Ok here is the stuff for the first stage (fulcrum 7) under transpersonal, which Wilber calls psychic. I only post this because we have seen it on this board to some extent before.. But again, don't get all caught up with the descriptions, there's always differences in the degree of these kinds of behavior - the point is not that someone is nuts but just to kind of understand what's going on. And if this makes no sense to you, you're probably healthy so no sense being too concerned with it:
If certain contemplative schools object to my use of the terms "psychic," "subtle," and "causal," I invite them to substitute more neutral terms, such as "beginning," "intermediate," and "advanced" stages. ---- The emergence of the psychic basic structure brings with it the possibility of another level of self-development and associated self-pathology. By "psychic pathology" (or "F-7 pathology") I mean specifically all the "lower-level" spiritual crises and pathologies that may 1) awaken spontaneously in any relatively developed soul; 2) invade any of the lower levels of development during periods of severe stress (e.g. psychotic episodes); and 3) beset the beginning practitioner of the contemplative discipline. 1. The most dramatic psychic pathology occurs in the spontaneous and usually unsought awakening of spiritual-psychic energies or capacities. At best, these crises are annoying; at worst, they can be devastating, even to one who is securely anchored in a centauric self. The awakening of Kundalini, for instance, can be psychological dynamite. Excellent examples of these psychic pathologies can be found in Gopi Krishna (1972), John White (1979), and William James (1961). 2. One of the most puzzling aspects of transient schizophrenic breaks of psychotic-like episodes is that they often channel rather profound spiritual insights, but they do so through a self-structure that is neurotic, borderline, or even frankly psychotic (particularly paranoid schizophrenic). Anybody familiar with the philosophia perennis can almost instantly spot whether any of the elements of the particular psychotic-like episode have any universal-spiritual components, and thus fairly easily differentiate the "spiritual-channel" psychoses-neuroses from the more mundane (and often more easily treatable) pathologies that originate solely on the psychotic or borderline levels. 3. Beginning practitioner--Psychic pathologies besetting the novitiate include: a) Psychic inflation--The universal-transpersonal energies and insights of the psychic level are exclusively applied to the individual ego or centaur, with extremely unbalancing results (particularly if there are narcissistic subphase residues in the self-structure). b) Structural imbalance due to faulty practice of the spiritual technique--This is particularly common in the paths of purification and purgation; in Kriya and Charya Yoga; and in the more subtle techniques, such as mantrayana. It usually manifests in mild, free-floating-anxiety, or in psychosomatic conversion symptoms (headaches, minor heart arrhythmia, intestinal discomforts, etc.). c) The Dark Night of the Soul--Once the soul obtains a direct taste or experience of the Divine, with concomitant vision, ecstasy, or clarity, and that experience begins to fade (which it initially does), the soul may suffer a profound abandonment depression (not to be confused with borderline, neurotic, or existential depression; in this case, the soul has seen its meaning in life, its daemon or destiny, only to have it fade--that is the Dark Night). d) Split life-goals--For example, "Do I stay in the world or retreat to meditation?" This can be extremely painful and psychologically paralyzing. It expresses one form of a profound splitting between upper and lower self-needs, analogous to text-splitting in script pathology, repression in psychoneuroses, etc. e) "Pseudo-duhkha"--In certain paths of meditation (e.g., Vipassana), where investigation into the very nature of phenomena of consciousness is stressed, the early phase of awareness training (particularly the "stage of reflection") brings a growing realization of the painful nature of manifest existence itself. Where this realization becomes overwhelming--more overwhelming than the training itself is supposed to invoke--we speak of "pseudo-duhkha." Pseudo-duhkha is often the result of residual existential, psychoneurotic, or, more often, residual borderline contamination of the psychic fulcrum of development. The individual does not gain an understanding of the sourness of life; he or she simply goes sour on life. This psychic depression may be one of the most difficult to treat effectively, particularly because it is often backed by the rationalization that, according to (misunderstood) Buddhism, the world is supposed to be suffering. In such cases, more Vipassana is exactly what is not needed. f) Pranic disorders--This refers to a misdirection of Kundalini energy in the early stages of its arousal. Various psychic (pranic) channels are over- or under-developed, crossed, or prematurely opened, e.g., "windhorse" (rlung) disorders in Tibetan Buddhism. Pranic disorders are usually caused by improper visualization and concentration. They are particularly prevalent in Raja Yoga, Siddha Yoga, Yoga Tantra, and Anu Yoga. Dramatic psychosomatic symptoms are usually prevalent, including barely controllable muscle spasms, violent headaches, breathing difficulties, etc. g) "Yogic illness" (Aurobindo)--This disorder, according to Aurobindo, results when the development of the higher or psychic levels of consciousness puts an undue strain on the physical-emotional body. The great intensity of psychic and subtle energies, can, as it were, overload the "lower circuits," resulting (according to Aurobindo) in everything from allergies to intestinal problems to heart disorders. Perhaps, if he were alive today, he would have added cancer, as witness the health problems of Ramana Maharshi, Suzuki Roshi, etc.
