Shared Transformation
Introduction to Issue 24
It looks like we may be a bit late getting this issue out, due to my recent severe illness. I want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who prayed for my recovery and for all the cards and notes wishing me well. I would love to announce my total healing, but unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet. While I am improving, my body still has a long ways to go to repair itself.
My difficult health problems -- kidney inflammation, chemical-induced hepatitis and peptic ulcers (all caused by the cumulative effects of prescription pain medication and aspirin I was taking for my chronic spine pain!) -- were not specifically Kundalini-related, but they have taken me through a multilevel purification and a deepening of my inner development. On second thought, perhaps my illnesses are indeed Kundalini-constellated. In recent years Kundalini has drastically increased my sensitivity to all kinds of chemicals and other substances, which may be why, although I was taking merely two codeine with acetaminophen tablets a day, I experienced liver damage. In addition, I was daily downing between 6-10 aspirin tablets. Aspirin is reputed for eroding the stomach lining, but I had no warning signs that this was occurring and I didn't suspect it because I had been previously blessed with such a strong, hardy digestive system that at any other point in my life I could have probably eaten nails without a problem.
Whether or not Kundalini made me unusually susceptible to my recent illnesses, I don't believe any problem or
obstacle on the spiritual path is accidental. Everything has meaning and the potential to awaken us further.
And for me, Kundalini awakening never ceases to be an incredible, sometimes very painful, always mysterious, wondrous
journey. Keeping ST going in the face of my illness and other obstacles has been a definite challenge, now as
before. For the first few months after my disabling spine injury in 1993, the future of ST was looking bleak.
I actually wrote a (never published) farewell editorial for our January '94 issue, thinking there was no way we
would be able to continue producing the newsletter under the circumstances. But then, like now, the Spirit came
to our rescue in the nick of time and we were able to carry on. We are humbled and amazed to be able to continue
to serve in this way.
-- El Collie
Review
Arching Backward by Janet Adler, Inner Traditions, 1995; ISBN 0-89281-577-9
Janet Adler kept a journal of her dramatic Kundalini experiences from 1980-85. Most of her book is a chronological
record of her spontaneous visions, written to read almost like poems. The visions repeat themes and images of
shamanic dismemberment, death and rebirth. Alder makes no attempt to interpret the material in her visions. Indeed,
in the beginning of her book, she states her path as deeply introverted and right-brained: open to direct experience
but adverse to reflecting upon or analyzing anything. She believes understanding should arise naturally, effortlessly;
otherwise, she fears it may violate the purity of her experiences.
The refusal to integrate her visions through inner work may be why for many years she remained dangerously ungrounded
-- by her own admission, she teetered on the brink of physical death. (Interestingly, her later visions stressed
imagery of incorporating her masculine, left-brained capacities and of articulating her thoughts.) Her numerous
visions are spread out through the book like so many Tarot cards or photographs with no explanation. The effect
is akin to walking through an abstract art gallery. One emerges with a nebulous sense of nerve-jangling impressions,
which may be just what Adler, with her austere artistic temperament, intended. I found her lack of personal insight
into the meanings of her visions frustrating, but the positive side of this is that she likewise imposes no boundaries
on her readers. Instead, she presents the raw material of transformation; how we choose to assemble it is up to
us.
Aghora II: Kundalini by Robert Svoboda, Brotherhood of Life Publishing, 1993; ISBN 0-914732-31-5
In this book, Svoboda, an ayurvedic physician, presents the teachings of Vimalananda, master of the arcane Tantric
sect of Aghora yoga. (Vimalananda is not his real name -- Svoboda said although his master has left his body,
Svoboda used this pseudonym at the request of his master's family.) Aghora is an extremely left-hand path, much
closer to sorcery than other yogic systems. Yet much of the information Vimalananda reveals is true to my personal
experience. For instance, he mentions that eclipses have strange gravitational effects that "multiply the
effect of our sadhana." During the last solar eclipse, I certainly felt this electromagnetic increase -- I
was kept awake all night long by extremely vigorous kriyas.
According to Vimalananda, since no ordinary human being can control the cosmic force of Kundalini, the safest
methods for raising and guiding Kundalini are japa (repeating the name of God as in the chanting of mantras) and
worshipping Kundalini Herself as a goddess. Vimalananda is at times very crude and is quite an outrageous character
-- not my personal taste as gurus go, but I still appreciate much of what he has to say. Openly contemptuous of
people who claim to have easily and intentionally awakened their Kundalini (and of those who say their process
was totally pleasant), he believes these people have never really experienced Kundalini. He also strongly warns
against the dangers of trying to rouse chakra activities if Kundalini has not naturally risen. There is a wealth
of interesting and relevant material in this book, in which Vimalananda explains many Sanskrit terms, and the esoteric
meanings of the Hindu scriptures. But brace yourself for the heavy duty sexist and earth-hating philosophical
bent of the Eastern tradition. If you can overlook this cultural blind spot, Aghora II is fascinating reading.
Path Notes of an American Ninja Master by Dr. Glenn Morris, North Atlantic Books, 1993; ISBN 1- 55643-157-0
Morris is a real iconoclast with what Native Americans would call a "coyote" spirit. Path Notes is
interwoven with his observations, ideas and scientific research on Kundalini and different levels of enlightenment
plus many fascinating stories about the martial arts. He presents some very interesting facts about the metabolic
and other bodily changes he has observed in himself and others who have "survived" their Kundalini process,
including: the heart rate and breathing rate goes way down (he takes only four breaths a minute now), body temperature
drops, and the bones show up whiter and harder in x-rays. He also says: "Your whole body will eventually
rewire and some parts are definitely not as much fun as others. Every place you've been seriously injured, had
a bone broken, or taken some nerve damage will receive special attention, as damage improperly healed often creates
a block to the efficient flow of energy." I highly recommend Path Notes to anyone with a strong intellectual
or scientific leaning who is put off by religious terminology found in other books on Kundalini.
True Hauntings by Hazel M. Denning, Ph.D., Llewellyn Publications, 1996; ISBN 1-56718-218-6
With the assistance of gifted psychics, Denning, a metaphysical counselor, has spent twelve years investigating
paranormal phenomena. Her book gives sage advice and numerous first person accounts of a wide range of phenomena,
from earth-bound human ghosts to astral attack by malevolent entities. There is quite an array of interesting
esoteric material here, for instance: ¨ Kind-hearted individuals emit a special light which can easily be seen
by discarnates. ¨ Hauntings can be due to various things, including "dead" human souls, or living
humans who are consciously or subconsciously utilizing psychic force, or thought-forms which have no independent
will or awareness. ¨ Discarnate spirit guides can make mistakes. (This bit of info was new to me, as was the
idea that some spirit guides are loving but immature or unevolved beings who are still in need of help and guidance
themselves!)
Denning takes a level-headed and compassionate attitude toward inhabitants of both sides of the veil in this
fascinating book. Those with developing psychic and empathic abilities and/or greater awareness of the spirit
realms might find this a very useful guidebook for dealing with the many mysterious dimensions of reality.
-- El Collie