This is the story of Gabriel Morris’ Kundalini awakening. At 22, the free-spirited Morris finds he is unable to commit to the kind of life so many of us consider normal. His pattern is one of a brief settling in a town in order to make enough money to follow his soul’s promptings towards something more adventurous. His adventures are driven by the desire for spiritual growth and engagement with like-minded souls.

For Morris, the Kundalini awakening, that spans the period of the adventures and misadventures related in the book, is a very challenging and physically painful experience. Morris’ choices are often driven by impulse rather than being rationally motivated and, at times, this leads to considerable suffering, disorientation or disappointment; such as hiking for days in the rain, being robbed and, upon seeking a community and reaching it through synchronistic occurrence, discovering its values are not only distinctly at odds with what he believes but also that its rituals are cloyingly cult-like. At the same time, he embraces the joys of the natural world, spends peaceful periods at a yoga ashram and meets an assortment of people who embrace him in friendship and kindness. Perhaps it’s because there are so many people who engage with Morris that his characterizations tend to be limited to brief sketches. This is not really a criticism: the book is is, after all, Morris’ account of what happened to him and not a novel.

Morris initially does not understand what is happening to his body. At an early point in the awakening event he presents himself at the Casualty department of the hospital, because of an erratic heartbeat, but cannot afford to pay for the tests. Not long after, while attempting to meditate and dealing with strong emotions, Morris spontaneously recalls a frightening event from his childhood, only to be brought back to awareness of his body by a subtle movement at the base of his spine. Seeing its possible connection with his intense feelings, he decides to allow the energy to flow completely through him, hoping it will dissolve his unpleasant feelings and memories. He allows it to move up from the base of his spine until it explodes into his brain and he fears he might die. What ensues is a number of years of feeling frequently ungrounded and experiencing electrical shocks in his body.

In the course of his tale, Morris does inform his reader of the ways that worked best for him in dealing with his Kundalini awakening, though he is quite clear too on his belief that, “Kundalini awakening follows no standard formula that can be listed and outlined and remedied by one simple program.” His methods of alleviating the symptoms include avoidance of meditation, breathing through the pain, honouring the body’s need for rest and relaxation, jogging, yoga and, particularly, dancing to drumbeats, something he discovers as a participant at one of the Rainbow Festivals he attends,

I found that dancing to the pounding, embracing beat of
the drums was one of the more powerful healing experiences I came
across for channeling the Kundalini energy. The drum
circles at a big.Rainbow Gathering are truly incredible, and definitely
a place to “let it all out” if one feels so inclined.

He represents the process as something that can be painful, depressing and frustrating and advises that:

Trying to focus purely on the uplifting and positive
energies and disconnect from the negative—through meditation,
visualization, affirmation, prayer or other means—will serve only
to put off connecting with and processing these challenging energies
of the so-called “lower self.” Of course, these more mental practices
can be very helpful, if in practicing them the intention is to find balance.

He suggests that rather than simply attempting to ascend into the crown chakra and leave the lower self behind that the energetic imbalances that arise in a Kundalini awakening be acknowledged as valid and that love and healing be brought to the emotions they stir.

Ultimately, he comes to appreciate the gift of his Awakening, “… it offers a deep and reassuring presence when allowed to flow freely through one’s being. It is the life force energy, and feeling it makes one feel more alive and more at peace,” and expresses his understanding that he creates everything he experiences in order to evolve his soul and that this is the art of being.

Gabriel recently became a member and generously made his ebook available for free but, obviously, as an author he'd like to make a living. So, if this book appeals to you, consider buying it.