A patient of mine
inspired me to write on depression and anxiety which I usually call a Transformational
Crisis. I have written something
about depression in the past, but this time I want to share a part of my
lecture on “The Soul In Trauma.”
According to the
statistics of Health Line, 1 out 10 Americans are affected by depression. On a
wider scale, there are 121M people around the world that suffer from the
condition. The age varies from 45 to 65 years old. However there is a rising
number among teenagers nowadays.
Depression is often treated with structured psychotherapy and
anti-depressant medication.
As a Reiki practitioner,
I see depression beyond the symptoms of the physical body. I see it as a
symptom of a soul in crisis. The soul in
crisis wants a change. Crisis is always a way to transcend. Everything in the
break of a change experiences crisis. I like the definition of depression by Maureen
Roberts, PhD, a soul-centered psychiatric therapist which says
“depression is not primarily another word for unhappiness; nor is it mental illness. It is, rather, in many instances a response to a loss of soul.”
She even continued to saying that
"there is a soullessness of the biological model which continues to treat depression as a biological illness that can be band-aided with damaging drugs."
Depression, as the
modern man termed it, is not a biological or physical condition, rather it is a
soul state. Emotions are not in the
physical body but in the emotional body or astral body which is a part of the
multi-dimensional facets of a human body. Yes, there is a physical
manifestation but it does not mean that the cause and the solution is there.
The solution is a SOUL-UTION!
DEPRESSION IS A TRANSFORMATIONAL CRISIS
I always joke with my
clients and patients about depression. I tell them not to worry about being so
down, as there is nowhere to go when you have reached the ground but to go up.
If only the depressed ones can be assisted to understand the message of their
depression, then their lives will really be moving towards transformation.
What can trigger this Transformational Crisis?
There are many things that can trigger transformational crisis. Causes are always a call to look into a
higher meaning of life. The causes are:
1.
Life experiences such as death, disease, accident, childbirth,
miscarriage or abortion, loss of work
2.
Stress or extreme physical exertion or prolonged lack of sleep
3.
Spiritual emergencies from different spiritual practices.
The latter can happen when an
individual had a profound spiritual experiences beyond his/her intellectual and
social acceptance. The person is placed in a deep soul search whether to accept
or deny the experience. There are some instances in which a spiritual emergency
can be a megalomaniac crisis, where an individual may have thought that he/she
is a messianic figure who is ready to serve the world in a self-serving way, just
like what had happened to some of the cult-churches where the leader led the
people into mass suicides and physical and sexual abuses under the name of God.
What
can be the possible outcome of Transformational Crisis?
The process of transformation can be short or longer depending
on the awareness of the person undergoing the transformation. A harmonious inner awakening is characterized by a sense
of inner joy and illumination that brings a person to find the meaning and
purpose of life. The inner awakening brings inner peace and security to the
unknown. Amidst a problem, the person is hopeful and gains clarity over the
solution of a problem. There is a change in perspective. There is an
overwhelming feeling of love for self and others.
However, depending on the
external support and level of inner resources, an individual can also be led to
unstable condition.
What are the conditions
that determine the outcome?
The possible outcome is determined by
the connectedness of the individual to the Higher Spirit. We may call it
spirituality, or consciousness.
The influx of the awareness comes
from the inner knowing that there is Higher Guidance for all things on earth.
This entails that the soul-ution for the depression is a spiritual process.
I encourage parents to raise children
with a form of spiritual practice whether it is with a church or family
rituals. The spiritual practice helps an individual to cling into a Divine
Guidance during deep crisis. Then, the spiritual transformation will be easier
to take its process.
What are the possible outcomes of the Transformational Crisis?
1. The individual’s life is
transformed. This happens when the inner resources or the energy of Self is
strong enough for a person to achieve a higher understanding of what is
happening on his/her own life and soul. There is a higher personality
integration. The spiritual energy is strong and is easily understood by the
individual.
2.
The individual’s life is not yet transformed but is moving forward as
long as the energy of the Soul/Self is felt. Here, the person is less
active and a passive on-looker of what may happen in his/her life. The person
in this state needs a lot of help from the environment. The person is in a
state of discernment whether to make the changes or not. The pull of the social
acceptance is sometimes so strong yet there is an influx of spiritual
awareness.
3.
Obstacles and life issues hamper the transformation. This can happen when the individual has been
at a loss in the contact of his/her soul for a long period of time, due to
trauma and hard experiences of life starting from childhood. This is an
individual who may have been in a mental institution for a long period of time.
MORE CRISIS DURING THE TRANSFORMATION CRISIS
During the transformation, the crisis can
intensify and can manifest as an intense emotion, visions, unusual thought
processes, and other physical symptoms such as nervousness, tremors, or
feelings of suffocation. Sometimes, a powerful emotional experience can also happen
during the transformation – such as loss of relationship, death, or a series of
failures or losses which can really shake the inner resource of the individual.
This can be seen as a series of ‘bad luck’ events.
It is during these intense emotional
experiences that an individual can:
1. be disturbed by a change in his inner life
2. begin to inquire about the origin and purpose
of life
3. have a moral crisis if there is an emerging
belief that contradicts his/her past beliefs and experiences.
There are times when an
individual cannot really assimilate the intense flow of energy and higher
awareness. This can happen when the intellect of an individual in not fully
developed, the emotions and imaginations are uncontrollable, and the onrush of
the spiritual energy is overwhelming.
When the mind is unable to
stand the illumination or has a tendency to self-centeredness or conceit – the
experience tends to be wrongly interpreted.
COMING OF THE TRANSMUTATION STAGE
Just like the praying of Jesus
in Gethsemane, after acceptance of the SOUL transformation, a transfiguration
can happen.
The individual may be able to
pass the self-integration stage and to open oneself to transformation. This is the stage of Transmutation. A new personality has emerged.
In this stage, there is an
active removal of obstacles. An individual can develop higher functions. There
is a deeper understanding of the spiritual self.
BREAKDOWN TO BREAKTHROUGH
The world is in a fast
evolutionary process. Children are being born with different kinds of intellect
and higher functions. This is our time to understand human beings and our reality
in a multi-faceted ways.
Let us help save the world and
our brothers and sisters in crisis. The next time you see a medically diagnosed
individual with anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD and others, give them a wider
understanding of life. Refer them to a shaman, a spiritual healer, a reiki
healer and/or a holistic practitioner. Medication is only needed when there is
a serious physical threat that and in cases where an individual needs to be
restrained.
What is our role as Reiki Practitioners?
Our most important task is to
give the people in crises a positive context for their experiences and
sufficient information about the process that they are undergoing through. It is essential that they move away from the
concept of disease and recognize the healing nature of their crisis.
The following are our specific
tasks:
1.
Enlighten
the individual as to what is really going on within him, and help him to find
the right attitude to take.
2.
Teach the individual on how to use skillfully
the will to control and direct the drives emerging from the unconscious,
without repressing them through fear or condemnation. Affirmations and prayers
help to strengthen the will.
3.
Teach the individual of how to manage and
transform sexual and aggressive energies. Affirmations, prayers, and guided
breathing meditation help. I do not recommend meditating alone and even doing complex
meditation, as these might trigger more vision that one may not be able handle.
4.
Help the individual to recognizing different
thoughts and emotions that are coming -
the Divine communications and one’s own thought and emotional processes. Divine
speaks with love and security. Lower ego comes with fear and self-imposed
power.
5.
Help the individual to express the overwhelming
love within through service.
6.
When ready, guide the individual to understand
his/her own life and personality to gain clarity on which path to take.
7.
Regular Reiki sessions are needed to create balance. In my experience, it takes 3 months for the
full integration and healing to happen. Each healing varies on each
individual.
There is so much beauty in life,
and life is communicating to us to rock our comfort for a change.
Madness
is not always madness .
Psychosis
is not always a breakdown
But it
can also be a breakthrough.
Love and Lights,
Aisa
