Why are most books on Kundalini in the West written by people who have never had a Kundalini experience? In the East, it's the practitioners that students seek out, the ones with experience. Not those who sit in libraries, copying information from other sources, lord knows, how many times removed from an actual Kundalini experience. And not just any Kundalini experience — permanently active Kundalini.
I've shared venues with other speakers lecturing on Kundalini, some of whom, it turned out, never had a Kundalini experience. Strikes me as somewhat inadequate, but indicative of the outsized value we in the West place on second hand research, degrees, and diplomas. Now to get a degree, you have to get a good SAT score; you have to score well. And to score well, you have to understand the game, know what's expected of you. Do you have to think or act creatively? No. All you have to do meet expectations. In fact, the people that score well by meeting expectations carry this trait over into their careers. They know how to meet expectations, to score well. The quintessential definition of a YES man. That's what the SAT test creates. Individuals who are prepared to please.
What do Orson Welles, William Blake, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Faraday, Woody Allen, Jacob Boëme, George Bernard Shaw, Socrates, and Ben Franklin have in common? All of them are autodidacts. Self taught by doing, by on the job training.
Would you take flying lessons from someone who's never flown? Then you'd be dealing with opinion and not fact. And that's just what you get from a book that's been written by someone who's never had a Kundalini experience: Opinions about how it might work as opposed to facts about how it does work.
I'm not against reading; I read a lot myself. Less that I used to, especially since I have so much Kundalini material to work with. Reading and research are fine up to a point. Ramakrishna said, "Do you know my attitude? Books, scriptures, and things like that only point out the way to reach God. After finding the way, what more need is there of books and scriptures? Then comes the time for action."
I'd love to tell you there's a quick fix, that raising Kundalini is easy. From the people that write and talk to me, I know it isn't. It wasn't for me and it hasn't been for them. Activating Kundalini takes time. Is it wrong to experiment? Not at all. The world today is a laboratory of experimentation. Millions of people, young and old, working to achieve self-knowledge, harmony, and higher consciousness. Some flounder; some go straight to their goal. All I can add is: Keep on trying. Try all, and everything. But be prepared to discard if it doesn't ring true. Don't be a YES man to spiritual development. Learn to rely on your own instincts and abilities.
How do you recognize when the right system or technique comes along? You have to keep testing, listening to your body. The body knows (it's a laboratory), and if you're practicing — whatever that practice may be — your body will tell you. It won't steer you wrong. Practice makes things happen. If nothing happens, try something else. Prefer primary sources over secondary. Talk to those who have already succeeded in a given practice, but do so with skepticism. Talk, read, think, travel, and remain skeptical. YOU are the proper study of YOU! All else is opinion and rationalization, not much good to you when the time does come. And it WILL!