Gnosis in a Hundred PagesPage 42 of 100 · Part III

Part III · The energy

The fire, and the Mother who raises it

The kept energy wakes a fire at the base of the spine. It rises by grace, slowly, according to what is in the heart.

Read to me

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The fire climbs slowly, from center to center.

The books describe a fire that sleeps at the base of the spine in every human being. The traditions of the East call it Kundalini, the coiled one. It is often pictured as a serpent.

When the creative energy is kept and raised over a long time, this fire begins to wake. It climbs the spine slowly, from center to center. As it rises, the books say, the faculties sleeping in each center wake, and the person changes from within.

Here is what much modern teaching leaves out. The fire is not a technique, and it is not yours to force. The tradition calls its power the Divine Mother, the same power you asked on page 31 to take a self from you. She raises it. Your part is to prepare the ground.

A single steady flame in a dark niche.

She raises it according to what she finds. The books say the fire climbs according to the merits of the heart. A person who keeps the energy but stays proud, cruel or dishonest does not rise far. A person who keeps the energy and works on the selves of Part II, with a sincere heart, rises.

So be wary of anyone who promises a fast awakening, and of practices that force it with strain. Fire that is forced burns. Real progress here is slow and quiet, and it is bound to the rest of the work.

You do not need to feel the fire to begin. You only need to keep the energy, work on yourself and ask.

Try this

  1. At the end of your breath or vowel practice today, sit still for a minute.
  2. Speak inwardly to the Divine Mother, or to the deepest part of yourself, in your own words. Something like: Mother, I offer you what I kept today. Raise it in me as you see fit, and show me what in my heart stands in the way.
  3. Sit in silence for a few breaths afterward. Do not look for signs.

Words on this page

Kundalini
The sacred fire of the spine; the books also call it the serpent. The merits of the heart — the books’ phrase for the sincerity and goodness that let the fire rise.

In the old words

“The Kundalini rises very slowly, according to the merits of the heart.”

The Perfect MatrimonySamael Aun Weor
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