Friday, March 4, 2016

Book Review: ‘Kundalini and The Art of Being’ by Gabriel Morris


http://www.amazon.com/Kundalini-Art-Being-Gabriel-Morris/dp/1581770960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456844907&sr=8-1&keywords=gabriel+morris

This was Gabriel Morris’ first book but I read it as the fifth book of his creative accounts on the spiritual journey. I read the three travel books and the shorter version (49 pages) ‘Kundalini Power’ before this (183 pages).

I say the same thing about my books: “I am just someone sharing my perspectives and experiences.” I get that “kundalini power/energy” is another name for chi as well. I get that perspectives are everything. The difference between Gabriel’s journey and mine is I can’t say that I am basically the same person as I started out.

After reading his fifth book, I decided that he was being brave, not foolhardy. It’s not that he didn’t know the dangers out there, he did it anyway. He had to overcome a lot of fears while on his journeys. That said, he and all budget travelers place a lot of faith in “spirit,” “guiding light,” “Providence,” “fate,” and “destiny.” I could never do that with so much conviction that “somehow” I would be delivered safely.

One passage that got my particular attention was when he described how energy has to be used and directed or else it will just drag a person down. One has to align with the energy that is within and find expression without.

While reading the books, it occurred to me that homeless people are a depressed lot basically because humans need a safe place where we can get a good night’s sleep and rest when we are weary or wary. That is a basic necessity. One can’t work on life’s challenges without this basic need being met. Sleep is essential to mental, physical and spiritual health. The books reminded me that the times when I socialized the most in my life were when neither I nor the people I met had permanent addresses or phone numbers. As such, I couldn’t stay in touch through the Orbits 1-5. (Changing Orbits, now in revision, is my memoir.)

I found myself joining Gabriel in asking the questions: What was the point of all the wanderlust traveling, seeking and adventurous lifestyle? I decided by elimination, these travelers would get there. I wonder if Gabriel is “there,” yet. Where is “there?” “There” is where he had wanted to be when he started out on his quest. For most of us “there” is happiness and peace. For most of us, happiness and peace look like the same – financial and social security. For the rest of us, it might look somewhat different. Will we recognize when we get “there?” A personal question for each of us to answer, yes?

When one is on the road, it’s inevitable that one is not as in control of one’s environment as one would be when one is staying put. People who give in to their wanderlust essentially sacrifice this “control” in exchange for other stuff that can’t be found in a “safe” or “safer” environment. We make our choices and we have to deal with them.

Travelers like these go where “spirit” takes them. They usually come across as “commitment phobic” as they like to keep their schedules open and simple. They need the freedom to come and go as “spirit” takes them. I note there is no difference between the genders. Female adventure travelers are similarly brave and capable.

I wonder whether hitch-hikers get picked up nowadays. Not here in Malaysia, for sure. Such decision times can be fatal. These kinds of adventure travel are a kind of “yoga” (discipline) in its own way. As in other arenas of life, when pushed beyond the limits of endurance, something snaps within us and then it’s too convenient for society to think we are crazy. What is “crazy” anyway but the inability to understand another? Society doesn’t understand when a person no longer holds her/himself within normal social limits. Again, interpretation of experiences is everything.

What is the point of being spiritual seekers when we spend much of our time in anxiety, sadness, deep fear, confusion, inner torment, and loneliness, from a lack of 3-dimensional structures and social connections? What is the point of the spiritual lifestyle?

Is it the “less is more” philosophy? Becoming homeless just to “facilitate personal and spiritual growth through the challenges the lifestyle would inevitably bring” is scary stuff. Hence I say such personalities are more brave than foolhardy because I can’t bear the thought of being homeless. I wouldn’t be able to thrive in that state. I would say such people are closer to enlightenment than the rest of us.

What I am taking away from all this reading: Energy must find expression. Otherwise, it’s trapped energy and it will drag you down.


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