I Almost Got Hit by a Lightning Bolt
I am so thankful that my brain healed from the damage caused by psychiatric medications. Most importantly, finding my purpose in life and living an authentic life helped to ground me and prevent further psychosis. Psychosis is the psyche’s cry for transformation and healing. When one listens to the call, one is brought from darkness to light.
This is the Fastest way to Calm Down
From TIME: A recent study suggests a neurological explanation for why deep breathing can be so effective in reducing stress and anxiety.
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Sunday History Channel: Did Ancient Buddhist Tales Prophesy the DSM-5?
On the Sri Lankan social media platform LankaWeb, medical doctor Ruwan M. Jayatunge recounts stories of difficult states of mind described in the ancient...
Envisioning Psychiatric Drug Freedom
Psychiatric meds can shut down the emotions and consciousness enough to make it possible to tolerate dynamics that would inspire rage or surges of empowered activity without the meds. It can be helpful to look closely at these blocks and start to create a map to freedom, understanding that it is a complex process that involves not only the physiology of the body of the individual taking meds, but the architecture of the social system around that person.
In Praise of William James
In this piece for The New York Times, John Williams praises the work of philosopher William James, who played an important role in studying and...
A Standing Meditation for Self-Care
In this piece for On Being, Sharon Salzberg discusses the importance of self-care and describes a meditation technique that can help increase self-love and self-compassion.
The Promise of LSD Microdoses and Other Psychedelics
In this interview for Scientific American, psychiatrist John Halpern discusses some of the potentially therapeutic effects of peyote, ayahuasca, psilocybin, MDMA and other psychedelics.
"Once when...
I Was God: And You Were A Figment Of My Imagination
The drugs combined with my desire to know how life worked and what made a human broke down all past social conditioning of my individual self. I realized I was God. So was everyone else and I shared with anyone who would listen, but found no one who could understand or navigate the territory. There was little internet to speak of then and no Google to find others who experienced life as I was, so I voyaged on my own as best I could.
How an Ancient Singing Tradition Helps People Cope With Trauma
From YES! Magazine: Lament singing, an ancient tradition once observed for spiritual purposes during funerals, weddings, and times of war, is now seeing a revival in...
When Neurology Becomes Theology
In this piece for Nautilus, Robert A. Burton discusses how research into the essence of consciousness is more of a theological, religious exploration than a neurological...
Human Connection is the Antidote to a Culture of Isolation
We need to burn through some darkness before we collectively see the light. The light is a palpable shift toward reaching for human connection; toward opening our hearts and our minds and intentionally focusing on the positive future that wants to emerge.
Psychics Who Hear Voices Could Be on to Something
In this piece for The Atlantic, Joseph Frankel compares and contrasts the voice-hearing experiences of self-described psychics and mediums with the experiences of people diagnosed with...
New Data on the Adverse Effects of Meditation and Mindfulness
Study reports on the less-examined findings of difficult and painful meditation-related experiences.
Childhood Anxiety Disorders Are Treatable With Therapies
From MinnPost: According to psychologist Hal Pickett, childhood anxiety is best reduced through self-care and common-sense therapies such as getting enough sleep, maintaining a balanced...
The Virtues of Isolation
From The Atlantic: While solitude is often stigmatized and even viewed as dangerous to our health, spending time alone can actually prove to be valuable...
Awe is the Everyperson’s Spiritual Experience
From Science of Us: Researchers have found that awe and other Self-Transcendent Experiences have positive consequences for people's mental and emotional health, including enhanced interconnectedness and...
“How a West African Shaman Helped My Schizophrenic Son”
-MIA Blogger Dick Russell recounts the story of his son and Malidoma Somé.
The Science of the Mind and the Science of the Brain
In this piece for The Lion's Roar, the Dalai Lama discusses some of the shortcomings of contemporary scientific methodology in understanding consciousness — primarily...
Medicine Can Soothe a Troubled Mind, but Not Without Costs
From The New York Times: In a new book, Blue Dreams, psychologist and patient Lauren Slater critiques the drug-based model of psychiatric care, debunking the chemical...
Creatively Managing Voice-Hearing Through Spiritual Writing
I am a psychiatric survivor of over thirty-six years. Since my nervous breakdown in 1978, I have undergone multitudinous experiences ranging from the subtly humiliating to the horrifically debilitating at the hands of incompetent psychiatrists and psychopharmacologists who, in the name of medicine, did more harm than good.
Orthodox Madness
The Orthodox believe that we are all mentally ill due to sin and that the Orthodox Church is the hospital for the soul, the psychiatric hospital with God being our Psychiatrist, the Physician of our souls. Orthodox belief regarding the human psyche may appear to be pure madness, even delusional, from the perspective of modern western medical science.
Spiritual Emergency: Crisis or Transformation?
A spiritual emergency is a crisis during which experiences are so intense that they temporarily disrupt the sense of self. Mislabeling them as pathological symptoms may be damaging to further spiritual development as well as to the individual's psychological and physiological well-being.
It’s Easy to Get Caught Up in Constructing Our Selves
In this video for Aeon, clinical psychologist Daniel Brown discusses the ways that the construction of a fixed selfhood can limit the possibilities of our...
Initial Trial of Ayahuasca for Depression Shows Promising Results
Ayahuasca found to be effective in treating moderate to severe depression in low-income population.
‘Ego-Dissolving’ Psychedelic Drugs Could Improve Mental Health
From Medical Xpress: Researchers have proposed that psychedelic drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms may help some people with anxiety, depression, and addiction by dissolving...
