When Spirit Leaps

"I have been very blessed by my encounters with remarkable people who had the courage to share their awakening stories and to be the unique individuals they are. Often their experiences do not fit into the current mainstream beliefs or psychological paradigms that explain human experience. They are a growing sub-culture of truth seekers who are bringing into our culture fresh perspectives of the potentials of human consciousness. Their stories reveal some of many portals that can initiate awakening and transformation mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. My intention is to honor each one as a gateway to awakening, as we are all called by different paths.
No matter the portal through which we enter we can experience moments of energy arising, and/or of consciousness opening into an expanded perception of reality. After this opening, we may find ourselves releasing habitual ways of thinking, repressed patterns, uncomfortable memories, and darker shadow material from the unconscious. This may be accompanied by visions or inner sound, radical shifts in our interests, physical discomforts, spontaneous weeping or many other challenges, to be described in later chapters.
When such events arise it is often a shock to both teachers and students if they have never done any deep therapeutic work, and are therefore unaware of the shadows and possibilities that we all carry in our unconscious. It is disturbing for untrained teachers to deal with these issues so they are often suppressed. We can become frightened, believing this unfamiliar experience is a symptom of mental illness. This can be amplified if family members, doctors, or therapists become concerned and urge treatments that are inappropriate for spiritual awakening.
Perhaps the possible eruption of unconscious content is a primary reason that most spiritual traditions have practices to develop dispassion, compassion, and unconditional love. Because when these qualities have been developed, it is easier to witness the darkness or failings in ourselves and others with
wisdom and compassion for the human condition. It becomes possible to witness our inner experiences, whether negative or positive, more dispassionately.
Teachers of awakening methods aren’t equipped to handle everything that arises in students, so those who are awakening often turn to health professionals for support. However, modern psychotherapy has evolved toward behavioral approaches and using allopathic medicines to change inner experience. As a result of this—and the fact that there are few therapists who are open to, and respectful of, the full range of human consciousness—we can harmfully contract our process rather than appreciate our insight and allow a natural unfolding. Whether it is anomalous events, spiritual awakenings, or energetic phenomena, these experiences are often met with skepticism rather than open curiosity and support in both spiritual and therapeutic settings.
The fact is, we are taught to acknowledge only one reality: that which can be proven in a factual and material way, with an exception for Christian beliefs about creation and history. This limited definition of reality greatly inhibits our openness, wisdom, and understanding about human wellness and potential. This is unfortunate for the culture as a whole, but it can be disastrous for any of us who are, or have been, misinterpreted, judged, and labeled mentally ill as a result of an awakening—thus inhibiting what can be a radiant, highly productive, peaceful life.
• Therapists are generally so deeply trained in a black-and-white paradigm of “normalcy” and “illness” that there is very little room for the anomalous experiences that can occur with spiritual awakening. Although not all
anomalies are spiritual, most spiritual experiences are outside the paradigm of normalcy. Thousands of people would benefit if we were to integrate alternate perspectives for viewing these events that did not pathologize the experiencer, nor try to block future experiences.
Over the years, a few psychiatrists have approached their clients’ inner worlds using creative interpretations, transpersonal approaches, and profound respect. Among these pioneers and authors are:
• Richard Bucke, who after his own glimpse of awakening while riding in a horse-drawn cab, researched the lives of those he believed were mystics, and brought the concept of “cosmic consciousness” into psychology at the turn of the 20th century.
• Carl Gustav Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, who valued spiritual aspects of the psyche, and incorporated spiritual and anomalous experiences into his teachings. He felt after midlife almost every problem had a spiritual origin.
• Roberto Assagioli, an Italian psychiatrist who developed Psychosynthesis, a creative therapeutic model that honors spiritual experience and growth.
• John Weir Perry, a Jungian analyst and psychiatrist, whose work creatively addressed schizophrenia and visionary experiences with great respect for their transformative potential.
• Stanislof Grof, psychiatrist and inventor of Holotropic Breathwork, researcher of non-ordinary states of consciousness through psychedelic exploration in Czechoslovakia and in the USA, through breathwork, and cofounder, with his wife Christina, of the Spiritual Emergence Network
Some psychological systems that recognize a spiritual potential in shifts of consciousness may identify a few initiating events in their models, such as Jungian analysis, breathwork and NDE (Near-Death Experience). I’d like to offer you a more inclusive description of the portals that have been described in my extensive collection of assessments over the last 30 years..."
-- Bonnie Greenwell, When Spirit Leaps (available May 2018)
"Bonnie L. Greenwell, PhD, is a transpersonal psychotherapist, author, and non-dual spiritual teacher in Adyashanti’s lineage. She has specialized for more than thirty years in mentoring people going through transformative experiences related to spiritual awakening and the kundalini process, which was the subject of her doctoral research at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP). Greenwell has an eclectic background, including work in psychiatric units, at a rehabilitation center, as director of the Transpersonal Counseling Center at ITP, and years of private practice.
Before finding her ground in non-dual teachings, she studied Jungian psychology; Jin Shin Do® acupressure; Psychotropic and Radiance Breathwork; kundalini, kriya, and Ashtanga yogas; and many Buddhist meditation practices. The founder and former director of the Kundalini Research Network, she has lectured and trained therapists in Europe, Australia, and the United States. Greenwell also established the Shanti River Center for non-dual education and counseling in Ashland, OR."
-- New Harbinger dot com