The fruits Of Your Experience
The theory of causal indifference, put forth by Walter T. Stace, a scholar of religion, says the validity of the mystical experience cannot be determined by its cause. Whether your mystical experience occurred in a religious context, through use of psychedelic medicine, fasting, meditation, yoga, in nature, breathing
practices or by pure grace, they are all valid human experiences. The real test is in the integration. The fruits of your lived experience supports its validity. Did your experience lead to more compassion, presence and inner well-being? If your answer is "yes", then you have probably integrated it, at least to some degree. If your answer is "I'm not sure", then the work of integration is a wise next step. Authentic integration cannot be hurried; it may be a life-long process.
Evolutionary Impulse
There is an evolutionary impulse within that propels us to evolve and moves us toward wholeness. That impulse reveals our inherent spiritual nature. Once we have encountered a direct spiritual experience, as opposed to a belief we hold in our head, we no longer need an external authority to act as an intermediary.
Direct experience, which can be painful, blissful, or somewhere in between, is an effective teacher.
Opportunity for Getting Unstuck
Through practices such as breathwork, yoga, meditation and psilocybin mushrooms, we create opportunities for our default mode network, DSM, (a network of interacting brain regions that are active when a person is not focused on the outside world), loosen it's grip.
When the DSM loosens its grip, we can reduce self-censoring, decrease defensiveness, dissolve self-created barriers, relax judgments and rigid thinking, and feel more connected to our bodies and to others.
Real, Lasting Change
New neural networks open when the DSM relaxes. In that state, the unique opportunity for sustainable change is real and available. But, to claim it, you need to intentionally integrate the new insights and truths into your daily life through your actions, both in your body as well as your brain. Thinking
positively cannot carry us all the way through a transformational process. To effect real and lasting change, we have to feel all the emotions, live the deep questions and absorb the changes into our direct somatic experience. Apparently, there is no short-cut work around to this lengthy process.
"Enlightenment has no value until it is lived." Byron Katie
Here are the ways that Eddie and I have integrated our spiritual and mystical experiences:
* Listening and sharing with each other about our experience
* Participating in integration circles, both in-person and online
* Journaling
* Being in nature (walking, sitting, listening, observing)
* Contemplating dreams, writing them down, pondering the meaning
* Dancing, intuitive movement, slow yoga, qi gong
* Grounding movements, shaking, tapping, bi-lateral stimulation
* IFS therapy (Internal Family Systems, working with our parts)
* Breathwork, both pranayama and Holotropic
* Somatic micro-meditations (frequently throughout the day)
* Massage
* Gardening, deep cleaning the house
* Quieting our environment, avoiding news, negative stimulation
We know that movement, mindfulness and breathing practices are the key to making meaning of our spiritually transformative experiences, accessing our vast, untapped inner resources, returning to emotional balance, claiming our personal power and feeling comfortable with being fully human and fully divine.
