Feature 4

I think of it as a spiritual power surge and there are a number of things we can do to make it into more or less of an "emergency." For the people I've encountered recently, in each instance it was precipitated by the person's heartfelt wish to be of spiritual service or to step more fully into their spiritual power. And--surprise!--their requests were answered by a bigger surge of energy than they had ever experienced before. Even though the initial experience of this is pleasant, even ecstatic, such overpowering experiences of God leave most people, at least initially, feeling afraid, out of control and alone. They may have difficulty sleeping for several days or more, may forget to eat and have difficulty maintaining daily functioning until the "surge" evens out. There may even be a delusional component--a belief that they are specially chosen by God for a spiritual mission. I'm not surprised to see this type of experience on the increase. We live in an era where change of all sorts is occurring at an increasingly rapid pace. There have been numerous metaphysical forecasts recently indicating that spiritual energy is now available to us all as it's never been before. In so many ways we are being forced to adapt to inner and outer changes at an ever-increasing rate.

So what, exactly, turns a spiritually ecstatic experience into such a frightening one? For starters, these experiences have a way of boggling our minds. As soon as we try to process a nonrational experience through the too-small filter of our rational mind, we are filled with doubts ("Was this real?"), disorientation ("What is real?"), fear ("Am I out of control?") and even identity crisis ("Who am I in the context of this uncertain reality?").

Perhaps the biggest challenge comes from our ego, which does everything in its power to turn the experience into one of separateness. The ego, as I am using the term here, is the part of us that believes we are defined by the limits of our physical body, and thus are vulnerable and separate. The ego only believes in the reality we can fathom with our physical senses. It operates from a place of fear and tries to control the external environment. The ego looks at the world through a filter of judgment where everything is either better than or lesser than everything else. As we have a big experience of going beyond the confines of our ego, as we do in moments of spiritual opening, our ego automatically responds protectively to restore order and control by bringing things back into the realm of the familiar. This is normal. Expect to have big ego experiences of one sort or another following big spiritual experiences.

Typically, when we have a powerful spiritual experience, the ego's response is "I'm weird" and "I'm special." The "I'm weird" voice tells us we're crazy, no one will believe us, maybe we shouldn't believe ourselves, we're different (and separate) from everyone else, there's something wrong with us, etc. The "I'm special" voice tells us we're more evolved than others, we are specially chosen, specially gifted, elevated, know more, etc. Paradoxically, these two go hand in hand. A person will probably be more aware of one of these voices than the other, but the opposite will be lurking just under the surface. The dark side of feeling "specially chosen" is a fearful awareness of responsibility and aloneness. Along with the disconcerting feeling of being "weird" there invariably coexists a deep down pride in having a "special" condition. Of course, the truth in the "delusion" of being specially chosen is that, in fact, we are specially chosen for an important spiritual mission that only we can do. This awareness ceases to be delusional when we recognize that everyone has been specially chosen for their own unique mission.

Mind-boggling spiritual experiences can take any number of forms. They may include the too-much-energy feeling described earlier. They may also include experiences of clairvoyance or clairaudience (seeing or hearing aspects of nonphysical reality) or out-of-body experiences where your consciousness separates from your physical body. You may have psychic awarenesses where you know something that's going to happen or has happened, without having any physical way of knowing these. The following suggestions offer some practical steps for grounding, reframing and making use of these potentially wonderful experiences and avoiding some of the more unpleasant side effects.

Work with your thoughts. Stop trying to process your spiritual experience. Stop trying to understand it all at once. Give your mind a rest. Know that in order to assimilate new ideas and, especially, new paradigms of thought, a period of confusion is necessary. Don't fight it. You don't need to analyze the experience in order to assimilate it. If you try to force understanding prematurely, your interpretations are likely to fall short of the whole truth. Trust that clarity will come to you in time. Pay attention to your body. We are very conditioned to shut down when we experience intense feelings, be they painful ones or ecstatic ones. This can lead to unpleasant side effects from blocked energy. Without interpreting the feelings through your ego (as in, "I'm crazy, I'm special, I'm out of control..."etc.) just notice the physical sensations. Many of these are likely to be pleasurable. Enjoy them and let them get bigger. Out-of-control feelings are more the result of our fearing and resisting these sensations than of any real danger of losing control. Imagine the difference between standing clenched and rigid while a wave crashes against you and then becoming soft and flexible, riding the wave. It's the same wave, but the first experience is harsh and battering while the second is smooth and flowing.

You can have a smooth and gentle experience by letting the energy moving through you "have its way." Ask your body what it wants to do. You may want to shake or jump for joy or scream out loud or go for a run. Allow these things. These physical manifestations are simply normal responses to intense feelings and are helping your body to rewire itself to accommodate a greater movement of energy.

Work lovingly with your ego. None of us particularly like admitting we have an "ego," especially those of us who are spiritually inclined. But we all do, along with smelly poop and morning breath. It's part of our human condition. Unfortunately, the more we pretend to ourselves and others that we are free of ego fears and flaws, the more likely they are to sneak up on us from behind and bite us in the butt! The more we try to hide our ego, the more visible it becomes to everyone else. The best way to work with the ego is with a big sense of humor and a large dose of compassionate self-love. With this in mind, and without judging yourself, notice all the many ways your ego's filter is coloring your experience. Reframe any perception that your experience makes you different. You are neither specially chosen, specially gifted, or weird. Your spiritual experience is simply the result of your conscious or unconscious request for more energy.

One of the most overwhelming aspects of a spiritual power surge is the profound experience that we are God. This experience, when interpreted through the filter of our ego becomes, "I am God... and you aren't!" Without this coloring of separateness, the experience is "I am God, and so are you!" The ego's influence can be so subtle we may not even realize we are broadcasting the "...and you aren't" part. One sure way to tell, however, is through other people's reactions to us. If we tend to have a little following of people who look up to us and think we are more "advanced" than they, and/or have another little following of people who judge us as being full of bull, most likely our ego is running the show. People who are truly enlightened are well-loved but not worshipped. People just naturally feel good in their presence because what they are broadcasting is "We are God" rather than "I am God."

Stay grounded. There are many grounding techniques for bringing spiritual energy down to earth. Spending time in nature can be helpful. Long walks, gardening, anything that literally puts you in touch with the earth beneath your feet can help you feel more grounded. Food is grounding. Don't forget to eat, especially heartier, substantial foods. While it may be difficult to sleep during a spiritual power surge, do everything you can to get enough rest. Too long without sleep in and of itself can make us crazy. Don't be deluded into thinking that in your heightened energy state sleep and food are not important.

Creativity offers a good outlet for spiritual energy. Paint something, make music, dance, write a poem or journal about your experience. Sea salt baths, swimming, even long showers are often recommended for cleansing and grounding. These are a few ideas for grounding and there are many others. The most grounding thing we can do, however, is to simply trust that our experience is a normal one. Our most powerful grounding tool is the choice we make in how to interpret what happened to us. Yes, our spiritual experience is a gift and a blessing -- as miraculous as the sun rising every morning or a baby being born -- and just as natural. Sometimes even getting too absorbed in grounding techniques can feed into the ego's voice telling us we are different, we have a special condition, are weird, fragile ... etc.

Be selective about who you share your spiritual experiences with. Talking about your spiritual experiences to those who think such things are "weird" will only serve to affirm your ego's fears that you are weird, which will not assist you in assimilating and benefiting from your experience. Yet, it is important to talk about your experiences. This will help you feel less alone. Seek out people who will understand and help you normalize and assimilate rather than glamorize your spiritual experiences. More on the subject of spiritual emergency is available on-line at www.LynnWoodland.com.


	Am I Enlightened or Crazy? Making Sense of Spiritual Emergencies by Asoka Selvarajah, Ph.D A spiritual experience can result in a skewed point of view -- unless you recognize the role of the ego There has been a whole flurry of people who have approached me recently, all in great distress over a very similar experience. It starts with some type of spiritual work -- prayer, meditation, healing -- that triggers an intense experience of energy, bliss and connection to God. Doesn't sound too unpleasant so far, does it? However, the unsettling part for these folks is that the experience doesn't stop right away. They feel like a faucet has been turned on full force with no way to turn it off. This is not an uncommon phenomenon for people who do spiritual work of one sort or another and it also happens to people who are not consciously doing any spiritual practice. Stanislav and Christina Grof have named this experience a "spiritual emergency."

I think of it as a spiritual power surge and there are a number of things we can do to make it into more or less of an "emergency." For the people I've encountered recently, in each instance it was precipitated by the person's heartfelt wish to be of spiritual service or to step more fully into their spiritual power. And--surprise!--their requests were answered by a bigger surge of energy than they had ever experienced before. Even though the initial experience of this is pleasant, even ecstatic, such overpowering experiences of God leave most people, at least initially, feeling afraid, out of control and alone. They may have difficulty sleeping for several days or more, may forget to eat and have difficulty maintaining daily functioning until the "surge" evens out. There may even be a delusional component--a belief that they are specially chosen by God for a spiritual mission. I'm not surprised to see this type of experience on the increase. We live in an era where change of all sorts is occurring at an increasingly rapid pace. There have been numerous metaphysical forecasts recently indicating that spiritual energy is now available to us all as it's never been before. In so many ways we are being forced to adapt to inner and outer changes at an ever-increasing rate. So what, exactly, turns a spiritually ecstatic experience into such a frightening one? For starters, these experiences have a way of boggling our minds. As soon as we try to process a nonrational experience through the too-small filter of our rational mind, we are filled with doubts ("Was this real?"), disorientation ("What is real?"), fear ("Am I out of control?") and even identity crisis ("Who am I in the context of this uncertain reality?"). Perhaps the biggest challenge comes from our ego, which does everything in its power to turn the experience into one of separateness. The ego, as I am using the term here, is the part of us that believes we are defined by the limits of our physical body, and thus are vulnerable and separate. The ego only believes in the reality we can fathom with our physical senses. It operates from a place of fear and tries to control the external environment. The ego looks at the world through a filter of judgment where everything is either better than or lesser than everything else. As we have a big experience of going beyond the confines of our ego, as we do in moments of spiritual opening, our ego automatically responds protectively to restore order and control by bringing things back into the realm of the familiar. This is normal. Expect to have big ego experiences of one sort or another following big spiritual experiences. Typically, when we have a powerful spiritual experience, the ego's response is "I'm weird" and "I'm special." The "I'm weird" voice tells us we're crazy, no one will believe us, maybe we shouldn't believe ourselves, we're different (and separate) from everyone else, there's something wrong with us, etc. The "I'm special" voice tells us we're more evolved than others, we are specially chosen, specially gifted, elevated, know more, etc. Paradoxically, these two go hand in hand. A person will probably be more aware of one of these voices than the other, but the opposite will be lurking just under the surface. The dark side of feeling "specially chosen" is a fearful awareness of responsibility and aloneness. Along with the disconcerting feeling of being "weird" there invariably coexists a deep down pride in having a "special" condition. Of course, the truth in the "delusion" of being specially chosen is that, in fact, we are specially chosen for an important spiritual mission that only we can do. This awareness ceases to be delusional when we recognize that everyone has been specially chosen for their own unique mission. Mind-boggling spiritual experiences can take any number of forms. They may include the too-much-energy feeling described earlier. They may also include experiences of clairvoyance or clairaudience (seeing or hearing aspects of nonphysical reality) or out-of-body experiences where your consciousness separates from your physical body. You may have psychic awarenesses where you know something that's going to happen or has happened, without having any physical way of knowing these. The following suggestions offer some practical steps for grounding, reframing and making use of these potentially wonderful experiences and avoiding some of the more unpleasant side effects. Work with your thoughts. Stop trying to process your spiritual experience. Stop trying to understand it all at once. Give your mind a rest. Know that in order to assimilate new ideas and, especially, new paradigms of thought, a period of confusion is necessary. Don't fight it. You don't need to analyze the experience in order to assimilate it. If you try to force understanding prematurely, your interpretations are likely to fall short of the whole truth. Trust that clarity will come to you in time. Pay attention to your body. We are very conditioned to shut down when we experience intense feelings, be they painful ones or ecstatic ones. This can lead to unpleasant side effects from blocked energy. Without interpreting the feelings through your ego (as in, "I'm crazy, I'm special, I'm out of control..."etc.) just notice the physical sensations. Many of these are likely to be pleasurable. Enjoy them and let them get bigger. Out-of-control feelings are more the result of our fearing and resisting these sensations than of any real danger of losing control. Imagine the difference between standing clenched and rigid while a wave crashes against you and then becoming soft and flexible, riding the wave. It's the same wave, but the first experience is harsh and battering while the second is smooth and flowing. You can have a smooth and gentle experience by letting the energy moving through you "have its way." Ask your body what it wants to do. You may want to shake or jump for joy or scream out loud or go for a run. Allow these things. These physical manifestations are simply normal responses to intense feelings and are helping your body to rewire itself to accommodate a greater movement of energy. Work lovingly with your ego. None of us particularly like admitting we have an "ego," especially those of us who are spiritually inclined. But we all do, along with smelly poop and morning breath. It's part of our human condition. Unfortunately, the more we pretend to ourselves and others that we are free of ego fears and flaws, the more likely they are to sneak up on us from behind and bite us in the butt! The more we try to hide our ego, the more visible it becomes to everyone else. The best way to work with the ego is with a big sense of humor and a large dose of compassionate self-love. With this in mind, and without judging yourself, notice all the many ways your ego's filter is coloring your experience. Reframe any perception that your experience makes you different. You are neither specially chosen, specially gifted, or weird. Your spiritual experience is simply the result of your conscious or unconscious request for more energy. One of the most overwhelming aspects of a spiritual power surge is the profound experience that we are God. This experience, when interpreted through the filter of our ego becomes, "I am God... and you aren't!" Without this coloring of separateness, the experience is "I am God, and so are you!" The ego's influence can be so subtle we may not even realize we are broadcasting the "...and you aren't" part. One sure way to tell, however, is through other people's reactions to us. If we tend to have a little following of people who look up to us and think we are more "advanced" than they, and/or have another little following of people who judge us as being full of bull, most likely our ego is running the show. People who are truly enlightened are well-loved but not worshipped. People just naturally feel good in their presence because what they are broadcasting is "We are God" rather than "I am God." Stay grounded. There are many grounding techniques for bringing spiritual energy down to earth. Spending time in nature can be helpful. Long walks, gardening, anything that literally puts you in touch with the earth beneath your feet can help you feel more grounded. Food is grounding. Don't forget to eat, especially heartier, substantial foods. While it may be difficult to sleep during a spiritual power surge, do everything you can to get enough rest. Too long without sleep in and of itself can make us crazy. Don't be deluded into thinking that in your heightened energy state sleep and food are not important. Creativity offers a good outlet for spiritual energy. Paint something, make music, dance, write a poem or journal about your experience. Sea salt baths, swimming, even long showers are often recommended for cleansing and grounding. These are a few ideas for grounding and there are many others. The most grounding thing we can do, however, is to simply trust that our experience is a normal one. Our most powerful grounding tool is the choice we make in how to interpret what happened to us. Yes, our spiritual experience is a gift and a blessing -- as miraculous as the sun rising every morning or a baby being born -- and just as natural. Sometimes even getting too absorbed in grounding techniques can feed into the ego's voice telling us we are different, we have a special condition, are weird, fragile ... etc. Be selective about who you share your spiritual experiences with. Talking about your spiritual experiences to those who think such things are "weird" will only serve to affirm your ego's fears that you are weird, which will not assist you in assimilating and benefiting from your experience. Yet, it is important to talk about your experiences. This will help you feel less alone. Seek out people who will understand and help you normalize and assimilate rather than glamorize your spiritual experiences. More on the subject of spiritual emergency is available on-line at www.LynnWoodland.com.

	Lynn Woodland is the author of the book Power, Effectiveness and Spirit. With over twenty-five years of clinical experience in transpersonal psychology, spiritual development, mind-body psychology and attitudinal healing, she specializes in bringing spiritual experience down to earth. For more on her work and for free spiritual healing and growth services see her web site: www.lynnwoodland.com or call 651-642-5405.