Have you noticed our world rapidly becoming more and more materialistic? This has a profound effect on how we develop and navigate our views and values on life and the human condition. In the realm of human development, psychology, and within the mental health industry, there is a dominant reliance on tangible, material, biological, and physically measurable data. When we search for answers using a materialistic framework, we adopt a very narrow minded perspective. On the one hand, doctors, practitioners, and researchers can really dive deep into their patients’ ailments, using studies and experiments to figure out very precise medical interventions for physical problems. However, what happens when their tight focus, obscures other vital perspectives? When we hyper focus on such micro details and reduce all pain and suffering to material scientific explanations, we lose our ability to connect with the higher dimensions of reality —our spiritual realms.
The bio-medical model of psychiatry uses a very narrow framework for what constitutes disharmony or pain within our bodies and minds. It tends to lean into the material and only what can be seen physically in our world. In reality, energy constitutes the unseen and spiritual dimension, which has a profound and vital effect on our body and mind.
Insanity, psychosis, and mental illness are spiritual experiences with the potential to heal. These experiences DO NOT have to be labeled as diseases. Christina and Stanislav Grof, psychiatrists, coined the term “spiritual emergency”, which describes a person going through a spiritual experience that may be seen as a mental illness (such as psychosis) or an extreme state of consciousness. Similarly within the psychology field, transpersonal crises are defined as spiritual and transcendent experiences and natural aspects of the human condition.
As we dive deeper into this perspective, we will discover that there are many different phenomena associated with spiritual emergencies or transpersonal crises including but not limited to shamanic gifts, kundalini awakening, near death experiences, psychic abilities, extraordinary senses, and telepathy.
Honoring mental illness, psychosis or altered states of consciousnesses as INTENSE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES shifts our perspective of the human condition and capacity from hopelessness to full of potential.
We are energetic beings, with spirit, animated by our physical body. We can look to the East for medical and spiritual practices that lend itself to the belief and power of our own vital life force, as known as energy, qi (chi), or prāṇa. The Chinese developed a full medical diagnostic system through acupuncture and believe in the power of the elements: earth, wind, fire, water and metal as fundamental to the nature of our qi and corresponding organs in our body. When we experience physical or mental illness, our qi meridians and channels become blocked or clogged. It is this imbalance that causes mental suffering or potential extreme states of consciousnesses.
Prāṇa is the breath of life. In Hindu tradition, prāṇa is described as originating from the sun and connected to natural elements. Indian philosophy centers on prāṇa, life force energy that flows in our nadis (channels) and throughout our body. The nadis are connected to chakras or energy centers within our subtle (etheric) system. Energy constantly flows throughout our subtle body directly affecting our physical body. These energy centers can become blocked, over spinning when out of balance. When we focus on certain areas of our lives that need support and healing we can improve our functioning both physically and mentally through proper development of our prāṇa. Yogis devote much time developing mastery over their prāṇa or breath.
Looking back to our past, particularly within prior epochs and civilizations, we discover similar wisdom and truths about the nature of our human origins. I find this very comforting because I have realized that with discernment and deep study we can we can build upon past knowledge and develop a more evolved framework that is appropriate for humanity’s needs.
The psychiatric model views humanity, in particular, the healing nature of our bodies and our capacity to heal, as “glass half empty”. This is a very pessimistic and fatalistic perspective. I believe this ideology leads people towards a stuck mindset, feelings of hopelessness and a negative view of their “mental illness.” From this place, people lack the faith, passion, or drive to heal themselves. We are led to believe that we can only fix or heal or cope with what is wrong with us IF we look OUTSIDE or EXTERNALLY for the solutions. Many of us have believed this narrative —we trust our diagnoses, we put our life into the hands of psychologists and clinicians, we take our medications faithfully and we service psychiatric hospitals, treatment centers, and other institutions in the quest for solutions to our profound distress. Psychiatry perpetuates this “revolving door” when they focus on the treatment of symptoms from our "disorders," implying that there are no cures for any type of "mental illness." This is a dishonorable way of conditioning humanity into believing that there is nothing that can be done for us. It is time we shift our focus, our beliefs, and unlearn what that has been packaged as truth to us as a way to profit from our pain and suffering.
What if we believe that our psychosis, our depression, our bipolar diagnosis are experiences, deeply difficult, forever life changing moments, that open the doorway to many possibilities for DEEP transformations?
We can see them as opportunities to overcome something incredibly hard, but totally worth it. To do so, we can partake in a process of self development and inquiry within our mind to attain higher knowledge, through mental purification, allowing us greater spiritual insights. By clarifying our mind, we will realize that we can alchemize anything, including our mental disorders. To alchemize something is to transmute or alter in form or nature that something. That something could be our energy, or overworked mind, or our feelings of helplessness. If our external world triggers an internal spiritual emergencies, this is our soul inviting in transformation and alchemy.
Even if we don’t believe in the spiritual nature of our own body, we always have the opportunity to shift our perspective to a more positive “glass half full” way and know that if we work hard and spend time unlearning, shifting the needle, little by little, we will see a change, we will heal, and we will overcome the darkest moments of our lives. This stance is not shared to minimize the potential need for medical interventions, medications or psychiatric care. Many of us need to come through this slowly and carefully with great attention to our bodies' needs.
We have the ability to shift the narrative, take a wider perspective, and understand that both the physical and energetic dimensions directly affect our mind, body, and actions. We have also discussed prior Eastern traditional teachings that center our energy and life force as healthy spiritual human beings. Equipped with this knowing, a person can easily interact directly with their external world and that will affect their internal bodies. Under distress such a person could experience extreme states of consciousnesses, move between different states of being, in different realities, dimensions or realms.
By pulling back and resisting a narrow minded perspective, I have redefined my own spiritual emergencies, mental diagnoses, and psychiatric experiences as intense experiences with the potential for super charged transformations. I honor all of my experiences and I hope that in diving deep into these esoteric topics with me, you will begin to remember and be inspired to explore the unique spiritual nature of your own being. Let's rewrite the narrative of what is possible!
Art by Ashluka
