Customer Reviews

Spiritual Emergency: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis (New Consciousness Readers)

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In his book "Cosmic Consciousness," published in 1901, Richard Bucke writes of "certain men who...are either exalted, by the average self conscious individual, to the rank of gods, or, adopting the other extreme, are adjudged insane." This is the earliest mention I have found of the potential problem inherent in the spiritual growth process: bouts of madness, or at least extreme dysfunction. The Grofs have put together a collection of essays by themselves and various other authors which explore the psychic/psychological dynamics of what they call "spiritual emergency." That's their term for when the growth process puts a person into psychic overload. The essays describe different aspects of such overload, as well as ways to help someone (or oneself) through it.

A repeating theme throughout the book is that too often such people are pathologized and medicated by well-meaning but materialistic-minded health care workers. This not only terminates the process so that breakthrough cannot occur, it can also drive the patient into permanent madness. Some of the contributors to this book include Roberto Assagioli, John Weir Perry, Ram Dass, Lee Sannella, Holger Kalweit, and others. There is a fascinating piece by Keith Thompson entitled "The UFO Encounter Experience as a Crisis of Transformation," which is the most profound way of looking at UFO abduction phenomenon that I've ever read. I recommend this book to anyone interested in personal growth--it is interesting, well-edited, and filled with a lot of useful information.

An excellent book for anyone involved with psychotherapy or magical / spiritual practices, whether as a guide / therapist / teacher, student, or simply on your own journey. This is a good introductory overview of the subject of Spiritual Emergence and Spiritual Emergency. I believe anyone undertaking serious magical work, training or psychotherapy, at some stage will undergo a crisis, which can then either lead to Spiritual Emergency or Spiritual Emergence. The research and ideas this book contains can assist in one's own development or guiding someone else through those dark days and nights.

In addition to my previous review of this book I wrote down some thoughts and feelings that came to me while reading this book.

Briefly, my overall feelings on the book are that it is possibly the most influential book I have yet to read relating to personal transformation and the processes of therapy. With essays from a wide range of authors it shows that there is an undercurrent to the dominant medical view of mental disorder/illness, which has a firm basis in reality rather than trying to force a medical model onto conditions with an "unknown cause" - that is a cause that may not have an apparent logical, rational, or objective basis.

I feel a sense of hope reading this book, seeing that others (some with qualifications in psychology or psychiatry from prestigious Universities) share some common beliefs about the spiritual basis of transforming crises.

What follows are some thoughts and occasionally questions I will ponder on for some time before they become clear:

There is a theme of "non-standard" states of consciousness being suppressed.

In ancient times: imprisonment, torture, death, and isolation
In modern times: medication to suppress

Transformative psychological events often parallel shamanic experiences.
Question: Increase in "mental illness" stemming from evolutionary change in consciousness? This is being suppressed at present by psychiatry. Is consciousness trying to change and evolve into higher forms on a larger scale, rather than more isolated shamanic initiations?

The importance of the subjective experience, e.g. Past Life Regression. The objective or factual explanations are not necessary or relevant to the transformative process. Only the subjective is necessary in the scope of Self Growth or therapy. It is irrelevant whether one actually had that Past Life, or whether the Past Life memories are a fictional way of experiencing a set of beliefs and issues within one's psyche.

Recurring (personal) conflict between super-normal experiences and consensus reality. This is the basis of psychosis (for diagnosis), that a person's thinking is non-rational, and departs from what is considered normal or representative of what is normal. For me personally, I have had to adjust from being highly sceptical of anything which was non-rational, non-logical, to being able to think and understand in transpersonal, spiritual and magical terms. This probably places me within the definition of psychotic, although I have also kept a reasonable grip on consensus reality, not departed from it. So, while "magical thinking" is one of the symptoms of psychosis, the ability to "think magically" and also function within society seems to allow one to functional fully. Possibly medicating people with tranquillising medicines stops people being able to work through a psychotic departure from reality and retain the ability to "think magically" but also to function within society or the physical world.

Question: Is Possession akin to Multiple Personality Disorder Syndrome? And rooted in sub-personalities. It certainly seems likely to me the MPDS stems from a severe trauma resulting in a subpersonality or conglomerate of subpersonalities taking over to ensure the survival of the individual Self, in some form. Possession also is a departure, usually temporary, from the Self being in control and a dominant and regressive subpersonality being in control, or perhaps even an external "entity". Perhaps that would lead to two types of possession, one by an external agent the other being sub-personality possession?

With new "mental states" one needs to adjust to living with new views of reality and still retain the ability to function in mundane society. This carries on from the above comments on "magical thinking" and psychosis. It may be productive for a time for a severe departure from reality, but preferable to have an experienced guide (therapist / shaman) to assist one's journey and even more preferable (but generally unobtainable in present society) a retreat where one can go to and work through changes in the view of reality. It seems that it is possible to keep a grip on rationality and also experience non-rationality intermittently or at the same time, and with some effort functional to some degree within society (ie. Hold down a job, and maybe even a relationship!), and grow and expand one's consciousness into new realms, and formulate new views of reality.

Death and World Destruction themes. The birth - life - death - rebirth (renewal) are common themes in paganism and alchemical process. In Alchemy (spiritual and laboratory) there are phases of putrefaction, negredo (blackening) and other "unpleasant" stages through which things are transformed.

Dysfunctional families. This is another strong theme in the book, and basically the topic for a one-hour talk I gave. It is families that are seen as the root of psychosis in many instances. The term schizogenic is used by one author.

In dealing with people in Spiritual Emergency personal qualities are more important than professional qualifications. Non-labelling is also important, and something we talk about in Psychosynthesis, about not putting "things" and "people" into little boxes, but letting them be how they are.

According to John Perry, the renewal process requires an emotional framework (a partner). This is curious and relates back to what I've been taught, thought about, and experienced with the Inner Mate process, and various interactions of the anima and animus. It may also relate heavily to "Self in relationship to Other" which was the theme of the second year Psychosynthesis course, and the various functions of a guide (shaman or therapist).

This book is a must for anyone who is experiencing or who knows someone who is experiencing spiritual emergence. It provides essential information so that you know you are not moving into uncharted territory or losing your mind. Spiritual emergence can be an extraordinary healing process and much much more. I highly recommend this book.

Oy vey--I'm the last person I ever thought would need a book like this, but, apparently, the energetic/spiritual side of me thought differently! I'm SUCH the target audience for this book, it's ridiculous. My chakras started waking up (demonstrated by serious shakes during meditation) and it absolutely freaked me out. I'm only a chapter into this book, but already, it's easing my mind. For those of us who can't walk down the main street of our village to the local shaman to find out what the heck is going on with us, this book will help a LOT. It goes far to explain the differences between a 'spiritual emergence' and 'going completely insane'--and even though my gut was telling me that I wasn't insane, it has helped immeasurably to read it in print. If you're confused about what may be happening to you spiritually, this book should help. I'm totally grateful for it.

I have gone through many "dark nights of the soul" and
this book helps separate the spiritual transformation from
the mental breakdown, get me to the hospital quick type.
Worth the time spent reading it.

A strong soulful effort to bring gentle balance to a difficult but natural transition, much needed in western culture.

As someone who has grappled with the differences between mental illness and spiritual awakening, I found this collection of essays to be very informative. I regret it took me nearly 20 years to discover this book.

If you have been reading about spiritual enlightenment, or had a spiritual experience, and are struggling to grasp what has happened to you, this book will be a gift. I read ACIM from cover to cover and the Truth of the book was difficult for me. I was in a state of Spiritual Emergency, still am, but reading that it is something many people go through was enough to reclaim my sanity. Thank you to the authors for this wonderful book!

This book would be of interest to persons who have not taken mind-altering drugs yet experience paranormal events which surprise and upset them. Such events include seeing visions, hearing voices, having precognitive dreams or hunches, and experiencing other ways of knowing that we can't explain. If a person talks of having these experiences it could result in a diagnosis of "mentally ill" and even placement in an institution. This book is an educational opportunity for professionals who may deal with persons who have these paranormal experiences and are going through a "spiritual emergency."

My friend Ginger was institutionalized as a teenager. I met her ten years later and she believed she was mentally ill. She was not ill, she was extraordinary. Ginger was a "sensitive," a highly intuitive and gifted person. After working through the false labels placed upon her, she eventually became a successful teacher, and later a licensed mental health counselor and bioenergetics therapist. If this book could have been given to her in 1979, it would have reassured her and clarified what had happened to her in her teen years.