Thanks for the plug Dawdy! As you know, I've been exploring the spiritual aspects of "mental illness" for quite some time. I've looked at my own experience through a lens of shamanism, gnosticism, mysticism, and lately, I've been applying the critical eye of buddhism. Given that my experience began with the belief that "I" was dead, that experience also bears some resemblance to bardo states and the death of the "ego" (one's sense of self-identity).

Examining our personal experiences through the eyes of a different culture can help us expand our vision of what this experience called "mental illness" is or could be all about. I accept that within this culture, my experience would be considered one of "psychosis" or "schizophrenia". Other cultures and settings not only have different labels for the same experience, they have different recovery rates as well. Case in point, India has recovery rates as high as 90%. In this culture where many are told that they have an incurable brain disease, the recovery rates are substantially lower. That tells me that how we view our experience can have an incredible impact on our recovery from that experience.

For the record, my experience was roughly five years ago. I have been working for the past three and a half years; my relationships are all stable, and; I have yet to see a psychiatrist or receive any form of psychiatric medication or formal therapy during or since my experience.

Om. May we all be so fortunate.

I can't wait to read everything on this site, thanks for posting a link to it.
I have personally worn out the book "Peace Is Every Step" teaching about mindfulness in daily life. I feel I have been able to deal with very intense issues over the last several months as a result of looking into other cultures as well. I have found it to seriously help when my mind is open, to a different approach and how I think regarding who I am. Some people are fearful of the word meditation; I highly recommend exploring these ideas; it is about becoming aware of who you truly are, and once you have achieved that, it becomes easier to appreciate all human beings, and purpose in life becomes larger.