More than fifteen years ago, when I was twenty-two, I experienced something known as a kundalini awakening. When it happened, I had no idea what had occurred. I didn't have a spiritual teacher, or guru, to look to for guidance.

I'd started practicing hatha yoga, voraciously reading everything from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche to many of the works authored by Carlos Castaneda, meditating alone in the desert, practicing emotional clearing, and going to various workshops and spiritual gatherings. In the process, I met many others also reaching for a higher state of consciousness and a more meaningful experience of being.