science and spirituality were not two separate things.

In the teachings of the great ancient traditions

the outer search for knowledge and certainty was balanced

by an inner feeling of impermanence

and intuitive understanding of the spiral of change.

As scientific thinking became more dominant and information multiplied,

fragmentation began to occur within our knowledge systems.

Increased specialization meant that fewer people

were capable of seeing the big picture,

of feeling and intuiting the aesthetic of the system as a whole.

No one was asking, "is all this thinking good for us?"

The ancient knowledge is here in our midst, hidden in plain view.

But we are too preoccupied with our thoughts to recognize it.

This forgotten wisdom is way to restore the balance

between the inner and the outer.

Yin and yang.

Between the spiral of change and the stillness at our core.

In Greek legend, Asclepius was the son of Apollo and the god of healing.

His wisdom and skills for healing were unsurpassed

and he is said to have discovered the secret to life and death itself.

In ancient Greece the Asclepian healing temples

recognized the power of the primordial spiral

Which is symbolized by the rod of Asclepius.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine,

whose oath still forms the moral

code of the medical profession is said to have

received his training at an Asclepian temple.

To this day, this symbol of our evolutionary energy

remains as the logo of the American Medical Association

and other medical organizations worldwide.

In Egyptian iconography, the snake and bird represent

the duality or polarity of human nature.

The snake, the downward direction, is the manifested spiral,

the evolutionary energy of the world.

The bird is the upward direction; the upward current oriented

towards the sun or awakened single-pointed consciousness;

the emptiness of Akasha.

Pharaohs and gods are depicted with awakened energy

whereby the Kundalini snake moves up the spine and pierces

"Ajna chakra" between the eyes.

This is referred to as the eye of Horus.

In the Hindu tradition the bindi is also representative of the third eye;

the divine connection to spirit.

King Tutankhamen’s mask is a classic example

showing both the snake and bird motifs.

The Mayan and Aztec traditions combine the serpent and bird motif into one god.

Quetzalcoatl or Kukulkan.

The plumed serpent god represents the awakened evolutionary

consciousness or awakened Kundalini.

The person who awakens Quetzalcoatl within themselves

is a living manifestation of the divine.

It is said that Quetzalcoatl, or serpent energy,

shall return at the end of time.

The snake and bird symbols can be found within Christianity as well.

Their true meaning may be more deeply encrypted

but the meaning is the same as in other ancient traditions.

In Christianity, the bird or dove often seen above Christ's head

represents Holy Spirit or Kundalini Shakti

as it rises to the sixth chakra and beyond.

The Christian mystics called Kundalini by another name; Holy Spirit.

In John 3:12 it says, "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

so must the son of man be lifted up."

Jesus and Moses awakened their Kundalini energy, bringing awakened consciousness

to the unconscious reptilian forces that drive human craving.

Jesus was said to have spent forty days and forty nights

in the desert, during which time he was tempted by Satan.

Similarly, the Buddha was tempted by "Mara" as he sat to reach

enlightenment under the bodhi tree, or wisdom tree.

Both Christ and Buddha had to turn away from the lure of sensory

pleasures and worldly grasping.

In each story, the demon is the personification of one's own attachments.

If we read the Adam and Eve story in the light of the Vedic and Egyptian traditions

we find that the serpent guarding the tree of life is Kundalini.

The apple represents the lure and temptation of the external sensory world,

distracting us from the knowledge of the inner world,

the tree of knowledge within.

The tree is simply the network of Nadis or energy meridians within ourselves,

which literally form tree-like structures throughout the body.

In our egoic quest for external gratification

we have cut ourselves off from the knowledge of the inner world,

our connection to Akasha and the wisdom source.

Many of the world's historical myths about dragons

can be read as metaphors for the inner energies

of the cultures in which they are embedded.

In China, the dragon is still a sacred symbol representing happiness.

Like the Egyptian pharaohs, ancient Chinese emperors

who had awakened their evolutionary energies

were represented by the winged snake, or dragon.

The royal totem of the Jade Emperor or Celestial Emperor

shows a balance similar to Ida and Pingala.

The yin and yang of Taoism, awakening the pineal center

or in what in Taoism is called the Upper Dantien.

Nature is full of different light detection

and assimilation mechanisms.

For example, a sea urchin can actually see with its spiky body

which acts as one big eye.

Urchins detect light striking their spines and compare

the beams' intensities to get a sense of their surroundings.

Green iguanas and other reptiles have a parietal eye

or pineal gland on top of their heads which they use to detect

predators from above.

The human pineal gland is a small endocrine gland

that helps to regulate waking and sleeping patterns.

Even though it is buried deep inside the head

the pineal gland is sensitive to light.

The philosopher Descartes recognized that the pineal gland area

or the third eye was the interface between consciousness and matter.

Almost everything is symmetrical in the human body.

Two eyes, two ears, two nostrils-even the brain has two sides.

But there is one area of the brain that is not mirrored.

This is the pineal gland area and the energetic center that surrounds it.

On a physical level unique molecules are formed naturally

by the pineal gland such as DMT.

DMT also forms naturally at the moment of birth and at the moment of death,

literally acting as a unique bridge between the world of the living and the dead.

DMT is produced naturally during states of deep meditation

and Samhadi, or through entheogenic means.

For example, Ayahuasca is used in the shamanic traditions

in South America to remove the veil between the inner and outer worlds.

The word pineal itself has the same root as pine-cone

because the pineal gland exhibits a similar spiral phyllotaxis pattern.

This pattern, also known as the flower of life pattern,

is common in ancient artwork depicting enlightened or awakened beings.

When the pine cone image is seen in sacred artwork it represents the

awakened third eye; single pointed consciousness

directing the flow of evolutionary energy.

The pine cone represents the flowering of the higher chakras

which are activated as Sushumna rises to the Ajna chakra and beyond.

In Greek mythology the worshippers of Dionysus carried a thyrsus

or giant staff wrapped with spiraling vines topped with a pine-cone.

Again, representing Dionysian energy or Kundalini Shakti

as it travels up the spine to the pineal body at the sixth chakra.

In the heart of the Vatican you might expect a giant sculpture

of Jesus or Mary but instead we find a giant pine-cone statue

indicating that in Christian history there may have been knowledge

of the chakras and Kundalini but for whatever reason

it was kept from the masses.

The official church explanation is that the pine-cone

is a symbol of regeneration and represents new life in Christ.

The thirteenth century philosopher and mystic, Meister Eckhart said,

"The eye with which I see God and the eye with which God sees me

is one and the same."

In the King James bible Jesus said, "the light of the body is the eye,

if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

The Buddha said, "the body is an eye."

In a state of Samadhi one is both the seer and the seen.

We are the universe aware of itself.

When Kundalini is activated, it stimulates the sixth chakra

and pineal center and this area starts to regain some of its

evolutionary functions.

Darkness meditation has been used for thousands of years

as a way to activate the sixth chakra in the area of the pineal gland.

Activation of this center allows a person to see their inner light.

Whether it is the proverbial yogi or shaman retreating deep into a cave

or Taoist or Mayan initiate, or Tibetan monk, all traditions incorporate

a period of time during which one goes into the darkness.

The pineal gland is the gateway to experiencing one's subtle energy directly.

The philosopher Nietzche said, "if you stare into the abyss long enough,

eventually you find that the abyss stares back at you."

Dolmens, or ancient portal tombs are among the oldest remaining structures on Earth.

Most date to the Neolithic period of 3000-4000 BC and some in Western Europe

are seven thousand years old.

The dolmen was used to enter into perpetual meditation as a way

for a human to bridge the inner and outer worlds.

As one continues to meditate in total darkness eventually

one begins to observe inner energy or light as the third eye becomes active.

The circadian rhythms which are governed by the sun and the moon channels

no longer control the functions of the body and a new rhythm is established