The Kundalini Guide: A Companion For the Inward Journey (Companions For the Inward Journey Book 1) Read online

  The

  Kundalini Guide

  A COMPANION FOR THE

  INWARD JOURNEY

  Volume 1: ENERGY

  By

  Bonnie L. Greenwell Ph.D.

  copyright 2014 by Bonnie Greenwell

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  PLEASE DO NOT REPRODUCE OR COPY ANY SECTION OF THIS BOOK ELECTRONICALLY OR IN PRINT WITHOUT THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR.

  She may be contacted through her websites:

  www.kundaliniguide.com or www.awakeningguide.com

  PUBLISHED BY SHANTI RIVER PRESS, ASHLAND, OR

  CONTACT: [email protected]

  COVER ART:

  TONTYN HOPMAN OF ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

  COVER DESIGN:

  DEBORAH PERDUE: www.illuminationgraphics.com

  ISBN: 978-0-9627327

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to all the people who have shared their stories of spiritual awakening with me over the past 30 years, in hopes it will support all those in the future who will enter the mystery of these experiences. It is offered with loving appreciation to my mentor and teacher, Adyashanti, who helped bring this experience to fruition in my life and in many others.

  Table of Contents

  Introduction: The Kundalini Guide

  God, Consciousness and Energy

  With Deep Appreciation

  Chapter 1: What Is Kundalini?

  The Symbolism Of Kundalini

  Kundalini As Consciousness

  Initial Awakening

  Triggers For Awakening

  The Role Of Kundalini In Mystical Experience

  Chapter 2: Phenomena In The Kundalini Process

  Seven Categories Of Phenomena

  Pranic Activity

  Other Involuntary Phenomena

  Physiological Problems

  Psychological and Emotional Problems

  Extrasensory Experiences

  Parapsychological Experiences

  Samadhi and Satori

  Why Phenomena Happens

  Gradual And Direct Paths

  Kundalini In Children

  Chapter 3: Chaos And Challenge

  When The Body Feels Threatened

  Psychological Reactions To Change

  Dark Night Of The Soul

  Chapter 4: Fear And Memory

  Falling Into The Void

  Fear Related To Memories Of Abuse

  Beyond Experiences

  Chapter 5: The Secrets Of The East

  Mystics On The Western Path

  Non-Dual Traditions

  Kundalini Science

  Chapter 6: The Grace Of Kundalini

  1. Understanding The Nature Of The Process

  A Note On Exterior Graces

  2. The Capacity For Self-Acceptance

  3. Awakening When The Body/Mind

  Are Harmonious

  Chapter 7: Supporting The Kundalini Process

  Deconstruction Of The Past

  Opening The Chakras

  General Guidelines

  The Loving Witness

  Chapter 8: Where To Stand In The Kundalini Process

  Chapter 9: Questions And Answers

  Appendix

  Introduction:

  The Kundalini Guide

  An intense energy spasm suddenly rolled up my spine and through my head. My body jerked upright as rivulets of bliss moved through my nervous system. It was like being electrified with joy. With the persistence of labor pains the energies pushed upward over and over, each roll more intense than the one before, my mind becoming progressively less focused. After a few minutes I was barely present in the room where I was sitting, listening to a college lecture on developmental psychology. I did not know it then but the direction of my life, my interests and my work was being blasted into new territory, and I would never again see the world through the same lens. Something powerful had grabbed me and turned me in a new direction.

  When the class was over I stumbled down the hall and into a small meditation room at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, where I was a graduate student. I sat on a cushion leaning against a wall and fell into a vast and open sense of spaciousness, my mind empty and quiet, my body completely lost in floating pleasure. Eventually I came back into my senses, but for weeks following I was in a state of awareness that was untouched by the normal challenges of my family, studies and work, even though they continued as usual. Walking down the street felt like floating, Waking in the morning felt like entering a new adventure. Sitting to meditate felt like falling into a world of light and bliss. At night my body would awake and shake itself, move into positions that stretched the spine, plunge my nervous system into a vibration of happiness, and occasionally produce an other-worldly dream.

  During these weeks I needed to decide on a topic for my doctoral research, and since I was aware that what happened to me was called kundalini awakening in the culture of Indian yoga, I chose this subject for my research. I talked with a few others who had experienced similar awakenings, and discovered that for some it was not a pleasant experience, but instead it was painful, disturbing and frightening. I wanted to know why. What was the difference between a positive or challenging awakening? I decided to read everything written on the subject, which in 1986 was not much, and I entered the second phase of my professional life as a psychotherapist specializing in spiritual emergence. The dissertation morphed into the book “Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process” in 1990, and led me to meet and consult with several thousand people over the next 25 years who had experienced some variation of this awakening.

  This book condenses all I have learned over these years, through the continuation and shifts of my own experience and the reports of the many people who shared their unique stories with me. It is a guide for those who will awaken through spiritual or devotional practice, near-death experience, energy or body therapies, trauma or drug use, or for reasons unknown, spontaneously. The purpose is to offer support, encouragement and understanding to those in this experience, and to help them move out of struggle and into peace, so they may enjoy the freedom of their true nature. It is dedicated with profound gratitude to everyone who ever told me his or her own story of awakening.

  God, Consciousness and Energy

  There is ample evidence that over many centuries and in many cultures methods have evolved in response to the needs of spiritual seekers who have wanted to know directly whether or not there is a God, or lacking the image or belief in "God" perhaps they asked simply, "Who or what am I, beyond this human mind and body?" Many of these practices have revealed a surprising connection between energy and consciousness, and demonstrated that the answer to our deepest questions comes from an interior experience.

  When we answer the inward call to understand the nature of our lives, and to find answers for our deepest questions, we begin a journey into the depths and the source of consciousness. We may think we are seeking a vague destination we have heard described as self-realization, or enlightenment, a state of being the mind can only attempt to imagine but never truly grasp, but in fact we are inviting a ground-level change of identity. Some people embark on pilgrimages in search of wisdom. They may be ripened by exposure to the energy fields of sacred spaces, but ultimately the Truth can only be discovered by those who are inward bound, for we hold within us the answer to our own questions.

  As with any journey we can read the maps created by others who have gone in this direction,
we can prepare ourselves to leave home, and we can make our way using any number of vehicles – meditation, silence, transmission from a teacher, energy practices, prayer, sound, breathing practices, devotion, and numerous others. In some cases, the journey is initiated through a crisis or near-death trauma, a powerful emotional event, overwhelming love or passion, and even spontaneously without any obvious cause, and a person does not remember having asked for it.

  There are stages that appear along the way of this passage into self understanding and peace, but they are not predictable or linear, for they appear with the unexpected quality of the journey taken by Alice in Wonderland, with strange events and openings happening unexpectedly, and about which we can feel puzzled, distracted, or even discouraged from continuing. This is a journey that can be ecstatic, stressful, astonishing, emotional, detached, joyful and chaotic all at once. It is never what one expects it to be, and no two people navigate it in exactly the same style. It is an adventure as variable as the lives we have lived.

  One of the radical surprises in the spiritual process is the fact that it begins to impact the energy in our bodies. We are seldom advised that participation in energy practices or meditation, or even intense devotion and prayer, subtly begins to change the energy flows and the chemistry within us. These bio-energetic changes are an essential part of the preparation for a new sense of who we are, a new kind of consciousness. We may begin meditation practice seeking inner calm and peace, but as we enter our deepest stillness we may discover an awakening of energy beyond our imagination.

  All of us have contractions and limitations in our self-expression because of energetic patterns locked into our bodies from the very beginning of life, woven through us as we were conditioned to feel and think in specific ways, to defend ourselves when we felt threatened, and to adapt and fit into our families, cultures and societies. At a deeper level the DNA likely holds familial and cultural patterning and certain other inherent tendencies. All of these experiences, as well as our capacity for sensation, intelligence, emotion and intuition, form an energy flow within us that is called the subtle body, or the energy body, in yoga science.

  Imagine this subtle body to be like an energy grid made manifest by consciousness, through which is flowing every part of you that is not physical but invisible. It is the movement through which your senses communicate with thought, your mind connects with emotion, and memory, beliefs, desires, and knowledge accumulates and directs the tendencies of your life. Without this energy flow the body is simply a lifeless shell, as is obvious whenever you see a corpse. It is clear something has left the body. What left was the subtle energy field, the life force, the consciousness that is prior to your conditioned separate self.

  There is a complex and ancient system that comes out of India, in which the entire schema of the subtle body field is described. Many people are familiar with the teachings about six or seven chakras (depending on the system), which are major energy vortexes of the subtle body, said to be junctures where physical, subtle and causal bodies intersect (the causal being an aspect of consciousness without form.) There are many other elements to this system, including thousands of nadis (lines of energy), other less known chakras, areas that are considered to be knotted, and other esoteric points. The idea is that during conception consciousness enters the egg through the sperm, sets in motion the development of the fetus, and activates the energy flow of the subtle field. When the subtle field is established the residual energy of consciousness coils at the base of the spine 3 ½ times. This holding energy is called kundalini, which is a Sanscrit word based on the term kunda, that means coiled.

  Many practices in yoga and tantra are designed specifically to calm the body, and open the nadis, and bring attention to this coiled kundalini, releasing it up through the body, amplifying the energy field, and preparing the subtle system for self-realization. Along the way, this energy will work on blockages, charge cells, increase heat and energy, and open up areas that have been contracted. This is experienced as vibration, shaking, involuntary movements, heat and cold rushes, and other interior sensations. When this happens, it is called kundalini awakening. Other eastern systems recognize this activation of energy but call it by different terms. In China it is a chi crisis or Qigong crisis when this energy awakens, and it would not necessarily be considered a spiritual event, but one that leads ultimately to harmony, strength, improved health and greater awareness. There is evidence that the activation has been encouraged for various reasons and was a valued aspect of many indigenous cultures including Native American, Hawaiian, Egyptian, Peruvian, Tibetan, and African.

  In its ordinary form, as energy flowing in the body, the terms prana (Indian), chi or Qi (Chinese) and ki (Japanese) are commonly understood in their respective traditions and are part of the ancient systems of medicine, which included methods for balancing and harmonizing it. In the West some researchers of this topic call this bio-energy, but it is little known or understood in mainstream western science and medicine, so most doctors will not be able to identify it or discuss it.

  The activation of kundalini energy has been embraced by some schools of yoga in the West, and often marketed as a way to enhance health and longevity. But its true function is to shift a person’s consciousness, to awaken his or her true nature, and it does this through a process that brings a deconstruction of the old self and collapses the familiar identifications. It may happen that health and longevity is improved but this is not a guarantee. Even people who are completely enlightened can experience physical pain and disease, and eventually pass away. Each of us will have our own unique experience with this energy, just as we do in other aspects of our lives.

  This is a journey to freedom, and along the way there can be many joys and unexpected gifts. But it is perilous for the little “me”, the personality that thinks life is about acquiring more and more for itself. This is not a reflection on the value of having a healthy personality, or a strong sense of personal direction in one’s life. These are both useful goals from a human perspective, bringing satisfaction and creating roles in our society, and they are part of the nature of human creation. But when you have plowed the ground of your human conditioning many times, and found still there is something lacking, some inherent happiness you sense is available but cannot find, then you are ready for this inward journey to freedom.

  This book is the first of two volumes reflecting the conditions you are likely to discover along the path to freedom: the pleasures, the territory, the cul-de-sacs and the potential outcome. It offers guidance accumulated through 25 years of listening to the reports of over two thousand people who have awakened kundalini. A companion volume, “The Awakening Guide”, is also available that reflects upon other aspects of spiritual awakening from a non-dual perspective. Kundalini awakening is not the whole story of spiritual awakening, but only a stage, considered a method by some systems and a by-product by others. Because it has a great impact on the lives of many spiritual seekers, the intention of this book is to provide simple clarity about what is happening, and reveal how kundalini energy can be met in a way that best supports the spiritual journey.

  Most people begin the passage to spiritual awakening because they feel driven to it. It seems that life will have no purpose or sense of completion until this is done. In addition to a sense of lack, they may be driven by their suffering, or by curiosity, or by a longing for knowledge, God or peace. It is as if some deep secret source within compels them to become seekers and then, along the way, to dissolve the one who seeks. This is an ancient passage, as old as recorded history, and as universal as any other human hunger. It is not a mainstream path, because most lives are content to live within the framework of a cultural and personal belief system, and so this journey is rarely recognized or supported by the consensus societies in which we live.

  But those who have found fulfillment in this passage have always left pointers along the way that can lead other sincere seekers into Truth. We see this in the g
reat images left in Indian caves and sculptures nearly 2000 years ago by early Buddhists, Jains and Hindus. We see it in the ancient scriptures of India, and the treasured energy practices of China. Evidence of this may also be found in traditions as diverse as Chinese Taoism, Islamic Sufi teachings, Greek and Egyptian mystery schools, the Hawaiian Huna tradition, African and South American shamanic practices, and the rituals of some Native American Indian tribes. People have long sought a personal relationship with the Absolute, however they define it, and pursued an inward turning for Self-discovery.

  In the West, many people are finding their own unique paths to awakening and wholeness. Hopefully these volumes will offer you the courage and the support you need to trust the power of the awakening process, and discover who you are. It is not such a dramatic leap, into the Now, into the Self, for it has always been here waiting for your spirit to remember and return. When kundalini awakens, the journey has become inevitable, as long as you understand the value of staying on the path.

  With Deep Appreciation

  I am indebted to many amazing people in my own spiritual and professional journey, and especially to my last teacher, Adyashanti, a man of remarkable natural wisdom and love. Many people have touched my life over the past 50 years with a spiritual teaching, a practice, or a pointer that kept me going in the right direction. These include Amelia Rathbun, a colorful and extraordinary teacher who wanted to change the world back in the 6o’s. Through an organization she founded called Creative Initiative Foundation she introduced me to true spiritual seeking, and took away any idea I had that being a woman was a limitation. I also greatly honor a friend I ran into in the market back in 1967 who said I should read a remarkable book, “Autobiography of a Yogi” , and changed my life. Thank you to Thomas Parker, my Jungian analyst, who loved Paramahansa Yogananda, introduced me to Kriya Yoga, and told me to think with my belly. With his wife Harriet, and a small group, I traveled to sacred sites in Egypt and India, where I came to realize nearly anything was possible.