Donna Quesada: This article—the sixth in my series on Kundalini Yoga’s 10 Bodies—focuses on the “Sixth Body of Light,” which is The Arcline.
In the ancient tradition of Kundalini Yoga, the Self is understood, not as one body, but rather, as 10 Bodies, which includes the physical body, six energetic bodies, and three mental bodies. The Arcline is one of the energetic, or pranic bodies.
Taken together, the 10 Bodies are different aspects of our consciousness, all of which work together to cultivate our mood, our state of being, the way we see the world, and as we’ll see in this article, even our serendipity.
The Arcline is the most abstruse and mysterious of the energetic bodies. Let me explain what I mean by that by way of a story…
Some 10 years ago, in the middle of what was a challenging divorce, I was on my way to teach Yoga in Los Angeles. I was cruising up one of LA’s monster freeways, called the 405. Because I was a bit displaced at the time, and had been moving a few things to another house, I had left some things in the car… On this day, a bunch of religious sculptures and deities were sitting in the back seat. From a laughing Buddha to a beautiful Hindu Krishna and others… they were all there behind me. I was sailing along just fine in the second lane, when the white van in front of me suddenly moved into the next lane, startling me into hyper attention.
I had no time to react, let alone make any kind of calculated decision when I saw what I can only describe as a huge metal bed post in the middle of the lane. I did not have time to “think fast.” I had to act without thinking at all. Somehow, in that micro-fraction of a second, my periphery registered that there was a car to my left and a car to my right. I moved to the right, just enough to miss the metal object, but not so much so as to hit the car in that lane. I wasn’t sure if there would be enough room for me. I must’ve missed the car and the bed post alike, by literally a hair, by squeezing myself into the middle of them.
I looked in the rearview mirror… the object was behind me. Talk about dodging a bullet
Have you ever known anybody who they say, must have a guardian angel? I had my palm read once by an Indian Ayurvedic healer, and he told me that he saw my guardian angel as a blue hue near my left ear. My son used to scoff at what he called “woo-woo stuff.” And that seemed a bit out there, even for me. Yet, after a few experiences like the one I just described, I began taking the business of spirit guides and guardian angels more seriously.
As a philosophy major, I had to take plenty of formal Logic as a college student, but this is the kind of stuff that defies logic… Miracles do happen, though, and we can only call it that when we have no other explanation.
According to these ancient Yogic teachings, magic and miracles reveal The Arcline at work. When our Arcline is strong, it’s like wearing an invisible coat of armor around us that protects us from danger. It also bestows upon us that subtle grace that is hard to put into words… but you recognize it when it is strong in certain people. When we are touched by grace, everything seems possible.
One of my teachers used to say that the arcline is like the core of our auric field. It’s that golden glow that surrounds enlightened beings and is often depicted as a halo, in paintings. It is also said that even when weak, everyone has an arcline that stretches around the head, from ear to ear, with women having a second arcline which extends across the chest.
All of us have the capacity to strengthen our Arcline, for increased intuitive awareness, grace and mystical protection.
The Arcline responds to devotional acts, like chanting and prayer. For this entry, I am sharing one of my own prayers, below, with music by my partner, composer Thierry Mader Schollhammer. It is from the album New Prayers To Mary. I hope you enjoy it, and may it revitalize your Arcline for blessings and grace!
Donna Quesada
Thierry Mader Schollhammer
