Today’s challenges can easily snowball into crisis proportions, sometimes picking up career, health, and relationship debris as they roll uncontrollably downhill. At such times, people often feel lost and confused, trapped in a vortex of emotional and spiritual darkness, and may wonder, “Am I going crazy?” A new book by world-renowned spiritual healer and author Michael Mirdad, aptly titled You’re Not Going Crazy...You’re Just Waking Up! The Five Stages of the Soul Transformation Process, reassures readers that these feelings are perfectly normal and even essential to a process of soul transformation. This “how-to” guide to spiritual mastery goes on to show that these stages are in fact powerful opportunities (albeit in disguise) to achieve the fulfilling life we all seek.

“In the greatest spiritual teachings, this often unnoticed progression means that one’s soul is starting to shake things up,” explains Mirdad, who developed the concepts in the book from personal knowledge as well as from his 30 years of experience as a counselor and workshop facilitator. “The soul is beginning to question your reality and guide you to a higher level of consciousness.” The transformation process includes five stages: dismantling, emptiness, disorientation, re-building, and a new life, all of which are designed to assist people in becoming active participants in moving toward a life that resonates with the highest good. Mirdad likens it to childbirth, where the pain can seem endless, but it is quickly forgotten as a new mother gazes lovingly into the eyes of a new life.

This small—just 90 pages—but powerful book is intended to be read slowly, with thought and reflection. Prayers and exercises are included in each chapter to assist the reader through each stage of the process, ultimately connecting them to the “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Gary Renard, author of the best-selling The Disappearance of the Universe, says that “Michael Mirdad speaks with a wise voice that helps and inspires us to see that we are not going crazy, nor are we alone, when we go through the various stages of awakening to our true selves. He helps us to see that all of our problems can, and ultimately must, be addressed on a spiritual level, which is the only place where we will find a lasting, and eventually permanent, solution.”