tator uses air with exceptional efficiency and is seldom breath- less unless exercising heavily.
3. The saliva is sweet to the taste like honey, thus the refer- ence to nectar of the gods across cultures, and it flows freely result- ing in better digestion and disease control. This is a result of the energizing of the brain stem and pituitary.
4. The heart rate is quite slow and the body temperature remains below normal. Gopi Krishna's heart rate remained high as a stress reaction; he was scared and with good reason. Blood pres- sure may be lower depending on personal habits.
5. The musculature is soft and very supple, more like an athletic girl than a man, which is probably a by-product of the rejuvena- tion of the endocrine system and accounts for the association with androgyny. This is what Okinawan practitioners of karate refer to when they describe the body of a master as "steel wrapped in cotton." The bones appear harder and whiter under X-ray. The mental linking of intention with action backed by the endocrine system often results in what is perceived by the more hesitant as superhuman strength and speed.
6. Close association with one of these complete human beings will kick your body's electrical system into overdrive. Their very presence raises most peoples' excitement levels, so they're fun to party with. You feel strange when they're around until you get used to them, unless they've learned to hide their wa (harmo- nious spirit), as taught in some Japanese martial arts associated with the gathering of intelligence. Often this feeling of higher energy results in sexual arousal and can be mildly embarrassing if your teacher is of the same gender and not inclined or vice versa. (Higher energy is also sexual energy.) My son informs me that just being in the same house with me kicks in his adrenals. You eas- ily feel people with chi, and people without active chi are very difficult to sense by comparison. Feelings may also be exchanged, which may be perceived as radical mood shifts when you enter into the survivor's range. The kundalini survivor learns to stay in neutral so as not to wreak havoc on his or her friends. The power of this energy does not seem to fade but continually increases
Chi Kung and Kundalini: The Real Secret of The Masters
with use. The more I do, the stronger I get, the better I feel. This
also seems true of every practitioner of chi kung that I know. This higher energy accelerates healing of self and others. Cuts and scratches heal in days. Most diseases that are not virus-linked no longer affect one, and flu symptoms, are minimized.
7. Body movement is very controlled, as the integration of mind, body and spirit results in an ability to move with great speed out of complete stillness. There is no thinking involved, just action in response to action. This is not a result of program- ming but is creative response. To the observer it is very fluid and graceful, not robotic or mechanical. The whole body is involved, not just an arm or a leg. It is hard to describe, but once seen is never forgotten. A policeman I train with occasionally described me as going from completely relaxed, to completely on, to com- pletely relaxed in the same second, which he felt was very "spooky." Personally, I find uptight, perfectionist, hard-bodied people much more spooky.
8. There is surprising strength regardless of size, which usually takes a while to master. One has a tendency to break things until one learns to lighten up. I went through a period of breaking keys off in locks, ripped the handle off a car door one icy morning, and sent many of my students screaming to the floor until I learned to slow down and back off. Some of the ninjas I play with call me Dr. Death. Even affectionate squeezes and hugs are not appreciated, and love-making can be filled with minor perils if the object of your affection does not share your rare affliction or athleticism. One of my shodan, Bret Talbot, ran up a consider- able lab bill in broken beakers while working on chemistry projects. He claims he was only holding them gently in his hands when they imploded. He still thinks he is gentle when he is dangerous as a bear. You have to be careful with this strange strength. The feel- ing is invincibility, but the reality still won't stop bullets.
9. The tatsujin or complete human being is calm and balanced under most conditions. Physical balance is one-pointed in that the center flows to the grounded point. The center is mobile, which makes for a strange three-dimensionality of movement,
PATH NOTES OF AN AMERICAN NINJA MASTER
something like a dancer or gymnast but not as athletic or aes- thetic in appearance. Folk as opposed to ballet. A master boxer can fight balanced on one leg. Shiva stands one-footed on the dwarf of ignorance. To be completely honest you may want to observe apes and monkeys and then draw your own conclusions in terms of natural body movement. All the masters and myself included move like monkeys, which can be very amusing. The study of yoga provides a graceful, uplifting balance. Androgyny can also be seen as balanced.
10. There is a tenth characteristic that is seen more in the reli- gious than the martial practitioner. Georg Feurstein alludes to it in his book Holy Madness, which is an excellent exposition of Crazy Wisdom that shares some of the same characteristics of divine madness exhibited by Zen-oriented martial practitioners. The char- acteristic of knowing from many subtle inputs does have the effect of distancing one from what is observed. The religious practi- tioner has to deal with converts who see transformation as a men- tal process instantaneously accomplished. They know better but are trapped by socially learned expectations. It is difficult to contin- ually forgive and suffer fools. Losing one's objectivity, however, usually creates even greater difficulties. Karma.
The above are the primary physical symptoms of the complete and safe transforming by the kundalini, which is greatly aided by the safer technology of chi kung. This is actually a biological process available to anyone who meditates and masters the tech- niques for moving sexual energy through the microcosmic orbits. Knowing the technology of awakening the inner self removes most of the physiological dangers. A guru or Oshihan should man- ifest all these characteristics both mental and physical, as they are the same for both sexes and a result of connecting the merid- ians and rejuvenating the endocrine system.
When I took Suzanne Carlson, my first female shodan in twen-
ty years of teaching, through the kundalini in London, the only after-effect was permanently dilated eyes, which is not exactly a dis- advantage when you're an actress. She ran bliss for a couple of hours and reported "seeing" with the third eye a scorpion, then a
Chi Kung and Kundalini: The Real Secret of The Masters
fox's skull, and then a smile or half moon tilted to the side as is usually shown on the forehead of Diana the huntress or the god- dess Athena or Egypt's Nepthys. One should not expect ovarian energy to have exactly the same symbolism for the brain as tes- ticular. Her father asked her if she were on drugs when he saw her eyes a couple of days later. She went through a brief period of feeling very superior as her psychic abilities manifested, and like Gurdjieff noticed practically everyone she knew seemed half asleep or were simply rats in a maze having no control over their lives or desires. She went through a brief period of testing her fearlessness by trying out dangerous practices. Then like most of us who have done this, she reacquired humility and got on with cre- ating her life and career.
We followed Mantak Chia's instructions concerning not allow- ing hot energy to enter the skull until the way is prepared includ- ing the practice of keeping the tongue up. The female experience is similar to the male's but with the usual differences rooted in our biological nature. Some of the ancient Taoists wrote that women were incapable of chi generation. The Roman Catholic Church forbids the ordination of priestesses. A fox skull has the same outline as the two ovaries and vessels leading to the uterus and vagina, as does the arc of the browed moon or the raised tail of the scorpion-all symbolic of bringing female sexual energy to the forehead up the spine. Suzanne is the only woman I've been privileged to observe go through the kundalini. We were able to discuss what was happening when she came down, and it was great fun. We had to run out to the West End and buy a copy of Cooper's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols to keep abreast.
Kammy, a female friend of Mike Cornelius reported a blind- ingly bright yellow banana shape appearing as her solar plexus opened. She is running very hot energy now when she used to run cold. I know two other young women who developed all the energy characteristics of the lesser kan and li but have not had the experience of ovary-to-brain connection via the spinal column. Blake Poindexter has specialized in training women. We are both
PATH NOTES OF AN AMERICAN NINJA MASTER
of the opinion that women are easier to teach and develop more power than men. It is probably the reason some of the ancients for- bade the teaching of women. It's terribly embarrassing to be thrown about physically and mentally by a woman, even when you love her. It's easier to maintain a master/slave relationship. Very few of the ancients seemed to follow the example of the Yel- low Emperor, who kept and learned from his female companions. The martial artist who becomes involved in physical transfor- mation that results in transpersonal growth tends not to lose his or her sense of humor. We also realize that once the typical seek- er sees our path, they look for something less risky. We know that most not only won't but can't get IT. We tend to let our stu- dent/victim/client/friends struggle through the belt system at their own speed or drive them away if they can't develop higher expectations. It is a tragedy from my viewpoint that our institu- tions burdened with the role of leading us to enlightenment are failing us due to fear and ignorance. It is sad indeed when martial artists can demonstrate greater effect than ministers and priests. Study on this.