Spiritual Psychosis

[JustBe]

Originally Posted by FallingLeaves

that was perhaps one of the most beautiful things, I found. By learning through that, and many other experiences, that is ok to let others decide even when I dont want them to because everything I knew was telling me it would be awful, I also learned, that many beautiful things can just happen even when everyone around me is screaming 'this is awful, don't let yourself do it!'.

I won't say coming to such conclusions isn't difficult though

Yes I found myself allowing support that ‘hit home’ in me from another. So even as I was caught up in an altered state, I felt and resonated with their offering. They could see where I was and where I needed to be. That support required me to open beyond the place I was holding into. Even though he was focused on an entirely different reality. Sometimes you need others seeing to shift you and trust in them..

Sadly sometimes those kind of shifts don’t always sit well in those holding onto their reality, believing its where they want and need to be..

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by JustBe

Sadly sometimes those kind of shifts don’t always sit well in those holding onto their reality, believing its where they want and need to be..

so much is caught up in the body... from what I gather some can't lose their current reality without also losing their body in some meaningful way... but the rest of us don't want others to die so that is a hard thing for many to obtain other than through normal death at the end of a life....

[Unseeking Seeker]

Living life itself is undergoing therapy, is it not?

Now, if it’s a medical condition, go with the doctors, is what I’d say. However, we can choose to self-heal ourselves in most cases, by an orientation shift, where we witness the rising and subsiding of thoughts* (*mostly fears, desires and concepts) as objects not owned by us, that is, as external to us.

Perhaps this may sound like an oversimplification but in my view, it works. Write down the thoughts, the emotions and recognise that they are not ours but have simply appeared out of the thin air in our sphere of awareness, so there’s no need to indulge, to feed these illusionary forms.

[peteyzen]

This is a very good article, thank you Sara.
The mind is a vey powerful thing and when out of balance, a dangerous thing.
This coupled with the fact in spiritual development we are taking on the ego, a projection of the mind, which fights back and can lead to mental problems that manifest as psychosis and other issues. The list Sara gives of the causes of these issues is also useful.
If we embark on real spiritual practices with a damaged mind, they can result in more damage sadly. In other instances, the practices can strengthen and calm the mind, helping it. A lot depends on if you have a (good) teacher or not.

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by Unseeking Seeker

Perhaps this may sound like an oversimplification but in my view, it works. Write down the thoughts, the emotions and recognise that they are not ours but have simply appeared out of the thin air in our sphere of awareness, so there’s no need to indulge, to feed these illusionary forms.

yeah that could work given my own world-view... I happen to think that a lot of us have 'telepathy' going on... between our not wanting to listen to the other side at all (we want to shut down 'our thoughts' for meditative purposes) and our deciding that whatever they are saying doesn't suit us (as in when 'our thoughts' are blatantly negative) we can go a long way just by not taking 'our thoughts' as seriously as we might be inclined to otherwise...

but in doing that exclusive to all else we close ourselves off to a kind of intimate relationship that really we just aren't going to get in the outer world... at least not at this point in history....

well that is my thought on it anyway...

Originally Posted by peteyzen

The mind is a vey powerful thing and when out of balance, a dangerous thing.
This coupled with the fact in spiritual development we are taking on the ego, a projection of the mind, which fights back and can lead to mental problems that manifest as psychosis and other issues.
If we embark on real spiritual practices with a damaged mind, they can result in more damage sadly. In other instances, the practices can strengthen and calm the mind, helping it.

Living in two different worlds is stressful….it takes its toll. Ego vs spiritual….spiritual vs material….feminine side vs masculine side. Over the years I have witnessed the effects of this stress on priests and ministers. There must be a great sense of isolation at times. Some sense of the 3 traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience must be a heavy burden. The old adage of “ignorance is bliss” must seem like an impossibility to such as these……

[SaraTherase]

Spiritual psychosis seems to be a very complex and often misunderstood phenomenon. My experiences involved altered states of consciousness, paranoia, delusions, visions, voices, and other psychic phenomena. I personally experienced a high level of distress, yet elements of it felt like an intensely spiritual experience. For me, my spiritual practices and beliefs lead to an overemphasis on certain aspects of spiritual experiences, such as the visions and other psychic phenomena. Also it is my understanding that for those who have experienced trauma or stress spiritual experiences may represent a way of coping with these difficulties, especially if one becomes too identified with said experiences.

My experiences were caused by stress and trauma. I felt very isolated, misunderstood and alone. It can be a very confusing time as in some cultures having visions and hearing voices can be a sign of having spiritual abilities. Recovery can be quite difficult as trauma effects the brain in such a way that when their is psychological distress memory becomes impaired, I experienced this first hand and lost all sense of self, beliefs, values, confidence and sense of self worth. Deep rooted fears and traumas which I thought I had healed resurfaced. It was the undoing of false truths and outdated beliefs but in the most horrific terrifying way at times.

My experience began with insomnia and loss of appetite coupled with elation and heightened spiritual experiences. I felt as though I was going through a shift but didn't understand what was going on. I tried to end my life during these episodes and spent three weeks in hospital. My first episode lasted three months and the second episode lasted two which occured three months apart. As I tried to end my life I was forced to take medication due to the mental health act and work with a psychiatrist which I was reluctant to do as I found it helped very little.

I have found that time, rest, peace and sleep has helped emmensly as their is so much to process and the brain needs time to recover from such events. I am only now, a year later started to come back to life so to speak and try to rebuild myself.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, opinions and experiences, I enjoy reading everyone's views and appreciate you taking the time to share

[Miss Hepburn]

I hold the word 'Spiritual' in high esteem.

If I had these experiences I ''personally'' would call them a form of (a man made label) of psychosis, sure.
My aunt was paranoid, seeing Russians everywhere trying to get at her
in the 60s, and scary things - this was not a 'spiritual' psychosis.

Spiritual psychosis TO ME is a heavenly, cosmic consciousness, altered state or awakening that is filled with knowledge,
profound insight and love.
Never depression, fear or other things that were brought up in a different thread.

There, I've said what I have wanted to, that I kept bottled up.

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Spiritual psychosis TO ME is a heavenly, cosmic consciousness, altered state or awakening that is filled with knowledge,
profound insight and love.
Never depression, fear or other things that were brought up in a different thread.

that is funny to me, because, while honoring my depression and fear and some other stuff that even I don't like, I still get all sorts of altered states, definitely an awakening although not the way you would know it, and I've my own kind of knowledge and insight; I'm also getting something else lately: more freedom from the tyranny of my own thought processes.

All this it is enough for me although maybe not for anyone else

But it is similar to what SaraTherase said it can be horrible to live through what I have had to live through. So much angst and fear about what will happen next it makes me want to just fold up and stop all day every day.

So anyway I feel from personal experience that the happiness/bliss/love/heavenly/cosmic consciousness/ascension crowd doesn't have a corner on the spirituality market just because that is what people normally want to do.... So that is why I say, even for those of us at the bottom who don't have access to any of that beauty ya'all are always talking about, there is something. A different something maybe from what you are accustomed to, but something.

Sad part for us is, we've allowed you to talk us into the notion that only what you have is worth having so we are forever pining for that, and don't even realize we've been given our own kind of something and don't HAVE to go pining after yours if we don't want...
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I also have been able to just reflexively lapse into love for others sometimes... some of it is seen and sometimes even appreciated but a lot of it I just do what I have to even though unnoticed...

I will tell you though, point blank, that I felt that some of the stuff I got from the happiness/bliss/love/heavenly/cosmic consciosness/ascension crowd wasn't very loving at all. And in fact I found some of what some of them fed me was just plain mean.... so I feel too that just because someone puts themselves in that group it doesn't automatically make them a nice person or even give them the beautiful attributes ya'll get from it....

I will say though, even though I currently honor what I'm doing even in the face of adversity... I wouldn't be doing it if ya'll had ever stopped to give me a choice for a 'better' life. Not for a moment. Because, I agree these days, it doesn't seem all that desirable, this thing I do.

Although, everything else aside, I'm starting to cherish the fact of this distance I've currently got from others... i never wanted it, but, it is starting to look very beautiful to me anyway. It is probably the only thing I've got, that is of any real value....

But anyway, I literally have nothing else than what I'm doing... at least not in the spiritual sense. I don't have the things you have and what I do have is all I have had nearly forever.

Gotta have something to comfort me I guess, when the cold weather comes...

[JustBe]

[quote=SaraTherase]Spiritual psychosis seems to be a very complex and often misunderstood phenomenon. My experiences involved altered states of consciousness, paranoia, delusions, visions, voices, and other psychic phenomena. I personally experienced a high level of distress, yet elements of it felt like an intensely spiritual experience.]


Your experience was similar to mine.

Mine began with extreme insomnia whereby I was awake for three days, so this naturally induced an array of complex reactions, much like you have described. Mine lasted three months, with sleep disturbances and altered states naturally occurring.

It took me nearly two years to process and heal from that time. I had a heavy post traumatic response and the integration required me to revisit lots to process it fully and let it all go.

One thing I realised I had everything I needed walking through it, even as difficult as it was. Being in this state at times, I noticed I received guidance and support in ways I exactly needed. I was in no state to know, but others knew and gave me messages, insights and guidance to move through with support.

Death and major Cross road of change feature strongly in these times, however death arises for you and however that cross road is for your inner process.