There are certain unusual mental states that have such an extraordinary intensity, that they are numinous; they hold a sense of the sacred, they involve the presence of an archetype. These states can be beautiful or utterly terrifying, they can predispose to illness but if carefully negotiated they carry enormous potential for accelerated development. This book is about these high intensity mental states as found in the psychiatric emergency room, in everyday life, in psychotherapy and in spiritual practice. How can we understand this archetypal layer of psyche and how can we work with its power to promote psycho spiritual growth? The author weaves the archetypal perspective into the psychoanalytic and medical models of mind to show us how the different layers of the individual and collective psyche intertwine to give us our rich experience of being human.