Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process [Paperback]

Bonnie L. Greenwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1995

This is a wise and comprehensive self-help book to help people understand and integrate the life-transforming experience of Kundalini awakening. It describes seven categories of phenomena related to Kundalini,provides Eastern and Western perspectives of the experience,includes 23 case histories, and gives practical guidance for people who are in a "Kundalini process."

Editorial Reviews

Review

Energies of Transformation is a remarkable book full of Dr. Greenwell's own grace as well as the authority of careful research It provides both cross-cultural clinical wisdom and practical information for the Westerner confronting Kundalini. I recommend it frequently for both experiencers and clinicians seeking to understand the complexities of the experiences. -- Rima Laibow M.D., Alexander Clinic, New York

About the Author

Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D. holds a doctorate in Transpersonal Psychology and certifications in Ashtanga and Kundalini Tantra yoga. She is a licensed MFCC, a scholar, a member of the adjunct faculty of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and an international lecturer and workshop leader who trains therapists to work with spiritual emergence experiences. She is a founder and executive officer of the Kundalini Research Network. Her book has been published in five languages.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Shakti River Pr; Revised edition (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962732702
• ISBN-13: 978-0962732706
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tremendous resource, July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process (Paperback)

This is the one book to have, that explains the kundalini awakening. This is an absoulte must have book, for all those who practice yoga or meditation. It shows in detail how kundalini awakens and the symptoms that often come with it such as sweating, shaking, visions, changes in breathing and heart beat patterns and so forth. Many people who meditate long enough have experienced these and other symptoms and dont know what is going on. What is going on is that they have awakened kundalini and that this energy is working to clear out negative energy and transforming them to a higher and better state of being. The results of meditation can be terrifying if one is not informed of what is going on. This book does a superb job in explaining what is happening. Simply a great book.

79 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good resource but misses the mark, February 20, 2000

By 

Denise Rapposelli (Fairfield, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process (Paperback)

This book is an important addition to the literature on Kundalini mysteries and is admirable (but not exhaustive) in its research of the literature itself. However, I feel that, in drawing conclusions from the divergent information gleaned without a seeming ability to satisfactorily distinguish esoteric metaphor from Indoasian philosophy and pseudoscience from Western science and pseudoscience, the author contributes to more pseudoscience on the subject. In Chapter 5, the author presents biographical sketches of historic personages, many of whom exemplify the extremes of the Kundalini process. Interestingly, in noting Sri Yogananda, she reports, almost dejectedly, that devotees of his path in whom Kundalini processes are awakened generally do not experience adverse effects. Without delving into why this is so and exploring other Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Sikh, and Yogic lineages that present methods for gradual catharsis of consciousness and neurology (which is what the Kundalini process essentially is), she misses the real mystery of Kundalini, the "why" of how things go awry, and the key to helping individuals who experience untoward effects. I feel that the author presents bits of information but not essential understanding or definition of the Kundalini process. It would have been better if this book was simply a straightforward compilation of anecdotes from the literature with some case studies and clinical psychological profiles thrown in rather than a piece offering so much commentary and conjecture.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one book to have on Kundalini, February 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process (Paperback)

For those experiencing or interested in the process of Kundalini awakening, this is the one book to have. Dr. Greenwell writes clearly and intelligently about the broad range of experiences that can occur when this powerful energy awakens, including case histories of a variety of gurus, saints, and everyday people, and about the yogic view of energy and the chakras. She offers useful advice on how to handle the intense psychic and physical phenomena that is a frequent by-product of active Kundalini energy, reassurance that spiritual awakening indeed exists and you aren't crazy, and the importance of allowing the awakening to unfold once it has begun.

I bought this book several years ago and continue to turn to it time and time again as questions about Kundalini arise.