TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGIES Introduction Accordi

According to Davis, transpersonal psychology represents an integration of certain psychological concepts, theories and methods with an emphasis upon spiritual disciplines. As Davis puts it, the key concept and interests of transpersonal psychology include:

...spiritual experiences, mystical states of consciousness, mindfulness and meditative practices, shamanic states, ritual, the overlap of spiritual experiences and disturbed states such as psychosis and depression, and the transpersonal dimensions of relationships, service, and encounters with the natural world. The central concept in Transpersonal Psychology is self-transcendence, or a sense of identity which is deeper, broader, and more unified with the whole. The root of the term, transpersonal or literally "beyond the mask," refers to this self-transcendence. (p. 1)

Although transpersonal psychologies are tied together by their central concept of self-transcendence, they are diverse which is to say that there are many transpersonal psychology orientations and perspectives (Sovatsky, 1998). This diversity, according to Davis (2000), is because the field is not a religion despite its emphasis upon spirituality. Rather it is a field of inquiry aimed at examining human consciousness and experiences that transcend or transform people. Determining those factors that contribute to human healing and growth is its primary goal.

The purpose of this paper is to examine diverse types of transpersonal psychology and so pr

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hn C. Lilly and Charles T. Tart, Grof (1998) also experimented with drugs and their ability to induce altered states of consciousness. However, what makes Grof contribution fairly unique is his background in psychiatry. His views are applied views and more firmly set in a clinical therapeutic framework than are other altered state perspectives of transpersonal psychology. In his more recent work, Grof (1992, 1998) has attempted an integration of transpersonal psychology with the newest understandings of reality in theoretical physics. Quantum mechanics has shown that reality is far removed from what we perceive in our everyday state of consciousness but Grof holds that we can perceive reality far more in accord with what it truly is when in alternative states of consciousness. Grof (1992, 1998) feels that these alternative states of consciousness can not only be used to produce these transcendent experiences but also to produce them as part of therapeutic efforts to help people overcome their problems and grow. In his work, these experiences have been used clinically to help people overcome psychoemotional and psychospiritual crises, to decrease their level of aggression and become more peaceful human beings, more comfortable

Category: Psychology - T