Spiritual Crisis: When the Transpersonal Becomes Personal (and Vice Versa)

The concept of a spiritual crisis or spiritual emergency is one that is gaining attention as more and more people begin to experience the phenomenon of awakening to a deeper, more complex reality. What creates the emergency for many is, in part, the fact of having no real psychospiritual preparation and no cultural framework into which their experiences fit. This in turn can create a deep sense of despair, making the experience that much more painful.

Find A Context That Helps Your Experiences Make Sense

One of the major keys to coming through a spiritual crisis resides in finding a context into which you can place your experiences so that they make sense to you. This will better equip you to go forward and apply what you learn during this crisis in your daily life. If you're already on a spiritual path (or already feel drawn to one) at the onset of the crisis, then this part may flow more effortlessly for you than for others. What this context will be is completely dependent upon the individual and the content of her experience. You might come from a traditional, Christian background, experience visions, dreams and such that contain images or passages from that tradition and find comfort in an approach that honors this. You might find in yourself a deep need for movement and take up yoga. Some form of meditation might be what you need. A shamanic approach may work best for you. You may need a complimentary approach combining one or more sets of ideas. Let the experience itself guide you; the important thing is that you find a context that allows you accept your experiences with compassion and understanding. Without these, integrating your experience will be difficult (if not impossible), and you will benefit little from what you have endured.

Create!

Another key to coming through a spiritual crisis is having an outlet for creative processing. So much comes up for us -- mentally and emotionally -- when the egg of our soul-self finally cracks open and the emergence begins. Again, it's not so important what this entails for you so much as it is that you find something that is constructive which works for you. Painting, drawing, writing, making handicrafts, singing, dancing, playing an instrument - anything that provides a way for you to bring at least some of the internal experience outward. Though we're playing in the arena of the transpersonal, we can still have difficulty seeing clearly because we are still so close to our own issues and experiences. Having an outlet for constructive, creative processing will help provide a degree of distance between yourself and the content of your experience. This in turn will help you gain a perspective that will help you integrate the lessons you are learning into your daily life. If you're into making crafts as I am, you'll have some wonderful works of art around to remind you of lessons learned during times of difficulty.

Take Care of Your Body

Not to neglect the physical aspects of what occurs during a spiritual crisis, dietary intake should be carefully and consciously attended to. Avoiding any form of recreational intoxicant is a must. This includes alcohol, marijuana, caffeine and nicotine. Sugars that are not naturally occurring (as in fruit and such) should be kept to a minimum, or better, avoided altogether. Meats should be avoided, and proteins should come from vegetable sources such as quinuoa, lentils, and beans. In an optimal situation, dairy products will be avoided, but if they cannot be, then keeping them to a minimum will suffice. Plenty of fresh (preferably living, but filtered will do) water is in order, as you'll be flushing out a lot of toxins (physical and non-physical) during this time, especially if you're sticking closely to these basic dietary guidelines.

Light to moderate exercise can be beneficial, especially in times of acute emotional stress. Walking at a moderate pace is a good form of movement during this time. The key here is moderation. Don't overdo it and by all means, don't force anything. Listen to your body and honor what it is telling you. Your energy level may fluctuate throughout the day. This is because your body is under as much stress right now as your soul, so be kind.

Solitude

Making time for being alone is essential. Now is not the time to go to a big social gathering or hit the local shopping mall. Some people may experience the need for solitude as a drive to withdraw for a period of time, and this is fine, even natural, especially if you're already inclined toward a solitary lifestyle. If you can get out into nature, to a place where you can have direct contact with the natural world, do it. Balm for the ailing soul can be found in abundance in nature. If you're not naturally the solitary type, don't fret over your need to be alone right now. There is nothing wrong with you and you're not going crazy. You're having growing pains and need time and space to assimilate new dimensions and experiences of being who you are.

On the flip side, support from others can be helpful, but is not always available. Most people around you won't understand what you're experiencing unless they've had similar experiences themselves. Professional therapists may be cost (and paradigm) prohibitive. Perhaps you have a close, trusted friend or relative who, even if they haven't been through such an ordeal themselves, is willing to accept that your experience is very real for you and can lend you some support in the form of someone to talk to. Though it may be tempting at this time, it's probably a good idea to avoid any sorts of spiritually oriented workshops or classes unless they particularly address what you're experiencing and you have unwavering trust in the facilitator(s). Why overload yourself and invite disaster? An experience of this nature is difficult enough without adding difficulty to it. You are very vulnerable right now and it is best to honor this by being gentle with yourself. There's plenty of time for group events when your condition has stabilized.

Resources on the Web

There are numerous resources available online. Doing a web search, you can find numerous sites that discuss this topic in far more detail :

Spiritual Emergency (http://spiritualemergency.blogspot.com/) -- Not a blog in the typical sense. Contains numerous links to other articles and resources.

Help for People in Spiritual Crisis (http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/sep2/truheart.htm) - A nice article with a well organized bibliography.

Narrative of a Religious Crisis (http://world.std.com/~awolpert/gtr17.html) - A personal account of transpersonal crisis. A bit scientific in its format, and a bit on the academic side, but the author is an MIT trained engineer. He cites numerous biblical passages, song lyrics, poetry and such throughout the narrative. Proves this can (and does) happen to anyone!