“Pathology of the Sublime” from Problems on the Path of Return by Mark Stavish, M.A. in Vol 3 No 1 of Caduceus.

“Until the vehicle is made ready, everything is just ‘house cleaning’.” [via]

Consider also:

  1. “Ferrucci states that repression of the sublime is the most common defense mechanism of the ego and is often the cause for deep melancholy, a subject treated at length by Ficino. It results in our feelings of loss, dissatisfaction, boredom, and feelings of inauthenticity. (Binah/Saturn)”
  2. “Abstraction, a pathology most common to the mystical, can result in a rejection of the physical world, and an inability to integrate spiritual experiences into mundane life.”
  3. “Defensive pessimism is seen in individuals who see their problems as insurmountable. THey are easily discouraged and indulge in self-pity, resulting in resentment and stifled self-expression. To some degree, Millennialism, Apocalypticism, or obsession with ‘Earth Changes’ or persecution for believing in a non-traditional form of worship fall into this category. (Tiphareth/Sun)”
  4. “As new energy and expanded awareness is experienced and increasingly rooted to daily life, the ego and all that it has built up begins to feel threatened. The new ways of living, feeling, praying, loving, and being are so different, even if in reality they are only minor initiations so to speak, from the ego’s perspective, they might as well be an intrapsychic coup d’etat!”
  5. “Routinization manifests when the superconscious is formally accepted, but is so organized that the creative element is stripped from it. Slogans, empty rituals, and other trademarks of partial understanding are seen here. Concrete truths from the past are held in preference to spontaneous and creative experiencing of the truths themselves in the present in the consciousness of the individual. This is a particularly dangerous pathology that tends to strike organizations and groups focused around a single leader. (Chesed/Jupiter)”