Am I Going Mad?

The Unsettling Phenomena of Spiritual Evolution

by Marlyse Carroll

Am I Going Mad? grew from my fascination with the unseen dimensions of life — the inner landscapes of consciousness, spirituality, intuition and transformation.

The book explores the unusual and sometimes unsettling experiences that can accompany spiritual awakening: visions, altered perceptions, powerful emotions and shifts in our sense of reality. Drawing on personal experience, years of working with others, transpersonal psychology and spiritual traditions, it offers a framework for understanding experiences that can otherwise feel confusing or frightening.

My art comes from much the same place.

I rarely begin a painting knowing exactly where it will lead. Images, light, figures, landscapes and cosmic forms emerge intuitively, often revealing something I had not consciously planned. Many of my paintings seem to inhabit the space between the visible world and something more mysterious beyond it.

So although one expression is through words and the other through paint, both Am I Going Mad? and my artwork spring from the same enduring curiosity: What lies beyond the surface of ordinary reality — and what might we discover when we allow ourselves to look within?