The Stages of Alchemical Yoga

1. Purification: Igniting the Sacred Fire

“Fire is the most perfect and unadulterated reflection, in Heaven as on earth, of the One Flame. It is life and death, the origin and the end of every material thing. It is divine Substance.”
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

More than any other influence, the human ego reduces and restricts the divine flow of Life-Force energy in the physical body. When the Life-Force is suppressed by the ego this repression will manifest as selfishness, greed, attachments to one’s environment and property, dishonesty, fear, unbalanced relationships, vengeance, violence in behavior or thought, toxic living, poor nutrition, ill health, and many other harmful conditions. Immersion in the ego creates the perception that one is separate from others and from nature, and is reliant solely upon one’s personal will and ambition for survival.

Fear, doubt, insecurity, and distrust are the predominant experiences when one’s identity rests with the ego. In this state it is difficult to believe in any power greater than the isolated self, and one’s energy will be primarily directed toward mastering materiality through identifying oneself as the body, making money, and accumulating possessions. In this limited awareness, there can be no experience of the divine spirit.

The first stage in Alchemical Yoga focuses on the transcendence of the ego and the destruction of attachments to the material world. This stage is called Purification. Purification denotes self-sacrifice and renunciation of the attachments and attractions of the ego. Self renunciation can be experienced through service to others, or by patiently enduring difficulties and challenges in one’s life as has been demonstrated by the lives of many saints. However, purification can be taken on more directly and accelerated by the deliberate surrender of the ego via the spiritual disciplines of Alchemical Yoga that ignite the sacred fire of the Life-Force.

As the Fire-within burns brighter, greater introspection and self-awareness can occur. The Fire of Purification is awakened by practices that stimulate the metabolism and increase aerobic activity within the body. Purification practices burn off environmental and dietary toxins, bringing cleansing and healing into the physical body. As the body clears, one’s dependence on the ego can be seen more clearly, and ultimately transferred to the higher Self. As physical and material attachments begin to release, awareness of the divine spirit increases. Separation and self-investment are replaced by experiences of oneness with others and nature.

The stage of Purification focuses on the energies found in the Root Chakra at the base of the spine, which is called the Saturn center in Alchemical Yoga. The Saturn center is associated to the earth, and it holds the keys to freeing oneself from many physical, mental, and emotional limitations. This center relates to security, trust, and survival. When it is dormant and closed, the individual’s identity is entrenched in the physical body and ego. As it becomes active and open, one’s identity begins to expand beyond the limits of physicality and the material world.

In Alchemical Yoga, the color associated with the Saturn center is deep red. The metal lead is also assigned to this chakra. Lead is a thick metal that blocks out radiation. While this can be protective in terms of man-made radiation, the lead referred to in alchemy often serves as an obstacle, blocking the radiance of the spirit from fully entering the body, and keeping the Life-Force energy inactive. In Alchemical Yoga, lead also represents the heavy dense toxins held within the body that are derived from toxic food, air, and water, and from stress, fear, and insecurities.

The Saturn center may also contain energetic traces of past traumas, which remain deeply imbedded and hidden beneath the barricade of lead. Purification allows these emotional memories to be subtly and easily released. The lead within this center is softened and melted by the fiery practices of Purification, increasing the spiritual light and bringing healing into every level of one’s being. Ultimately the liquefied lead, which represents the liberated Life-Force energy, is raised to the Heart Chakra, and transmuted into the golden radiance of compassion and love.

Through Purification the Life-Force energy is awakened and activated. The Life-Force is the sacred fire, and as it rises through the body it burns up everything in its path, destroying all that is not divine. The disciplines of Purification in Alchemical Yoga include:

 

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2. Disintegration: Surrendering Lower Consciousness

The adult mind has typically been conditioned to override emotional expressions, and to restrict the powerful impulses of passion and emotion into limited expression via instinctive sexual desires. Natural creative powers are stifled by over-focusing on intellectual knowledge and mental concepts. This type of restrictive mental conditioning results in conditions such as fear of intimacy and pleasure, dullness in sensual experiences (sight, sounds, smells, tastes, touching), an inability to relax, the repression of feelings, and resistance to change.

Many people are also overtly sexual, yet unable to fully surrender and experience the spirituality of deep intimate union with one’s beloved. In Alchemical Yoga, sex is of the mind, union is beyond the mind. Immersed in the limiting awareness of intellectual concepts and cherished beliefs, one’s identity rests completely with the mental nature, preventing one from experiencing the divine reality that exists beyond the mind.

The second stage of Alchemical Yoga is the surrender of the lower consciousness, breaking down the artificial constructs of the intellect by total immersion in the non-rational depths of the unconscious mind. This stage is called Disintegration, which is involves a process that dissolves the mind, and allows one to let go of the need to control.

Disintegration opens the flood gates of passion, and releases suppressed Life-Force energy from the waters of the unconscious mind. Disintegration brings a flow of intense bliss into the body, and enables one to break free from mental conditioning, rationalizations, and cherished beliefs. Disintegration continues the activation and ascent of the fiery Life-Force, opening subtle channels in the body to heal and recharge the cells. Sexual energy is transmuted into harmonious loving communion with the divine spirit, and creative expressions are liberated and empowered.

Disintegration works with the energies of the Sacral Chakra located between the naval and the genitals. In Alchemical Yoga this chakra is known as the Mars center, and it holds the secret of transmuting personal sexual impulses into powerful divine energies. The Mars center relates to emotions, sensuality, pleasure, and ecstasy. When it is closed and inactive, the identity rests with the mind and one manifests resistance, insensitivity, and mental control. When it becomes activated and open, the mind surrenders, and one begins to live and move within the powerful unpredictable flow of divine essence.

The color associated to the Mars center is orange, and its metal is iron. Iron is a strong metal, indicating both the strength of intellectual conditioning, and the potency of the Life-Force energy within the Mars center. In Alchemical Yoga, iron represents the mental nature imprisoning the vital energies of life. The mind is blown away through Disintegration, freeing the cascading Life-Force energy, and awakening one into the higher consciousness, wisdom, and bliss of Spirit. The disciplines of Disintegration in Alchemical Yoga include:

 

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3. Disengagement: Releasing Limitations and Attachments

As one shifts from identification with the ego, body, and mind, and rediscovers the divine essence within, one becomes empowered into his/her inherent spiritual authority. As the divine light increases within the being and illuminates the shadows of the past, it also brings greater awareness into one’s long-term conditioned responses that are based upon expressions of the lesser will. Such responses may highlight imbalances in personal power that manifest as stubborn willfulness, and/or an automatic submission to the will of others. Issues of dependency versus independence are also highlighted.

Asserting one’s true will is often viewed as a threat to others, and can activate fears of abandonment and rejection. When the will is constricted or unbalanced it results in expressions of emotional, physical, and mental limitations, attachments to others, weakness of will, outbursts of anger, a need to control others, over-ambition, depression, and dependency. In this condition, one’s identity depends upon one’s relationships with others, familiar environments, and externally directed work, family, and life roles.

The third stage of Alchemical Yoga is Disengagement, and it is through this process that hidden conditioning and emotional attachments are identified and released. Disengagement directs the fire of the Life-Force into the shadows of the unconscious, bringing into focus conditioned limitations and distortions of the will that were ingrained by one’s parents, church, school, and other social and cultural systems. Disengagement helps one to let go of self-imposed restrictions upon one’s true nature, and strengthens and aligns the will, activating one’s own spiritual authority and empowering independence and detached compassion. Disengagement practices focus on the breath within the body to fan the flames of the Life-Force, and bring forth vital energy from the Spirit and the Soul, and on ritual practices that bring the descent of the higher self into the physical form. The result is a rebirth of the body, emotions, mind, and will.

Disengagement works within the Solar Plexus Chakra, which is also referred to as the naval center. In Alchemical Yoga this chakra is known as the Jupiter center and it relates to personal power, will, ambition, and the metabolism of the body. Conditioned limitations, disempowerment, obesity, and attachments to others are predominant when the Jupiter center is dormant or unbalanced. When it is activated and fully opened, this center expands the consciousness into the realm of divine reason through the empowered and purified will.

The Jupiter center is associated to the metal Tin, and its color is yellow. Tin is a soft metal, indicating the impressionable nature of the personal will in childhood. Over time and through conditioning, the will either remains flexible or becomes rigid depending upon one’s responses to outer authority. Through the disciplines of Disengagement, the Life-Force energy is increased and intensified, incinerating limitations and attachments, and birthing the fully empowered spiritual will into physical form. The disciplines of Disengagement in Alchemical Yoga include:

 

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4. Communion: Empowerment of the Soul

Personal love is a partial expression of spiritual universal love, and is the first experience humans have of this powerful force that drives creation. Love motivates, animates, and permeates all aspects of life. Yet, most people only give and receive love from those in their immediate circle of family and friends. Many people also carry inner wounds resulting from a lack of love, which in turn restricts their own ability to love. Signs that the force of love is suppressed or unbalanced include attachment to ego, fears of rejection and losing control, selfishness, shallow breathing, heart problems, powerlessness, unhealthy relationships, and limited recognition of spiritual energies.

In such a state of awareness, it is difficult to fully trust and let go in intimate relationships. It may be nearly impossible to imagine the endless, limitless love of the Creator. Love may be experienced as conditional, and dependent upon one’s compliance with or dependency upon another. Without sufficient love one has no real feeling of being connected to life, and no sense of the sacred. Yet even when one’s capacity for love is so reduced, there lingers deep within the hope, dream, desire, and memory of unconditional compassionate love.

Expanded expressions of love and complete healing from the loss of love only come about through greater contact with one’s own soul. The fourth stage of Alchemical Yoga is Communion, the act of consciously opening the body, emotions, and mind to receive the energy, wisdom, and love of the soul. In this process one attains an experience of transcendental love that creates a profound spiritual connection, and restores harmony, unity, and faith. As the energetic force of the soul becomes fully fused with the lower being, love is felt and expressed as freely with strangers as it is with one’s family and friends. As the awakening and elevation of the Life Force continues, one experiences a deep inner union with the soul, which activates the higher mental body and expands one’s capacity for and expressions of unconditional love.

Communion is a holistic event, illuminating the mind, emotions, and body with the loving light of spirit. In communion the Life Force is experienced within the heart center, and is transmuted from sexual energy and ambition into divine love and bliss. Communion fills one’s entire being with tremendous clarity and purity. The world and its passing events are viewed with greater detachment, concepts of time and space are altered, and stress is released as one realizes there is less need to act or react in the emotional dramas of life. The body is freed from the limitations of three-dimensional awareness, and becomes a true temple of the soul. One has the experience of being completely recreated from above as the soul establishes peace, serenity, compassion, and acceptance on every level. A tangible feeling of sacredness sets in, bringing one closer to the divine Creator, and increasing one’s awareness of the spiritual nature of all life.

Communion works within the heart chakra, known as the Sun center in Alchemy. This center is associated to love, harmony, unity, and the breath as the medium of the soul. The soul’s energy is referred as pneuma in Greek, which also means breath. Consequently, the Sun center also relates to the element of air. When this center is restricted or unbalanced, the breath is shallow, reflecting the body’s natural response to fear, anxiety, and distrust. When the Sun center opens, the celestial light of the soul floods into one’s being, conveying the divine love and compassion that have the power to transform one from a limited human into a divine being.

In Alchemical Yoga the color referred to the Sun center is green and its metal is gold. Gold implies the radiation of the sun, and is also one of the royal colors. The soul is the King or Queen who is meant to rule over the personality in its journey on earth. When communion is completed, the soul is seated upon the throne of the heart, and harmony and order are brought into the kingdom of life. What was really meant when it was said that the alchemists turned lead into gold is that they raised the Life Force energy from the Saturn center (lead) up to the Sun center (gold).

Communion is an all-encompassing experience in which one’s identity significantly shifts from the ego to the soul. This transference marks the beginning of a new course in life as the soul sets its sights on the further spiritual attainment of fusion with the divine Self, the spiritual essence beyond all form, which marks the completion of the Great Work of Alchemy. As the soul becomes empowered into its physical form, spiritual abilities awaken. Intuition is increased, telepathic abilities are activated, and outer events become synchronized with one’s inner knowing. Love and peace radiate into the aura, dispersing divine vibrations and blessings upon all who cross one’s path. The disciplines of Communion in Alchemical Yoga include:

 

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5. Regeneration: Birth of the Higher Genius

Living from the heart in communion with the soul is an important first step toward a fully divine existence. In order to continue one’s spiritual advancement, the endless compassionate love of the soul must be merged with divine willpower. This alchemical fusion of love and will brings forth sacred powers and abilities that mark the establishment of true spiritual authority within the physical form. In Kabbalah this conjunction of love and will is referred to as balancing mercy with justice, a work that involves reconciling the potencies of the Spheres of Chesed (Mercy) and Geburah (Severity) on the Tree of Life.

Obstacles and resistances at this stage in the progression of Alchemical Yoga are common, and stem from personal and social conditioning and emotional attachments that restrain one from expressing spiritual truth in actions and in speech. Divine reason sees and understands all circumstances perfectly, and divine willpower takes action immediately and spontaneously in response to that understanding. Yet the lower nature may obstruct this free flow of divine energy due to a deeply ingrained fear of power. Such a fear can prevent one from completing the Great Work, causing the momentum that has been gained through Alchemical Yoga to cease.

This is a critical turning point in one’s spiritual path, and if one can work through the anxiety and face these deep fears, liberation will be within reach. The alchemical blending of love and will is the fifth stage of Alchemical Yoga, which is called Regeneration. Regeneration represents a gateway into a level of divine consciousness wherein all identification with the personality and its mundane life dies completely, and the Higher Genius is born into the physical form. The Higher Genius is the Divine Self which completes the soul, endowing it with spiritual mastery and miraculous powers. Once one has passed through the gateway of regeneration, his/her consciousness is permanently altered and there is no going back to the illusions of lesser life.

Regeneration brings spiritual nourishment from above into the body, mind, and soul. This process heals the individual in the true meaning of the word, which is “to make whole”. Through regeneration great energy descends, awakening the inner senses of hearing, sight, and touch. By the mechanism of these inner senses spiritual guidance and higher wisdom are received. Supreme reason is discerned in every circumstance, even those that were previously seen from the perspective of the personality as bad, negative, or evil. One is no longer frustrated nor engaged by the appearances of duality and separation as they are understood as no more than the illusory side-effects of manifestation. Regeneration restores one’s status as a child of the divine, allowing one to access and know all things in the past, present, and future.

Regeneration focuses on the Throat Chakra, known as the Venus center in Alchemy. This center is associated to communication, speech, creativity, sound, vibration, and truth. When this center is constricted or unbalanced, one may be unable to fully express one’s true self. Imbalances in the Venus center prevent one from speaking his/her personal truth, and typically result in mindless chatter, lack of vitality, suppression of will, and a disconnection from spiritual reality. As the Venus center opens and activates, the voice is strengthened and becomes an instrument for the expressions of the higher self, the veils between the physical and spiritual worlds are dissolved, and one’s divine powers awaken.

In Alchemical Yoga the Venus center is associated to the color blue, and its metal is copper. Copper, which is also referred to as brass in the Bible, has many spiritual meanings. Moses raised a serpent of brass on a cross which brought healing to the people. The esoteric meaning of this story is clear: when the serpent-power, the fiery Life Force energy, enters into the brass or copper center of force (the Venus center), one becomes empowered to perform miracles of healing.

The Venus center, like all of the chakras, works both independently and in partnership with its lower equivalent, the Mars center, or sacral chakra. Venus associates to the feminine force and Mars to the masculine force. The Venus center contains a magnetic power that can attract the Life Force energy upward from the Mars center, bringing the feminine and masculine potencies of the being into union. This is an experience of the sexual energies on a much higher level than that found within the lower chakras. This interior union fertilizes the seed of divine life, and ultimately brings the birth of the Higher Genius into the physical form. The power that is directed toward this accomplishment is purified desire.

Through regeneration the last obstacles to divine life are eliminated, love and will are brought together in an alchemical fusion of force, and the Higher Genius is born from the inner ecstasy of purified desire. Regeneration marks the birth of the individual into spiritual life and the commencement of divine visions, insights, and actions. The disciplines that stimulate regeneration include:

 

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6. Crystallization: Creating the Philosopher’s Stone

“Magnesium is a silvery white metal possessing a high luster. It burns brilliantly when heated emitting a brilliant white light. The light is rich in the violet and ultra-violet rays. A crystalline form has been obtained by heating it in an electric furnace.” Encyclopaedia Brittanica

Beyond the limited understandings of the lower mind lies the vast creative mind of the divine, wherein all knowledge may be attained. This knowledge is abstract and can be conceptualized as vibratory combinations of force that precede and create all form and language. As one continues the inner transmutations of Alchemical Yoga, this wisdom is perceived and experientially absorbed by the direct assimilation of these various vibrations. Along with this integration of essential wisdom comes the power to command the forces of light, which is the first form the higher vibrations of wisdom take as they descend into the planes of manifestation.

These subtle vibrations of wisdom-light are sensed and experienced directly by consciousness. Light operates at a tremendous rate of speed, the fastest proven movement within all of material existence. The key concept to grasp from the extreme velocity of light is that this vibration moves far more rapidly than anything upon the human plane, including thought. Light is a type of energy that manifests varying frequencies as it disperses across the color spectrum. These insights into the nature of light highlight its mysterious powers of healing and its occurrence in the experience of transcending time and space.

The Life Force energy, which is referred to as fire, is in fact a form of divine light. It creates heat in the physical and etheric bodies, which is why it is associated to fire. As light it is the underlying phenomenon referred to in the idea of enlightenment. As the electromagnetic currents of the Life Force ascend into the head they create a closed circuit of force within the pineal gland, which is known esoterically as the Third Eye. As the energy intensifies and heats this center, one of the most powerful acts of Alchemy becomes possible: the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone.

The pineal gland remains something of a mystery to medical science, though it is known that it produces melatonin, which is necessary for proper sleep and mood regulation. The production of melatonin is related to the circadian rhythms of darkness and light. It is also known that the pineal gland contains a gritty material, which is referred to as brain sand. Though all of the components of this sand are not known; those that have been identified include calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and magnesium phosphate. These organic minerals produce unique outcomes when they are heated, ranging from the spontaneous healing of malfunctioning cells to conversion into crystalline forms.

Crystallization is the sixth stage of Alchemical Yoga, and it is a process that both uses and creates more light energy. Only by fully stepping through the gateway of regeneration, does one become empowered to begin the work of crystallization that will create the Philosopher’s Stone. Crystallization involves intensifying and raising the Life Force energy into the brain repeatedly. This procedure is referred to in ancient alchemical texts as heating and cooling; and it is also a core method used in Chinese Alchemy to create interior light.

In Alchemical Yoga, the Philosopher’s Stone is an actual living crystal, created by the power of the divine fiery light within the human body. This stone opens one’s spiritual vision, allowing one to see the many dimensions of existence, to move between the worlds, and to command the forces of those worlds by virtue of his/her direct instantaneous absorption of transcendent vibratory wisdom. When the stone is attained, one is able to see into creation, perceiving the luminous vibration that is the true reality rather than objects, matter, and things.

Crystallization brings about a final purification of the ego and personality, removing all remaining traces of distortion from the cells and molecules of the body and mind. It requires the mind to be elevated to the highest degree, to completely rise above and leave behind all sentimentality and emotionality. One who undertakes the disciplines of crystallization incinerates tangible memories of the singular personality associated to the present life, and instills a detached intellectual attitude toward this former identity while embracing his/her unique character construction as a composite instrument for divine expression.

Crystallization takes place within the Brow Chakra, known as the Moon center in Alchemy. This center is associated to vision, light, clairvoyance, wisdom, and command. The Moon center primarily remains dormant for most people, giving only a hint of its true potentials through the inspired intellect and reasoning mind. One who awakens this center and completes the work of crystallization experiences prophecy, spiritual vision, telepathic communication on every plane, cellular wisdom, miraculous powers, and command of the forces of light.

In Alchemical Yoga the color associated to the Moon center is deep blue, and its metal is silver. Silver is a precious metal that has the ability to reflect. This hints at the ability of the Philosopher’s Stone to transmit ideas, images, and light vibration between the worlds. The traditional foods assigned to the Moon center are the psychoactive plants, indicating this center’s otherworldly perceptions and the expanded consciousness that comes about by its awakening.

Crystallization is a process of deep interior Alchemy that rouses and elevates the Life Force energy, focusing its fiery power upon the final purification of the lower self before directing it into the Moon center to create the Philosopher’s Stone. The disciplines of Alchemical Yoga that aid the process of Crystallization include:

 

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7. Illumination: Attaining the Body of Light

Everything is consciousness: this is the truth of all life. As one progresses through Alchemical Yoga, s/he experiences various levels of consciousness. Beginning with consciousness of the body and the material plane, moving through awareness of the emotions and lower mind, coming into communion with the soul, and finally stepping through the gateway to immortal life; consciousness is continuously unfolding and evolving. Beyond these experiences lies the realm of pure consciousness, that which is the source of all else.

The experience of pure consciousness transcends thought. It has been described as simply an awareness that “I Am.” It is beyond identity, duality, and things. It is emptiness saturated with joy. In this state one experiences his/her oneness with everything in and out of creation. There is no sense of even having an experience since this pure field of consciousness is all there is.

Pure consciousness is eternal and infinite. Here one enters into the essence that is beyond and within all things, yet is no-thing. The self-conscious being disappears as one is absorbed into the All. In Alchemical Yoga this experience marks the seventh and final stage known as Illumination. Illumination is a process that takes place deep within. The first perception of this stage is a strong feeling of anticipation as if one is about to step beyond all that is known.

When illumination occurs it collapses the dimensions of time and space, bringing one into an expansive awareness of eternity. When one has attained this state, s/he realizes that what was perceived to be the end of the process is actually just the beginning. Though this consciousness brings liberation from the limitations of material life, one sees the endless flow of creation in which s/he will continue to play a part. Yet this role is now approached differently, with true detachment, as one now understands him/herself to be an integral part of the field of consciousness upon which that role is played out.

As the process of illumination continues, the body becomes filled with light. The physical form transforms into a vessel of unified consciousness, and the possibility of physical immortality arises. The influx of divine light enters the body via the blood, changing its chemical composition, which in turns transforms the chemistry of the brain. Greater light within the brain spreads rapidly through the nervous system, the spiritual matrix of being. The body begins to rejuvenate as aging is stopped and sometimes reversed.

Health and well being are restored. One may no longer need to consume food, instead feeding directly upon the divine light itself. The glands of the body begin to produce ambrosia, the alchemical nectar that steadily nourishes and energizes the cells, bringing the processes of elimination to an end. At this point, one will no longer live among the masses, retiring into the solitude and serenity of nature to maintain the Body of Light.

The Body of Light allows one to bi-locate, which is to physically appear in two places simultaneously, to take the body in and out of the physical plane at will, and to keep the body in existence as long as desired. This body may also become the vehicle of ascension, permanently removing the individuality from the wheel of birth, death, and rebirth. Though one may again return to the world of form to be of service to humanity, s/he is enabled to do so as an adult by materializing via the Body of Light. Among other things, this means that one is freed from the processes of infancy and childhood and their attendant conditionings which spiritual seekers spend so much time throwing off along the path of divine evolution, and can focus instead on the ongoing expansion of the divine plan.

Illumination correlates to the Crown Chakra, known as the Mercury center in Alchemy. This center associates to higher thought, understanding, consciousness, meditation, illumination, and transcendence. The opening of this center is dual, depending both upon the elevation of individual consciousness and the descent of divine Grace. When this center is active, one experiences the cosmic unified consciousness, the eternal limitless reality, and mergence with the source of all life. From this state of awareness the body is recreated and the bio-spiritual process of illumination opens the door to immortal life.

In Alchemical Yoga, the color associated with the Mercury center is brilliant white and its metal is quicksilver. Quicksilver is liquid mercury. It represents the fluidic consciousness that coalesces into creation. Quicksilver is slippery, shiny, and reflective, which indicates that the processes of the Mercury center involve movement, activity, and the reflection of light between the planes of existence.

Illumination in Alchemical Yoga is a process that brings about the possibility of the immortal Body of Light. It is an experience of transcendent consciousness that transforms one for all eternity. Illumination awakens one into the limitless unified consciousness, opening the gates of heaven to pour forth the nectar of divine life on earth. Alchemical Yoga disciplines that support the process of illumination include:

 

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