Don Daniels is an intrepid consciousness explorer, veteran meditator of almost 50 years. His experience with Kundalini and the wisdom he shares is both powerful and transformational and a paradigm shift in deep states of meditation and human consciousness development.
“My mind has gotten sharper and sharper as the years have gone by. Not only my mind but my emotions. I now have more control over my emotions (as a result of my experience with Kundalini).”
After several years of studying martial arts as a young boy and ultimately achieving Black Belt level, he began developing a strong interest in the contemplative aspects of the martial arts training as opposed to the physical contact aspects of the art form. This led to a spontaneous and dramatic awakening of the Kundalini energy while still in high school. This experience changed the course of his life.
During this conversation, he shares with great candor and details the inner experiences he had and how they affected the trajectory of his life. The experiences he had in meditation as the Kundalini began to unfold became so overwhelming that he decided to drop his full academic scholarship from the University of Florida in his senior year, just one semester away from completing his degree. He was determined to meet the spiritual force behind his internal experiences. Soon thereafter he packed his bags with only the clothes in his suitcase and the cash he had from the sale of his once cherished Pontiac Firebird, to go to India to find his Guru, Swami Muktananda. When he arrived on the other side of the world, he found immediate and definitive resonance with the Master.
That meeting intensified what was to become a life-long pursuit of deep meditation and spiritual unfoldment which had begun just a few years before when he was 16 years old. He eventually became a Vedic monk of the Saraswati Order and was named Swami Jnanananda, which means the bliss of supreme knowledge.
After almost 10 years of dedicated service to his Guru and training in the esoteric sciences of Tantra, Vedanta, Yoga and other mystical practices, he decided in 1985, to lovingly put away the monk’s robes and went back to college to complete his academic studies.
After graduating with a BA in psychology and a master’s degree in educational technology he began a 30-year career in academia, teaching at the high school and college levels.
In addition to his academic career he has practiced, studied and taught yoga philosophy, meditation science, and the psychology of personal achievement for over 40 years. His human performance seminars and workshops have included stress management, motivational seminars, biofeedback, neuro-linguistic programming, and infrared light therapy.
At the end of the conversation, he told me, “my enduring passion is to help others attain self-mastery in all aspects of life, and ultimately, help people understand, awaken and unfold the great inner power, majesty, and love that lies within. We start this process by first remembering we are all-powerful beings of light living in a human body. Then the adventure begins!”
If you are serious about meditation, interested in understanding the subtle inner processes associated with deep spiritual work or want to know more about Kundalini from a knowledgeable expert, this interview will certainly be memorable.
“Baba said, Meditation will teach you meditation.”
Show Notes, Resources, and Links
- Black Belt in Tang Soo Do
- Institute for Consciousness Research
- Vismayo yoga Bhumikah – Shiva Sutras, I.12
People
- Swami Muktananda
- Paramahansa Yogananda
- Swami Lakshman Joo
- Gopi Krishna
- Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D.
- Edger Casey
- Lobsang Rampa
Books
- Play of Consciousness – Swami Muktananda
- Kundalini: The Secret of Life – Swami Muktananda
- Swami Muktananda – A Biography – Swami Prakashananda
- Autobiography of a Yogi – Paramahansa Yogananda
- When Spirit Leaps – Bonnie Greenwell
- The Kundalini Guide – Bonnie Greenwell
- The Awakening Guide – Bonnie Greenwell
- Shiva Sutras – Jaidev Singh
- Kundalini, the Evolutionary Power – Gopi Krishna
You Tube
Glossary of Terms (click for full glossary)
Ashram, Yoga, Nada, Nadis, Chakras, Kundalini, meridians, Ki, Chi, Shakti, Kriyas, Pranayama, Bhastrika.