Bruce Greyson, MD, is the Chester F. Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences and director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia. He is also coauthor and editor of several books on near-death experiences (NDEs) and has devoted much of his career to studying them. In the following essay, he shares clinical studies that correlate NDEs with kundalini arousal. Examining the various symptoms for NDEs and how these relate to kundalini experiences, Greyson looks for answers to the questions: Can an NDE serve as a catalyst for human evolution? Can having an NDE propel people to awaken to a higher consciousness?
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are profound spiritual or mystical experiences that many people report as they approach or start to cross the threshold of death.[1] The contents and aftereffects of NDEs suggest that they are more than just hallucinations.[2] The contents do not appear to be influenced by past religious beliefs, but after the experience they do have a profound effect on religious or spiritual beliefs.[3] Near-death experiencers (NDErs) also report a consistent positive change in attitude toward the transition from life to death.[4]
There is still no accepted scientific cause of NDEs. Such a complex phenomenon does not lend itself to a simplistic mechanistic explanation. Despite the psychological or physiological interpretations of the NDE that some authors propose[5] the experience is almost universally regarded by those who report it as spiritually authentic. This is not necessarily paradoxical, as the measure of an experience’s authenticity is not the nature of its trigger, but rather its ability to promote authentic spiritual growth.[6] One of the most consistently documented features of the near-death experience is its profound range of aftereffects, including decreased fear of death, decreased competitiveness, decreased interest in personal gain, and increased joy of life, altruism, and interest in spirituality.[7]
Some investigators in the field of consciousness and near-death studies have suggested that the significance of the near-death experience may be its role as a catalyst for human evolution.[8] They view the reported mental, physical, and spiritual aftereffects of NDEs as indications of an accelerated development of intuitive functioning on a different order, and as similar to changes traditionally reported by people awakening to a higher-order state of consciousness. But if evolution of consciousness implies the continuing biological evolution of humanity, then personality transformations should be accompanied by signs of biological transformation.
In Eastern spiritual traditions, the biological mechanism of both individual enlightenment and evolution of the species toward higher consciousness is called kundalini, a potential force that, once awakened, can produce a variety of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual effects. The ancient yogic texts describe a life energy present in all living beings called prana; corollary energies have been identified in many other cultures, such as huo and chi of Tibetan yogis, quaumaneq of Eskimo shamans, incendium amoris and photismos of Christian mystics, Henri Bergson’s élan vital, and the more recent terms bioenergy, bioplasma, and orgone energy. Kundalini was described as a normally dormant mechanism, or organizing principle, that could be activated or aroused under certain conditions to strengthen or purify an individual’s prana, transforming its effects upon the individual. Comparable potential forces or organizing principles have also been described in other traditions: examples are shakti, the Odic force, the Holy Spirit, the Pearl of Great Price, the Serpent Power, the Rod of Aaron, the Sacred Fire, Osiris, and the Sun Behind the Sun.[9]
Kundalini has been held responsible for life itself,[10] the sexual drive, creativity, genius, longevity, and vigor,[11] and our evolution toward an ultimate, magnificent state of consciousness.[12] The dormant kundalini is said to be situated at the base of the spine, and when aroused can travel upward along the spinal cord to the brain, where it can stimulate a dormant chamber of the brain (the brahma randhra), leading to biological transformation and immensely expanded perception.[13]
Eastern traditions have developed elaborate lifelong practices and lifestyles with the intent of awakening kundalini; this is, in fact, the implicit purpose of yoga.[14] However, the same ancient Eastern traditions have also recognized that when the brain is deprived of oxygen, kundalini as the life force in rare circumstances may actually rush to the brain in an effort to sustain life. In fact, one unorthodox yoga sect practices suffocation by tongue-swallowing in the hope that kundalini will rush to their brains and produce enlightenment[15] a practice that may have a Western counterpart in la petite mort, in which a considerable number of adolescents die each year seeking orgasmic initiation by asphyxiation.[16]
This theoretical arousal of kundalini by life-threatening crisis has traditionally been regarded by most Eastern philosophers as dangerous.[17] In Eastern traditions, kundalini would ideally be activated at the appropriate time by a guru who can properly guide the development of that energy. If awakened without proper guidance, as social psychologist Kenneth Ring believes happens in near-death experiences,[18] kundalini can be raw, destructive power loosed on the individual’s body and psyche.
Though the vocabulary of the kundalini hypothesis is foreign to Westerners, the process bears some resemblance to the Christian concept of the Holy Spirit. The process of kundalini awakening is essentially a spiritual one, outside the domain of science. However, its traditional roles as the vehicle of evolution, if guided, or of psychosomatic havoc, if spontaneous, should be accompanied by observable physical and psychological effects.
Because Western medicine does not acknowledge the Eastern concept of kundalini or even the westernized physio-kundalini model, symptoms of kundalini arousal are often diagnosed as physical and/or psychological problems that fit within Western allopathic diagnostic categories. For example, the shaking, twisting, and vibrating so well known to experiencers could be diagnosed as a neurological disorder. It is also hard to recognize the energy’s presence because it manifests itself in so many different patterns. Because its symptoms mimic so many disorders of the mind and body, even people familiar with the kundalini concept are unsure whether they are witnessing rising kundalini energy or disorders of the mind and body. However, taking psychotropic medications to alleviate symptoms, on the assumption that these represent a psychiatric disorder, may disrupt the natural healing mechanism of kundalini activation.[19]
Three decades ago, biomedical engineer Itzhak Bentov formulated a scientifically verifiable version of the kundalini concept, which he called the physio-kundalini hypothesis; psychiatrist and ophthalmologist Lee Sannella developed the physio-kundalini model further, collecting cases, experimenting with ways to help channel it, and outlining research strategies.[20] While both scientists acknowledged that the physio-kundalini concept is less comprehensive than the classical kundalini model, they argued that its simplified, mechanistic description made it more accessible to scientific study.
Following up on Kenneth Ring’s suggestion that NDEs can arouse kundalini, I measured features of NDEs and features of kundalini arousal in people who had had near-death experiences and in two comparison groups. The participants in this research included 153 people who had had NDEs, 55 who had come close to death but did not have NDEs, and 113 people who had never come close to death.
I gave all 321 participants the NDE scale to identify the presence of a near-death experience and quantify its depth. With a range of 0 to 32, the scale has high internal consistency and correlation with other measures of NDE, reliably differentiates near-death experiences from other reactions to a brush with death, and produces scores that do not change over decades.[21] The 153 participants identified as NDErs had a mean score of 16.7 on the NDE scale, whereas the 55 participants classified as not having an NDE had a mean score of 2 on the NDE scale. The third group of 113 participants had never come close to death.
I analyzed responses of NDErs and control subjects on a nineteen-item questionnaire I based on the Bentov-Sannella physio-kundalini model.[22] This questionnaire includes motor “symptoms,” such as spontaneous body movements, strange posturing, breath changes, and the body getting locked into certain positions; somatosensory symptoms, such as spontaneous tingling or vibrations, orgasmic sensations, progression of physical sensations up the legs and back and over the head, extreme heat or cold, and pain that comes and goes abruptly; audiovisual symptoms, such as internal lights or colors that light up the body, internal voices, and internal whistling, hissing, or roaring noises; and psychological symptoms, such as sudden bliss or ecstasy for no reason, speeding or slowing of thoughts, and expanding beyond the body and watching the body from a distance.
As a group, NDErs reported experiencing almost twice as many physio-kundalini items as did either people who had had close brushes with death but no NDEs or people who had never come close to death. As a check on whether the physio-kundalini questionnaire might be measuring nonspecific unusual experiences, I also analyzed the responses of a group of hospitalized psychiatric patients; they reported the same number of physiokundalini items as did the non-NDE comparison groups.
There were two additional unexpected comparison groups in my studies, as shown below: people who claimed to have had NDEs but described experiences with virtually no typical NDE features, and people who denied having had NDEs but then went on to describe prototypical near-death experiences. In their responses to the physio-kundalini questionnaire, the group that made unsupported claims of NDEs were comparable to the non-NDE comparison group, while the group that undeservedly denied having NDEs were comparable to the group of NDErs. In regard to kundalini arousal, then, having a near-death experience mattered, but thinking you had one didn’t. (Table 13.1)
GROUP | PHYSIO-KUNDALINI SYNDROME ITEMS REPORTED |
|---|---|
| Near-death experiencers | 7.6 |
| Those who denied NDEs but reported NDE features | 7.7 |
| Those close to death without NDEs | 4.6 |
| Those never close to death | 4.6 |
| Those who claimed NDEs but reported no NDE features | 4.5 |
| Hospitalized psychiatric patients | 4.9 |
| Table 13.1 |
Here is a breakdown of all the items on the Physio-Kundalini Syndrome Index in four categories: motor symptoms, somatosensory symptoms, audiovisual symptoms, and psychological symptoms. Three of the four motor physio-kundalini symptoms were acknowledged significantly more often by NDErs than by the two comparison groups. (Table 13.2)
| Table 13.2 |
While some somatosensory physio-kundalini symptoms, such as spontaneous orgasmic sensations, ascending anatomic progression of sensations, and unexplained isolated temperature changes, are more commonly reported by NDErs than by the comparison groups, the differences were not statistically significant, possibly because they are either too infrequent in any group, as with temperature changes so extreme as to burn other people, or too common in all groups, as with spontaneous unexplained pains and tingling or vibratory sensations. (Table 13.3)
| Table 13.3 |
With the exception of unexplained internal noises, which were reported significantly more often by NDErs than participants in the comparison groups, audiovisual physio-kundalini symptoms were acknowledged either so commonly by all groups, as with internal voices, or so rarely, as with internal lights or colors, that differences between groups were not significant. (Table 13.4 & 13.5)
NDERS | CLOSE TO DEATH WITHOUT NDE | NEVER CLOSE TO DEATH | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal noises: whistling, hissing, chirping, roaring, flutelike sounds | 41% | 21% | 21% |
| Internal voices | 46% | 35% | 27% |
| Internal lights or colors | 19% | 5% | 7% |
| Internal lights or colors illuminating parts of the body | 19% | 5% | 7% |
| Lights bright enough to illuminate room | 7% | 5% | 1% |
| Table 13.4 |
| Table 13.5 |
Finally, with regard to psychological physio-kundalini symptoms, sudden unexplained positive emotions, changes in thought processes for no apparent reason, and watching oneself from a distance or “witness consciousness” were reported significantly more often by NDErs than by either comparison group, whereas sudden unexplained negative emotions and the “greater body” experience were not reported with significantly different frequency by the different groups.
In summary, ten of the nineteen symptoms on the physiokundalini syndrome index, most notably the motor and mental symptoms, were significantly more common among the NDErs than among the comparison groups: assuming strange positions, becoming locked into position, changes in breathing, spontaneous orgasmic sensations, ascending progression of sensations, unexplained heat or cold moving through the body, internal noises, sudden positive emotions for no reason, watching oneself as if from a distance, and unexplained changes in thought processes. These ten items then may be useful indicators of kundalini arousal.
Also of note, among the 153 near-death experiencers, there was a significant positive correlation between NDE scale score and number of physio-kundalini symptoms reported. That is, those with deeper NDEs reported more physio-kundalini symptoms.
Kenneth Ring and his student Christopher Rosing reported almost identical results in their Omega Project: NDErs reported experiencing almost twice as many physio-kundalini items as did people who had close brushes with death but no NDE, and people who had never come close to death.[23]
Here then we have NDErs reporting precisely the kind of physiological changes that are associated in Eastern traditions with the bioenergy that drives evolution. From verbal reports of such evidence as patterns of physiological functioning and disease history, as well as physio-kundalini manifestations, we can identify which items best differentiate NDErs from comparison groups.
The data from this study demonstrate that a number of physiokundalini symptoms derived from classical descriptions of kundalini arousal are reported more often by NDErs than by comparison populations.[24] This finding corroborates the anecdotal evidence of previous investigators that NDEs are associated with kundalini. It must be borne in mind that the physio-kundalini syndrome—this consistent pattern of physiological and psychological symptoms—is connected with the classical kundalini arousal of Eastern spiritual traditions only by theory and circumstantial evidence. A true measure of kundalini awakening, such as an enduring state of higher consciousness, is beyond our current ability to measure.
Although in theory the physio-kundalini syndrome may imply spiritual evolution, in practice it often denotes a crisis requiring adjustment. While there has been little scientific literature on kundalini, there has been even less from a clinical perspective. What has been written by physicians and therapists suggests that common physio-kundalini symptoms and individuals’ responses to those symptoms are often mistaken for physical and mental illnesses, with tragic results.[25] Given that the increasing frequency of near-death experiencers was estimated by a Gallup poll more than a quarter Century ago to be 5 percent of the adult American population,[26] this study suggests that the physio-kundalini syndrome may be far more common in Western society than previously imagined.
This documentation of the frequency of kundalini arousal and of its association with events such as the near-death experience may foster greater awareness of kundalini among the scientific and medical professions. Studies of kundalini phenomena should be enlarged to encompass other populations at risk, such as combat veterans, heart transplant patients and those with terminal illnesses, and individuals following spiritual paths. Further research and dialogue among scientists and clinicians may help individuals experiencing kundalini arousal to cope with the psychophysiological crises and fulfill the promise of spiritual growth.
Finally, based on such findings, it is possible that future work in this area could lead to vital new insights into the evolution of humanity toward a different order of consciousness, echoing a major theme in many books written about the near-death experience—that the importance of the near-death experience is not its association with death, but its implications for life.[27]