Arching Backward: The Mystical Initiation of a Contemporary Woman

by Janet Adler

Arching Backward is the story of an American woman who found herself suddenly and violently immersed in a mystical initiation for which she was not consciously prepared. For four years, Janet Adler's life was dominated by the transforming experience of a primal energy and the visions that were created by it. She was not seeking spiritual experience, nor was she a student of any particular mystical tradition. But the visions brought her into the realm of the sacred, transforming her body into a conduit for spiritual energy. The writings collected here record her visions and describe the way this contemporary woman dealt with the impact of this energy on her physical body, her work, and her relationships. Her story offers a guide for others on this journey and provides a powerful affirmation of women's experience of the spirit.

Genres: Spirituality

264 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[Elizabeth Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having experienced kundalini energy in my late 20s, I've been on the lookout for stories, research, theories, and advice ever since. Because most of what I've found comes from men, I was excited to read Adler's book. What a disappointment! Adler is stunningly uncurious about her experience. She relates it flatly, assuming her visions will communicate with the reader, giving us the barest of context from her ordinary life. I was reminded of Jacopone da Todi asking, "What fruit dost thou bring back from this thy vision?" The vision means nothing without fruit. Not to mention that a transformational experience, related without who the person was before and after, does not make a story. This book has no traction. And my search continues...

[Mish Middelmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Searing, poetic, inspiring, frightening. The story of what happens when spiritual energy builds up so much pressure that a person can do nothing but answer its call. Janet Adler describes the buildup, the intense and terrifying experiences over a period of years as she tries to take care of work and family in the midst of spiritual emergence.

Poetry is her way of illuminating the indescribable and she does it well. The impact on me was to make my own experiences more normal, to give me courage to face my spiritual life with less fear, and to realise that while my experience seems much less dramatic, who knows what it is really like for another?