The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Kundalini Meditation Method

Since the publication of Deciphering the Golden Flower One Secret at a Time in 2008, readers have asked for an in-depth guidebook on using The Secret of the Golden Flower (SGF) to awaken kundalini in a manner, and with the same results, as described in JJ Semple's Deciphering the Golden Flower One Secret at a Time.

The Secret of the Golden Flower: A Kundalini Meditation Method is that book, a much anticipated companion guide to the SGF as well as a sequel to his autobiographical kundalini memoir.

A treatise on Chinese kundalini meditation and ontology, The Secret of the Golden Flower (SGF) is a third-century masterpiece, whose teachings are obscured by a poetic style and baffling metaphors.

In fact, the SGF has two objectives. One, it's a manual for kundalini meditation, even though the term "kundalini" never appears in the text. Put aside what you may have been told or read about the SGF and accept this as fact — one borne out by centuries of realized practitioners who practiced the method, a fact vetted by contemporaries such as Gopi Krishna.

Two, it's an explanation of ontology, which the dictionary defines as: “the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.”

Neither objective is readily understood without practicing the method. Sure, it’s possible to approach the text as an academic challenge, but the best way to reconcile the two objectives is by practicing the method, which, if you are patient, allows you to “grok” the ontological elements as you move forward. The two are not separated in the text; they’re mingled together, which, as you might imagine, makes understanding problematic.

This book is the first to examine and extract the actual, workable teachings from the underlying methodology in the SGF and shape them into a practical modern method. By cross-referencing both the Cleary and the Wilhelm versions, the author explains each version's contribution to the kundalini awakening process. A chapter comparing Golden Flower Meditation (GFM) to the Microcosmic Orbit (MCO) is also included.

Says JJ Semple, “Although the ontological portions obscured the practical aspects to some degree, I decided to forge ahead. Ultimately, once the meditation took its course, once the light started to circulate, I was catapulted out of the limiting duality of the physical world into the metaphysical actuality of ‘the great One...which has nothing above it.’

“As my practice moved forward, the ontological portions took on meaning. To my amazement, my kundalini became aroused and ultimately active, which surprised me greatly because I’d never heard of kundalini. As already stated, the word isn’t mentioned in the SGF. Surprised and distressed to find myself in a state I had no name for, I quickly realized it wasn’t something I could talk about with so-called normal people, much less to members of the medical profession. This was in 1971; there wasn’t a lot of information about changes in ‘Being,’ at least none I was able to find. I was being transformed by the oft-alluded-to ‘Primal Spirit,’ whose power and purpose I finally understood. Fortunately, I kept a journal of my practice.”