Adyashanti: re Kundalini and spiritual awakening—from an interview by Bonnie Greenwell (2002)

"...One can have a true and authentic realization of the ultimate nature of reality during or after a Kundalini experience. One doesn't equal the other, but it's possible just like one can have an awakening to the ultimate nature of reality and one may or may not have the fallout of an energetic or what might be called the sort of a Kundalini process happen as a result or as an effect you might say..."

"Enlightenment is when consciousness suddenly lets go of being lost in its dream character and it becomes the lucidness of the dream itself that I am not just the character, I am the lucidness of this dream, and in that sense, from that standpoint, you can look back at your dream character as it were and you realize it doesn't really much matter whether the Kundalini has awoken in that dream character or not..."

~ Adyashanti
Interviews by Bonnie Greenwell (2002)
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"Spiritual Unfolding" and "The Essence of Enlightenment"
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Adyashanti, author of The Direct Way, Sacred Inquiry, Emptiness Dancing, The Way of Liberation, Falling into Grace, True Meditation, and The End of Your World, is an American-born spiritual teacher devoted to serving the awakening of all beings. His teachings are an open invitation to stop, inquire, and recognize what is true and liberating at the core of all existence.

Adyashanti (whose name means “primordial peace”) is an American-born spiritual teacher. Asked to teach in 1996 by his Zen teacher of 14 years, Adyashanti offers teachings that are free of any tradition or ideology. "The Truth I point to is not confined within any religious point of view, belief system, or doctrine, but is open to all and found within all."

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My post re: How I experience or relate to Adyashanti's Retiring from Live Teachings

[rick]

In my journey, kundalini shakti expressed through me in a very radical way. It piqued my interest in spiritual understanding and it transformed my energy field and nervous system day and night for several years. I would sit for meditation and it would lock my body into position and move my head at different angles as energy would express into different centers in my head, etc. After some years of this the energy began to gather up in my head and I would fall into ecstasy for an hour or so. I began to wonder if I was becoming some sort of addict. Then after a few months of this my crown opened and the energy would move through and I could have my eyes open and not fall back into an ecstatic state. After this, when I would sit for meditation I found that I was transcendent of the meditating "person", i.e. I was present beyond the personal frame of reference and observing the person trying to meditate.
I am sharing this so that anyone who is having these types of experiences can understand that kundalini shakti can take the lead in an awakening journey. For some people it will be more than just incidental. For some, it will ultimately deliver you to the threshold of self realization. Dis-identification with the personal frame of reference (or self realization) is still a primary direction in which kundalini shakti is moving you. If kundalini shakti takes the lead in your awakening journey, you will not be able to ignore it as many non-dual teachers might suggest. It will tend to usurp your choices and demand your attention. In that case it would be best to accept it and harmonize with it. Have the confidence that it is okay and even a great gift, and it has a beautiful purpose.

[C_Masi]

Been in a kundalini awakening for several years. I dont hear Adya talk about it much so this is really great to hear him speak to it djrectly

[Norbu]

Quoting ADYA from this video: "Even the "highest" subtle body awakening does not correspond in the slightest to becoming more spiritually awake or more spiritually self-realized. They are two totally and absolutely different . What it basically means is that my dream character is becoming more and more and more awake and becoming capable of all these experiences and capacities to perceive different levels and on and on and heart opening etc...but this still has to do with my dream character, it has to do with "me". That is not enlightenment!...Almost always, mystical experiences are confused for Enlightenemnt". Thank you so much for posting this very important clarification. It may save years of confusion for so many of us!!!

[icarus]

The one who asks the questions is Joan Harrigan, Phd. If I’m not very much mistaken. She’s sort of a kundalini guru. See guru Viking podcast with her of interested.

[gregoryarutyunyan]

Well, in lucid dream, the level of lucidity is proportional to the control(abilities) of the dream character.

[rjeichorn]

What does it mean to reach your bodies highest potential through kundalini . I think I can guess what he means but I’m honestly not too sure