Activation: A Process of Spiritual Awakening

Introduction

Individuals experience spiritual awakening in a variety of ways. Historically it is known that an individual, like Buddha, can sit alone and obtain full realization. One can be walking down the "road to Damascus" and be struck by the power of God and realize his or her oneness with Creation. More typically, however, we experience Divine awakening through a process which includes the involvement of another human being. The focus of this discussion is about the psychological and spiritual dynamics that occur between two individuals when spiritual consciousness is first ignited. As more and more individuals become interested in spiritual practice they seek out psychotherapists who offer spiritually oriented psychotherapy, yoga teachers, and yoga therapists for support and guidance. Given the rapidly growing number of individuals looking for spiritual understanding, the interpersonal dynamics of spiritual development becomes important to understand. The power inherent in the spiritual world makes this discussion important because it is so easy to become confused, conflicted and sidetracked during the initial phase of spiritual awakening. This discussion is intended for both the individual in the throes of a spiritual unfoldment and any individual who might have served to initiate that process in another, whether he or she may be a professional psychotherapist, yoga teacher, yoga therapist or friend. The more we can understand about the nature of consciousness, the easier it is to ride with the powerful currents that are designed to transform our lives.

There are a variety of contexts in which a powerful spiritual dynamic can occur between two people. It can occur between a client and a psychotherapist, between a student and a teacher, and between two individuals apart from any defined healing or teaching relationship. I choose to call this phenomena "Activation." I like this term because unconscious shadow material, attachments, and identification with the little self, as opposed to the soul or higher self, are quickly brought to the surface. There appears to be very little written about this powerful process, although it is commonly experienced in spiritual communities and between individuals who have a desire for spiritual awakening. I suspect that professional therapists, and perhaps, even yoga therapists who are newer to spiritual phenomena and experience are less familiar with this dynamic. Understanding the nature and process of activation can be helpful for both the individual being activated and the one serving as the channel for the spiritual force.
In this discussion I am choosing to make a distinction between two important interpersonal dynamics, one being psychological in nature and the other spiritual in essence. The former is well understand as the process of "transference." This latter spiritual process is much different than transference phenomena, as classically understood in the psychoanalytic literature. I will refer to this spiritual dynamic that occurs between two individuals as "activation."
Let us begin with a clear understanding of transference. I believe it is important to consider this classical dynamic because many individuals are involved in counseling relationships that also include spiritual functions. More and more, yoga teachers are becoming "yoga therapist" a new brand of professionals who use classical yoga methods in conjunction with psychological processes. Engaging in emotional material opens the door for transference reactions to emerge. Since transference and activation are different functions, but can occur in the same context, it is important to understand them both and know the different interventions that are appropriate for each dynamic.