Awareness is the Masterpiece of Mankind

It seems that the major shifts are coming less frequently now.  The minor ones however seem to be weaving their way through the psyche constantly.  It's been a while since the last time I'd had an "ah ha!" moment.  That moment when things come together like a jigsaw puzzle.  The moment when the frost is wiped from the window and you can see clearly.

Over the last few months, the journey has been one resembling something between a rollercoaster and a yo-yo.  Although at the time it doesn't feel like it, things are actually quite balanced.  Moments of highs, moments of lows, and then moments of a complete balance between the two.  From an observational standpoint, all is quite balance indeed.

Even though I've been feeling frustrated at times that I don't seem to be having those moments of intense revelation or experience, I have come to realise that I have in fact, learnt quite a lot in the last few months.

One of the things I have now realised is just how crucial awareness is in this moment of spiritual evolution.  When I say awareness, I mean self awareness, for it is self awareness that leads to a clear awareness of everything in our external world.  If you are not aware of yourself, your inner workings, how could you possibly be aware of the external in a clear manner?

From a personal perspective, I have experienced first hand the clarity of self awareness.  It's feels like the moment you breathe in a lungful of fresh, clean air.  That feeling of exhilaration, of lightness, and especially of sheer joy.  That moment when you realise that you are "aware", is like coming into daylight after being locked up in a dark, dingy room for a century.  The moment that awareness hits you, you suddenly see yourself in a whole different light.  The good, the bad, the ugly, it all stands in front of you for you to see.  The difference is, that you don't judge it.  You simply "see" it.  For what it is....a mere illusion, a construct of the mind and of the moulding of society over years and lifetimes.  Instead of being ashamed of the shadow qualities, you suddenly see them as golden opportunities to understand yourself better, and thereby be able to shift and transform the dark shadow side, into the golden shadow side.  Awareness is an opportunity to step into the authentic self, into the self that is pure, divine and all powerful in a liberating, compassionate, loving manner.

True awareness, bring with it freedom.  Freedom from the chains that have bound us so tightly, that we have been unable to breathe.  True awareness clears away the cobwebs, blows away the dust, and creates an inner space that is a clean canvas on which we can create a masterpiece....a masterpiece we can share with the world...a masterpiece that is the gem that we truly are.

The Journey Continues

It has been a very long time since my last blog. So much has happened, or rather, so much has changed. Within me and the person I am, the way I react to external and internal phenomena, the way I view the world and everything and everyone in it.

2011 was a profound year. A year of significant and life changing transformation. Undertaking the diploma was the best decision I have made in my entire life. The knowledge gained, the tools learned and the acceleration of the type of person I have now become, is beyond description. But it is more the personal journey that has transformed me. It has been a journey filled with wonder and learning about myself and the world I live in.

During this journey, I have come to understand aspects of myself that I never knew existed. The golden aspects have been highlighted and concreted in my psyche, giving me the strength and inspiration to face any challenge this life has to give me. The shadow aspects have taught me the importance of truth and acceptance of self and others. It is in fact, the shadow aspects that have opened my eyes and shown me a path that before was shrouded in darkness and shame. The ability to bring the golden and shadow aspects of myself together, allowing them to communicate and speak, teaching them to accept and love each other, has been profoundly transforming.

In the process, people have come and gone, situations have shattered and reformed, decisions have been made and followed through. All of this has created a feeling of freedom and incredible peace within me. The awareness I have gained in the last few months, has given me all that I’ve been searching for to live a life of pure love and joy. It has opened my eyes to ME, and by seeing myself I am now able to see my external world in a different and more positive light.

In February I began a new journey; the journey of the degree. A major challenge for me, as I have never been drawn to the academic arena. After such an intense experiential journey with the diploma, I now find myself immersed in a journey of academic experience. Surprisingly, even the academic side of learning seems to be having a profound internal effect. The few processes which are entwined in the learning, are deep and profound enough to be shifting bigger and deeper parts of me. Once again I find myself in a place of discovery, where I am learning more about myself and my fellow human beings.

Intelligence and knowledge have suddenly become things of profound beauty. I see them, I hear them, I feel them inside and outside of myself. They move me in ways I never thought possible. Their energy is so incredibly powerful, that I feel it coursing through my veins, awakening aspects of myself I never knew existed. The flame of a long forgotten power has once again been reignited within me.

I have no idea where this new journey will lead me, but I do know that I am ready for the challenge. I am ready for new information, new experiences, new understanding, and new challenges. I am ready to be all that I can be.

Transpersonal Emergence and Crisis

Many attempts have been made to define criteria that distinguish psychosis from Spiritual Emergence. Psychotic states can sometimes become mystical experiences, and Spiritual Emergencies can slide in and out of psychosis. Some would say that these terms belong to two separate paradigms, two separate ways of thinking about our world. The Western medical paradigm is quick to label as psychotic anyone displaying severely out of the ordinary behaviour. Tribal culture on the other hand would view the same behaviour as an important process of spiritual awakening.

In Western culture, any behaviour or state which deviates from what is considered to be “normal” is automatically labeled as “mental illness”.

“Since traditional psychiatry makes no distinction between psychotic reactions and mystical states, not only crises of spiritual opening, but also uncomplicated transpersonal experiences often receive a pathological label…”¹

In mainstream psychiatry, psychosis can be used as a label for a diverse range of mental states, some of which are only superficially similar. The causes, individual qualities and personal importance of these states are distinctly different. A good example is acute psychosis, which can occur for a variety of reasons and take on many different forms. This diversity however, is blatantly ignored by mainstream psychiatry. Instead all such experiences are placed together and assumed to have a biological cause. This only serves to exacerbate an already extremely complex and challenging situation.

“Under present circumstances, the use of diagnostic labels obscures the issues and interferes with the healing potential of the process. In addition to its socially stigmatizing and psychologically damaging effects, it creates a false impression that the disorder is a precisely identified disease and serves as a justification for suppressive medication as a scientifically indicates approach.”²

Medically, psychosis is viewed as a chemical imbalance in the brain which occurs “out of the blue”. It is a mental health problem where a person has lost some contact with reality and there are severe disturbances in their thinking, emotion and behaviour. Symptoms include sensory hallucinations and delusions (paranoia) and are normally treated with medication in order to minimize them, even though there can be severe side affects from the anti-psychotics which are normally prescribed.

The transpersonal paradigm terms psychosis as something which builds over time, often throughout a person’s lifetime. Therefore transpersonally psychosis is the outcome of a predicament. Although the transpersonal paradigm does not exclude the use of medication as long as it is used wisely, the therapy is based on not alleviating the symptoms as such, but rather in supporting and guiding the person through the experience in order to create a greater understanding of the process, which in turn presents the person with a map to their experience and the ability to integrate it into their daily lives.

The term “psychosis” is derived from the Greek words – “psyche” meaning “soul” and “ osis” meaning a process, state or condition. Translated directly from the Greek, psychosis means “a process or state of the soul”. This description of psychosis is very similar, if not the same as, that of spiritual crisis. In a spiritual crisis the person finds themselves in a situation where things begin to emerge within themselves that were not there previously. The psyche that has had incomplete expression previously, suddenly emerges. Therefore, psychosis is in fact a soul process, a state change in the soul, a transformation.

Christina and Stanislav Groff defined spiritual emergencies as:

“Critical and experientially difficult stages of a profound psychological transformation involving one’s entire being. They take the form of non-ordinary states of consciousness and involve intense emotions, visions and other sensory changes, unusual thoughts and various physical manifestations. These episodes often revolve around spiritual themes. They include sequences of psychological death and rebirth, experiences that seem to be memories from previous lifetimes, feelings of oneness with the universe, encounters with mythological beings and other similar motifs.”³

It is easy to see from this definition how psychosis and spiritual emergence/crisis can be seen as the same experience. Although the symptoms of psychosis and emergence may appear identical, the person’s attitude to the experience can be the determining factor for the outcome. “Flexibility to adapt and accommodate to new areas of experience is part and parcel of the spiritual emergence process – in contrast to inflexibility, which characterizes deeply entrenched psychosis.”⁴

Transpersonally, psychosis is viewed as an opportunity to heal in a deeper and more profound way. Under this paradigm, psychosis is viewed as disintegration or shattering of a constructed personality, which is not harmonious with the true self. Over time the discrepancy between the constructed personality and the true self creates a split whereby the ego dissolves, as it is not connected in any way to the nature of the true self. This type of psychotic episode is a golden opportunity for deep and profound healing.

Spiritual emergency is a process that has the potential to be powerfully healing and transformative, as it involves a major clearing of old traumatic memories and imprints. Due to the vast amounts of psychological materials that are brought up from various levels of the unconscious, the everyday functioning of the person may be severely hindered.

Spiritual crises/emergence can manifest in a variety of ways. The Kundalini type experience is one of these. This is a spontaneous re-organisation of life energy and is likened to the awakening of the serpent power, which appears in Indian literature. Uncomfortable tremors, pressure and the feeling of something trying to get out are general indicators of a kundalini experience. The rising of the Kundalini through the subtle body infuses the physical body, thereby causing old traumatic imprints to clear and opening the psychic energy centre (chakras). The experience can manifest as intense sensations of energy and heat coursing up the spine that may cause shaking, spasms and twisting movements. Unmotivated powerful waves of emotion can also arise, such as anger, anxiety, sadness or joy. Ecstatic rapture is also common, as well as visions, sounds and past life memories.

Episodes of unitive consciousness (peak experience) is another form of spiritual emergence. This experience is one of becoming one with other people, nature and the entire universe. Profound feelings of peace, serenity, joy and ecstatic rapture are the emotions often experienced.

Psychological renewal through the return to the centre (the renewal process) is likened to an experience of a giant battlefield playing out the forces of good and evil or light and darkness. The person is preoccupied with death, sacrifice, afterlife and martyrdom. At this point the person may experience the holistic Centre, or what Jung called the Self. This Centre reflects our deepest and truest nature, the divine within, and the deep connection of one’s inner potential. This experience is often associated with a sense of profound spiritual rebirth.

The crisis of psychic opening occurs where a person experiences non-ordinary states of consciousness like clairvoyance, telepathy and precognition, as well as out of body experiences. These experiences can be very overwhelming. Mediumistic experiences (channeling) and possession type experiences may also be experienced and can be very frightening.

Past life experiences are also common forms of spiritual emergence, whereby the person experiences periods that seem to take place in other places and times. Powerful emotion, physical sensations and intricate details are associated with past life experiences.

Communicating and/or channeling with spirit guides, thereby forming a teacher, guide or protector relationship, is also a form of spiritual emergence. Spirit guides can be discarnate humans, supra-human entities and/or deities on higher planes of consciousness.

A spiritual crisis is often brought on by near death experiences due to the fundamental challenge of beliefs about reality. Often the person witnesses their whole live in a moment, and their consciousness detaches from the body and floats freely above the scene. Experiences also include a dark tunnel that brings them to a light of brilliance and beauty encompassing a sense of all embracing love.

Other forms of spiritual emergence/crises, include UFO abduction and possession state. Jung’s study of UFO abductions revealed that they appeared at times of mass panic and crisis, and represent visionary states (lights) and civilisations that are more advanced that ours (aliens).

In possession-like experiences there is a breakdown, a thinning of the ordinary boundaries that separate a person from his/her environment. The entity or energy that is controlling or possessing them is hostile.

In both UFO abductions and possession states the person is left feeling violated, invaded and with feelings of having lost control.

The Shamanic crisis (calling) is also a form of spiritual emergence. Shamanism is the oldest religion and healing art. The Shamanic call generally begins with a ‘shamanic illness’. The person has powerful experiences of journeying into the underworld where they are attacked and tortured by demons, ending in death and dismemberment, which is followed by rebirth and ascension to celestial realms. The Shamanic experience is a major transformation of one’s identity as a healer. It does not overpower you rather, you achieve a distance from the experience itself, therefore making it a gift of survival.

When working with a client who is undergoing a spiritual emergence/crises, it is crucial to ensure that the client feels supported and protected in order to reduce fear and distress. As the spiritual emergence is in itself a journey of unfoldment, it is crucial for the client to temporarily discontinue any spiritual practices or other uncovering therapies. Simple grounding, calming activities are best, as stimulation needs to be kept to a minimum. As a therapist it is important to support and guide the client so that they will be better able to embrace the changes. Normalising the experience as much as possible will help the client to be present with what is occurring for them rather than resisting it, giving them the time and space to better understand what is unfolding. By having a map of the experience the client will be more confident in navigating their journey of spiritual growth.

Transpersonal therapy looks at spiritual emergence with a more holistic approach, as it encompasses spiritual, psychological, social and biological factors. Medical therapy does not include the spiritual aspect of human behaviour. Humans live in a world of experiences, not brain chemistry. The Transpersonal model is open to the idea that some experiences may actually be profound meaningful processes, rather than an abnormality or chemical imbalance of the brain.

The medical model identifies all psychosis as a destruction of the psyche and attempts to stop the person from falling via medication. Medically, psychosis is “the end of the line”. The transpersonal model meets the person where they are, helps them to reach the bottom, then assists them to come out of it by helping them to rebuilt a “new world”. Psychosis, from a transpersonal point of view, is potentially the emergence of the authentic self, which allows the person to live their own life, to realise their true path and to head towards a meaningful, present and awakened existence.

Copyright: January 2012 Maria Kafaltis. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from Maria Kafaltis.

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1 “The Stormy Search for the Self” by Stanislav & Christine Groff

2 “The Stormy Search for the Self” by Stanislav & Christine Grof

3 Christina & Stanislav Groff (1990)

4 Emma Bragdon (1988)