@Angelica Carrier And I deeply resonate with you about humility and grace being daily practice. That, to me, is where spiritual growth becomes real. Thank you for sharing your journey, especially the hard parts. Those are the places where truth usually enters 🙏

@Aaron Carroll or one who has everything he needs and wants….and just happens to love Thai food 😂

@Aaron Carroll If I may say so myself, I cook a mean red curry. And cashew chicken. Whenever you’re passing by Bucharest, my friend :)

@Katie Lundgren wonderfully put! ❤️

@Dr. Joe Vertino I’m always up for a good discussion. You know how to find me :)

@Shona Glover your referral to the Kundalini stirs my interest, as it is something I have spent the last year researching from a physiological, anthropological, and ontological perspective. As a Christian man firmly rooted in Catholic and Orthodox ontology, I find myself naturally skeptical. Not because I deny the reality of the experiences people have with "energy work," but because of the inherent dangers and the specific nature of what is being accessed. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, there is a precise diagnostic term for this: prelest (or plane in Greek), which translates to "spiritual delusion" or "wandering." It describes a state where a person mistakes natural, psychosomatic, or even preternatural stimuli for a true encounter with the Divine. From my perspective, there are several "red flags" regarding the modern popularization of Kundalini that I believe merit a deeper, more cautious conversation: 1. The physiological "short circuit" From a natural science standpoint, what is often called "Kundalini rising" aligns closely with autonomic nervous system hyper-arousal. By using specific breathwork or "energy transmissions," we are essentially redlining our biological wiring. This produces massive spikes in dopamine and oxytocin, creating a biological "high" that feels spiritual because of its intensity. However, from an Orthodox ontological view, this is merely the "fire of the blood", a natural, animal-soul reaction that is being mistaken for the uncreated Grace of God. 2. "The Thief" vs. "The Guest" There is a fundamental difference in the direction of these practices. Kundalini is an Ascent; it is a "bottom-up" force where the practitioner seeks to "uncoil" their own power to storm the gates of consciousness. Christian mysticism, specifically Hesychasm, is a Descent. We do not "activate" ourselves; we wait in stillness for the Holy Spirit to descend upon us. I often use the analogy of a house: you can pick the lock (technique/activation) or you can knock and wait for the Master of the House to open the door (Grace). If you pick the lock, you enter as a thief, not a guest. When we force our way into "altered states" through physiological manipulation, we break down the spiritual "hedge" that protects our soul, leaving us vulnerable.

@Shona Glover Thank you for taking the time for such an elaborate and personal answer. Truly appreciated 🙏 Also I have, in hesychastic practices, experienced what others (foremost my “energetically curious” wife 😂) classify as “kundalini rising”. Not by seeking the experience, but spontaneous disembodied separation between body and consciousness (so called out of body experiences where you are fully aware, but disembodied, and even able to observe the empty shell of the body left behind momentarily), so I can totally relate to what you describe. It seems to me like we both agree that when such experiences are commercialized, selling something sensational (as in the case of e.g. KAP and similar intense workshops), you are in fact not being of service to others, but rather tapping into people’s unmet desire for the transcendent. That is what I personally turn against and believe to be dangerous, individually as well as a societal phenomena. Really cool talking to you about this! Thank you again 🙏