Spiritual Emergency
Profound spiritual shifts that can feel distressing
Spiritual emergency or emergence (coined by Stanislav Grof and Christina Grof) occurs through shocking experiences that can break pre-existing beliefs for a person. It can be activated by traumatic events (such as profound loss) leading into a spiritual crisis such. The impacts of these shifts can be distressing leaving a person feeling disconnected to themselves, but through integration work, it can lead to deep personal growth. In counselling/therapy, we use an eclectic model involving depth and transpersonal psychology (possibly more modalities) in person-centered ways for gentle integration of the experiences into the client's whole being.
Spiritual emergency can look like:
- Vivid visuals and dreams
- Loss of identity
- Emotional intensity
- Questions about spiritual beliefs
- Non-ordinary states
- Physical difficulties
- It is not a disorder, but a transformation taking place
Spiritual Awakening
Spiritual growth that is intriguing
Spiritual awakenings can look unique for each individual, however, there are some common elements that can present themselves:
- A significant shift in consciousness
- Increases sense of self-transcendence
- A deeper awareness of self, others, reality, and connection to nature
- Questions around life's meaning and purpose emerge
- A sense of interconnection among all living and non-living things
- An increased sense of compassion
- Finding meaning in existence that is beyond the material world
- A sense of inner transformation
