What is psychosis?

From my own experience, I have come to believe that psychosis is a connection to unseen inner forces: a connection to energies either higher or lower than human, a connection to forces which the victim is unprepared to meet, forces that most often harm them because they are unprepared.

There are, of course, genetic, hormonal and chemical predispositions to psychosis, predispositions usually manifested as an extreme sensitivity to impressions.  But the nature of psychosis remains the same regardless.

Causes

 —This connection may be caused accidentally, (such as a breakdown of a person in military combat;  Such people can be later seen on street corners, haranguing the passers-by on religious themes.)

—Or this connection can be the result of a seemingly sensible choice made in an intensely stressful situation (for example, that of a person whose spirit is being broken under torture.  The inner conflict produced cannot be endured, and the person gives up and makes the connection, usually to higher forces, but sometimes to lower.).

—Or, this connection can be caused as a direct result of the complete collapse of a person’s inner world (for instance, at the death of a beloved spouse).

A psychotic break can come suddenly, seemingly without warning, or gradually.  Others can see signs of impending psychosis, but often the victim cannot.  Because the connection to strong forces produces the most odd and frightening manifestations (unlike such things as fever or paralysis for physical illness), this natural compensatory mechanism is the most feared and the least understood of diseases.

Whatever the situation, the effect is similar: an instantaneous switch to a complete distortion of sensory input. Even when the person knows this has happened, the connection to such strong forces seems to make that knowledge immaterial.

Psychotics connect to a range of forces: most connect to higher ones, but some connect to lower forces.

Higher Forces

 Those who connect with higher forces become spectators in the higher worlds, but not participants. If these “spectators” are at all vociferous, their presence will not be tolerated, and they will suffer. Much like a crazy person shouting at a religious service, those who reveal their presence and thoughts are not tolerated in the higher worlds.  Yet it’s only their lack of usefulness to higher forces that makes them unwelcome, and often psychotics know this.  Because their vision of these higher worlds is nearly accurate (at least they know that these are higher worlds, even if they have no sense of their position there), the urge to stay psychotic remains very strong

 Lower Forces

The tragic situation of those who succumb to the lure of lower forces cannot be understated: these forces, these entities, in their desperate attempt to climb toward the Higher, will use anything or anyone to achieve this, and these forces find psychotic minds perfect for this purpose.  Desperate, like the victims in Nazi gas chambers, these entities will climb onto or over anything to ascend, including other beings.  There is nothing “bad” or “evil” about this: all of creation wishes to ascend toward the Creator.  But the situation of a person in contact with these entities is worse than that of the “spectators of heaven”, much worse.  They find themselves in hell, where there is no peace, no light from Above, and no love.  Sadly, in hell they are actually useful to lower entities—as food.  They can stay there as long as they wish, often seeing the uselessness of their own efforts to escape.

Escape from psychosis?            Why?

Psychotics sense that many sustained and directed efforts would be needed to climb out of the pit that is psychosis, and most often there is no inner consensus that such efforts should even be attempted.

Help

There is a sense that such efforts would only come from a strong source in themselves, and there may even be a fear of that source. That source is Conscience.  Not guilt from God, but real Conscience, the Representative of the Creator in one.  Most psychotics have their real Conscience intact, but may fear its strength, and confuse it with lower forces.

Conscience can convince one that if one can clean out one’s emotional garbage (that is, if one can have a “clean heart”), this connection can be seen more clearly, and appropriate efforts made.  But this “cleaning” involves much suffering, suffering which must be undertaken in stages, intentionally, and usually with help from others (and help from the higher as well).

Without cleaning oneself out spiritually, this connection is abnormal, and therefore harmful.  But this connection comes naturally when the “paths of the Lord have been made straight”.

Those who have never experienced psychosis for themselves usually have much fear of that experience, and are desperate to avoid it at all costs—thus the wide-spread shunning of psychotics.  But those who experience it never forget, and they can be more helpful to victims of psychosis.

.                    Lou Gottlieb                              1/29/2022