In keeping with my Consilient View theme, I have taken excerpts from diverse sources and mostly from different writings of Jim Arraj, and try to set forth a dialogue which takes us through the complementary gamut from the
1) neurophysiological/reductionistic to the
2) phenomenological to the
3) philosophical/metaphysical to the
4) meta-philosophical/natural mysticism and finally to the
5) supernatural/mystical contemplation.

I haven�t authored anything here. I have merely edited several sources into a Reader�s Digest Condensed Version to better help me grapple with the issues at hand du jour. All the credit goes to the authors and any misconstructions or unfair usage are mine.

Although it is set forth in my usual pedantic and dogmatic style, it is offered in my usual mode of processing my own issues in public and seeing if it can help me and any other comers. It is not easy reading. If I understood it better, I�d draw a picture or use fewer words.

I do think that anyone, at least casually acquainted with the issues, can get the gist of what I�m suggesting:

1) Kundalini is kool.
2) It is part of our sacred human nature.
3) It�s likely tied into natural energy systems, very close to those Jung described.
4) It�s subjective bodily experiences are objectively rooted in our brains (all layers).
5) It both complements and fosters supernatural transformation and mystical contemplation in peoples of all traditions.

Heck, there you have it. I did try a non-Thallesque style and achieved some clarity and brevity. Nonetheless, the "proofs" of my "kundalini theorem" follow.

Kundalini energy has been equated with prana and chi and even the Holy Spirit, but I discussed in other threads why, for metaphysical reasons, I�d not equate it with the Holy Spirit. This is perhaps a good place in our discussion to recall that our Christian distinctions between natural and supernatural do not, by themselves, distinguish between what is evil and what is holy.

In the Catholic analogical imagination, the natural can be sacred and, of course, the supernatural can be evil. In my view, kundalini is a natural energy of the soul and is in no way evil. Still, does this position, that kundalini is �merely� natural and the Holy Spirit is, not only supernatural but, God, amount to �the erection of some kind of two-tier system of mysticism with Christians inhabiting the upper regions�? [1]

I think the transcendental/anthropological theological methods of Rahner, as articulated in the documents of Vatican II, make clear that such a two-tier system does not exist. Jim Arraj, in his thorough considerations of the philosophy of Jacques Maritain can help us flesh out exactly why this is so. [2] He sets forth Maritain�s thoughts on connaturality , examines his ideas on the supernatural unconscious from various of his works and explicates the �three contemplations� that dwell therein:
�It is in the depths of the spiritual unconscious that these three contemplations dwell, and while being distinct in nature, interpenetrate each other. It is because of this common matrix and close interrelationships that they often generate similar vocabularies and can be confused with each other. This is no more healthy than the opposite fault where, fearing confusion, we segregate each of them in different parts of the soul as if they could have nothing to do with each other. Maritain always insisted that genuine distinctions, so vital for the life of the intellect, have nothing to do with separations. [3]

What are these three contemplations and how do they relate to kundalini?

He writes: �In metaphysical contemplation , it is God as the source of existence that all things make known to us if only we can fathom their deepest ontological natures. In the mysticism of the self it is God experienced as the very No-thing-ness that we come to at the heart of everything, and in mystical contemplation it is God in his infinite being who is calling us to loving union with Him.� [4]

Metaphysical (or philosophical) contemplation is equated with Maritain�s �intuition of being�. Mysticism of the self, or meta-philosophical contemplation, is, according to Arraj:
�mystical experience by an intellectual connaturality, �a natural contemplation which by means of a supra or para-conceptual intellection attains a transcendent reality.� This is a metaphilosophical contemplation that reverses rather than continues the normal direction of philosophical contemplation by achieving its knowledge at the price of the elimination of all concepts.� [5]

He further describes this natural mysticism as �mystical in mode since it is an actual experience of God as absolute, yet [it] is metaphysical in content, for it is an experience of God as the author of existence through emptiness� and then goes on to define supernatural (or mystical) contemplation as �a mystical experience by means of affective connaturality.� He thus distinguishes between two types of mystical knowledge depending on the kind of connaturality that it involves, eidetic or affective. Arraj notes that, while both the experience of the self and the intuition of being originate in the spiritual preconscious of the soul, and while they can vitally influence each other, they unfold in distinctively different ways. [6]

How do these experiences relate to kundalini? Again, from Arraj:

What is kundalini? It is a fundamental energy of the soul that activates all the levels of the soul, from lowest to highest, fitting it for enlightenment. [7]

What is enlightenment from a Christian perspective? It is the counterpart to the intuition of being. (recall philosophical or metaphysical contemplation) [7]

Kundalini is meant to lead to enlightenment but it does so in a highly distinctive way , for it is a thorough-going activation not only of the mind but the body as well. [7]

I don�t think we can fashion a universal paradigm for exactly how the kundalini process unfolds inasmuch as transformative processes operate in very unique concrete circumstances, but I do think it is fair to suggest that certain ascetic practices, whether of the techniques of the various classical acquired contemplations/meditations of the Christian tradition or of the spiritual �technologies� of the East as integrated into a Christian spiritual path, can lead to either unnoticeable or manifest energy flows, which can be either tame or disruptive, eliciting symptoms or arousals or awakenings. More important than any accessory experiences, or epiphenomena, the more central experiences and phenomena can lead to an intuition of being, to elightenment, to a deeper natural mysticism and to supernatural life in God through mystical contemplation. Moreover, we�d hold this to be true for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Arraj quotes Maritain and Lacombe:

Maritain realized that since all people are called to grace, and therefore to supernatural contemplation, then there was no need to deny that there could exist situations in which

quote:

"a sort of composition of the upward movement of Yoga and of the disciplines of natural contemplation of the Self combined with supernatural touches and the love of charity," and that they could "come to impart to the natural mystical experience a higher value and a participation in the supernatural union of love."

Building on this thought Lacombe asks himself again whether the experience of the self can serve as a preparation for the supernatural life of contemplation. And he answers in much the same words as he did before:

quote:

"We do not see the reason why an upright soul drawn along by the dynamics of the universal vocation of humanity to a supernatural life in God, conditioned, elevated and activated by a secret grace, could not be able to live a particularly rectified discipline of yoga as a vicarious exercise of spirituality..."

[8]

So, what is the nature of this energy? And what the nature of the soul?

I think there is a large correspondence between classical Jungian descriptions of psychic energy and kundalini energy. There may be similarities between symptoms related to the �unloading of the unconscious� and kundalini manifestations. However, Arraj says it well when discussing Jungian psychic energy and subtle energies; [there are] deep analogies but not complete identity. [9]

What about more reductionistic and less phenomenological explanations? Our visitor, Kurt Keutzer says it well:

�Research on kundalini is especially spotty. There is no compelling work to show that the system represents insights into actual human anatomy. But it's important to understand that kundalini and its network of channels and cakras is simply how yogins have chosen to explain their experience and that yogins from many cultures have arrived at similar, though not identical, concepts. The true physical mechanisms underlying these experiences may be very different from those described.� And, �From a practical perspective the key thing is our subjective experience and that the roadmap of these subjective experiences has been mapped out.� [10]

I truly believe that we may one day have a reductionistic synthesis of the biological underpinnings of these energy movements, in terms of neuronal pathways and neurotransmitters and such. This webpage says it well:

�The traditional 'mind-body problem' in academic philosophy is still trying to get its head round the fact that somehow all this subjective experience is closely related to our brains. The traditional problem is couched in terms of: 'how can a particular brain-state give rise to a subjective experience which is of a totally different nature?' . This particular formulation, or words to that effect, has been dubbed the 'hard problem', in contrast to the 'easy' problems about brain function which are along the lines of 'what happens when I poke here with an electrode?'.� [11]

For centuries we have operated with phenomenological descriptions and paradigms of human behavior that have been extremely accurate, uncannily predictive, hauntingly descriptive, such as, for instance, with the enneagram(see our Shalomplace discussion here) (which, admittedly, has both premodern and modern roots, perhaps). Most everyone has claimed that there is no scientific basis for the enneagram, but I have recently corresponded (sample here) with the editor of the online journal, The Enneagram and the MBTI [12], discussing how I think that research elucidating the physiological bases of Jungian functions and introversion/extraversion , by Benziger et al [13] , actually supports enneagram directionality and MBTI preference order dynamisms based on putative neuronal pathways and brain metabolic activity associated with type-falsification (which I, myself, experienced acutely and protractedly and was maybe why I was gifted some spontaneous consolations/energy upheavals for the journey?). Fudjack had written: �It has become fashionable in Enneagram and MBTI circles to declare that no correlation exists between an individual's Enneagram type and his or her Meyers-Briggs (MBTI)� type.� [14] I think all of these phenomena (kundalini, psychic energy, unitive experiences and established/novel neuronal pathways corresponding to chakras, MBTI preference orders, enneagram directionality and other individuation/transformation dynamisms, etc) are related and will likely get explicated physiologically long before philosophically, although it is precisely work done by folks like Phil and Jim that will advance the East-West Dialogue both metaphysically and theologically.

And, what about the soul?

Whatever one�s ontology or epistemology, I commend the work of Nancey Murphy for provocative and evocative engagement. She writes, in __Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature__ by Warren S. Brown (Editor), Nancey C. Murphy (Editor), H. Newton Malony (Editor):

�In the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), we have the most systematic development of an Aristotelian alternative to the largely Platonic accounts influenced by Augustine. ... ... Thomas had an elaborate account of the hierarchically ordered faculties, or powers of the soul, which he developed by asking, first, what activities humans engage in and second, what operative powers are needed to explain such actions. He then drew conclusions about the essential nature of the soul from this list of powers. It will be worthwhile summarizing these faculties here, as they are relevant to the current topic of brain localization studies.� [15]

In summary, as I said before, I think Arraj's philosophical and theological framing of these experiences has great modeling power, the horsepower in the engine due to the metaphysical fuel provided by no less than The Angelic Doctor.

Pax tibi, namaste
jb

Note - The little footnote numbers are hyperlinks to the primary sources.

JB, this is very good work!

Thanks for taking the time to pull so many of these disparate writings together, including the references.

Your commentary is very good and I think helps those inquiring about these issues find a way to quickly assimilate a lot of good information.

Might I suggest a change in thread title, however? You're certainly not obfuscating anything! Quite the contrary.

Phil

quote:

Whatever one�s ontology or epistemology, I commend the work of Nancey Murphy for provocative and evocative engagement. She writes, in __Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature__ by Warren S. Brown (Editor), Nancey C. Murphy (Editor), H. Newton Malony (Editor):

�In the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), we have the most systematic development of an Aristotelian alternative to the largely Platonic accounts influenced by Augustine. ... ... Thomas had an elaborate account of the hierarchically ordered faculties, or powers of the soul, which he developed by asking, first, what activities humans engage in and second, what operative powers are needed to explain such actions. He then drew conclusions about the essential nature of the soul from this list of powers. It will be worthwhile summarizing these faculties here, as they are relevant to the current topic of brain localization studies.� [15]

To expand on Nancey Murphy, where she is headed with her introduction to the philosophy of the soul is to a nonreductive physicalism.

In A Physicalist Approach to the Person, Bob Russell explains:

A fifth approach to theological anthropology in light of evolution is that of �nonreductive physicalism.� It has recently been explored, along with the views of the person discussed above, in several research programs relating scientific studies in the cognitive and neurosciences, philosophical discussions of the mind/brain problem, and theological anthropology. In a 1998 anthology, Whatever Happened to the Soul? Nancey Murphy defines nonreductive physicalism as the view that �the person is a physical organism whose complex functioning, both in society and in relation to God, gives rise to �higher� human capacities such as morality and spirituality.�As she admits, physicalism must meet two objections: is it preferable theologically to dualism? how is it truly different from materialism? Much of her work, and that of her colleagues in this volume, involves responding to these issues.

I highly recommend Theology and Science: Current Issues and Future Directions to anyone who wants to consider an integral approach to metaphysical dialogue, not just toward Eastern philosophies but also, toward modern science, in general, and materialist monism, in particular, especially as articulated by atheists and nontheists whom, according to Vatican II, are also capabale of lives of grace, natural and supernatural, through implicit faith.

This brings us, full circle, back to my consideration, Everything Old Is New Again? degeneracy and regeneracy of ethics , especially leading up to my dialogues with Religious Naturalists in my July 1st post, Religious Naturalism as Enterprise � antidote for radical fundamentalism. This is why, on July 22nd I posted A Brief History of Time, setting forth the apologetic for epistemological holism as antidote for the suggested deaths of God, metaphysics and philosophy and suggested where it can be found is nothing more than that old time religion, its name derived from the Greek root kata holon, Catholicism.

This concludes my critique of the philosophy, metaphysics, science and theology of kundalini. It frames up a multidisciplinary approach to advance dialogue between East and West, and believers and nonbelievers. Few enterprises in modern time are more important. I won't give an exhaustive account of why, or even make a list of reasons, but the radical fundamentalism that led up to 9/11 would be very near the top of any list I made.

sincerely, namaste
pax tibi,
jb

HEY! This is really good stuff. I actually understood it. I don't usually come on here because I just am lost on the subject matter, but when I saw that word "Lite" I thought maybe my lil brain could comprehend a bit of it. Thank you so much, JB!

Thanks, Terri.

One thing I did not mention is that part of my purpose was to respond to the charge that anything having to do with Eastern spiritual technologies is syncretistic , that is to say that it is nothing more than an unreflective blending of the doctrines, rituals and moral teachings of other traditions with those of Catholicism or Christianity.

To be sure, this (facile syncretism and false irenicism) happens often enough and cautionary notes should be sounded. What we assimilate from the East, in our present consideration, is nothing more than borrowed technology. The reader may note, for instance, that we have gone to great length to separate our appropriation of the technolgy from any assimilation of the metaphysics in which it was situated.

I say this because there has been a real tendency to unreflectively and cursorily dismiss and to reflexively and pejoratively label the Enneagram, Creation Spirituality, Jungian psychology, Reiki, Zen, Tai Chi, Yoga, Centering Prayer based on TM or anything having to do with energy medicine or energies of transformation as New Age, as either occultic, at best, or even demonic, at worst.

This is not to deny that there exist in New Age movements some search for transcendental and transpersonal being, and for the true self, in gnostic-religious forms and pantheistic approaches (particularly in such an ecological-monistic expression that worships matter and Mother Earth and is coupled with feminism in the form of the ecofeminism). This is only to say that such critics offer a superficial and almost xenophobic critique that does not take into account the highly nuanced distinctions between pantheism and panentheism and ignores the process perspectives of Roman Catholicism as articulated by theologians like John F. Haught. See also REDISCOVERING COSMOS:Science, Religion,and the Search for Human Integrity. Our panentheism is not just intellectual but also volitional and relational, while neither gnostic nor monistic.

I highly recommend Two Cheers for Thomas Aquinas and Chapter 3 of Talking About God: Doing Theology in the Context of Modern Pluralism by David Tracy and John B. Cobb, Jr..

Other good reads, available online:

Mystery and Promise: A Theology of Revelation by John F. Haught

A Christian Natural Theology Based on the Thought of Alfred North Whitehead by John B. Cobb, Jr

The Entire Book: Talking About God: Doing Theology in the Context of Modern Pluralism by David Tracy and John B. Cobb, Jr.

Tracy writes:

quote:

If one grants, as Rahner does, that panentheism is not synonymous with pantheism and if one grants further, as I do, that Hartshorne's interpretations of Thomas on real and nominal relations are hermeneutical misinterpretations, then the context seems set for a new conversation on the central issues at stake. First, is God really affected by our actions as the Scriptures and Christian religious practice seem clearly to state? If God is, then do we not need dipolar conceptualities to express this religious insight? Second, is it any more logically coherent to speak of knowing an actual future than of a square circle? If it is not, then do we not have to develop more accurate analyses than Thomas provides for the crucial perfection-terms for God, "all-knowing" and "all-powerful"? I repeat that these questions, the first religious and the second purely logical, do not demand that the neo-Thomists abandon their own metaphysical and theological principles in order to respond to the dilemmas posed by Thomas' formulation. Yet they do demand that those principles be employed to rethink and perhaps retrieve the Thomist heritage in a manner faithful to the religious and logical issues at stake.

The Cosmic Adventure: Science, Religion and the Quest for Purpose by John F. Haught

Hymn of the Universe by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Grace in Freedom by Karl Rahner

There are 3,600 articles and chapters, entire books even, available here at Religion Online, all by noted relgious scholars.

pax tibi,
jb

I really appreciate all this work you are doing , jb. Its extremely valuable for people, like myself, with a great interest in the subject but little time and not enough brain energy to read the works you are referencing.

I have a couple of questions or rather requests.Perhaps they are a bit naive or simplistic but I make no claims to being a philosopher. What is the role of divine incarnation - God manifest in flesh - in relation to the three contemplations. Is it simply an aid to MYSTICAL CONTEMPLATION? Does it contradict or compliment the MYST. OF SELF if God is experienced therein as NO THING NESS?

Also, re. the "two-tier system" - my experience of Kundalini has been of a natural soul energy rather than a Spirit energy. Any positive transformation in me has been activated by Holy Spirit. I'm interested in the "transcendental/anthropological theological methods of Rahner" in Vat II. Could you simplify them? (Go on, tell me to read VatII for myself )

You realise that I'm trying to integrate my Kundalini into a evangelical protestant tradition(OH how I hate the word protestant.It connotes so much bigotry and hatred in my part of the world. God knows I hope to be balanced and not some radical ass wipe who condemns everyone else to Hell. Indeed I have found no one in said trad. addressing Kun from a positive or even realistic angle. Most evangelicals I have spoken to demand deliverance and other such nonsense.)

Hi Stephen,

This isn't really about Kundalini (as I'm still not 100% sure what that is..even though I've experienced some awesome supernatural events in prayer and meditation). What I wanted to comment on was this:

You realise that I'm trying to integrate my Kundalini into a evangelical protestant tradition(OH how I hate the word protestant.It connotes so much bigotry and hatred in my part of the world. God knows I hope to be balanced and not some radical ass wipe who condemns everyone else to Hell. Indeed I have found no one in said trad. addressing Kun from a positive or even realistic angle. Most evangelicals I have spoken to demand deliverance and other such nonsense.)

I hear ya on that one. It's the same reason I don't mention my interest in Christian Mysticism to my non-Catholic (I choose that word rather than Protestant ) church family. By the grace of God, I've been given wonderful Catholic friends who help me in this area and who hold nothing against me because I am non-Catholic. We ARE Brothers and Sisters in our Lord..and Hallelujah for that!

To continue our considerations of the possible neuropsychological and neurobiological bases of energy movements and upheavals, such as physio kundalini and MBTI and brain loci, etc , below are some of my favorite neuroscience links.

Neuroscience and Thomas Aquinas by Nancey Murphy

Neuroscience & the Soul

The Neurobiology of Religious Experience at Haverford College

Is the Concept of God Hard-Wired into Our Brain? Univ of Penn - press release

Neurons to Nirvana - Berkeley Medical Journal

The Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of Religious Experience - a book review

The Bliss Machine by David O'Reilly

Psychophysiological Effects of Yoga - an extensive bibliography by Yoga Research & Educ Center

Mechanisms for Psycheledic & Kundalini Experiences - by Donald DeGracia I can't vouch for this page or site like I can the others above, but I like this fellow's synthetic approach. Can anyone credential him for me?

Experiencing God: The Neurology of the Spiritual Experience - by Scott Bidstrup is a materialist's view.

What takes place neurophysiologically that could possibly link such phenomena as the physio-kundalini with unitive experiences and either/or both of those with such dynamisms as suggested by enneagrams and Jungian typologies? What takes place physiologically with spontaneous and indirect awakenings versus direct awakenings? What causes only symptoms or only arousals versus full awakenings? Stay tuned inasmuch as I will be providing answers to those questions and more, here at Shalomplace, this evening Oh, jeepers, I have a conflict (I do think there are novel neuronal pathways involved in much of this is my contribution to the list of other grand oversimplifications).

There have been some good questions framed up here in this forum in the past month or so, precisely for some of the answers that continue to elude the philosophers, scientists and theologians.

Enjoy the journey of discovery.
Pray to God.
Tie up your camel.

pax,
jb

I replied, privately, to Stephen and he is welcome to share snippets therefrom.

pax,
jb

JB

WOW! That is an impressive list of books, articles and websites you have put together on the different threads relating to Kundalini. Only someone working on a PhD on this topic could handle all that!!!

I wonder why with so many books written by big wigs - comparing and contrasting all manner of experiences in all religious traditions - what contribution non-specialists on this forum like me can possibly make, after all only you and Phil have academic qualifications in philosophy/theology and/or are involved in work related to these areas. I can understand the difficulty that Stephen was talking about, trying to understand all the theory about God as expressed by theologians of various religions and those involved in interreligious dialogue. What exactly did we need to discuss on these threads that wasn't dealt with by the big wigs in their books and discussions?

If I had acute problems to deal with, like Stephen apparently is, it wouldn't be much of a help to me, if I had to get a PhD on the topic before being able to figure out what I needed to do to get relief. So if you could narrow your reading list down to those which describes the sort of problems Stephen was talking about with guidelines about what to do for relief, then I think, it would be a great help for me too - after all the coiled serpent could rear its ugly head, unbidden, at any time in me too and I'd be better off if I was prepared to handle the emergency.

But if something happened to me before I had all the answers/solutions to potential problems, I'd be better off if I tried to describe my Kundalini symptoms in terms of what it does to me physically, emotionally and mentally. I would seek immediate symptomatic relief from the best available science today, even if a one pill remedy for Kundalini imbalance is not yet available - after all the knowledge of science comes from God alone. If religious traditions have experience with dealing with kundalini differently - if they know all about preventing extreme arousals and know all about guiding the ascent in a gentle way that the person is not thrown completely off balance, then why not trust myself to such a tradition without reserve?

If Fr. Thomas Keating is his long years as a monk, guiding people spiritually, can claim that he has not met anyone with problematic arousals as described by Phil, not even in all the Christian literature he has read, then there is much we can learn from his experience and other Christian meditation teachers who are guiding lay people along the path of Christian mysticism .

A Christian holistic healing centre based on integrative medicine and modelled along the lines of Drs. Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra will probably provide the best answer to the Kundalini impaired, to deal with the kind of problems that Stephen and others were talking about. (Ten thousand books written by theologians, philosophers and physicists may not be likely to compensate for that, although for sure they are going to add to the knowledge and insight about the spiritual problems encountered.) A specifically cut out spiritual guidance is going to be absolutely essential as lifetime maintainence therapy.

If Fr. Thomas Keating is his long years as a monk, guiding people spiritually, can claim that he has not met anyone with problematic arousals as described by Phil, not even in all the Christian literature he has read, then there is much we can learn from his experience and other Christian meditation teachers who are guiding lay people along the path of Christian mysticism .

Just for the record, folks. Fr. Thomas certainly has met lots of people with kundalini struggles, as he's sent them to me via phone, email and snail mail. His decision to host the conference on this topic at Snowmass stemmed from the number of people reporting problems at Center Prayer intensive retreats. I think they've solved some of that by building in more movement meditation (tai chi), but it still shows up.

Just a little fyi fwiw.

Phil

Thanks for that clarifying bit of information. My mistaken assumption came from his statement made on 7 Aug. Well, if he has referred his 'cases' to you, then of course you should know better.

Doesn't that information make the problem all the more complicated and urgently in need of solution?

J.B.

I took a look at Scott Bidstrup's website, one of many you shared. What caught my attention was his being listed as a reductionist, so I was curious . . .

And sure enough, like the many books out in print these days ratifying the neural-reductionist view of mind-body interactions, his summary of things was familiar, but still interesting.

Bidsrup mentions a new experiment using strong magnetic forces to activate temporal lobe regions which in turn appear to give rise to experiences of the Divine for many people. Besides the business of subtle body mechanics which are unaddressed here, there is another huge piece of science typically neglected, especially by the more critically-acclaimed science writers recently taking up these topics.

The neglect has almost become a story itself. Of course, I respect your open approach to all that presents itself out there for us to consider, but I thought I'd mention this as part of the conversation, seeing how its voice gets so quickly muted in other places besides here at Shalom. What I'm referring to is the growing body of data supporting the parapsychological explanation for mind/brain/body interactions.

J.B., I know your familiar with all of this, but it might be an interesting vein to add as you develop your spiritual anthropology. I'd like to here your opinion on its relevance, especially since many people without a reported struggle with kundalini would likely be interacting with each other over distances in meaningful ways without knowing it, even without an active prayer life.

I couldn't make the email trip with Scott Bidstrup, so I'll pass on my references here:

Stephen Schwartz' website discussing distant mind interactions. I believe he's at the University of Arizona.

Marilyn Schlitz, Director of Noetic Sciences Institute. She has done some work with William Braud, who may be the most experienced researcher testing nonlocal mind interactions in remote starring experiments.

Jessica Utts, professor of math/statistics, University of California at Davis. She is responsible for some of the meta-analyses of parapsycholocial research showing its validity/reliability.

Dean Radin's book: "The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena" Radin was booted from UNLV for apparently unclear reasons and I believe is now doing work at the Noetic Sciences Institute.

Once one trims the fat off this research, such as is done in meta-analyses, once still gets high degrees of validity and reliability, which may be why mainstream reductionistic undertakings shy away from including this in their conversations. The only thing I've seen change is that their dismissals are done much more quietly than before. Their silence makes sense, as including remote starring experiments as a control for mind-brain interactions like the one utilizing magnetic stimulation could turn the goose on its head for good i.e., once you enter a piece that proves its merit in your experiment, you can't easily avoid/exclude it in the future without an explanation. What mainstream science would be left with is not simply another piece to account for, but an entirely new paradigm to consider, something so far out of its previous set of presuppositions that the definition of physiology itself would be up for grabs. Such a turn of events could not only change the way science is done, but begin changing the way the public views it and how it gets its funding.

So if you could narrow your reading list down to those which describes the sort of problems Stephen was talking about with guidelines about what to do for relief, then I think, it would be a great help for me too - after all the coiled serpent could rear its ugly head, unbidden, at any time in me too and I'd be better off if I was prepared to handle the emergency.

Truly upheavals can come spontaneously and indirectly from exercises on our Christian spiritual journeys and kundalini release can also be triggered by meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, reiki, qigong, healing, tantra, transcendental meditation and other such spiritual "technologies".

In all seriousness, SJ, I truly believe that Phil's book and relevant appendices and Kundalini Survival & Support - Bob Boyd's Site are the best aides available.

Although I've done a lot of multidisciplinary reading, mostly re: science and metaphysics/religion, I have only a superficial grasp of the Eastern Traditions, especially where their practices are concerned. I only share here the fruits of my own processing, of my own attempts to consolidate my understanding. I never took a theology or philosophy course in my life and just retired after 20 years in banking. I'm here to learn, not teach. My teaching best what I need to learn the most creates a nice synergism for Phil, perhaps, as I contribute to the forum and handle routine inquiries. But I read and re-read Jim Arraj's books and still forget important concepts. I re-read Phil's Kundalini book tonight and was amazed at two things: 1) how much better I understood it after about the 4th reading over the years, especially in light of my recent research and 2) what an incredible job he did of setting forth a comprehensive and holistic chronicle of his incredible journey - none of his musings at serious variance from the general wisdom I have gleaned on the subject.

pax,
jb

an aside:
One important insight I gained, especially when trying to dialogue with nondualists, is not to necessarily assume nondualists are making ontological statements but to realize they are often trying to merely help the uninitiated along toward the actual experience. This isn't to deny some of the well articulated, nondual high philosophies of the East but only to suggest that Western metaphysics just might be able to help in some Eastern folks' articulation of the ineffable toward the end of advancing dialogue.

w.c. wrote:

quote:

I'd like to here your opinion on its [the growing body of data supporting the parapsychological explanation for mind/brain/body interactions]relevance, especially since many people without a reported struggle with kundalini would likely be interacting with each other over distances in meaningful ways without knowing it, even without an active prayer life.

w.c. , I believe you were referring to Gary Schwartz at the Univ of Arizona? and this also brings to mind the global consciousness project at Princeton, both of which I mentioned here before.

It is incredibly difficult to separate the scientists from the charlatans, so, the first thing I do is turn to the skeptics for hygienic purposes, such as Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Folks like Schwartz actually use correspondence with such people to fashion better experimental designs and better experimental controls. I also like to use QuackWatch resources such as Health Care Reality Check Encyclopedia and its links such as to Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. Now, as I am sure you are already aware, such debunker sites have an a priori presupposition over against even the possibility of the paranormal, so I balance my inquiries with searches, for instance, at National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the NIH (it's a dot-GOV with some credibility) and with Debunking the Debunkers - including A Field Guide to Skepticism by Dean Radin, whom you also cited.

I thought this generic response re: my personal approach would be more useful than my commenting specifically re: kundalini.

As to your specific issue, natural soul energies can be manipulated, not only by people without an active prayer life but also by people with outright evil designs. As a general rule, though, I believe that folks realizing higher consciousness are placing same in the service of love and toward transcendence, since that's the evolutionary direction , which complements and is an integral aspect of our growth, natural and supernatural, in the life of love and compassion and relationship.

I hope I answered your question. I really wouldn't want to speculate more wildly than I already have, being somewhat of a skeptic at heart, myself , a thoroughgoing Doubting Thomas on a living in the head journey, but with a warm heart

pax,
jb

p.s. Usually I am sharing links that I have selected from among literally hundreds browsed per topic. This is true for every link I have shared in this Kundalini forum recently. The most important art form required for using the Net, moreso involves knowing where not to go and filtering out the irrelevant and less credible sources. That's a bigger contribution than my speculations and ruminations. Just because I build hatracks and mailboxes (pigeonholes) on various topics, doesn't mean I have cloaks of authority to hang on those racks or much mail of my own to place in those boxes!