I’ve always been fascinated by the strong connection between psychological turmoil and spiritual transformation, which I explored in my book The Leap. Combined with an attitude of openness and acceptance, psychological turmoil can have a powerful awakening effect. This links to the well-researched phenomenon of post-traumatic growth, which shows that trauma can have long-term positive after effects, such as enhanced well-being, a sense of appreciation and connection, more intimate relationships, and so on.
It’s clear that psychological turmoil can have an awakening effect on creativity too. Musicians and writers sometimes find that their inspiration fades away when their lives are comfortable and stable, and that a period of turbulence — a breakup, illness, or depression — can reawaken their creativity. To give one example, Bob Dylan’s 1974 album Blood on the Tracks was heralded as a return to the height of his creative powers, after years of indifferent albums. The album emerged from the breakup of his marriage, with many of the songs describing his sorrow and grief.
Trauma can break us down, but it can also break us open. It can unlock hidden potential inside us, open up new abilities and character strengths. It’s almost as if, when trauma and turmoil break us down, there is an opportunity for us to reform at a high level of order, to fuse back together in a more integrated and higher-functioning way.
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