Dream Dictionary Breath

Part II of III of Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad

The Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad is the eighty-sixth among the 108 Upanishads. It forms part of the Krishna Yajurveda. It deals with an exposition of Hatha and Lambika Yogas. It concludes with an account of the non-qualified Brahman. The Non-dual Brahman is the quest of all seekers.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Kundalini Yoga: Yoga-Kundalini Upanishad, Part II

Psyche (Greek) [from psycho breathe, blow; cf Greek pneuma from pneo to breathe, blow; Latin anima, spiritus all connected with breath, wind, spirit, life, soul]

Used in classic Greek as vaguely as is our word soul; but in Platonic philosophy and theosophical usage, the lower or carnally influenced aspect of the mind or soul, as contrasted with the higher or spiritually influenced aspect: kama-manas as against buddhi-manas, the latter represented by the Greek nous. From these two words are derived the adjectives psychic and noetic.

The story of Cupid and Psyche -- where Psyche represents the human soul as such, apart from special connection with buddhi or kama -- depicts the search for happiness, or the course of human love. Psyche is of mortal birth, but so beautiful that Venus herself becomes jealous and sends Cupid to inspire Psyche with love for an unworthy object. But Cupid himself becomes enamored of Psyche. The love between Cupid and Psyche cannot be realized in the atmosphere of earthly passion and delusion, and is fulfilled only when Psyche, reconciled with Venus, is taken to the Olympian heights. The emblem of Psyche was the butterfly, which in winged joy comes forth into the sunlight from its prison of caterpillar and chrysalis.

The Greek verb from which psyche is derived also means to chill, make cold; and this has an application to the psyche as the lower part of the human soul and therefore closely connected with the kama-rupa and astral light after death. Hence it is that those who dabble in necromantic experiments, or even in psychic experiences, often refer to a damp, chill, and often clammy sensation in the atmosphere when contact with these kama-rupic entities is made. This should be warning that such contact is not only highly unwholesome, but a danger signal that one is dealing with death and decay.

(See also: Psyche , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Kundalini:

In Yogic belief, a source of tremendous vital energy that may be stimulated by various practices. Kundalini, or the 'Serpent Power', is believed to provide energy for paranormal phenomena. The body's energy that is found coiled at the base of the spine; symbolized by a coiled female serpent. Kundalini yoga uses breath, sound, and meditation as its major resources - specifically, moving the breath along the spine to stimulate different energy centers.

(See also: Kundalini , Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Inspiration, Inspired (from Latin in into, upon + spiro breathe (cf afflatus from ad upon + flo breathe); adopted from Greek empneusis from en in + pneo breathe)

Generally the reception of knowledge or influence from a source superior -- or even inferior -- to the ordinary consciousness.

(See also: Inspiration, Inspired , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Spirit Cosmically, the homogeneous emanation from the universal cosmic monad; in man, the direct emanation of his spiritual monad, the immortal element in us which never was born and which retains through the mahamanvantara its own quality, essence, and characteristics. It sends its ray through the laya-centers of all the various sheaths of consciousness-substance, and is itself a ray of the all-spirit is used specifically for the union of the higher part of manas with atma-buddhi.

"The lack of any mutual agreement between writers in the use of this word has resulted in dire confusion. It is commonly made synonymous with soul; and the lexicographers countenance the usage. In Theosophical teachings the term 'Spirit' is applied solely to that which belongs directly to Universal Consciousness, and which is its homogeneous and unadulterated emanation. Thus, the higher Mind in Man or his Ego (Manas) is when linked indissolubly with Buddhi, a spirit; while the term 'Soul,' human or even animal (the lower Manas acting in animals as instinct), is applied only to Kama-Manas, and qualified as the living soul. This is nephesh, is Hebrew, the 'breath of life.' Spirit is formless and immaterial, being, when individualised, of the highest spiritual substance -- Suddasatwa [Suddha-sattva], the divine essence, of which the body of the manifesting highest Dhyanis are formed. Therefore, the Theosophists reject the appellation 'Spirits' for those phantoms which appear in the phenomenal manifestation of the Spiritualists, and call them 'shells,' and various other names. (See 'Suksham Sarira [sukshma-sarira].) Spirit, in short, is no entity in the sense of having form; for, as Buddhist philosophy has it, where there is a form, there is a cause for pain and suffering. But each individual spirit -- this individuality lasting only throughout the manvantaric life-cycle -- may be described as a centre of consciousness, a self-sentient and self-conscious centre; a state, not a conditioned individual. This is why there is such a wealth of words in Sanskrit to express the different States of Being, Beings and Entities, each appellation showing the philosophical difference, the plane to which such unit belongs, and the degree of its spirituality or materiality. Unfortunately these terms are almost untranslatable into our Western tongues" (TG 306-7).

When paired with matter, it denotes the active, positive, or energic side of dual manifestation; and saying that spirit and matter are one means they are one essentially, being different only as aspects of one fundamental unity. In many languages the same word means both spirit and breath or wind; spirit is related to air among the subtle cosmic elements (maha-tattvas or mahabhutas).

Spirit, considered as the cosmic Ens (being) or Brahman is not the cosmic primordial root, but its first manifestation, corresponding to the Greek First Logos -- either parabrahman-mulaprakriti, when applied to the galaxy; or Brahman-pradhana when applied to our solar system.

(See also: Spirit , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Asura (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root as to breathe)

A title frequently given to the hierarch or supreme spirit of our universe, as being the primal "Breather"; also a class of spiritual-intellectual beings. In Hinduism it commonly signifies elemental and evil gods or demons. "Primarily in the Rig-Veda, the 'Asuras' are shown as spiritual divine beings; their etymology is derived from asu (breath), the 'Breath of God,' and they mean the same as the Supreme Spirit or the Zoroastrian Ahura. It is later on, for purposes of theology and dogma, that they are shown issuing from Brahma's thigh, and that their name began to be derived from a privative, and sura, god (solar deities), or not-a-god, and that they became the enemies of the gods" (SD 2:59).

Further, the asuras "are the sons of the primeval Creative Breath at the beginning of every new Maha Kalpa, or Manvantara; in the same rank as the Angels who had remained 'faithful.' These were the allies of Soma (the parent of the Esoteric Wisdom) as against Brishaspati (representing ritualistic or ceremonial worship). Evidently they have been degraded in Space and Time into opposing powers or demons by the ceremonialists, on account of their rebellion against hypocrisy, sham-worship, and the dead-letter form" (SD 2:500).

Asura is employed with frequency in theosophical writings to signify the class of spiritual-intellectual beings called manasaputras, kumaras, or angishvattas. As a matter of fact, asuras, maruts, rudras, and daityas are but various ways of describing the intellectual gods or manasas, as contrasted with the as yet incompleted devas or suras.

Asura is used in the earliest Vedic literature as a title of the cosmic hierarch or supreme spirit. The Vedic Asura is nothing other than the Great Breath of archaic occult literature -- the Great Breath coming and going as manvantara and pralaya. The other Vedic gods mentioned so much more frequently in the slokas, such as Agni, Indra, and Varuna, are all subordinate hierarchically and cosmogonically to the Vedic Asura, which is really Brahman-pradhana or the Second Logos, Father-Mother; Varuna is the acme or summit of akasa-tattva; Agni is the summit or hierarch of cosmic taijasa-tattva; and Indra is often identified with Vayu as the summit of cosmic Vayu-tattva.

See also MAHASURA

(See also: Asura , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Hinduism and Jiva: The Constitution of Man - The Jiva

In Hinduism man is the microcosm who contains within himself all the constituents and manifestations of the Universal Self. It is by looking into oneself, by knowing and understanding oneself, one can experience the Truth of the Supreme Self. In the Katha Upanishad, Lord Yama declares to Nachiketa that it is through self-contemplation (adhyatma-yogadhigamena) that the wise man realizes the Primal God and leaves behind him both joy and sorrow (mortal existence).

Read more here: » Hinduism and Jiva: The Constitution of Man - The Jiva

Pranayama (Sanskrit) [from prana breath + ayama restraining, stopping]

The fourth of the eight states of yoga, consisting of various methods of regulating the breath. The three forms of pranayama are puraka (the inhaling); kumbhaka (the retaining); and rechaka (the exhaling).

Any practice of pranayama can be fraught with serious danger, not merely to physical health, but in extreme cases to mental balance or stability. Pranayama, when actually practiced according to the exoteric rules, is a very different thing from the excellent and common sense advice given by doctors to breathe deeply, and to fill the lungs with fresh air. Pranayama should never be practiced by anyone unless under the guidance of initiated teachers, and these never proclaim themselves as teachers of pranayama, for the adepts use it only in rarest cases for certain pupils who for karmic reasons can be helped in this unusual and extraordinary way.

(See also: Pranayama , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Apana (Sanskrit) (from apa away, off, down + an to blow, breathe)

Down-breath; one of the vital airs, life-currents, or pranas which vitalize, build, and sustain the human or animal body. As apa indicates, it is the prana which ejects from the system material which it no longer requires, such as wastes, etc. Opposite in function to the upward-tending breath, udana.

(See also: Apana , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

COBRA

The Hieroglyphics of Horapollo Nilous explains the metaphorical aspects of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The first entry is about serpents. It seems the Egyptians used the cobra to designate royalty because of its power over life and death. Since, when coiled, its tail disappears, it is also a fitting symbol for eternity. The Greeks called the serpent oura, or "tail", whence the "Uraeus", which is the Greek word for the cobra-shaped crown worn by kings and gods alike. To demonstrate its "eternal" aspect, the Greeks depicted the serpent devouring its own tail (Ouroboros "tail-devouring"). Oddly enough, the Greek letter rho is similar in shape to the beta, and some scholars think oura (read ouba) is taken from an old Hebrew word for sorcery ob. (See OBEAH).

This is all very instructive, to be sure, but what interests us is that the Egyptians believed that the cobra was so deadly that it didn't even have to sink its fangs into a person. It barely needed to graze him. In fact, it merely had to "breathe" on someone to inflict its venom. Now, since we already know that the "king" cobra was associated with royalty, its not surprising that the Greeks should call it, in their language, "the little king" or basilisk, bringing along with the word the Egyptian version of its natural history.

By the time we reach the Middle Ages in Europe, the basilisk (since cobras don't exist in Europe) had turned into a fabulous beast with wings and a fiery breath fatal to every living thing. A similar transformation happened to the poor white rhinoceros of Africa; in Europe the unicorn was turned into a fabulous horse with a horn. And when we learn that the most fearsome of sea serpents, the Nichus, was born of a medieval monk's mistranslation of an original misspelling of the Latin version of the "Nile" river (Nilus), an obnoxious pattern emerges: the decay of truth into superstition, simply because of linguistic ignorance.

(See also: COBRA , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

A Yoga Dictionary from Abhyasa to Yukti.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Nephesh (Hebrew) [from naphash to breathe, take breath]

Originally the vital breath; by extension of meaning, the vital principle in living bodies; hence a living being itself, based on the fact that such a being has life. Again, the appetitive or animal soul as the seat of involuntary or unconscious volitions, the lower affections, and bodily appetites. Nephesh, therefore, corresponds almost exactly with the Greek psyche and Latin anima.

In the Hebrew Qabbalah, nephesh signifies the breath of life, the vital principle in conjunction with the emotions and passions, but modern Western Qabbalists have stressed the idea of the volitional aspect of the human constitution, wrongly making nephesh equivalent to manas rather than prana in the theosophical classification of human principles. Nephesh is the prana-kamic principle.

See also NEPHESH HAYYAH

(See also: Nephesh , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

BREATHWORK

Breath is life, and many people fail to breathe correctly. There are a variety of modalities that are available, which direct these breathing techniques for physical, mental or spiritual health. For example, calm, methodical breathing is used for relaxation and forceful breathing for emotional release. Many forms of Breath Work are currently practiced include Rebirthing, Holotropic and Pranic Breathing, even different forms of yoga, such as Kriya Yoga, etc.

(See also: BREATHWORK , Alternative Health, Holistic Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Ruah (Hebrew) Also ruahh. Vital breath, wind, air, very much in the sense that the Greek pneuma means spirit, wind, air, and breath; a breath, exhalation; the rational soul or mind, possessing counsel, purpose, and will -- often confused with the vital principle placed in the breath and with the principle of life.

In connection with 'elohim, ruah denotes the rational and purposive mental quality of the gods -- the mental breath or power appearing mainly in humans, feebly in animals. It was regarded in Genesis as moving over the chaos at the creation, and operating in and through the universe, producing that which is noble and good in man and leading him to virtue. Cosmic ruah is in many respects equivalent to the Third Logos of Greek philosophy. A similar meaning implied exceptional soul powers, as in the inspired ruler and the prophet; hence the prophetic spirit -- which was often represented as passing from one person and resting in another.

In the Hebrew Qabbalah, ruah had the same general meaning, equivalent to buddhi-manas in the theosophical classification of human principles. But modern Western Qabbalists have confused ruah with the kama-rupa, or even sometimes with kama-manas, precisely as they have confused it with nephesh, the animal vitality connected with appetitive desire or kama.

(See also: Ruah , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

It is believed that the entire creation was manifested with the sound of Om, the Nada Brahman. Om is a combination of So and Ham. This sound vibrates every moment of our life till there is life in our body, till life continues to flow through the Kundalini.

When the sound travels through the various bodies it gets refined and the vibration ultimately merges in Om. It is constantly chanted within us and is thus called the highest mantra, the Mantra Maheshwara. Ham beejam, says the Guru Gita, which means the sound of Ham is the seed of the entire consciousness which pervades us.

(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Life and Death: Science of Life - Soham or Hamsa

Abel hebel (Hebrew) (from the verbal root habal to breathe, blow, be vain, transitory)

Breath, mist, vapor; by extension, emptiness, fruitlessness, vanity. The second son of Adam and Eve, a "keeper of sheep," slain by his brother Cain (Genesis 4). According to Blavatsky, Cain and Abel represent the third root-races or the "Separating Hermaphrodite," who produce the fourth root-race, Seth-Enos. Abel (Hebel) is the female counterpart of the male Cain, and Adam is the collective name for man and woman. Abel is "the first natural woman, and sheds the Virgin blood," during the separation of the sexes (SD 2:388); the " 'murdering' is blood-shedding, but not taking life" (SD 2:273n; also 2:127, 134).

Abel thus is a generalizing term for womankind and Cain for mankind, when the sexes began separating in the third root-race but were not yet completely apart, before the androgynous humans became the present humanity with distinct sexes. A similar word, hebel (the pain of childbirth), is connected by some scholars with Abel.

See also HABEL

(See also: Abel, hebel , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Pralaya (Sanskrit) [from pra away + the verbal root li to dissolve]

Dissolving away, death, dissolution, as when one pours water upon a cube of salt or sugar: the cube of salt or sugar vanishes in the water, dissolves, and changes its form. So during a pralaya, matter crumbles or vanishes away into something else which is yet in it, surrounds it, and interpenetrates it. Pralaya is often defined as the state of latency or rest between two manvantaras of great life cycles. During pralaya, everything differentiated, every unit, disappears from the phenomenal universe and is transferred into the noumenal essence which periodically throughout eternity gives birth to all the phenomena of nature. Pralaya is dissolution of the visible into the invisible, the heterogeneous into the homogeneous, relatively or absolutely -- the objective universe returns into its one primal and eternally productive Cause, to reappear at the following cosmic dawn. To our finite minds, pralaya is like a state of nonbeing -- and so it is for all existences and beings on the lower material planes.

A mahapralaya (great pralaya) is an absolute pralaya of a solar system or kosmos; a minor pralaya is a partial dissolution of some part of the solar system or cosmos, such as a planetary chain or a globe. After an absolute pralaya, when the preexisting manifested material consists of but one element, and breath "is everywhere," the creation process acts from without inwardly; but after a minor pralaya, which involves the destruction of the corporeal vehicles of things, the inner vital essences remaining untouched, the celestial bodies begin at the first flutter of manvantara their resurrection to manifested cosmic life from within outwardly.

A pralaya is not the same as an obscuration, because an obscuration means the passage of a life-wave from a globe or equivalent celestial body to a globe on another plane. During such an obscuration the globe thus abandoned by the life-wave remains in statu quo -- in a refrigerated condition, so to say -- awaiting the influx of the succeeding life-wave. In the case of obscuration the vehicle remains dormant; yet this does not signify that the body is without movement, vital or psychic, of any kind. A person, for instance, when asleep is in obscuration, and it is obvious that his physical body is still alive and active after the manner of sleeping organisms.

"It is not the physical organisms that remain in statu quo, least of all their psychical principles, during the great Cosmic or even Solar pralayas, but only their Akasic or astral 'photographs.' But during the minor pralayas, once over-taken by 'Night,' the planets remain intact, though dead, as a huge animal, caught and embedded in the polar ice, remains the same for ages" (SD 1:18n).

Theosophy divides the pralayas into several kinds: the paurusha pralaya (dissolution or death of an individual person); the atyantika pralaya (nirvana of a jivanmukta); the obscuration or individual pralaya of each globe, as a life-wave passes on to the next globe; the round-obscurations or minor pralayas of the planetary chain after each round; the bhaumika pralaya (planetary pralaya) which occurs when the seven rounds of our earth-chain are completed, also called the naimittika pralaya (dissolution during the Night of Brahma); the saurya pralaya (solar pralaya) when the whole solar system is at an end; the universal mahapralaya or Brahma pralaya, usually called the prakritika pralaya or dissolution of the cosmos at the close of an Age or Life of Brahma; and the nitya pralaya or constant, incessant evolutionary changes that take place throughout the universe and therefore affect all its parts.

"When the great period of the universal kosmic pralaya occurs, and the universe is indrawn (following the Oriental metaphor) into the bosom of Parabrahman, what then happens? The spiritual entities then enter into their paranirvana, which means exactly for them what is meant for us when we speak of the death of the human being. They are drawn by their spiritual gravitational attractions into still higher hierarchies of being, into still higher spiritual realms, therein still higher rising and growing and learning and living; while the lower elements of the kosmos, the body of the universe (even as does our physical body when the change called death comes . . .), follow their own particular gravitational attractions: the physical body to dust; the vital breath to the vital breath of the kosmos; dust to dust, breath to breath. So with the other kosmic principles, as with man's principles at his decease: the kama of our nature to the universal reservoir of the kamic organism; our manas into its dhyan-chohanic rest; our monads into their own higher life. Then when the clock of eternity points once again for the kosmos to the hour of 'coming forth into light' -- which is 'death' for the spiritual being, as death for us is life for the inner man -- when the manvantara of material life comes around again (the period of spiritual death for the kosmos is the material life of manifestation), then in the distant abysms of space and time the kosmic life-centers are aroused into activity once more . . ." (Fund 183).

(See also: Pralaya , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

 Bhastrika:

the bellows breath

(See also:  Bhastrika , Body Mind and Soul)

How to do Nose Cleansing - Neti

To clean the nose, you use a neti-pot, a small pot with a spout that fits into the nostril and seals it. You fill the pot with luke warm water and dissolve a teaspoon of ordinary salt there in.

Read more here: » Neti: How to do Nose Cleansing - Neti

Prana (Sanskrit). Life-Principle ; the breath of Life.

(See also: Prana , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

PRANA

the yogic concept of a cosmic energy or life force, similar to the Chinese idea of chi, that enters the body with the breath. Prana is thought to flow through the body, bringing health and vitality. It is considered the vital link between the spiritual self and the material self.

(See also: PRANA , Alternative Health, Healing, Body Mind and Soul)

Pranava: A title of Om. It means "Life-ness" or "Life-Giver." It is the expression or controller of prana-the life force within the individual being and the cosmos. Since prana also means breath, the Pranava means the controller of breath or the Breath Word.

(See also: Pranava , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)