Kundalini: Lessons in Surrender
Barry & Emma McGuinness, July 2025
Barry originally wrote these lessons and tips during the 60 days he was in a full-blown kundalini awakening. They were written to himself, from himself. Since then, we have both found that the core principles of surrender have stood both of us in good stead, allowing these lessons — and the kundalini itself — to continue nourishing our lives.
At the end of the article, you’ll find a few recommendations if you’d like to delve into contemporary research and further reading.
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We experience kundalini energy flowing as a perfectly synchronised ALIGNMENT of body, mind, and consciousness.
The greater the degree of alignment, the greater and easier the flow of energy.
For five years before his own awakening, Barry had suffered chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME). That was, he came to realise, a state of strong misalignment. The more he followed his intuition to come into body-mind alignment, the more free-flowing energy he experienced. Eventually, he recovered overnight from CFS/ME.
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The body provides constant, instant FEEDBACK about our degree of alignment or misalignment in the form of physical sensations.
Be aware of physical sensations, gently, without concentrating or forcing. Every sensation represents how energy is either:
flowing freely,
struggling to flow (being resisted), or
not flowing at all.
Examples:
A blank, empty or numb sensation indicates a part of us which we simply don't often engage. (Someone who is out of touch with their emotions might feel a blankness around the heart.)
Wherever we feel uncomfortable or worse, this indicates something in us that is resisting the flow and needs attention. The way to allow more flow into an uncomfortable place is to consciously experience that place as you relax it physically and/or psychologically.
Wherever we feel comfortable, the energy is able to flow. Increasingly pleasant sensations – all the way up to ecstasy – represent increasing amounts of free-flowing energy.
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What best facilitates alignment is a state of complete SURRENDER in body and mind.
Take a moment to drop all activity – physical and mental.
Let go of all wilful urges, concerns, and attempts to control our life experiences. These will manifest as tensions in the body (such as clenched jaw).
It might help to focus on breathing, but without any aim or goal, no intent to change it; just being a passive observer.
Try to create a ‘vacuum’ within yourself. In other words:
Let your entire nervous system and musculature be empty of any control signals coming from your mind or personality.
Then invite the most benevolent force in the universe – divine love, bliss, Kundalini (same thing) – to emerge within you, and take over your entire being.
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In every moment, set out to RELAX and feel as absolutely comfortable as possible – physically and mentally.
Any state of discomfort or tension or concentration will tend to resist the flow, causing kundalini to retreat.
The more we focus on small stuff, the more our mind/personality gets involved. It’s like picking up a telescope to focus on something, but then climbing inside it too, and then wondering why we feel so small and cramped.
The more we relax and drop our ‘telescoped’ tendencies, and with a conscious invitation and positive anticipation, being open to the best energy the universe has to offer, the more room we create for this godly love-power to fill, guide and nourish us.
Start by completely relaxing the body.
It might help to spend a few seconds shaking away all tensions, like you’re trying to slough off dead skin.
Then lie flat, get very comfortable, and relax ...
Breathe by moving the belly up and down, slowly, deeply and gently ...
Relax away all physical tension, everywhere in the body …
Relax the brain.
If you can still feel discomfort or lack of flow somewhere, then:
See if you can relax that area more.
If not, tune into it and see if it can tell you something — What do you associate it with? What does it need or want of you?
How to relax the mind? Start with the body.
Just as deliberately smiling can actually make us feel happy, physically relaxing and being comfy can make us mentally relaxed and comfy. So to relax the mind, just let it echo the sense of relaxation in the body.
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TRUST that this energy has nothing but good intentions.
Trust that it knows what it’s doing better than we do. It knows:
exactly how to take care of our wellbeing,
exactly how to work through our blocks,
exactly how to heal us and enliven us.
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The whole awakening process seems to go through a repeating CYCLE.
When the energy is first activated, we may go through difficult purification and realignment processes.
Eventually we may experience full-on awakening.
But our body and mind can only sustain the full flow for a limited period as they are not yet fully adjusted.
So then the flow subsides and we slip back into the ordinary body-mind to begin the next stage of purification.
But we just keep persisting and surrendering, trusting that it is all for the best.
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We are here precisely in order to choose what to do
The universe hasn’t set us an agenda or a to-do list to follow.
We are not ‘meant’ to always know what to do, or how, or why.
Stepping up in our maturity and mastery means being willing to be in the moment without a clue — knowing that this is precisely why we are here: to make it up as we go along.
We are unique individuals and we are one. This is not an accident. It is a deep service to the whole.
Recommended Resources
Along the way, we have found the following resources useful. We plan to share more recommendations in future articles, but this is a good starting point for exploring kundalini and related experiences:
Journey Through Transformation by Kaia Nightingale
This book is based on Kaia’s own experience as well as her master’s dissertation, which involved interviews with 110 people who have gone through kundalini experiences. It is particularly easy to read and digest, addressing a wide range of experiences. The book offers many actionable insights and advice drawn from her research and personal journey. Emma, in particular, has drawn on this book the most.
The Kundalini Guide by Bonnie Greenwell
Drawing on her personal experience and PhD research, this book offers deep insights into kundalini. The author also runs a website of the same name, featuring audio recordings of online group sessions she led. These recordings include contributions from participants, which add extra value by sharing diverse perspectives. The audio recordings can be purchased separately, beyond the cost of the book.
Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings: Phenomenology, Altered States, Individual Differences, and Well-being
( academic research paper – LINK )
While academic in nature, this paper is easier to read than many others. Features we particularly like include live links to references placed at the points where they are cited, making it simple to explore specific sources directly without hunting through the endnotes. The paper is rich with references overall, making it a good springboard for further research into this area