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Rating: 
Summary: Amazon.com couldn't create a score low enough for this trash
Review: By the time I finished the introduction of this book, I found it hard to believe that the author is in fact a Princeton graduate. (Maybe a legacy?) Not only is this book mediocrely written, but is also a heap of pseudo-scientific huey passed off as "supernatural" biology, for which reason alone the book deserves the lowest possible rating. Selby admits in his long autobiographical aside that he was caught up in the Eastern spirituality craze that swept the U.S. in the late 60's, without which his life was spiritually bankrupt. This is an emotionally driven "self-help" book worthy of all the negative stereotypes that befit the several clueless and unqualified authors in the genre.
But what is worse about this book is that you will be dumber for reading it even with respect to understanding the Indian mystical concept of Kundalini and Chakras (which should actually be spelled "cakras") that it alleges to teach. Selby's interpretation draws upon numerous sources of questionable accuracy such as Alan Watts, dubious forced analogies of Jungian origin, and the psychobabble of several people even less credible on the topic - some of whom don't write about it at all but Selby would like to think otherwise. His explanations are sprinkled with various references to authors so remotely removed from the topic that his book reads like an essay randomly spewed out by Postmodernism generator (find it on Google) with but a marginally more cohesive thesis.
Did Selby ever bother to read the Sat-Cakra Nirupana or Paduka Pancaka to learn from the horse's mouth what an Indian thought the "Chakras" were in Laya yoga? Had he even cracked the spine of a copy of the Sushruta-Samhita, Kshurika-Upanishad, or Hathayogapradikpa for an elaboration of the so called "energy channels," he might have learned that there was more than the seven "Chakra" concept floating around in the vaguely Hindu spirituality he espouses. But Selby, a therapist and not a scholar, would rather make tenuous and out-of-context comparisons to other entirely unrelated primitive cultures stylistically reminiscent of the theosophical claptrap because real scholarship guided by critical thinking takes infinitely more time and energy. This book is an insult to the thousands of men and women who have earned, for their hard and sincere efforts to produce factually correct and quality work on Hindu religion, only a tiny fraction of the money that Selby will make for selling his poorly researched misinformation to aging hippies and counter-culture teenagers.
An utter piece of garbage whose date of discontinuation of print should be celebrated. It just goes to show that when you find a book discarded on a heap, it might be scrapped for a good reason.
Rating: 
Summary: Kundalini For Regular People!
Review: Great book, makes meditation almost easy and definitely a pleasure all the way along ... this author knows whereof he speaks, that's obvious. And he has made a big step forward from other kundalini books I've read - he places the heart at the center and focuses on bringing more love into the human energy system, rather than the usual "blast off through the head" kundalini books. And this is a hands-on manual, it guides you every step of the way, safely, enjoyably ... I love this book! Already in three weeks, I can breathe freer, my heart feels better, I have more energy - and another thing I notice is my patience has gotten better, I think I'm more fun to be around now that I know how to tune into my breathing and just relax more, wherever I am ... yes, good book! And the author's website... is perfect training, online audio guidance with the author's voice ... for free!I recommend this book so highly ... Peter
Rating: 
Summary: Kind of a misleading title.
Review: I bought this book thinking that it focused only on kundalini awakening. I was a bit disappointed that this is not the case. In a sense it does, in that it teaches you how to open up your chakras so the kundalini can awaken within you.
As a Chakra meditation book, it isn't bad. The exercises are simple and the author does introduce the reader to some new teachings that I haven't seen in other books.
Another good book to add to your human energy field library.
Rating:
Summary: Great for everybody
Review: I liked this book very much, since it offers a very balanced approach to Kundalini awakening. Many teachers plunge interested folks into this kind of mystic experience without warning them about the dangers that may come. Selby on the other hand proposes a simple, undogmatic and safe method. Though this book might be written for beginners, I really appreciated his views about the Kundalini-shakti even though I did quite some reading and meditating already. He has a very nonsectarian approach, but does not deny his Christian background. Reading his book one can sense that he knows what he is talking about and has seen - as I did myself - what happens, when people get too fanatic about this magnificient power. His aim is not to prepare the reader to leave this world in the next 36 hours by a blast of light, Kundalini as a substitute for psychodelic drug-addicts, but to built the foundations of a life of meditation that does not isolate the adept from the rest of society, but enables him to grow with the increasing flow.
Rating:
Summary: clear and easy to use meditation guide
Review: John Selby has done an excellent job describing the chakra system and how to awaken the chakras as a group through meditation exercises. This book takes a gentle, gradual approach, so that the practitioner can avoid some of the unpleasant side affects of sudden kundalini activation. I worked through the exercises as written for several months before branching into a slightly different meditation form. During those months I did experience noticeable changes in my waking perceptions, as well as in my dreams, which became lucid much more frequently. I did, however, retain some blockages in certain chakras which these meditations could not seem to budge. Thus I would recommend that for stubborn blockages one work with a teacher, because the book alone can only take you so far. Still, it is an excellent book, written in a very positive and supportive voice.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book To Introduce Kundalini Philosophy
Review: The book has been a best selling book on Kundalini and the Chakras for over ten years. It is obvious that it has been well received by thousands of readers world-wide, who have benifited from the publisher's approach. I am the artist who conceived the book and painted the paintings over 25 years ago, which are part of a much larger chakra lexicon that I established in 1979. I hired and educated Mr. Selby under contract with my Chakra Science Formulas so that he could rework my original manuscript "The Sacred Wheels of Light" into a commericalized book for the publishers in a time the Wellness markets were in their infancy. My voice is not reflective in Mr. Selby's penmenship, but is seen in the body of illustrations of orignal Chakra oil paintings that speak for themselves. For the advanced students who find Mr. Selby's approach self-efacing and trite, please embrace compassion to the novice market that is learning about this complex philosophy and requires a generalized course of kundalini and chakra education. The publishers have been enormously successful!
Zachary Jay Selig
Rating:
Summary: What? No reviews for this book?!
Review: This is my favorite book which teaches a traditional approach to awakening ones chakras. It was a joy to read and I had the distinct feeling that it was a true labor of love for Mr Selby. His love and passion for the subject really shines in his writing. I also liked Zachary Zelig's wonderful paintings (mandalas for the different chakras)in the center of the book. This book combines some of the best traditional approaches to stimulating the chakras- sound (mantra), breathing (pranayama), and visualization. In addition it also suggests several different programs of practice- one which combines all techniques, one which concentrates on breathing alone, one on mantra alone, and another which you can do in 7 breaths during ones everyday life. I really like the approach he takes to working with the chakras- not concentrating on any single one but working with all of them in a balanced way to create a safe, steady, and gentle opening. Another book on the chakras I really like is Sanaya Roman's "Soul Love." It teaches a more modern approach to working with the chakras that I find to be very effective. Whenever I am asked to recommend books on the chakras, these two titles (Kundalini Awakening and Soul Love) always are at the top of my list. Kundalini Awakening is probably the better of the two books to start with because Soul Love is a bit more involved and more difficult to put into practice. For those who are looking for an introduction to the chakras and a practical way of working with them this book is the best I know of.
Rating: 
Summary: Unmemorable
Review: Though I found it commendable that the author was attempting to share a more subtle way to awaken Kundalini, I found this book truly unmemorable. It was particularly frustrating to be engrossed and reading a passage and then be told, "pause and put the book down..." I suppose what I wanted was a more traditional format: text and explanation chapters followed by practical excercises. Perhaps I was also anticipating a more advanced book. The exercises seemed very elementary to me; nothing particularly special that I hadn't read before. And moreover it rang a bit "self-helpy" in its style.
Rating:
Summary: Kundalini For Regular People!
Review: Well this book gives a great moral diatribe about Yoga and religion in general, but falls a little short on clear instruction on the techniques. It does however, contain the mantras for each chakra, some visualization for each, and an execellent gallery of paintings to meditate on for each chakra. What I don't like about the book is how he goes on and on about how it relates to Christianity...this is definatley written from a christian perspective.... Also, reading the instruction on some of the breathing excercises is confusing...there is not a clear algorithm given, I would have given this 3 stars, but the paintings might make the book worth purchasing if just for that. Overall a great book for someone who knows nothing of the subject matter. - Adam
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