Thursday, June 8, 2017

Thumbs Interlaced - Angustha Mudra Variation

In this Angustha mudra meditation my thumbs are interlocked.

THOUGHTS/VISUALIZATIONS IN THE MEDITATION (I record myself meditation and speak aloud as images and thoughts come to me)
- Putting pressure on interlocked thumbs
- Mind was on the breathwork
-  Whale with a spout it is out of a comic book it is not a real whale.


- It is not in water it is more in the sky and there is smoke coming out of its blow hole.




- My mind won't quiet down.
- I see some grass moving in the wind


- I see a smoking pipe


- Rooftop in Calcutta with the guy cleaning the pictures and the smells of gasoline

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN TO ME

This whale that is in the clouds blowing smoke out of its blow hole is really interesting.  Initially,  it felt like an expansion of the crown chakra.


But with more thought and research I think it is about the 6th chakra, the nose and the breath.   According to wikipedia, "In cetology, a blowhole is the hole at the top of a Cetacean's head through which the animal breathes air. It is homologous with the nostril of other mammals. As whales reach the water surface to breathe, they will forcefully expel air through the blowhole. The exhalation is released into the comparably lower-pressure, colder atmosphere, and any water vapor condenses. This spray, known as the blow, is often visible from far away as a white splash, which can also be caused by water resting on top of the blowhole.

Air sacs just below the blowhole allow whales to produce sounds for communication and (for those species capable of it) echolocation. These air sacs are filled with air, which is then released again to produce sound in a similar fashion to releasing air from a balloon. When whales dive under water their nasal plug covers the nasal passage to the blowhole. The muscles controlling the nasal plug are relaxed during this time, but when the whale comes up for air these muscles contract and allow for the blowhole to be opened and the process of exhalation and inhalation to occur.[1]"

In the meditation I was focused on the breathing, I saw a smoking pipe, and the whale and the blow hole.  All of these things seem to connect to the breath and the nose.

WHALE SYMBOLISM
http://www.pure-spirit.com/more-animal-symbolism/509-whale-symbolism

"Whales are creatures that were honored and worshiped by some peoples, like the South American Nasca and the Native American peoples of the Pacific Coast.  Others relentlessly hunted the whales, some nearly to extinction.  Inupiaq legend from the Arctic region recounts how the Great Spirit created the most perfect animal, the bow whale.  In their culture, the whale was treated with great respect and hunters had to go through initiation rites just to be able to hunt them.  In these rites, the hunter had to touch the whale all over and assimilate its spirit, medicine, and pain.  Europeans also had great respect for whales, because they considered them to be symbols of the world, the body, and the grave.  Whales were symbolic of the ocean, a foreign environment that was vital, and what’s more, fatal to men.

Whales seen swimming are a sign of good luck for many peoples, while a beached whale meant ill tidings for the entire community, even disease, since a decaying corpse could spread sickness.

Whales are associated with compassion and solitude, and knowledge of both life and death.  They are also associated with unbridled creativity.  The exhalation through the blowhole symbolizes the freeing of one’s own creative energies.  Sound is also a creative force of life.  Whales use sonar and echo-location, linking them to the tutelage of direction and response to feedback.  Though whales are symbolic of free use of creativity, they are also teachers of how to use creative energies more conservatively."

WHAT THE SYMBOLISM MEANS TO ME
- I feel like I am finding my voice in my present solitude.  I am moving away from everyone else's teachings and expectations and piecing together who I am.


WHAT THE MUDRA IS ABOUT ACCORDING TO JOSEPH LE PAGE

CORE QUALITY
Inner Listening 

ESPECIALLY HELPFUL FOR
• Receiving inner guidance and expressing it clearly in the world.
• Releasing tension from the shoulders, throat and neck.
• Aligning the cervical spine.
• Supporting the health of the thyroid.
• Enhancing speaking and singing.

Angushtha is the "thumb," and Angushtha mudra joins the tips of the thumbs together to direct breath, awareness and energy into the uppermost parts of the chest, collarbones, throat and neck. The enhanced breathing and awareness in these areas helps release tension from the shoulders, throat and neck. As tension is released, this gesture supports correct alignment of the cervical spine, alleviating one of the possible causes of neck pain. Angushtha mudra activates the uppermost current of Udana vayu, nourishing the nervous and endocrine systems, as well as the senses. As this gesture enhances the flow of breath and energy to the neck, circulation is increased to the area of the thyroid gland, supporting balanced metabolism.

Angushtha mudra activates the space element, Akasha, whose qualities include expansion, limitlessness and an opening to the subtle energies of our being. Opening to our subtle dimension supports us in cultivating the qualities of non-attachment, spiritual purification and clear communication. As this gesture releases tension from the throat and neck, energetic blockages are released, allowing Vishuddha chakra, our center of spiritual purification, to open naturally. This opening enhances our power of inner listening, allowing us to receive the messages that guide our life journey. Angushtha mudra also supports the awakening of our inner voice,"


Although for Joseph Le Page this mudra is for the 5th Chakra for me it is more for the 6th chakra.  I did feel connected to many things this mudra is supposed to do like Inner Listening, Flow of Breath, the Space element, and opening of subtle energies.  The gasoline that the guy used to clean the pictures from the lineage feels very much like it could link to spiritual purification.  And the releasing of smoke from the whale to energetic blockages being released.

The fact that the whale is in the sky and blowing smoke not water is very much connection to the space element. Akasha is sometimes translated as sky.

"Ākāśa (आकाश, “ether”):—One of the five gross elements assigned as a zone (or sphere) to the human body (bhūtamaṇḍala), according the Yogatattva-upaniṣad. The element ether is seated between the eyebrows and the crown of the head. Ether is represented by a circle (vṛtta), a smoky or grey colour (dhūmra) and the syllable ha (ह). The deity presiding over this region is Sadāśiva."https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/ākāśa


LAST TIME I DID THIS MEDITATION BUT WITH THUMBS TOUCHING NOT INTERLACED

I saw:

They Jersey Shore

Old Italian Man who used to sit on Newport Avenue and tell me stories about the diving show

I have tears in my eyes

My grandmother's gray hair

The boardwalk 

Him in the bathroom

Stain on the sheets

Camels

Southern Tip of Africa

Tall tall sails

Long Beach-Naples Canals at Christmas

Spaghetti

Daki Miao's hair

Walking streets of Paris with Benedikt

Lying on the bed sick in Greece

So many lies

Insight LA on Sunday morning

My brother

My brother playing monopoly and throwing up the board

I can only say this time was very different much more abstract.

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