by Kara-Leah Grant
Meet Lawrence Edwards, a neurotherapist, psychotherapist, and an expert in Kundalini Awakening. Lawrence is unusual in this field because he has a deep grounding in both Eastern and Western traditions, and applies them both to his work with Kundalini.
Join Lawrence and I as we explore Kundalini awakening in the modern world: why it can be so freaky, how it is connected to mental illness, and the trials and perils of finding an authentic teacher.
On defining Kundalini Awakenings
“Kundalini is the power of revelation and transformation, and that’s what it does from the moment it awakens.”
“The mind has it’s limitations. The mind trying to get free of itself is like us trying to jump over our shadow. It takes a force of grace.”
“It’s the power that mystics and lovers of the divine from all traditions tap into. It has many different names, from the Great Goddess, to Inanna, to Tara, to Kali, to Kundalini… It’s a universal power of consciousness that can reveal and transform the body and the mind so that we can experience union with the divine.”
On the difference between Kundalini Awakenings and the movement of prana
“Not all transpersonal or transcendent experiences are Kundalini.”
“Kundalini awakening is not meant for everybody: they’re not ripe. You can’t force a fruit to ripen on the tree, when it’s ripe it drops.”
“In the yogic tradition it’s said that by effort alone, by discipline, and practice, that you can essentially move your consciousness only up to ajna chakra, and still not necessarily have a Kundalini awakening.”
On why we get freaked out by Kundalini Awakenings
“Up until Kundalini awakening, even if we’re familiar with doing yoga practices, the ego mind thinks it’s the one running the show… that changes quite dramatically when Kundalini awakening happens, because now it’s very clear that there’s another power, a sublime, divine force working within.”
“A spontaneous awakening, that can seem unrelated to anything a person is doing in this lifetime, is really the fruit of past lives.”
On Kundalini and mental health crises
“The truth is, those things can be occurring simultaneously… In the clinic we were often dealing with people who were being overwhelmed with Kundalini processes, and some of them had, at the same time, mental illness. They needed to deal with both effectively.”
“Two things can be going on simultaneously here: very profound, meaningful experiences that unfortunately that individual’s mind may not have the strength to contain or to hold, and that can come out as psychotic.”
On the benefits of yoga
“All of yoga is self-regulation. It’s an ancient and quite extraordinary method of self-regulation…we have to understand that what’s being worked with is attention…being able to control your attention and direct it in certain specific ways changes our body, changes our mind, and changes our experience of reality.”
On how to stop the ego co-opting a Kundalini Awakening
“Stay with everyday life… do the simple practice, live your life. You don’t have to spin off. You don’t have to leave everything. The divine is completely present in this moment, in your life, in your family, in your work, in your relationships. Those aren’t the obstacles.”
On finding a worthy teacher
“I deal as much with Kundalini as I do with outcomes of bad teachers, who turned out to be not trustworthy, or they got caught up in their own experiences and have wound up in a kind of psychic inflation, or they might be very well meaning, but they still are not knowledgeable, they are not practiced, they are not grounded.”
“The student needs to exercise discrimination. They have to be able to look and see, what’s this teacher teaching? What are they about? Do they live their teachings? Do they walk the talk? What do other people say about this person? If you hang out with them what’s the feeling you get? What’s the feeling other people get?”
About Lawrence
Lawrence’s personal journey with Kundalini awakening began long ago and transpersonal experiences of the Devi are some of his earliest experiences in this life. He did his doctoral research on Kundalini, and has taught meditation and Kundalini yoga at universities, retreat centers, hospitals, prisons, hospice organizations. He also taught at a medical school for 18 years, and his professional training includes Jungian and transpersonal perspectives as well as neuroscience, neurofeedback and biofeedback.
Have you ever dealt with someone that after a Kundalini activation/awakening, developed epileptic seizures? It is happening less often as I walk this road that seems to be putting me in this fire of purification. This Kundalini awakening can be most taxing, and very exhausting. I would never recommend a kundalini awakening to anyone. Prior to having experienced this Kundaini awakening, I was experiencing beautiful descents from above (like a ray of light) that traveled down through me and was most beautiful, and very enlightening. This Kundalini awakening has been most disturbing, but yet I realize it is removing all attachments.
Sincerely
Mark
Dear Mark,
I’m sorry to hear you are going through such a challenging process. From what you’ve shared I wouldn’t presume to know enough about your history and all that you are encountering to try to advise you or guide you through this. People often contact me for private consultations. I discuss dealing with complex Kundalini processes in my book Awakening Kundalini: The Path To Radical Freedom. Some people really need a support team of skillful practitioners to help them through challenging phases of transformation.
Often there are simultaneous processes going on related to our mind/body health on the one hand and Kundalini transformation on the other hand. Kundalini doesn’t cause seizures, but some kriyas, movements of Kundalini, can be mistaken for these and even misdiagnosed as seizures. At the same time it is important for people not to think that everything that is occurring is the result of Kundalini. A thorough medical check-up can be critical. There can be physical disorders, endocrine imbalances, brain dysfunction, mental health problems, etc. that are present along with Kundalini awakening or transpersonal experiences. Those disorders or conditions need to be skillfully dealt with in an appropriate manner, even while deepening one’s understanding of the ways of Kundalini. A skillful guide or mentor is so important for traversing the unique path of Kundalini awakening.
Awakened Kundalini is the consciousness of our own divine Self. It gives us the ability to witness the mind and body and the unfolding of their karmas from the perspective of the Divine within, to view the challenges the mind and body encounter with the boundless love, compassion, patience and wisdom of the Self. The ordinary mind, the ego mind, often gets caught in blaming the Divine for its difficult and painful experiences. It isn’t yet capable of seeing that the roots of those samskaras, those patterns afflicting the mind/body, have come from its past actions across countless lives. Awakened Kundalini didn’t create them. Awakened Kundalini frees us from that bondage and gives us the ability to step back from the ego mind in order to see grace unfolding through the transformative process. When the ego mind is suffering it is challenging to step back, detach from it, and see through the eyes of Shakti Kundalini. Kundalini practices, empowered mantra, meditation, chanting, etc. harmonize the processes of transformation and give us access to the state of consciousness that is free of the ego mind. Disciplined daily practice is imperative for healing and transforming the mind/body. It’s the way to stabilize expanded states of consciousness that aren’t bound by the ego mind, even while the ego mind becomes more skillful and capable of serving the Self. A skilled and deeply practiced teacher, a true knower and servant of Kundalini, will help you discern what the best practice are for you at this time.
There are Spiritual Emergence Networks in Australia, Canada, US, UK, and several other European countries. They offer help to people going through spiritually related emergencies. You can search for them on the internet.
Biofeedback and neurofeedback may also be helpful for people going through challenging processes. These are technologies that grew out of the studies of yogis and Zen masters and now can greatly enhance the self-regulation capabilities of the brain, nervous system, and other aspects of our bio-physiology without any drugs or invasive procedures.
May Kundalini Shakti guide you and bless you always!