Bindi

I have come to see the psyche not merely as a mind in the psychological sense, but as a layered energetic system populated by subtle forces. At the heart of this view are the subconscious emotional and mental currents, and deeper still, two complementary unconscious currents that I’ve come to think of as the Shiva aspects and the Shakti aspects. The emotional and mental currents we’re all familiar with, but the Shiva and Shakti currents are less obvious, so I will go into some detail about them. They can be recognized through many vivid symbolic pairs: Wildfire / Fireplace The dynamic blaze that consumes and transforms. The hearth that holds the fire safely, giving it purpose and warmth. Fish / Fishbowl The darting, elusive vitality moving through hidden depths. The clear bowl that contains, supports, shapes, and protects its motions. Cat / Dog The graceful, sensitive, easily startled nature that seeks comfort. The loyal guardian that stays close, watching over and calming. Fearful / Protector The trembling instinct that recoils from perceived danger. The steady presence that stands firm, offering safety. These pairs are not idle poetry. They illustrate how the unconscious houses instinctual forces that must evolve together. The Shakti aspect represents a dynamic, vital current — the drive toward life, transformation, emotional vitality, subtle creativity. The Shiva aspect provide containment, the instinctive intelligence that knows how to protect, restrain, channel, and nurture what would otherwise be chaotic. In each pairing: The dynamic life-force is untamed, vital, transformative. The caring containment is protective, shaping, enabling that energy to flourish without harm. They are co-arising: the wild needs the safe space to exist meaningfully; the container finds purpose in cradling the life within. If one seeks only to awaken the dynamic energy (as in a blind kundalini pursuit), without fostering the complementary instinct to contain and guide it, imbalance is inevitable. The system can flare into anxiety, delusion, or emotional overwhelm. This is why so many teachings stress that cultivation is not merely about amplifying energy, but purifying and preparing the mental and emotional channels first, so the deeper forces can safely develop. To purify the emotional and mental currents tangled by personal history, they must be witnessed and brought into greater flow. They are the first terrain of inner work, and through methods such as shadow work, dream exploration, deep feeling and understanding etc, their dysfunctions can be gradually resolved. Only then can the deeper unconscious forces, the Shiva and Shakti layers, find their ground. Importantly, it is the Shiva aspect that must awaken the Shakti aspect, otherwise containment will not occur, and the Shiva aspect in its turn has to first be activated by the flowing current of the emotional and mental currents. Recently, my dreams have begun to show me that when these two deep unconscious instinctual layers find each other and start to mature in their interaction, something new emerges. In symbolic terms, this is represented as a smaller, independent vehicle that will one day travel on its own. This resonates with images from Daoist Neidan (inner alchemy) where an alchemical child is born - an autonomous subtle body that eventually can separate from the main system. This smaller independent vehicle or child is the fruit of a long interplay between mature containment (Shiva) and vitality (Shakti). But the picture does not end here. Overseeing all of this is the witness self, the faculty of clear seeing that stands apart from the energies it observes. This witness is the part that learns to trust that the humble, instinctual containment field is capable of guiding the system more wisely than the anxious grasping of the conscious mind. It slowly informs the conscious mind, which may then serve as the executive agent, ruling not by force but by insight. In the end, I see the conscious mind, gently taught by the witness, becoming the wise steward of the system - allowing these deeper layers to do their work, neither interfering unnecessarily nor abandoning responsibility. Thus the entire architecture of psyche - subconscious, unconscious, witness, and conscious mind - becomes integrated. Each layer performs its unique role, culminating in a new life, an independent vitality born of the interplay between our deepest instinctual forces. A compact visual map (Divine / Mother/ Highest Source) ↓ Witness Self (objective seeing, clear awareness) ↓ Conscious Mind (steward) (makes decisions based on witness insight) ↓ ----------------------------------------------- | | Emotional Stream Mental Stream (Subconscious patterns & biases) ↓ ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Dynamic Vital Force Containment Field (Shakti aspects) (Shiva aspects) - wildfire, fish, cat, fear - fireplace, fishbowl, dog, protector ↓ Interplay gives rise to: Smaller independent vehicle (new independent ‘entity’ directed by the conscious mind)

I wonder if Shakti might be the highest material expression, and then logically shiva would the most material spiritual expression, so they together become a bridge between both worlds.

Interesting, an extended version of rudra/shiva: The association of Rudra with Shiva, often referred to as "the Destroyer" in the Hindu trinity (Trimurti), is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and philosophy. Here’s a detailed exploration of this connection: Rudra and Shiva: The Connection 1. Etymology and Identity Rudra: The term "Rudra" is derived from the Sanskrit root "rud," which means "to cry" or "to howl." Rudra is often associated with storms, wind, and the fierce aspects of nature. In the Vedas, Rudra is depicted as a powerful deity who embodies both destruction and healing. Shiva: Over time, Rudra evolved into one of the principal forms of Shiva. In many texts, Shiva is referred to as Rudra, emphasizing his dual nature as both a destroyer and a benefactor. 2. Destruction and Transformation Destruction as a Necessity: In Hindu philosophy, destruction is not viewed negatively; rather, it is seen as a necessary part of the cycle of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Shiva, as Rudra, embodies this aspect of destruction, which paves the way for renewal and transformation. Kundalini Energy: The concept of Rudra Granthi, as mentioned earlier, relates to the blockage of spiritual energy. Shiva's role as the destroyer is also symbolic of breaking through these blockages, allowing for spiritual awakening and the flow of Kundalini energy. 3. Mythological Narratives The Shiva Purana: In various texts, including the Shiva Purana, Rudra is depicted as a fierce and protective deity who can destroy evil and ignorance. This aligns with Shiva's role in combating negative forces and restoring cosmic order. The Dance of Destruction: Shiva's cosmic dance, known as Tandava, represents the cycles of creation and destruction. This dance is a manifestation of Rudra's energy, illustrating the dynamic interplay between destruction and creation. 4. Worship and Rituals Rudra in Worship: Devotees often invoke Rudra in prayers and rituals, seeking protection and the removal of obstacles. The Rudra Suktam, a hymn from the Rigveda, is a significant text dedicated to Rudra, highlighting his importance in Vedic worship. Shiva's Dual Nature: In worship, Shiva is revered not only as the destroyer but also as the creator and preserver, embodying the complete cycle of existence. Conclusion Rudra's association with Shiva as the destroyer emphasizes the balance of destruction and creation in the universe. This duality is central to understanding the nature of existence in Hindu philosophy, where destruction is a precursor to renewal and spiritual growth. 100% agreed Absolutely 🙂

‘Destroyer’ does have strong connotations and may sound extreme, but I use the word very deliberately in an energy path context. At the head level, the Shiva aspect does have to crash through inner barriers, but this isn’t just force for force’s sake. The ‘destroyer’ function is also a safeguard, a test: ‘Can you stay steady when a bull is pacing around your house, or even crashing through the walls?’ If you panic and run, Shiva won’t enter, it’s a safety lock. When you’re truly ready and you don’t flinch, the energy enters smoothly, and Shiva’s face shifts from something fearsome to something calmer and more domesticated. So this ‘Destroyer’ aspect is a test, whilst also being the means to break through our natural resistance at that level. You’ve spoken of this before in terms of kundalini I think, but the principle is the same: you don’t want that force arriving before you’re prepared, or it can overwhelm the system, like the cases in India of people who’ve “seen the light (joti)” but burned their circuits. Better to be repelled until the body-mind can hold the increased current without damage.

I’m not comparing traditions as a whole, nor minutely examining what a term means, I’m merely demonstrating the ‘higher dualities’ that are suggested by these terms shiva/shakti, true yin/true yang etc. For me if a tradition names these higher dualities this is of interest, like a heads up, I might be more inclined to sample their literature, but only to hear a broad view of expressions on this very specific topic. Sometimes a description really hits home for me, for instance I hadn’t realised shiva was the destroyer until this thread, in fact it was only after the word destroy in my post was rejected by someone that I looked it up, and of course I fully concur. In turn this may lead me to look into shiva a bit more, maybe not, but it’s certainly of interest to me. This is how an inner directed path works, I step, and then look around to see if others have walked this way. Yes there’s some good stuff there.

While men may often lean toward mind dominance and women toward heart dominance, this doesn’t alter the fundamental requirements of the subtle energy body. The sequencing is structural, not gender based. Just as you wouldn’t begin building the second story of a house before laying a solid foundation, regardless of whether a woman or a man will live in it, the subtle body needs its base layers in place before higher functions can be developed without distortion. Of course, if the aim is purely nondual realisation and not the cultivation of the subtle energy body, this sequencing is not relevant, but I bring it up here because this thread is fundamentally about head/male/shiva and heart/female/shakti energies.

Is your nondual take on this prayer (the Shema Yisrael?) a standard orthodox view?

Given this, the closest parallel for you could be kabbalistic/Jewish mysticism - My Subtle-Body Model Kabbalistic / Jewish Mysticism Parallel Physical vitality layer (foundation of energy system), Qi Nefesh – animating life-force tied to the body and instincts. Emotional / heart field (yin side) – must be cleared first for whole-system stability Ruach – the emotional and moral dimension; bridge between body and higher soul. Needs refinement to channel higher light without distortion. Higher mind / clarity (yang side) – stabilises naturally after Shakti / l higher emotional heart purification Neshamah – the higher intellect and spiritual awareness; only functions properly when Ruach is balanced. Higher will / unitive purpose – integrates and directs the whole system Chayah – transcendent life-force; and Yechidah – oneness with the Divine. Subtle-body purpose – Neidan’s Yang Shen, birth of a new subtle form Tzelem and Kavod – divine image and spiritual “form” that manifest when all soul levels are aligned.

For me, sequence matters because from my perspective the subtle body works like a complex factory, with each part depending on others being in place first. If the emotional stream (heart field) isn’t cleared first, higher development will be unstable, like building upper floors without a solid foundation. Starting from the head or will can bring awakenings, but the energy structure will end up patchwork, with unused or mismatched pieces that don’t function as a whole. If the goal is full subtle-body integration, heart-first isn’t optional. But if the sole aim is nondual realisation, the subtle body process isn’t part of the map, and that leads to a different focus and different outcome entirely.

Thanks for your excellent responses above 🙂 I’d be interested to hear more about your proto Daoist model and how it tracks with my chart above. I don’t personally follow any model, I merely notice similarities between various systems and what I discover by looking within. Hence my chart of all the systems that acknowledge this shiva/shakti true yin/true yang level. I’ve found deep resonances to various aspects of neidan and the TTC, just slightly more to the shiva/Shakti portrayals. Not being in any particular sect I also don’t know at this stage if shiva is the end point or if there is another end point, I could only guess at the moment, which can be a fun mental exercise but holds no real value.

I would put your dislike of ‘destroy’ down to the difference between a nondual realisation path and an alchemical/tantra path. FWIW, “Shiva is one of the principal deities in Hinduism and holds a significant place in the Hindu pantheon. He is known as the destroyer and transformer, as well as the supreme being who transcends all dualities and represents the ultimate reality.”

From what I’ve gathered so far, what is beyond the individuated mind, what I am referring to as shiva, is an incredibly powerful force that destroys everything in the mind that is false, and sharply defines what is true. I agree we are actually divine within, but it takes identifying with various aspects on the way to that divinity to ground the realisation in reality.

This could be a handy societally conditioned distinction to justify a particular choice of starting point, but it may have very little to do with subtle reality.

Head or heart first is an issue that isn’t addressed in the above chart. From my perspective, the head can stand for Shiva and the heart for Shakti, as these are their respective domains. In the Head → heart → will trajectory, the personal mind is refined first, then the personal heart is aligned, and finally the higher will comes into play. In the Heart → head → will trajectory, the emotional/heart field is purified first, which allows the mind to stabilise naturally, and only then does the higher will become active. In my view, the sequence is crucial, in fact IMO it makes all the difference in the world.

I’ve been exploring Shakti Shiva dualities across systems, something that fascinates me, maybe someone here might find it interesting. Note, this table has been put together by AI so there may be mistakes. Neidan (Taoist Alchemy) Hindu Tantra / Kashmir Shaivism Vajrayana (Tibetan) Sufi Mysticism Gnostic / Hermetic True Yang – Yuan Shen (Original Spirit), pure pre-heaven yang, unchanging Shiva – Pure consciousness, the witness, static pole Method (Upaya) – Bliss/clarity body; sometimes coded masculine Jalal – Majesty, transcendence, awe Christos – Logos, ordering principle, the still divine mind True Yin – Yuan Qi awakened from root, pre-heaven yin, transformative force Shakti / Kundalini – Dynamic energy, manifestation, active pole Wisdom (Prajna) – Emptiness/energy awareness; sometimes coded feminine Jamal – Beauty, intimacy, immanence Sophia – Wisdom, movement, the animating feminine Union of True Yin & True Yang – Leads to the Golden Elixir, immortality of spirit Shiva–Shakti Union at Sahasrara – Final liberation, cyclical descent & ascent Union of Method & Wisdom – Single taste awareness Kamal – Perfection, balance of majesty & beauty Syzygy – Reunion of Christos & Sophia, restoration of fullness Sequential refinement and merger Often symbolic but also mapped onto subtle body Symbolic + yogic practices (tummo, channels, drops) Mostly metaphorical but experienced mystically Mythic narrative with inner mystical reading Where people get stuck Over-controlling Qi, suppressing yin movement; fear of emotional storms (Shakti) Romanticizing Shakti, chasing bliss, ignoring Shiva’s stabilizing clarity Overemphasis on “emptiness” without embodied union; or fixation on heat/bliss states Attachment to devotional ecstasy (Jamal) without Jalal’s containment Over-identifying with Sophia’s suffering or Christos’s abstraction; fail to unite them The key thing that stands out here is that: In Taoist and Buddhist systems, Shakti/true yin is often suppressed in favour of mental stillness. In Tantric and devotional systems, Shiva/true yang is often underdeveloped because bliss states feel “enough.

One step on the right shore is worth more than a thousand splashes elsewhere!

What I referred to as the god particle in my previous post, might perhaps be better referred to as ‘the elixir’ - “Golden Elixir is another name for one’s fundamental nature. There is no other Golden Elixir outside one's fundamental nature. All human beings have this Golden Elixir complete in themselves: it is entirely realized in everybody. It is neither more in a sage, nor less in an ordinary person. It is the seed of the Immortals and the Buddhas, the root of the worthies and the sages.” Liu Yiming (1734-1821)

The God Particle Within There is an idea in the spiritual traditions of the world that the divine is not separate, not distant, not a figure above, but a presence within. But what if this inner divinity is not only real, but also functional? What if it is not merely a state of mind, or emptiness, or spaciousness, or holiness, but part of our subtle architecture, a refined, intelligent essence working ceaselessly to restore wholeness? This deeper understanding shifts everything. It reframes the divine not as an object of worship, but as a mechanism of transformation, actively embedded in the very fabric of our inner being. Not metaphor. Not abstraction. But an actual medium: subtle, dynamic, and purifying. In this vision, the self is not merely a vessel for thought and experience. It is a structured field, layered, responsive, and capable of immense refinement. At the core of this field lies something subtle yet profoundly intelligent: a filtering presence that tries to separate what is real from what is reactive, what is timeless from what is temporary. It does not force, yet it governs. It does not shout, yet it clarifies. It acts like a crystalline thread, a current of luminous essence that brings truth wherever it flows. This essence is not born of effort. It cannot be constructed by the mind. It is never absent, merely covered over, almost silenced. But it can be uncovered, found beneath the sediment of old impressions. It is not ours to create, but ours to discover, when the more assertive aspects of the self begin to fall quiet and the deeper, subconscious forces awaken. What becomes clear is that this essence is not a static stillness or blank awareness. It is a responsive intelligence, one that gently and systematically purifies distortion. Like a clear stream flowing through a clouded vessel, it enacts transformation not through struggle, but through contact. Its very nature reveals and dissolves what is false. Its flow is the return to sanity. The mind may attempt to name this essence, to contain it within ideas. But I propose it is not an idea. It is a subtle reality, not merely an inner event or a shift, but the unveiling of what may be called the essence of God: a presence so innately pure and intelligent that its activation realigns the entire system of self around what is most real. It is the final key that unlocks the final process. For many, the longing for truth begins with a sense of absence, of something missing. But the God particle within is not technically missing. It is hidden. And it waits, not passively, but quietly, until the self becomes transparent enough to allow contact. What is required is not belief, not even faith, but recognition. The subtle pathways of the self must open, not to ideas, but to actual subtle function, until this ultimate presence is revealed and restored to its rightful place: to cleanse consciously, to filter, to complete the subtle body. In this view, the divine is not separate from the structure of self. It is its deepest layer, its most essential root. And it is useful, not because it offers escape, but because it offers ultimate purification and clarity. It does not require worship, only space. It does not demand sacrifice, only honesty. And it does not ask for distance, but intimacy. This is the inner essence that makes liberation possible, not as a singular event, but as a steady unfolding of what has always been within - not potential or emptiness but a specific causal essence, a liquid diamond consciousness, the God particle within.

I’ve been reading a bit about about Saiva Siddhanta which is classed as dualist as opposed to non-dualist, and I see certain statements that appeal to me, for instance: “Prelude to the descent of divine liberating wisdom into the soul is purification of the soul by removal of impurities (malaparipakam).” I always like methods which look at cleaning/clearing within, it’s in the Neiye “Clean/clear the heart/mind/Xin, and the numinous spirit will come. It’s also in the external yellow court scripture “Cleanse the heart/mind/Xin to self-heal rather than wither from impurity.” Both the Neiye and the external yellow court scripture also refer to the descent of something important into the heart/mind/Xin/soul, in the Neiye “the numinous spirit will come,” in the yellow court “From above, the Heavenly Qi is received, granting increased life. In Christianity there is also the ‘Holy Spirit’ descends from above. Very likely confirmation bias is operating here, I believe in cleaning/clearing within, and I gather quotes to support this view. But there is also the further stage that these few references above speak about, the holy thing that comes into the purified vessel, the thing beyond that is not “I”, the thing greater than “I”, which perhaps defines an important difference between dualism and non-dualism.

I believe that ‘Judge not’ warns against ego-based condemnation that feeds separation and karmic entanglement. But there’s a world of difference between reactive judgment and the clear seeing that arises from compassion and alignment with truth. IMO Jesus wasn’t condemning out of wounded pride, he was cutting through hypocrisy to protect and awaken. So we might say real spiritual maturity knows when silence is love, and when fierce clarity is love. It’s not about never discerning, but about where it’s coming from within us.

Clearly Jesus hadn’t attained much spiritual progress then, evidenced by his condemnation of the Pharisees.

I think there might be two levels of intuition, one decidedly based on the intellect, and the other based on a higher knowledge source within. From https://positivepsychology.com/intuition/ Processes involved in intuition Herbert Simon’s research in the 1950s into the concept of bounded rationality guides much of the work on intuition. Simon suggested that people often make decisions – and reduce their cognitive load – based on what is good enough. Rather than arriving at complete and entirely correct answers, when faced with specific tasks, we often resort to heuristics – or rules of thumb – that help form intuitive judgments (Simon, 1955). The use of heuristics is considered commonplace and the default approach for making decisions (Epstein, 2010). The process of recognition – a fundamental evolved function – is also crucial to intuition. It appears separate from other parts of the human memory in the brain, capable of persisting in the most challenging conditions with accuracy sufficient for practical purposes. Intuition appears to rely on the automation of the decision-making process. Newly learned tasks often rely on declarative knowledge; we must consciously consider each move or action. As a result of practice and learning, this knowledge becomes automated or procedural. Such tasks are acted out without conscious intervention, saving significant processing power and freeing the mind to focus on more intensive or newly acquired actions. Forward and backward inferences also play an essential role in intuition (Hogarth, 2010). The knowledge we have acquired through experience helps us predict, intuitively, where the ball will land or why the child tripped and take action. Indeed, the vast knowledge we build up over time allows real-world predictions, enabling us to act quickly and effectively in situations that most of us have encountered many times before. Learning and retrieval are also highly relevant to successful intuitive processes. Having experienced objects and scenes before, we are highly adept at pattern matching to support our ability to decide and act quickly and effectively. For example, when we walk into a coffee shop, we recognize a cup as something we have seen many times before. We also understand, intuitively, that it is likely to be hot and easily spilled on an uneven surface. Intuition appears to arise – like an epiphenomenon – out of the interaction of many distinctive cognitive processes, rather than a single one. They combine to deliver a fast and effective response when it is most needed. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ive experienced the other level, where instinct brought me at the right time to the right place or guided me to interact in very specific ways with a few different people. That was inexplicable, but it was in the company of a particular person and it didn’t continue independently. The first sort of instinct is quick but not necessarily reliable, the second is astounding but unusual without developing a very good communication channel with the higher self. Neither use of these intuition forms has changed my life in any particular way, intuition is not something I aspire to or have wished to cultivate. Intuition of the second sort may develop as an outcome of consciousness flowing freely in all channels, and that sort of intuition is likely to be reliable, but for the path I’m on it’s not required on the way. What is your experience with intuition?

Maybe, though not from my perspective. I take the subtle body level as fundamental, and to me the reality of the subtle body is that there is no interaction between the relative and the absolute levels until the relative is followed and leads to the absolute - in other words consciousness cannot enter the central channel until the side channels are clear and flowing. The side channels are the relative channels, the central is where the absolute can be found. To me until consciousness is in the central channel all spiritual concepts remain just that, concepts, spiritual notions to practice and believe in but not actually ‘spiritual’ in any sense other than intellectual.

Do you dismiss Welwood along the same lines? On Spiritual Bypassing and Relationship Article by John Welwood Spiritual bypassing is a term I coined to describe a process I saw happening in the Buddhist community I was in, and also in myself. Although most of us were sincerely trying to work on ourselves, I noticed a widespread tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks. When we are spiritually bypassing, we often use the goal of awakening or liberation to rationalize what I call premature transcendence: trying to rise above the raw and messy side of our humanness before we have fully faced and made peace with it. And then we tend to use absolute truth to disparage or dismiss relative human needs, feelings, psychological problems, relational difficulties, and developmental deficits. I see this as an “occupational hazard” of the spiritual path, in that spirituality does involve a vision of going beyond our current karmic situation. Trying to move beyond our psychological and emotional issues by sidestepping them is dangerous. It sets up a debilitating split between the buddha and the human within us. And it leads to a conceptual, one-sided kind of spirituality where one pole of life is elevated at the expense of its opposite: Absolute truth is favored over relative truth, the impersonal over the personal, emptiness over form, transcendence over embodiment, and detachment over feeling. One might, for example, try to practice nonattachment by dismissing one’s need for love, but this only drives the need underground, so that it often becomes unconsciously acted out in covert and possibly harmful ways instead.

Along the same lines people at various sorts of ‘how to get ahead’ type conferences are told the rape you experienced and your beliefs around it can just be let go of, everything is just a mind story that you don’t have to buy into. Without your story you can be rich/free/enlightened - whatever they’re selling on the day. People are fairly easily manipulated especially when in a large group all entertaining the same ideas. Utterly destructive in a holistic sense, but quite often a win in the moment for the leader of the conference and the attendees who have bought into the premise.