Kundalini and the Art of Being ... 11my body were about to lose its ability to function. I was a 0-watt
light bulb being hit by 90 watts of electricity—and it felt as if I were
shorting out.
The pressure on my skull was so intense that I thought it might ac-
tually be damaging my brain. My bones felt like electrified metal, and
I had the sensation of a steel spike penetrating my body at the top of
my head, driven all the way down through my crotch and sticking
out between my legs. My very consciousness seemed to be trying to
separate from my body, as if I were about to fly uncontrollably onto
the astral planes.
Finally, I told the one other employee I was working alongside
that I had to leave because I was feeling sick. I abruptly left the res-
taurant and began walking in the direction of Amy’s apartment. As I
passed by a public phone, I decided to call 911. I had no doubt right
then that my situation was an emergency—if I could just manage to
explain what it was.
I dialed and asked to speak to a medical professional. When I got
one on the line, I tried to relate my predicament to her. I proposed the
spinal-fluid theory that I had come up with earlier, hoping it might
be a genuine medical problem she could help me with. Although she
tried her best to understand my condition, her basic response was,
“I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand what your problem is...”
I hung up and decided to call my dad. It was comforting to hear his
voice at the other end of the line though, understandably, he couldn’t
quite comprehend the magnitude of what I was going through. Talk-
ing to him was helpful, however, and he tried his best to be sup-
portive. He understood from my shaking voice and tone of despair
that I was in a great deal of turmoil over whatever it was that was
going on—and suggested that maybe I should come back home to
California. Since I hadn’t known quite what I was doing with my
life even before this had occurred, I said that I would definitely think
about it. He told me to see how things went over the next day or so,
and then to call back and check in—maybe he would come up with
something.