liquid light came roaring in, I expanded in all directions in an ecstatic bliss and became boundless and all-knowing, at least for a short while. In that state, I felt universal and understood everything about reality, universe, life, or whatever else you can think of. When i eventually returned to my body, I only retained a tiny portion of the knowledge I had access to in the universal state. I also felt constrained and suffocated by my own body, but I gradually returned to normal consciousness. The Goddess aspect of Kundalini is rarely emphasised, or if so, usually only in abstract terms, but I wonder how many people have been visited by her as a living Goddess and how common this is? I found a reference in the book of essays, Kundalini Rising, by Lawrence Edwards, whose experience closely mirrors my own. I’m not sure how much I can quote from his work, before triggering the copyright bots, so I’ll try to quote only the most succinct sections, that are most relevant to this point. Chapter: Kundalini Her Symbols of Transformation and Freedom LAWRENCE EDWARDS, PHD THE GIFTS OF MAHA KALI “ Once a renowned author who had written about Kundalini came to meet my guru, Swami Muktananda. Baba, as my guru was known, was revered for his exalted visions of the Kun- dalini and his rare ability to give shaktipat. The author, too, had visions of Kundalini, but to him she appeared quite unimpressive, looking like an ordinary woman, not like a God- dess at all. As he waited outside the room where Baba was receiving visitors, he was astonished to have a vision of the Goddess Kundalini herself entering the room where Baba was—only this time she appeared in her most regal and resplendent form, magnif- icent and awe inspiring … Baba, he asked why it was that she appeared so ordinary to him, while for Baba she came as the Goddess of the Universe. Baba replied simply, “Because I worship her.” … The intense practices I began doing culminated in a series of meditation experiences in Baba’s ashram meditation hall during a weekend retreat in 1982. Various forms of the Goddess began appearing fully and spontaneously in meditation, as real as any person standing in front of me. I worshipped each in turn, trembling and awestruck as I did and only able to do so because of the strength the Shakti gave me in the moment to withstand Her Divine presence. Goddess after Goddess appeared until finally Maha Kali was present there before me. I prayed with all my heart to be able to stay conscious. Her skin was blacker than black, like deep black velvet in a darkened room. Yet in some miraculous way Her form was radiant, revealing Her own richly magnificent blackness. A thought ap- peared in my mind: “My God, this is Kali! She’s the Great Mother, Goddess of the Uni- verse, creator and destroyer of all that is!” But She was in the most exquisite, beautiful, loving form, not the fearsome presence She is usually depicted as having. This was Her hidden form. I did the only thing I knew to do: I did puja to Her, an ancient Indian form of worship, while shaking with a mixture of fear, awe, and overwhelming love. Tears flowed down my cheeks. Then the Goddess came forward and embraced me, wrapping Herself around me. Everything slowed down. I could feel myself gradually merging into Her, and I could hear Her laughing the wildest, most ecstatic laugh! We disappeared from the ordinary world. My awareness shifted, and I could see the whole solar system with all its planets, and then stars and galaxies being withdrawn into Her. The entire universe was merging into Her, and all the while it was merging, the infinitude of the cosmos rever- berated with Her ecstatic laughter. Finally, I disappeared into Her as I dissolved into infi- nite Light and Love, and then into a nothingness beyond even that, beyond the mind, be- yond any duality of experience. There simply was no “me” left; I was gone, gone, gone be- yond. … The experience ended; feeling profoundly grateful, I bowed to my inner guru, my Goddess Kundalini. This had all unfolded as a re- sult of shaktipat from my Siddha master, Muktananda Baba, years earlier, and my prayer to know the highest form of worship of Kundalini. Complete worship merges you with the one you worship. Through worship and prayer, the Goddess reveals the mysteries of Her creation to Her creature: the seeker—you! … No words can describe how overwhelmed and truly awestruck I was by the appearance of the Goddesses classically depicted in the chakras, followed by Maha Kali Herself. These were the Goddesses that Kundalini manifests, as well as Her primal form as Maha Shakti, the great power, that takes the form of Maha Kali, the Black Goddess. It is this highest power that dissolves the universe as She merges into the sahasrara, creating it once again as She descends from that transcendent realm. … Just as the aspects of Divine Consciousness were being presented to my awareness sym- bolically in the forms of the Goddesses, in the same way the union with those Divine forms was symbolized by sexual union. Readers familiar with the experiences of mystics of many spiritual traditions will recognize that this is a common way for union with the Di- vine to express itself. Very often the Tantric traditions, both yogic and Buddhist, that deal with the Divine Feminine depict union in this way. Carnal symbolism and the experience of that form of symbolic merger in meditation are often confusing for people, especially Westerners, who take it literally. From: Kundalini Rising: Exploring the Energy of Awakening. Sounds True Inc. Short Excerpts from pages 294-298 “ So, this is really interesting to me, as it is so close to my own experience of Union with the Goddess and her many visits to me. Maybe it is a bit esoteric (on in other words, Tantric), but I would really like to hear from others who may have experienced this.

Let me just say, as an infrequent contributor here, that I like the openness of this community and how critical voices are allowed, even highly offensive threads are usually just locked, rather than outright deleted, so people can make up their own minds on the issues. Personally, I am not into pyschedelics, but perhaps they can act as useful accelerators in the awakening process. Since they're highly illegal where I live, it's unlikely I'll ever find out, unless I take a Shamanic trip to Peru or some other place where such experiences are legally available. What I really disagree with is the Pick-Up artistry side of things, I'm sorry, but if your main concern is picking up chicks for casual sex, your priorities are completely off, this is so far away from any traditional view of what is required for spiritual development, that it isn't even in the same ballpark. I have a similar critique of the obsession regarding material wealth, this is again higly incompatible with traditional views on what consitutes an enlightened person. If that is the path you wish to walk, it is your choice, but don't think this is in any way compatible with becoming enlightened.

Kundalini is not a necessity for spiritual awakening, though its activation can accompany and enhance the process. Personally, I would steer you away from self-made Kundalini activation, it can cause a lot of problems. Normally, you should have a master or teacher to guide you. The Kundalini subreddit has some pretty good resources if you want to check it out. Also, if you have any questions, I did go through a full Kundalini awakening almost 9 years ago, so I might be able to help you out with some answers.

A few further points of clarification: “ According to the posts of some users here, it is good for a kundalini practitioner to centre himself around his heart chakra rather than the crown. Does this type of centring refer to a different concept than what you just mentioned, or would it be expected that a fully enlightened man centres himself around his crown chakra, always? If these are two different concepts (centring and kundalini location), you don't have to explain the difference to me - just saying that they are different would be sufficient.” I don’t think there is any consensus on this. It would probably depend on the individual, their life path and what they actually want to do with the Kundalini power. Some Yogis actually keep their power centred on the lower chakras and can thus manifest certain siddhis based on what they need. A typical example would be keeping the power centred around the second chakra (if I’m not mistaken) to cause the whole body to heat up, to the extent that they can melt snow around them. This is useful in cold climates or when they are exposed to the elements, meditating in the Himalayas. Different power centres can result in different siddhis, as described by Sir John Woodroffe in his books, although I would take this with a grain of salt, most seem to be little more than fairytales or are highly exaggerated. The heart plays a certain role, the crown yet another one. What I can tell you about the crown is that it is known as the mouth of heaven. It is called thus, because of its dual role, as the mouth that speaks to heaven and heavenly beings (Devas), but is also the mouth that drinks of the Soma / Amrita, which is known as Nectar or Ambrosia in our culture. In my view, if you want to partake of the Soma, you have to be centred on your crown and this is how you can also effectively interact with higher beings. That’s not to say that the heart centre should be neglected, far from it, but it all depends on how much of your time and energy you want to expend interacting with and helping others on this earthly plane as opposed to interacting with heavenly realms. “I think that I am most interested in what you would call the spiritual or divine aspect, assuming you are using the word spiritual in the sense that I think you are using it. The challenge for me is that I have no experience of spiritual or divine things, at least as far as I am aware, so I do not know if I would be able to distinguish such experiences from purely physical or emotional sensations. I don't think I have any experience with energies either, so I am not confident I could distinguish those either, but I don't know how important they actually are, so I am more concerned about the spiritual aspect.” Sure you do, you just haven’t realised it yet, because your attention is focussed on other, external phenomena. If you look inside, you will notice the subtle energies and spiritual manifestations that interact with your physical body all the time. Each chakra is responsible for a different type of energy. You get cold feet, you’re warm-hearted, you have a lump in your throat, you have a flash of realisation, etc… these are all encoded in our language, but people are too preoccupied with other things to notice these subtleties. Communion with the divine however is not an everyday occurrence, you need to work on raising your energies (in other words, your serpent), your vibrations, so that you are compatible with spiritual realms and can access those energies. Essentially, you have to tune yourself like a radio and find the right frequency for the station you’re looking for. Mantras help, but conscious, attentive and introspective meditation, where you observe and fine-tune the energetic and spiritual phenomena arising in your body, is the best way. “ Would this pose any problems in daily life? Say, for example, you are at work and a kriya suddenly throws you to the floor. It sounds like a trivial issue, but if kriyas are spontaneous and recurring it could be a serious problem, I think. Not to mention that depending on the environment, it might be physically dangeorus, too - for example, if you are working in construction or at an oil rig. Even when considering subtler movements, it would probably be a bit awkward, at least. “ Not if you’re in control of your energies and regulate their flow. I only have kriyas when I meditate. They are little spasms and convulsions that indicate energy is being released from that particular area. Once the flow is unblocked, it becomes pleasantly smooth, even blissful. Little spasms might also happen when I am engaged in contemplating or reading spiritual material, whenever I go into a relaxed state or concentrate on spiritual matters. It does not interfere with my day job, but I am no longer undergoing spiritual awakening. Currently, I am in the state of Urdhvareta, which is about transforming and transubstantiating sexual energies and substances into a higher form, by turning them around at the root and allowing them to stream upwards into the brain. This does have some thankfully largely invisible effects during the day. Without wanting to get graphic, I may experience orgasmic sensations, along with the muscle contractions that would normally go with it, all throughout the day. I barely notice them now, but they certainly keep occurring. The more extreme kriyas you talk about generally occur in the beginning stages of Kundalini Awakening and then mostly become an issue if the person did not do sufficient preparatory work on themselves.

Somebody on reddit posted some really good questions on Kundalini Awakening, which I took the time to answer. I think I should also post it here, in case anyone's interested. Enjoy. 1. What exactly is Kundalini and how is it experienced, day to day? Is it just something you "use" or does it change the way you exist? Some of the posts I have read here almost seem to suggest that this energy can be turned on and off, like flipping a switch to put it roughly. Many suggest that it helps you learn about yourself, but that's not all it does, is it not? Psychologising yourself is no substitute for Kundalini awakening. A Kundalini awakening, at least as far as I understand it, entails at the starting point an awakening to a previously unknown dimension of spiritual awareness and action and at the end point when Kundalini conquers the Sahasrara Chakra and is fully integrated into you, it entails total enlightenment along the lines of Nirvana. Is that not correct? So in other words, from the start a Kundalini awakening should open up a whole new, different, previously unknown spiritual mode of consciousness/awareness? Does that not entail a sudden and total shift in mode of existence and perception, even if it only becomes perfected at the final stage? - There is a difference between various stages of Kundalini awakening. Those that you may call “enlightened” are the ones in whom the condition of Kundalini Awakening is a permanent fixture. The actual term is Jivanmukta, Christians would call them saints, Buddhists would refer to them as Bodhisattvas, Jains as Tirtankharas, The point is, the serpent not only rose to the top and pierced the crown (Sahasrara), but is now permanently lodged there and doesn’t descend, ever. We know from Gopi Krishna’s writings that what is required to achieve this is to keep the serpent lodged in the crown for three days and nights. I once almost managed this, during a summer solstice, when I was particularly close to the goddess and the serpent was lodged in the crown for about three days and two nights. Ultimately, I feel short and it descended again, but during that time, it was like there was a sun next to me, I felt constant heat and light emanating, even during the night, when I was trying to sleep (but really couldn’t). 2. How do you distinguish Kundalini energy and its manifestations from a merely physical sensation of the body? Someone has suggested to me before that because of the Kundalini understanding of maya, no distinction is drawn because ultimately it doesn't matter. This seems to check out with my understanding of the tradition, but I still have the nagging feeling that a physical experience would not have the qualitative, spiritual character that I am hoping to obtain. - Kundalini has many aspects, they can’t be divided from each other. There is a physical level, where there is noticeable neuroelectrical activity that takes place in the nervous system and the brain. There is an energetic aspect, which is closely linked to it. Then there is a spiritual and emotional aspect and finally a divine one, which is union with Brahman. 3. When looking for a teacher, how is one supposed to find anything on Kundalini other than Kundalini Yoga? I am aware that the posters on this subreddit dislike Kundalini Yoga. Having seen the reasons why, this makes sense to me, although admittedly I have not spoken to any proponent of Kundalini Yoga that could offer a different perspective. Nevertheless, the real issue for me is that I have no ties to any "spiritual" circles and looking up "kundalini" on the internet will in 100% of the cases return results about Kundalini Yoga rather than non-Yogic version of the Kundalini tradition, because of the nature of modern search engines and the popularity of Kundalini Yoga. I am consequently at an impasse. - It’s tough, but Gopi Krishna’s writings remain the best source in my view. Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) is also pretty good, if a bit sensationalist. Other than that, anything you can find on Tantra and Shaktism could be helpful. 4. When still looking for a teacher, are there any recommendations on what preparations to undertake in order to make the best, fastest progress in the shortest possible time once a teacher is found? What preliminary work can an aspiring practitioner undertake alone in order to ensure a smooth, fast and easy journey? - I never had a teacher (couldn’t find one where I lived), so I’ll pass on this one. But, you don’t actually need one, in my view. Sure, it would be much easier that way, but they’re hard to come by, especially if you live in a country with zero reputable teachers or absolutely no tradition in Kundalini or spiritual awakening, like I do. You’d probably have to move countries in most cases, if I’m honest. I once a found a suitable teacher in rural Rajasthan, but he would have required me to leave everything behind and move to the forest with him and his disciples, to devote the rest of my life to Yoga and meditation. I was 23, living half a world away and it was simply not practical for me to leave everything behind at that point. I also don’t know how you would handle the visa situation if you wanted to spend a couple of decades meditating under a tree. Normally you can only stay in India for 6 months as a tourist, and no, Indian immigration won’t care that you’re seeking enlightenment. 5. I have seen some posters here claim that they combine methods from multiple traditions for their own personal spiritual journey. I am drawn to this approach. I have marked out another method I wish to use later on, but it is hard to use without some sort of spiritual basis already achieved and it is difficult to reach that stage since today it's largely a "self-taught" method and it's very difficult to actually verify what consists in successful or unsuccessful practice. I have arrived at the conclusion that learning in the Kundalini tradition and then going with the flow of what I feel would be best, perhaps including the aforementioned method, should suffice to bring my spiritual journey to conclusion, but I am unsure if combining different methods is a good idea. - If you’re going your own way and forging your own path, which for most people outside South and Southeast Asia, will pretty much be a necessity, I don’t see how you could avoid doing that. You will just have to try what works for you as an individual and stick with it. 6. I initially did not plan to ask this question and the next one, but I feel like I should. I know that in these matters, time is not something that can be calculated, but does it sound plausible for someone with a good teacher to have Kundalini pierce the Sahasrara in three months of serious and fully dedicated practice with some reasonable chance of success? - Unless you almost got there in a previous life (there would be unmistakable signs of that) and are just completing the process now, that would have to be a no. Years to decades is more realistic if you’re just starting out. Age also matters, Kundalini Awakening usually takes place around age 33 , with a couple of years either side the norm. I simply don’t buy stories of 50-year olds starting from scratch, having never meditated before, achieving full Kundalini awakening in a matter of months. 7. If I recall correctly, I also saw a reputable poster on this subreddit suggest once that there are some techniques that exist which can instantly awaken the full extent of kundalini, presumably in a basically external manner, entirely administered through the teacher - although this second part is just my assumption. Is such a thing really possible? I suspect there would be some drawbacks to this, which I don't currently need to know - I just want to know if it's possible. Similarly, I believe that this is a separate matter from Shaktipaat, which as far as I understand it refers to awakening only the base or starting form of kundalini. I would welcome any corrections to possible misconceptions in that regard as well. - They can transfer their own Kundalini energy and cause an awakening yes, but it would be more like a glimpse of the real thing, to motivate their students. It would then be up to them to work on themselves to make their Kundalini awakening a self-sustaining process. Masters can also remove blockages that hinder the process. 8. I have seen some posters refer to what they have called "physical kriyas", meaning physical movements that occur without their control and that can even throw them around a couple of metres into this or that direction. This sounds concerning to me, since phenomena of this type seem to entirely contradict the entire purpose of Kundalini - namely, growing and developing ever more advanced forms of self-understanding and self-control. A desire for self-control is one of my reasons for aiming at spiritual enlightenment and the possible existence of phenomena like this has unsettled me. Can anyone please explain this apparent contradiction? - Kriyas shouldn’t be violent like that if the student is prepared. They are usually quite gentle, more like spasms and convulsions as the energy is trying to escape and overexcited neurons keep firing. Convulsions can get quite intense if a major blockage In a chakra is being cleared, but it will move into a state of bliss and utter relief after that, not unike what happens during and after a sexual orgasm, only this is spiritual in nature.

Hi Giulio, Obviously you have a blockage in your solar plexus. This is normal with Kundalini awakening, though ideally, you should clear your chakras of blockages before you embark on such a route. Any sort of energy work can help. You also need to allow issues that cause the blockage to surface, these are usually karmic. You need to allow the issue to come forth, when meditating, what you will usually get is a vivid memory of a past event connected to it. This is a cleansing process, but once you acknowledge and let go of the issue or hangup that is causing the blockage, it will dissipate and as the serpent rises further, another, different one will surface. If you can find a competent Master or Guru to help you out, that would be best. As for me personally, I was helped by the Goddess, as Kundalini is her localised form. She is intelligent energy and you must learn to work with her in bringing up and dealing with your issues and karmic load. She burns away all past karma as she rises, that is what she does. This isn't necessary a pleasant experience, but it is like a cleansing ritual, you will be free of past attachments and karma once the process is complete.

@Preety_India Interesting points... I was actually just reading an article about the British Emperors of India, the last of whom was Lizzie's dad, George VI. In England he was merely a King, but in India, he was Kaisar-i-Hind, emperor of India. This was originally done on Queen Victoria's insistence as she didn't want to be outranked by her cousins on the German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian imperial thrones as a mere Queen. In fact technically, the current British Queen may very well have been India's last Empress, as the current Republic wasn't officially formed after her coronation, it continued on as a Dominion of the Crown for a few years after Independence. As for the official possessions of the Crown, this comes from the book, "Who Owns The World", in which the Authors looks into who the ultimate owner is of the land that we walk on. Turns out, that in Commonwealth Realms and their territories (The UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and their Antarctic and overseas territories) are officially owned by the Crown, or in other words the current British Monarch. All land is legally the property of the crown and is then handed out to subjects either as a freehold or leasehold, but land ownership as it exists in other countries is not a thing, only the crown can legally own land. That is of course presented as a legality or technicality, but it is nevertheless a sign of the feudal nature of the Commonwealth, even to this day.

Having a bit of imperial nostalgia, eh? Personally, I think the Royal family is overrated and they have far too much power. Technically, the Crown owns 16 percent of the world's surface area (still) and the British Monarch is head of state in 16 countries, including pretty major powers like Australia and Canada. More info is coming out every day about how the royal family actually have a lot more influence behind the scenes than is commonly believed, they aren't just figureheads like the royals in other democracies, such as Norway, Sweden or the Netherlands. As for Hitch, I do miss him, but it's worth listening to his brother, Peter Hitchens too, who is on the opposite end of the political and religiosity spectrum. A lot of the atheist propaganda that Hitch was most famous for is just rehashed Marxism-Leninism.

Those that have experienced it know exactly what it is. Those that haven't, have no idea and can't even begin to form a concept of it. It is like trying to explain the beauty of the world to a blind man, who has never seen any of it. All you can do is provide metaphors and highly inadequate comparisons to mundane phenomena most people have experienced in their lives. It is however possible to show at least a glimpse of it, through Shaktipat. Passing on the Gift of the Goddess serves as motivation and as a reminder for the adept so he knows what he is striving for and why they are cultivating a spiritual path. Most enlightened masters can give Shaktipat and that is probably the best way an ordinary person can begin to understand what enlightenment really is.

@Username Why would you do chelation therapy if you don't actually have heavy metal poisoning? It is an incredibly risky procedure to undertake on a whim.

This issue has been settled in 1856, when the Amalgam wars ended and it has been considered safe ever since. Although Mercury is highly toxic, Amalgam is an alloy that doesn't allow the leakage of Mercury in any significant quantities. The main danger is to Dentists who may handle Amalgam on a daily basis, they did measure higher levels of mercury in their urine than in the general population, but the amounts are still minuscule and hundreds of times below recommended safety limits. There is some danger of Inhaling mercury vapours when removing the fillings, that much is true, but once it's in there, it is really quite safe. There is no real evidence that Amalgam fillings leak measurable amounts of mercury into the bloodstream, therefore causing mercury poisoning as is claimed by many. Personally, I would file this topic under the "unverified conspiracy theory" folder. Here's a pretty good summary, that is from a mainstream, reputable source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3388771/

@Preety_India I used to live in India, tap water isn't potable in general and there are many issues with pollution, including of water reservoirs. Tap water in Europe on the other hand is perfectly safe to drink, except for a few rural aread where Arsenic contamination is an issue. I know a lot of people are paranoid about tap water contamination, but I think it is an unnecessary fear, bottled water can just as easily be contaminated. I'll give you one thing though, I had kidney stones once and I suspect the hard water we have here was partly to blame. But, in general, there is nothing to be concerned about.

Europe isn't that great in that respect, it's just a milder version of North America, whereas the UK is actually worse. You'll have a lot more luck in Southeast Asia or South America. Generally speaking, you will be more successful in countries where you stand out, you will naturally get a lot more attention, even without trying. I always got plenty of attention when I lived and travelled in Southeast Asia and for particularly good looking guys, it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

You certainly shouldn't drink tap water in India, but in most of Europe, tap water is perfectly fine to drink. I prefer tap water actually, because it is in movement, not stagnant water sitting in a plastic bottle for months on end. I am more worried about the chemicals that might get into my water from a plastic container. To be fair, the tap water where I live comes from very deep underground, the only issue is that it is super hard and ends up destroying everything it touches eventually. Coffee machines, electric kettles, taps and even pipes tend to suffer from a buildup of calcite and don't last very long even with descaling.

Touché. But I was talking in generic terms, not specifically about myself. I have no interest in participating the dating meat grinder myself, but it is a market and it thus responds to supply and demand pressures. If you visit a country like the Philippines or the Ukraine, there is an oversupply of young, eligible women and a shortage of eligible bachelors. In rich countries it is the other way round. Most of it is due to migration patterns and demographics.

it's not a Western thing, more of a rich country thing. The situation is even worse in rich Asian countries, such as Singapore, Japan or Hong Kong. In Singapore, women demand the 5 Cs (Cash, Credit Card, Car, Country Club membership, Condo), or they won't even talk to you. China is the same, pretty much. A lot of it has to do with a global gender imbalance and unfavourable demographics. There simply aren't enough young women in rich countries and there are far too many older guys chasing them around, who are usually wealthier too. Look at any rich country age tree and you can immediately see where the problem lies.

What surprised me about the Indian dating scene is how many gay guys there are and how it is next to impossible for a foreigner to date, let alone marry an Indian girl. It almost never happens, which is a bit of a shame, really. But, I did date an Indian girl in Singapore, the overseas Indians are a lot more open about it. Regarding the British thing, it is a bit of a give and take situation. They definitely exploited Indians economically and a big chunk of the extreme poverty you see there is a bit of a colonial legacy, in my view. On the other hand, they did some good things too, like building out the railway network, outlawing Sati and wiping out the Thuggee cult. Interesting thing is, that before the Sepoy Mutiny in 1847, there was a lot more mixing between the British and Indians, there were some mixed marriages and some Brits even converted to Islam (since the ruling class in India was mostly Muslim at the time). The Mutiny put an end to cordial relations between the governors and the governed, it was also the time that India went from company rule to becoming a direct colony of Westminster. I find it rather interesting that a lot of ex-colonies of Britain think rather fondly of their erstwhile colonial masters, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore. This isn't the case with ex-colonies of other European countries, such as the French or Dutch.

A smart woman will only date highly intelligent men, at least seriously. Obviously, in the short term it doesn't matter much, but in a LTR intelligence is really a big deal and something that can't be ignored. There are other reasons too as IQ actually correlates with success in life, low crime rates, etc... The only time it becomes a problem is with guys who are highly intelligent, but mildly autistic. Think the Big Bang Theory guys, those kinds of guys are real and I know some actual physicists in real life, who are actually like that. They understand complex mathematical equations in multiple dimensions, but can't tie their own shoelaces. For me, intelligence is very important in a woman. I ended my last relationship for many reasons, but mostly because the girl I was dating really wasn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen drawer. It was actually embarrassing at times and there were several Jessica Simpson moments where I was just stunned into silence at the stupidity of what I've just heard.

Magic is the intentional use of energy to cause an effect in the physical universe This is a good thread on the subject The BALG forum has even more on this.

@Haley Ardabili what exactly do you need clarification on?

Not sure what you mean by that. The primary visitations have been by the Goddess in different forms, but primarily as a being of light. She is Shakti and also present in me as the Kundalini. Her performing Shaktipat on me may very well have saved my life, it certainly seemed liked that in the time. If you are into Buddhism, which I suspect you are, you should look into Tantra and the role of the Goddess in achieving enlightenment. There is a long tradition of Tantric Goddess Union in both Hinduism and Buddhism. As for the gods, I know they are real, because they have visited others and have carried out requests on my behalf. That will only satisfy my own scepticism of course, not that of others, but I'm just not that bothered about what others think.

Thank you, appreciate it

So, since I have been conflating the Elohim with the Anunnaki for a while now, I have to step back a little and clarify a few things from a scholarly perspective. It is true that the origin of the two words are identical, with both meaning either "Sky People" or "Children of the Sky God", carrying a double meaning. However, Anunnaki, might have originally meant the Sons of Anu in generic terms, in later usage it came to mean those gods that were either on the earth or in the underworld, numbering 600 overall. The gods of heaven numbered 300 and were called the Igigi. I am using the terms that are in common usage, in actual fact we know more about Sumerian pronunciation and phonetics now compared to when these terms were popularised, so different transliterations are now being used by scholars in the field. In later usage, Anunnaki became the equivalent of the Biblical Watchers, and the gods of Heaven became the angels of heaven. This is probably why, in the previous channelling, by Enki, he confusingly referred to the Anunnaki as a separate group from the Elohim, somehow part of the same group, but a smaller circle within it. I now see why he did that. I know these terms can be very confusing, but the more we discuss them, the more clarity we can get, which is a necessity with all the general confusion that is out there, not least because of people like Zecharia Sitchin or David Icke, who I don't believe acted in good faith, but were trying to push an agenda of their own when they brought these terms into the collective consciousness.