Upvote, and especially for the metaphor (cocaine versus coca) - it summarizes what I&#x27;ve seen in the New Age-ish subculture over the years.<p>I&#x27;ve had experiences with kundalini - quite definitely. And some woo-woo ness I can&#x27;t possibly explain unless one is already familiar with the terminology and understandings. Ken Wilbur is a useful read - it&#x27;s not all garbage.<p>But &quot;I&quot; was still &quot;I&quot; and understood what was going on and never forced it by heavy duty 100% immersion into the subculture (aka dating the crazy chick). No instances of mania, etc - always came down, after learning some inner stuff. The focus was always on the inner world and self-knowledge, not solving the problems of the universe.  The universe can take care of itself.<p>It&#x27;s when you go into &quot;inflation&quot; and think &quot;you&quot; are the embodiment of God and all that is where everything goes sideways (aka no sleep for 10 days). To think all the concepts are -literally- true is a sign of a less sophisticated understanding or of schizophrenia, etc - like not understanding the myth of the dead and reborn god is a metaphor, not an actual historical event (people...! really?)  but once that metaphor becomes properly understood, then the universe becomes a little more interesting.<p>Someone with an undiagnosed bipolar disorder is pretty guaranteed problems eventually. I&#x27;m glad he&#x27;s back to normal.