[Uma]

Thanks SerpentQueen for your kind words…
I’m surprised Prokopton, I thought you said the conversation was over.

Originally Posted by Uma
What I get from my teacher is not merely intellectual knowledge but much grace, that which extends far beyond mental fluctuations.

Originally Posted by Prokopton

I would certainly hope so! And of course, what many others get from their teachers, plural (including me from the ones I have had) is the same in that respect, whether one chooses the word 'grace', the word 'shaktipat', or whatever. It would indeed be a strange world if yours was the only teacher of any achievement! What a lopsided thing that would be.

Grace can also mean wonderful things happening in my life – my outer world as well as my inner world. One reflects the other. You imply I am claiming he is the “only teacher of any achievement”. I am not. He is the “only teacher” for me as no one else I have ever met or read has come close to what I get from associating with him. There are many wonderful teachers. He does not claim he is the "only teacher" either.

Originally Posted by Prokopton

Like Uma, I had an excellent kundalini teacher (Glenn Morris) who has gone on to be the root of many a lineage and was incredibly gifted at syncretism. However, he never claimed his way was the only true way! Simply one way that worked, and a living and dynamic and evolving way at that.

Neither does my teacher claim his way was the only true way. On the contrary, he sees commonality in all noble traditions – the one truth of life that speaks for itself in many languages – unity in diversity. And this is my point also. Neither can he be so narrowly classified as a “kundalini teacher”. He teaches how the natural and spontaneous awakening of Kundalini brings out the Inner Guide in all of us, or true Guru in all of us, and that this Guide leads us to customize our way or a combination of ways. An ordinary “kundalini teacher” is focused on the raising of Kundalini energy through forceful means such as breathing and other yogic exercises. Sri Vasudeva does not do this. In fact he advises against it unless (if you insist on this path) you have an extremely competent teacher to guide you. His bio is on my website if you’re interested and he speaks for himself on YouTube.

Originally Posted by Prokopton

We can post pictures of rivers saying they might resemble something about kundalini. We can't say that the path of a river is kundalini -- not unless we want to abandon the truth for fantasy!

Actually we may not post copyrighted pictures according to Daisy who erased the entire thread (doesn't matter that almost 300 people viewed it so it was of interest to many, rules are rules). As to your point, you insist on classifying Kundalini energy as different to universal life force energy. The difference is primarily one of location. Kundalini is prana/chi/qi/lifeforce - the power of God - existing in a human body. The human body is designed to be a perfect vessel for the final journey to enlightenment, unlike a river which, although it has a consciousness of its own, has no brain and therefore no way of harnessing intellect and ego. Kundalini is all about transforming ego. The entire universe is composed of consciousness manifesting as energy. When we ignore the Guide within, the Guide without speaks to us through all of life.

Originally Posted by SerpentQueen

Actually, why are there no more dragons? They aren't mythical creatures. I believe I read somewhere, they truly did exist at one time - though maybe not spouting fire out their mouth. Maybe dragons are... an archetype.

Julius Ceasar wanted to open a dragon museum at one point so he was talking about dinosaur bones. There are quite a lot in China. But also the Kundalini experience can be very dragon like for some people or at some stage – fiery, overwhelming. So you put the two together and that’s the human imagination for you, always hybridizing and creating metaphors for invisible experiences.

Originally Posted by SerpentQueen

Since I have concluded time doesn't exist (it's just a human construct) and past/present/future are all going on at once, it seems to me that it's an unproductive activity to trace the evolution of such sacred images on any sort of historical timeline. Instead, I view these as present-day clues from the universe, meant to guide us on our own journey of seeking wisdom.

I so wish the conversation would move in this direction, which is to me also the more productive one. Unfortunately I had to respond to relentless attempts to discredit everything I'm saying. And now Daisy has erased my threads with pictures to address that so I may leave off wasting my time on this forum if the focus is so much on form and so little on substance.