Steps of Awakening

Posted on March 26, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: Is there a pattern of awakening that most people follow? It seems many people are now embracing mindfulness, but are there deeper experiences possible?

A: Mindfulness is the first step on a ladder of deeper insights and inner discoveries. As the Soul evolves, you may see a typical pattern of progressive awakening of inner faculties:

Mindfulness – awaken as your attention in the present time, and monitor your experience
Opening the third eye – unite attention with the attentional principle and activate this immortal essence to see within and use its power of intention
Self-awareness – unite attention with your Self, and take charge of your life
Wave of the present time – Become aware of the Soul’s thought and intention entering your human life in the present time
Seed atom of your Psychic vehicle – Become aware of your psychic abilities and connect with guides and angels
The loving Christ consciousness – Guide your life according to wisdom and moral principles, cultivate virtue, and regard others with love and compassion
The creator consciousness – Activate your Mighty I AM Presence to create and manifest in your life and to dissolve unwanted conditions
Servant of humanity – Activate your Manasic Vortex and become the instrument of your Soul, your Monad, and connect with the Masters of the Hierarchy of Light
Illumination – Activate your Illumined Mind and inspire and uplift others
Realization – Realize your Soul and enact its purpose

The awakening of these levels is coordinated with the Soul’s development. For example:

Step six is associated with taking the First Planetary Initiation; step seven, the Second Initiation; step eight, the Third Initiation; step nine, the Fourth Initiation; and step ten, the Fifth Initiation.
Those sojourning through the Psychic Realm activate steps four and five.
Psychotherapy and Coaching seek to enable others to function from the Self at step three.
Steps one and two are the foundation of meditation. At step one, you become aware of your inner life; at step two, you gain the facility to work on yourself.

If you are ready to awaken your Soul’s potentials and bring forward the expression of your Soul’s purpose in life, it is important that you learn to meditate. If you are considering learning to meditate, but aren’t sure where to begin, invite you to schedule complimentary spiritual discovery session with me to identify appropriate meditations for you, learn what you need to do to overcome any obstacles you are facing in meditation, and be clear about your next steps in meditation.

Mantra as a Method to Transcend Inner Blockages

Posted on February 26, 2022 by George Boyd

Q: Are there mantras that can help get through mental blockages?

A: Meditators report seven major types of blockages that impedes them going deeper in meditation:

They are locked into physical pain or the symptoms of disease, and they cannot detach their attention from these deep body sensations.
They encounter an etheric blockage in their inner vehicles of consciousness that stops them from further deepening in meditation.
They are absorbed in emotional pain, trauma, or terror, and they cannot pass through this wall of anguish.
They cannot collect attention at the waking state of consciousness; they cannot lift up into the thread of consciousness. As a result, they cannot achieve focal awareness.
They become absorbed in planning or thinking, and they cannot transcend their mental field.
An inner barrier, such as the gate to the Subconscious mind, the gate to the Superconscious mind, or the gate at the entrance to an Initiation blocks them, and they cannot go beyond this locked portal.
They identify with a vehicular seed atom, a nucleus of identity, or the spirit in one of the 12 Domains, and they cannot view anything beyond the inner spiritual horizon that appears before them. They consequently consider this visible inner horizon as the highest stage of spirituality, and they stop their spiritual development before they reach that highest point. This perceptual ring-pass-not does not allow them to journey beyond this place on the Path.

The criteria for a mantra to function as a means to transport your attention beyond these blockages include:

The mantra must originate on a higher vibrational platform than the blockage.
It must be able to engage the meditator’s attention and move it through the blockage.
It must enable your attention to break through the layers of the unconscious mind, when karmic material in this zone of the mind makes up the blockage.
It must actively move your attention along the thread of consciousness or across the unconscious mind, and not merely resonate the seed atoms of selected inner vehicles.
The mantra must be repeated correctly to enable the attention to move. You need to find the correct technique—for example, chanting, whispering, using the mantra with the breath, repetition with the attention, or activation through the intention of the attentional principle—for the mantra to achieve the uplift of your attention and to move through the barrier.
It must inspire faith and hope that the technique will work, so the meditator will be motivated to use it.
For it to work in an Integral fashion, it must be keyed to the immortal essences along the axis of being—the attentional principle, the spirit, or the cutting edge ensouling entity—and not lead meditators onto unrelated Paths or regions of the Continuum that have no relevance for the their Intrinsic Soul Purpose.

Mantras that meditators have found helpful to transcend these blockages include:

AUM [pronounced Ohm] – repeat with your attention
I AM – repeat with your attention
HANSA – sniff in HAN, sniff out SA; repeat with your attention once your attention has become collected at the waking state of awareness
Centering mantras keyed to the Self or an ensouling entity on the axis of being – breathe the mantra into this essence
Contemplative mantras keyed to the spirit in one of the 12 Domains – remember the spirit, and repeat the mantra with your attention

Each method has its particular strengths:

AUM helps to concentrate your attention.
I AM excels at moving your attention through the unconscious mind to transcend this band of the mind.
HANSA facilitates collecting your attention and moving it along the thread of consciousness.
Centering and contemplative mantras focus your attention on a higher spiritual essence, and allow you to move beyond the gate of the Conscious mind and blockages within the personality to transcend into the Superconscious mind.

We teach the HANSA method in the Introduction to Meditation Program and our intermediate classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program. We also teach contemplative mantras in our intermediate meditation programs. We teach centering mantras in our advanced course, the Mudrashram® Advanced Course in Meditation.

Some people find that a meditation consultation is helpful to work on solutions to surmount the blockage that keeps them from moving deeper in meditation. Sometimes, finding an alternate method to the one you are using will help you get through the barrier that holds you back.

We encourage you to find a method that allows you to transcend the blockage you are encountering. We will be happy to assist you find a solution.

Zones of Concentration

Posted on October 8, 2021 by George Boyd

Q: Can you explain the role of concentration in spiritual life?

A: Concentration means that you shrink the focus of your attention and hold it on an object. There are several levels at which you can apply concentration:

Schema – this is a category in which you access stored knowledge about a particular topic. You use this in study and academic education. You might, for example, focus on the schema where you have learned rules for grammar. You would learn the new material about this subject and remember it in the frame of the schema, associating it to your current knowledge.
Matrix of experience – You access this level when you ask your deeper mind questions and listen for the answers. You might ask for a particular incident (process meditation), a specific fact (mnemonic recall), how you feel about something (emotional inquiry), what something means (cognitive inquiry), what your options and choices are (personal inquiry), or ask for information about spiritual topics (metaphysical inquiry). You concentrate in this band when you are doing personal process, inner dialog, or psychotherapy.
Reflection – You access this level when you think deeply about something and you want to solve a problem. This accesses your intellect, whereby you apply your intelligence to explore ideas and to solve problems. Those who are writers, scientists, and philosophers tap into this level of concentration.
Archetypes and arrays – You access this level when you interface with elements in your Superconscious mind. You might encounter an archetype and reflect on the meaning of the form you see. You might explore the meaning of a myth or wisdom story. You might contemplate the meaning of a scripture. You might associate symbols in an array to do an intuitive reading. Theologians, metaphysical counselors, psychic readers, and transpersonal psychologists interface with this level.
Nucleus of identity – You access this level when you focus your attention on one of the integration centers of your Superconscious mind. These centers include, for example, the Star Seed on the Psychic Realm, the Moon Soul in the First Planetary Initiation, Cosmic Consciousness in the First Cosmic Initiation, or the Supracosmic Seed Atom on a Supracosmic Path. Those following a religious or spiritual group focus at this level.
Attentional principle – Focusing your attention at this level awakens your intentional consciousness. Once you can function at this level readily, you can perform inner work on your personality and in your Superconscious mind.
Individual spirit – Focusing your attention at this level awakens the love and devotion of your spirit. Once you can readily focus your attention at this level, you can participate in opening the channels of the Nada through which your spirit returns to its origin.
Ensouling entity – Focusing your attention at this level awakens the Soul. This brings about the experience of Samadhi and Gnosis. This conveys the Realization of the Inner Divinity within the Soul, and aligns you with the Soul’s Path of spiritual evolution.

Direct spiritual experience is contingent upon your ability to concentrate upon the spiritual essences at levels five through eight. We teach you how to tap levels 6, 7, and 8 in our intermediate meditation courses—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program. We teach contemplation of nuclei of identity, level 5, in the Mudrashram® Advanced Course in Meditation.

Developing facility with levels one and two is important for successful learning and adult functioning. Those who are thinkers and who are able to access the creative and intuitive channels of their mind learn to tap into levels three and four.

We encourage you to become familiar with each of these levels of concentration, and learn how to use these attentional foci skillfully and efficiently to bring success in your life and to awaken to your full spiritual potentials.

The Spectrum of Spiritual Ministry

Posted on October 1, 2021 by George Boyd

Q: There appears to be an entire spectrum of spiritual ministry. Where does Mudrashram® fit on this spectrum?

A: There are seven major levels of spiritual ministry. We will briefly discuss them:

Physical – Characteristic of the Subtle Realm and the Biophysical Universe, ministry at this level consists of rituals, sacred ceremonies, and pilgrimages. Individuals at this level may use idols to represent the gods and goddesses of their faith. Participants in groups that practice physical level ministry primarily identity as their body and their ego. They practice Karma Yoga—service to God, humanity, and their spiritual organization—and do little meditation. They may pray to God to help them in their lives with their problems. They may do practices like hatha yoga to relax and tone the body.

Etheric – Those who are in the Psychic Realm or those that do practices that awaken their cosmic consciousness or a Supracosmic seed atom may experience this level of spiritual ministry. Ministry at this level typically involves awakening the Kundalini to activate a selected spiritual essence. Those who operate at this level visualize the Divine as residing in the highest chakra on their Path, and believe that through opening the chakras, they can achieve union with the Divine. They may use techniques like Pranayama, focusing attention on different chakras, and practices that awaken the Kundalini to gain union with the spiritual essence with which they identify—and they may attempt to keep their attention in an altered state of consciousness in union with that spiritual essence. They may do practices like mindfulness and tratakam methods like candle gazing to focus their attention.

Lower Emotional – Those who operate in the three upper Subplanes of the Abstract Mind Plane—Akashic Records Subplane, Dynamic Creation Subplane, and Universal Mind Subplane—and the Psychic Realm focus on this aspect of ministry. They seek to fulfill their desires and be happy; they attempt to manifest or create what they visualize and intend in their human life. They may identify with the wave of the present time on the Akashic Aether, a Star Seed in the Psychic Realm, or the Soul. They use techniques like affirmation, process meditation, autohypnosis, claiming by faith, and visualization with intention to attempt to manifest what they desire. Some individuals at this level will invoke angels, Ascended Masters, saints, or their own Mighty I AM Presence to augment their efforts to achieve their dreams.

Higher Emotional – Those who operate at this level of ministry can be found in the First Mesoteric Initiation, and on devotional Paths of the First Cosmic Initiation, the Supracosmic Sphere, or the Paths of the Transcendental Sphere. Love for the Divine, devotion, and yearning for spiritual union with God are highlighted at this level. The experience of love at this level is quintessential, and they may engage in mystic Bhakti Yoga practices such as saying the names of God (Japa), practicing the presence of God and remembering God, performing worship and praise ceremonies for the Divine (Puja), using transformational methods that move the spiritual essence with which they identity closer to the Divine, and Nada Yoga.

Lower Mental – Those who operate at this level typically have reached the Third Planetary Initiation. This level undergoes discovering and enacting their Soul Purpose. They align their personality with the Soul so it can become an instrument of the Soul. They practice Raja Yoga, contemplation of ideas or seed thoughts, and listen to their Soul’s intuition to guide them. They may use practices to tune into the thought streams of the Masters of the Hierarchy.

Higher Mental – Those who operate at this level have awakened their Illumined Mind and can disseminate the teachings of the Masters. This level is associated with those who have taken the Fourth Planetary Initiation, or those who have entered into the state of Samadhi. At this level, the ensouling entity can operate as a teacher, counselor, coach, mentor, and guide. These individuals can operate fully as their attentional principle to commune with the Masters and with their ensouling entity. They commonly practice Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga methods to connect with the ensouling entity and allow it to express through the personality through inspired discourse (Satsang) or writing.

Spiritual – This level comprises Light Ministry beyond words. It is associated with those who have achieved Mastery in their Path and the Divine has anointed them to send the Light. Our Light Sittings, Attunement Meditation, Agni Yoga, the granting of Initiation, Guru Kripa Yoga, and the empowerment of transformational mantras operate from this platform. At this level, the attentional principle, the spirit, and/or the Soul receive and send forth the Light.

Mudrashram® teaches methods in its intermediate classes—the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program—that assist aspirants at different levels. For example:

For those polarized at the Etheric level, we teach how to awaken the Kundalini and how to collect attention and to use the breath to augment meditation.
For those at the Lower Emotional level, we teach a variety of methods that assist people to manifest their desires and achieve their dreams, such as process meditation, affirmation, and autohypnosis.
For those at the Higher Emotional level, we teach Nada Yoga.
For those at the Lower Mental level, we teach them how to do Raja Yoga and tap intuition through the Jnana Yoga techniques.
For those at the Higher Mental level, we teach them to catalyze their Soul’s genius through Samadhi, which we teach in our Samadhi Weekend Program.
For those who can rise into the Spiritual level, we train them in Agni Yoga and Attunement Meditation, and allow them to experience the grace of the Divine and the Masters through Light Immersion and Guru Kripa Yoga. We also enable them to speed up their spiritual evolution through giving them a mantra keyed to their cutting edge of spirituality.

While the primary thrust of our ministry operates on the Lower Mental, Higher Mental, and Spiritual levels, we do have students who are primarily polarized at the Etheric, Lower Emotional, and Higher Emotional levels. We train them to gradually activate their innate love, wisdom, and power of their Soul and assist them to shift into mental and spiritual polarization.

Types of Kundalini Awakening

Posted on December 14, 2019 by George Boyd

Q: Are there different types of Kundalini awakening?

A: There are three basic categories: (1) when someone else induces the Kundalini awakening in you, (2) when you use a technique to awaken it, and (3) when it awakens spontaneously. These three categories break down into seven major types:

Volitional induced type – An Initiate uses a higher octave of will to awaken your Kundalini. Yogi Preceptors use the Cosmic Octave of will to raise your Kundalini into cosmic consciousness; Cosmic Masters tap this same octave of volition to fix it in the Astral Soul. Supracosmic Gurus employ the Supracosmic Octave of will to draw the Kundalini up to the Supracosmic seed atom on their Path, and in rare individuals, will anchor this energy in the Supracosmic Soul.
Intentional induced type – An Initiate uses intention from their attentional principle to send forth the Light (Shakti) and anchors it in one of your higher spiritual essences. Yogi Preceptors make this attunement with your cosmic consciousness. Cosmic Masters attune with your Astral Soul. Supracosmic Gurus establish an attunement with either your Supracosmic seed atom on their Path, or your Supracosmic Soul, if it dwells within that Path.
Short circuit imbalance type – As a result of moving a nucleus of identity—e.g., your cosmic consciousness or your Supracosmic seed atom—or an ensouling entity, such as the Astral Soul, out of alignment with the axis of being through a transformational technique, Kundalini becomes fixed in the essence that has been moved off the axis of being. We have also observed this misalignment taking place with spiritual essences in the Planetary Realm: the Psychic Seed Atom, or the Moon Soul or Solar Angelic nuclei of identity. When Initiates employ Light Immersion to transform a spiritual essence utilizing volitional and intentional attunements (types one and two), this type of Kundalini syndrome can be generated. Typically we see this type emerging when you use a transformational method such as bija mantra or Kriya Yoga; in rare cases, raising the Kundalini and engaging it to burn away karma behind a spiritual essence can produce this type of imbalanced spiritual development.
Hyperventilative breathing induced type – As a result of using hyperventilative breathing methods for long periods of time—e.g., more than three minutes of practice—you can kindle your Kundalini to rise into your cosmic consciousness, your Astral Soul, or a selected Supracosmic seed atom. We have seen this type of Kundalini awakening occurring when people perform “re-birthing” style breathing, sustained breathing into chakras of the Cosmic or Supracosmic Sphere, or “breath of fire”—or similar forms of rapidly inflating and deflating the lungs. Osho’s dynamic meditations, and 3HO’s breathing methods, often done in synchrony with mantras, apply this strategy to awaken the Supracosmic seed atom of their Path; in susceptible individuals, they can precipitate a full-blown Kundalini syndrome, where the energy rises into a higher spiritual essence and you can no longer bring it down.
Astral striking induced type – Through activating chakras of vehicles of consciousness on the Cosmic Astral, Cosmic Causal, and Cosmic Ideational Subplanes of the First Cosmic Initiation through the use of striking chakras with a mantramic syllable, Kriya Yoga Yogi Preceptors raise the Kundalini into the Divine Eye center. Other Yogi Preceptors use chakra-striking techniques to awaken your cosmic consciousness. Some Supracosmic Gurus awaken Kundalini into the Supracosmic seed atom of their Path through training their disciples to employ similar chakra-striking methods.
Force Field of Shakti/ Purifying Fire Type – Some Yogi Preceptors, Cosmic Masters, and Supracosmic Gurus have the Divine Light Fire anchored in an inner center within them, and radiate this effulgence through their aura. Whoever enters their presence when this Holy Fire is burning within them (a) may have impressions in their unconscious mind purified, (b) may experience spontaneous emergence phenomena, or (c) may experience their Kundalini drawn up and fixed on a spiritual essence of the Cosmic or Supracosmic Sphere. Anointed Yogi Preceptors lift your Kundalini into your cosmic consciousness. Empowered Cosmic Masters raise it to your Astral Soul. Shakti-filled Supracosmic Gurus elevate your Kundalini to the Supracosmic seed atom of their Path.
Soul induced spontaneous awakening type – In this type, your own ensouling entity draws your Kundalini up into its essence, using the octave of will established within it. We see this most commonly Subtle or Planetary Realms, where your transpersonal will operates lift the Kundalini to awaken each of your vehicles of consciousness of the Superconscious mind and bring it right up to its presence. In this variety of awakening, this octave of will keeps the Kundalini raised for an extended period of time, and does not permit you to ground this energy. If your cutting edge of spirituality is in higher octaves, you may experience a similar auto-chthonic process: the Monadic Will raising the Kundalini into the Monad; the Cosmic Will, into the Astral Soul; and the Supracosmic Will, into the Supracosmic Soul. The key marker of this type is your own Higher Self awakens the Kundalini within you; no external power induces your Kundalini awakening.

Types one, two and six are induced Kundalini types. They are activated through an empowered Initiate’s conation or presence. You do not experience these types of Kundalini awakening as being under your control.

Types three, four, and five are technique-driven types of awakening. You can kindle these through spiritual practice, utilizing techniques that actively awaken your Kundalini—and in the case of type three, concurrently transforming a spiritual essence. You experience these types as voluntary, in that the practices you perform can generate them. Once you have produced this Kundalini awakening, however, you may not be able to bring it back to ground.

Type seven is spontaneous awakening. This operates under the aegis of your ensouling entity. You also do not experience this as a voluntary process—your attention or attentional principle does not practice any technique to awaken the Kundalini; you encounter this awakening as a force that acts upon you from within.

When awakening your Kundalini Shakti leads to Kundalini syndromes that interfere with your ability to function, there are some general strategies that you can employ to ameliorate your symptoms and improve your functioning:

Types one, two, and six require you to break your connection with the Initiate who inducing this syndrome in you—and when the connection has been severed—to bring your Kundalini back to the ground state.
Type three calls for dynamic rebalancing or recapture through spiritual unfoldment at your cutting edge of spirituality. The Kundalini typically returns to ground after you have rectified the imbalance.
Types four and five necessitate that you stop using whatever meditation techniques that are precipitating your syndrome, and practice grounding methods to bring your Kundalini back down again.
Type seven involves you establishing a dialog with your Soul—or higher octave ensouling entity—that is generating the Kundalini syndrome, and getting it to agree to lower the Kundalini.

If you think you are having a Kundalini awakening, and you are having unwanted symptoms, you can contact us for a Kundalini Syndrome Reading. We can identify whether the Kundalini is playing any role in the symptoms you are experiencing, and discover which of these types of awakening is producing your syndrome. We can work with you to find strategies to ameliorate your distress, and teach you methods to assist you gain a greater sense of control over this energy.