Spiritual Emergence Network

[suchandra]

The Spiritual Emergence Network assumes that in peoples lives there're sometimes dramatic changes, changes that shouldn't be seen as threatening but as something positive.

 

 

It is possible to undergo a profound crisis involving non-ordinary experiences and to perceive it as pathological or psychiatric when in fact it may be more accurately and beneficially described as a spiritual emergency.

 

The Spiritual Emergence Network was formed to investigate and promote this understanding.

We recognise these experiences as meaningful and valuable opportunities for personal growth.

 

 

It further says,

 

 

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="11" width="560"><tbody><tr><td class="text" colspan="2" valign="top">DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPIRITUAL EMERGENCE

AND SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY

 

 

The Stormy Search for the Self

By Christina and Stanislav Grof

 

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Emergence

 

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Emergency

 

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Inner experiences are fluid, mild, easy to integrate.

 

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Inner experiences are dynamic, jarring, difficult to integrate.

 

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New spiritual insights are welcome, desirable, expansive.

 

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New spiritual insights may be philosophically challenging and threatening.

 

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Gradual infusion of ideas and insights into life.

 

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Overwhelming influx of experiences and insights.

 

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Experiences of energy that are contained and are easily manageable.

 

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Experiences of jolting tremors, shaking, energy disruptive to daily life.

 

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Easy differentiation between internal and external experiences and transition from one to other.

 

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Sometimes difficult to distinguish between internal and external experiences, or simultaneous occurrence of both.

 

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Ease in incorporating non-ordinary states of consciousness into daily life.

 

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Inner experiences interrupt and disturb daily life.

 

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Slow gradual change in awareness of self and world.

 

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Abrupt, rapid shift in perception of self and world.

 

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Excitement about inner experiences as they arise, willingness and ability to cooperate with them.

 

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Ambivalence toward inner experiences, but willingness and ability to cooperate with them using guidance.

 

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Accepting attitude toward change.

 

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Resistance to change.

 

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Ease in giving up control.

 

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Need to be in control.

 

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Trust in the process.

 

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Dislike, mistrust of process.

 

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Difficult experiences treated as opportunities for change.

 

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Difficult experiences are overwhelming, often unwelcome.

 

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Positive experiences accepted as gifts.

 

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Positive experiences are difficult to accept, seem undeserved, can be painful.

 

</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="text" valign="top" width="50%">Infrequent need to discuss experiences.</td> <td class="text" valign="top" width="50%">Frequent need to discuss experiences.</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="text" valign="top" width="50%">Discriminating when communicating about process (when, how, with whom).</td> <td class="text" valign="top" width="50%">Indiscriminate communication about process.</td></tr></tbody></table>