More than half of the estimated 100,000 genes in human DNA seem to be dedicated to building and maintaining the nervous system.
Within the brain, the autonomic nervous system
regulates and adjusts baseline body function and responds to external
stimuli. It consists of two mutually inhibitory subsystems: those
nerves which activate tissues-- the sympathetic or arousal system, and
those which slow structures down for rest and repair--the
parasympathetic or quiescent system. The sympathetic is ergotropic that is releases energy, and the parasympathetic is trophotropic,
that is conserving energy. The two sides of our autonomic system
reflect the two main processes in life "growth" or "protection." These
two mechanisms cannot operate optimally at the same time. Consider that
our nervous system is either wired for eating (parasympathetic) or
running away from being eaten ourselves (sympathetic). So the two
systems generally act in opposition to each other; yet where dual
control of an organ exists, both systems operate simultaneously
although one may be operating at a higher level of activity than the
other.
The muladhara chakra at the base of the spine is
where kundalini is supposed to lie coiled awaiting to rise. Several
factors led the ancients to this symbolic idea of the coiled serpent.
First when kundalini does rise one of the initial pathways it takes
seems to be around the spine between the two sympathetic trunks. The
discharge of a double helix of energy can be felt rising up around the
spine. Some people such as Gobi Krishna, call this a zigzag. For it
appears that energy is flowing backwards and forwards up the ladder of
the spine from ganglia to ganglia. I experienced this during a hypnogic
vision around the time of my 1988 awakening. I imagine that energy is
transmitted in this double helix fashion at the beginning of an
awakening prior to the inner-conjunction through the sushumna nadi or
central channel of the spine.
Metamorphic hormonal secretions are felt as ever more poignant longings and gratitudes.
The fire of kundalini is a circuitous contagion of cause and effect. Increased sex hormone levels intensifies kundalini and increased kundalini upregulates both the level of sex hormones and receptor sensitivity to them. This circle of cause and effect is the basis of metamorphosis and spiritual birth.
Nitric oxide is one of the key factors in promoting the maximum
peak of kundalini and spiritual experience, and in the dissolution of
the bodymind.
Nitric Oxide (NO) is associated with the main
excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and the generation of action
potentials in the nerves. NO and glutamate act as excitatory
neurotransmitters, used when high levels of activity are needed during
HPA axis activation or sexual arousal. It appears that nitric oxide is
a factor present at the very cusp of our existence, both birth, death
and resurrection. It seems to play a part in extreme readiness
chemistry, thus NO might be implicated in the four great F-Responses:
*censored*, Freeze, Fight or Flight.
If the foundation of kundalini awakenings and life in general is sex and growth hormones, then it stands to reason that to both fuel an awakening and to prevent its premature end and burnout we need to strengthen our hormonal system.
L-Arginine a non-essential amino acid commonly found in the diet, is an oxidative precursor of nitric oxide (NO). Arginine is a safer and cheaper way to support NO production than Viagra. Like Viagra, the amino acid arginine increases blood flow to the genital area, potentially increasing sex organ sensation and enhancing the pleasure of sex. The concentration of L-arginine can be a limiting factor to both our NO metabolism and the production of Human Growth Hormone. Arginine plays an important role in cell division, the healing of wounds, removing ammonia from the body, immune function, and the release of hormones. According to beyond-a-century.com L-Ornithine is about twice as effective at releasing Growth Hormone as L-Arginine.
Histamines use in the body is not soley involved in
allergic inflammatory response. The hormone/chemical transmitter
histamine is a biogenic monoamine similar to serotonin, epinephrine and
norepinephrine. Chemically histamine is 2-(4-imidazolyl)ethylamine
and has the formula C5H9N3. It is found in plant and animal tissue and
released from mast cells as part of an allergic reaction. It stimulates
gastric secretion and causes dilation of capillaries, constriction of
bronchial smooth muscle, and decreased blood pressure and plays a role
in the movement (chemotaxis) of white blood cells. It is hydrophilic
and once formed is either stored or rapidly inactivated. Most tissue
histamine is found in granules in mast cells or basophils and
its release is immunologic in function. Mast cells are especially
numerous at sites of potential injury such as the nose, mouth, and
feet, internal body surfaces and blood vessels. Basophils
represent only 1% of circulating leukocytes. Like mast cells basophils
store histamine, they tend to appear in specific kinds of inflammatory
reactions, particularly those that cause allergic symptoms. Non-mast
cell histamine is found in several tissues, including the brain, where
it functions as a neurotransmitter. Another important site of histamine
storage and release is the enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell of the
stomach. ECL cells are a distinctive type of neuroendocrine cell in the
gastric mucosa underlying the epithelium, most prevalent in the
acid-secreting regions of the stomach. Together, histamine and gastrin
are primary positive regulators of acid secretion from the parietal
cell.
The four types of histamine receptors each have a different mode of action:
Through tapas (heat) the ascetic becomes clairvoyant and even incarnates the Gods.
By discovering why kundalini flow through the nerves
creates heat we can begin to work out just how the function of the
nervous system is altered during transmutation. The heat from kundalini
is not caused by "friction" as kundalini moves through blockages, as is
traditionally thought. Kundalini is purifying in that it uses whatever
state of perfection or dross it finds, but purification is not its
purpose or goal. Kundalini is the fire of transmutation and the heat
from the nervous system we experience is the heat of transmutation.
However, we cannot yet say exactly "what" transmutation is, but there
are many mechanisms of possible heating in the body that we might look
into.
Thyroid hormones are derivatives of the amino acid
tyrosine bound covalently to iodine. The thyroid gland secretes two
principle thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and the more physiologically
active triiodothyronine (T3). A healthy thyroid is intimately linked to
a balanced endocrine system. The health of the endocrine system will
reflect our overall health. The thyroid is a major player when it comes
to hormonal health since it stimulates and synchronizes all metabolic
cellular functions. All tissues in the body are stimulated by the
thyroid and the level of cortisol at the cell level controls thyroid
hormone production.
Upgraded cognition will tend to cascade down and cause a revolution in the limbic and autonomic system. This is perhaps why significant growth is followed by a period of "regression." I use the word dissolution instead of regression, because it is a contemporary temporary disorganisation/breakdown of patterns of function, to make way for a higher, more complex patterning to form. If there is one thing I am hoping to install in the Global Brain, it's the idea that metamorphosis is a very real and common process that is occurring within us humans. The most obvious examples of this are the huge losses of neurons during various growth periods in childhood and the die-offs in kundalini awakenings.
Some of the conditions for the initiation of kundalini appear to be:
Hyperactivation of the thyroid and parathyroids.
Hyperactivation of estrogen and testosterone (plus metabolities of T. eg: Estradiol).
Hyperactivation of the sympathetic nervous system (adrenaline, norepinephrine).
Hyperactivation of the stress hormones (corticosteroids eg: cortisol,
DHEA) Hyperactivation of opiate systems (endorphins, enkephalins,
anandamide, phenylethylamine).
Before starting this section on bliss I wish to
clarify that the experience of spiritual awakening is not "just" a
bunch of chemicals. Just because a particular subjective experience can
be the "cause of" or "caused by" a particular release of chemical or
electrical phenomena, doesn't mean to say that the subjective
experience can be reduced "down" to that physical chemistry. All
manifestation has its atomic, chemical and electrical component. The
apperception of "interiors" realized in the subjective experience of
phenomena is what makes us human.
The opiate substance secreted from the pineal gland
during Samadhi has been variously called Nectar of the Gods, ambrosia,
amrita, and the Living Water. Gurus like Sai Baba claim to materialize
amrita and can shaktipat others into generating their own nectar. It is
said that to experience amrita is to be bestowed with immortality, that
is to be freed from the cycle of birth and death...hence liberated. The
term Amrita is Sanskrit for "elixir of immortality," it
literally means "deathlessness". This has obvious parallels to
"ambrosia" the name of the classical Greek "food of the gods" which
means "no death."
During shaktipat, inner-conjunction or through initiation in meditation
this nectar is produced and drips down the back of the throat. Perhaps
an associated phenomena to the generation of the nectar, is the intense
light of a Thousand Suns that occurs sometimes during its
"manufacture." This secretion gives one the experience of Timelessness,
and being a divine God or Goddess. It is "sweet" in taste and in
sensation--it is described as nectar, honey, gold dust, euphoric,
ecstatic, intoxicating and gives the feeling of being imbued with
holiness.
Besides meditation, visualization, projection, toning and energy circulation through the microcosmic orbit, the the amrita-heart connection shows how the brain and body naturally coordinate to build the diamond body or the resurrected body.
Studies show that about one-half of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) removed from the cranial vault is cleared by extracranial lymphatic vessels. Transport of CSF through both the lymphatic drainage and arachnoid villi routes increases as intracranial pressure is elevated. Although the ambrosial liquid excreted from the sinsuses is the most potent form of amrita, during max kundalini all the CSF is highly charged and can also be classed as amitra, when it is thus superionized by the superfluid state of the activated central nervous system (CNS).
There are three main methods by which the amrita that is generated by the CNS is transported around the body:
Holy-wood (Tabernanthe iboga)
People of the equatorial regions of Africa have used the iboga plant as
an herb of initiation and as a rite of passage and for millennia.
Ibogaine generates period of lucid vivid dream-state that coincides
with extensive rewiring and resetting of the opioid nervous system.
Deborah C. Mash of the University of Miami School of Medicine is
finding it "extremely effective" in blocking withdrawal from opiates;
she says it is a very gentle detox. Not only is ibogaine an effective
addiction interrupter for most substances, including heroin, methadone,
methamphetamine, cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine, but it also can be
used to transcend the compulsive, habitual levels of consciousness in
which all addiction is manifest. It is also ideally suited for use by
those from traumatic origins and PTSD in general as a means of
liberation from the past. The dream-like "visions" don't cause any
LSD-like euphoria that would tempt the repeated use of the drug. They
say the experience is exhausting for you're up for about 36 hours in
peak visual activity.
"The earlier concept of a universe made up of physical
particles interacting according to fixed laws in no longer tenable. It
is implicit in present findings that action rather than matter
is basic...This is good news, for it is no longer appropriate to think
of the universe as a gradually subsiding agitation of billiard balls.
The universe far from being a desert of inert particles, is a theatre
of increasingly complex organization...a stage for development in which
man has a definite place, without any upper limit to his evolution." ~ Arthur M. Young, The Reflexive Universe.
The work I am drawing from for this is largely from Dr. Batmanghelidj and his water-cure books and articles. www.watercure.com
Here I am attempting to pull kundalini theory together around the
subject of water. Fire and water see, that is Taoist justice. The Justice of the Tao is the intercourse of opposites.
Dr. Batmanghelidj claims that dehydration causes a severe depletion
of the amino acid tryptophan in the brain. And tryptophan (along with
its derivatives serotonin, tryptamine, melatonin and indolamine)
operates a measuring mechanism for the amount of salt that is kept in
the body. As tryptophan dependent neurotransmitter systems become less
effective with dehydration, then the histamine and RA system becomes
increasingly engaged in inducing salt retention; for the body retains
salt in an effort to keep water in the body. Water shortage and
consequent histamine release increases the breakdown of tryptophan in
the liver. When there is adequate water and the brain's tryptophan
levels are restored, and so histamine-operated systems will revert to
their primary nonexaggerated functions.
Tryptophan is also an important precursor to acetyl-CoA, which in turn
is responsible for manufacture of cholesterol and acetylcholine. During
dehydration more of the body's tryptophan is perhaps assigned to
cholesterol production for waterproofing vessels and cell membranes
against water loss. The sebum produced by the sebaceous glands contains
cholesterol and cholesterol esters among other things. If you drink
adequate water you will notice the pores on your face become finer and
no longer fill with excess sebum. This means that more tryptophan is
made available for other things than plugging the dam against water
loss.
The following ties together much of what I have
written on the possible physiology of kundalini so far and is the most
speculative piece in this book. I am pretty sure that
convulsive/seizure/kindling can actually produce ammonia, as well as be
caused by ammonia. If so this could be one of the main causes of people
running into extended periods of difficulty with kundalini. The good
news is that the problem is relatively easily addressed once we know
the mechanism. I would like to point out that I am not saying that
kundalini is epileptic seizures or is caused by ammonia. But that until
we get research done specifically for kundalini, I am using the
knowledge of various phenomena like epilepsy to arrive at a deeper
understanding of what might be happening.
©2006
Biology of Kundalini by Jana Dixon