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Today I sit down with Marleen Thaler, a researcher at the University of Vienna and University of Graz. Together, we investigate the history of the transformation of Kundalini from a Hindu goddess resting at the base of the spine to her modern manifestation as a psychiatric syndrome. Along the way, we discuss the central importance of the Theosophical society, the anti-psychiatry movement of the 1970s, spiritual emergencies, and kundalini as a meeting point for religion and medicine.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Arthur Avalon, The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga
Lee Sennella, The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence
Spiritual Emergence Network (USA | International)
Marleen's publications: Academia.edu
Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including downloading:
Full English translation of the Hathayoga Pradipika, which includes description of kundalini coiled at the base of the spine and structured practices to direct her energy toward enlightenment.
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