Spiritual Emergence
Personal Transformation and Evolution
Spiritual transformation and spiritual study can be documented back to ancient traditions, but the term spiritual emergence is comparatively new in relationship to the history of mental health. The discovery of the growing need in this area of psychology precipitated from personal growth workshops, anthropological findings, parapsychological research, and clinical case studies.
Coining Spiritual Emergence
While leading personal growth workshops during the 1970s, Stanislav Grof and Christina Grof observed several cases of intense spiritual transformations. After consistent observations of the phenomenon the Grofs coined the term spiritual emergence. Since then the field of Western psychology has gradually recognized spiritual difficulty and transformation as a part of human development. However, the concept continues to remain unconventional.
Defining Spiritual Emergence
Spiritual emergence includes a wide scope of occurrences involving a multitude of sensations, transformations, visions, and phenomena. It is most often referred to as a personal renovation that results in the total restructuring of the self, resulting in an evolution of conscious awareness. Spiritual awakening may be experienced through psychological and spiritual renewal, peak experiences, kundalini awakening, near death experiences, psychic openings, and past life experiences. States of spiritual emergence may involve various disorienting experiences including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual turmoil. Although, the opposite is also true as many experiences of spiritual emergence have been described as subtle and deeply blissful.
Identifying Spiritual Emergence
Following is a partial list of states that may help one identify a spiritual emergence:
- Experience of deep desire for self-understanding
- Universal or unitive experiences
- Deep states or glimpses of bliss
- Detachment or aversion to current way of living and desire for a more pure life
- Transitory confusion
- Anxiety related to loss of control
- Feelings of overwhelm
Supporting Spiritual Emergence
Someone experiencing spiritual emergence can benefit from supportive spiritual practices, spiritual guidance from a counselor or a member of one’s particular religious or spiritual orientation, or other compassionate and therapeutic support. The Spiritual Emergence Network (SEN) is also available for self-referral and serves as an online resource for connecting those in need with appropriately supportive practitioners, who understand the spiritual emergence process. This resource can be an invaluable guide for someone who has substantial self-awareness and is able to differentiate between mental health issues and spiritual emergence.
References and Further Reading
Spiritual Emergence Network located at www.cpsh.org
Bragdon, E. (1990). The call of spiritual emergency: From personal crisis to personal transformation. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Grof, S. & Grof, C. (1989). Spiritual emergency: When personal transformation becomes a crisis. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.
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