Does any of this sound familiar?
- Are you going through a process of spiritual growth and personal awakening and beginning to perceive things beyond your previous experiences?
- Are you beginning to doubt everything you’ve previously known to be true, including the meaning of your life?
- Are you starting to feel like you’re isolated from those who once comforted you … as if you’re completely alone?
- Does no one seem to believe the experiences you’re having? Do you not know whom to trust or where to turn for help?
I often receive calls from individuals looking for help with spiritual awakenings and transformations, those who are looking to do “shadow work,” and those who are experiencing spiritual breakthroughs that they’re having difficulties handling on their own.
The concept of “spiritual emergence” is not new …
Spiritual emergence typically refers to a gradual process of spiritual awakening or opening up that can result from coming to grips with life’s difficulties, as a result of systematic spiritual practices, through an established faith or religious tradition, or through unexpected peak experiences.
However, spiritual emergence can also come in the form of a “spiritual emergency” – a dramatic awakening and shift in perception that leads to a psychological crisis that is often confused with disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or a psychotic episode.
But, regardless of the speed and severity of your emergence, this type of growth can be challenging, even tumultuous …
The good news is, the type of awakening a spiritual emergence represents can lead to greater compassion, understanding, and respect for life, as well as a deeper sense of purpose, meaning, and inner peace, security, and joy.
Can You Use Some Help?
When going through a spiritual emergence, most of us encounter critical points in which we experience mental or emotional turmoil … We may even experience unusual physical effects.
We tend to doubt everything we’ve known to be true and may even fall into an existential crisis commonly known as the “dark night of the soul” … a deep sense of lack of purpose or the meaninglessness of life.
Unless these experiences are properly understood within the context of psycho-spiritual growth, they can be (at best) misdiagnosed and lead to unnecessary anxiety or depression or (at worst) potentially damaging medical or psychiatric interventions.
But, if we are able to make it through this dark time (and people do!), then you can shed whatever’s been weighing you down and emerge out the other side into a heightened sense of awareness and a transformed state of consciousness … a deeper sense of purpose or connectedness with a greater life.
This whole process is a kind of re-birth …
It’s about going … about diving much deeper than simply treating symptoms such as anxiety and depression …
This is about finding out what your soul wants, and listening to, and then speaking and living your truth!
But, when you really start taking risks – for example, when you start speaking your truth to a lot more people – you start speaking your truth to yourself and listening to your truth. What’s often not talked about is that this process, while vital, can lead to a backlash in which you feel your whole life is turning upside down.
The good news is that if you feel your life is turning upside down, that’s a sign it’s actually getting ready to turn right side up!
But, I do not want to minimize how difficult and even terrifying these experiences can be. This is what Christians often refer to as “spiritual warfare.”
When you’re changing your paradigm, it can feel is if your family and friends are turning against you.
Of course, many of them are simply choosing not to be supportive of you. But, it still amazes me how many people would rather we remain stuck and continue being the person they feel they know, as opposed to dealing with the changes in our lives and be supportive of our dreams and goals.
You may also be making choices that challenge your present social structure, and then feel as if people are pulling away from you.
In either case, it can be both frightening and deeply disturbing to come to the realization that the family and friends you thought you could rely on are no longer there for you … Especially when you’re already going through a deeply difficult period!
So, how can you navigate these difficult waters?
By NOT going through all of this alone!
How I Can Help You
Having a guide during this difficult time can be essential. I know. I’ve been where you are today, and I needed help to get me through it.
And I’m here to help guide you … to help you navigate through these overwhelming transitions, this process, and make sure you don’t lose sight of YOUR truth and that you REALLY HEAR and LISTEN to your own soul’s calling.
I can connect you to people and resources that can help, and I can help you:
- Set and Maintain Internal Boundaries – It’s one thing to set external boundaries with others, but learning how to set internal boundaries is vital when doing spiritual emergence work. When we’re feeling intense fear or just overwhelmed, if our internal boundaries aren’t solid, we can descend into a dark place really, really quickly. So, I’ll help you learn to set the internal boundaries necessary for you to move past the negative self-talk, doubt, and guilt that exist inside each of us, as well as talk yourself through the dark periods.
- Take and Manage Risks – As I already mentioned, when you start taking risks, stretching your own comfort zone and limits, and speaking and living your truth, some push back from other people in your life is almost inevitable. It may seem passive aggressive or weird, but people will try to “punish you” (consciously or unconsciously) for not doing what they’re used to you doing, and I can help you set and maintain external boundaries and manage these relationships so they don’t compound an already difficult period.
- Face and Work Through the Darkness – A big part of spiritual emergence, healing, and discovering more peace and joy is doing what is known as “shadow work.” This involves facing our deepest wounds … those parts of yourself that you’d rather shove in a box and pretend didn’t exist. Unfortunately, it’s when we try to ignore the darker parts of ourselves instead of owning them that we’re more likely to hurt ourselves and others. How? By projecting the darkness inside us into our external reality. Accordingly, I often help people recognize, acknowledge, and then own and work through the shadow darkness that exists inside each and every one of us.
- Learn Tools and Techniques to Stay Connected to the Light – Common practices, such as meditation, yoga, prayer, rituals, and even exercise can help you stay connected to the light of your being even during the darkest of times. But they do take practice and commitment.
And, perhaps most importantly, I’m also hear to just listen … to acknowledge what you’re going through and to provide the understanding you may not find anywhere else.
A lot of people find it relatively easy to speak with a therapist about an affair, or some type of obsession, compulsion, or addictive behavior … but that you’re seeing angels or demons?!? Not likely.
For example, I work with a lot of highly sensitive people who pick up on energy vibrations that they simply can’t explain to many mental health professionals. A common manifestation is someone waking up at 3:00am and seeing a spirit standing at the foot of his or her bed. Even if you know or understand what’s going on, that doesn’t necessarily make the experience any less unsettling … How do you manage and stay grounded in the midst of these types of experiences? And, what do you tell your therapist?!?
Talking to a therapist about these kinds of experiences can be terrifying …
First of all, you risk the therapist not believing you, which is just awful. And, then there are the therapists who would typically refer such cases to a psychiatrist to try to “drug such experiences away,” which can be extremely damaging.
So, how can you talk about these types of issues and concerns and feel safe while doing so?
How can you even begin the conversation with a therapist about these matters and know you’re not going to be disbelieved or shunned, let alone find a therapist who is comfortable with these matters and, better yet, knows how to navigate them?!?
Well, I know these kinds of experiences are real.
I promise not to whitewash over your experiences with invalidating comments, such as “I believe that you believe what you’re saying.”
No one needs to hear these kinds of condescending remarks, especially when you’re opening up the core of your being, your soul.
You need a new level … a new kind of trust.
I believe you!
I know these types of phenomena and experiences are real. And the spiritual emergence counseling services I provide can help TREMENDOUSLY.
I’ve spent years studying and working on the spiritual aspects and implications of psychotherapy.
I’ve spent years on my own spiritual development, both inside and outside of the Christian tradition.
I’ve worked closely with one of the Vatican’s experts on possession and exorcism.
No matter what your faith, I know how deeply intertwined the spiritual world is with our physical reality.
But, perhaps most importantly, I’ve had my own “spiritual doors blown off their hinges” due to many personal experiences – spiritual experiences that were incredibly difficult to hold and, at times, downright terrifying.
So, I know what you’re going through!
I can tell you firsthand that when you get the spiritual counseling and guidance you need, there’s almost quite literally nothing you can’t deal with more effectively.
Whether you’re experiencing “paranormal” phenomena or simply trying to move beyond the feeling that your family and friends are turning against or abandoning you, you can do better than simply surviving and managing … you can learn how to truly thrive!
You can manage anxiety, or depression, or the problems you’re having with friends and family – and all of these problems will feel like nothing more than a blip on your radar, as opposed to feeling like paralyzing events or insurmountable obstacles – once you know, understand, and are comfortable with your higher calling and power.
With the right help and guidance, spiritual emergence can allow you to experience and embrace the natural connectedness of all things, to transcend the ego, and forever change your limiting self concepts into a more integrative, awakened self.
You already have all of the answers you’re looking for inside of you. All you need to do is let me help you ask the right questions …
Contact me today at jason@jasonesswein.com or call me at 408-975-2982 to learn more about the spiritual counseling services I offer and how I can help you emerge from the darkness into the light!