Abstrakt

The Impact of Kundalini Awakening on Personal Life and Psychotherapeutic Practice

Willem A. Fonteijn

The process of kundalini awakening has all the elements of an extraordinary experience. In this article, the author will show that from his research and experience this process of spiritual awakening can be seen as a benevolent developmental step for individuals. The process of kundalini awakening has a profound impact on yogis and meditators around the world. Different reports circulate varying from disturbing disintegrating experiences to blissful ones. In this article, Kundalini awakening is described as a natural process of activating dormant energy in the CNS. During Kundalini awakening the neutral observer, the witness, the container is awakened as part of the process. This article describes the spontaneous awakening of the author during an intensive Vipassana retreat. It took years to digest the impact of this experience. And while doing so, a natural integrating in the Psycho-therapeutic practice of the author evolved. The central insight is to cultivate the neutral internal observer. The neutral observer stance creates opportunities for beneficial and endurable change. Clients are trained to become aware of their feelings and (hidden) thoughts without reacting to them. By doing so clients learn how to contain dysfunctional emotions and transform them into functional emotions. For all of this neutral observing is the key ingredient.