This is a very complex subject, and I'm limited on space, but I'll do my best. I'm not a medical doctor and nothing here should be considered medical advice. Further, instead of addressing everyone who has ever been diagnosed as schizophrenic, this article will focus simply on people who perceive things such as those you describe. I have traveled through my own so-called 'psychotic break' and out the other side, so this is a subject I have direct personal experience with as well as one that I have researched in depth. (By psychotic break, I refer to the period during which I first psychically awakened and began perceiving things others could not.)

I hear from people every day who are perceiving things that others can't, none of whom are 'crazy,' so I think it's really tragic that modern medicine labels all such experiences 'psychotic.' We're so steeped in modern medicine's views that it feels strange to flip them around and consider the idea that people who can perceive more than most may be somehow gifted. In other times and cultures, people who heard voices or experienced visions were revered as holy. I'm sure that many people who have been diagnosed schizophrenic are indeed tuning in to other dimensions and struggling to cope with it all in a world where their experiences are constantly invalidated and grossly misunderstood.

It is striking how closely the world of the schizophrenic can mirror that of someone in the midst of a psychic awakening. Of course, I'm not the first to discover such a connection: many great minds have noted these correlations, including doctors Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell.

Both the mystic and the schizophrenic tend to see and hear things that other people can't; more importantly, they tend to see the same sorts of things, such as demons, discarnate spirits, and mythical creatures. Both may experience telepathy, encounters with departed loved ones, precognition, and a sense of unity with people and forces outside of themselves.

In other times and places, spiritual experiences like visions were actively sought and treasured, while today, modern science completely ignores and even denies spirituality. Despite this attitude, we are all fundamentally spiritual beings. It's like we live in houses built over the ocean but are constantly told that the ocean doesn't exist. If we hear it rumbling beneath us, smell the salt on the air or glimpse strange marine creatures swimming beneath the surface, we're told we're imagining things.

This schism alone can create great psychological tension. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, for perhaps we're meant to find the personal strength, courage and faith in ourselves to break away from identification with external ideas in order to validate our own judgment and determine our own spiritual truths. If that's the case, this is an ideal situation in which to foster independent spiritual seekers. Deep thinkers who question things and those who stumble into personal spiritual experiences will naturally discover this deeper reality, and since they have no shamans, gurus or masters to guide them these days, they must find their own way to make sense of it all.

As Joseph Campbell noted in 'Myths to Live By', 'The mystic, endowed with native talents...and following...the instructions of a master, enters the waters and finds he can swim; whereas the schizophrenic, unprepared, unguided, and ungifted, has fallen or has intentionally plunged and is drowning.'

This metaphor beautifully illustrates how both the mystic and the 'mad man' are wandering in the same territory but having vastly different experiences of it. Where the mystic has some sense of what is happening and longs for this journey more than even his own survival, the schizophrenic is unprepared and consumed by fear. Where one longs to transcend the ego/lower self, the other clings to the ego in terror of losing the only sense of identity he has ever consciously known.

While we don't hear much about people who had psychotic breaks and recovered from them, I hear from them every day. These are people who perceived other realities, heard voices or saw strange entities who worked through their experiences and went on to lead healthy, happy lives. I've also read a number of accounts of people diagnosed as schizophrenic who healed themselves by finding Spirit in some way, and I've met many who had psychotic breaks but weren't diagnosed schizophrenic who found their way to healing. Instead of drowning, they taught themselves how to swim in this strange ocean of experience.

By growing spiritually stronger, they were able to swim from terrifying territory toward calmer waters, where their visions changed from frightening to beautiful and helpful. Instead of seeing demons, they became more like mystics and began to see kind spirits, guides and angels. Many even consciously identify fear itself as the true cause of all their distress, and some sort of faith or personal relationship with the Divine as the remedy. Indeed, many gifted psychics began their extraordinary path in some form of 'madness' or psychological crisis, and found their way to a higher level of experience without turning their psychic senses completely off.

So what determines how we may fare when suddenly exposed to other realms? Whether we do it before, during, or after a spiritual break from 'reality,' we must all face our own inner shadows, fears and issues. If we devote ourselves to spiritual growth before diving into mystical waters, we'll be prepared to work through whatever we encounter. If we somehow stumble into those waters before we're spiritually strong and ready, we may flail and flounder, trying to gain our footing while projecting our fears and issues all around us.

As we gain conscious access to subtle energies and higher powers, we must also open our hearts to the power of love. In my research, I was struck by the tendency of schizophrenics to be totally absorbed in their own inner experiences and especially their fears. Similarly, I've noted that many set themselves free from madness when they began to look beyond their own concerns to the needs of others. The more they grew to care about other people, the more they were lifted out of all-consuming fears for their own well-being, much as the mystic transcends the ego to reach for the Divine. By shifting toward love, they raised their vibration, which naturally led them to a higher level of spiritual experience, empowerment and understanding.

I'm sure love and faith sound like naive remedies given the devastating nature of psychosis. However, if we study people with biologically healthy brains who experienced traumatic breaks from physical reality and went on to lead healthy lives, it does seem that spiritual growth and healing offer the most effective cures for psychological distress. While modern medicine can work wonders with the body, when it comes crises of the mind and soul, spiritual healing and support are essential.

- Julia