Visions and voices can manifest in individual lives in many ways, from the helpful to the destructive, from creation to chaos and all points in between.
People can be inspired to go and change themselves as well as the world outside of self.
Sometimes hearing voices definitely helps with personal growth and self guidance.
And sometimes it can feel like the worst curse in the world.
It all depends on what you hear and how you choose to interact and respond.
Take self possession and ownership of your experiences and manage these challenges better.
Here are just a few examples of remarkable individuals who have also had these "unusual" experiences.
English visionary, artist and printmaker, voice hearer and seer of visions, William Blake, considered an eccentric by many at his time.
Determined to live a life of artistic freedom, often penniless, he followed his path of creative waywardness to the end
Now considered a treasure of English poetry and an inspiration to outsiders who wish to develop and grow, free of societal constraints and rigid and stale orthodoxies.
The 13th Floor Elevators were unique, a ground-breaking mixture of desert blasted blues and psychedelic sounds and all informed by liberal doses of LSD.
Of course, such a wild ride proved to have a cost and Roky Eriksson paid it.
Voices and paranoia led to time in New York asylums and treated with ECT and more.
Somehow, he made a recovery of sorts to get back in the studio and record more albums of varying quality.
Outsiders, eccentrics, maverick musicians and more besides!
What was in the water in these most strange of times?
The driven genius that was Robert Schumann. Tortured with voices of self doubt as well as those of inspiration.
He damaged his playing hands with a contraption designed to stretch the fingers and reach more piano keys, destined from then on to a frenzy of writing and composing.
He had a love affair that brought him to a higher state of being and depressions and doubts that led to suicide attempts, paranoiac thinking and last days spent in isolation at a German asylum.
Considered my many to be a genius, his music touches every aspect of the soul.
Gandhi mediated, prayed and developed the ideas of non violent protest which are still employed by protesting citizens around the world today.
He helped liberate India from the British after a long struggle, claiming that, in part, his ideas and tactics came directly from the voice of God, heard during fasting, prayer and deep meditation.
Hildegard of Bingen claimed direct transmissions, visions as well as voices from God and from an early age.
Composing celestial music, writing and painting, she is also a hero in Germany for building churches and developing the community of faith. Considered to be the mother of gardening and herbal healing.
John Frusciante, Red Hot Chill Pepper and more, has had his battles with mental health challenges, including severe depressive bouts and hearing voices.
Enjoy this interview where he discusses creativity and more besides.
Hearing voices in Brazil. A great and intriguing documentary. Voices. Spiritual? Psychological? Neurological? How do people try to understand and explain these experiences within their own cultural framework?
Syd Barrett, pioneer of 60s English psychedelia with Pink Floyd.
A fragile and sensitive soul for whom public adulation proved too much. Add in copious amounts of LSD, a talent for art, a love of existential literature and an interest in pushing musical boundaries.
Eventually he was dropped by the band and lived a life of reclusive reflection, until his early death.
Still loved by many. Unknown by many more, without Syd maybe there would never have been a Pink Floyd!