Psychospiritual experiences challenge us to grow. Their successful integration can and does move us to a higher level of consciousness evolution wherein we can be more intrapersonally loving, more interpersonally aware and compassionate for others, and more open to the transpersonal messages and guidance we are offered. For those of us with a regular spiritual practice, our consciousness may at times expand to a more loving fullness, and then contract. By understanding the process of this contraction and bringing love to the part or parts of our personality experiencing it, we facilitate their self-transformation. When we choose to operate from a base of loving compassion we are once again aligned with the All; and separation is revealed as illusion.

There are four premises supporting this article:

1. Love is the Ground of All Being, the Absolute, simultaneously immanent and transcendent.
2. Our spiritual journeying may bring us extra-ordinary experiences that assist us in expanding our individual consciousness into greater alignment with the All
3. We each have as part of our personalities a protective system that may distort, deny or distract us from experiences that do not fit our personal cosmologies. The origin of our protective system lies in our brain/mind development as infants.
4. By attending to our protective system’s response to these experiences in a way that is resonant with the Ground of All Being we can integrate the lessons we are being offered.

 

In this article I will explore the impact of spiritual experiences on the psyche in terms of the brain, the personality system and our response to novel situations that challenge our worldview. I will then offer ways to understand and work with our own protective systems which facilitate the integration of emergent spiritual experiences.

 

The Developing Brain: When it goes Right

 

We emerge from the womb with only a few reflexes to help us survive (sucking, grasping etc) and are biologically primed to attach to our caregivers. As we root for the nipple and discover the comfort of nursing, our heart returns to the familiar synchronized beat with a loving caregiver. For the next 3 months, often referred to by mothers as the ‘4^th trimester’, what we require is essentially an external womb – to be held close, have our needs met on demand, know that we are safe. Ideally these conditions obtain for at least the first 18 months of life as the brain develops rapidly by engaging with the primary caregiver and others.

“If caregivers are consistent sources of food, comfort, and affection, an infant learns trust- that others are dependable and reliable.” (Erikson n.d.)

Our brains are the mechanism through which information flows via neural stimulation. Our minds make meaning of our attachment experience as they monitor the flow of energy and information. Repeated neural firing creates pathways in the brain as experience (neurogenisis) shapes connections via synapse formation (synaptogenesis) and new neuronal growth. These pathways develop as states – wired neural networks that have been repeatedly activated together and shift relatively quickly. Over time with repeated associations these states become traits that occur automatically. (Greene 2010). If we repeatedly receive information through our engagement with caregivers that we are safe, our environment is safe and that our needs will be attended to, we will develop traits (beliefs) about our worth and value, and confidence that we can engage with and explore our world for the delights and lessons that it brings.

In the simplest of interactions between a parental figure and baby, interpersonal experience is being “transducted” into biology. Each instance of attuned communication contributes to the creation of key structures and systems in the baby’s rapidly developing brain. The neural circuitries responsible for organizing ones relational behaviors and “stress-coping capacities” throughout life are formed in and through the countless verbal and nonverbal interactions that transpire between a primary caregiver and child during the infant and toddler years (Schore cited in Hollingsworth 2008).

When we have a secure attachment with a caregiver we can tolerate the inevitable disruption that will occur. When we express a need that is not met and we become distressed, the rupture in the emotional communication can be addressed by the caregiver and we can quickly return to a positive emotional state. Since memory embeds prior experiences in neural connections in the brain, we begin to associate and form beliefs that ruptures are temporary and reparable. We initially rely on our caregiver to help us to regulate our emotional states. As infancy progresses this becomes increasingly self-regulated as we internalise the ability to tolerate more and more positive and negative states from different situations. “Resilience in the face of stress and novelty is an ultimate indicator of attachment security.” (Schore and Schore 2007)

Secure attachment is the pathway by which the brain moves toward increased integration and complexity making us better able to respond positively to the stress of novel situations.  With a secure internal working model of attachment we develop “greater capacities for self-regulation, empathic attunement with others, self-love, abilities to form coherent life narratives, and expectations of positive outcomes.” (Hollingsworth 2008)

Due to a variety of factors, including sociocultural attitudes to childrearing practices as well as familial norms, many of us in the West have not experienced the secure attachment in early childhood that is associated with optimal brain/mind growth. What happens to a system that is insecurely attached?

 

The Developing Brain: When it goes Wrong

 

Insecure attachment, which may occur from any attachment injury such as neglect, abandonment, loss and/or repeated separations, trauma and/or threat, causes the brain to develop dysregulated states. These states make it difficult to control one’s mood states due to the lack of development of integration and complexity that is possible when our needs are responded to appropriately.  These states are associated with “high levels of internalized shame… and difficulties in empathizing with the needs and perspectives of others.” (Greene 2010)

Insecure attachment leads to the brain performing at the level of survival; an evolutionarily less complex level of functioning making the integration of higher level spiritual experiences more difficult. A recent study on the brains of children from violent homes showed that they function like those of soldiers when it comes to detecting threats. Twelve year olds viewing angry faces showed extra activity in the areas known to be involved in threat detection and anticipation of pain. Combat soldiers show similar heightened activity. McCrory (cited in Coghlan 2011) concludes that the changes show “neural adaptation.” Capsi (ibid.) states that “childhood maltreatment ‘gets into the brain’ and becomes biologically embedded.”

Repeated experiences of not getting needs met or lack of safety (threat), become traits within the brain. As we make inferences based on how we are treated, these traits hold internal representations of both ourselves and others. Because our biological program tells us we are meant to be nurtured and loved, when we are not, our minds need to make sense of it somehow – and we learn that we are “Intrinsically unacceptable or malignant deserving of punishment & neglect, helpless, inadequate, weak… (and that) Others are inherently dangerous, rejecting, unavailable.” (Greene 2010). We assume that the neglect perpetrated by others means something about us, that it is somehow our fault and related to our worthiness. These traits are parts of our personality system that are burdened with erroneous beliefs and associated feelings accrued from early life experiences.

These parts become exiled from the forefront of consciousness; we would not be able to thrive if we lived only in a state unworthiness and fear. However because these beliefs exist within the personality system they may be triggered by external events; at which time they can flood us and we may experience ourselves in the ‘truth’ of these feelings. When these parts get triggered our protective system will become active and seek to distort or deny experiences that challenge the beliefs held by these exiled parts of our personalities.

If a core part of a person’s system believes they are unattractive and someone genuinely states how beautiful they find that person to be, the protective system will meet the information with suspicion and mistrust – the ‘rightness’ is not taken in. So too can the ‘rightness’ of spiritual experiences be unintegrated.

If, for example, I engage in a spiritual ceremony and receive a message attesting to my perfection, and there exists in my system a part of me holding a belief that there is something fundamentally unacceptable about it (or me) then it may be triggered by this contradiction of its belief. When triggered it may threaten to flood the system resulting in ‘me’ being overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, shame and worthlessness. To protect me from this eventuality my protective parts will distort the experience (e.g. “That’s just arrogance”) or deny it (e.g. “You made it up.”) Our response to the novelty of spiritual experience is determined by our beliefs about ourselves and the world. If these beliefs have been informed by insecure attachment experiences then we will likely seek comfort in a worldview that tells us our environment is predictable, controllable and wherein everything is understood. This is precisely the worldview that some spiritual experiences can challenge as they may directly contradict the parameters of consensual reality leaving us adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

 

Spiritual Emergencies

 

Grof uses the term “Spiritual emergency” to refer to “critical and experientially difficult stages of a profound psychological transformation that involves one’s entire being.” They take the form of “nonordinary states of consciousness and involve intense emotions, visions and other sensory changes, and unusual thoughts, as well as various physical manifestations” Grof and Grof (1990). Among the spiritual emergencies listed by Grof are psychospiritual death and rebirth; the awakening of kundalini; episodes of unitive consciousness, or a profound recognition of the interconnectedness of being; communication with or possession by malevolent beings; and psychological renewal through return to the center.  I would add experiences related to the use of teacher plants such as the peyote cactus, ayahuasca and ibogaine as well as sexual experiences which can “trigger states identical to those attained by spiritual adepts of all traditions.” (Wade 2004) Participation in rave culture with or without the use of psychoactive drugs as well as other forms of ecstatic dance and ritual may also trigger such a change. Other experiences which may be catalytic of a spiritual crisis include: emotional stress; significant loss; trauma; physical exertion; disease; accident; childbirth, miscarriage, or abortion.

Not surprisingly, when individuals have reported these experiences of transformation they have often been pathologized and diagnosed with “schizophrenia, schizophrenoform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, or adjustment disorder.” (Holden 1999). These altered states of consciousness are more likely to be considered a breakdown than a breakthrough when viewed through the lens of most Western mental health professionals.

Let me be clear here, I am not suggesting that anyone with the above presentation is by definition undergoing a spiritual experience. I agree with Holden that it is crucial to the well-being of the individual that differential diagnoses be made between regressive psychological breakdowns and progressive psychospiritual breakthroughs.[1]

Many of us committed to our own personal growth may seek a “more expanded way of being that involves enhanced emotional and psychosomatic health, greater freedom of personal choices, and a sense of deeper connection with other people, nature, and the cosmos” – what Grof terms an integrated experience of spiritual emergence. (Grof and Grof 1990) The process of opening to this more enlightened way of being is not always smooth and may be experienced as a crisis as our consciousness moves from experiences which are facilitative of expansion through contractions to integration. How may we best understand and facilitate our own growth through these sometimes turbulent seas?

 

Views of the Self

 

Mostly the experts to whom we in the West turn when experiencing distressing psychic events – psychiatrists, therapists, psychologists etc. – have been trained to believe that they know what is best for us and their beliefs have been informed by a mental health paradigm rooted in the understanding that all phenomena must be observable and measurable to be considered as valid. Training in mental health disciplines usually neglects the soul and/or spirit and are therefore rooted in seeing the person solely as a psychological being.

We can be grateful to Abraham Maslow for pointing the way to the emergence of “Fourth Force” or transpersonal psychology which acknowledges that we are not simply psychological, but psychospiritual beings whose development does not end with the mature personality but continues to expand as our consciousness seeks ever higher levels of integration of Spirit.

Given the woefully inadequate services available in support of spiritual emergencies from mainstream mental health professionals, many individuals turn to practitioners claiming to be versed in transpersonal practices, working in ways that transcend the ego and purport to encourage their growth. Many of these practitioners have adopted Ken Wilber’s trans-egoic paradigm, viewing trans-egoic states of consciousness as spiritual and normal rather than pathological. (Wilber 1983) While this view acknowledges the possible salutary effects of such states, at the same time many transpersonally oriented practitioners fall into the trap of demonising the ego; seeing it as an impediment to true spiritual growth, perhaps no more than an agitating monkey mind or an annoyance to be dealt with or transcended. This erroneous view of the ego and the unexamined assumption that it exists as a monolithic entity hinders the integration of spiritual experience and may indeed keep us divorced from manifesting our higher or more loving natures.

This framing of ‘the’ ego does not allow us to deconstruct the experience of feeling adversarial towards the ego. In other words who is the ‘I’ experiencing the hostility? Not, it would seem, the ‘I’ seeking to manifest the embodiment of greater compassion. We can better understand the personality as a dynamic system that functions, in part, to ensure our safety and well-being in the world. Recognising the multiple parts of the system, and the tendency for some parts to be polarised with others, enables us to understand and disengage from adversarial positions that arise within the system. This frees us from the limitation of the dualistic position: ‘ego bad; spirit good’, a polarization which can keep us stuck. Defining ‘transpersonal’ as meaning beyond the personal as opposed to its other meaning from the Latin trans: through the personal (Collins English Dictionary 1983) supports this dichotomous position. If we understand that spirit seeks to work through us then we can best support this by recognising our inherent worth, and working to heal parts of us that experience themselves as lacking.

Spiritual emergencies are novel experiences and how they impact us will largely be determined by how our systems have learned to respond to novelty. Personality systems resulting from and organised around insecure attachment may be overwhelmed by the information presented by these experiences and seek to distort or deny what has happened. We may tell ourselves that what we experienced was a result of exhaustion, or that we went crazy for a bit, or we were hallucinating. Then again we may respond to these experiences in a way that mirrors that of a substance user’s relationship to their habituated substance use. It becomes a temporary ‘escape’ from our otherwise drab and ordinary lives rather than an opportunity for growth. “The temptation to use spiritual practices to grab happiness and fulfillment and to avoid already existing negatives, confusion and pain is great.” (Pierrakos 1972).

When we have a healthy integrated internal system however, we may recognize these teachings as coming from a higher source, and/or as an invitation to recognize and expand our limited belief systems in order to accommodate the new information.

 

How to Make it Right

 

As the light of Spirit shines on our burdensome beliefs in order for them to be healed we are called to respond and grow.  What is required is for us to disengage from our habituated responses, and in so doing create new neural pathways that serve our development. We can do this because of the neuroplasticity of the brain; its capacity to change its structure and ‘rewire’ new pathways as a result of experience. The brain is “not a fully formed structure but… a dynamic process undergoing constant development and reconstruction across the lifespan” (Cozolino 2006).

Research on the practice of mindfulness, which “cultivates the ability to see thoughts and feelings (parts) as events” (Newburg 2011) shows that mindfulness meditators “develop the skill of self-observation that neurologically disengages automatic pathways created from prior learning” (Siegel, 2007). It becomes possible through mindfulness to operate from an observer’s seat, to be less reactive. Schwartz (2011) refers to this as the “passive-observer form of mindfulness”.  If the goal of personal work is to accept the inevitable pain of existence then this method works well. If however we are seeking to transform that pain, a more active stance is required, and available.

Schwartz (2001) has developed a way of working with the parts of the personality system (what neurobiologists call traits) beginning in the mid 1980’s. His model recognises that the system works similarly to an internal family, hence the name: “Internal Family Systems” (IFS). This is a psychospiritual model that allows us to facilitate the shifts required within the personality system and the neural net that brings us into greater resonance with our Spiritual natures. It does this by inviting us to bring loving compassion to the parts of our system; thus aligning ourselves with the Love that is the Ground of All Being. IFS recognises the innate health within us and our capacity for using our own consciousness for self-healing. Whereas the ideal situation for developing a healthy regulated system rests on having an attuned caregiver in infancy, it is possible to bring our own adult consciousness to bear on our systems to facilitate repair.  I have made a brief video “Understanding the Personality System” describing the basic tenets of the model.

Central to Schwartz’s model is the understanding that who we truly are, our “Self” is a being who is compassionate, creative, clear, curious, confident, connected, courageous, calm and appreciative. (Schwartz 2001) How is it that we don’t always experience ourselves this way? Because we also have parts (traits) that will blend with us and assume the position of “I”. When an angry part of my system blends with me then “I” am angry, later when I’m watching a movie that touches me “I” am sad. Our parts flow into and out of our consciousness – and have relationships with each other. Some are adversarial with each other; for example a part of you may love eating, another part may criticize the eating part. To begin the process of disidentifying from the parts all that is required is to let them know you are there and bring your curiousity to them.

For example, if you are watching a movie in which a character is despondent in their bedroom you may notice the feeling of sadness rise up in you. Instead of ‘being’ sad you can acknowledge that part of you, perhaps ask it to separate out a bit so it is not fully ‘blended’ with you and so that you can see it more clearly.  Then you can ask that part why it is sad; that part will let you know. The more you stay curious about it, the more it will let you know about itself. It may share how long it has felt this way, maybe letting you know when it first appeared in your system. This part may have taken on the burden of sadness as a child – perhaps in response to being left alone or sent to its room. With compassion for its situation you can invite it to unburden itself of the role it assumed in your system by taking on the sadness and then to take in whatever qualities will help it to move forward – perhaps confidence and happiness. Once this has happened the part no longer carries the burden of distress and can therefore no longer be triggered by external events. Returning to the same scene in the movie, different responses become available, such as an appreciation of the director.

In cultivating the practice of compassion towards the burdened parts of our personality system, and holding other parts in loving awareness as they seek to protect these burdened parts, we can increasingly identify as beings that operate from a basis of calm engagement with experiences that are presented to us. When spiritual emergencies occur and we notice parts of our system responding from a contracted place we can attend to them and facilitate their healing as we integrate the lessons being offered us.

For example, let us suppose that through meditative practice you have an experience of the interdependent nature of all phenomena and people, what Thich Nhat Hanh (1998) calls interbeing. This experience is powerful and feels so true that it brings with it a feeling of great peace; a timeless sense that all is well. Upon leaving this state you may notice your parts offering a commentary on what just happened. You may hear, “Better give up meditating for a while, it’s getting weird!” Or “That was interesting but we’ve got a lot of work to do right now” or any number of other reactions that may seek to minimise, trivialize, avoid or distract from what just happened. If you bring your loving curiousity to these parts and ask them about why they are reacting in this way they can let you know. The enquiry may go something like this:

Self(S): – “What’s the concern about my meditations getting ‘weird’?”

Protective part (P) – “You’re just getting stranger and stranger”

S – “Okay, what’s the worry about that?”

P – “People will think you’re a freak”

S – “And then what might happen?”

P – “They’ll reject you and you’ll have no friends, you’ll be all alone.”

S – “I appreciate that you wouldn’t want that to happen to me. I wonder if you’re perhaps protecting a part of the system that is all alone. If you are might I speak to it?”

P – “Okay. But it’s really little.”

S – “That’s great – thank you for letting me know that it’s there.”

At this point you may become aware of a young part ‘frozen in time’ in your system. S/he may tell you a story of being in grade 1 and telling friends about a visit from an angel who came in the night. With heavy sadness s/he may tell you how the other children responded with scorn. Haltingly s/he may shamefully report how the teacher, having noticed the commotion intervened by telling this young part that lying is bad. The part may then tell you how it insisted on the truth of its vision and was punished by the teacher by having to tell the class it was sorry and a liar as the children laughed at it. As the part tells you this you can feel its burning humiliation and shame. As you encourage more of its story it gets to be witnessed and can then release its burdens of shame, pain, self-doubt etc. and replace them with whatever qualities it needs – perhaps confidence and an awareness of its own integrity. Once it has been unburdened the protective parts connected to it can soften in their vigilance. They no longer need to work so hard to ensure the exiled part’s shame doesn’t flood you. Then the experience during meditation can be claimed for the truth it is; allowing the system to integrate the experience and begin acting in and on the world from a more consistently enlightened perspective.

Neurologically the neurons which had formerly fired together, associating experiences of non-ordinary reality with disclosure and humiliation, are freed up to form new associations. Thus can neural traits be changed back into states and “more integrated states such as regulation, mindfulness, compassion etc.” become traits when practiced over time. (Greene 2011). Just as an insecurely attached system results from poor interpersonal attunement, so can it be healed by what Siegel (2007) calls “intrapersonal attunement”. The IFS model refers to this as becoming more “Self-led”.

There is great value in simply bringing curiousity, connection and compassion to your parts. The more they know you are there, the more Self qualities you can bring to your system, the greater your experience of yourself as flowing from a calm loving centre. The unburdening process referred to above may occur spontaneously during certain forms of spiritual practice and/or when entering into some altered states of consciousness. Under ordinary circumstances however it may be difficult to engage in this practice initially without the support of someone trained in the IFS method, simply because our manager parts (who like to be in control) will often try to do this work internally. The vulnerable exiles are not interested in releasing their information to other parts of the system and the whole endeavour can lead to frustrated parts being triggered or parts holding failure being activated.

 

Psychospiritual Development

Parts holding concern about their worth as a result of inconsistent caregiving are often in a place of desperation and striving for redemption. Much of our time is taken up by these parts seeking out others in our lives to provide us with the nurturance they didn’t receive. They will select partners, bosses and friends who have qualities that remind them of the caregiver from whom they didn’t get what they needed. Conversely they may select people who appear to embody the exact opposite qualities with the assumption that such people will be a more likely source of love. Either way, much effort goes into seeking the validation of others as dysregulated systems continue to seek a measure of how they are doing from external sources. In terms of healing the attachment wounds held by exiled parts these strategies cannot succeed because friends, bosses and partners cannot provide consistent unconditional love. When these parts are healed by us internally, the system ceases to be so concerned with managing the judgement of others.

As the system becomes increasingly regulated and embodies more Self it is likely to attract entities that are not native to the personality system. The recognition of non-human entities is a characteristic of most of the world’s spiritual traditions; including the Buddhist Devas, the Khmer Tep, the Tibetan Lha or the Mongolian Tenger, the Brasilian Orixas, Korean Cheon, the Vidyadharas of the Hindus, the Japanese Ten, the various angels and archangels of the Abrahamic religions, the Egyptian Ka and the animal, plant and other attendant spirits recognised in numerous indigenous communities.

IFS is the first western model of psychology that recognises how these non-human entities participate in our lives.  Schwartz distinguishes between “guides” and “critters”. Guides generally have the qualities of being gentle and offering words of comfort and support such as informing us that “All is well”, or declaring “You are loved”. They offer encouragement on the spiritual path. Critters are malevolent beings that may have found their way into the system through trauma (including physical trauma) and/or addiction. They may also become magnetised by parts enduring great suffering and will likely be attracted to the light of your true nature as you become more manifest. People with a proclivity for mediumship are also likely to attract critters and other entities. Whilst experiences of mediumship in the West have often been assumed to be evidence of dissociative identity disorder (DID) within a mental health paradigm that does not acknowledge the incorporation of spiritual beings, research indicates that “mediumship differed from DID in having better mental health and social adjustment, and a different clinical profile”. (Moreira-Almeida, 2008)

Critters often present with one particular voice; perhaps “You’re a failure,” or “You should kill yourself,” or “Everybody hates you.” Whereas a part can let you know about its positive intent even when its voice is critical, a critter cannot. In discerning if the voice belongs to a part or a critter you can enquire about intent. A protective part saying “Everybody hates you” will be able to let you know about its belief that if it didn’t tell you that then you might make yourself vulnerable by, for example, inappropriately trusting others. Further enquiry would no doubt reveal a part holding the burden of the hurt of betrayal. A critter, however, would offer no such explanation. Further, critters do not ‘feel’ like parts – they are not fleshed out with depth and experience. For people with systems that present visually critters often appear as non-human, sometimes insectoid. They will also make themselves look scary and may frighten other parts. Scared parts can be invited by you to go to a safe haven within the system, such as a protected room. When asked directly, “Are you a part of my system?” the critters cannot lie and although they may be evasive they cannot answer in the affirmative. Once you have discerned that a critter has been resident in your system you can expel it by bringing light to shine on it or sending it to the light. You can inform it that your system is not its home, and that it needs to continue its journey, but it has to leave. Often they resist being expelled so it is important to hold firm in your insistence, and to ensure that it doesn’t try to hide from you. If you sense it is still in your system keep informing it that it must leave until you sense its presence no more. There may have been parts of your system that were aware of it or had a relationship with it so it is important to check in with and attend to those parts.

Many parts of the system may be seen to correspond to traits within the neuronal net that through repeated firing have taken on beliefs which may be burdensome. The IFS understanding of the personality system also recognizes that there may be “legacy burdens” held in the system, engendered by being born Jewish or female (for example) and holding the burdens from the history of the treatment of one’s people or gender. Karmic parts may also have found their way into your system from other lifetimes that are seeking unburdening and healing. Once identified, these burdens can also be released. If you choose to work with someone trained in the IFS method (you can find a listing at the centre for self leadership) be sure you ask them about their comfort level with spiritual phenomena. Not all therapists trained in the model are familiar with the phenomena described above and may not have received the advanced training in working with guides, critters etc. If you wish to explore your own system you may find the following video helpful: IFS Working with your Own System

 

When All is Well

 

Attending to the parts of our personality system facilitates the integration of processes associated with altered states of consciousness. Post integration a person experiences “a greater sense of well-being … characterized by increased love, serenity, joy, wisdom, hope, and compassion.”(Holden, 1999) By healing the brain and personality system, consciousness “changes dramatically as increasing neurological capacity becomes available.” (Wade, 1996). According to Wade, “Certain changes in the brain and/or electromagnetic field surrounding the body… (such as those occasioned by some spiritual emergencies) seem to lower the threshold of accessibility” to the transcendent source. When this occurs it becomes possible for “progressive integration of the transcendent source in conjunction with an ego-transcending motivation … (to change) the brain’s EEG, entraining both hemispheres and creating slower, more orderly and harmonic energy patterns.”

In other words under optimal conditions our exposure to spiritual phenomena may be processed by the mind in such a way that the brain’s frequency shifts into closer alignment with the transcendent source until at the level of Unity consciousness “the transcendent and brain-based streams… are fully entrained” (Wade ibid.) The brain/mind may be seen as a tuning fork that needs to be nurtured and nourished, ideally in early life but if that hasn’t happened we can initiate that process as conscious adults. It can, when properly struck, facilitate our connection to and identification with the Divine; our access to infinite love.

 

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God,

But only he who sees takes off his shoes,

The rest sit around and pluck blackberries

 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 

 

References

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Aurora Leigh. London: J. Miller, 1864. Reprinted: Chicago: Academy Chicago Printers (Cassandra Editions), 1979.

Coghlan, Andy (2011, December. Abused children’s brains work like soldiers’ do. New Scientist, 2842. Retrieved from https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21245-abused-childrens-brains-work-like-soldiers-do.html

Cozolino, Louis (2006). The neuroscience of human relationships: attachment and the developing social brain (1st ed.). New York: Norton.

Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 26, 2012, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson’s_stages_of_psychosocial_development

Grof, C., & Grof, S. (1992). The Stormy Search for the Self: A Guide to Personal Growth through Transformational Crisis. Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc.

Greene, S. (2010, October). What’s happening neurobiologically that heals complex trauma. Paper presented at the annual Internal Family Systems conference, Chicago.

Greene, S. (2011, October). The neurobiology of IFS: Weaving together spirit and science. Paper presented at the annual Internal Family Systems conference, Boston.

Hanks, P (Ed.) (1983). trans. in Collins dictionary of the English language. (pp. 1540). Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

Holden, Janice Miner, Vanpelt-Tess, Pamela & Warren, Scott (1999).     Spiritual Emergency: An Introduction and Case Example. Counseling and Values, 43(3), 163-177. doi:10.1002/j.2161-007X. 1999.tb00140.x

Hollingsworth, A. (2008). Implications of Interpersonal Neurobiology for A Spirituality of Compassion 837–860). Zygon Journal of Religion and Science, 43(4), 837–860. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00963.x

Moreira-Almeida, A., Neto, Francisco L.,  Cardeña, Etzel., (2008). Comparison of Brazilian spiritist mediumship and dissociative identity disorder. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 196(5), 420-424. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e31816ff3a1

Newberg, Andrew B. (2011). Spirituality and the Aging Brain. Neuroscience of the Aging Brain: Perspectives on Brain Health and Lifestyle, 35(2), 83-89.

Pierrakos, Eva B. (1972, October). What is The Path?. International Pathwork Foundation. Pathwork Lecture No. 204, Madison, VA. Retrieved from https://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P204.PDF

Schore, Judith R., & Schore Allan, N. (2007). Modern Attachment Theory: The central role of affect regulation in development and treatment  Clinical Social Work Journal, 36(1), 9-20. doi:10.1007/s10615-007-0111-7

Schwartz, Richard C. (2001). Introduction to the internal family systems model (5th reprinting). Oak Park Il: Trailheads Publications.

Schwartz, Richard, C. (2011, December). Embrace your self-destructive impulses? How people can connect with dark parts of their psyche for personal change. AlterNet. Retrieved from https://www.alternet.org/health/153438/embrace_your_self-destructive_impulses_how_people_can_connect_with_dark_parts_of_their_psyche_for_personal_change

Siegel, Dan (2007). The mindful brain: Reflection and attunement in the cultivation of well-being. New York: W W Norton.

Hanh, Thich Nhat (1998). Interbeing: Fourteen guidelines for engaged Buddhism (3rd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Parallax.

Wade, Jenny (2004). Transcendent sex: When lovemaking opens the veil. New York: Pocket Books.

Wade, Jenny (1996). A holonomic theory of the evolution of consciousness. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Wilber, Ken (2001). Eye to eye (3rd ed. rev.). Boston: Shambala.