Description of ecstatic conductivity? Do I have?

[Alvin Chan]

Hi all,

Since Ecstatic Conductivity is such a central concept (though not the main goal) in AYP, I wonder whether anyone has attempted to describe it. I know it's hard, like telling a children the feeling of an orgasm. But something can still be said about it, I think. Any discussion about this that I missed?

Personally, I wonder if what I experienced lately is what you guys called ecstatic conductivity: a few days ago when I do my sitting practices, I felt some stimulation not unlike that of a pre-sneeze one. But of course without any urge to sneeze, nor to do anything. The feeling is clear but not strong. And the stimulated region is somewhat different, too; though it's still around my head.

It reminds me of something I "smelled" from INSIDE myself from time to time when I was young. It's not exactly a smell, but since it happens around the inside of my nose, I can only describe it that way. It's so familiar, and yet I can never tell what smell it is.

I haven't had an orgasm for 2 months, except an unintentional wet dream. Don't know if this helped building up an ecstatic conductivity, but it seems so; and certainly encouraged me to continue my Brahmacharya.

Is that what you guys felt? Or at least similar? If not, please share your experience!

[Scott]

Well, I'll give my experience.  You know what "the butterflies" are?  Like when you get excited or anxious or even nervous about something, and you get that feeling in your belly?  Well it's somewhat like that but spread all throughout my body.  It is joy-giving/invigorating and calming.

Of course there are other experiences I've had, which are more intense...but I think this aptly describes "ecstatic conductivity"...at least for myself.

[weaver]

Hi Alvin,

What you describe is likely a manifestation of ecstatic conductivity. The way I first experienced it was as buzzing energy in the lower area of the body, neither pleasant or unpleasant, then as heat at the root, which then started to even out and become slightly buzzing and pleasant and spread into the upper parts of the body. Recently the pulsations in the head have started to even out and feel more energetic and pleasant, and there are slight pleasant currents in the spine. Another sign of ecstatic conductivity, which Yogani also have mentioned in the lessons, is that when you do sambhavi you also feel the pull of energy at the root or loins. The light initial signs will likely develop into stronger ecstasy in the whole body.

[lucidinterval1]

Since Ecstatic Conductivity is such a central concept (though not the main goal) in AYP, I wonder whether anyone has attempted to describe it.

For me it is a feeling of an electrical current coarsing throughout my body. It is especially strong when I am very relaxed. It generally wakes me up early each morning. At times it is particularly stong in the feet and hands. The crown also gets a swirling feeling that is quite pleasant.
 

On occasion I have had a huge current plow through my arse out the top of my head. That's a strange and scary - but beautiful- rush.


There is a product on the market that I call the Chi machine. I was introduced to this from a massage therapist. You lie down and place your ankles on a support and turn the machine on. It gently rocks your ankles from side to side. Your entire body will rock from side to side and it helps align your spine. I was amazed to find that when you stop the machine after 5 - 10 minutes you will feel the ecstatic conductivity coarsing through your body. We purchased one and I sometimes use it before meditation.

Check out this link for a thorough description.
http://www.braintuner.com/swingmachines.htm

With Peace,
Paul

[Alvin Chan]

Great! Hope more yogis here are going to share their experiences. It's a pity that I don't know you guys in person, otherwise i may interview you guys and write a "collective experiences in yoga" and some form of investigations like that![] I'm sure that if written down, your experiences could be a great help and important references for the yogis in the future.

[snake]

Lucid I have a chi machine and sometimes when the machine stops the feeling is tremendous

[Richard]

For me during spinal breathing it starts with an intense sexual heat in the base chakra then a very strong pleasant sensation localised in the spine that follow the breath up to the brow and then back down again to the base with intense hotspots that radiate outward sometimes it is strong and sometimes not very strong at all in my last very strong session I experienced an otherworldly sensation rather like floating in a huge space but that sort of thing is rare for me

Richard

[Kirtanman]

quote:
Is that what you guys felt? Or at least similar? If not, please share your experience!

Well, as we all know, bio-individuality is very different [I've never experienced anything exactly like you describe].

I believe Yogani calls it ecstatic conductivity (as opposed to, say, "nice conductivity") for a reason.

When we're in the midst of sexual pleasure, there's usually a sense (at points) of "Oh my God, this feels so GOOD!!"

Yes?

For me, "Ecstatic Conductivity" is the set of feelings which occur in my body / system, resulting from practices, which are not purely physical / sexual.

For instance, during spinal breathing, including sambhavi (eyes lifted), my tongue, my eyes, and my whole head will begin to feel SO good that I can barely stand it, and moans of pleasure escape involuntarily ---- you know ..... ecstasy!



I've only had this for a few months - but for me, it's like .... there's no mystery --- that's at least the _type_ of thing Yogani is talking about.

In conjunction with that, I also [often] get:

*A sense of vastly increasing brightness and space inside my head - both of which are very pleasurable.

*A feeling of bliss throughout my whole body, which lasts anywhere from seconds to hours -- but I think of this more as bliss, rather than ecstasy -- the difference between stepping on the accelerator (ecastasy) and letting the car idle at a higher speed than we've been used to [bliss].

So (Alvin) per you orgasm analogy - my own opinion is that it's more like:

If you need to ask "did I have an orgasm" --- maybe you didn't.

(If you had, it'd be more like, "Oh my GOD -- who knew? WOW!")

Now, though [using the same analogy] --- when we each sexually matured, there were things which happened, which showed that our bodies could experience more pleasure, and more range of pleasure, than we ever suspected ---- and your "nose-gasm" type experience may very well fall into that category.

(And ultimately, whether it's "ecstatic conductivity" or not, is not for me to say -- I'm just responding, [hopefully] per your request.)

Regardless, you're moving in the right direct, and your body is beginning to reward you --- good job!

And congrats on the 2 months without ejaculation - that's a big milestone for most men -- I would guess that A. your experience is likely directly tied to this, and B. you'll see greatly accelerated improvement [in practice quality / ecstasy experiences], if you keep ejaculations down to once ever 1-2 months at maximum (or longer, if you can).

I'm at about 90 days -- mostly because orgasms have disconnected from ejaculation ---- I can orgasm FAR more powerfully than ever before, essentially as many times as I like --- true, full-blown orgasms - without ejaculation - purely using AYP Tantra techniques (along with a little time practicing, as with most AYP practices).

Maybe more on that aspect soon, but that's a topic for the Tantra section, I imagine.

And hope that helps, Alvin -- and congrats on the great progress!!

Peace & Namaste,

Kirtanman

[Scott]

Kirtanman,

It seems to me that I've experience a taste of what you have.  I look forward to your discussion in the tantra section.

[yoginstar]

re Ecstatic Conductivity,
One of the reasons I'm ecstatic about AYP is that it actually describes these experiences! I've ragged my brains for years on this experience, asking many people whom I knew meditated whether they have such experiences, and only my friend in the SRF practices has something similar but different. So I think it is at least different somewhat for all of us and at different times. I would describe ecstatic conductivity as a gentle electrical current swirling in one spot or the other, and think it is extra prana alongside the spine. It is not Kundalini perse (I've had those avalanches as well in various forms), but gentle Prana, giving one the feeling of being "connected". At least that's how I perceive it. The first time I experienced it was outside of meditation, standing in the kitchen and I thought someone was "touching" me.. I remember even looking around to see who was there;-)  But I have come to learn it is an inner Presence, it probably even can be called the Presence of God, or the Connection/Presence of the Self/Soul.  
Once I was sitting opposite someone and felt these energies as well, the person opposite apparently was a little clairvoyant and said she saw three angels around me at that precise time... a concept or wording that is totally alien to my mind:-)))
Ever since I practice the AYP meditation (which is only a few months I think), this ecstatic conductivity in meditation has become much more pronounced and stronger. From the very first meditation onwards. Usually it swirls at a same spot somewhere around the heartchakra, but on and off also higher up around the throat, and when going deeper in the meditation inside the head or even outside of it. It is gentle but can grab you for its ecstatic feeling, but I also read somewhere in the lessons to not focus continuously on it and get back to the mantra, so I'm doing that now and just letting it happen.
I'ts great to have a forum to actually discuss these rare phenomena for most people though is it not?
Best!

[Kyman]

I think bliss would probably be on one end of the spectrum and nothing on the other.  I remember growing up I had no connection with my inner body.  This caused me a lot of pain (conductivity, ironically), and so I sought more of that through external devices.  Just to feel something, you know?  I think most people in the world would rather pummel their body with stimulation, even intense pain, just to feel something over nothing.

Estactic conductivity reminds me of the feeling of being a baby boy and having one of my parents hold me.  And I also experienced this when holding my ex's bebe's.  They go limp as soon as they are in your arms.  They are 'relaxed', and we all know how closely tied relaxation is to the ecstatic conductivity.

Bliss must be conducitivity on a holistic level. Balance or equilibrium in the individual body so that its state reflects that of the entire universe.  The one.  That would make sense, because it is an imbalance that splits us off from that bliss into poor health.

I think if a person wanted to know about estactic conductivity, this thread would yield some great insight.  Everyone covered the subject in a unique way, which I feel is easily relatable to everyone else.

Nice thread.

[emc]

Lesson 64:

quote:In my mind's eye it looks silver, a searing silver
feeling, and is both hot and cold at the same time. Is this
kundalini?

Yes. A very good experience. A milestone. It is another way
kundalini can manifest in the beginning stages of awakening. It gives
clarity to the spinal nerve too.

From what I understand, Yogani calles the kundalini energy "ecstatic conductivity". It is the same energy, just different terms. In his lessons he uses the terms as equivalents.

In lesson 65 he talks about the biology of it. That's where my thoughts are heading right now after having being reminded of the dopamine - oxytocine systems at http://www.reuniting.info . Is the kundalini energy starting the dopamine system or oxytocine or both?

I'd guess that kundalini giving feelings of sexual pleasure is starting the dopamine reward system. That's why tantra energy solely wont bring enlightenment. It is just another way of getting mind-body rewards. It is easy to become an energy junkie if you don't get it to MIX with silent consciousness and stillness gained by deep meditation. That enhances oxytocine release to balance the kundalini-dopamine systems out. But that is only my guess.

   

Ah, just found this in Lesson 169

quote:I confess that the term "ecstatic conductivity" is something I came
up with many years ago to describe my own experiences with it,
which were similar to the experiences you are beginning now. It is
the awakening of kundalini, and we also use kundalini terminology to
describe it. Every tradition has its own language for the experience.
In these modern times, where we are able to understand such changes
as an awakening of the latent capabilities in our nervous system, we
can describe it as the rise of increased conductivity in the
electrical circuits (nerves) in our body. That is what it is. And it
is pleasurable, as you point out. The pleasure keeps increasing as
the conductivity increases, eventually beyond all human
comprehension, I might add. So it can be called "ecstatic"
conductivity, which it certainly is.

I can get really strong sensations. For example, I joined a power yoga class at the gym. The teacher had NO IDEA of the spiritual side of it all, so when I started to almost cramp because of the kundalini rush in my spine he just stared at me. My back was so tense, I was bent backwards in a bow and couldn't stand straight. Terrible. Ashtanga Yoga is NOT for me! Too much kundalini in that! I do not have enough stillness to compensate.

Another question I have is: Can you "get a ride" in your own kundalini awakening through spending time with another person who is higher in energy level? My partner claims it is due to him things have been going so fast for me. Could he influence my neurobiological evolution?

[Christi]

quote:Alvin wrote:
Personally, I wonder if what I experienced lately is what you guys called ecstatic conductivity: a few days ago when I do my sitting practices, I felt some stimulation not unlike that of a pre-sneeze one. But of course without any urge to sneeze, nor to do anything. The feeling is clear but not strong. And the stimulated region is somewhat different, too; though it's still around my head.

It reminds me of something I "smelled" from INSIDE myself from time to time when I was young. It's not exactly a smell, but since it happens around the inside of my nose, I can only describe it that way. It's so familiar, and yet I can never tell what smell it is.

Hi Alvin,
In my experience, once prana is activated it can create activity throughout the body, and where we feel it first, or how we feel it really depends on the individual. The inside of the nasal passages are a prime location for enhanced prana activity and certainly it can build up here causing an intensified feeling in the head. I have also experienced these smells that you describe experiencing as a child. I believe they are divine smells that exist in another dimension. I think the most common is smelling beautiful flowers when there are no flowers around. This could be why your experience of the kundalini energy reminded you of the smells, because both experiences are of things that exist in other dimensions of the human conciousness. Prana exists in the prana kosha, or subtle body, and I don't know which plane the smells come from, but it is obviously not the gross physical, if there are no flowers around.
 

quote:Emc wrote:
Another question I have is: Can you "get a ride" in your own kundalini awakening through spending time with another person who is higher in energy level? My partner claims it is due to him things have been going so fast for me. Could he influence my neurobiological evolution?

Hi Emc
You can certainly "get a ride" as you put it[]. In India saints do something called "Darshan". The word literally means "sight", and I have never worked out if it means sitting in the sight of the Guru (so they can look at you), or looking at the Guru, or if it means that by sitting in the company of the Guru you will get a vision of the divine. I think the latter is more likely. The best English translation I have seen for the word Darshan is "entrainment". Entrainment means to adjust the internal rhythm of an organism so that it synchronizes with an external cycle. (I coppied that from my dictionary[:p]). It is an amazing experience. You don't have to do anything special. Just sit there. So it is certainly possible that you could be getting a "quickening" in your awakening due to living with your partner, if he is further down the road than you and his kundalini is acting magnetically on people close to him. If so you are very lucky[].

Love and Light

Christi

[Wolfgang]

quote:Originally posted by emc


Another question I have is: Can you "get a ride" in your own kundalini awakening through spending time with another person who is higher in energy level? My partner claims it is due to him things have been going so fast for me. Could he influence my neurobiological evolution?

This is interesting and there are probably two sides of the coin.
May be your partner is getting a ride by you !?
How can you find out, if it is you or your partner who is on a
higher energy level ?

[emc]

Christi, that was new info for me, on darshan. Thanks!

Wolfgang, Hehe I like that thought A LOT MORE! *boosting spiritual ego* (But hey, darn, wont that boosting slow my path down? [])