Spiritual Emergency: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis

by Jack Kornfield, Christina Grof, Stanislav Grof, et al.

Book Overview

From Spiritual Emergency to Healing and Rebirth Increasing numbers of people involved in personal transformation are experiencing spiritual emergencies -- crises when the process of growth and change becomes chaotic and overwhelming. Individuals experiencing such episodes may feel that their sense of identity is breaking down, that their old values no longer hold true, and that the very ground beneath their personal realities is radically shifting...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874775388
• ISBN13: 9780874775389
• Release Date: September 1989
• Publisher: Tarcherperigee
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

When Crisis Becomes a Personal Transformation

In addition to my previous review of this book I wrote down some thoughts and feelings that came to me while reading this book. Briefly, my overall feelings on the book are that it is possibly the most influential book I have yet to read relating to personal transformation and the processes of therapy. With essays from a wide range of authors it shows that there is an undercurrent to the dominant medical view of mental disorder/illness, which has a firm basis in reality rather than trying to force a medical model onto conditions with an "unknown cause" - that is a cause that may not have an apparent logical, rational, or objective basis. I feel a sense of hope reading this book, seeing that others (some with qualifications in psychology or psychiatry from prestigious Universities) share some common beliefs about the spiritual basis of transforming crises. What follows are some thoughts and occasionally questions I will ponder on for some time before they become clear: There is a theme of "non-standard" states of consciousness being suppressed. In ancient times: imprisonment, torture, death, and isolationIn modern times: medication to suppress Transformative psychological events often parallel shamanic experiences.Question: Increase in "mental illness" stemming from evolutionary change in consciousness? This is being suppressed at present by psychiatry. Is consciousness trying to change and evolve into higher forms on a larger scale, rather than more isolated shamanic initiations? The importance of the subjective experience, e.g. Past Life Regression. The objective or factual explanations are not necessary or relevant to the transformative process. Only the subjective is necessary in the scope of Self Growth or therapy. It is irrelevant whether one actually had that Past Life, or whether the Past Life memories are a fictional way of experiencing a set of beliefs and issues within one's psyche. Recurring (personal) conflict between super-normal experiences and consensus reality. This is the basis of psychosis (for diagnosis), that a person's thinking is non-rational, and departs from what is considered normal or representative of what is normal. For me personally, I have had to adjust from being highly sceptical of anything which was non-rational, non-logical, to being able to think and understand in transpersonal, spiritual and magical terms. This probably places me within the definition of psychotic, although I have also kept a reasonable grip on consensus reality, not departed from it. So, while "magical thinking" is one of the symptoms of psychosis, the ability to "think magically" and also function within society seems to allow one to functional fully. Possibly medicating people with tranquillising medicines stops people being able to work through a psychotic departure from reality and retain the ability to "think magically" but also to function within society or the physical world. Question: Is Possession akin to Multiple Personality Disorder

When Personal Crisis becomes a Transformation

An excellent book for anyone involved with psychotherapy or magical / spiritual practices, whether as a guide / therapist / teacher, student, or simply on your own journey. This is a good introductory overview of the subject of Spiritual Emergence and Spiritual Emergency. I believe anyone undertaking serious magical work, training or psychotherapy, at some stage will undergo a crisis, which can then either lead to Spiritual Emergency or Spiritual Emergence. The research and ideas this book contains can assist in one's own development or guiding someone else through those dark days and nights.

Essential reading for those taking the Hero's Journey

This book is a must for anyone who is experiencing or who knows someone who is experiencing spiritual emergence. It provides essential information so that you know you are not moving into uncharted territory or losing your mind. Spiritual emergence can be an extraordinary healing process and much much more. I highly recommend this book.

I feel this spans both metaphysics and psychology very well

I have gone through many "dark nights of the soul" andthis book helps separate the spiritual transformation fromthe mental breakdown, get me to the hospital quick type.Worth the time spent reading it.

Essays on the transformative experience.

In his book "Cosmic Consciousness," published in 1901, Richard Bucke writes of "certain men who...are either exalted, by the average self conscious individual, to the rank of gods, or, adopting the other extreme, are adjudged insane." This is the earliest mention I have found of the potential problem inherent in the spiritual growth process: bouts of madness, or at least extreme dysfunction. The Grofs have put together a collection of essays by themselves and various other authors which explore the psychic/psychological dynamics of what they call "spiritual emergency." That's their term for when the growth process puts a person into psychic overload. The essays describe different aspects of such overload, as well as ways to help someone (or oneself) through it. A repeating theme throughout the book is that too often such people are pathologized and medicated by well-meaning but materialistic-minded health care workers. This not only terminates the process so that breakthrough cannot occur, it can also drive the patient into permanent madness. Some of the contributors to this book include Roberto Assagioli, John Weir Perry, Ram Dass, Lee Sannella, Holger Kalweit, and others. There is a fascinating piece by Keith Thompson entitled "The UFO Encounter Experience as a Crisis of Transformation," which is the most profound way of looking at UFO abduction phenomenon that I've ever read. I recommend this book to anyone interested in personal growth--it is interesting, well-edited, and filled with a lot of useful information.