So-called ‘Schizophrenia’ as ‘Spiritual Emergency’

[spiritualized]

Abstract: Much needless suffering results from ignorance of the multidimensional nature of the human personality, human psyche or ‘human nature’. Insights on the nature of human nature are revealed by combining Western scientific research with new concepts provided by Eastern psychologies such as Buddhism. These insights can be applied to the study of the healthy healing process involving psychic overload of uncontrollable spiritual growth i.e. spiritual emergency or so-called 'schizophrenia'. Schizophrenia is not a 'mental illness' but an intense transpersonal or ‘spiritual’ experience involving spiritual awakening or ‘spiritual emergence’.

It is a chaotic and uncontrollable self-organizing process which represents positive transformation of the self and has been designated as a psychospiritual crisis or 'spiritual emergency'. The apparent 'craziness' of spiritual emergency reveals the passage into a higher consciousness state required for effective adaptability. The result is so-called 'individuation', 'self-realisation', 'self-actualisation', 'spiritual renewal' or 'rebirth' and represents the affirmation of a life of total well-being or 'high level wellness'. Spiritual emergency is a part of the human condition and involves the 'beyond ego' or 'transpersonal' dimension of human nature. It is therefore a concern of so-called 'depth psychology', also known as 'spiritual psychology' or 'transpersonal psychology'.

Schizophrenia has been described as a nonspecific disease by the psychiatric profession. This supposedly devastating condition was originally named by the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926). Kraepelin believed that the condition involved an irreversible mental deterioration and coined the term 'dementia praecox' - Latin for 'prematurely out of one's mind'. It later became clear that the term was a misnomer and a new term was coined in 1910 by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) who was noted for his kindness and humanity. Bleuler was the teacher of Carl Jung and professor of psychiatry at the University of Zürich where he headed the famous Burghölzli Clinic. Since the condition seemed to involve a mental split between thought and emotion, Bleuler coined the term 'schizophrenia' for 'splitting of the mind'. The term is derived from German 'schizophrenie' from Greek 'skhizein' meaning 'to split' and 'phren' of unknown origin meaning 'heart or mind'. According to Greek etymology, ‘schizophrenia’actually means 'broken soul' or 'broken heart’.

Although there is still no universally accepted definition of the term, it has been applied to many so-called 'mental illnesses' including a set of socially and culturally unacceptable thinking and behaviour patterns which other people greatly dislike thus making it a model of ‘unwanted conduct’. The condition is largely misunderstood as a result of people’s fear of the unknown.
It turns out that schizophrenia is not a disease or ‘mental illness’. It is not a hopeless condition but a brilliant one. In fact schizophrenia is a personal 'story' which involves a natural and temporary self-organising transformative process or crisis of transformation, a ‘psychospiritual crisis’ now known as 'spiritual emergency' - the term coined by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof. Spiritual emergency is a self-healing process involving the dissolution and removal of illusions and false beliefs originating in the programming of social conditioning which gives rise to aberrant thought complexes and prevent the person from making accurate evaluations for effective decision-making and appropriate social adaptation.

In a period of spiritual emergency, the person instinctively surrenders to a spontaneous organismic process involving the temporary separation of thought and emotion (‘ego-loss’) which is necessary for the reassessment of their thoughts without having to deal with the emotional implications. The person undergoes a series of varying stages or ‘episodes’ and eventually learns to grow beyond fear based ego-consciousness, beyond cultural conditioning and the expectations of others to a higher consciousness state and a new level of awareness. The state of so-called ‘ego-transcendance’ is characterised by an inner sense of emotional liberation which allows for increased creativity and the discovery of ideas and behaviours which increase the effectiveness of social adaptability. Ego-transcendence purifies and sharpens consciousness and therefore results in clarity and a true perception of reality. Accurate perception is a function of moral consciousness or 'intuition' of rational conscience and depends on complete moral or 'spiritual development’ – the defining characteristic of the human psyche or human personality i.e. ‘human nature’.

And what is human nature? Human nature can be defined in terms of the universal moral values of humanness, the social values required for survival of the species as a social species i.e. ‘human values’. Human values are universal values of moral justice, understanding or 'knowledge', social responsibility or ‘peace’, wisdom of compassion or 'loving kindness' and so on. Awareness of human values results in heightened intuition and social intelligence which is necessary for effective adaptation to the complexities of changing social conditions i.e. 'adaptability'. Human adaptability is a function of the social nature of the human organism as a social organism with instincts for social cooperation and social harmony i.e. ‘social instincts’.

These must be cultivated in a process of development of moral consciousness or ‘conscience’. Rational conscience is a product of moral or ‘spiritual’ growth based on the preservation of the integrated functioning of the personality and involves transformation of the self or 'enlightenment' of so-called 'spiritual emergence'.



"In the most general terms, spiritual emergence can be defined as the movement of an individual to a more expanded way of being that involves enhanced emotional and psychosomatic health, greater freedom of personal choices, and a sense of deeper connection with other people, nature and the cosmos. An important part of this development is an increasing awareness of the spiritual dimension in one's life and in the universal scheme of things. Spiritual development is an innate evolutionary capacity of all human beings. It is a movement towards wholeness or 'holotropic state', the discovery of one's true potential." (Stanislav Grof)

Spiritual emergence is a gradual dynamic, fluid, naturally ordered and integrated on-going process of personal development into greater maturity and spiritual awareness and involves personal evolution from the limited sense of self or 'ego' and its egocentric perspective to the expanded sense of self beyond ego… the ‘higher self’ or 'Self'… and its transpersonal perspective. The transpersonal perspective allows for the attainment of knowledge of one's true nature… or human nature… as the source of motivation for personal productiveness and creativity or ‘work’ i.e. 'self-knowledge'. As a result of transcendence of the 'ego or ‘ego-transcendence’, the consciousness is expanded, purified and sharpened to allow for a clearer perception of reality. The result is a sense of the wisdom of compassion an understanding of the ultimate connectedness or ‘unity’ of all things and an appreciation for the divinity of humanness. This spiritual awareness allows for more accurate evaluation of changing social conditions and more effective adaptability. Self-knowledge is the source of personal power and creativity i.e 'self-empowerment’.

Each person is at a different stage of spiritual emergence depending on the level of their moral or spiritual development.

Spiritual emergence takes place over a period of years and depends on conditions of freedom in education i.e. 'free education' or 'holistic education'. Holistic education is based on the necessary fulfilment of biologically based motives or ‘human needs’ which must be met in a process of normal moral or ‘spiritual’ development. Human needs include both 'lower' psychological needs for security and self-esteem - the 'ego needs' - and 'higher' psychological needs for moral or ‘spiritual’ development - the spiritual needs or ‘metaneeds’… instinctive yearnings for unconditional love, truth, beauty etc. Motivation by the metaneeds… metamotivation’… allows for the discovery of one’s true potential.

If in highly sensitive individuals the process of spiritual emergence is blocked for any reason the person might be warned that their growth is in grave danger and that they rapidly need to make adjustments which are for essential for effective adaptation. The transformation process of spiritual emergence can be so dramatic as to become uncontrollable and reach a point of crisis or emergency. So-called ‘spiritual emergency’ is known by many names such as transpersonal experience, transpersonal crisis, psycho-spiritual transformation, psycho-spiritual crisis, spiritual journey, hero's journey, dark night of the soul, spiritual opening, psychic opening, psychic awakening, spiritual awakening, enlightenment, kundalini awakening, kundalini process, kundalini crisis, shamanic initiation, shamanic crisis, psychotic-visionary episode, ego death, ego loss, alchemical process, positive disintegration, post traumatic stress disorder with psychotic features, night sea journey, psychosis, shamanism, mysticism, gnosis, inner apocalypse, and so on.

Spiritual emergency is a process of healing and renewal and is characterised by spontaneous alternative consciousness states or ‘realities' in which the person experiences unbearably distressing psychic overload involving chaotic and overwhelming sensory experiences which in fact offer invaluable opportunities for personal growth. The experiences can be frightening and confusing because they appear to be out of context with everyday reality. As a result they are often misunderstood and discredited as being pathological. Hence the medical model of so-called ‘schizophrenia’ which in fact is a concern for psychology of the spiritual dimension of human nature i.e. ‘transpersonal psychology’.

[Dreamer_love]

interesting articel and nice read. Current psychology has many parallels with the dark ages of christianity and the witch burnings which occured to ''help'' others.

We tend to do the same currently.

Maybe in the future, we might reflect to the, psychological, dark ages in which we live and see the similarities with some forms of religion and the inaccuracies.

In meanwhile, whatever you do people. Dont be too spiritual in public, lol

[spiritualized]

It's a very spiritually Dark Age.

http://laingsociety.org/biblio/transexperience.laing.htm

[ravenstar]

Spiritualized, I read your thread and though I agree schizophrenia could be a spiritual emergence, but unfortunately this disease can lead to a total lack of interest in the day to day world. A person I knew who was schizophrenic took his own life (suicide) and another I know tried but failed. And still another is now homeless with no motivation for life at all. These people are so highly sensitive, picking up outside influences and subtle energies, they suffer profusely. They are so open to others they pick up their moods withoug realizing it. They are emotional sponges and 'need' to define psychic and emotional boundaries for themselves. But unfortunately they resist this for some reason and leave themselves open for intruders. SOmehow they need to build a firm foundation for themselves. Living in the higher sphere has a disastrous effect on the physical body. I have witnessed this more than once.

[spiritualized]

Hi Raven

Where is the evidence that 'it's' a Disease?

I agree; & your right. I'm not saying that these things are clear cut - either/or - simple, or one dimensional.

The way I see it - Multiple, complex, & highly individual/environmental factors are involved - operating at biological, social, psychological & spiritual levels.

For some their madness is less spiritual & more pathological - it's just very hard to really separate these things out.

I have known & chatted with some people to have suffered very severe psychosis - to go on to have made a complete healing & recovery medication free; & to lead very full & happy lives. I've known others to be incredibly unwell & not really recover; & others to have died.

Myself - I went through Hell - 4 psychiatric hospitalisations, 7 major episodes/breakdowns - 17 years in active alcoholism & addiction; & many many hardships & difficulties. I've had a diagnosis of 'paranoid schizophrenia' for the past 14 years.

Largely I've been stable now for over 7 years - & clean & sober over 10 years. I maintain a very low dose of one medication, live independently; & am very much improving in many ways. I've achieved, progressed & come a very long way with everything.

It is possible for people to make startling & profound healing with these 'conditions' - however severe.

Many personal & environmental factors effect prognosis. I'm not negating or playing down the facts & realities of these conditions & what happens to people that experience them; & I'm all too aware of what goes on. I'm also not trying to paint some kind of rosy picture. I'm simply trying to continue to explore & follow a more genuinely authentic spiritual paradigm/approach/understanding(s)/framework(s) for coping, dealing with & addressing such conditions/experiences.

I do however understand the often deep hostility, resentment, disagreement with, & invalidation of applying deeper psychological, spiritual (& social/environmental) understandings to severe mental & emotional confusion & distress. & the strong disagreement to the spiritual emergency ideas.

A genuinely Civilised & advanced Society/Civilisation - Would treat the people that go through such experiences; with the deep respect, compassion, understanding, help & support that they deserve; With a genuinely comprehensive & in depth approach - As we know that is not the reality; & that's what I see as the primary problem - Not that people experience such conditions/states - But the way this society reacts, responds to, & treats them - that is the real issue & injustice. The fact of blaming, ostracising, isolating, excluding & marginalising such people - Of blaming their biology, broken brains, & flawed personalities - Of labelling & drugging them; & all the rest of the barbaric & inhumane practises/behaviour that go on.

The majority are incapable of seeing it all for what it is. To do so they would have had to have looked very deeply at themselves - & that is the last thing that the vast majority of people will ever do. It is the exception rather than the rule. & very few there are indeed that really have any genuine understanding or insight into these areas.

[Liet]

on Schizophrenia:
Firstly, from what ive read, ive understood that they tend to dream a ****load, which paints the picthure of a strong upper spectrum.

Now the question is, does one cure the many-ness of the self by taking full control over ones mind through the solar plexus?
Or is it done through grounding? for once above the initiatory limit of grounding, the different aspects of yourself will start merging into one.
"the colors of your aura going from many, into one"
black/brown/gold or shiny gold, depending on which energies you've grounded.

[ribiq]

I think the prime example of this is Shamanism; shamans would undergo a kind of initiation that was characterized by a sort of mental disorder that has extremely strong parallels to modern schizophrenia. If they didn't accept that they needed to take on the role of the shaman and learn to control their spiritual journeys and such, they were said to suffer for it, never getting out of the "madness" they were experiencing. The only way to cure yourself if you were stricken with this kind of thing was to listen to elder shamans and accept that this is what you have to do.

Whereas we treat people with this kind of mental illness as crazy people and try to hide them away and pretend they aren't out there, in shamanistic societies they have always been looked at as gifted people who deserve respect and have a ton of value to the whole of their societies. Pretty interesting to think about

[JaysonR]

The principle difference in schizophrenia is that the temporal lobe communication to the amygdala is regulated atypically with sporadic value to observation being given to any given observation at any given moment during the affected time period.

Part of the role of the mesolimbic pathway is to produce relevant value placement (by weighting of emotion) to conditions and objects observed.
This, for instance, allows us to understand the value of fear upon another person's face, the value of a car racing toward our body and the threat therein.

Offsetting this value system offsets what observations are given priority value over others, and such is done in sharp bursts of overvalue (meaning, far more than the individual may do so otherwise).

This occurs naturally outside of schizophrenia as well; for instance, a mundane rock can find its way into our limbic system as incredibly valuable.
Or, more vaguely, it is not uncommon for an average person to have moments in life where incredible meaning and value - an incredible overwhelming sense of emotional awe - is felt for no particular reason at all, and during such instances, thoughts of profound insight into their understanding of life and the universe are experienced.

These emotional sensations occur naturally; however, in the schizophrenic brain these sensations are occurring in rapid and chronic rates which disrupt regular interaction with their own livelihood (preservation and the maintaining of conditions provisional to self-preservation).

The values are displaced so effectively due to the differences around the responses of the amygdala, through - for example - the Broca (BA44 & 45) [meaning, complicated syntactical articulations] and Wernicke's (roughly around BA22) [speech relevancy association and recognition; e.g. "bark" referring abstractly to a dog's action and the skin of a tree, for example] areas from the temporal lobe, which produces an atypical signal from the amygdala to the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus, producing an offset (meaning, other than would have occurred otherwise) of dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine.
[The above BA's are only examples of some of the many temporal lobe areas and how their transmission through the limbic system for value interconnect for relevant assessment, association, meaning, and response may be affected. Many other temporal lobe areas relating to several variations of observational input transmit through the amygdala (and various parts of the limbic system in general) to execute processing.]

When mass doses of these components are received into the brain and body, other sensory systems are increased in attention as a means of gathering further gainful information.
Many people have experienced the effect of time slowing down during extremely fearful moments, especially if death was perceived as possible.
Light can be perceived as suddenly brightening as well, as the ocular system increases data transmission, which increases the perception of light (A simple understanding of this processes is that if you hook up component cables to a TV from an High Definition device and then hook up an HDMI cord to the same TV from the same device, the common individual will declare that the HDMI had a higher resolution image even when the same resolution is present. The reason for the person's perception is that the HDMI cord transmits information at a far higher rate [or frequency] than the component cords and as such, the image on the TV screen is slightly brighter than it is on the component cords. Another similar example, more crudely, is that if you string Christmas lights up that flicker one light at a time one after the other in line, and turn it down to one second between each light's lighting, and then turn them to 500 milliseconds between light's lighting, our eyes will perceive that more light is present in the second run than in the first setting due to the increase in information transmission increasing in the electrical circuit of the Christmas lights.).

All other sensory systems are likewise capable of becoming extrasensory systems due to an increased biochemical feed from the amygdala (emotions) to the brain and body to increase the value of attention to the current information.

When you mix on top of this the loopback feed of the mirror neurons in the brain (the ability to be aware of our awareness), the result of this process taking place can create vivid and astonishing outcomes.


As stated previously, in some form or another, this process occasionally takes place in nearly every human being periodically.
In the schizophrenic brain, however, there is a considerable difference in that the periodic frequency between instances is radically increased to point which reduces their capacity for engaging in other typical aspects of daily life; as no other aspect of their perception of reality is being given the measure of value in proportion to the emotional sensations during the "schizophrenic" episodes.

Typically, physical difference in the brain are noted.
Common in around 50% of diagnosed individuals is a decreased frontal temporal lobe.
Other physical proportion differences (typically reductions of brain regions) similar to this are found in most diagnosed individuals.

Whether or not such changes were present previously or whether the schizophrenia is causing the decrease (such as is the case in alzheimer's or multiple sclerosis) is still not known.



This all said, I do agree - and more and more leading neurologists are discussing the subject as well - that more attention should be paid to the spiritual perception of the individual, and attention to spiritual exercises may be advantageous considering the individual is undergoing radical input volume on the emotional value system which is heavily a critical component in human spirituality.
As such, it is becoming more common for a discussion to be held regarding how spiritual exercise may naturally, or said - intuitively, aid the individual into processing the information in a gainful manner digestible to their cognition rather than striking them in arrays of potency which may leave them disconnected and disorganized psychologically due to the atypical and disordered array of neurological information.

In a sense, a means of attempting to have the brain help the brain by finding an avenue which speaks in an ontological lexicon comprehensive to the individual, and therefore usable for association and value placement - once again, providing some level of organization to the information being taken in, where (many times) previously such organization was likely very sparse and abstracted.

[ravenstar]

Hi Raven

Where is the evidence that 'it's' a Disease?

I agree; & your right. I'm not saying that these things are clear cut - either/or - simple, or one dimensional.

The way I see it - Multiple, complex, & highly individual/environmental factors are involved - operating at biological, social, psychological & spiritual levels.

For some their madness is less spiritual & more pathological - it's just very hard to really separate these things out.

I have known & chatted with some people to have suffered very severe psychosis - to go on to have made a complete healing & recovery medication free; & to lead very full & happy lives. I've known others to be incredibly unwell & not really recover; & others to have died.

Myself - I went through Hell - 4 psychiatric hospitalisations, 7 major episodes/breakdowns - 17 years in active alcoholism & addiction; & many many hardships & difficulties. I've had a diagnosis of 'paranoid schizophrenia' for the past 14 years.

Largely I've been stable now for over 7 years - & clean & sober over 10 years. I maintain a very low dose of one medication, live independently; & am very much improving in many ways. I've achieved, progressed & come a very long way with everything.

It is possible for people to make startling & profound healing with these 'conditions' - however severe.

Many personal & environmental factors effect prognosis. I'm not negating or playing down the facts & realities of these conditions & what happens to people that experience them; & I'm all too aware of what goes on. I'm also not trying to paint some kind of rosy picture. I'm simply trying to continue to explore & follow a more genuinely authentic spiritual paradigm/approach/understanding(s)/framework(s) for coping, dealing with & addressing such conditions/experiences.

I do however understand the often deep hostility, resentment, disagreement with, & invalidation of applying deeper psychological, spiritual (& social/environmental) understandings to severe mental & emotional confusion & distress. & the strong disagreement to the spiritual emergency ideas.

A genuinely Civilised & advanced Society/Civilisation - Would treat the people that go through such experiences; with the deep respect, compassion, understanding, help & support that they deserve; With a genuinely comprehensive & in depth approach - As we know that is not the reality; & that's what I see as the primary problem - Not that people experience such conditions/states - But the way this society reacts, responds to, & treats them - that is the real issue & injustice. The fact of blaming, ostracising, isolating, excluding & marginalising such people - Of blaming their biology, broken brains, & flawed personalities - Of labelling & drugging them; & all the rest of the barbaric & inhumane practises/behaviour that go on.

The majority are incapable of seeing it all for what it is. To do so they would have had to have looked very deeply at themselves - & that is the last thing that the vast majority of people will ever do. It is the exception rather than the rule. & very few there are indeed that really have any genuine understanding or insight into these areas.

Hi Spiritualized,

What you have been through and here right now to speak of it is inspirational and filled with so much 'hope'. Perhaps you should write a book about your journey, so others, especially family members and supporters can embrace the ups and downs as well as the turn arounds. A friend of mine is going through an awful time with her son at the moment. He's been diagnozed with schizoaffective disorder and has disowned his family and everything he ever cherished.

There has been study's done on schizophrenia, stress and the adrenals. High levels of cortisol has been known to psychologically trap people and eat away at their bodies. Stress can interfere and create complications with our physcial and biochemical responses....especially to powerful emotional stimuli. What are your thoughts on this? And yes I too am researching this disease.....I lost my brother to it.

Socrates once said, "Our greatest blessings come to us by way of madness, provided the madness is given us by divine gift." :smile:

[spiritualized]

Hi Spiritualized,

What you have been through and here right now to speak of it is inspirational and filled with so much 'hope'. Perhaps you should write a book about your journey, so others, especially family members and supporters can embrace the ups and downs as well as the turn arounds. A friend of mine is going through an awful time with her son at the moment. He's been diagnozed with schizoaffective disorder and has disowned his family and everything he ever cherished.

There has been study's done on schizophrenia, stress and the adrenals. High levels of cortisol has been known to psychologically trap people and eat away at their bodies. Stress can interfere and create complications with our physcial and biochemical responses....especially to powerful emotional stimuli. What are your thoughts on this? And yes I too am researching this disease.....I lost my brother to it.

Socrates once said, "Our greatest blessings come to us by way of madness, provided the madness is given us by divine gift." :smile:
Hi, Thank you for the reply. I'm very sorry to hear that you lost your brother. & about your friends troubles.

The Ancient Greeks were great; I'm very interested in Plato.

'Driven Mad by the Gods', 'Touched by God', 'Divine Madness', 'As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, They kill us for their sport'

- I think that Older cultures in general had more understanding of these states - & there was certainly more time & space for Madness in many places & times of the past. Things went wrong during the Burning times; & then with Psychiatry. We're lead to believe that 'modern' Western approaches to madness are humane & advanced - In general I don't think that's true.

http://www.stanislavgrof.com/pdf/Psychosis.Human.Society_History.2011.pdf (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stanislavgrof.com% 2Fpdf%2FPsychosis.Human.Society_History.2011.pdf)

Stress & Trauma I do think play a big part in things. I've not however found anything categorical to explain these conditions. I've looked at & explored everything that I can, at as much depth as I can; from the mainstream, orthodox, psychiatric, biomedical, neurological theories; to perinatal & birth trauma/experiences/theories, family dynamics/early brain development/delayed PTSD/social structures, communication, upbringing, & many many different psychological & spiritual viewpoints. You name it. I've amassed around 300 books; mainly on psychology & spirituality (& a lot of the past life/inter life research/material [have read most of it over the past 12 or so years])- I've spoken with countless people; sufferers & professionals. & been posting on-line over 7 years on many different forums, researching on-line over 10 years, & I'm still not really any closer to a categorical answer. These things are not explained. We are dealing with the mysteries of the human heart, the mysteries of consciousness & life.

I do however feel very strongly that genuinely therapeutic psychological & social approaches are the best that there is for most people. & I feel that I have been best helped by what I have found that is as much as possible along those lines. Things like 'Open Dialogue', Soteria, Diabasis; & the work of Carl Jung, Loren Mosher, John Weir Perry, Arnold Mindell, Stanislav Grof, R.D. Laing; & others that have pioneered more compassionate, holistic/therapeutic approaches to these experiences/conditions.

I do feel that there is enormous variety & individuality in what people experience. & that there is no singular cause or primary factor. As I say - I think it's multiple & complex, individual & environmental factors on biological, social, psychological & spiritual levels. But I do lean towards a primary psychological/spiritual aetiology to these conditions (when organic causes have been ruled out).

I won't go on; as I'm repeating a lot of what I've already said. I may also be wrong about it all.

I don't know if you saw this thread that I started a while ago -

http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25808 (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualforums.co m%2Fvb%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D25808)

I've been feeling a bit better again since then - things can still fluctuate a lot for me.

I would love to write a book at some stage. All things considered; it's miraculous that I'm still standing, & have come through what I have. I had a serious suicide attempt as well in my 20's. Survival Statistics aren't great for people with this condition.

I sometimes wish that there were easier answers; or some way of providing an easy solution to these things - But there really isn't.

If I can help with any of my own experiences or pointing you in the direction of any web sites, books or research - feel free to message me.

What are you thoughts on it all? A lot of the difficulty that I have found with family, friends & people in general; is that it's very hard to see their point of view always, as it is for them to see mine.

Whatever the conditions/experiences are that get labelled as 'schizophrenia' In the 'modern Western World' - it's a condition that has been incredibly difficult for the individual concerned & society to cope with.

I was considering things today - Maybe for me it has all been a hard life lesson - To not be a victim of circumstances/life. I don't fully know - I think that a part of me will probably always be trying to work things out.

[Gracey]

Abstract: Much needless suffering results from ignorance of the multidimensional nature of the human personality, human psyche or ‘human nature’. Insights on the nature of human nature are revealed by combining Western scientific research with new concepts provided by Eastern psychologies such as Buddhism. These insights can be applied to the study of the healthy healing process involving psychic overload of uncontrollable spiritual growth i.e. spiritual emergency or so-called 'schizophrenia'. Schizophrenia is not a 'mental illness' but an intense transpersonal or ‘spiritual’ experience involving spiritual awakening or ‘spiritual emergence’.

It is a chaotic and uncontrollable self-organizing process which represents positive transformation of the self and has been designated as a psychospiritual crisis or 'spiritual emergency'. The apparent 'craziness' of spiritual emergency reveals the passage into a higher consciousness state required for effective adaptability. The result is so-called 'individuation', 'self-realisation', 'self-actualisation', 'spiritual renewal' or 'rebirth' and represents the affirmation of a life of total well-being or 'high level wellness'. Spiritual emergency is a part of the human condition and involves the 'beyond ego' or 'transpersonal' dimension of human nature. It is therefore a concern of so-called 'depth psychology', also known as 'spiritual psychology' or 'transpersonal psychology'.

Schizophrenia has been described as a nonspecific disease by the psychiatric profession. This supposedly devastating condition was originally named by the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926). Kraepelin believed that the condition involved an irreversible mental deterioration and coined the term 'dementia praecox' - Latin for 'prematurely out of one's mind'. It later became clear that the term was a misnomer and a new term was coined in 1910 by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) who was noted for his kindness and humanity. Bleuler was the teacher of Carl Jung and professor of psychiatry at the University of Zürich where he headed the famous Burghölzli Clinic. Since the condition seemed to involve a mental split between thought and emotion, Bleuler coined the term 'schizophrenia' for 'splitting of the mind'. The term is derived from German 'schizophrenie' from Greek 'skhizein' meaning 'to split' and 'phren' of unknown origin meaning 'heart or mind'. According to Greek etymology, ‘schizophrenia’actually means 'broken soul' or 'broken heart’.

Although there is still no universally accepted definition of the term, it has been applied to many so-called 'mental illnesses' including a set of socially and culturally unacceptable thinking and behaviour patterns which other people greatly dislike thus making it a model of ‘unwanted conduct’. The condition is largely misunderstood as a result of people’s fear of the unknown.
It turns out that schizophrenia is not a disease or ‘mental illness’. It is not a hopeless condition but a brilliant one. In fact schizophrenia is a personal 'story' which involves a natural and temporary self-organising transformative process or crisis of transformation, a ‘psychospiritual crisis’ now known as 'spiritual emergency' - the term coined by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof. Spiritual emergency is a self-healing process involving the dissolution and removal of illusions and false beliefs originating in the programming of social conditioning which gives rise to aberrant thought complexes and prevent the person from making accurate evaluations for effective decision-making and appropriate social adaptation.

In a period of spiritual emergency, the person instinctively surrenders to a spontaneous organismic process involving the temporary separation of thought and emotion (‘ego-loss’) which is necessary for the reassessment of their thoughts without having to deal with the emotional implications. The person undergoes a series of varying stages or ‘episodes’ and eventually learns to grow beyond fear based ego-consciousness, beyond cultural conditioning and the expectations of others to a higher consciousness state and a new level of awareness. The state of so-called ‘ego-transcendance’ is characterised by an inner sense of emotional liberation which allows for increased creativity and the discovery of ideas and behaviours which increase the effectiveness of social adaptability. Ego-transcendence purifies and sharpens consciousness and therefore results in clarity and a true perception of reality. Accurate perception is a function of moral consciousness or 'intuition' of rational conscience and depends on complete moral or 'spiritual development’ – the defining characteristic of the human psyche or human personality i.e. ‘human nature’.

And what is human nature? Human nature can be defined in terms of the universal moral values of humanness, the social values required for survival of the species as a social species i.e. ‘human values’. Human values are universal values of moral justice, understanding or 'knowledge', social responsibility or ‘peace’, wisdom of compassion or 'loving kindness' and so on. Awareness of human values results in heightened intuition and social intelligence which is necessary for effective adaptation to the complexities of changing social conditions i.e. 'adaptability'. Human adaptability is a function of the social nature of the human organism as a social organism with instincts for social cooperation and social harmony i.e. ‘social instincts’.

These must be cultivated in a process of development of moral consciousness or ‘conscience’. Rational conscience is a product of moral or ‘spiritual’ growth based on the preservation of the integrated functioning of the personality and involves transformation of the self or 'enlightenment' of so-called 'spiritual emergence'.



"In the most general terms, spiritual emergence can be defined as the movement of an individual to a more expanded way of being that involves enhanced emotional and psychosomatic health, greater freedom of personal choices, and a sense of deeper connection with other people, nature and the cosmos. An important part of this development is an increasing awareness of the spiritual dimension in one's life and in the universal scheme of things. Spiritual development is an innate evolutionary capacity of all human beings. It is a movement towards wholeness or 'holotropic state', the discovery of one's true potential." (Stanislav Grof)

Spiritual emergence is a gradual dynamic, fluid, naturally ordered and integrated on-going process of personal development into greater maturity and spiritual awareness and involves personal evolution from the limited sense of self or 'ego' and its egocentric perspective to the expanded sense of self beyond ego… the ‘higher self’ or 'Self'… and its transpersonal perspective. The transpersonal perspective allows for the attainment of knowledge of one's true nature… or human nature… as the source of motivation for personal productiveness and creativity or ‘work’ i.e. 'self-knowledge'. As a result of transcendence of the 'ego or ‘ego-transcendence’, the consciousness is expanded, purified and sharpened to allow for a clearer perception of reality. The result is a sense of the wisdom of compassion an understanding of the ultimate connectedness or ‘unity’ of all things and an appreciation for the divinity of humanness. This spiritual awareness allows for more accurate evaluation of changing social conditions and more effective adaptability. Self-knowledge is the source of personal power and creativity i.e 'self-empowerment’.

Each person is at a different stage of spiritual emergence depending on the level of their moral or spiritual development.

Spiritual emergence takes place over a period of years and depends on conditions of freedom in education i.e. 'free education' or 'holistic education'. Holistic education is based on the necessary fulfilment of biologically based motives or ‘human needs’ which must be met in a process of normal moral or ‘spiritual’ development. Human needs include both 'lower' psychological needs for security and self-esteem - the 'ego needs' - and 'higher' psychological needs for moral or ‘spiritual’ development - the spiritual needs or ‘metaneeds’… instinctive yearnings for unconditional love, truth, beauty etc. Motivation by the metaneeds… metamotivation’… allows for the discovery of one’s true potential.

If in highly sensitive individuals the process of spiritual emergence is blocked for any reason the person might be warned that their growth is in grave danger and that they rapidly need to make adjustments which are for essential for effective adaptation. The transformation process of spiritual emergence can be so dramatic as to become uncontrollable and reach a point of crisis or emergency. So-called ‘spiritual emergency’ is known by many names such as transpersonal experience, transpersonal crisis, psycho-spiritual transformation, psycho-spiritual crisis, spiritual journey, hero's journey, dark night of the soul, spiritual opening, psychic opening, psychic awakening, spiritual awakening, enlightenment, kundalini awakening, kundalini process, kundalini crisis, shamanic initiation, shamanic crisis, psychotic-visionary episode, ego death, ego loss, alchemical process, positive disintegration, post traumatic stress disorder with psychotic features, night sea journey, psychosis, shamanism, mysticism, gnosis, inner apocalypse, and so on.

Spiritual emergency is a process of healing and renewal and is characterised by spontaneous alternative consciousness states or ‘realities' in which the person experiences unbearably distressing psychic overload involving chaotic and overwhelming sensory experiences which in fact offer invaluable opportunities for personal growth. The experiences can be frightening and confusing because they appear to be out of context with everyday reality. As a result they are often misunderstood and discredited as being pathological. Hence the medical model of so-called ‘schizophrenia’ which in fact is a concern for psychology of the spiritual dimension of human nature i.e. ‘transpersonal psychology’.

do you know people who have this, they have little to no grey matter on their brains. much less than someone who does not have this. also, their dna is mutated.

[spiritualized]

I was researching this person a while ago -

Dr Johnson -

http://www.truthtrustconsent.com/public_html/psychiatry/the-cause-and-cure-of-psychosis

There is so much 'out there' - Also worth looking at is -

Dr Clancy McKenzie -

http://www.drmckenzie.com/dr-clancy-mckenzie-md.html

http://youtu.be/Hsln7YV7NJA

& Gabor Mate's work -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabor_Mat%C3%A9_%28physician%29

There is a lot also in the field of epigenetics & brain plasticity that adds weight to such theories on brain development, life experiences, stress & trauma in relation to these conditions.

I've also found this Blog a very good source of information over the past year or so -

http://beyondmeds.com/?s=open+dialogue

& an Old Favourite -

http://spiritualemergency.blogspot.co.uk/

[Too much stuff to list/link to]

[ravenstar]

Spiritualized, will PM you :)

[spiritualized]

do you know people who have this, they have little to no grey matter on their brains. much less than someone who does not have this. also, their dna is mutated.
Have what? Schizophrenia? I do apparently; & have known many other people labelled with it. Such people have been amongst some of the most intelligent people that I've met.

Have you got bona fide scientific evidence for grey matter loss & DNA mutation? Your just citing big pharma propaganda & very dubious theory.

See above points on epigenetics; & look into brain damage caused by neuroleptic (anti-psychotic) drug prescribing.

[Gracey]

Have what? Schizophrenia? I do apparently; & have known many other people labelled with it.

Have you got bona fide scientific evidence for grey matter loss & DNA mutation? Your just citing big pharma propaganda & very dubious theory.

See above points on epigenetics; & look into brain damage caused by neuroleptic (anti-psychotic) drug prescribing.

my daughter has this and i have done my research. just thought you might be interested to know. believe what you want.

[spiritualized]

I see. Thanks. I'll go with the science & the research.

[Gracey]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15664796

[spiritualized]

Brain Damage Caused by Neuroleptic Psychiatric Drugs -

http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/psychiatric-drugs/antipsychotics/neuroleptic-brain-damage (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualforums.co m%2Fvb%2Fredir.php%3Flink%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww .spiritualforums.com%252Fvb%252Fredir.php%253Flink %253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.mindfreedom.org% 25252Fkb%25252Fpsychiatric-drugs%25252Fantipsychotics%25252Fneuroleptic-brain-damage)

Epigenetics -

http://beyondmeds.com/?s=epigenetics (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualforums.co m%2Fvb%2Fredir.php%3Flink%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww .spiritualforums.com%252Fvb%252Fredir.php%253Flink %253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fbeyondmeds.com%25252 F%25253Fs%25253Depigenetics)

Stress & trauma have been linked in countless studies to genetic & brain changes. It is unproven theory to state that 'schizophrenia' is primarily a biological condition. Such biological theory has never been proved as having primary cause - The aetiology is unknown.

Try the book 'Reconstructing Schizophrenia' by Richard Bentall -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bentall (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiritualforums.co m%2Fvb%2Fredir.php%3Flink%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww .spiritualforums.com%252Fvb%252Fredir.php%253Flink %253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%252 52Fwiki%25252FRichard_Bentall)

Despite nearly one hundred years of research, very little progress has been achieved in the understanding of schizophrenic behavior. Although it is widely believed that schizophrenic symptoms reflect an underlying biological disorder, the evidence for such a disorder remains disputed and many different biological defects have been implicated. There remains considerable uncertainty even about the fundamental features of the hypothesized illness.

&/or Madness Explained; by the same author -

Is madness purely a medical condition that can be treated with drugs? Is there really a clear dividing line between mental health and mental illness – or is it not so easy to classify who is sane and who is insane?
In Madness Explained leading clinical psychologist Richard Bentall shatters the modern myths that surround psychosis. This groundbreaking work argues that we cannot define madness as an illness to be cured like any other; that labels such as ‘schizophrenia’ and ‘manic depression’ are meaningless, based on nineteenth-century classifications; and that experiences such as delusions and hearing voices are in fact exaggerations of the mental foibles to which we are all vulnerable.

We need, Bentall argues, a radically new way of thinking about psychiatric problems – one that does not reduce madness to brain chemistry, but understands and accepts it as part of human nature.

[spiritualized]

Another interesting Article on the Subject -

Transcendental Experience In Relation to Religion and Psychosis -

http://laingsociety.org/biblio/transexperience.laing.htm (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Flaingsociety.org%2Fbib lio%2Ftransexperience.laing.htm)

[spiritualized]

I don't personally agree with everything he says - But Sean Blackwell presents all this material in an interesting way -

http://www.bipolarorwakingup.com/#!

http://youtu.be/_0SWTKFESGc

http://www.youtube.com/user/bipolarorwakingup#g/u

[Uma]

It's a very spiritually Dark Age.

http://laingsociety.org/biblio/transexperience.laing.htm

Hi Spiritualized,

I agree it's dark but light is also there and it can grow the more we give power to it and not by dwelling on darkness (easier said than done but I know this true).

I like your synopsis in your first post. The DSM-IV which is the diagnostic manual of mental illness used in North America has a new category called "religious experiences" to allow for the possibility that there are experiences that are not hallucinations and cannot be labelled schizophrenia. So this is encouraging. There is still a lot of confusion about what these experiences are and how to treat with them but at least the door has opened to new kinds of research.

There are also scientists like Ken Wilbur who are diving into the intellectual discourses of science towards a more transpersonal (multi-dimensional) direction.

As long as science believes that mind is the brain it's going to hit a glass ceiling. Mind is not the brain. And mind is not all that we are. Simple statements but it takes spiritual experiences and the ancient sciences to really know that.

I don't know too much about schizophrenia but I do know that when the brain is malfunctioning it limits the soul's ability to experience the root chakra world we live in properly and to express itself properly. We need to be grounded and fully cognizant in order for spiritual experiences to lift us into states of high consciousness. There is no point in being in cloud nine if you can't drive a car - it's that simple.

[spiritualized]

I agree it's dark but light is also there and it can grow the more we give power to it and not by dwelling on darkness (easier said than done but I know this true).

Hi Uma. I do agree; I just feel that we need to objectively see things for what they are. As is - Isness. You can't look at the World & see some kind of wonderful place filled with love & light - it's not the reality of this place. The majority of what passes as 'spirituality' is imo phoney & pseudo.

Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the shadow and the world of darkness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. "The Philosophical Tree" (1945). In CW 13: Alchemical Studies. P.335
I like your synopsis in your first post. The DSM-IV which is the diagnostic manual of mental illness used in North America has a new category called "religious experiences" to allow for the possibility that there are experiences that are not hallucinations and cannot be labelled schizophrenia. So this is encouraging. There is still a lot of confusion about what these experiences are and how to treat with them but at least the door has opened to new kinds of research.

There are also scientists like Ken Wilbur who are diving into the intellectual discourses of science towards a more transpersonal (multi-dimensional) direction.

David Lukoff (among many others) are also driving change in this area -


http://www.spiritualcompetency.com/

Yes - There has been some progress - It is just dreadfully slow. & in many ways things are worse.

http://robertwhitaker.org/robertwhitaker.org/Anatomy%20of%20an%20Epidemic.html

As long as science believes that mind is the brain it's going to hit a glass ceiling. Mind is not the brain. And mind is not all that we are. Simple statements but it takes spiritual experiences and the ancient sciences to really know that.

I agree. The medieval notions/assumptions of physical determinism, materialism, reductionism; etc - Aren't doing us all any favours.

The unproven assumption that all phenomena are emergent properties of physicality - is I feel a nonsense; that has been shown to be wrong (not least by over 100 years of Quantum Physics). But when the entire system is very largely based on such notions - what is to be done?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhntEOGslbs

I don't know too much about schizophrenia but I do know that when the brain is malfunctioning it limits the soul's ability to experience the root chakra world we live in properly and to express itself properly. We need to be grounded and fully cognizant in order for spiritual experiences to lift us into states of high consciousness. There is no point in being in cloud nine if you can't drive a car - it's that simple.

I think that this is the point - Can the primary causality be said/assumed to a malfunctioning brain? That's not established or proved - it's assumption.

I do fully agree about being well grounded. A foot in both Worlds - walking with a foot in each World. We have to manifest & live in the 'physical'.

[spiritualized]

The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge. Aion (1951). CW 9, Part II: P.14

Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected. "Psychology and Religion" (1938). In CW 11: Psychology and Religion: West and East. P.131

[Uma]

Hi spiritualized,

Thanks for the links and your responses. I'm rushing off but wanted to respond to this one first:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Uma
I agree it's dark but light is also there and it can grow the more we give power to it and not by dwelling on darkness (easier said than done but I know this true).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spiritualized
Hi Uma. I do agree; I just feel that we need to objectively see things for what they are. As is - Isness. You can't look at the World & see some kind of wonderful place filled with love & light - it's not the reality of this place. The majority of what passes as 'spirituality' is imo phoney & pseudo.
Filling the conscious mind with ideal conceptions is a characteristic of Western theosophy, but not the confrontation with the shadow and the world of darkness. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.
"The Philosophical Tree" (1945). In CW 13: Alchemical Studies. P.335

I understand what you mean and I struggled with this for a long time - seeing the world through "rose tinted glasses" was not for me! However, I have realized how powerfully we co-create ourselves and our world by the attention we give to our goals, thoughts, emotions, desires, imagination...all of which is subtle energy creating a blueprint in the astral dimension...and the more we fuel it by dwelling on it, the more it becomes solidified in the physical dimension. By focusing on something we give it power to manifest! So I am training my mind to focus on the positive. Believe me, I have to fight every kind of resistance in me to do this, but when I do accomplish this, it works! It works! It manifests in my life. It changes negative into positive! This is a powerful way to eradicate evil. But you need to know all about the principle of co-creativity, the law of karma, and divine timing and how that works. What do you think?

[spiritualized]

What do you think?
I do see what your saying - I feel though that spirituality is beyond duality.

That sanity, healing & spirituality is found in objectively seeing the truth of things as they are as much as is possible - seeing things for what they are; objectively & without projection or illusions (both inner & outer realities). & that is no easy task. I feel that this is all something that is beyond the Mind, Theories, Concepts, Language, words & opinions; of any kind. Like the finger pointing to the moon - all there are is pointers; it can't be defined.

Where I have been at recently - is focused on connecting with the core of who I am. Of connecting with the 'higher aspects' of my Self; as much as possible (& as much as that can be explained in a few words); through awareness & self observation (& observation of life/this reality). To simply 'Stop & be Still' as much as I'm able. As well as focusing very much in as grounded a way as possible on the practicalities of daily life. Of looking after myself as best that I'm able.

I don't have the answers - I suppose I'm realising that the Self, Life, God, Reality - is in essence unknowable & mysterious. That 'it' is all dynamic, fluid - & beyond subjective understanding; i.e. our thoughts, feelings & emotions are Not reality.

Hope that makes sense - I don't know if that will make sense to people or not?

[ravenstar]

Hi Spiritualized,

I wanted to thank you for all the links you've so graciously pasted on this thread. This particular post only has some of the many sites which I'm planning to delve into. I hope all reading this post will go back a page or 2 and look at the articles and sites you've been touched by and shared with us.

Thank you! :smile:

I was researching this person a while ago -

Dr Johnson -

http://www.truthtrustconsent.com/public_html/psychiatry/the-cause-and-cure-of-psychosis (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthtrustconsent. com%2Fpublic_html%2Fpsychiatry%2Fthe-cause-and-cure-of-psychosis)

There is so much 'out there' - Also worth looking at is -

Dr Clancy McKenzie -

http://www.drmckenzie.com/dr-clancy-mckenzie-md.html (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drmckenzie.com%2Fd r-clancy-mckenzie-md.html)

http://youtu.be/Hsln7YV7NJA (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FHsln7YV7NJA )

& Gabor Mate's work -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabor_Mat%C3%A9_%28physician%29 (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwik i%2FGabor_Mat%25C3%25A9_%2528physician%2529)

There is a lot also in the field of epigenetics & brain plasticity that adds weight to such theories on brain development, life experiences, stress & trauma in relation to these conditions.

I've also found this Blog a very good source of information over the past year or so -

http://beyondmeds.com/?s=open+dialogue (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fbeyondmeds.com%2F%3Fs% 3Dopen%2Bdialogue)

& an Old Favourite -

http://spiritualemergency.blogspot.co.uk/ (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fspiritualemergency.blo gspot.co.uk%2F)

[Too much stuff to list/link to]

[spiritualized]

Hi Spiritualized,

I wanted to thank you for all the links you've so graciously pasted on this thread. This particular post only has some of the many sites which I'm planning to delve into. I hope all reading this post will go back a page or 2 and look at the articles and sites you've been touched by and shared with us.

Thank you! :smile:

Thank you too. It's really only a small selection.

I hope that people can get something from it all.

[spiritualized]

I like this quote in relation to viewing these conditions -

"Those people who, through their expression of pain or confusion, fall into the arms of the 'helping professions', perhaps becoming psychiatrically diagnosed as psychotic or neurotic or 'inadequate personalities', have in my experience almost all arrived at their predicament through an entirely comprehensible, rational and (of course with hindsight) predictable process.

If you run over a pea with a steam roller you don't blame the pea for what happens to it, nor, sensibly, do you treat its injuries as some kind of shortcoming inherent in its internal structure, whether inherited or acquired.

Similarly, if you place the (literally) unimaginably sensitive organisms which human babies are in the kind of social and environmental machinery which we seem bent on 'perfecting', it can be no real surprise that so many of them end up, as adults, as lost, bemused, miserable and crazy as they do.

The only surprise, perhaps, is that so many pass as 'normal',"

David Smail
Taking Care

[spiritualized]

Transcript of speech by Lars Martensson at seminar "Road to Recovery", San Diego, April 2nd, 2004:

Love, Hope and Brain Science. What does Love and Hope have to do with Brain Science? Simply, that a human mind, a human consciousness, cannot arise and cannot exist without Love and Hope. Therefore a science of the human brain, a science that seeks to understand and explain the characteristic human functions of the brain, the functions that distinguish us from other species, the human mind, human consciousness, – in such a brain science Love and Hope must have a central place.

Birth of Consciousness


Consider a baby with its mother. The baby kicks and screams like mad, oblivious of everything, oblivious of the caring mother above. But suddenly the baby quiets down, the eyes of the two meet, the baby laughs and coos. Now the baby sees the mother and, most importantly, it sees itself through the eyes of the mother. The two are together in a common world. This is how we are born, how we are mentally born, this is the birth of our human consciousness. We are born through Love with an Other.

At that moment the highest functions of the human brain centred in the Frontal Lobe are activated. The baby takes a Leap to a View outside itself. We go on to develop this function and learn to take all kinds of viewpoints. D.R. Hofstadter said: "The Self comes into being the moment it has the power to reflect itself". Thanks to this outside perspective we are able to develop an inner world separate from the outside world, where we can do our thought experiments, a world where we ourselves are the Creator.

Archimedes said: "Give me a fixed point outside and I will move the world!" Similarly we get a new power to move our own world, our inner world, when we make the leap to a point outside ourselves.

The highest function of the human brain, the self-reflective function centred in the frontal lobe which gives us an inner world, an inner light, and power over ourselves – is thus activated in interaction with another human being.

Breakdown of Consciousness: Psychosis

Now, let us move 15, 20, 25 years forward. The baby has become a teenager or a young adult. In the meantime his consciousness, his frontal brain functions, has developed tremendously in richness. At the same time unresolved stresses, strains, inconsistencies may have accumulated in his inner world. Perhaps he or she is very idealistic and finds the world and people simply too corrupt and ugly, and for this reason, or for some other reason, he withdraws more and more. Unwittingly he deprives himself of the empathic interactions that maintain and strengthen his consciousness. Life becomes more and more lonely and hopeless. Anxiety and despair rises. He feels he has an impossible life to live. He breaks down. Becomes psychotic.
This breakdown means that the separate inner world that was created by a view from the outside through empathy with another, breaks down. The inner world merges more or less with the outer world. When inner and outer are no longer distinct, fiction and fact, thought and perception are confused.

In short, delusions and hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms are due to the breakdown of the frontal brain function that maintains a separate inner world and that depends on empathic interactions with other people.

Now we see, not a baby, but a young adult person that kicks and screams, maybe not literally, but figuratively speaking, kicks and screams like mad. When the superordinate control of mind and behaviour by the frontal brain is lost in a person with all the physical and mental powers of a young adult the ensuing chaos is, of course, much more threatening and problematic than that of a kicking and screaming little baby. But, the point is that this young adult, despite appearances, is helpless in essentially the same way that a baby is helpless and as much in need of Love and Hope in order to emerge from the psychotic chaos.

Human Responses to Crazy People

When we see or hear a baby cry we, as human adults, are programmed to want to comfort, to feel tenderness and love. Our instincts help us to respond appropriately. Our genetic programming makes us try to give the baby what it needs.

But how do our instincts make us respond when we are faced with an adult person who is unreasonable and out of control because of a breakdown in frontal brain functions. We are apt to respond with anger. Our impulse is not, what it would be with a crying baby or child, to approach, to hold, to comfort, to cherish. We get out of the way, if we can. Everybody withdraws.

Normally young people have a rich and intense social life, but when a young person breaks down and becomes psychotic, he or she very soon finds himself in a social vacuum.

If you cannot withdraw, for example, because you are in the same family, you may quite naturally respond with overt or covert anger, and thus worsen the loneliness, hopelessness, and lovelessness that caused the psychosis. Thus, this young person may be trapped in a vicious circle.

Neuroleptic (Anti-psychotic) Drugs

Now, remember the baby kicking and screaming like mad. We saw the transformation when the eyes of baby and mother met in love. The baby turned happy and quiet, just cooing and laughing.

There is another way we can quiet babies. We can give them a tranquilizer, a so called antipsychotic drug, a neuroleptic drug. Give such drugs to children. Surely crying and other troublesome behaviors will be reduced. Maintenance neuroleptic treatment is also effective in preventing relapse into troublesome behaviours.

Yet we are all convinced that with drug free care after a few years the children will be in better shape than if they are given drugs. Similarly, people in psychosis will be in better shape if they are given love and understanding rather than drugs.

The main effect of these drugs is to inhibit the reward system, the pleasure system, of the brain by blocking dopamine receptors. The drugs deprive a person of the emotional energy that drives crazy behavior. By the same token, however, the drugs deprive a person of the emotional energy that drives any creative activity. For example, we saw how the crazy little baby turned happy and quiet, just cooing and laughing with mother. That transformation could not have occurred if the baby had been given a neuroleptic, an antipsychotic drug.

In other words, the drugs prevent activation of the frontal brain. In short, the drugs suppress troublesome behaviors, but at a high price. They suppress trouble at the price of blocking recovery.

Reverse Psychiatry

But is recovery possible? Isn’t schizophrenia a chronic, lifelong disease? Yes, in general, at least with the drugs. Almost everybody who gets the diagnosis is stuck both with the diagnosis and the drugs for life. But is recovery possible without the drugs?

I will return to that question. But first we will make a trip to the Swedish city of Falun and talk with Goran Andre, a psychiatrist. In the early and mid 1990s he was head of psychiatry in Falun, and responsible for psychiatric services for a population of about 60,000 people.

During a four year period 1992 to 1996 all first time psychotic people in this area were taken care of in a novel way that is also practised, more or less, at some other psychiatric centres in Scandinavia.

Goran describes the four cornerstones of the Falun method a follows:

1. Psychosis is seen as a crisis. A crisis to be overcome.

2. A session with the whole family is arranged within 24 hours.

3. Neuroleptic drugs are avoided. In fact, hardly ever used.

4. Hospitalization is avoided. In fact, hardly ever necessary.

Each one of these principles is contrary to the usual routine in psychiatry. In normal psychiatry a psychotic patient is hospitalized, separated from the family, and finally, after some time, released with maintenance neuroleptic drugs. The family is "educated" to help make sure the patient takes the drugs she "needs." In short, the psychiatry in Falun is an upside down, a contrarian psychiatry, a REVERSE PSYCHIATRY.

What happens in Falun is that the people around the patient, the ”family,” are gathered as soon as possible for a session with the team. The team consists of the psychiatrist, Goran Andre, a psychologist, and two other people. They meet in a living-room type setting. By family is meant whoever is significant in the life of the patient. The experience of the team is that people will come, even if they have to travel from far away.

In this situation, everybody, not only the patient, is filled with anxiety and despair. Together with the team the family gets an increased capacity to contain and solve problems. It is often found that the patient emerges from psychosis during this first family session. The patient is almost always able to return home with the family the same day. If needed, one of the team members may come along home and stay the night with the family.

Psychosis Outcome with Reverse Psychiatry


Now the remarkable outcome. During these four years the Falun team took care of 37 first time psychotic patients. Normally about half of first time psychotic persons get stuck in their psychosis, become chronically psychotic, and get the diagnosis schizophrenia. You do not get that diagnosis right away; you get it after some time when you seem stuck in psychosis. The remarkable outcome is that during these years there was not a single new case of schizophrenia in the Falun area.

In a population of 60,000 people in four years you expect about 30 new cases of psychosis out of which about 15 graduate to schizophrenia. In Falun there were ZERO, instead of 15 cases of schizophrenia. This fact indicates that most, if not all people, who become schizophrenic with normal psychiatry, would overcome the psychosis with the Falun REVERSE PSYCHIATRY. In other words, with the right help at an early stage the development from psychosis to schizophrenia may be prevented.

Since in normal psychiatry most patients would receive neuroleptic drugs, I asked Göran how many of the 37 patients got the drugs. He estimates that perhaps 1/4 of the 37 patients have received a neuroleptic drug some time or times, when, he said “we have thought the drug might be of help." By 1998 one or two of the 37 patients were taking the drugs. In normal psychiatry, typically about 20 of the 37 patients would be getting neuroleptic drugs at that point in time. In other words, all or almost all of the Falun patients had escaped the usual fate of psychotic patients, the fate of being stuck in the neuroleptic drug trap.

Because GA was chief of psychiatry these years in Falun he was able to ensure that ALL first time psychotic patients were directed to the psychosis team. Thus, there was no selection of patients. Therefore we can be sure that all those 10 or 20 young people in Falun who were destined to become chronic schizophrenics if they had been treated by normal psychiatric methods, were saved from this terrible fate – we can be sure they were among the 37 patients seen by the team.
"We were all wrong!"

You would think these results should have been written up in a proper research paper. Of course. Goran and his team are dedicated professionals, but they are not academic people writing research reports. Obviously, if the academic psychiatric establishment had been truly interested, the continued work of the team would have been protected and the data would have been evaluated and published in the psychiatric literature. I am sorry to say, that did not happen.

The Falun results vindicated views I had presented a decade earlier, in the mid80s, when I argued, among other things, for a legal right to drug free care. Let me quote Loren Mosher, whom you will hear later today. He said “In psychiatry, the powerful, established gate-keepers - a group composed almost entirely of academic - conservative - psychiatric - research mafiosi - can be relied upon to reject unfashionable research.”
What is true in America is true, also in Sweden.

A senior psychiatrist, my friend, who also knew what made his colleagues tick, said to me in the mid80s: “Lars, you have to realize, if you are right, all they have done all their life is wrong.” When did you hear the people in power admit: “We were all wrong!”

The Problem with Psychiatry and Psychiatrists


What was happening in Falun? Why was there no schizophrenia? Even the members of the team are wondering. Goran told me that "What we are NOT doing may be more important than what we are doing." Ulf Wamming, the psychologist explained: "Never leave a first time psychotic patient alone in a room with a psychiatrist!"

Why? What is it about a psychiatrist that is destructive? What does a psychiatrist do?

Let us think for a moment about what typically goes on between a doctor, the expert, and a patient, the non-expert. The doctor tries to understand what the patient's words suggest about the disease. The doctor has ideas and thoughts that he does not share with the patient. With a psychiatrist, while the patient is talking the doctor is really looking for psychotic symptoms. He has ulterior thoughts. This professional attitude may be OK when the concern is a disease of the body. But it is very problematic with a psychotic person.

Let us compare the relation between doctor and patient with the relation between the mother and the baby at the moment the baby is mentally born by the leap to an outside viewpoint. That leap, we understand, is only possible because of the empathy, dedication, openness, total presence of the mother. There are no ulterior thoughts, no manipulation. This is love.
Human consciousness is born in Love.

The task with a psychotic person is, as we noted, similar to the task with a baby. The task is to activate the frontal brain function that underlies human consciousness. When the psychotic person makes the leap to an outside viewpoint through a fully empathic mutual relation with another, at that moment the psychosis is overcome. The person is whole again.

We noted that human beings are programmed to respond appropriately with care and love to a crying baby. But with a crazy adult our spontaneous reaction is not care and love, rather it is withdrawal or anger. The professional attitude is not the answer. The professional attitude is also a kind of withdrawal, a kind of anger management.

If we understand the task that the psychotic person faces in order to become whole again, and if we want to make it possible for him or her to get the faith to dare that vital leap, the recipe is: Be there, but not aloof and observing, and not intrusive, but fully present with a pure and open mind.

So, what the patient needs is more or less the opposite of what a psychiatrist is trained to give. Some 20 years ago when I had been giving a speech in Denmark a psychiatrist in the back of the room asked: It is night time. I am on duty in the emergency room and I have this very strong, big, violent, psychotic man. Do you say I should not give him a neuroleptic drug?

The answer that came out of my mouth was: “Let us start with the problem, not with the system.” Within the existing system, of course, the psychiatrist may have no alternative.

In our society we expect to do our jobs with a professional attitude and between 9 and 5. Maybe there will be some overtime etc., but still, our involvement is limited. We can do a lot of things this comfortable way. But there are essential tasks that demand more. For example, in wartime we may be expected to risk our lives. If a person is drowning in the river, the only way to save that person may be to jump in and share the danger. If it is my child, or someone else I love, I probably will jump in.

There are tasks for which our system, our way of doing things is inadequate. Doing psychiatry the way we do other kinds of medicine is totally inadequate.

Conclusion

It is an unbearable horrible tragedy when a young person, often a gifted, sensitive, creative young person is drowning in psychosis. Today I have focused on the experience in Falun, but time permitting I could have marshalled much other evidence that most, if not all, these young people can be saved, saved from the psychosis, and saved from the drugs – saved to live the lives they were born to live.

They can be saved. Therefore they must be saved. If we understand and face up to the actual problem we will have no patience with the existing system of psychiatry.

Love opens the road to recovery: Love instils the Faith to dare the vital leap. Love gives the Hope that the impossible life IS possible, after all.

[spiritualized]

Eckhart on the Dark Night of the Soul

Have you ever experienced the dark night of the soul? Your teachings have been so helpful through this difficult period. Can you address this subject?

The “dark night of the soul” is a term that goes back a long time. Yes, I have also experienced it. It is a term used to describe what one could call a collapse of a perceived meaning in life…an eruption into your life of a deep sense of meaninglessness. The inner state in some cases is very close to what is conventionally called depression. Nothing makes sense any more, there’s no purpose to anything. Sometimes it’s triggered by some external event, some disaster perhaps, on an external level. The death of someone close to you could trigger it, especially premature death, for example if your child dies. Or you had built up your life, and given it meaning – and the meaning that you had given your life, your activities, your achievements, where you are going, what is considered important, and the meaning that you had given your life for some reason collapses.

It can happen if something happens that you can’t explain away any more, some disaster which seems to invalidate the meaning that your life had before. Really what has collapsed then is the whole conceptual framework for your life, the meaning that your mind had given it. So that results in a dark place. But people have gone into that, and then there is the possibility that you emerge out of that into a transformed state of consciousness. Life has meaning again, but it’s no longer a conceptual meaning that you can necessarily explain. Quite often it’s from there that people awaken out of their conceptual sense of reality, which has collapsed.

They awaken into something deeper, which is no longer based on concepts in your mind. A deeper sense of purpose or connectedness with a greater life that is not dependent on explanations or anything conceptual any longer. It’s a kind of re-birth. The dark night of the soul is a kind of death that you die. What dies is the egoic sense of self. Of course, death is always painful, but nothing real has actually died there – only an illusory identity. Now it is probably the case that some people who’ve gone through this transformation realized that they had to go through that, in order to bring about a spiritual awakening. Often it is part of the awakening process, the death of the old self and the birth of the true self.

The first lesson in A Course in Miracles says “Nothing I see in this room means anything”, and you’re supposed to look around the room at whatever you happen to be looking at, and you say “this doesn’t mean anything”, “that doesn’t mean anything”. What is the purpose of a lesson like that? It’s a little bit like re-creating what can happen during the dark night of the soul. It’s the collapse of a mind-made meaning, conceptual meaning, of life… believing that you understand “what it’s all about”. With A Course in Miracles, it’s a voluntary relinquishment of the human mind-made meaning that is projected, and you go voluntary into saying “I don’t know what this means”, “this doesn’t mean anything”. You wipe the board clean. In the dark night of the soul it collapses.

You are meant to arrive at a place of conceptual meaninglessness. Or one could say a state of ignorance – where things lose the meaning that you had given them, which was all conditioned and cultural and so on. Then you can look upon the world without imposing a mind-made framework of meaning. It looks of course as if you no longer understand anything. That’s why it’s so scary when it happens to you, instead of you actually consciously embracing it. It can bring about the dark night of the soul – to go around the Universe without any longer interpreting it compulsively, as an innocent presence. You look upon events, people, and so on with a deep sense of aliveness. Your sense the aliveness through your own sense of aliveness, but you are not trying to fit your experience into a conceptual framework any more.

Source - http://dev.redwerks.org/ettv/2011/10/eckhart-on-the-dark-night-of-the-soul/

[spiritualized]

In Case of Spiritual Emergency by Catherine G Lucas

It seems clear that the human race is undergoing a collective spiritual awakening. Presaged by the rise of interest in metaphysical subjects, the spiritual energy pouring into the physical realm now is changing the way we all perceive and react to the world we live in, sometimes triggering painful physical and emotional crisis. The time is very right for a book like In Case of Spiritual Emergency, and Lucas, founder of the UK Spiritual Crisis Network, is the perfect person to have written it.

Backing up her thesis that we are all evolving (and not just going insane), she cites research by the likes of Stanislav and Christina Grof, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Roberto Assagioli, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, and Robert Monroe. She shows us what a spiritual emergency looks like using the stories of St. Teresa of Avila, Vincent Van Gogh, Carl Jung, Amma, and Eckart Tolle - among others. Once she has convinced us that things like peak experiences, past-life memories, and psychic openings are all signs of spiritual growth, not mental illness, she outlines a three-part protocol for successfully navigating the waters of spiritual awakening.

Becoming enlightened isn't a journey of peacefulness and flowers. The road is often treacherous and missing both signposts and seasoned guides. Many of us have taken turns that led to scary and confusing places. Now there is a book to lead people through the chaos, into the light, and then back into the world to help others. Thank you, Catherine Lucas.

The book is available from Amazon

[Uma]

I do see what your saying - I feel though that spirituality is beyond duality.

That sanity, healing & spirituality is found in objectively seeing the truth of things as they are as much as is possible - seeing things for what they are; objectively & without projection or illusions (both inner & outer realities). & that is no easy task. I feel that this is all something that is beyond the Mind, Theories, Concepts, Language, words & opinions; of any kind. Like the finger pointing to the moon - all there are is pointers; it can't be defined.

Where I have been at recently - is focused on connecting with the core of who I am. Of connecting with the 'higher aspects' of my Self; as much as possible (& as much as that can be explained in a few words); through awareness & self observation (& observation of life/this reality). To simply 'Stop & be Still' as much as I'm able. As well as focusing very much in as grounded a way as possible on the practicalities of daily life. Of looking after myself as best that I'm able.

I don't have the answers - I suppose I'm realising that the Self, Life, God, Reality - is in essence unknowable & mysterious. That 'it' is all dynamic, fluid - & beyond subjective understanding; i.e. our thoughts, feelings & emotions are Not reality.

Hope that makes sense - I don't know if that will make sense to people or not?

What I am is what is in everybody else - good, bad, or ugly - do I have to create all these labels or can I see perfect divinity in all forms? I am a speck participating - willingly or unwillingly - in a galactic tornado of divine will.

[spiritualized]

do I have to create all these labels
No - I agree. The point of what I was saying is that life is beyond concepts, labels, languages, words, - thoughts, feeling & emotions.

[spiritualized]

Understanding Psychotic Experience And Working Towards Recovery -

http://rufusmay.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=33

[spiritualized]

A quote that seems apt to this discussion -

“Nothing has harmed the quality of individual life in modern society, more than the misbegotten belief that human suffering is driven by biological and genetic causes and can be rectified, by taking drugs or undergoing electroshock therapy. Modern psychiatry has made up the most ugly story possible about human conflicts and emotional pain – reducing it to nothing more than bad genes and unbalanced chemical reactions. If I wanted to ruin some ones life, I would convince the person, that biological psychiatry is right – that relationships mean nothing, that choice is impossible and that the mechanics of a broken brain reign over our emotions and conduct . If I wanted to impair an individual’s capacity, to create empathic loving relationships, I would prescribe psychiatric drugs, all of which blunt our highest psychological and spiritual functions.”

By Dr.Peter R Breggin MD - Psychiatrist and forensic medical Expert, USA

http://beyondmeds.com/2012/01/06/dissident/ (http://www.spiritualforums.com/vb/redir.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fbeyondmeds.com%2F2012% 2F01%2F06%2Fdissident%2F)

1. Corruption by Big Pharma
2. Invalid Illnesses and Disorders
3. Scientifically Unreliable Diagnoses
4. Biochemical Imbalance Mumbo Jumbo
5. Pseudoscientific Drug Effectiveness Research
7. Diversion from Societal, Cultural and Political Sources of Misery

http://youtu.be/L8iDFpc4mVw

[Lizabix]

If you don't believe me or don't understand/know what I'm talking about, please please PLEASE don't try to mess with my emotions or my mind or make fun of me. I cannot take it, even a little bit.
This is my literal, truth by truth account of what is happening to me, in the best words I can explain.

I've been going through a "alien/entity/outsider/possession state" type of spiritual emergency brought on by trauma after trauma. (please look up "possesion spiritual emergency" and do some research if you don't know what that is, and it might not be what you think.) I'm at my wits end constantly, I SNAP at the smallest thing.

I have no money to get any help, no human relationships, no guidance, no because everyone has run away from me.

My soul fragmentation is completely overwhelming, and all the pieces are moving around inside me and it's the most disgusting thing, like I can actualy FEEL them in a way....all three or four different parts/sides of me screaming at each other and disagreeing and talking all at once and blocking/making me forget my concious thoughts.

I've heard this ordeal is supposed to be a healing process. I've heard that if you just let the bad feelings take over you'll get all better and your life will turn around, that you will feel the love of the good/divine and that, i don't know, everything will be okay. But it isn't getting better. For some reason I feel like it's almost run it's course and all that happened was that I became some kind of vessel for another creature, with my own consciousness pushed away and being constantly insulted/hurt. ( I know how crazy that sounds. Try to imagine. :/)

But I don't even really like the person I am becoming.
I was hoping with this "emergence" life would have given me some hope, some sense of meaning to life. As it is, I'm just seething with irritation constantly, with a feeling of dread at the thought of living forever.

I still feel the horrible sensations of something reaching greasy smooth tentacles into the most private place of my soul that no one should tough ever (there is literally no other way to describe this feeling and it is the most violating thing you could possibly imagine), i still hear the three fighting parts of myself at once.

I can't stand the nightmares I've been having of going to hell and being betrayed and having all of my worst fears realized (burning to death, taken over by evil forced to watch from the back of my soul as I'm controlled, possession and taken to hell and tortured by devils while a god watches with an angry judging face)

I've lost my ability to function, and have chronic debilitating depression (most days I don't even have the energy to brush my hair, I wish I could stay in bed forever and not think about how it feels like some invisible greasy, probing, tentacle of a bad entity is burrowing it's way through my solar plexus and into my soul. It's hell. I wish I wasn't crazy. I wish I could feel normal.)

I literally scream to the Good, I plead, cry until I throw up, hurt myself, and scream and cry in despair. I don't hear anything that makes me know there's anything out there that cares. In fact, I get the sense I'm slated to die. I spend every day in terror over what my fate will be, if I feel this bad now..

I'm SO TIRED, I don't want to live anymore. Especially not forever. I don't want to go to heaven or hell, I want to have NEVER existed. For the very idea of me to be wiped away from all of everything.

And if this isn't a spiritual emergence/emergency, I'm under attack and whatever thing/things these are just won, I feel no control over myself or anything. That I'm under attack would make sense since something just doesn't quite feel right. Not that I could even tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing talking to me.

As a powerless human, I am fated to crawl around in the dirt like a maggot. Running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to figure out the right combination of traits, feelings, and ideals I should have so that I won't be damned to suffer forever. "Don't get angry at the divines, don't get angry at all, all negative emotions cause bad things to happen to you, No idea of what's really right or wrong, or ANYTHING really. The fate of my soul is up for grabs.

I'm being yanked this way and that, and if I'm slated to be in agony and cry every day and cut myself while having a huge mental and existential breakdown, well I guess **** me right? I better stop being selfish and just suck it up.

I have ABSOLUTELY no hope inside of me, only the feeling that something else is inside my deepest most private places and feelings, smirking and taking feelings and ideas and ideals and everything that makes me, then molding them into whatever the want only to force them back inside so I have to be the way they want.

I feel like I am being killed. Without any help this will never get better and I have the truest feeling that it won't get better anyway.

Did you know I LITERALLY have not one friend since the fourth grade when I started being some kind of different. You think I'm lying? That is the straight plain truth. ALL I need is to socialize like a normal person for a little while so I can heal a bit, feel human and real, but everyone runs away.

I wish I could feel some divine love, or good, or justice. But for some reason they are not accessible to me. Something is blocked.

Then again all experiences of love have been driven from me, I can't feel it and I don't feel it from others. I'm basically turning into the evil thing trying to get into my soul

God, I hope some of that makes sense. I am seriously at the end of my rope and and my thoughts are all scrambling, but the sensations are still there and the voices are still there.

:icon_pale: :icon_frown: :BangHead: :crybaby2:

[Lizabix]

I should also tell you that I feel another presence that I dislike GREATLY and is very very irritating in the middle of my solar plexus deep down in my soul. Imagine a tiny ball that's a bit bigger nickle sized but round.
My distractions and constant being dragged this way and that has taken away my ability to draw (which I used to do very well) and that makes me want to die. I also don't enjoy reading anymore because the voices are too loud for me to just read. I can barely move so no exercising or going out into the beautiful sun for me.

I just have the DISTINCT REAL feeling that god looks upon me with nothing but scorn and anger and annoyance that I'm not blindly following a spiritual path and am still trying to figure out the best thing to do. I feel like he (and I get a distinct he feeling) is watching me and calculatingly trying to kill me inside to make me more...compliant.

I read the divines want to destroy you completely and completely break you until you don't even exist anymore so you can be of use to them.

So if I don't blindly let some THING that I don't even know what it is do whatever it wants with me, even though I have no information as to what's going on or if I'm doing the right thing, I will be in agony forever.

Being wiped out and forgetting everything is the only option?
That's too much trust for me. I guess I'm just going to go to hell. Or be in hell here, and then be thrown in the garbage in the spirit world when I'm dead because I'm not good enough.

That's all what I feel as well.

[Henri77]

I expect some of us are sending prayers-healing. if that's any comfort,.

[Henri77]

I just have the DISTINCT REAL feeling that god looks upon me with nothing but scorn and anger and annoyance that I'm not blindly following a spiritual path and am still trying to figure out the best thing to do. I feel like he (and I get a distinct he feeling) is watching me and calculatingly trying to kill me inside to make me more...compliant.

I read the divines want to destroy you completely and completely break you until you don't even exist anymore so you can be of use to them.
.

This is misinformation and best forgotten..... at least in our universe

[Lizabix]

I need that I think. Just someone wishing me...well I guess? Sending loving thoughts. I don't know. I feel like I need someone somewhere to vouch for me.

[Lizabix]

So...maybe just letting these weird feelings in as far as possible and letting these bad feelings happen may not have been the best idea? I was told that if I just let it all in eventually even though it would hurt for a very long time it would get better eventually.
That never did sit right with me, and it feels so violating.
I wish I could feel something from higher powers. Anything. All I feel is this gross sick feeling in my plexus that blocks out everything else. I just don't feel ANYTHING. I have no idea what's going on, even though I beg internally for anything to make this better.

Answers, a little bit of love sent on me, reassurance of some kind. ANY kind of feeling of their presence or ... something.

I'm beginnning to believe this isn't an enlightening or healing experience at all, just another mistake I made by being ignorant I let something in and now I'm dead.

[Lizabix]

This is misinformation and best forgotten..... at least in our universe

Also, could you explain what you meant further?

[spiritualized]

I'm beginnning to believe this isn't an enlightening or healing experience at all
Hi Liz

Thank you for sharing some of your story. Well done for getting through, coping & dealing with things; which you are doing.

There are certain things that I can relate with.

These areas are highly individual, often complex & involve many aspects. Some people find a purely spiritual explanation to their experiences best help; while others don't, & prefer more medical explanations. I would think that the actual truth is many shades of grey.

The way I see things; is that we operate at lots of different levels. & that these conditions can be mixtures of social/environmental, life experience, biologic, psychological & spiritual factors. What's needed is a comprehensive approach to help people - comprehensive psychological/spiritual & practical social help & support. I don't think that anyone really gets the idea help that they need who experience these things.

I feel that as much as possible that we need to 'make do' with what is available. Personally I maintain contact with medical/psychiatric services. It is limited contact - But I do reluctantly find some benefit from taking a wisely prescribed neuroleptic medication. I've also sought out other help as much as possible - from a psychotherapist, & also alternative healers, as well as on-line posting, reading a lot of these subjects & other things.

All we can is what we can with what we have available.

What support & help do you have access to from friends & family? I do understand if your very isolated.

Are you in contact with any medical services? It may well be an idea/suggestion to work with an understanding Doctor to find some kind of medical help as well. A wise & sensitively prescribed medication can help to steady us up & bring some balance to us - so we can more easily address things from other perspectives as well.

I hope that things improve for you.

[Uma]

So...maybe just letting these weird feelings in as far as possible and letting these bad feelings happen may not have been the best idea? I was told that if I just let it all in eventually even though it would hurt for a very long time it would get better eventually.
That never did sit right with me, and it feels so violating.
I wish I could feel something from higher powers. Anything. All I feel is this gross sick feeling in my plexus that blocks out everything else. I just don't feel ANYTHING. I have no idea what's going on, even though I beg internally for anything to make this better.

Answers, a little bit of love sent on me, reassurance of some kind. ANY kind of feeling of their presence or ... something.

I'm beginnning to believe this isn't an enlightening or healing experience at all, just another mistake I made by being ignorant I let something in and now I'm dead.

Sending a big hug your way Lizabix :hug3:

[spiritualized]

http://www.realization.org/page/doc0/doc0026.htm

How about a DSM Category :-) -

http://www.spiritualcompetency.com/jhpseart.html

Personally for myself, after over a decade of searching for formal answers to my experiences. I'm not going to find the answers in books, web-sites, articles, research & definitions. Yes, I've read some great books, & have some lovely books - but there is far more to it all than that.

The spiritual dimension is what I think is missing from 'modern' psychiatry/MH practises; & they should return more to their roots. It should primarily be about the healing of the psyche/Soul. A Holistic (Wholistic) application of healing. Forget the biopsychosocial model - it should be the Spiritual/Emotional, Psychological, Social, Biological Model.

Do you remember pie charts & block charts from school? List those categories & then plot the variables. That would be an ideal assessment of a patients needs, concerns & actual criteria; as far as it's possible to be ascertained.

I feel that a certain person was in part right; & we are truly in the Age of Ahriman; heed, don't heed, or make of that what you will...We all have choices.

[Uma]

I'm not an expert (yet) but think that all kinds of things can contribute to a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Something wrong with the physical brain so the soul can't integrate properly with the body.

Some resistance on the part of the soul to integrate fully with the body.

A bit of both.

About hallucinations - hearing voices, seeing things... Well I'm clairaudient and clairvoyant and I know the difference between genuinely picking up information from other beings versus my own imagination. That knowing comes from being grounded in the physical body and physical plane when I'm intuiting. The astral dimension is very real - but so is the possibility of some physical imbalance or soul connection as I noted above.

We need at least some of our five senses in order to fully integrate into the physical dimension - otherwise we can't tell dream from not-dream, past from present or future.

All realities are an inner experience.
We are multidimensional beings co-existing in many dimensions simultaneously.
That's why we can drive a car and daydream at the same time - but it's the degree of control that decides whether this is a dangerous activity or not!

If medication is what it takes to ground a person's soul into their body or to repair a brain malfunction - I'm all for it.
Root chakra development exercises are also a good idea - like doing the mula bandha (root lock)...

One day this will be common knowledge - and perhaps some way to measure it. MRI isn't a sensitive enough measure.

[spiritualized]

first contacts with people in crisis and spiritual emergencies -

http://www.courtenay-young.co.uk/courtenay/books/HANDBOOK_First_Contacts.pdf

[Uma]

first contacts with people in crisis and spiritual emergencies -

http://www.courtenay-young.co.uk/courtenay/books/HANDBOOK_First_Contacts.pdf

I like the Findhorn people! Thanks for sharing the link.