Many people, and even published authors on kundalini, associate kundalini awakening with symptoms such as a mild sense of a trickle of energy up the spine. This does indicate some energetic movement, but not, in my opinion, a true kundalini awakening. Nearly ever person I know with what I call a "true awakening" has responded to phrases like "the freight train" inside or "the volcano erupting" inside. More fundamentally, in a mild energetic movement the ego stays intact (in a healthy individual) and enjoys the pleasant sensations much like any other physical sensation.
In a "true awakening" the force of kundalini eclipses the ego altogether and the individual is almost certain to feel disoriented for some time. There will almost certainly be periods of pronounced psychological discomfort and social alienation. Works from the literature of Tibetan Buddhism indicate two distinct periods of spiritual emergency. The first is at the beginning of true kundalini awakening in which one feels an acute anxiety and sense of alienation from the world. The second is after the process has considerably advanced and one feels an acute fear of one's own internal groundlessness. Even in the most difficult periods these challenging experiences are balanced by periods of deep bliss and profound awareness. Moreover, in time any negative experiences give way to deep realization.
Source: Kundalini: FAQ
See also:
Spiritual Emergency, Shamanism, Mysticism, Gnosticism, Alchemy, Crisis, Schizophrenia, Psychosis, PTSD, The Hero's Journey, Spiritual Awakening, Ego Death, The Dark Night of the Soul, Kundalini, Carl Jung, John Weir Perry, Stanislav Grof, Christina Grof, R.D. Laing, Loren Mosher, Maureen Roberts, David Lukoff, The Black Madonna, Kali, Sophia
