People who have suffered through war. Long-term prisoners in dangerous and dispiriting settings.
People who almost died in accidents. People who have received a terminal diagnosis.
Addicts who have given up fighting their compulsions. Those who have contemplated -- and sometimes attempted -- suicide.
You wouldn't think these folks more likely than your Average Joe to attain an awakened state of being, one in which the daily concerns of the ego take a back seat to universal compassion and spiritual service.
But according to today's guest, Steve Taylor, severe trauma can be -- and often is -- a doorway to awakening.
His new book, Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation, catalogs dozens of stories of people at the end of their rope (and sometimes at what they perceive to be the end of their life) who find acceptance, peace, love, and beauty in the midst of great suffering.
And while Post-Traumatic Growth is part of the story, Taylor is really talking about something far more binary and stark: a moment (or series of moments) of clarity that does not dissolve over time, but provides a new lens with which to view all of reality.
In our conversation, we talked about how trauma can trigger, not just anger, depression, or collapse, but a heightened sense of oneness with others and the entire world.
We explored the mechanisms of awakening, including acceptance, non-avoidance of pain and suffering, and an openness to all experience.
We looked at the various existential crises of the modern world, and how achieving a state of equanimity can actually make us more effective in turning them around.
We chatted about the fundamental differences between a "normal" egoic state and the expanded mindset of one who seeks to give to life rather than take, to contribute rather than accumulate.
We spoke about how to achieve this state without needing to experience trauma, and how to prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for the traumas that are the birthright of every human, no matter how much we try to control our fates.
And we contemplated the possibility that our environmental, political, social, and economic crises hold out an invitation not just for mass despair and intergenerational trauma, but a collective awakening akin to the cancer patient told they have only months left to live.
Links
Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation
StevenMTaylor.com