Written by Steve Taylor and Narrated by Marie T. Russell
In the midst of intense suffering, an amazing transformation can occur. It sometimes happens to soldiers on a battlefield, to the inmates of prison camps who are on the verge of starvation, to people who have been through periods of severe addiction, depression, bereavement, and so on.
I call this phenomenon “transformation through turmoil” (or TTT, for short). I have been researching the phenomenon for 15 years and have investigated many remarkable cases. In my book Extraordinary Awakenings, I share some of these cases, and explore what we can learn from TTT and apply to our own personal development.
The awakenings are extraordinary in two ways: first, because they occur in such unexpected circumstances, and second, because they have such an incredible effect. People feel completely reborn, as if they are completely different people.
In psychology, there is a concept called ‘post-traumatic growth,’ which describes how trauma can have long term positive effects. In the long run, it can lead to an enhanced sense of appreciation and meaning, more authentic relationships, a wider sense of perspective, and so on.
TTT (Transformation Through Turmoil) is an extreme and dramatic form of post-traumatic growth...
Continue Reading at InnerSelf.com (plus audio/mp3 version of article)
Music By Caffeine Creek Band, Pixabay
Based on the book Extraordinary Awakenings.
©2021 by Steve Taylor. Printed with permission
from New World Library. NewWorldLibrary.com
Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation
by Steve Taylor
Why do some people who experience the worst that life has to offer respond not by breaking down but by shifting up, into a higher-functioning, awakened state, like phoenixes rising from the ashes? And perhaps more importantly, how can we emulate their transformations?
In Extraordinary Awakenings, readers will find not only riveting stories of transformation that show the amazing resilience of the human spirit, but also hope and guidance to call on during their own struggles, together with inspiration and profound food for thought.
Click here for more info and/or to order this paperback book and/or download the Kindle edition.
Steve Taylor, PhD, is the author of Extraordinary Awakenings and many other bestselling books. He’s senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University and the chair of the Transpersonal Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society. Steve’s articles and essays have been published in over 100 academic journals, magazines, and newspapers and he blogs for Scientific American and Psychology Today.