TO BEGIN CONCEIVING the essence of creative energy is to appreciate its expression in our everyday lives. Most take their own - and others'- creativity for granted and for this reason settle for much less than they are capable of producing. Bound by habit, they become mentally lazy, causing their minds to dwell in the mediocrity of normalcy, thus perpetuating the ills of mankind. In truth, it is easier to create than destroy, to love than to hate, to trust than to fear, to evolve than to stagnate. It is easier to become free of self-imposed limitations, break free from compulsion by becoming aware of the freedom inherent in your ability to think. Thinking frees you to see, to hear, to feel, to taste, to smell, and - most importantly - to perceive.

As reasoning is understood and utilized, creativity flourishes. Wherever you experience expressions of man's creativity, you will find the use of creative energy. When this creativity is used by an evolved soul with the highest ideals and purposes in mind, you will find the use of the Kundalini for in this type of expression all of humanity benefits.

In our pursuit of knowledge of Kundalini, it is well that we examine the lives of those possessing expanded awareness. In their thoughts we find the Universal Truth, and Universal Truth can be applied in anyone's life at any time. The thinking of these evolved souls rises above the normal, challenging limitations accepted by the masses, paving the way for advancement for all. Those displaying this expanded consciousness are often described as living before their time. Yet, it is their willingness to stimulate others - even in the face of severe opposition - toward the attainment of the visions they conceive that propels them to a place reserved for history's greats.

As it has been said, "Talent does what it can, genius does what it must." By investigating and putting to use the talent you possess, you can become known for your creativity. By expanding your consciousness to include all of mankind, you can become known for your genius. The creative genius' thinking includes the world and all of humanity, for this reason, in time he is revered and remembered.

Creativity is abundant in man's search for Self expression. From a piece of art that captures the soul to the preparation of a meal that delights the senses, from the ability to explore outer space to the composition of a letter, every day the mind is used for creative endeavors. Yet, many are restless in the accepted limitations of complacency. They desire to soar beyond what is considered normal and expand their consciousness to ever-evolving states of creativity. By exposing ourselves to the quality of thinking of those remembered in our history as masters of reasoning, we can begin to align our thoughts with our own inner urge to create.

What faculties does the individual who comes to be known as a genius possess that elevates his status to that of a master of creativity? What thoughts fill the consciousness of the creative genius?

History is filled with evidence of great thinkers. These individuals have furthered our progress as individuals, as societies, and as a race known as mankind. Their lives are varied. The consequences of birth hold no limitation for these individuals, for we find the complete range - master or slave, rich or poor, educated or not - of experiences represented in their lives. From the early thinkers who learned to harness the four basic elements of air, fire, water, and earth to make physical life easier to more recent thinkers who use the same elements to enhance the mental evolution of man, we find inspiration. They embody the finest we can become and the wisdom in their thoughts enables us to share their vision of the spiritual unfoldment that is our destiny. To become acquainted with these thinkers is to witness the benefits of the awakening of the Kundalini energy available to man. Their lives are evidence of Kundalini in action for the benefit of all and their conclusions reflect the awareness of a consciousness expanded.

The willingness to extend the boundaries of our thinking is well described in a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: "Man's mind, stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimension."

By considering, evaluating, and embracing new ways of thinking the progression of the soul is promoted. This continual exercising of creative power and authority precipitates the arousal of Kundalini. Activation of the serpent power demands a change in consciousness. Moving beyond previously accepted limitations, it is the mind in its imaginative glory that is the parent conceiving new ways of thought and life which will culminate in the enlightenment of man.

The founding fathers of the United States knew of esoteric truths since most of them were Freemasons and many were Unitarian in religious thought. They intended the new country to be the first nation in the world founded on the basis of reason. Esoteric meaning shines throughout the symbols, such as the Great Seal, created to represent the new alliance. The notation of "In God We Trust" was an affirmation of their belief that the mind of man reflects the mind of God. They also believed it is reason which puts man in touch with God, and since all people are capable of reason this served as the fundamental principle of democracy. Their creativity reached far beyond its physical manifestations, and they revered the individual's spiritual birthright to excel and progress.

In the original draft of America's Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote:

We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent, that from the equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are preservation of life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is true in order for creativity to flourish man must have the freedom of responsibility for his thoughts and actions. In the United States, anyone can excel, anyone can dream and with a directed mind anyone can live that dream. This atmosphere promotes the development and use of Kundalini energy. Many believe the awakening of Kundalini can only be gained through Eastern disciplines, and although a disciplined mind is required for her use, it is the consistent act of creation which stimulates the Kundalini.

In addition to an expansion of consciousness, activated Kundalini demands an elevation of consciousness. The mind must move beyond concerns for personal physical want, becoming occupied with the needs of all humanity. Such a thinker continually asks, "How can what I think and do benefit others?" This expansion of thought causes one to move beyond the isolation of physical immaturity into the refined awareness of relativity as the soul seeks to mature. This kind of thinking defines character producing the sustained motivation needed for innovation to develop.

To know your place in creation, to maintain this expanded consciousness when others do not, to respond for someone else's good as readily as you do your own, signifies an opening of consciousness. Lucius Annaeus Seneca described it in this way, "Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power."

To be able to include others in your thoughts requires Self knowledge, Self direction, and Self possession. Seneca (3 B.C. - 65 A.D.) was born in Spain and educated by Roman Stoics. Appointed tutor to 11-year-old Nero, he sought to make him into the ideal philosopher-king. Yet, Nero fell prey to what another philosopher four centuries before called a 'commoner nature'.

Plato (427-347 B.C.) was a Greek philosopher who established the Academia, scientific training for young men for great public service. The study included mathematics, natural history, practical legislation, and dialectics. The Academia was the first university of its kind, lasting 900 years until it was closed by Justinian in 529 A.D. Aristotle, teacher of Alexander the Great, was a student of Plato. Plato taught the world that ideas or forms alone are real and permanent, while their physical manifestation are merely imperfect copies.

With his metaphysical view of the world, Plato observed and drew many conclusions concerning the type of thought necessary for mankind to progress peacefully. He realized the unification of thought and action in leadership would produce the expansion of consciousness capable of providing peaceful coexistence. In one of his writings, he described this idea in this way:

Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophers, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other one compelled to stand aside, cities will never rest from their evils.

Centuries later, a well-known and loved American described a similar view,

God grant that not only the love of liberty but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man may pervade all the nations of the earth, so that a philosopher may set foot anywhere on its surface and say 'This is my country'.

For a thinker to draw upon the creative power of Kundalini once or twice in a lifetime is commonplace. What sets the creative genius apart from the average man, is the willingness to use her again and again. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described it in this way:

The chief thing is to have a soul that loves the truth and harbors it where it finds it. And another thing: the truth requires constant repetition, because error is being preached about us all the time, and not only by isolated individuals but by the masses. In newspapers and encyclopedias, in schools and universities, everywhere error rides high and basks in the consciousness of having the majority on its side.

To be a whole, functioning Self, is to have direct experience with the truths of the universe and to know creation. Confucius said, "Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it."

To define personal truth is a forebearer and prerequisite to comprehending truth of a universal nature. Universal Truths apply to anyone, anywhere, and at any time in our universe. Acts of creation produce an awareness of the universal power of love and its transcendent quality. During his life, Confucius (551-479 B.C.) was a government official during a period of corruption, tyranny, and warfare among Chinese states. Seeking change and resolve of conflict, he proposed a code of ethics for the management of society that would unify wisdom and government. His thoughts are recorded in the Analects which remain the tenets for a school of thought known today as Confucianism.

Shortly after Confucius' time, another creative genius Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.) was born in India. Unlike Confucius, Gautama's experiences led him to renounce his physical birthright and pursue a spiritual calling. A prince at birth, it was prophesied Gautama would become a great ruler or great teacher. At 29, he saw an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering religious mendicant. The first three revealed to him the suffering in the world, and the tranquility of the fourth suggested his destiny. Gautama is quoted as having said, "Though one should in battle conquer a thousand men a thousand times, he who conquers himself has the more glorious victory."

His growing recognition of man's need to achieve a state of desirelessness led to the renunciation of his heritage and pursuit of the enlightenment resulting from Self mastery. The expanded consciousness he attained is attested by the title he bore, Buddha.

Although renunciation of physical pleasure, position, and possession is not a prerequisite for the use of Kundalini, consciousness must be altered to include what is unseen by the physical eye thus developing the perception of Self to include the parts of Self beyond physical existence. Socrates (469-399 B.C.) was the Athenian son of a sculptor and stonecutter. What we know of him is because of the writings of his student Plato. In Apology, Plato records this insight from Socrates,

I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but first to chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue does not come from money but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private.

Socrates' instruction was to use the physical existence for permanent learning which would transcend the physical lifetime becoming a part of the soul.

When the Kundalini is awakened in man, the recognition of the transitory nature of the physical produces the realization of a greater purpose for existence. Guided by the divine voice of his daemon, Socrates saw his mission as a search for knowledge which would lead to virtuous living. Pronounced wisest of all men by the Delphic Oracle, Socrates held that his wisdom came from his recognition of his own ignorance while others claiming wisdom were unaware of their ignorance. From this he developed a method of teaching knowledge by seeking it at the same time.

Many creative geniuses have sought to use their creativity to advance the learning of Self while passing on their conclusions to others in either formal or informal instruction. By teaching others, ideas are expanded, conclusions are quickened, and developments are accelerated, while the truth of the knowledge is made a part of the soul.

As this awareness is achieved, the words of a famous Russian author, Fyodor Dostoevsky, ring true, "Perhaps the only goal on earth toward which mankind is striving lies in the process of attaining - in other words, in life itself - and not in the thing to be attained."

Through his experiences, Dostoevsky realized the Universal Truth of man's destiny as a creator. It does not seem to matter when someone exists, or where on earth they are born, or the conditions of their birth. No physical situations are a limit to the innate Spirit of man to progress and evolve. When a developed soul enters a lifetime with purpose and cooperation exists in the consciousness of the physical person as he moves through his lifetime, the potential for genius exists. As demonstrated in the thoughts and deeds of those noted here, any one of us has the potential for the creativity that produces the enlightenment they embody.

As Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885), the author of Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables said, "Nothing else in the world...is so powerful as an idea whose time has come."

The great thinkers quoted here stand with many others who have advanced humanity with their vision of what can be. By creating their thoughts with the highest ideal and purpose, they transformed greed into ambition and the entire world has benefited from their drive to excel and make a better world. Their lives are testimonies of creativity directed toward physical accomplishment. Their thoughts confirm the use of creativity in non-physical endeavors. Transcending physical structures and boundaries, the thinking worthy of a creative genius shines through the words of these men attesting to the birth of Spiritual enlightenment characteristic of the use of Kundalini. They serve as examples to be emulated. Their thoughts ignite an inner urge toward creative genius in anyone willing to open his mind. The Truths they discovered, shared, and endeavored to live stimulate the deepest and highest thoughts we can perceive.

For those who have awakened to man's challenge to mature as a creator, Kundalini beckons. It is time for man to rise from a sleeping consciousness of the common, the norm, the habitual. More and more, people are restless, attempting to stir from lifetimes of Self repression and deceit. People are ready to open their eyes to the wonders of Self mastery and enlightenment. "Nothing else in the world...is so powerful as an idea whose time has come." The time to embrace the idea of Kundalini rising has indeed arrived for us all.


© 1992-2006, Dr. Barbara Condron

From school teachers to construction workers to business owners, those attending Spiritual Focus Sessions at the College of Metaphysics experience a depth of Spirit and communion possible when intuitive insight is the focus. Upcoming opportunities include: Genius Code, August 11-12 and Dharma: Your Soul's Purpose, September 8-10.

For more information visit www.som.org, contact the School of Metaphysics World Headquarters at 417-345-8411, or email som@som.org.

Dr. Barbara Condron wrote Kundalini Rising: Mastering Creative Energies over a decade ago. Since then she has continued to develop her comprehension and experience with Kundalini, forging Taraka Yoga, a modern application for the ancient sciences of the seven paths of yoga. She mentors the annual "Kundalini Rising" Spiritual Focus Weekend in May at the College of Metaphysics in Missouri. The revelations and experiences she teaches are becoming the material for a second book and are the basis for the "Powers of Ten", a one-day seminar she is presenting at universities throughout the United States.

Through her association with the School of Metaphysics, Barbara has taught thousands of people how to use more of their potential. Her latest book is Master Living: 10 Essential Life Skills for Health, Prosperity, Success & Peace of Mind which reflects people's experiences with the School's curriculum. When not traveling, she lives on the campus of the College of Metaphysics with her husband Daniel, son Hezekiah (now 11), and Llasa Apso pup, Sam. Contact the School of Metaphysics at som@som.org or write SOM World Headquarters, Windyville, MO 65783.