crisis in portland

[daniel]

I just got an email from someone who I don't know, who seems to be going through a major shamanic crisis / spiritual emergency. They contacted me through reading the book. I am wondering if any of you are in Portland now and would like to contact this person via email - either to meet or to recommend help or a therapist. From the email, the person sounds totally cogent but quite scared.

[Manning]

I'm not personally near that area however, here's one link that might be helpful...

What is Transpersonal Counseling?

Transpersonal counseling concerns the development and integration of transcendent experience into our everyday livingness. It also concerns the transformation of personal barriers to the discovery and integration of transcendent experience.

Our culture offers little context with which to understand transcendent experience. Sometimes when transcendent experience breaks through to everyday awareness, there results a temporary period of personal upheaval and chaos, sometimes called a "spiritual emergency." Therapists have been known to misdiagnose and even institutionalize persons experiencing such upheavals, when these persons in fact were not "ill", but rather disoriented by experiences about which their culture offers no understanding. In contrast, transpersonal counseling approaches such spiritual emergencies as developmental challenges facing the person who is integrating altered states or transcendent experience.

Transpersonal counseling also fosters the client's development of the farther reaches of human nature by mentoring his/her training, practice, and application of techniques that both contemporary research and traditional contemplative traditions have found effective as ways of maturing to transcendent experience.

As described by the Association for Transpersonal psychology, among the areas studied by transpersonal psychology are these topics:</font> Integration of transcendent experience...</font> Meditation, spiritual paths and practices</font> Change and personal transformation</font> Consciousness research</font> Psychedelic and altered states of consciousness research</font> Death, dying and near death experience (NDE)</font> Self-realization and higher values</font> The mind-body connection</font> Mythology and Shamanism</font> Exceptional Human Experience (EHE)</font>Michael's Practice of Transpersonal Counseling
As a scholar of transpersonal psychology, I have published in journals and lectured at conferences on transpersonal psychology (See selected articles for a selected bibliography). In my practice, as a transpersonal counselor, I offer transpersonal counseling as an expression of my conviction that personal growth and maturation, if followed to its conclusion across the spectrum of personal experience, inevitably leads to the conscious integration of the transpersonal component of human nature.

Michael Nagel, M.A., C.Ht. Counseling the spectrum of personal growth in Portland, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Your inquiry always is welcome.

Phone: 503.226.2771

e-mail: mlnagel@qwest.net

website: Whole Person Counseling (http://www.whole-person-counseling.com/Transpersonal.htm)

From the same website: Heeding the Call to Psychological Pain (http://www.whole-person-counseling.com/Heeding.htm)

"If after visiting my website, you find my work interests you, then please feel welcomed to arrange a free 50-minute consultation.

That sounds like the kind of therapist that might be capable of supporting someone through a spiritual emergence process. I especially like that "free" introductory consultation bit.

There are also a number of links on page 1 of the Shamanism, Schizophrenia & Psychosis topic that may be helpful to them. Since they have net access, perhaps you could give them that link. From what I understand, they don't have to be a member to read, only to post.

[ January 15, 2005, 12:44 PM: Message edited by: Manning ]

[forteanajones]

Bumping to keep this on everyone's radar for a while longer. Yet another reason to set up some sort of shamanic outreach and intervention network. I'm half-motivated to take on the ten-hour drive but doubt I'm the right man for the job at this early stage in my own healing.

[nanouk]

a network sounds a great idea, although i would have reservations about who to call...
i believe the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, FSS, may be able to recommend someone local, that they know of as being a good healer, here is the link to their directory:

FSS (http://www.shamanicstudies.com/fssinfo/directory.html)

[Manning]

If anyone has anything to add to this, feel free. As it is, that person in Portland reached out for help on a Friday evening. It's entirely possible that they might not be able to speak to any therapist until at least Monday. As a result, they may find themselves on their own -- at least, through the weekend.

Some Guidelines for Making it Through a Spiritual Emergency

Simplify your life: Make arrangements for childcare and time off work if necessary. Stock up on some basic groceries.

Limit your use of all stimulants: caffeine, alcohol, drugs, etc. If you are on any form of prescription drugs continue taking them as prescribed or else ask your doctor about going off them for a short period of time. This is especially true if you are on any form of psychiatric medications -- severe withdrawal effects are associated with some medications and they should never be stopped cold turkey. If you regularly meditate or do yoga (especially kundalini yoga) stop doing so for at least a few days. Do not resume the practice until you feel comfortable doing so.

Create a sacred space: The idea is to create a safe container to hold the experience. The container can be a room in your home, a journal, even an imaginary place. You will likely spend the majority of your time in this space so it should offer access to basic necessities (i.e., food, a bathroom) in addition to as much privacy as you feel is required.

Find a means of expressing your experience: Talking, journalling, painting, dancing, etc. Feel free to bring other elements into your sacred space that assist in the expression of that content -- photographs, pieces of music, poetry, symbolic items, etc. Self-identification with specific symbols and archetypes can be a normal part of the process.

Internal Support: Try to find a means of bringing the expressed content into a trusted relationship. The relationship can be with a spouse, a friend, a therapist, even a group. If you have no one in your life that you can share this with, think back to a time that you did have that kind of relationship and imagine yourself sharing the content with that person. If you've never had a relationship like that, imagine yourself sharing your experience with your ideal friend. The important thing is that you feel absolutely safe with the other, whomever that other is. This person (whether real or imaginary) can enter your sacred space with you so as to provide support through the process.

External Support: Try to ensure that at least one person in your face-to-face world is aware that you are undergoing a form of transformational process/crisis. It's not necessary that this person goes through the process/crisis with you, but they can provide assistance in the event you require outside help. You may find it helpful to have them read some basic information related to spiritual emergence/emergencies.

Flow with the process: Intense emotion is common: love, fear, sadness, bliss, despair, etc. Extreme forms of empathy may also come into play. Physical expressions are also common so feel free to move, dance, sing, etc. as required. Anything that does come up is coming up for a reason. It's not necessary to analyze this content too closely at this time, just to allow the expression of the content. Nor is it necessary to understand the process, just to allow it to unfold. You can analyze the entire experience in depth later. In the midst of it, just let it flow. If you need to eat, eat. If you need to sleep, sleep. During the less intense stages you may find that you're quite capable of turning the experience "off", (or at least, "down"), thereby allowing yourself to attend to vital everyday functions such as preparing a meal or driving.

Know your limits: You are not under any obligation to deal with any content you don't want to deal with. If something arises that feels too painful or frightening for you to cope with, feel free to set it aside. Alternatively, work through the content with your trusted internal or external support person. Bear in mind, this is a psychological/spiritual process and the content that arises is often symbolic. If you, or some part of you, dies in your sacred space, it's not necessary that you also die outside of that space. The idea is to experience the entire process in your psychological depths.

When to get outside help:
- If you think you need it.
- If suicide has become an attractive option. [Read this first] (http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/)
- If you want to hurt yourself.
- If you want to hurt someone else.

The Spiritual Emergence site also has an area devoted to self-help (http://www.nor.com.au/community/spiritualemergence/page15.html)

[ January 15, 2005, 04:41 PM: Message edited by: Manning ]

[nanouk]

manning,
i know you are not in portland, *actually, i don't* (0:
but daniel said to email, and if not meeting the person, possibly recommend a therapist, and/or give support. i feel, that your resoursefulness and warmth may help keep this person company via email, anyway, until monday morning you have been there, so can still feel it, and your communication skills are admirable.

i don't think, though, that a shaman/ess works 9-5 monday-friday, so this person probably would find support locally.

you have definately helped me find loads of useful information, and i have taken on board much of what you have said, and if i haven't thanked you before, i will thank you now. smile.gif

love and respect, ~N.

[Manning]

i don't think, though, that a shaman/ess works 9-5 monday-friday, so this person probably would find support locally.

Now that you mention it, I never thought to try 1-800-SHAMANS. ;) Anyway, let's hope that they find the support they need. Where it comes from probably doesn't matter.

[ January 16, 2005, 09:03 AM: Message edited by: Manning ]

[nanouk]

*lol*
not a bad idea, manning, smile.gif not bad at all...

on that note, has anyone read 'The Sacred Hoop' magazine?

i bought a copy and found it a great read:

Sacred Hoop (http://www.sacredhoop.org/)

[ January 15, 2005, 11:39 PM: Message edited by: nanouk ]

[sidecross]

The whole idea of BOTH is crisis. Anyone who fails to understand this has taken poor advice.

Is not birth itself a crisis? The separation of one life into two seems like a profound experience. Has anyone heard a baby come into the world not cry?

Hopefully the person just sat down and dealt with themselves.

[nanouk]

very true sidecross, very true, i hope we all do smile.gif

[tesseract]

I sorta know of someone that could help in Portland...sent her a link to this thread.

[susanna]

daniel-

i am a portland resident but am currently in ny. would be interested in discussing the matter with you to find out if i might be of assistance.

peace
s

[daniel]

The person emailed me back to say they were feeling better.

Still I think this is an interesting case of what could become the shamanic version of the "Emergency Warning System" that ocassionally beams a harsh tone on the radio and TV for 60 seconds (does that still happen by the way?). It would be great if this discussion forum could solidify to the point where we would be able to deal with people in various regions of the world who find themselves in a shamanic crisis. ... I suppose I am thinking that Mike's sad death could be a lesson in taking this community more seriously in that regard.