https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167818767511 Journal of Humanistic Psychology 1–8 © The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0022167818767511 journals.sagepub.com/home/jhp Article Spirituality and Extreme States David Lukoff 1 Abstract This article is a reflection on my journey to become a clinical psychologist following a psychotic episode in which I believed I was a reincarnation of Buddha and Christ with a mission to write a new “Holy Book.” But this 2-month episode also served as my spiritual awakening. It transformed me from being a secularist, totally unconcerned with issues pertaining to religion and spirituality, to becoming a spiritual seeker. In my career I have focused on spiritual emergencies and worked to get this concept into the mainstream through a DSM category. Keywords shamanism, spirituality, transpersonal psychology, psychosis The future shaman sometimes takes the risk of being mistaken for a “madman” . . . but his “madness” fulfills a mystic function; it reveals certain aspects of reality to him that are inaccessible to other mortals, and it is only after having experienced and entered into these hidden dimensions of reality that the “madman” becomes a shaman. (Eliade, 1951, p. 107) My calling to become a clinical psychologist occurred in my early 20s with a psychotic episode that presented me with a challenge: How did I come to believe that I was a reincarnation of Buddha and Christ with a mission to 1 Sofia University, Palo Alto, CA, USA Corresponding Author: David Lukoff, 101 Ross St #30, Cotati, CA 94931, USA. Email: david.lukoff@gmail.com 767511JHP XX X 10.1177/0022167818767511Journal of Humanistic PsychologyLukoff research-article 2018