A middle-aged, Midwestern college professor who had never meditated, done yoga or even had a massage when her transmutation began, Walters (Marrow of Flame: Poems of the Spiritual Journey) proves in this personal narrative that the esoteric spiritual transformation of Kundalini is theoretically available to everyone. Enigmatic, ecstatic kundalini is the "snake" coiled at the base of the spine that winds upward, awakening all in its path, culminating in an explosion of the divine. Walters's journal-based story spans years to chronicle a sublime ecstasy and pain as she strove to balance the kundalini intensities in her body and psyche. Although the varying voices of the journal format detract from the effort, Walters generally gracefully untangles and illuminates an intensely personal and highly individual spiritual passage, an effort praised by prolific author Andrew Harvey, who wrote the introduction. Walters's journey began while she was focusing meditatively on an image of Hinduism's Shiva and Shakti in union. "Almost instantaneously, I felt a great surge of ecstatic energy in the lower chakras and then, within seconds, this intense force rushed upward and into my head. My very crown seemed to open in rapture, and for many minutes, I felt the energies of the unseen immensity flow in, as if petal after radiant petal were unfolding in my crown." Thus electrified and propelled to a new depth, Walters has created a worthy, probing memoir, useful for anyone seeking a firsthand account of " 'God moving through your body.' Each visitation... a moment of holy embrace." (Aug.)
