In this episode of Sacred Harmony, we sit down with author and healer Sean Blackwell, the visionary behind Bipolar Awakenings. Together we unpack a radical yet grounded question. what if bipolar disorder can sometimes be a doorway to spiritual awakening instead of only a lifelong illness. Sean shares his own near death experience, forced psychiatric hospitalization, and how discovering the work of Stanislav Grof reframed his “psychosis” as a spiritual emergency. He walks us through the evolution of his private retreats and his method of bipolar breathwork. a modified holotropic style process designed to safely surface and release buried trauma. We also talk about the tension between psychiatry and spiritual healing, why he no longer fights the medical system, and how some clients now live stable lives after deep trauma work, in partnership with their doctors. This conversation challenges the standard bipolar narrative while staying practical, trauma aware and focused on real world outcomes that matter for mental health, healing and spiritual growth. About The Guest: Sean Blackwell is an author, teacher and healing facilitator best known for his project Bipolar Awakenings. After his own intense spiritual emergency was labeled as psychosis in the 1990s, he spent years researching the overlap between bipolar disorder, trauma and spiritual awakening. Today he hosts private retreats, primarily using a modality he calls bipolar breathwork, inspired by holotropic breathwork, to help clients process childhood wounds, birth trauma and life crises that sit underneath their diagnosis. Sean’s work focuses on turning breakdown into breakthrough while respecting medical realities and the need for safety, grounding and ongoing support. Key Takeaways: Bipolar “psychosis” can sometimes function as a spiritual emergency, where the psyche tries to reorganize itself and integrate trauma rather than simply “malfunctioning”. Sean’s own episode followed a near death scuba accident and a powerful self help seminar, leading to heightened perception, a sense of dying and being tested by God, and a brief forced stay in a psychiatric hospital. Discovering Stanislav Grof’s work helped Sean reframe his crisis as a spiritual breakthrough, ending seven years of depression and improving his life, work performance and relationships. Supporting his nieces through acute episodes showed that with empathy, containment and time, some people can come through psychosis and return to study and work without long term heavy medication. Bipolar breathwork uses intensive breathing, music and body movement to surface and release stored trauma from childhood, adult experiences and even the birth process, while being held safely by a trained facilitator. Guidance is crucial. unsupervised deep breathwork or non ordinary states can be unsafe because pain perception drops and projections can lead to risky behavior. Sean no longer fights psychiatry. he asks clients to stay on their medications, do the inner work, then work with their doctors for any gradual taper when they genuinely feel overmedicated. Many people blame meds for how they feel, but unprocessed trauma often drives a large part of their suffering. healing trauma can improve life quality even before any medication changes. How To Connect With Sean Blackwell  : Website: www.bipolarawakenings.com Book: Bipolar Awakenings: The Quest to Heal Bipolar Disorder YouTube channel and information on international retreats Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM. Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here. https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik Disclaimer. This video is for educational and informational purposes only. The views expressed are the personal opinions of the guest and do not reflect the views of the host or Healthy Mind By Avik™️. We do not intend to harm, defame or discredit any person, organization, brand, product, country or profession mentioned.