That being said...if it is in a more intense way: seeing visions, communicating directly to diety, dancing ecstatically like a whirling dervish...that may turn some psychiatric heads and bring out the prescription pads. That's the part of my "manic" spirituality that I so desperately miss. Makes me wonder how many potential "visionaries" are being suppressed by modern medicine. If Joan of Arc were alive today, she would be heavily medicated, and on some level, I find that very sad.

Modern times do no like visionaires... I like to joke about who is more delusional... if me with my auras and chakras and crystals and deities... or somebody who takes a loan to buy a new iPad because they feel the need it. If I am crazy for believing and having my visions than somebody who believes pre-election promises of whoever


This is a beautiful thread and exactly what my heart's been aching to discuss since my own manic breakdown almost two years ago. Please forgive what may seem like infantile inquisitiveness or vain ignorance because I often feel like an imposter who has been labeled bipolar, when I actually feel like saying that I (metaphorically) shed my emotional and spiritual snake skin for a brighter perspective on things. Suffice it to say, after being put on Seroquel once a night (after trying a great many other concoctions), my mania has all together vanished. This pill which tames all the paranoia and sleepless nights has also made direct communication with "God", my higher self, and bouts with the red devil himself a thing of the past. Any hypersensitivity to nature, electromagnetic fields and the emotions of others has been considerably suppressed. I was far-sighted when I was manic, finding anything to be symbolic in nature and worth a thought. Analyzing the way the leaves swayed to communicate the wondrous quality of life on earth was 1,000x more important than checking my email. I sometimes long for a return to this extreme state of mindfulness.


I also wonder if I am simply not just some... kinda of medium. Maybe I am getting lost telepathic messages or something. Maybe I react to something in the air... who knows. There is no way to proof it either way.

Lack of a higher purpose, to me, is a brilliant reason to have a breakdown. Have a lovely job but don't feel fulfilled? Time to straighten up and look in that very plain mirror, take a long shower in water you can't control the temperature of, and slowly recite your morning feelings to a nurse. For westerners, there's the remedy...I'd have rather taken a trip to Nepal and sat on mountainside each morning before working in an orphanage. I think our bodies strive for meaningful work and, if not meaningful, tough labor once in a while, not all that intangible jibber jabber we do on the computer.


I agree with this. I do believe we do need a purpose to feel happy... actually feeling happy and satisfied is a mere side-effect and afterthought... purpose is what I seek.


I think you're not getting the right answers because you're asking the wrong questions Venus.


But what would the "right" questions be?