For many years I've wanted to understand the relationship between kundalini, shaktipat, and hypnosis. This led me to purchase this new book by British stage hypnotist Jeremy Wheeler.

At about the age of 11, he has his first awakening when a born-again Christian prays for him.

He trains as a hypnotherapist but discovers there's more money to be made in selling courses about hypnotherapy than in actually delivering the therapy. To improve his income, he switches to being a stage hypnotist.

Then he gets into meditation, psychic healing, and channeled teachings. These lead to what he initially calls "illumination," the dissolution of the personal self into universal feelings of oneness, love, and light. He describes this as "a billion times more powerful" than his awakening at the age of 11. He could enter states of bliss at will.

At some point, and having read Gopi Krishna's books, he recognizes "illumination" as a Kundalini awakening.

After this, he comes to see hypnosis as very much a lower art, and one that might even damage the hypnotized subject. Trance is dissociation from reality, and trance induction is mind-invasion.

He reads spiritual books, travels in search of shaktipat, and goes on meditation retreats. The 10-day Goenka retreat he views as hypnotic and cult-like. "True awakening has never once required you to surrender yourself completely to anyone."

The author sees pranayama as one of the most effective (though also the most dangerous) means of awakening kundalini. Shaktipat, providing one finds a pure source, is also most effective, though it can also be dangerous if received from an impure source.

He attends a meeting of the Vineyard Church and finds that essentially they are working with shaktipat, though in an untutored and unskillful kind of way.

This raises the question I was most interested in: If Pentecostal preachers are in reality working with shaktipat, is this also really a form of hypnosis?

And I'm not really sure what the author's answer is. He remarks that shaktipat and hypnosis are "similar" but "profoundly different" (chapter 34), but I still don't understand in what ways they are similar and in what ways different.

Thanks for the review, Derek. This is a most interesting topic.

I'm wondering what similarities you (or Wheeler) find between shaktipat and hypnosis? I've always thought of shaktipat as a transmission of energy to another person, hence the importance of purity of intent or at least consecrating the practice, as Christian charismatics do (and I agree that there's a shaktipat dynamic involved in laying on of hands). The goal seems to be to stimulate the consciousness of the recipient to a deeper manifestation of the Spirit (though human "spirit" is present as well).
- I spent a little time discussing this in my "Kundalini Process" book, and Jim Arraj has an interesting discussion on charismatic phenomena in relation to the unconscious.
https://www.innerexplorations....theomortext/lack.htm (scroll down a little for the Toronto Blessing part)

It seems that hypnosis could also be imparting some kind of energy and "suggestions" between the hypnotist and recipient. Is that what you have in mind?

Yes. Jeremy Wheeler has vast experience as a hypnotist, so he's certainly well aware of the dangers.

I think this is what he would want to say.

Hypnosis and shaktipat are both forms of mind-over-mind influence. That is what they have in common.

(We should probably understand hypnosis here in the broader sense of Mesmerism, and not in the narrow, soporific sense of James Braid, where the only causal mechanism is the power of suggestion.)

The difference is that hypnosis aims to dominate, manipulate, and control the subject. An external influence is being imposed on the subject. And that is the danger: It is ultimately debilitating as well as immoral. Freud already saw the debilitating effect of hypnosis as far back as the 1880s:

"But in the background there was the warning given by experienced workers against robbing the patient of his self-reliance by frequently repeated hypnosis and so making him an addict to this kind of therapy as though it were a narcotic" (Introductory Lectures #28).

Shaktipat, on the other hand, aims to draw forth from within the subject -- to liberate, to empower, to make autonomous and free of control.

Thanks, Derek.

Shaktipat can, in certain cases, leave one "connected" with the person who transmitted the energy touch. I've had a number of people tell me that they constantly felt the presence of the person who'd administered the transmission -- not that it was an evil presence, only unwelcomed. It is a consciousness to consciousness communication, and who knows what goes with the energy and how it "sticks" to the recipient. In one of the cases I was aware of, the person went and confronted the guru about it, but he was completely unaware of the enmeshment and also unable to break the connection.

I've tended through the years to advise against shaktipat unless the practice is consecrated in the name of Jesus, and even then I prefer it be done in the context of petitionary prayer.

Perhaps that entanglement is why people become so devoted to the source of their shaktipat.

I was watching Kathryn Krick on YouTube. In case you haven't heard of her, she is the new Kathryn Kuhlman. She is the latest center of controversy in the Pentecostal world, taking over from older figures such as Benny Hinn and Rodney Howard-Browne. Kathryn Krick's followers are devoted to her, in the same way as she is devoted to her upstream, GeorDavie.

Having read Jeremy's book, I can see hypnotic elements in the build-up part of Kathryn Krick's service, which precedes the final shaktipat.

Having said that, it's possible that the entire process is hypnotic, without any shaktipat at all. Marco Paret can reproduce the phenomenon of falling backwards ("slain in the spirit") and something like involuntary kriyas purely by fascination, i.e. by a hypnotic gaze with no verbal suggestion. His YouTube channel has hundreds of short demonstration videos, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW_0aO8VHyo

On Kathryn Krick's channel is a video titled "Impartation Service with Prophet Dr. GeorDavie" which records a revival meeting in the Philippines from earlier in 2026.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3hz15xVgQc

In his book, Jeremy explains that talking about what's about to happen is itself part of the hypnosis. And this trick is part of GeorDavie's playbook. His hypnotic build-up starts at 13'13".

After half an hour of build-up, at 50'50" GeorDavie identifies a member of the audience who has already succumbed to emotion. This is, again, part of the repertoire of the stage hypnotist: to identify the most hypnotizable members of the audience. They serve as models to the crowd as to the behavior expected of them.

At 55'05" the shaktipat starts -- if indeed it is shaktipat, and not simply a continuation of the hypnosis. GeorDavie doesn't call it shaktipat, of course, but "anointing" or "impartation." But look at what's happening physically. His hand gestures resemble the Mesmeric passes that Marco Paret teaches, amplified in their effectiveness by being delivered to an excited crowd. And the emotional fits of a few people resemble Mesmeric crises.

The whole performance can be explained as classic Mesmerism.

Well, those are some really intense praise leaders, that's for sure. I watched the parts you recommended, and wondered if you actually watched the whole thing? Definitely some kundalini-type shaking going on after 55:05.
- Watch Benny Hinn mow people down now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdUIqKJyD0Q

Again, I'm not familiar with hypnosis in relation to kundalini phenomena, but we need to remember that there's an energetic dimension to thought/form, and that includes preaching, singing, etc. Sometimes the energy manifests as emotion, sometimes it's more pranic, which doesn't mean we're looking at kundalini phenomena. I recently posted a couple of links in the kundalini forum of a good review of the literature by a research named Sameer, who wrote a couple of great blog posts for an online Kundalini group. In my own writing, I've tried to distinguish kundalini phenomena from other energy experiences, but it's not always easy.

I've listened to many people describe how with their initial conversion experiences they experienced inner light, bubbling sensations of energy throughout the body, tears, and many other somatic phenomena. A shift in the mental/volitional paradigm that organizes one's experiences (such as goes on with conversions) will results in shifts in energy. It seems hypnosis is working more at the level of thought/form, so we shouldn't be surprised if there are concomitant experiences of energy as well. And even if the hypnotist is suggesting some of these shifts, it seems that what matters most is whether they are beneficial and can be integrated. What do you think?

I'm thinking along the same lines. The initial conversion experience activates something.

The stories I'm familiar with are those of Derek Prince, Rodney Howard-Browne, and Todd Bentley. In all cases, intense life-or-death prayer led to a breakthrough. Some source of inner power opened up -- even if it wasn't a full kuṇḍalinī awakening.

I'm musing now that, while mesmeric passes are a conduit, mesmeric passes from a high-shakti individual accomplish more than mesmeric passes from a low-shakti individual.

And look at the size of the crowd in that Benny Hinn video. I speculate that the number of individuals present also affects the available power. Jeremy Wheeler remarks somewhere in his book that you can put on a more spectacular stage show for a large crowd than you can for a small group.

To add to Sameer's second essay, here is one more strand that documents kuṇḍalinī awakenings -- without using those words, of course. This is from an eye-witness account of Mesmer's experiments in eighteenth-century Paris. It's taken from Animal magnetism by Alfred Binet and Charles Féré:

"Some patients remain calm, and experience nothing; others cough, spit, feel slight pain, a local or general heat, and fall into sweats; others are agitated and tormented by convulsions. These convulsions are remarkable for their number, duration, and force, and have been known to persist for more than three hours. They are characterized by involuntary, jerking movements in all the limbs, and in the whole body, by contraction of the throat, by twitchings in the hypochondriac and epigastric regions, by dimness and rolling of the eyes, by piercing cries, tears, hiccough, and immoderate laughter. They are preceded or followed by a state of languor or dreaminess, by a species of depression, and even by stupor."

This does sound like a description of kriyas. The most down-to-earth explanation I can give for the kriyas is that they represent the unraveling of chronic muscular tension -- the undoing of very early repression.

The above could also read as a description of what happened at the Toronto Blessing in 1994. The Toronto Airport fellowship was originally a Vineyard church.

All very interesting. I can certainly go along with your explanation of kriyas, too. Some would say this is all within a very broad understanding of the kundalini process, and much of it may well be if there is indeed healing taking place and awakening to higher consciousness. In my "Kundalini Process" book, I noted the following:

quote:

In noting that kundalini is oriented toward higher spiritual consciousness, we need to clarify what this term means and how it will be used in this book. The short response is that it means the kind of consciousness one experiences when the energy process aligns the powers of the soul called chakras with the innermost Ground of our being. We will discuss the meaning of these terms as we go along, but for now we note a few general characteristics of this experience:
a. Non-reflecting presence. Ability to just be with oneself, others, God, creation.
b. Intuitive understanding. Direct grasp of connections, meaning.
c. Deep sense of peace and contentment.
d. Feeling of being simply oneself without needing to define oneself.
e. Emotional equanimity; even-keeled.
f. Non-dual awareness; sense of connectedness with the creation.
g. Openness to transcendence, mystery.
h. Ability to take responsibility for thoughts.
These characteristics become increasingly established and integrated as the kundalini process advances.

Pranic/etheric energy can certainly be intensified and overflow into the body without seeing much evidence of characteristics, in which case it's probably a mistake to call it kundalini.

Your list reminds me of the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Second Thessalonians 2:9 talks about "the activity of Satan" being accompanied by "false signs and wonders." I'm wondering, then, if what Mesmerism produces is a fake imitation of the genuine work of the Spirit. It would then be a further possibility that the true Spirit could be mixed with Mesmeric trickery. Confusing.

Derek Prince seems to refer here to the Toronto Blessing:

"In 1994, for the first time, I was brought into fairly direct contact with one of the groups where those manifestations were occurring. A group of leaders went to some of their meetings and returned all excited, saying they had experienced something wonderful and we all needed to experience it."

His conclusion points to the Toronto Blessing being a mixture of the real and the fake:

"My summation is very simple: it is a mixture of spirits, both the Holy Spirit and unholy spirits. They are mixed together."

Note

The quotes from Derek Prince are from a booklet Protection from Deception: Navigating through the Minefield of Signs and Wonders by Derek Prince. It is said to be "based on a series of talks given by Derek Prince to his coworkers in Derek Prince Ministries in March 1996." I could not find a live version, but I did find an Internet Archive version. Elsewhere I found a blog post that said: "In mid-1995, respected international Bible teacher Derek Prince put out a tape in which he made some very strong statements about certain aspects of the Toronto movement." That mid-1995 tape with its "very strong statements" may be the same material as eventually found its way into the March 1996 talks and thence into the booklet. At the same time, Derek Prince was not opposed to laughter in and of itself. His article in Renewal Journal 5: Signs & Wonders points out that his own conversion experience in 1941 was accompanied by uncontrollable laughter.

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Here's more evidence that there are in fact multiple things going on. A video "Hypnosis Technique In Pentecostalism.......EXPOSED! (Benny Hinn, Fake Revivals, Ex-Faith Healer)" explains that there are, at the same time, the music, the power of suggestion, the shock induction, the large group effect, and the link between hypnotizer and hypnotizee:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWEC9OfPUXk

But there are also effects that seem to have nothing to do with hypnosis. This is the initial conversion experience from Rodney M. Howard-Browne, Manifesting the Holy Ghost:

quote:

I got desperate during that prayer meeting in July 1979 and made a decision. I said, "God, tonight is my night! Lord, either you come down here and touch me, or I'm going to die and come up there and touch You." ... I'm not saying you must do what I did, but I started shouting, because I shout when I get desperate! You wouldn't see someone fall off a tall cliff or a 30 story building crying softly, "Help!" would you? No, they'd be screaming, "HEEEELP!" with everything they had. I shouted, "God, I want your fire! Let the fire fall here tonight like it did at Pentecost!" The Spirit was poured out on me that night. I shouted for about 20 minutes. I didn't give up, even when my voice began to get hoarse. Suddenly the power of God hit me at the top of my head and went all the way down to my feet! It felt like liquid fire -- like someone had poured gasoline over me and set me on fire. My whole body was tingling. The best way I can describe it is that it was as shocking as if I had unscrewed a light bulb from a lamp and put my finger in the socket. I knew it was God. When it hit me in my belly I began to laugh uncontrollably. Let me tell you -- laughter from the Holy Spirit comes out of your belly, not out of your head. Your head says, "What are you laughing at?" Your heart says, "Shut up!" It bubbles. It was so overwhelming, I couldn't stop it, and I didn't want to stop it. It was joy unspeakable and full of glory.

The follow-up is explained in Rodney M. Howard-Browne, The Touch of God:

quote:

We were preaching in a Methodist church. I was back in the vestibule -- which is a holy name for a plain old office -- preparing for the service. One of the young ladies came into the office and asked me to pray for her because she was in terrible pain. I stood up from the chair where I was sitting and lifted my right hand as I normally would do to lay hands upon her and pray. Then the most amazing thing happened. I got my hand halfway to her head, almost like a gunslinger would draw a gun out of a holster and point it at his opponent. Suddenly, unexpectedly, it felt like my finger tips came off. I felt a full volume of the anointing flow out of my hand. The only way I can explain it is to liken it to a fireman holding a fire hose with a full volume of water flowing out of it. The anointing went right into her. It looked like someone had hit her in the head with an invisible baseball bat and she fell to the floor. I was left standing there totally dumbstruck by what had happened, looking at my hand and at the young lady.

That was in the office before the service. No music, no build-up, no power of suggestion, no group effect.

Some of these examples suggest shaktipat, but that's not meant to imply it's "just-shaktipat." As the old saying goes, "grace works through nature," and I suppose shaktipat could be viewed as a kind of natural grace through which the Holy Spirit moves.

quote:

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Tim. 1:6-7

There are all kinds of ways to stimulate a person's openness to receive from the divine: chants, songs, raising the arms, preaching, etc. and all kinds of ways for divine transmission to happen: touch, directly, thoughts, words, and many more. When it is really God who touches one, it's transformative; reductionistic explanations are inadequate, especially to the recipient.

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