Surviving the Divine

A Memoir of Rude Awakening

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Pub Date 15 Jul 2021 | Archive Date 14 Nov 2021

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Description

When Raphael Cushnir's marriage fell apart, he decided to stop running away from the pain and embrace it.

This led to an unintended explosion of "Kundalini" energy, as well as a spiritual awakening. Yet his awakening was anything but typical. At first it was chaotic, terrifying, and even sometimes demonic.

With his life in danger, struggling to distinguish between madness and legitimate energetic attack, Cushnir chanced upon a seasoned guide who helped him restore his spiritual and literal safety.

But even afterward, he still found himself sharing the space of his body and consciousness with a force that wasn't part of his previous identity, and which had an overpowering will of its own.

When Raphael Cushnir's marriage fell apart, he decided to stop running away from the pain and embrace it.

This led to an unintended explosion of "Kundalini" energy, as well as a spiritual awakening...


Advance Praise

"Engagingly honest, a great read, definitely helps advance our wisdom about the Kundalini experience."

--Sally Kempton, author of Awakening Shakti and Meditation for the Love of It

"It made me feel like there was more room in the world for me, and for my own 'off the map' experiences."

--Tina Tau, author of Ask for Horses

"This story offers hope to others who have found themselves bewildered and besieged by the awakening process, and provides insight about this process for those who support experiencers."

--Bonnie Greenwell, PhD, non-dual teacher and author of When Spirit Leaps: Navigating the Process of Spiritual Awakening and The Kundalini Guide

"I've never encountered a book quite like this one. Raphael's journey of awakening challenged me to rethink what awakening is all about."

--Karen Brody, author of Open Her

"Raphael's story is one of trauma, perseverance, mystery, and grace."

--Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, PhD, author of Kundalini Vidya: The Science of Spiritual Transformation

"Beautifully written, tender, hilarious, outrageous."

--Terry Patten, author of A New Republic of the Heart, coauthor of Integral Life Practice

"I had intended to skim this book to write this blurb but was immediately drawn in and read it cover to cover.

--Rick Archer, host, Buddha at the Gas Pump"

"Engagingly honest, a great read, definitely helps advance our wisdom about the Kundalini experience."

--Sally Kempton, author of Awakening Shakti and Meditation for the Love of It

"It made me feel...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781098362225
PRICE $4.99 (USD)
PAGES 222

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Featured Reviews

What a fantastic, honest, and humble memoir! In this book, Raphael recounts his spiritual awakening, and how surrendering to spirit almost killed him. It's an inspirational, straightforward, down-to-earth story, but a must-read for anyone longing for oneness with That Which Is All. I'm not there yet, myself, but I'm a spiritual channel, and I have experienced some of what Raphael went through, with negative or playful spirits taking over my body. The difference is, I have not surrendered completely, the way Raphael did. It's also a warning, of sorts, to be careful what you wish. Everyone's path to enlightenment is different, but this book is a great lesson in what it means to "let go and let God." It scared me, to be honest, but also made me yearn for what he's achieved.

One of the things I liked most about this book, is the way Raphael views gurus. It's very similar to how I view it. He never felt right about following one guru, because that person could only teach about his own experience. Likewise, when Raphael started teaching, he didn't position himself on a higher level (literally and figuratively) than the people he taught. It's refreshing, because I've often been disappointed with spiritual teachers whose ego takes over when they start teaching, and they lose whatever "oneness" they had once reached.

I love this book and will recommend it to all my friends who are on a spiritual journey.

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This was a fascinating account of kundalini awakening. It always fascinated me and i heard similar harrowing stories. Raphael's journey was well documented here and has a lot of lessons for all of us to learn.

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