About the Community | When Lightning Strikes

the community

You weren't meant to carry this alone.

A home for the "unsexy" side of awakening. If instead of the bliss and enlightenment you expected, you're left overwhelmed, disoriented, maybe even terrified. If the books, meditation, and therapy have left you more lost, not less, you're not alone.

This is the part no one warned you about. And with the right people around you, it becomes survivable, and eventually, sacred.

How we got started

This community started as a film. Katrina and I set out to make something that would demystify the less popular aspects of spiritual awakening, to give language and hope to people going through what so often gets misdiagnosed, dismissed, or left to unfold in isolation.

We never actually stopped making it. But somewhere along the way, the people showing up to watch became the whole point. The comments, the emails, the late-night messages from people who'd found no one else who understood what was happening to them, that's what told us the work we were being called to wasn't so much the film. It was somewhere to find solace in the middle of a brutal awakening.

That's still true today. The film keeps evolving. But the community is where the actual healing happens. It's in the friends you make and the people who walk it with you, who understand because they're going through it too.

Why we gather

We bring together those of us experiencing kundalini and other life-altering spiritual emergencies,

find friends and allies who understand what we're going through, because they're in some stage of it too, and the safety and belonging to transform together.

SO THAT WE CAN

1 Find deep relief in knowing we're not alone, that we belong.
2 Share stories, experiences, and grounded resources that actually help.
3 Not only survive, but emerge into a life we profoundly love.

Where we are now

Today, When Lightning Strikes is run by me, Gordon, and a handful of core members who have been with us since the beginning. We are a family of people from all walks of life who've experienced it all, and nothing you share will be a surprise.

All of you is welcome here. The parts that hate the process. And the parts that wish this had never happened at all. We've been there. And we know that that's a part of it. We know this territory intimately, because it took our lives from us and then some, until it gave us a new life back.

We will not hand you a five-step plan. We will be the people who don't flinch when you tell us what you're really experiencing, and to point you toward the resources and perspectives that we've found most helpful for us. And most importantly, to yourself.

When COVID shut down production, we started releasing interviews instead of waiting to finish the film. Gordon wrote in after one of them. What happened next is a story for another day, but we're married now. (Everything that's taken is given back, but better.)

You are the teacher you're looking for. You just might not know it yet.

We're not here to hand you a doctrine, or to become the authority you outsource your inner life to. We're here to help you to come closer to the future you, the one who has lived through this and come out the other side more whole. She isn't somewhere ahead of you waiting to be reached. She's already inside you. Being in this community is what helped us know (and grow) that part of us.

Because when we gather, something in the nervous system finally gets to soften. Not because anyone here has fixed it for you, but because the body remembers what it feels like to not be alone. Together we feel safe. The process, however it looks right now, is guided. It is divine, even on the days it doesn't feel like it. And when we forget that what's happening is divine because it feels like anything but, we remember for each other.

"The next Buddha will be a Sangha."

Thich Nhat Hanh

"The age of the guru is over. This process, if it's anything, is about learning to trust the direction of what already lives inside you. Community is how we practice that, together. Community is the next guru."

Kate West

What's actually inside

A place to belong

Where it's safe to be real with all that you're experiencing, and where lifelong friendships form with people who are actually going through this too. (The depth we get to share with others who know this terrain is unmatched.)

Weekly gathering

Live support circles so you can share what's coming up in real time and work your way through it with others. All parts welcome, no pressure to share. You can be invisible if you need to be. What you're facing is already deeply known here.

A place to ask

Bring your questions, or search years of real experiences from hundreds of members who've walked this before you, putting words to experiences you haven't been able to get your head around. Our community feed is private, and it's gold, honest, unfiltered accounts of what this actually looks like, not theory. You'll often find me in there too.

Vetted resources

Discounted access to our curated courses, taught by guides we've worked with directly and who have helped us understand how to work with this energy and turn it into a gift.

What members are saying

"The torturous experience has a purpose and rhythm that is beyond the knowing of our mind. We don't have to believe that any healing is even happening. The process is ultimately leading us towards where we didn't even know we wanted to go. This community is a lifeline, a petri dish of kundalini alchemy where we can lean on each other."

— Cathy G.

"More healing per square inch in this community than anywhere else in the universe."

— Peter B.

"It's just so nice to have someone articulate something you've experienced but didn't know how to articulate. I'm really grateful."

— Marlee S.

"I have been mostly burned by spiritual communities and I mostly don't trust them. So far, I have found WLS trustworthy, and I am so grateful for that. The fellowship I feel with the people I've met here is a radiant part of my life."

— Molly

"I was out there in the ocean without a raft, without a framework from which to find myself, without safety, connection, or land in sight. I was drowning, and then I wasn't."

— Tawni

"Couldn't have taken the leaps in this process without the support of this community. Thanks for building a special home for us weirdos."

— Sid

"I really thought, when I joined this group, there would be some wacky lunatics here. Turns out, this is truly a community that has been touched by something holy, spiritual, transcendental."

— Corrine H.

Well... you're invited.

You likely found your way here through immense pain, and you're standing on the edge of something. No matter where you are on that edge, we're here to reach out and help pull you across.

Join the Community

Is this for you?

We're right for you if

You're in the middle of a kundalini awakening, dark night, or spiritual emergency, and don't have language for what's happening
You know somewhere in you that this is holy, but most days it feels like anything but
You want real people who understand this, not just information about it, or people who tell you what to do
You're willing to be around other people's mess as well as your own

We're NOT right for you if:

You're looking for a quick fix or a five-step plan
You're looking for a guru to outsource your power to
You just want this to stop, with no interest in what it might be asking of you or transforming in you
You need clinical or emergency mental health care right now, we're a companion space, not a substitute
You're not ready to be around other people's process when it's messy or unresolved

pay from the heart

Choose what feels right.

We want this relationship to feel good in both directions: what you receive as a member, and what you give to help us keep giving. Check in with yourself and pick the amount that fits where you are.

Baseline

$33/mo

Covers the cost of running the community. This is our minimum ask.

Join at $33

Sustainable

$44/mo

Helps us bring you more resources, more often, and keep this work sustainable.

Join at $44

Generous

$64/mo

Sponsors a spot for someone who can't pay the baseline amount right now.

Join at $64

Change your tier or cancel anytime. No questions asked.

No one is turned away.

We understand this process may have already taken a lot from you. If the baseline amount isn't possible right now, you're welcome to choose a lower amount, or write in and tell us your situation. We'll find a way.

Email us at hello@katewestonline.com

A few questions

What happens right after I join?

You'll get a welcome email with your access details and a quick orientation to the space, including when the next live circle is (they run three times a week), so you're not left wondering where to go first.

Can I change my tier or cancel later?

Yes, anytime, no questions asked. Your circumstances change, and your membership can change with them.

Why do you charge for this at all?

This space, our time, and the people who help hold it all take real resources to sustain. Charging is what lets this exist without burning us out, so we can keep showing up for you and everyone else here for the long run, not just for a season.

What if I can't afford the baseline right now?

You're still welcome. Choose a lower amount, or email us at hello@katewestonline.com and tell us your situation. We'll find a way. No one is turned away.

Where does the community actually happen?

Inside Mighty Networks, where you'll find live circles three times a week, ongoing discussion, and access to vetted courses and teachers. Sessions are live only, we don't record them, so you can show up exactly as you are without worrying about it living online forever.

What if I'm not comfortable sharing my experiences?

That's completely fine. Participation is always optional. Plenty of people get just as much out of the community by listening and absorbing what others share as they do from sharing themselves.

Is this a substitute for therapy or medical care?

No. This community offers guidance and support, not clinical treatment. If you're in crisis, please reach out to a licensed professional.

one more thing

You just have to show up.

Whatever brought you here, a kundalini opening, a dark night, an awakening no one else in your life understands, there are people on the other side of this page who already know the territory. You don't have to explain yourself or convince anyone this is real. And in fact, it's these very connections, with people who are "in it" too, that will become your greatest resource for becoming what the process is asking of you. You just have to show up. You might as well do it with people who'll become your friends.

Join When Lightning Strikes