There has been a resurgence of interest in the therapeutic potential of plant medicine and other psychedelics within both clinical and non-clinical settings, and many are seeking out these substances for healing and spiritual transformation. Psychedelics have the capacity to activate immense shifts in our understanding and perceptions of reality, as well as bring forth that which has been latent within our psyche.

Although the resulting emergence of psychic content or shift in how we see the world is at the core of psychedelic healing, it can also become a destabilizing process. The result can be an unintended psychological distress known as “spiritual emergency.”

What Is Spiritual Emergency?

The term “spiritual emergency” was introduced in the 1980s by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof and his late wife psychotherapist Christina, referring to a spiritual or transformative crisis in which an individual could move towards a greater state of integration and wholeness.

Spiritual emergence and spiritual emergency are a continuum of experience, and when the process of spiritual change becomes rapid and dramatic, this normal process may become a crisis or a spiritual emergency.  Powerful feelings, images, inner experiences and physical sensations and energies may emerge that are overwhelming and challenging to daily functioning. 

Mysticism is Becoming Mainstream

Numerous research studies since 2009 reveal that approximately 30 – 50% of Americans have had “mystical experiences.” Spiritual or mystical experiences have some of the following qualities:

• Transient
• Extraordinary
• Ineffability, unity, harmony, awe, reverence, euphoria
• Loosening of ego structure
• Alterations in time and space
• A sense of oneness with the divine and everything in existence
• Feel more real than everyday reality

Silence is Not Golden

If you feel you have had an experience with some of those qualities, you may be in a spiritual emergence process. For many individuals, even mental health professionals, these extraordinary moments are not seen as a part of natural human development. They may be misinterpreted as psychosis and their value as a catalyst for psychological growth and spiritual evolution may go unacknowledged. In our culture, doubts about whether the spiritual dimension even exists tends to keep the door to conversation closed.

Do you need support? https://amindfulemergence.com/spiritual-emergence-emergency-support/