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Helping someone in Spiritual Emergency can be a very intense, exhausting, full-time experience. Sometimes 24-hour care is required and this should be shared to allow time-out for carers. The process must be supported with a genuinely loving, open attitude and with no ulterior motives (e.g. ego gratification, hidden agendas). It is preferable to let the experience run its course naturally. However, if the crisis becomes too traumatic or prolonged, minimal use of prescription drugs may be necessary to slow down the process.
Before deciding whether to use strategies of transpersonal psychotherapy, a good medical examinatination is highly recommended. It is important not to miss or neglect conditions that can be diagnosed by today's clinical and laboratory techniques and require medical attention, such as infections, tumours, or circulatory diseases of the brain.
WHO CAN HELP?
- Caring, open-minded family, partners, friends
- Someone else who has been through a S.E. crisis
- Health professionals, healers, bodyworkers that have an understanding of S.E. or non-ordinary states of consciousness
- A spiritual teacher
- Support groups, such as SEN (Spiritual Emergence Network)
- A spiritual or therapeutic community
- A 24 hour care facility or healing centre offering an alternative to hospitalisation
HOW TO HELP?
- Establish an open and trusting relationship
- Knowledge of non-ordinary states of consciousness is essential
- A good medical examination is a necessary part of making this diagnosis to rule out medical causes or contributors
- The facilitator and the person in crisis must share basic concepts
- Trust the healing wisdom of the transformational process
- The carer needs to decide which approach or strategy will be helpful
WHAT CAN HELP?
If you are helping someone in Spiritual Emergency it is vital to have read as much [relevant information] as possible. Make sure the person is in an environment where they feel comfortable (pleasant, secluded, natural setting usually), surrounded by supportive, calm, informed people.
At times you will need to use techniques to facilitate or accelerate the transformational process (usually when the person feels blocked, stuck or lost). At other times it may be necessary to slow down the process or help ground the person.
Various Approaches to Facilitate and Accelerate the Process
- Various types of meditation can be useful.
- Group chanting and other forms of spiritual practice can help.
- Try dancing, singing, painting and other forms of artistic expression.
- Keeping a diary can help assimilate the inner experience.
- Engage in systematic work with a trained therapist in such fields as Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology, Transpersonal Breathwork, Sandplay, Emotional Release Counselling, Dreamwork, Psychodrama, Spiritual and Shamanic Healing.
- Find ways to ritualise the mystery.
- Various forms of massage and bodywork can be important supplements to therapy.
- Have acupuncture to help remove energy blocks.
- Walk in nature as often as possible.
- Physical activity can help dissipate disturbing emotional and physical energies. Examples might include hard manual work, jogging, vigorous dancing.
- Prescribed Homeopathic and Flower Remedies can be helpful.
- Techniques for Slowing Down the Process or Grounding
- Temporarily discontinue all meditation and other forms of spiritual practice.
- Change of diet (often a heavier diet will have a grounding influence)
- A warm bath with appropriate aromatherapy oils can be calming.
- A bath with a handful of Epsom salts dissolved in it will cleanse the energy field and soothe muscular tension.
- Engage in simple manual work such as gardening, house cleaning, raking leaves
- Avoid situations that tend to activate the symptoms.
- Occasional use of minor tranquillisers might be necessary (first consult a Natureopath or health professional of your preference).
- Creative visualisations that support grounding/earthing energy
- Take walks in nature or spend time in natural settings. Walking barefoot along the beach is highly recommended.
- Regular exercise - helps keep in touch with your body and stimulates lymphatic system.
- Prescribed Homeopathic and Flower Remedies can be helpful.
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