Siddhananda's journey began in her teenage years. It wasn't until she was around 30 that her journey and seeking of truth began in earnest.
At this time, Spiritual practices were picked up on her own, and Kundalini spontaneously awakened due to a sincere prayer of wanting to be of service to humanity. She was not prepared or had any idea what this awakening would open or where it would lead.
With this awakening, many phenomena, shifting states of consciousness and radical mood changes manifested which left her extremely ungrounded and shaken. After a long period of struggling to understand what was taking place and being unsuccessful at coming to any balance or peace within, Siddhananda found her Guru, GuruSwamiG.
Siddhananda has been with her Guru for 10 years. Increasing stability, deepening states as well as balance slowly filtered in during this time due to her Guru's grace and guidance.
Recently, a profound shift took place in which all sense of separation and individuality suddenly dropped. Spontaneously, a starkly different reality was revealed–an immediate non-dual, pure beingness in which there never existed an "other". This presence (One without a second) has remained and is known without a doubt that it is the truth of what all of humanity truly is at the core.
Summary and Transcript of this interview
Interview recorded 1/18/2011.
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to Siddhananda's spiritual journey
00:02:39 - Facing Fears in Graveyards
00:04:31 - The Poetry of Krishnamurti
00:06:01 - Debilitating Experiences and Mystical Insights
00:08:00 - The Pull of Spiritual Awakening
00:10:08 - From Darkness to Light
00:12:33 - Discovering Kundalini Energy
00:14:33 - The Potency and Caution of Spiritual Experiences
00:16:35 - Five Years of Intensity
00:18:58 - Kriyas and Spiritual Awakening
00:21:23 - Connecting with a Kundalini Guide in Seattle
00:23:36 - A Life-changing Encounter in India
00:25:35 - Finding Stability and Balance
00:28:20 - The Importance of a Guru Guide
00:31:14 - The Blessing of Suffering and Desperation for a Guru
00:33:52 - Submitting to a Teacher
00:37:30 - Trusting in the Inherent Intelligence of the Universe
00:40:47 - The Blessing of Guruji
00:43:26 - Vibrating Thoughts and Fluid Consciousness
00:45:49 - Devotional Experiences and the Practice of Mantras
00:49:00 - The Illusion of Seeking Phenomena
00:52:38 - The Experience of Non-Dual Consciousness
00:57:02 - The Dissolution of the Ego
01:01:39 - The Illusion of Separation
01:06:51 - The Revelation of Non-Dual Presence
01:13:28 - The Mystery of Personality and Identity
01:20:43 - The Nature of Ego and Suffering
01:25:45 - Working with Students in the Online Ashram
01:31:32 - The Temporal and Eternal Qualities of the Substratum
01:37:21 - Transmission and Bliss
01:44:34 - Trusting the Universe