In this latest episode of Orath, the Bardo Bum, Robin Richardson steps into one of her most raw and illuminating subjects yet: the lived reality of psychosis. Known for her fearless storytelling and unflinching self-examination, Robin goes beyond clinical definitions to reveal the experiential and spiritual dimensions of what psychiatry calls “psychosis.” She frames it instead as a paradoxical crossing—both breakdown and breakthrough, pathology and enlightenment.

Summary

Robin invites listeners into her own journey through nine months of relentless psychosis, beginning with a meditation-induced rupture of consensus reality and spiralling into a battle for her life. She traces the terrain of hallucinations, synchronicities, telepathic entanglements, and terrifying manipulations—while also uncovering profound insights into the nature of consciousness and the mechanics of reality itself.

With honesty and nuance, Robin challenges the rigid pathologizing lens of psychiatry, suggesting that psychosis can function as a brutal form of self-healing and confrontation with the unconscious. She explores the archetypal layers that emerge, the danger and allure of surrender, and the ways in which cultural infrastructure fails those navigating these states

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At once memoir, philosophy, and field report, this episode asks the listener to consider: is psychosis madness, enlightenment, or both? For anyone who has lived it, loved someone through it, or simply wants to understand the fragile boundary between mind and reality, Robin’s voice offers clarity, compassion, and a startling new perspective.