7 Billion Paths to Awakening: healing from what is often called psychosis

Initiatory Madness - Mad In America

Lives Restored -

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/s...ies.html?_r=1&

"Sanity in the atmosphere strikes an insane mind as being odd
and uncomfortable. The strangeness forces it to try to switch
the atmosphere over to its own insane nature. But since this
is impossible, the insane mind turns hateful toward the sanity
and also, of course, falls into self-torment."

A Treasury of Trueness, # 955

BMC Psychiatry | Full text | Attachment and coping in psychosis in relation to spiritual figures

Conclusions

During the last decades, research on the etiology of psychosis has predominantly focused on various biological factors. The high level of childhood trauma and insecure avoidant attachment in patients with chronic psychosis as well as their association with symptoms and coping abilities lend support to the investigation of psychological and environmental variables in future research on this condition. Among other, the relationship, in particular in terms of causality, between symptoms and attachment categories represents a major issue, due to the obvious clinical implications it entails. Indeed, the present cross sectional research, but also other research involving follow-up [8] cannot disentangle this problem of causality. This warrants further research on the pathways leading both to psychosis and adult attachment insecurity. That should foster clinicians to shift from a fixed, fatalist stance, for example when facing negative symptoms in the field of relationships with significant others, to a view more concerned with an attachment related stance. That would allow clinicians to place attachment in the core of their psychosocial intervention, instead of reducing patients experience to fixed, biological impairments. Another issue important for clinicians is that patients with unstable attachment may need increased attention and specific interventions in current rehabilitation settings. Approaches involving this domain (e.g. those fostering mentalizing capacities) may be useful in this perspective.

Other studies showed that patients with chronic psychosis can use spirituality as a positive resource for coping (e.g. [17]). In this research, one of the underlying dimensions of the attachment theory which supports these previous data has been highlighted. In particular, it appears that some processes involved in spiritual coping might induce deep psychological changes. At the same time, spiritual beliefs and practices may constitute a privileged window through which to examine IWMs and their transformations.

Re-imagining Mental Health Care

An Interview with Laura Delano

Laura Delano is a psychiatric liberation activist, writer, and community organizer. She entered the “mental health” system as a 13-year old and escaped it 14 years later, after accidentally stumbling upon Robert Whitaker’s book, Anatomy of an Epidemic. Today, Laura works with people looking to free themselves from psychiatric labels and drugs, and communities seeking to build alternatives to the “mental health” system. She lives near Boston, where she’s founded a mutual support group for people coming off psychiatric drugs (RecoveringfromPsychiatry.com). She serves on the boards of the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry and MadinAmerica.com

LAURA DELANO | Transforming Mad Science

Recovering from Psychiatry - Laura Delano

You are perfect just as you are, already a Buddha, merely asleep. The rest is entirely a journey of awakening and self discovery.

- Osho -

More than two million people in the United States have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and the treatment for most of them mainly involves strong doses of antipsychotic drugs that blunt hallucinations and delusions but can come with unbearable side effects, like severe weight gain or debilitating tremors.

Now, results of a landmark government-funded study call that approach into question. The findings, from by far the most rigorous trial to date conducted in the United States, concluded that schizophrenia patients who received smaller doses of antipsychotic medication and a bigger emphasis on one-on-one talk therapy and family support made greater strides in recovery over the first two years of treatment than patients who got the usual drug-focused care.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/he...enia.html?_r=0

“I have now, after long practical experience, come to hold the view that the psychogenic causation of the disease is more probable than the toxic [physico-chemical] causation. There are a number of mild and ephemeral but manifestly schizophrenic illnesses - quite apart from the even more common latent psychoses - which begin purely psychogenically, run an equally psychological course (aside from certain presumably toxic nuances) and can be completely cured by a purely psychotherapeutic procedure. I have seen this even in severe cases”.

- Carl Jung

New York ?Parachute? programme for people suffering acute mental distress lands in the UK | Joe Sykes | Society | The Guardian

Established in early 2013 by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), the Parachute programme’s approach is “open dialogue”, in which a team of therapists and social workers encourage patients and their families to develop their own route to achieving recovery. Practitioners say the approach rejects hierarchy, encouraging equal and open dialogue between everyone in the group. It isn’t about getting “better”, but learning to live with acute distress and developing ways of managing it.

Open dialogue was developed in the 1980s in western Lapland by the Finnish psychologist Jaakko Seikkula. Within a few years, this remote area of northern Europe went from experiencing one of the worst incidence rates of schizophrenia in Europe to having the best documented therapeutic outcomes in the western world. One study showed that after two years of starting therapy more than 80% of participants had no noticeable psychotic symptoms.

The Parachute NYC programme is the first time open dialogue has been implemented in a major urban environment. In addition, it has pioneered peer support as part of the mix. Peer mentors help create a shared experience, says Leslie Nelson, 52, who works as a full-time paid peer in one of Parachute’s mobile open dialogue teams. “It’s just an amazing process for so many of us. Because the person locks on to you. They ask me: ‘You were like this?’ They can’t believe where I am now and they’re inspired by that.”

[Rest in Link]

MIA's Article on all this -

Results of a large government-funded study call into question current drug heavy approaches to treating people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The study, which the New York Times called “by far the most rigorous trial to date conducted in the United States,” found that patients who received smaller doses of antipsychotic drugs with individual talk therapy, family training, and support for employment and education had a greater reduction in symptoms as well as increases in quality of life, and participation in work and school than those receiving the current standard of care.

Schizophrenia Study Suggests Less Drugs and More Therapy

Can Madness Save the World? - disinformation

Can Madness Save the World?

by Paris Williams

Over the years of my explorations into psychosis and human evolution, a very interesting irony became increasingly apparent. It is well known that people who fall into those deeply transformative and chaotic states typically referred to as “psychosis” often feel at different points throughout their journeys that they have received a special calling to save the world, or at least the human race. Indeed, this experience played a particularly prominent role in my own extreme states, as well as within those of at least two of my own family members. From a pathological perspective, this is often referred to as a kind of “delusion of grandeur,” though in my own research and writing, I have come to feel that the term “heroic (or messianic) striving” is generally more accurate and helpful. The great irony I have come to appreciate is that while I think it’s true that these individuals are often experiencing some degree of confusion, mixing up different realms of experience (for example, mixing up collective or archetypal realms with consensus reality, or confusing unitive consciousness with dualistic/egoic consciousness), I have come to feel that perhaps the key to saving the world, or at least the human species, may in fact actually be revealed within these extreme experiences. To better explain this, let me first go over some key concepts.

[Rest in Link]

Seth Farber has also written extensively on these areas - as have others -

Home - Seth Farber, Ph.D.

Evolutionary Advantage to Schizophrenia? -

https://psychneuro.wordpress.com/201...schizophrenia/

Schizophrenia genes 'favoured by evolution' : Nature News

Schizophrenia, Psychiatric Genetics, and Darwinian Psychiatry: An Evolutionary Framework

In a Pharmaco-Centric Era, Mental Health Nursing is More Important Than Ever ? Opinion ? ABC Religion & Ethics (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

An interesting & balanced article on an integral approach to spiritual emergency -

http://www.brantcortright.com/articl...0Emergency.pdf

"Man might be likened to such a bewildered soldier. Out of touch
with the realities of the spiritual world, surrounded by fear and
hostility, he continues to fight. Not knowing that the war is over,
that peace has already been won for him, he battles daily, even with
those who bring him the message of peace. No wonder his world is a
fearful jungle!"

Psycho-Pictography, p. 216

It's from the book -

Integral Psychology: Yoga, Growth, and Opening the Heart (Suny Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology)
by Brant Cortright

Review on Amazon -

This is a very exciting new book. Very few books go deeply into the spiritual area that Wilber calls the Subtle, but this one does it brilliantly. It relies quite heavily on the work of Sri Aurobindo, which has inspired the writer in a full and deep way.

The author uses the phrase `psychic centre' as a more precise term to describe what James Hillman calls the soul, because the word `soul' means so many different things in everyday usage. So what he is saying is that ordinary psychotherapy can take us alll the way into the authentic self - what Wilber calls the Centaur - but we need more than that if we are going to explore the realm of the soul, the psychic centre. And he really has captured the essence of the psychic centre in this book.

"The awakening of the psychic being brings an immensity of relief from life's stresses, a source of deep peace and inner joy that ever bubbles forth like an eternal spring, an intrinsic loving presence that nourishes our inner life and the lives of those around us. It is the true pith of the self, what makes our self uniquely ours." (p.26)

This is not like the New Age version of the soul, however; because it is based on Aurobindo, it has the full force of the Vedanta tradition, where it is called the antaratman. Cortright critiques some of the religious traditions, which have a vague or overoptimistic notion of the soul, which means that they have no appreciation of the fact that you cannot do psychotherapy indirectly by spiritual practice. If you want to develop the authentic self, you have to do your therapy. If you want to go on from there into the world of the psychic centre, you have to go beyond therapy into ritual and ceremony, which enables access to the Subtle - what Wilber now calls the Indigo and Violet realms. "The psychic center is wholeness unalloyed. Psychological work leads up to psychic awakening, but stops short of it. The psychic opening is needed to complete and fulfil it, which takes us into areas of growth and transformation that are little known." (p.69)

The book then proceeds to examine the possibility of an integral psychotherapy, which can do justice to the work of opening up the psychic center.

The thing about this book is that it shows a real appreciation of the Subtle area, which the Buddhists call the sambhogakaya. This is rare, because most spiritual writers want to rush on to the realm of the Causal, the sunyata, the Ultimate. But the realm of the soul, of the psychic centre, is far more accessible and far more productive for the average person. It opens up the spiritual heart of the person in a way that makes the further journey into the more abstract realms easier and less stressful.

"Different schools of psychology have been tentatively groping toward this inmost core but have not yet come upon it. Our deepest identity is our psychic center. Our frontal self and organism are an expression of this deeper source, and it must be placed at the very center of any comprehensive vision of psychology. According to integral psychology, as long as Western psychology fails to recognize the psychic center, it will miss the defining essence of the human being. This would be an ironic fate for a field whose entire purpose is to understand human nature." (p.26)

Wilber fans will not like the fact that the title of this book is the same as an earlier book of his, but the word `integral' is not unique to Wilber, and this book leans heavily on the integral yoga of Sri Aurobindo, who was also one of Wilber's sources. For those who like Wilber, it has to be noted that Cortright, as a good member of the CIIS, feels it necessary to have a little sideswipe at him and Grof (pages 209-210), but do not let this distract you from appreciating the valuable sweep and depth of this book.

John Rowan March 2008

____________________________________

Also looks interesting -

Psychotherapy and Spirit: Theory and Practice in Transpersonal Psychotherapy (Suny Series in the Philosophy of Psychology)
by Brant Cortright

Brant Cortright - Bio

This volume brings together the major developments in the field of transpersonal psychotherapy. It articulates the unifying theoretical framework and explores the centrality of consciousness for both theory and practice. It reviews the major transpersonal models of psychotherapy, including Wilber, Jung, Washburn, Grof, Ali, and existential, psychoanalytic, and body-centered approaches, and assesses the strengths and limitations of each. The book also examines the key clinical issues in the field. It concludes by synthesizing some of the overarching principles of transpersonal psychotherapy as they apply to actual clinical work.

________________________________________

Some more articles by Brant Cortright

Brant Cortright - Articles

This talk by Will Hall is well worth a listen -

Shades of Awakening ? monthlylive

Psychosis and Shamanism


- See more at: Shades of Awakening ? monthlylive

"Our essence is beyond space and time, aware of itself as a part of infinity. I'll call this Spirit

This essence puts a very small part of itself - the soul - into the world of space and time, incarnation, and so develops its consciousness through experiencing duality.
After hundreds or even thousands of incarnations, the soul is ready to merge into its spirit and continue its evolution in worlds beyond our imagination.

The soul itself creates another layer - the personality or ego - which is the vehicle of consciousness for the soul in one particular life time.

In Western culture the soul is strongly encouraged to forget its own identity, and to identify itself solely with its personality. This makes for a cheap, obedient workforce.

Spiritual emergence in this model occurs when identification with the personality/ego is broken, even for only a moment. The personality/ego has to come to terms with the realisation that there is much more to life than it had realised (made real).

Once this limited identification is broken, the ego will desire to return to its old way of life, yet usually has to concede it has a bigger purpose than it wants to know about. Consensual reality no longer works for it, so it must experiment and create a larger map of reality.

Often ego inflation occurs at this stage. The ego has a strong sense of separation, yet has had a glimpse of the immensity of the universal mind. It may then decide it is the messiah or God or a chosen saviour. As a spirit, it is indeed God, however as a soul and ego, it is still evolving to become God incarnate.

A spiritual emergence is a part of the evolutionary process when awareness shifts from ego to soul. With mindfulness, we can observe if our thoughts, emotions and actions arise from our ego - that strong sense of a separate me - or from the soul.

Eventually, the ego has had enough of suffering, and is ready to accept it is a part of a much greater being than it believed itself to be, and to be grateful for that."

Transpersonal FAQ -

Transpersonal FAQ - Frequently Asked Question about Transpersonal Science

What is the purpose of this FAQ?

This FAQ aims to explain the meaning, nature and significance of transpersonal studies for a general educated audience. It answers commonly asked questions about spiritual belief and practice and offers guidance on academic and professional study of the transpersonal.

What does 'transpersonal' mean?

The term ‘transpersonal’ literally means ‘beyond (or through) the personal’. It refers to experiences, processes and events in which our normal limiting sense of self is transcended and in which there is a feeling of connection to a larger, more meaningful reality.

"The strange part of it is man's inability to see false answers
as false answers. No matter how often he wakes up with the same
headache, the familiar nerves, the habitual anger, he stumbles
right back to the same blunders.

Then there is the Supermind solution. It is a shady place. It
comes when the mind grows weary, gives up, dares to know nothing
and abandons itself to something unknown and indescribable."

The Power of your Supermind, Chap. 9, p. 114

22 October 2015 Cassandra Vieten



As a mental health professional, part of your practice may be helping people who have serious mental illness.

Psychologists who have spiritual and religious competency understand that clients may have experiences that are consistent with their spirituality or religion, yet may be difficult to differentiate from psychopathological symptoms. At times, psychiatric symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations have strong reli*gious or spiritual content. Conversely, sometimes religious or spiritual experiences can look like psychiatric problems but actually be common and well-documented aspects of a religious or spiritual path. Not all visions are hallucinations, not all ecstatic bliss is mania, and not all existential distress is depression. At the same time, not all experiences with religious or spiritual content are genuinely religious or spiritual; they may indeed be psy*chiatric problems that require immediate intervention. It can be tricky to differentiate what is a religious or spiritual experience in clients and what is not.

Cultural context is key to understanding the beliefs and practices of individual clients. For example, speaking in tongues, which is common in some Pentecostal churches, could look psychotic when viewed out of context. Routinely speaking with one’s ancestors, the deceased, or benevolent spirits is not normative for many people in Western culture, but it is a matter of course for many Native American and First Nations people.

As part of their spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, people can have experiences that cause cognitive or emotional agitation, unusual or bizarre ideation, or visual or auditory phenomena. When a client presents with unusual or extreme emotions or experiences associated with SRBPs, it can be difficult to ascertain whether the material the client is presenting is unfamiliar to you but completely consistent with his spiritual or religious tradition; consistent with his spiritual or religious tradition but also causing unnecessary cognitive and emotional distress; or contains religious or spiritual elements but is maladaptive or symptomatic of psychopathology.

Here, we need to reiterate that we are working toward competence, not profi*ciency. This is an important distinction. It may require a certain degree of proficiency to fully differentiate between spiritual or religious issues and psychiatric problems. For competence, you simply need to be aware of these phenomena and be able to assess when you can address them on your own. If not, you may need to make a refer*ral, consult, or work with a clergy member or spiritual teacher. This chapter should help you make that call.
Historically, psychological theory and diagnostic classification systems have tended to either ignore or pathologize intense religious and spiritual experiences. There are numerous published accounts of individuals in the midst of intense religious and spiritual experiences that were misunderstood by mental health profes*sionals, and some have been hospitalized and medicated when less restrictive and more therapeutic interventions could have been utilized (Lukoff, 2007).

So, what is a mystical experience, and how is it different from a breakdown? Maslow (1970) described the mystical experience as an aspect of everyday psychologi*cal functioning, saying, “It is very likely, indeed almost certain, that these older reports [of mystical experiences], phrased in terms of supernatural revelation, were, in fact, perfectly natural, human peak experiences of the kind that can easily be examined today”. Mystical experiences can be highly adaptive, spurring on psychological maturation. In fact, one study showed that those reporting mystical experiences scored lower on psychopathology scales and higher on measures of psy*chological well-being than control subjects (Wulff, 2000).

Sometimes mystical experiences can reach such a high level of intensity and duration that they become cause for concern. During or following prayer, meditation, or other spiritual practices, or at times spontaneously, people may have profound childhood memories, visions or hallucinations (depending on your perspective), or insights into the nature of reality or their own nature that cause psychological disruption for a time. “Spiritual emergency,” a term coined by Christina and Stanislav Grof (1986), refers to “a crisis involving religious, transpersonal, and/or spiritual issues that pro*vides opportunities for growth” (Viggiano & Krippner, 2010).

As a therapist with religious and spiritual competency, you should know that these kinds of experiences do occur, and while they can significantly disrupt people’s psychological and emotional func*tioning temporarily, they may not always be maladaptive. Some experiences related to spiritual- and religious-based practices may seem to fit diagnostic criteria for psychopathology while actually being consistent with a client’s spiritual or religious tradition.

For more on spiritual emergency and spiritual and religious competencies, check out Spiritual and Religious Competencies in Clinical Practice: Guidelines for Psychotherapists and Mental Health Professionals by Cassandra Vieten, PhD, and Shelley Scammell, PsyD.

"If you prefer smoke over fire
then get up now and leave.
For I do not intend to perfume
your mind's clothings
with more sooty knowledge.
No, I have something else in mind.
Today I hold a flame in my left hand
and a sword in my right.
There will be no damage control today.
For God is in a mood
to plunder your riches and
fling you nakedly
into such breathtaking poverty
that all that will be left of you
will be a tendency to shine.
So don't just sit around this flame
choking on your mind.
For this is no campfire song
to mindlessly mantra yourself to sleep with.
Jump now into the space
between thoughts
and exit this dream
before I burn the damn place down."


~ Adyashanti

Let peace be in you dear friend.

Our lives have been full of obsticals,
with wrong turns we never thought we could get through alive.
Even through the detours and road blocks,
We have somehow managed to survive.
We have made it this far,
standing confident and strong.
All it takes is common sense,
and knowing right from wrong.
Even if you go off the path,
get lost or go the wrong way.
Always keep your head held up high,
because it will be ok.
The light will fight the darkness,
and brighten up the skies.
The Fog will eventually fade,
Clearing the vision for your eyes.
The muffled sounds will focus,
and the signs will be more clear.
Courage will finally take over,
and take away your fears.
The sun will replace the moon,
turning night into day.
Just listen to the voice inside,
because it will be ok.

it will be ok | Power Poetry