Previous

Next

Bridging Science and Spirit

by Victoria Maxwell

N ine years ago, I was diagnosed as having a brief psychotic reaction and then, with rapid cycling mixed-mood Bi-Polar disorder with mild Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Quite a psychiatric mouthful no mater how familiar you are with those terms.

P rior to my first psychosis, I was passionately seeking answers to fundamental spiritual questions. After reading several books, I began intensive meditation. I sat with a group of students that studied the Eastern teachings of Ramana Maraharshi and H.W.L. Poonja. Over the course of a few evenings, I fell into a deep contemplative state, My awareness expanded, as my sense of well being increased. On the third night, I fell into a state of being I can only describe as blissful, restful and unitive. The physical sense of my body dissolved, my breathing became imperceptible and my hearing fell away, yet something remained aware and lucid. This experience was, to me, the embodiment of limitless consciousness. The 'I' I knew as myself dissolved, letting the personality and all its' complexes drop away. My thoughts stopped to absolute silence. It felt liberating, not terrifying.

T his initial stage occurred over a period of an hour or two and lasted for a further 35 hours. When I returned home, an intense energy rose from the base of my spine to the top of my head. This potent energy, often called Kundalini, is described in detail in Eastern literature. Lee Sannella, psychiatrist, refers to it as a 'psycospiritual energy' or the 'energy of consciousness'.

Throughout the evening and early morning hours, sensations of heat rushed through my body. My heart pounded. My pulsed raced. Certain objects shone with a luminous light and I was unable to sleep.

My ability to hear and taste became extremely acute. A deep sense of tranquillity and joy co-existed with this intense vital force, while streams of insights about the nature of reality occurred. I remained lucid and cognizant to what was taking place, yet had no idea what was happening. It would be years before I would understand the process I was undergoing.

"The average therapist or physician has not heard of [Kundalini awakening] and has no ...context with which to integrate it". - Bonnie Greenwell, Ph.D., Energies of Transformation, pg. 24

I had no previous experience with Kundalini energy or mystical encounters, so had no way of knowing how to contain or temper it safely. My mind and body were overwhelmed and unprepared for this expanded state. I was unable to 'regroup' without intervention. It escalated into a psychosis resulting in hospitalization. I was later admitted into Lion's Gate emergency, and then to A2, their psychiatric ward. The diagnosis: brief psychotic reaction. After three more episodes of a similar nature, my diagnosis changed to Bi-Polar disorder, also known as Manic Depression.

As I began my journey of recovery, I realized if either the mental illness or spiritual aspects were ignored, the results would be detrimental. It became clear that it was essential for me to incorporate both traditional and complimentary approaches to healing. The two perspectives needed to co-exist and indeed, they do.

"The people having these experiences nor the mental health community, have had a framework in which they could place it. [we need] a bridge between the scientific and the spiritual " - Yvonne Kason, M.D.,

A Farther Shore. pg. Xviii.

Through integrating both the allopathic and esoteric perspectives, I have reached a healthy quality of life.

Many elements of my psychoses were positive and transforming, yet were ignored and pathologized by the medical community from which I sought help. I understood some of the factors that characterized my psychotic episodes and bi-polar illness were part of a larger process I was undergoing. Judith Miller, Ph.D., a New Jersey psychologist echoes this, emphasizing the need for the mental health community to "differentiate between psychotic episodes with growth potential and those which indicate a long-term mental illness". I needed a wider, more inclusive explanation than strictly one of pathology.

"...Sensitivity to the cultural dimensions of religious and spiritual experiences is essential for effective treatment". - David Lukoff,

 Toward a More Culturally Sensitive DSM-IV, Journal of nervous and Mental Disease, pg. 674

S everal noted physicians have conducted research and written on this relatively new subject. Kundalini awakening, or 'spiritual emergency' as coined by psychiatrist, Dr. Stanislav Grof, is well documented in various Eastern texts and mystical traditions of Christianity. However, it remains relatively unknown in North America. Gopi Krishna, respected scholar and author, underwent the Kundalini process himself. He wrote prolifically on the subject and initiated research. These doctors and their colleagues, stress that some forms of mental illness are strictly that, a chemical imbalance, which often occurs in individuals with a hereditary predisposition and are not at all related to a spiritual process.

Previous

Next