Spiritual awakening: what to do when it happens to us

We all understand that we grow physically and emotionally from the moment we are born. We also understand and accept that this growth is often accompanied by physical discomfort (teething in childhood, the growth spurt of adolescence…) and often includes emotional challenges of various kinds.

But what about our spiritual evolution? Do we also grow spiritually? And if so, what are the challenges it can entail?

The challenges of growing spiritually

Spiritual development is a innate capacity in every human being. It is a drive towards wholeness, towards discovering one’s true potential. Growing spiritually is as natural as being born, growing and dying, it is an integral part of our existence.

The mystical teachings of all ages contemplate the spiritual evolution. They agree that humanity is part of the creative cosmic consciousness. The discovery of our divine nature can lead, both individually and collectively, to a fuller life.

Spiritual evolution usually happens progressively. Our spiritual nature is emerging and we learn to live more consciouslywe acquire freedom of choice, connection with other people and nature.

The more we delve into ourselves, the more we discover our latent potential: positive qualities, creativity, gratitude, passion.

Any evolution can lead to a crisis

However, sometimes this emergence of the spirit ceases to be progressive and can manifestabruptly and intensely

following an illness, an accident, giving birth or abortion, a strong emotional experience, a significant loss or deep involvement in a meditative or religious practice.

The doors of the spirit then open and it emerges, literally flooding our field of consciousness, in ways that can be joyful, but also disturbing and difficult to integrate. That gives rise to a emergency spirituala crisis in the transformation process.

The terms emerge and spiritual emergency were coined by the psychiatrist Stanislav Grof and his wife Christina, pioneers in the investigation of these experiences. They created the term spiritual emergency as a play on words that includes two aspects: on the one hand emergency it is a sudden crisis; for other, emerge it alludes to what arises, what is manifested, in this case contents that emerge to consciousness.

Oscillation between the unconscious and the conscious

For Kabir Said(1440-1518), the spirit oscillates between these two poles, the conscious and the unconscious. On that swing all beings and all worlds are suspended, and their oscillation never stops.

A spiritual crisis usually entails easy access to states of expanded or non-ordinary consciousness, in which repressed content surfacein the unconscious.

That internal expansion may involve unusual thoughts, insights, or the need to change your lifestyle and of values. Unusual movements and energies can circulate through the body.

These episodes are often linked to spiritual, mythological, and archetypal themes; They may also include psychological rebirth and death sequences, karmic memories, communication with spirit guides, feelings of unity with the universe and other phenomena.

In the lives of shamans, mystics, poets and sages, episodes are described where events of this type are a relevant part of their path.

Pleasant or anguishing, two faces of the same process

Anyone experiencing a spiritual emergency can be inundated with pleasurable sensations and luminous visions; thresholds are crossed into unknown dimensions. The experience can be sweet and the desire to remain in that sublime expansion full of learning arises.

In addition, the experience can be overwhelming and distressing at times. Some internal changes make it difficult to function in everyday reality. And it takes time to take care of yourself during that process.

Differences with psychosis

A frequent question is How do you distinguish a spiritual emergency from a psychosis?since in both cases there can be intense experiences, anguish and strange or out of the ordinary manifestations.

For Stanislav Grof, an expert psychiatrist on this subject, it is impossible to mark different psychics with a different approach. In both cases, the important thing is to find the best way to support someone in crisisafter ruling out any underlying physical cause.

In some cases, there may be symptoms that are not part of an evolutionary processbut rather pathological, especially if there is an inability to perceive the manifestations as something internal, extreme mistrust of any attempt to help, and persecutory delusions that prevent a cooperative relationship.

These and other manifestations may require medical and pharmacological intervention that moderates or even represses the process, seeking prompt psychic stabilization or remission of the episode. An experienced professional must collaborate in the complex task of suggesting the appropriate accompaniment.

Approaching awakening with a transpersonal approach

In the face of a clear spiritual emergency, which is an evolutionary process, the best thing to do is to offer support from a perspective of transpersonal psychologyallowing the emerge process to unfold as needed.

The Grof couple created the formation Grof Transpersonal Trainingalso taught in Spain, which addresses the therapeutic aspect of expanded states of consciousness through the technique Holotropic Breathworkand addresses spiritual emergencies from the transpersonal approach.

It is common for those who are going through a spiritual emergency to make a journey of visits to doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, etc., looking for some kind of solution. This gives an idea of the difficulty of the practical approach.

Unfortunately, there are hardly any assistance centers with a transpersonal vision. Multidisciplinary work teams are required for physical, emotional and mental care. We still have a lot to learn in the non-pathological consideration of these experiences.

How to help and accompany in the spiritual emergency

Going through a spiritual emergency often requires a support network. Given the possible confusion or vulnerability, the ideal is that therapists, family and friends can offer support and encouragement with equanimity.

It is important that close people do not attempt to direct or control the course of the process with their interventions. It is more about accept the role of accompanying witness with a receptive and loving attitude, allowing the process of those who experience the emergency to unfold until it ends.

Trust, patience, flexibility and an open attitude with some humor and without judgment are often very valuable. Besides, for those who accompany it, it can be a revealing episode and exciting self-discovery.

Taking care of yourself during the emergency

The duration and intensity of these episodes is variable, they require support, adequate understanding and make lifestyle changes to take care of yourself

The transpersonal method that the Grofs created offers helpful recommendations:

Be patient and remember that it is a natural process that takes some time but is not permanent. If possible, allow the process to run its course until the end, because resisting or trying to interrupt it does not help.Look for ways to minimize fear and stress.Avoid isolatinggetting lost in thoughts and hasty decisions. Taking on simple tasks and light exercise that help rooted in reality.Seek safe environments where express repressed feelings and physical blockages, for example with techniques such as Holotropic Breathwork.Promote contact with nature and creative expression through music, art or movement. Create simple rituals (have an altar, use a mantra…).Reduce the use of stimulants and substances.Receive massages.Take care of feeding and the rest.Work with dreams or to write a diary.Resort to family, friends and health professionals with a perspective that includes this type of experience. make sure that Seek support from qualified and ethical people. A sensible therapist will be needed if preference for spiritual matters causes neglect of personal and material care.

Behind an emergency there is always a rebirth

For the writer and psychotherapist Thomas Moore, forming the soul is a journey that requires time, effort, skill, knowledge, intuition and courage. It is helpful to know that all soul work is a process, that is, it combines alchemy (transformation), pilgrimage, and adventure.

In a well-resolved spiritual emergency, as the intensity of the experience subsides, waves of relief, humility, gratitude, and wonder appear. Integration is an essential process and bears most rewarding life strategiesan expanded worldview, changes in the hierarchy of values, and an increase in compassion and creativity.

Roberto Assagiolipsychiatrist and pioneer of humanistic psychology, considered that the harmonious inner awakening is characterized by a feeling of joy and mental illumination that clarifies the meaning and purpose of life, clears up doubts, offers solutions to problems and provides an internal basis of security.

The person can put what they have learned at the service of individual and collective transcendence. As in a rebirth of physical and emotional healing, positive personality changes occur. This awareness acts as a beacon for the road still to be traveled.

Recommended bibliography:

Ch. and S. Grof. The stormy search for being (Ed. March Hare) S. Groff and others. The healing power of crises (Ed. Kairos)