Cosmic Christ

Enlightenment is a biological process.  Cross-examination of ancient systems such as Hatha Yoga, Chi Kung and a host of others reveal underlying physiological truths: By the cultivation of breath-energy and intentional circulation of electricity through the body, we regulate the flow of our natural biochemistry, channeling nutrition, hormones and vitality to every cell of the body like the veins of a leaf.  Through right diet, posture, breath, and exercise, human beings can awaken the inner fountain of longevity, and even the heightened sensory perception of great spiritual masters.

Presented with the image of these masters, we might then ask what spiritual potential we hold within ourselves?  People have been achieving states of Illumination or Enlightenment for thousands of years, identified by traits such as a radiant aura, the ability to heal through touch, and a universal message of peace.  Sometimes stepping forward to become great teachers, they grant us a glimpse of the blissful, primordial Awareness that lay within us all.  Though their teachings may become distorted, unifying wisdoms such as the Golden Rule ring through the lineage of masters.  In this age of globalization and ecological crisis, may we foster understanding across spiritual traditions, creating a synthesis of the great teachings to coax the latent potentials of the human being to full emergence.

Being relaxed is a cross-cultural attribute of enlightenment.  When the body is tense, blood vessels constrict, and circulation is hindered.  When the body is relaxed by physical practice and deep meditation, the energies of the body can cycle freely.  It is in this relaxed state that electricity can be made to flow from the intestinal battery coil of the lower dantien, through the chakras (neuro-endrocine plexuses) to untapped centers in the brain.  This results in a process of transformation with profound effects on every facet life, including enhanced creativity & strength, and decreased need for sleep.

One of the most foundational practices we can adopt in support of these enlightened states of mind is to energize the body with proper diet.  Many blockages and chronic illnesses in the body can be swiftly cleared by drinking organic fruit and vegetable juice as the main dietary staple.  Public awareness of the cancer & diabetes-reversing effect of a plant-based diet is growing rapidly:

Forks over Knives - official documentary trailer, 2 min (full movie can be viewed on netflix).  Hear the science of how a plant-based diet can reverse chronic diseases without expensive pharmaceuticals.  Interviews include recovered patients, researchers who study Chinese cancer rates, firefighters and a vegan mixed-martial arts champion.

The Gerson Institute - official site at gerson.org.  A wealth of resources and successful case studies on how to cure the majority of diseases through diet.

Dying to have Known - full documentary, 1 hr 20 min: This film is about Gerson Therapy.  It features many interviews with patients, scientists, surgeons and nutritionists who testify to the therapy’s efficacy in curing cancer and other degenerative diseases, and presents the hard scientific evidence to back up their claims.

Let us live in alliance with plant-life.  By cultivating the outer landscape to yield produce that is full of life-force, we help to cultivate a vital inner landscape for our bodies, which in turn creates the platform for experiences of Cosmic Consciousness.  As blood circulates through the microcosm of the body, may we circulate the knowledge of health through the macrocosm of society, and thus engineer a mass revolution in consciousness.

Prints available here & here.

Jai Ganesha, remover of obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, deva of intellect and wisdom!

During my travels I have seen Ganesh depicted in Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist and Thai traditional art. I find it striking that the appeal of the elephant headed god is so multicultural. Lord Ganesha is known as the remover of obstacles, the messenger and scribe of the gods. Yogis propitiate Ganesh to remove obstructions from their channels, so that the Kundalini may rise uninhibited and ignite the higher states of awareness.

Worshipped across boundaries of country and religion, may the presence of Ganesh grant clarity to your body, mind and endeavors. Ideal as an altar piece or yoga studio addition. Kids love Ganesha.

Check out ‘Ganesh is Fresh‘ – Song by MC Yogi

For me, its David’s track “When I Grow Up” featuring Amae Love that hits me with full body goosebumps every time.  Amae Love is multi-talented, gorgeous in sight and sound.  Her voice and lyrics are a perfect blend with David’s music and mastering.

You can find ALL of David’s music for free from www.HumanExperienceCreations.com.  He offers all his art for free because he is called to inspire others to be creative and keep the flow coming.

Much of his music can also be sampled through his Soundcloud profile.  You can subscribe there or through Facebook to hear about it as fresh music becomes available.  David is a clear pioneer, definitely one to keep an ear out for.

Album art for this work is by Ryan Johnson- master digital painter of the northwest.

Pollenectar

These pieces are inspired by the symbiotic relationship between plants and pollinators, and the use of bio-mimicry in design.

These pieces invoke the totems of the bee, the butterfly, and the humming bird.  These powerful creatures give rise to the abundance of nature by spreading the genetic information of pollen.  Likewise, to assist and protect them in their mission, we must spread the information of how to transform our world, transmitting the memes of a radically sustainable society through our digital networks.  In this modern age of disconnection from nature and colony collapse syndrome, we may look to the bee hive for models of a thriving symbiotic society.  May we live in harmony with the Earth and harvest the sweet honey of permacultural utopia.

Prints available here & here

Related video:

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge - 6 min.  This slick animated video showcases many amazing permacultural innovations with cool visuals and music.

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” - Bucky Fuller

Queen of the Sun - official trailer – 3 min. - Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world.

TED – Using Nature’s genius in architecture - 14 min. Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing energy from the sun.  The ‘Eden Project’ is featured as an example, using geodesic domes modeled on pollen grains to house verdant gardens.

Earthships Biotecture youtube channel - Tons of videos on design principles of the most sustainable & economical buildings in the world.  Here’s a good one to start with - 5 min.  Earthships can be built in any part of the world, in any climate with local materials. Go Earthships!

Geo made this piece while he was traveling in India, immersed in asana, pranayama, meditation and lucid dreaming. His studies and resulting experiences gave him a clearer image of the relationships between the Chakras, the nervous & endocrine systems, diet, Prana & Chi, and heightened spiritual experiences.  He wanted to embed these teachings of inner balance into the symbolism of the piece.

From Joseph Cambell’s Myths of Light:

‘The two spinal nerves at either side of the sushumna (central spinal channel), left and right, are, respectively, the channels of the female and the male energies (ida & pingala), which the ordered breathing of the yogi is to bring together.  Moreover, the kundalini itself, the coiled serpent power, is conceived as female.’

‘Her voyage up the spine, therefore, is the flight of an awakened girl burning with desire through a forest of perils and deceptive allures to her own extinction and fulfillment and fulfillment in extinction: a lover’s quest.’

‘The yogi is to realize within himself this ideal through an awakening of the power (shakti) of his own omniscience, defending it from loss in the forest of allure and guiding it up the way to the deity of the head.’

‘The ultimate goal is to transcend duality–and that is achieved at the crown of the head, the sahasrara, ‘the thousand petaled lotus.’

From The Tantric Path to Higher Consciousness by Sunyata Saraswati & Bodhi Avinasha:

‘In Tantra and other Yogas, there is a science and art of weaving the male and female principles within the human body.  Ultimate Reality is One, but we percieve reality as dualistic, that everything has its opposite, and that duality is sexual.’

‘Tantric Kriya Yoga is the left-hand path–Vama Marga–a rotation of conscious sexual forces between two partners, mixing the male and female energies in an internal alchemy.  Out of this comes the same illumination that a celibate Kriya practitioner can experience, but much more quickly.  To connect your energy with your mate’s accelerates your progress.’

‘Kriya is the ancient Tantric science of rotating consciousness through the astral pathways of the body to produce a profoundly altered state of consciousness.  Kriya uses a process of ‘Internal Alchemy’ to magnetize the spine, literally pulling etheric energy into the cerebro-spinal fluid and altering its electrical properties.  The breathing and meditation cleanse the latent tunnels between the coccyx (sacral reservoir of cerebro-spinal fluid) and cranial cavities.  Then the electrically charged fluid (shakti) wells up into the unobstructed channels to flood the brain with cosmic energy.  This Shakti Kundalini activates the third eye, the seat of individual consciousness, and stimulates the pineal and pituitary glands–direct links to cosmic awareness.  It transforms the entire nervous system, so every sense is expanded.  It produces a continuous mild orgasm throughout the central nervous system.’

‘In that moment one experiences union with the beloved.  There is no separation, no “I” as apart from “you.”  In that moment we transcend into the state of Samadhi, blissful union between the individual consciousness and the Cosmic.  Wave after wave of love and peace infuse waking consciousness.  The anxious, striving, separated individual self becomes merged with the total flow of cosmic life energy, bathed in its unchanging quality of intense joy.’

Prints available here

Here are a few related videos that further describe this powerful experience:

Kundalini awakening animation from Parabola music video by Tool & Alex Grey - 2 min

What is Kundalini?  Q&A with teacher Tao Semko – 7 min.

Check out Tao’s youtube channel for more in-depth information on Kundalini.

Fun animated description of Chakras and how to balance them from Spirit Science – 8 min

Dynamo Jack - 10 min.  Fact or fiction?  This healer can apparently project a flow of current from his body into other people and objects, with amazing effects.  A team of scientists use electronic equipment to measure this energy.  In the Yogic system, these powers of raised Kundalini are called Siddhis.  There is a moral at the end demonstrating the dangers of misuse! This version of the film at 4:50 makes mention pulling of ‘the correct proportion of Yin (feminine energy) and Yang (masculine energy)’ into the navel chakra.

The Manipura chakra is located in the Solar plexus, center of willpower.  I have heard Manipura translated as ‘Great Citadel‘ and ‘City of Jewels.’  I am struck by the image of glittering rows of solar panels.

Every half hour, enough sunlight strikes the earth to provide to power to the whole world for a year.  Solar panel technology and production are surging forward, revolutionizing the energy industry, with all its ramifications on the environment and social equality.  We can harness our collective Will to achieve ‘Surya Yoga,’ or Unity with the Sun.

One inspiration for this piece is the archetype of Vishnu, the blue preserver & enjoyer of material reality.  Truly we must be Preservers of our world to enjoy it.  Vishnu reclines upon the multi-headed cosmic serpent Ananta, which translates as ‘endless,’ a symbol of mastered limitless energy.  Vishnu enjoys the love of his wife Lakshmi, Goddess of Abundance.  Lakshmi is often depicted with gold coins spilling from her fingertips, bringing prosperity.  In this piece, the coins transform into hexagons that become the panels of permacultural biodomes, invoking the shift to a sustainable paradigm and renewable energy.

This piece is also inspired by the practice of sun gazing.  Research suggests that ancient priesthoods in many cultures developed systems of drawing energy into their bodies by staring at the the Sun in the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset.  Might the Sun provide a revolutionary independence from both fossil fuels and the food chain as we know it? Pervasive Egyptian hieroglyphs like the Eye of Ra (God of the Sun) seem a tantalizing hint of forgotten knowledge now being brought to light…

Prints available here

Related video:

Here Comes the Sun - uplifting documentary on the solar power revolution! – 48 min

Eat the Sun - official documentary trailer – Is it possible? – 2.5 min

For more information/video on sun gazing, check out my post on dreamcatcher.