And thanks for your post on GD, which I just read. I was tempted to comment there but didn't, as I want to share my comment in supportive atmosphere and not appear as attacking.
Has your "vice" of "rampant consumerism" as you called it continued as it was before your experience, or has there been change in the habit and/or in the emotional reward it gives?
I'm all for enjoying the miracles of modern way of life and beautiful things, but there was time when I was over worried about our self- destrucive nature relation as society as whole and the future of our children, having become father of two beautiful sons. After an car accident I had an episode of experiences and taking a trip that was diagnosed as mild acute psychosis, when at the wish of my then wife I went see psychiatrists. I was given some pills which I ate for some time but didn't want to continue as long as the doctor recommended, and the few councelling sessions I participated felt like nice, but empty talk.
Soon after the marriage of 20 years ended in divorce and I left behind my old life, lived for some time in ecovillages which was wonderful and healing in many ways. Something similar to the first psychosis happened again, but that time I went through it just with support of friends and community and natural environment and self-confidence. Those kinds of experiences can be very exhausting and you need rest afterwards, and depression is one of natures ways to force someone to rest.
So from the the little taste I've had, I guess some of the art of shamanhood is to channel the creative energy into service of larger community instead of being a nuicanse, and that art happens by relaxing and loosening control and defense mechanisms instead of strengthening them, which can make some sense as opening up to and channeling larger inclusive information fields. Which each can experience very differently and which don't have to be anything dramatic. The ups and downs can be also paced differently, transformed into other geometric shapes and symbols, and be confined to ritual contexts. The world views of at least North-Eurasian shamanistic peoples are tripartite with clear "bi-polar" structure of "Middle", which is more or less the "normal" world, "Lower" which is very symbolic and feels heavy and intense and where we deal with our fears and shadows, and "Upper" which feels like very relaxing calm and soothing vibrations. At least that's how I came to associate those during drumming sessions I participated in. There are no clear boundaries and all three areas of experience are mixed with each other. But seems to work well for bi-polars, any case, turning their "weakness" into strength of community service... 
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