I will try to reframe the question I posed a post earlier:

1. Is the emotional numbing and disruption/mental distress or disruption/dark night of the soul experienced by those with Kundalini imbalance similar to that experienced/described by Christian mystics? In what way are they similar and in what way do they differ?

2. Is there any report of similar Kundalini imbalances experienced by people in other religious traditions who lived in Ashram/monastery settings or is it confined to lay people who took up intense spiritual practices while living a normal life in the world?

As SJ has noted, there has been some depthful sharing on this thread. Thank you all for participating.

Linda, I especially enjoyed your sharing the experience of the woman who'd had the NDE. I've forwarded the account to our family members. A few years ago there was a book entitled Embraced by the Light which provided a very lucid and detailed account of a woman's NDE. If you go to my online bookstore and do a search for Near Death Experiences, you'll come across a large selection. My wife and I have read several, and found them intriguing. One thing I've often wondered, however, is what the accounts by non-Christians would be like? Would they meet Christ? Our Lady? Krishna? Buddha? How much does any residual symbolism data in the brain continue to contribute to the experience?

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SJ, thanks for sharing the quote by Fr. Thomas. I was present at that week-long gathering at Snowmass several years ago and was one of the presenters and facilitators. There were some fascinating presentations made by others who were Christian and who experienced kundalini. Some had been involved in other religions and meditative practices before coming to Christ; some came to Christ because they were led to Him through their experiences; and a few were already Christians when the process was awakened. There were representatives from a wide variety of religious backgrounds, and we spent time each day in small groups discussing experiences and developing guidelines for responses (in addition to the main presentations, that is). All in all, it was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life!

I have all the audiotapes of the presentations, but don't have the written guidelines that were to be presented to Contemplative Outreach coordinators around the country. They were very general, and similar in many ways to the ones I included in my book (and which are also published on this forum). Nothing you haven't heard before, I'm sure.

Interestingly, our groups couldn't really come up with a consensus for defining the process and accounting for it. Some wanted to use the term "Divine Energy," while others wanted a more general "Energies of Transformation." I pressed for "Kundalini Energy," even though there was great resistance because of its association with Hinduism; at that time, C.O. was still "smarting" from a very distorted series on the New Age from EWTN, and centering prayer had been blasted as a New Age practice. But I felt it important to give credit where credit was due, and the phenomenon IS best described in the Hindu literature. I also thought it would be one of those things where no matter what you called it, people who knew about such things would say "Oh, you mean Kundalini?" I'm not sure what terminology ended up being used on the guidelines, and that might be fun to know--even though I see Fr. Thomas is still having to contend with the reality of the Kundalini concept in his Q.A. sessions.

Phil

P.S. I really do hope to reply to some of the points left unanswered from earlier posts--maybe on another thread, however.

Phil had written in an earlier thread:

quote:

Back to created/uncreated energy: I suppose it might be possible to speak of created energy in the same sense that we speak of created form (creatures). Created energy could be considered the energy given a creature to help it realize the fullness of its nature. That seems to be how Arraj views kundalini in his essay: a created energy to enable the human soul to realize its fullest humanity. George Maloney once told me that's how he saw kundalini, too.

Uncreated Energy would be, as the ancients considered it, and energy that communicates the Life of the Trinity. As such, it is pure grace rather than a "natural grace" like created energy. Just as created energy is mediated/expressed by created form, Uncreated Energy is mediated/expressed by Uncreated Form, which in Christian theology is understood to be the Word, or Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus Christ, as the Word Incarnate, mediates this Spirit now through the purity of his risen human form, enabling humans to know the Uncreated Energy of God as supernatural life in the soul.

Sorry, Phil, I forgot we had chewed that cud already. I now feel like I better grasp Arraj, Aristotle and Aquinas and how they might view kundalini. This fits my consilient view It also fits what Sister taught me about being a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom truly remains within (and without)

merci,
jb

Whew! Thanks for digging that out, JB. I was sure I had written about that somewhere, but couldn't remember where. Guess I need a little more of some kind of energy in my memory banks sometimes.

re clarity in eternity

Linda, I like that concept. The Kingdom is now. Clarity is on its way, even now. Very sanjuanist metaphor, btw.

blessings,
jb

JB

Thanks, but perhaps I should have written "clarity re eternity!"

JB

Thanks for those links about Kundalini on the other thread 'Kundalini - A Consilient View', which deals with who/what can help (long) and link to Phil's book.

Phil

I did not read the book you published in 1991. Is the current online version fully modified or partially modified or an exact online version of your 1991 printed version?

Has your interpretations about Kundalini and the Christian perpective changed since you wrote that book, or is it just an elaboration of what you had already known and written about at that time?

Has your understanding of who/what can help (long)changed since 1991 or do you echo what you expressed at that time, simply referring to others who affirm your view in the meantime?

What exactly did you have in mind when you started the Kundalini discussion on your forum? Was it meant to bring people together with similar experiences to exchange ideas and give each other support based on your knowledge in 1991 or was it meant to increase your understanding as well and add to the knowledge of who/what can help (long)?

SJ wrote:

I did not read the book you published in 1991. Is the current online version fully modified or partially modified or an exact online version of your 1991 printed version?

The one I've recently published online inludes everything from the 1991 version, plus new appendices and an update about my experiences since then. You can find the book here.

Has your interpretations about Kundalini and the Christian perpective changed since you wrote that book, or is it just an elaboration of what you had already known and written about at that time?

The basic distinctions and nuances made in the book have been developed more, especially through my continuing dialogue with Jim Arraj. Several appendices in the updated book express this.

Has your understanding of who/what can help (long)changed since 1991 or do you echo what you expressed at that time, simply referring to others who affirm your view in the meantime?

The list of basic helps I recommended is the same, and is the one published on another thread in this forum. I don't really think that helping people survive/cope with the process is my strength, however. I'm more of the "whatever works" mind when it comes to this part. I would caution anyone about receiving shaktipat as a "fix," however, in that it could cause problems. Of course, in some cases, it also seems to help.

What exactly did you have in mind when you started the Kundalini discussion on your forum? Was it meant to bring people together with similar experiences to exchange ideas and give each other support based on your knowledge in 1991 or was it meant to increase your understanding as well and add to the knowledge of who/what can help (long)?

All of the above. There are a lot of web sites on kundalini, but not much out there which addresses the topic within the context of Christian spirituality. I'm happy to provide that on this web site.

Good questions! Thanks for asking.

Phil

Thanks for answering all my questions. I can get back to you with more questions only after I've read your book and gone through your discussions fully. But for now, I'd like to say that I liked your egg diagram.