When God Talks Back: Madness or Mysticism? - Softcover

Dr. Tasha Mansfield

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1893083004 ISBN 13: 9781893083004

Publisher: Centauro Pub, 1998

Synopsis

Dr. Tasha Mansfield's book WHEN GOD TALKS BACK: MADNESS OR MYSTICISM? recounts the exhilarating autobiographical journey of a medical psychotherapist who experiences the shattering-and finally illuminating-effect of a series of spontaneous mystical experiences.

Years of clinical training in the science of psychology provided a limited framework that initially obstructed her understanding and belief in spiritual realms or expanded states of consciousness. Suddenly thrust into another reality, she struggled through years of wrenching self-doubt, finally emerging from the uncertainty with answers to many of life's most profound mysteries. The author's description of her archetypal quest will inspire and empower those who seek to strengthen their own faith in the reality of a Universal Mind. WHEN GOD TALKS BACK includes exercises and practical suggestions for the reader that will assist in unlocking the entryway to higher states of awareness. It paints a vivid portrait that touches the spirit and provides a mesmerizing glimpse into the elusive world of the divine.

About this title

About the Author

A Miami resident, Dr. Mansfield has been a practicing medical psychotherapist for 35 years and is the director of The Miami Wellness Center. During her doctoral internship, Dr. Mansfield trained at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, where she studied psychoneuroimmunology (mind/body medicine) with Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles.
She was the host of the television show, The Art of Wellness and interviewed many authors including Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Brian Weiss, Dr. Joe Greer, Dr. Carlos Warter, Dr. Nancy Eckland, and James Redfield to mention a few. Video clips are available.
Her book is published in three languages, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

From the Back Cover

Dr. Tasha Mansfield has been a practicing medical psychotherapist for thirty years and is currently the director of the Miami Wellness Center in Miami, Florida. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, The Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom and a Fellow of the American Board of Medical Psychotherapists.
During her doctoral internship, Dr. Mansfield trained at Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut and is presently on the medical staff of several Miami hospitals. She was educated in both Europe and the United States and has published and lectured internationally.
Dr. Mansfield has served as a member of the adjunct faculties of Miami Dade Community College, Nova University, and the University of Miami School of Medicine as well as on the advisory board at Florida International University Center for Spirituality.

From the Inside Flap

"Through the ages, when people have claimed to 'see' or 'hear' God, all that has happened is that they have momentarily glimpsed through the illusion of separateness. They have gazed straight into the essence of things and recognized the indivisible totality." Dr. Tasha Mansfield When God Talks Back is the true story of a prominent psychotherapist who questions her own sanity when suddenly thrust into soul-stirring expanded states of consciousness. As she explores the mazelike path that leads to truth and spiritual awareness, an exhilarating and sometimes earthshaking journey miraculously unfolds.
Through this compelling account, you will travel to a magical, enchanting realm that is remarkably both foreign and familiar. With poignant and thought-provoking descriptions, many enigmatic questions about our existence are answered, and the teeming, transcendent wonders of life are unveiled.
Using recommended exercises and practical suggestions, you will discover the extraordinary within the ordinary and the magic within the mundane. Dr. Tasha Mansfield's epic adventures and visionary quest will open your heart, illuminate your mind, and invite your soul to celebrate its divinity.
A veritable treat for the senses, When God Talks Back masterfully paints an unforgettable portrait that inspires the spirit within us all and provides a mesmerizing peek into the elusive world of the divine.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

When God Talks Back: Madness or Mysticism?
by Tasha Mansfield, Ph.D.

"What is mind? No matter. What is matter?
Never mind. What is soul? It is immaterial."
-Hood

The perplexing question posed in the title of this book is one that has been pondered in the minds and hearts of people throughout the world since antiquity. Before we can begin to broach the task of finding an answer to this question, we first need to know that there is more to life than what we can perceive with our five senses. We need to know with unflinching certainty that there is definitive and profound meaning and purpose in our routine daily existence. This vital requisite is an incessant yearning, conscious or unconscious, in all humanity. We will never be thoroughly satisfied with the belief that life, all life, is arbitrary and random.

Mysticism, simply defined, is the nature and development of spiritual consciousness. This book is about exploring an approach to life that asserts the primacy of the inner world of spirit and the ability to use that pathway to make contact with "All That There Is." It is a book that aims to answer the pressing questions that must be asked about our life's mission and our individual place in the world.

Are the mystic illuminations that have been exalted throughout the ages authentic glimpses into true being and ultimate reality? Is there a magical, non-physical world that parallels the one that we can readily perceive and with which we are intricately interconnected? Or are people who make claims of conscious visitations and intimate familiarity with other realms mad? This book examines these enigmatic questions in an attempt to differentiate madness from mysticism. Ultimately, the direction we must face to find the answers to these profound questions is not east or west, but inward.

Within these pages is the story of a personal journey into the elusive world of the Divine. This book is a mystical travelogue, a guidebook that escorts the spiritual sightseer on a detailed, first-hand tour of breathtaking, magical vistas that are not on any map. The trek to this wondrous realm cannot be made by way of the usual modes of transportation. The only available transport that can reach this mysterious plane of existence is our mind.

Once there, you will discover an exotic, unspoken language, one that is composed of symbols, signs, and universal significance. In this realm, fluency can be achieved with mere understanding.

My excursion was certainly not an exclusive experience. Many others have found themselves to be suddenly in sync with the life-movement of the universe and ensconced in an intimate rendezvous with Grace. But as our technological society continues to contribute to a slow and methodical weaning from the belief in a divine intelligence, we have slipped away from knowing this reality directly.

As a consequence of this profound spiritual experience, I felt compelled to embark upon years of soul searching and study to obtain at least some fragment of understanding of the unseen forces that influence our daily lives. The quest to penetrate the mysteries of these genuine healing energies became my steadfast goal. The material for this book gradually developed after spending those years pondering, researching, and introspecting.

For almost a century, psychology has played a huge part in contributing to the fragmentation of the human being by suggesting directly or indirectly that the spiritual side of our nature is either nonexistent or, when in full expression, symptomatic of mental illness. Of course, the textbooks imply that religion, per se, is perfectly acceptable. The difficulty arises, however, not when a person believes in and speaks to God, but in those moments WHEN GOD TALKS BACK.

As a mental health professional, I am now treading on the proverbial eggshells. It is no wonder that the estimated tens of thousands of people who have actually had some sort of genuine mystical or religious experience have chosen to remain silent and ashamed, lest they be labeled by the well-intentioned psychological community as disturbed or insane and subsequently treated with suppressive medication. Mainstream science and psychology-and even some organized religions-typically brand contemporary mystical and religious phenomena as pathological symptoms, delusions, or myths. They judge people who experience these events as being in need of "curing" to achieve normalcy. These negative and erroneous labels have trickled down into the public psyche with disastrous consequences. It is entirely possible that through the eventual application of science committed to the exploration of realms now unquantifiable and with our own open hearts and minds the dividing line between mysticism and madness shall become entirely clear.

Mystics have always believed that the true reality of life may be found in the deep interior of our essential nature and that it is possible for all of us to experience that feeling of unity that connects the inner and outer realms. Living life this way enables us to perceive ordinary, mundane objects and events in an extraordinary way and enter into previously unimagined domains of consciousness.

In biblical times, experiences of non-ordinary states of consciousness were not only accepted, but revered as a blessing from the Divine. Illuminated thinkers throughout history-Plato, Albert Einstein, William Blake, Walt Whitman, and Carl Jung, to mention a few-have reported spontaneous mystical experiences, which they describe as union with God or the merging of the soul with the Absolute. Most have reported having visions or hearing a divine or celestial voice. After much self-analysis in the face of scrutiny by their peers, they ultimately reached the conclusion that human beings have a vast potential to experience reality in ways that pragmatic and analytical thinking have shunned. These philosophers also firmly believed that the biblical stories told for two thousand years are, for the most part, literal in their descriptions of God speaking to Moses, Christ, and other saints.

Taboos and stigma against visions and voices first arose when the scientific method became predominant in the nineteenth century and scientific proof could not be found for these profound metaphysical events. According to most scientists, experiences of enlightenment and illumination are merely the result of a vivid imagination, superstition, or delusion. This myopic perspective regarding arcane and unexplainable universal mysteries has contributed to a stunting of society's spiritual growth.

Was it only in biblical times that people were able to converse and unite with God, have prophetic visions, and heal the sick? I think not. Our essential nature has not changed in two thousand years. We have always been and always will be spiritual beings enjoying a human existence.

There is a silent voice that speaks to us all. If we are willing to be still and listen, it will inspire and bring hope and profound meaning to those who are endeavoring to find peace of mind in this difficult and stressful world. Now is the time to bring our divine natures out of the dark shadows into the light.

It is my hope that these chronicles will help you discover that quiet voice within. As you leaf through these pages, you can decide for yourself the answer to the question in the title of this book. Which it is? Madness or mysticism?

Edition details

• Publisher: Centauro Pub
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1893083004
• ISBN 13: 9781893083004
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 166