As kundalini moves through the miasmas (repressed, damaged, latent) areas in the brain, we might feel the emotions connected with each developmental arrest. The miasmas were created in stress and in stress they are transmuted. For every up there is a down, so it is understandable that depression might result after the over-stimulation of the brain's pleasure centers and increase in endorphins, during the bliss of kundalini. For the endorphin system is the emotional anesthetization process which tries to soften the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The bliss and grace of metamorphic chemistry allow us to “touch” what we have repressed.
Depression could also result as we lose our left-brain adaptive functioning during the first few years of the major cycle. If we are not conscious of the process this loss of left-brain prefrontal lobe function could lead to paranoia, frustration, self-pity and other negative emotions. There tends to be a psychological let down when the tide turns down into the valley as the influx of spirit abates, and consciousness plunges deeply into matter. This feels like a loss of Grace after the heady heights of the influx, but the valleys are just as important as the mountain tops in the transformational process. The die-off's in particular should be regarded with awe and gratitude as very good news. They don't last long and we do not transform without them. The old must die for the new to be reborn. So the highs and lows of the kundalini cycle should be celebrated equally and given equal importance in attempting mastery and adaptation.
Once the kundalini storm progresses eventually the body's receptors get resistant and production of neurotransmitters and their precursors drops off and so the bodymind falls into depression. A normal diet would not supply adequate nutrients to overcome the deficiency, let alone a SAD diet. We can speed our recovery from kundalini depression through adopting a raw superfood diet, well supplied with nerve nutrients, and by taking supplements. (See Five Formulas For Kundalini). To regenerate we have to use all the integrity and energies and vitality that nature has to give such that we become beacons of lifeforce.
With the increase in immune activity, higher metabolism and nerve function during metamorphosis, one can assume that there is a greater free radical production. This is probably half the reason why we feel "fried" after the influx. The other major contributor to the down cycle is that the body's resources for making neurotransmitters and hormones becomes exhausted during the peak activity of the influx stage. Plus all the metabolites and oxidized molecules that were created in the firestorm need time to be converted and disposed of. In our cooked, demineralized bodies this radical swinging of metamorphic cycles is inevitable. With knowledge of the requirements of the process however, we can build the kind of integrity and reserves into our bodyminds that will help to facilitate evolution. By avoiding wasting so much time and energy in the down cycles, our spiritual birth will incur less abortion and labor.
"There are many undergoing this process who at times feel quite insane. When they behave well and keep silent they may avoid being called schizophrenic, or being hospitalized, or sedated. Nevertheless their isolation and sense of separation from others may cause them such suffering. We must reach such people, their families, and society, with information to help them recognize their condition as a blessing, not a curse. Certainly we must no longer subject people, who might be in the midst of this rebirth process, to drugs or shock therapies, approaches which are at opposite poles to creative self-development." P.60, Lee Sannella, M.D. Kundalini, Psychosis or Transcendence?
I think it imperative to not treat kundalini-depression with antidepressants, but to set about detoxing, regenerating and remineralizing the body. I suspect that tranquilizers and antidepressants will increase repression and prevent necessary build up of tension and the powerful flow of consciousness-energy that breaks through and transforms blockages (miasmas). The Guru Rawa sensed that the nerves of a woman who had taken 6 types of tranquilizers and antidepressants to be "burned." If we detoxify, adopt a raw diet and do those things that open us up to the flow of kundalini, then we establish a solid self of deep peace, joy and equanimity usually within several years. This sense of coming home to ourSelf is something that drugs, cooked food, and "therapies" can never give us. Kundalini restructures us to a higher order, enabling us to live a spiritual life in the material world.
"Prescription psychoactive drugs (antidepressants and antipsychotics) can arrest or completely abort a transformational process. This may sound desirable to those who are having a hard time of it, but these drugs do not return one to normal; instead, they tend to freeze the process in its present state. Worse, antidepressants can trigger psychosis for those in a delicate psychospiritual state, and the neuroleptics (antipsychotics) can cause tardive dyskinesia, a persistent and in many cases irreversible pathological syndrome which resembles kriyas! Even so, some people are so prone to severe depression or debilitating psychosis in the heightened states that they cannot function without the temporary aid of these drugs." El Collie, www.elcollie.com
Instead of suppression and medication I suggest that the initiate get a daily dose of nature, exercise, water therapy (eg:baths), bodywork, stretching, breathing, toning and music etc... A long list of coping techniques are listed further on in Kundalini Skills List. It is imperative that one adopts a diet that does not clog the liver, or weigh down the digestive system or challenge the immune system. The body already has more than enough to metabolize from the alchemy of transmutation itself, so we should be very careful not to overburden it with even more work. Nutritional supplementation should be given to the nervous system to feed neurotransmitters, hormones and to balance and soothe the nerves. Ginseng, ashitaba, neem, gotu kola, olive leaf and ginkgo are probably the most important herbs to take for achieving a higher homeostasis of the nervous system and recovering from depression and anhedonia (numbness). For both women and men nightly massaging of the breasts before sleep will help maintain hormone levels and prevent a slide into depression and numbness.
Rehabilitation of the brain after an awakening takes physical activity and novel environmental stimulation to encourage dendritic arborization, neurotrophic growth factors and increase plasticity i.e. where remaining cells take over from dead cells to improve functional recovery. Exercise and movement therapy increases brain vascularization, birth of new cells and synaptogenesis to establish new connections. Note that anti-convulsant drugs can increase functional depression, and that if antidepressants are used, instead of proactive healthy interventions such as new activities and exercise, post-awakening depression will be radically deepened and extended. For establishing new growth in the substantiation phase we need an appropriately enriched environment. That means people who care, and activities one enjoys. Remember--spiritual acceleration necessitates conscious incarnation, for if the awakening process does not become increasingly conscious negative outcomes will occur.
It doesn't matter what age you live in, there is always going to be some contemporary lion at your door. These days it just wears a different face than it did 20 or 2000 years ago. The trick is to allow the lion to wake us up, rather than make us numb or asleep. As soon as we define one lion and deal with that, there will be another lion around. If we stay focused on our giving our greatest gift this helps us remain open and not dissociated, To continually define and refine what it is we are here for, might be the primary panacea of all ages.
Self destruction to avoid the pain of the power-over paradigm is not a viable option and will do nothing to change the Spirit of the Age towards more beneficent and “happy” conditions. (See Working Toward a Transcendent Future for more on this.)
"The researches reported in the April 1998 American Journal of Psychiatry that "intrinsic religiosity" was the best predictor of recovery from depression in both the treated and untreated groups. There is no evidence of significant benefits from psychotherapy, drugs, or a combination of therapy." 121 The Undiscovered Mind, John Horgan
Check out David Wolfe, Gabriel Cousens and Brian Clement on youtube. These are the leading raw nutritionists in the world who offer inspiration and information on raw regeneration—thereby eliminating depression once and for all.
See Michael Brown's audio and video on his website www.thepresenceportal.com the Presence Process is a fantastic emotional processing tool.
Robert Augustus Masters has the last word on all the sticky psychological issues, check out his books, website and sign up for his newsletter. http://robertmasters.com/
©2006
Biology of Kundalini by Jana Dixon