Books
Listed alphabetically by author’s last name. Have a recommendation? Contact us.
THE CALL OF SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY: From Personal Crisis to Personal Transformation
Dr. Emma Bragdon, Ph.D.
A feast of revealing narratives expose the amazing story of how people deal with critical points in personal transformation, also known as spiritual emergency. With the increase of interest in yoga, meditation, mental health recovery, and recovery from addiction there is renewed interest in care that is not based on medication as much as empathy and compassionate companionship. This book helps anyone who doesn't have a language to understand intense inner experiences and confuses them with mental illness. If you have felt disoriented by intense spiritual experiences this book will help you understand where you are and where you may be heading. It is a map of the journey of spiritual awakening written by a psychologist who knows the territory well. Reading it may make the difference between heading off to the hospital to get drugs to stop the symptoms or staying home and knowing you are OK. Just because you have had a conversation with your spirit guide, or talked to the spirit of someone who has passed away doesn't mean you are having a breakdown. It could mean you are having a breakthrough to a higher level of functioning. The author is a psychologist and knows the territory.
A SOURCEBOOK FOR HELPING PEOPLE WITH SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS
Dr. Emma Bragdon, Ph.D.
As more people practice meditation, yoga, and participate in workshops for personal transformation, increasing numbers of them are having experiences related to spiritual awakening. The problem is they don't know the territory. An intense spiritual experience can seem overwhelming and scary and even be confused with going crazy.
This practical book is the classic text defining the problems that can arise when someone is disoriented by intense spiritual experiences. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in spiritual experiences and their relationship to mental health and mental illness. It distinguishes the differences between various mental pathologies and indicators of spiritual awakening. It clearly describes the kind of care one needs in a spiritual emergency process and how the care is dramatically different than conventional psychiatric treatment. It traces the history of how signs of spiritual awakening have been perceived in the past.
Graduate schools of psychology use this book as a text because it is such a clear statement about the nature of spiritual crises and appropriate treatment. However, it is written in a style that is also appropriate for any adult reader. The author, a transpersonal psychologist, has written five other books on spiritual healing and awakening.
SHAKTI RISING: Embracing Shadow and Light on the Goddess Path to Wholeness
Dr. Kavitha Chinnaiyan, M.D.
The wisdom of the Mahavidyas, the ten wisdom goddesses who represent the interconnected darkness and light within all of us, has been steeped in esoteric and mystical descriptions that made them seem irrelevant to ordinary life. But with this book, written by a respected cardiologist who found herself on a spiritual search for the highest truth, you’re invited to explore this ancient knowledge and learn how it can be applied to daily struggles and triumphs—and how it can help you find unreserved self-love and acceptance.
The pursuit of contentment is an innate part of the human experience, arising from a fundamental sense of lack or inadequacy—all the things we believe to be wrong with us when we compare or judge ourselves. In our search for peace and happiness, we may find ourselves fighting the shadows within us, trying to repress or disown certain qualities, especially our anger, violence, discomfort, craving, and disappointment. But in order to stop this fight, we must expand our understanding beyond the dualities of good versus bad, right versus wrong, and beautiful versus ugly, and accept the parts of ourselves we’ve tried to deny.
Pulling from Eastern traditions including tantra and yoga, and focusing on the feminine principle of divine energy also known as Shakti, this book bridges the divide between dualistic concepts and non-dual philosophy. By exploring the symbolism of the Mahavidyas (Kali, Tara, Tripurasundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Tripura Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Baglamukhi, Matangi, and Kamalatmika)—each with a veiled face representing a destructive quality that perpetuates ignorance and suffering, and a true face representing the wisdom that stimulates profound transformation and liberation—you’ll learn to embrace and incorporate every aspect of who you are.
With practices, self-inquiry prompts, and stories from the author’s own spiritual seeking, this exploration of the divine feminine will gently reveal the source of your fear, pain, and suffering, showing you that when you allow those parts of yourself to arise and simply be, you can finally begin to heal, overcome your limitations, and open to the light and beauty of your true nature.
SPIRITUAL NUTRITION: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
When we eat, can we feed the soul as well as the body? Can a diet have an impact on spirituality? Spiritual Nutrition empowers readers to develop personal diets that are appropriate to their lifestyles and spiritual practices. Drawing on 14 years of clinical experience and research, Dr. Gabriel Cousens discusses nutritional issues that can help answer these questions, including raw vs. cooked food; high vs. low protein; the concepts of assimilation and fasting; alkaline--acid balance; attitudes about food; nutrients, energy, and structure building.
In addition, Cousens shares his new dietary system of "spiritual nutrition" that is based on the relationship that the color of the food has to corresponding colors of the human chakra system, hence, the "rainbow diet." For true nourishment, he strongly promotes the connection of diet to meditation, fellowship, wisdom, and love.
AWAKENING KUNDALINI: The Path to Radical Freedom
Dr. Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D.
With his unique expertise in modern psychology, neuroscience, meditation training, and spiritual traditions, Lawrence Edwards clarifies for readers the many dimensions of Kundalini awakening, including practices and meditations for recognizing its manifestations and preparing the body and mind to enter its expansive, empowering flow.
When experienced skillfully, Kundalini can be the most profoundly transformative experience of our lives. Awakening Kundalini makes available a complete and practical resource for tapping into this transformative force, and realizing our ability to live “radically free.”
THE SOUL’S JOURNEY: Guidance from the Divine Within
Dr. Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D.
The Soul’s Journey propels the reader onto a breathtaking visionary quest as the soul’s longing to know the Divine is answered by the loving power of grace and revelation, known as Kundalini Shakti in the yogic system.
Dr. Edwards uses his personal mystical experiences to gradually unfold the tasks to be mastered and the lessons to be learned as we tread our individual path to the Divine. His wisdom is grounded in both direct experience as well as in the knowledge of Jungian archetypal psychology, Eastern and Western mysticism and mythology.
The book presents a rich interweaving of personal trials and challenges, insights from poet saints and mystics, uplifting experiences of the Divine being discovered in everyday life, and lofty overviews of the spiritual terrain from different vantage points.
The reader will have the good fortune to find their faith and enthusiasm for treading their path delightfully boosted by what they encounter in this book. It contains profound insights and revelations about Kundalini, chakras, the awakening of this sublime power and the direct guidance it gives the seeker from deep within. Kundalini is the Power of the Divine within everyone.
ENERGIES OF TRANSFORMATION: A Guide to the Kundalini Process
Dr. Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D.
This book is about the subtle energy of the life force, the pure consciousness beyond mind and the ecstatic experience of spiritual awakening. It also tells of physical collapse, psychic chaos, and personality upheaval, those elements of human transformation that uproot individuals to the core. It tells the stories of people, both ancient and modern, who have discovered and integrated an experience that pushes the edges of their sanity and their divinity. And it is a guide for survival and transformation.
Energies of Transformation is a synthesis of eastern and western perspective of the ancient phenomenon known as Kundalini awakening, including 23 case studies culled from the literature and personal interviews with individuals. It provides both cross-cultural clinical wisdom and information for the westerner confronting Kundalini.
THE KUNDALINI GUIDE: A Companion for the Inward Journey
Dr. Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D.
The eruption of Kundalini energy from its secret nest at the base of the spine has been revered by some as bringing ecstasy and enlightenment, and disparaged by others as simply disabling, terrifying and dangerous. Mystics may call it a method of transformation. Skeptics consider it imaginary. All who have experienced it know it as a mystery and a profound life-altering experience.
This book, based on 25 years of interviews with over 2000 people who have had this awakening, describes seven categories of phenomena that may occur, tells the eastern perspective of Kundalini science, offers guidance on coping with the erratic energies and shifts of consciousness that happen, and reveals the inward path to self-realization that follows the deconstruction initiated by a Kundalini arising. If you think you might be in this awakening process, you engage in spiritual or energy practices, or you have activated energies following a near-death experience or trauma, this book is your companion and guide.
SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis
Edited by Stanislav Grof, M.D., and Christina Grof
Increasing numbers of people involved in personal transformation are experiencing spiritual emergencies — crises when the process of growth and change becomes chaotic and overwhelming. Individuals experiencing such episodes may feel that their sense of identity is breaking down, that their old values no longer hold true, and that the very ground beneath their personal realities is radically shifting. In many cases, new realms of mystical and spiritual experience enter their lives suddenly and dramatically, resulting in fear and confusion. They may feel tremendous anxiety, have difficulty coping with their daily lives, jobs, and relationships, and may even fear for their own sanity.
Unfortunately, much of modern psychiatry has failed to distinguish these episodes from mental illness. As a result, transformational crises are often suppressed by routine psychiatric care, medication, and even institutionalization.
However, there is a new perspective developing among many mental health professionals and those studying spiritual development that views such crises as transformative breakthroughs that can hold tremendous potential for physical and emotional healing. When understood and treated in a supportive manner, spiritual emergencies can become gateways to higher levels of functioning and new ways of being.
In this book, foremost psychologists, psychiatrists, and spiritual teachers address the following questions: What is spiritual emergency? What is the relationship between spirituality, “madness,” and healing? What forms does spiritual emergency take? What are the pitfalls — and promises — of spiritual practice? How can people in spiritual emergency be assisted by family, friends, and professionals?
This groundbreaking work reveals that within the crisis of spiritual emergency lies the promise of spiritual emergence and renewal.
THE STORMY SEARCH FOR THE SELF: A Guide to Personal Growth Through Transformational Crisis
Christina Grof and Stanislav Grof, M.D.
Many people are undergoing a profound personal transformation associated with spiritual opening. Under favorable circumstances, this process results in emotional healing, a radical shift in values, and a profound awareness of the mystical dimension of existence. For some, these changes are gradual and relatively smooth, but for others they can be so rapid and dramatic that they interfere with effective everyday functioning, creating tremendous inner turmoil. Unfortunately, many traditional health-care professionals do not recognize the positive potential of these crises; they often see them as manifestations of mental disease and respond with stigmatizing labels, suppressive drugs, and even institutionalization.
In The Stormy Search for the Self, Christina and Stanislav Grof, the world's foremost authorities on the subject of spiritual emergence, draw on years of dramatic personal and professional experience with transformative states to explore these "spiritual emergencies," altered states so powerful they threaten to overwhelm the individual's oridinary reality. This book will provide insights, assurances, and practical suggestions for those who are experiencing or have experienced such a crisis, for their families and friends, and for mental-health professionals. It is also a valuable guide for anyone involved in personal transformation whose experiences, though generally untraumatic, may still at times be bewildering or disorienting.
KUNDALINI VIDYA: The Science of Spiritual Transformation - A Comprehensive System for Understanding and Guiding Spiritual Development
Bri. Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, Ph.D.
Kundalini Vidya is an ancient Vedic spiritual science that includes Yoga and Vedanta. It describes the workings of the Divine within, Kundalini Shakti, which is known by many names and is revered as the Holy Spirit at the core of every human soul. This sacred inner presence motivates and empowers our striving for spiritual attainment. Once released, Kundalini Shakti progresses through discernible stages of spiritual development and culminates in Self-Realization. Kundalini Vidya is a scripture based system with a living oral tradition dating back 500 years.
A special feature of this system is its description of the various types of Kundalini process that can occur based on the routes and levels Kundalini is able to reach. Essential to understanding the various ways this journey can happen is Kundalini Vidya’s detailed description of the subtle body system, which includes the chakras, nadis, prana, and mind. The quality of a seeker’s subtle body functioning determines much about how they experience their Kundalini rising, which in turn affects the functions of the subtle body.
When the divine Power within is released, the subtle body (energy system and mind) must be strong and clear to properly host it. Otherwise, non-ordinary experiences and uncomfortable phenomena may occur as Kundalini attempts to clear the experiencer’s system and improve their process. These manifestations can be dramatic and are sometimes called a spiritual emergency, spiritual emergence issue, spiritual problem, spiritually transformative experience, or a Kundalini awakening. People in an active process of spiritual awakening sometimes report altered states of consciousness, paranormal abilities, mystical experiences, psi phenomena, psychic ability, special powers, expanded awareness, and a host of other non-ordinary capacities or holy gifts of the spirit.
STORIES OF SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION: The Fulfillment of Kundalini Process - Modern Seekers, Ancient Teachings
Bri. Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, Ph.D.
This collection of spiritual stories describes the inner transformation of twenty Western seekers who have worked toward and eventually reached an advanced level of spiritual awareness. Each personal narrative is framed within an ancient Vedic model of spiritual development called Kundalini Vidya, which is rooted in Yoga and Advaita Vedanta.
Each story exemplifies a particular kind of spiritually transformative process. Collectively they point to conditions under which spiritual growth can flourish or stall. The stories show that Kundalini process is a blessing co-created by soul and Source together, ultimately culminating in Self-Realization.These stories can be of tremendous reassurance, support, and inspiration to seekers who may feel lost, stuck, or distressed. They offer encouragement and show in a vibrant and textured way that strong perseverance, right effort, and grace can yield profound spiritual results.
MASTERING THE CORE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book
Dr. Daniel Ingram, M.D.
The very idea that the teachings can be mastered will arouse controversy within Buddhist circles. Even so, Ingram insists that enlightenment is an attainable goal, once our fanciful notions of it are stripped away, and we have learned to use meditation as a method for examining reality rather than an opportunity to wallow in self-absorbed mind-noise. Ingram sets out concisely the difference between concentration-based and insight (vipassana) meditation; he provides example practices; and most importantly he presents detailed maps of the states of mind we are likely to encounter, and the stages we must negotiate as we move through clearly-defined cycles of insight. Its easy to feel overawed, at first, by Ingram's assurance and ease in the higher levels of consciousness, but consistently he writes as a down-to-earth and compassionate guide, and to the practitioner willing to commit themselves this is a glittering gift of a book.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF KUNDALINI YOGA: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932
Dr. Carl Jung, M.D.; Edited by Sonu Shamdasani
Jung's seminar on Kundalini yoga, presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932, has been widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought and of the symbolic transformations of inner experience. Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the developmental phases of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation.
With sensitivity toward a new generation's interest in alternative religions and psychological exploration, Sonu Shamdasani has brought together the lectures and discussions from this seminar. In this volume, he re-creates for today's reader the fascination with which many intellectuals of prewar Europe regarded Eastern spirituality as they discovered more and more of its resources, from yoga to tantric texts. Reconstructing this seminar through new documentation, Shamdasani explains, in his introduction, why Jung thought that the comprehension of Eastern thought was essential if Western psychology was to develop.
He goes on to orient today's audience toward an appreciation of some of the questions that stirred the minds of Jung and his seminar group: What is the relation between Eastern schools of liberation and Western psychotherapy? What connection is there between esoteric religious traditions and spontaneous individual experience? What light do the symbols of Kundalini yoga shed on conditions diagnosed as psychotic?
Not only were these questions important to analysts in the 1930s but, as Shamdasani stresses, they continue to have psychological relevance for readers on the threshold of the twenty-first century.
TOUCHED BY THE LIGHT: Exploring Spiritually Transformative Experiences
Dr. Yvonne Kason, M.D.
Dr. Yvonne Kason’s life was touched by five Near-Death experiences (NDEs), the most recent in 2003. Her dramatic Near-Death Experience in a 1979 plane crash propelled her as a young medical doctor to research and counsel people with diverse types of peak spiritual experiences. In 1994, she coined the now widely used phrase “Spiritually Transformative Experiences” (STEs). These include Near-Death Experiences, mystical experiences, spiritual energy or Kundalini awakenings, diverse psychic experiences, and inspired creativity.
Touched by the Light is a synthesis of forty years of Dr. Kason's research on STEs and their profound after-effects on body, mind, and spirit. Filled with fascinating case studies, Touched By the Light is inspiring to all, as well as a practical guide for those experiencing STEs and their counsellors.
A PATH WITH HEART: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
Dr. Jack Kornfield, Ph.D.
Perhaps the most important book yet written on meditation, the process of inner transformation, and the integration of spiritual practice into our American way of life, A Path with Heart brings alive one by one the challenges of spiritual living in the modern world. Written by a teacher, psychologist, and meditation master of international renown, this warm, inspiring, and expert book touches on a wide range of essential issues including many rarely addressed in spiritual books. From compassion, addiction, and psychological and emotional healing, to dealing with problems involving relationships and sexuality, to the creation of a Zen-like simplicity and balance in all facets of life, it speaks to the concerns of many modern spiritual seekers, both those beginning on the path and those with years of experience.
A Path with Heart is filled with practical techniques, guided meditations, stories, koans, and other gems of wisdom that can help ease your journey through the world. The author’s own profound—and sometimes humorous—experiences and gentle assistance will skillfully guide you through the obstacles and trials of spiritual and contemporary life to bring a clarity of perception and a sense of the sacred into your everyday experience. Reading this book will touch your heart and remind you of the promises inherent in meditation and in a life of the spirit: the blossoming of inner peace, wholeness, and understanding, and the achievement of a happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.
THE KUNDALINI EXPERIENCE
Dr. Lee Sannella, M.D.
“A psychotic episode? No, this is a psycho-physiological transformation, a rebirth process as natural as physical birth. It seems pathological only because the symptoms are not understood in relation to the outcome: an enlightened human being.
When allowed to progress to completion this process culminates in deep psychological balance, strength, and maturity. Its initial stages, however, often share the violence, helplessness, and imbalance that attend the start of human infancy.
For thousands of years, from the ancient Vedas onward, this process has been described. Until recently, it was confined distant cultures, esoteric traditions, and a few isolated individuals. Accounts of it have usually been highly personal and often permeated with vague mysticism and strange mythology. As a result, the accounts were not taken seriously and no systematic comparison of the reports from different traditions was possible. Also, many of these traditions claimed divine revelation and absolute truth. Consequently professionals have remained confused, skeptical and suspicious.”
ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH THE PATH OF KUNDALINI: A Guide to a Positive Spiritual Awakening and Overcoming Kundalini Syndrome
Tara Springett, M.A.
This book is written for everybody who wants to learn about the mysterious phenomenon of Kundalini and use it to reach the pinnacle of human development – enlightenment. The book is equally written for those who are going through an involuntary awakening and seeking help to alleviate their symptoms and make the best of this event. You will learn: What Kundalini is and how it helps us to reach enlightenment; how we change through a Kundalini awakening; how to awaken the Kundalini safely and slowly; how to overcome possible difficult symptoms in the Kundalini process and how to use the Kundalini energy to reach enlightenment.
HEALING KUNDALINI SYMPTOMS: Proven Techniques That Really Work
Tara Springett, M.A.
A Kundalini awakening can be a frightening, confusing and lonely experience without proper guidance. In this book, Tara Springett offers highly efficient methods that she has used to help over a thousand clients to heal their Kundalini symptoms. These techniques are explained in a very practical and accessible way, so that you can use them straight from this book.