Energy Healing

Trauma Dharma

June 19, 2021 by admin

The greatest obstacle to spiritual development is—not what you might think. Various religious and spiritual pathways talk about our disturbed emotions, our anger, our anxiety, our past actions. Others dwell on the persistent clinging or attachment to various aspects of our outer world and inner experience. Still others site our self-centeredness, our grasping at a self or so-called “ego-clinging.” Each of these is valid in relation to different stages and aspects of the path. And in every case we could also debate their value or relevance or the misunderstandings that arise in regard to any of these complex issues. A plethora of books are also available that focus on one or another of these factors, but they all neglect a major obstacle to our progress. Indeed most of these factors that contribute to our suffering are based on a still deeper cause. Like the mythical many-headed hydra, it can manifest in hundreds of ways, yet if you cut off one head, ten more grow in its place. That overarching cause is simply this: Trauma. Before we can either reject or accept such a notion, we need to define what trauma is, beyond the limited concepts offered by either the popular press or clinical psychotherapy. And though the extensive literature and methods of working with PTSD and trauma are well-developed, diverse and generally effective, for our spiritual development, the impact of trauma is different, as are the solutions.

What is a Trauma?

For our purpose, a trauma is anything whatsoever that disrupts our normal physiology or homeostasis on a body, mind or spirit level—and leaves a chronic, seemingly permanent and distorting imprint on our optimal bioenergetic structure. There is no need in this short article to present a full catalog of the toxic impacts we are subject to all the live long day. These are inflicted on our biological being in the form of internal wastes and oxidative by-products, along with thousands of toxins in our food and water and atmosphere. There is a gigantic grab bag of genetic predispositions, toxic metals, drugs, viruses and other microbes, and other pollutants. Psychologically there is past or ongoing stress, loss and grief, fear, worry and abuse and so on. From the more complex spiritual perspective, there are astrological forces, ill-will and “curses,” non-human entities and of course the effects of our own actions i.e. karma. Karma simply means cause and effect and so it is not just “what you did” but also what was done to you, what your experienced and what your endured.

None of the above are necessarily traumatic if the body-mind-spirit fends them off and recovers perfectly—or at least almost so. But intense shocks create a semi-permanent record that results in dysfunction somewhere along the traumatic spectrum. Rather than a temporary impact, it becomes a perpetuating, recurring, usually hidden and resistant pattern or program that will sabotage our health, wealth, well-being or sanity whenever it is triggered or we become weak enough that one or another such trauma rears its proverbial ugly head.

Trauma Effects

The range of symptoms produced by trauma are legion. Being a form of stress, the effects are not only psychological, but metabolic, neurological, immunological, vascular and so on. While none of these problems specific to trauma alone, the real key is to appreciate what trauma means for the bioenergetic body, for the intricate web of electrical, magnetic and photonic forces and fields that make up our subtle body.

Our physical form itself functions as a liquid crystal matrix, with the fourth, magnetic stage of water being an important part of our composition. Our connective tissue matrix and PVS (primary vascular system) interweaves through every organ and tissue. Beyond this exquisite network of minute vessels and microscopic collagen, we also have an energy body. Just as there is network of ever finer arteries and capillaries, and ever more subtle branches of nerve fibers, there is a highly structured energy field. Imagine a polished diamond or some other magnificent gem with billions of facets, intersecting and overlapping in perfect symmetry, reflecting photons carrying complex qualia of light and information. This network, these formative patterns, are the basis on which our physical organism is built. And all structure and all function follows these invisible lines of force.

Buddhist and Hindu texts describe the body as having 84,000 energy channels, known as nadi (Sanskrit) or tsas (Tibetan). This is certainly a figurative number, or represents only the more coarse channels. The main energy pathways have been detailed in Chinese Medicine and Daoist alchemy, in Buddhist Vajrayana and Hindu Shaivite and yogic practice. But for now we only need the broadest of brushes to understand the role that trauma plays in disrupting or damaging this complex energy body.

Traumatic Channels

Trauma exists within our body, tissues, cells and molecules. Recent research has given us extensive new understandings about what happens within the vascular system and how blockages and distortion, or a lack or excess of angiogenesis (blood vessel building capacity) accompanies disease. Such disruptions also occur within the complex web of energies, the vibrating strings of light and organized fields that belong to each unique organ and tissue. These take the form of weakened or broken lines of forces, distorted or expanded “bubbles” within the bodyfield or thickened, tangled or blocked energetic pathways. The perfect symmetry and organization of our bioenergetic structure is transformed into a tangled skein. To make matters worse, these areas, large and small, develop defensive fields, not unlike the physical scabs and scars with which we are so familiar. The traumatic imprints become walled off and inaccessible, “safely” stowed away—yet becoming a ticking time bomb.

While the energy body will reflect the impacts of long-held traumas, these impacts also live in our memory. The location of memory may be disputed by science, but in reality it exists within the bioernegetic matrix. These various disturbed and distorted areas, whether deficient or congested, hold the traumatic memories, the overwhelming impacts that we could not resolve and could not eliminate. They are stuck there, adding to the accumulated burden of negative, unresolved experiences.

Trauma Repair

The fact that trauma is stored in the physical organism, the energy body and the mind is also our key to resolving these points of dysfunction. In mainstream Vajrayana Buddhism we have already have many of these tools, though for cultural reasons they have not been used to full effect. Vajarasattva practice, for example, is used to cleanse the body and psyche in preparation for deeper meditations. But while this kind of practice is used for “karmic purification,” it can and should be used to specifically target physical and psychological trauma. Some would object that this is a form of therapy and not dharma, and that the two should not be conflated. It is a valid point, except that one discovers that the two are intimately and irrevocably intertwined. The only thing that makes something therapeutic, as opposed to spiritual practice, is one’s orientation. Is this about making me a better, healthier, saner person or moving me towards enlightenment? I see these both as valid goals for a creating better world for all of us, call it what you will.

And in my own experience, the 5 Elemental connection is the crucial missing component, even in this practice. Using Vajrasattva of the five different colors, or using the Elements themselves, their forms, colors, seed syllables and sounds, allows one to specifically target the trauma. With a thorough understanding of the Five Elements in both their healthy and maladaptive forms we can focus on which Elemental or subelemental energy field combinations suffered the original damage.

Additionally, Western psychological methods such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and HMR (Holographic Memory Resolution) are useful and effective methods. Integrated with various bioenergetic models, they have the potential to be even more profound in their effects.

Trauma Defense

While we are clearing up past impacts, we may also be busy accumulating fresh trauma! The solution seems straightforward—protect oneself. But how to most effectively ward off these attacks, large and small? Fortunately Vajrayana again is replete with defensive methods, and in fact a good deal of the daily practice of a tantric Buddhist professional is spent in this way. Daily water offerings, smoke offerings, morning Tara practice and evening protector practice are largely dedicated to stopping harm to one’s health, possessions, companions, spiritual practice and the transformative teachings in general. The extensive and widespread practice of Chöd is another unique way of clearing “incoming karma” before it manifests into serious obstacles and difficulties. Then again, merely holding to the identity of the Yidam or meditational deity archetype provides ongoing protection, as we discard our habitual identity, the proverbial “magnet of suffering.”

The Trauma-Resistant Form

Inner work of another sort is also necessary and highly effective. This takes of form of building up one’s five element structure, area by area, noting where there are weakness and filling in the gaps. The integrity of our Elemental matrix is our greatest asset and greatest bulwark against the forces of entropy and decay. They are formative patterns of meaning and intelligence that provide a scaffold for biophotonic light, electricity, magnetism and eventually a vital form built of molecules, cells and sinews. The Elements should be our first concern in the morning and our last thought at night, providing diurnal protection. If one can achieve full Mahamudra pure light states, do that. But the Elements will still be our guide through the mundane world of apparitions and the confused wandering of sentient beings.

The Trauma World

Without question, we are in one of the most turbulent and disruptive times of our collective lives. That means that the traumatic impacts—physical, mental and spiritual— are coming hard and fast, with no certain end in site. Working daily to clear out “hits” of the day is more essential than ever. Meanwhile, opportunities arise to whittle away at our lifetime backlog of karmic impediment. Every liability can become an asset. The spiritual alchemist knows hat we are here to transform lead into gold, poison into nectar, confused bumbling into sacred living. We just need to put into practice what we already know and let it slowly enter our Essence.

Bibliography

Hershoff, Asa (August, 2021). 5 Element Energy Healing: The Ancient Key To Health, Vitality And Wholeness Through Life’s Formative Forces Of Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Space. Healing Wisdom Books.

Hershoff, Asa (Oct, 2021). Elemental Psychology: The Ancient Key to Awakening Your Inner Strength, Dominion, Creativity, Wisdom & Open Heart. Healing Wisdom Books.

Babbel. Susanne. (2018). Heal The Body, Heal The Mind: A Somatic Approach To Moving Beyond Trauma. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications.

Chia, Mantak and Hilton, Doug. (2017). EMDR and the Universal Healing Tao: An Energy Psychology Approach to Overcoming Emotional Trauma. Rochester: Inner Traditions.

Emerson, David and Hopper, Elizabeth. (2011). Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body . Berkeley: North Atlantic Books

Fireman, John and Gila, Ann. The Primal Wound: A Transpersonal View of Trauma, Addiction, and Growth. SUNY Press.

Gyatrul Rinpoche and Norbu, Trinley. (1978). Commentaries on the Practice of Vajrasattva. Ashland: Mirror of Wisdom Publications.

Kalsched, Donald. (1996 ). The Inner World Of Trauma: Archetypal Defenses of the Personal Spirit. New York: Routledge.

Levine, Peter A. (1993). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.

Shapiro, Francine. (2012). Getting past your past: take control of your life with self-help techniques from EMDR therapy. New York: Rodale Press.

Van der Kolk, Bessel. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. New York: Viking Press.

Wolynn, Mark. (2016). It Didn’t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle. New York: Viking Press.

Yeshe, Lama Thubten. (2004). Becoming Vajrasattva: The Tantric Path Of Purification. Somerville: Wisdom Publications.

Light Body 4 — Uniting Male & Female

March 28, 2020 by Lama Jinpa

The final consummation of the human journey—the ultimate fulfillment of our possibility of finding this precious human birth—is the Light Body. Its birth and maturation requires many steps, but its final stage is a process of union, and that means the union of opposites. If we look at our inner and outer worlds, we see that we are a striking study in contrasts and polarities. It is small wonder that we suffer, caught between seemingly irreconcilable opposites. Male-female within the same body, gravity and levity, right and left paths, earth and air, fire and water, active and passive, advancing and retreating, falling down and rising up. Even the most casual observation of a life well-lived shows a dramatic flux in events, inner experiences, feelings, and thoughts. At times we go in one direction and a few years later our path impels us to make a 180-degree turn, forcing one to re-evaluate priorities, goals, and undertakings. This is the nature of samsara, of duality. This well known split is not simply brushed away by talk of “non-dual” states of mind. Until the duality in our body, in our energy fields, and in our cellular structure itself changes, it is all just smoke and mirrors. Here we look at some of the ways in which this union is achieved, while translating these traditional descriptions into a modern idiom that strikes closer to home.

Side by side

The Tradition

The first polarity that must be resolved is our right-left reality. Without a discussion of the often misrepresented idea of the right intuitive brain and the left logical brain, traditional tantric anatomy makes it clear that our right and left channels, branching from the nostrils down into the lower abdomen, represent a masculine and feminine energy system. This has nothing to do with “gender” as we define it socially or even medically. But just as it is a feature of plants, birds, and bees, it is an essential feature of esoteric anatomy. This hoped-for union is portrayed clearly in Buddhist iconography of the internal channels, as well as the yab-yum or male-female in orgasmic embrace that is present in various deity thangkas. But it is also overtly shown in Western alchemical writings, with a half male, half female figure, as well as the classic Indian representation of the Shiva-Shakti half-and-half body. Many other traditions, including the Christian demonstrate this in works of art, architecture and literature, where its real import is often hidden from the uninitiated. Right-handed and left-handed actions and connotations pervade every culture, even influencing our anatomical nomenclature, the right side being “dextra” as in dexterous, and the left “sinistre” as in passive, hidden.

While a right-left union could take place in many ways, in Vajrayana it is most clearly expressed in the practice of tsa-lung, of working with the energy channels and the vital energies that surge through them. Through visualization and breath control, as well as yogic “magical movements” or trul-kor, these energies are forced down through the side channels to meet below the navel. The right channel, in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions, is the solar (Skt: ida or Tib: roma). The left channel is considered lunar (Skt: pingala or Tib: kyangma). Here we have a strong male-female sense. The Sun energy is forever linked to the concept of the drive and focus of the male archetype. The cool and nurturing female archetype is forever lunar. In Vajrayana this split is also designated as skillful means (tab) and wisdom (sherab), or being in the world versus knowing what is beyond appearances. The union must take place somewhere neutral to these two, or even to the place that unites them. And that is the central channel (Skt: shushumna or Tib: uma), the region of undivided consciousness and luminosity.

This merging requires a number of steps, not only to prepare these three channels, but to bring the entire body on board with the transformation. Channels must be stretched, straightened, and purified, while energies must be condensed and accumulated. Physical yoga accomplishes a number of these, as do a variety of breath practices, such as alternate nostril breathing. The Light Body adept will have already spent years on visualizations, mantras, and work with chakras to bring the biological physical form and bioenergetic subtle body up to par.

Daoist practice has a virtually identical process, with its own unique nomenclature, and indeed a far more detailed and complex bioenergy theory and anatomy. Qigong is largely involved with the preliminary clearing and charging up process, as opposed to neigong or neidan, which is the actual alchemy of change or stage of union. The neidan tu is a complex diagram of the human body as a landscape, with waterwheel, rivers, and furnace, and other symbols, which mirrors more diagrammatic portrayals in the Tibetan and Shaivite systems of channels and chakras.

The two sides of our energy could be joined in the central channel through any chakra, and through various means. There are fast and slow, gentle and intense methods. The most rapid and forceful occurs in the navel area, emanation chakra of Buddhism or lower Dantien of Daoist nomenclature. When that union happens, we begin to unite and resolve our own male-female polarity and its inherently conflicted state.

The Science

Anatomically, the prime candidate for the central channel is a small fluid-filled tube at the very center of the bundle of nerve tracts known as the spinal cord. It may also be within the microscopic primo vascular system vessels that we know is all around the cord. The Shaivite system actually describes a number of parts of the central channel, corresponding to the sensory and motor tracks of the spinal cord, the choroid or circulatory layer, and the cerebrospinal canal itself. The linings of the channel and the sheaths around the cord also have conductive properties that contribute to this complex pathway. The cerebrospinal fluid flowing in the cord has extraordinary properties, as a carrier of biophotons and the assortment of neurotransmitters and hormones that it picks up and circulates in the four ventricles of the brain.

The right and left channels should be the anatomical equivalent of the right and left sympathetic chains. From a Western physiology perspective this is our “fight or flight” system that regulates all organs and opposes the parasympathetic system originating in the brain (vagus nerve) and sacrum. Even though there are intricate ways in which these systems interact with the nervous system and brain areas, there is no known division into right and left function in Western medicine as there is on the brain level. And the idea of breathing energies into these channels still faces a huge gap in our understanding of Eastern spiritual knowledge and Western anatomical and physiological knowledge. But certainly, where the mind is focused there is an increase in blood flow, metabolic activity and biophoton production.

Top to Bottom

But in Vajrayana, the side-to-side union moves directly into the next phase, which is the most profound of all—top and bottom. This process is analogous to the conjoining of the DNA from the male and female seed. In our current state, one could say that this body is in a perpetual state of meiosis. This is the kind of cell division that happens in our sex cells (sperm and egg). Generative cells split in such a way that each has half of the original DNA, so that half of a child’s chromosomes (23 pairs or a haploid) come from the father, and half (23 pairs) from the mother—making our full DNA complement of 46 pairs of chromosomes. In tantric science, this “father” principle or haploid resides in the head, while the “mother” principle dwells in the pelvis. They will only meet again at death—or if we become enlightened in this very life.

The top-bottom union (or re-union) is the essential process of the well known Vajrayana method of called tummo (literally, the fierce mother), and closely allied to both Hindu kundalini and Daoist neidan. Widely taught in the West and the subject of a number of English books, tummo’s origin is in the tantra of the motherland of India, mainly through the scholar-yogi Naropa and female adept Niguma. This is a remarkable “cooking” process that forces a meeting of our upper and lower poles prematurely, either creating a new self within us, or uncreating us, depending on your viewpoint. Here the white crystalline father seed in the head and the female red seed in the pelvis are easily confused with the elements of fire and water. But the symbology here points to something notably different. It is not merely a conjoining of hot and cold, or even male and female. Indeed, the female seed is not fiery, but considered our lifeblood. The heat comes from drawing in energies from other vital channels and forces.

The meaning of this uniting of polarities is best understood by another symbol, one that plays a part in tummo as well, visualized as a base for the pelvic fire. It is the double triangle or dharmadayo, the “origin of all phenomena,” also known as the Star of David in other traditions. It is of course prominent in Hindu traditions and indeed is extremely ancient. If we look at two merging triangles, the lower has a wide base that spreads out upon the earth, infinitely. However, its apex ends in a single point in the brain. The upper triangle is exactly the opposite. It holds a point in the pelvis, barely incarnated. But it then spreads upward to the infinite cosmos. So, this merging of creation and source, evolution and devolution.

This is the classic possible meeting of Heaven and Earth, the most basic symbol of humanity’s struggle to balance their tenuous existence on the physical plane. It appears in indigenous cultures of South America, in ancient Babylon, in the religion of Zoroaster, the pyramids of Egypt and Sumer, and in various motifs and art of the Christian West. But it is a union of the internal heaven and earth, not one of a utopia on earth. It is really the union of pure consciousness and phenomena, the appearance or experience of form.

Connecting More Dots

There is still more to unite. Less commonly talked about, the back and front must be brought into balance and resolved, that basic polarity that comes from standing upright, and moving in one direction in space—and in time. And there is the actual cataclysmic union within the central channel. To understand that process we need to expand on what goes on in the navel chakra, the hara, the lower dantien to allow entry into the holy mountain, the citadel, the tree of life, the paradise of myths and dreams. Next month we will look at how that atomic reaction might happen, and what tradition and science polarity between can tell us to make the union of heaven and earth more accessible.

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