"The Conference of the Birds": The Spiritual Path and its Dangers

Using the 12th century Persian story "The Conference of the Birds" – an allegory of the mystical journey –, this lecture portrays the spiritual path and its dangers, many of which also apply to the analytical process. The Swiss psychiatrist Christian Scharfetter (1936–2012) lists a range of symptoms of spiritual crises: fanaticism, narcissistic inflation, obsession, loss of control, mania, delusion, loss of reality, psychotic ego disintegration, sleeplessness, self-doubt, anxiety, depression, despair, inner emptiness, restlessness, withdrawal from society and isolation.