Genius, Madness and Spirituality are but a Step Apart

“We enjoy lovely music, beautiful paintings, a thousand intellectual delicacies, but we have no idea of their cost, to those who invented them, in sleepless nights, tears, spasmodic laughter, rashes, asthmas, epilepsies, and the fear of death, which is worse than all the rest.”
(Marcel Proust)

From psychological business studies we know that the entrepreneurs perceive the risks of failing and the likelihood of succeeding very differently than the 'normal' folks. You could call them mentally deranged but we call them visionaries instead. Perhaps you could think of entrepreneurs as the successful outliers in our species but they are merely the lucky ones. Amongst the high risk takers not everyone succeeds, but we hardly talk about the ones who don't make it. It is perfect to be risk-loving as long as we turn out to be the lucky ones.


What about all the so-called 'pathological' mental conditions though? Could they have their place and importance in society  as well? Nassir Ghaemi in 'A first-rate madness' argues that many artists and political leaders are wired differently than the ordinary folks. Even for challenging afflictions like bi-polar for example, Nassir Ghaemi argued that these exceptional people accomplished what they did because of their different wirings, not despite of them - no 'sane' person could have, is his point. Kevin Dutton argued along similar lines in 'The Wisdom of Psychopaths' that his father was an excellent salesman because of his different state of experiencing reality, while not being a bad person at all, as it is typically associated with psychopaths.


I know something about the 'dis-ease' bi-polar because my father suffered from this affliction over decades. Without taking any medication, he spent ages in deep depression, with the occasional highs that were so out of character for him. I carry his affliction in my bones but with a kosher spiritual lifestyle manage to keep it at bay. I doubt that any of my friends, colleagues or family members would ever associate me with bi-polar, yet they do not know how much I paddle below the surface to be as calm and serene as they know me on the surface.


The lesson learned here is that we should all celebrate our differences. I know from personal experience how hard it is to embark on an Awakening process because something is missing or off. Yet, instead of wishing to be again ‘normal’ like anyone, we need to move forward and embrace our challenge and run with it. Eckhart Tolle went from being depressed to being Awakened, a similar transformation is likely in store for you as well. Spiritual folks are as sane as they come but it unfortunately sometimes takes a process of struggle to get to that stage.

 Genius, madness, or spiritual Awakening are but a step apart; so what if trespass a few boundaries here or there. If there is any perceived pathology, let your spiritual path show you how to transform the coal into a diamond. I can tell you from personal experience that I am as sane as they come and am able to function in both worlds, the mundane one everyone else perceives and the spiritual world. Dare to be different—dare to be your Self!