Psychology Commons^™

The Yemen Narrative: Cargo Cults And Cargo Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author gives a psychological perspective on the security of aviation cargo shipments.

Memory And True Lies, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the concept of memory, its relation to culture, and three hypothetical phenomena associated with it.

Giving Foot The Boot: Right Or Wrong?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article examines philosopher Philippa Foot’s famous conundrum – The Trolley Problem.

Wilderness Beauty: A Means To Resolve Volitional Doubt, Brian T. Scalise

Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal

Doubt is often part of Christian spiritual life. Matured doubt will influence the will (the volition) so as to keep the Christian doubter from acting like a Christian or even desiring the Christian life. This essay seeks to construct a theory designed to engage and help resolve volitional doubt by use of wilderness beauty. This theory incorporates three areas of study—Land and Leisure Management, Abraham Maslow’s metamotivation theory, and Jonathan Edwards' aesthetic theology—to demonstrate the uniqueness and usefulness of wilderness beauty for resolving volitional doubt. Subsequent to the construction of the theory, practical suggestions for its application are given.

Venus In Furs: Why False Confessions Are True, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the nature of truth and false confessions in the context of confession and interrogation.

The Strange Fruit Of 9/11, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks and the larger psychological narrative and context of the attacks. Stoicism is considered as a viable response.

Dirty Laundry: A Philosophical Primer For Politicians On Scandal, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the management of post-sex scandals by politicians from a variety of theoretical and/or philosophical perspectives.

Psychospiritual Development Of Female Adoptees Raised Within A Closed Adoption System: A Theoretical Model Within A Feminist And Jungian Perspective, April E. Topfer

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article proposes a transpersonal theoretical model suggesting that the embodiment of

the voice of the feminine is a significant catalyst for awakening the psychological and spiritual

growth and development of female adoptees. Existing Jungian and feminist theoretical

models regarding the psychological and spiritual implications for a female adoptee raised

within a closed adoption system will be discussed. The author will share her adopted voice

about her spiritual and psychological process toward finding wholeness using a hermeneutical

process of inquiry. The voices of birth mothers who relinquished their children will also be

included. Voice is then explored to be an …

A Chakra System Model Of Lifespan Development, Candis K. Best

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article presents a model of lifespan development based upon the tantric chakra system.

It begins with a survey of the evolution of transpersonal psychology and its alignment with

eastern philosophies as previously espoused by William James, Carl Jung and others. The

chakras are defined in relation to their potential influence on psychological functioning with

a focus on development beyond the level of ego stability and functioning. Building upon

prior work integrating the chakra system with developmental processes, this article presents

an interpretation of the chakras as a model that defines a pathway for growth-oriented

development.

Editors’ Introduction, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Editorial Introduction To Special Topic Section: Transpersonal Feminism, Christine Brooks, Courtenay Crouch

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Unidentified Allies: Intersections Of Feminist And Transpersonal Thought And Potential Contributions To Social Change, Christine Brooks

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Contemporary Western feminism and transpersonalism are kaleidoscopic, consisting of

interlocking influences, yet the fields have developed in parallel rather than in tandem.

Both schools of praxis developed during the climate of activism and social experimentation

of the 1960s in the United States, and both share a non-pathological view of the human

experience. This discussion suggests loci of synthesized theoretical constructs between the

two disciplines as well as distinct concepts and practices in both disciplines that may serve

the other. Ways in which a feminist-transpersonal perspective may catalyze social change on

personal, regional, and global levels are proposed.

Mothering Fundamentalism: The Transformation Of Modern Women Into Fundamentalists, Sophia Korb

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Despite upbringings influenced by modern feminism, many women choose to identify

with new communities in the modern religious revivalist movement in the United States

who claim to represent and embrace the patriarchal values against which their mothers

and grandmothers fought. Because women’s mothering is determinative to the family, it is

therefore central to transforming larger social structures. This literature review is taken from

a study which employed a qualitative design incorporating thematic analysis of interviews

to explore how women’s attitudes about being a mother and mothering change when they

change religious communities from liberal paradigms to fundamentalist, enclavist belief

systems. …

The Word, The Body, And The Kinfolk: The Intersection Of Transpersonal Thought With Womanist Approaches To Psychology, Juko M. Holiday

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Since Alice Walker coined the term womanist in the early 1980s, black feminists and

feminists of color have created a rich, soulful body of scholarly work. Contributions to

womanist thought have emerged primarily in the fields of theology and ethics. The aim

of this article is to put womanism in historical context, examine transpersonal expression

in womanist scholarship, and to articulate the values that inform emotional healing in a

womanist context. Womanism is spiritualized due to its original definition and subsequent

development, making transpersonal thought a resonant fit for unearthing paths to authentic

cultural competency in psychology and other disciplines.

The Wheel Of The Year As A Spiritual Psychology For Women, Valeire K. Duckett

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The Wheel of the Year is a name used to describe the cyclical progression of the seasons

through time and most often described as part of Pagan, Goddess, and women’s spirituality

and/or Wiccan magical traditions. This article introduces the author’s conceptual model

of the Wheel of the Year as an earth-based psychology for women, one that is inherently

feminist and also based in transpersonal psychologies. Women explore the turning points,

or holydays of the Wheel, on both spiritual and psychological levels through a wide range of

modalities that engage body, mind, emotion, and spirit. The Wheel provides an overarching

psychospiritual …

War And Nature In Classical Athens And Today: Demoting And Restoring The Underground Goddesses, Judy Schavrien

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

A gendered analysis of social and religious values in 5th century BCE illuminates the Athenian

decline from democracy to bully empire, through pursuit of a faux virility. Using a feminist

hermeneutics of suspicion, the study contrasts two playwrights bookending the empire:

Aeschylus, who elevated the sky pantheon Olympians and demoted both actual Athenian

women and the Furies—deities linked to maternal ties and nature, and Sophocles, who granted

Oedipus, his maternal incest purified, an apotheosis in the Furies’ grove. The latter work,

presented at the Athenian tragic festival some 50 years after the first, advocated restoration

of respect for female flesh …

A Reply To Capriles, John Abramson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

Eclipse, Judy Schavrien

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

Altered States During Shamanic Drumming: A Phenomenological Study, Anette Kjellgren, Anders Eriksson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study investigated the experiences gained from a 20-minute shamanic-like drumming

session. Twenty-two persons participated and made written descriptions afterwards about

their experiences. A phenomenological analysis was applied which generated 31 categories,

that were organized into six themes: 1) The undertaking of the drumming journey, 2)

Perceptual phenomena: visual, auditory and somatic, 3) Encounters, 4) Active vs. Passive role,

5) Inner wisdom and guidance, and 6) Reflections on the drumming journey. A multitude

of detailed experiences were described such as visual imagery, hearing sounds, encountering

animals, as well as gaining insights. Participants generally appreciated the drumming session

and few negative …

Ecology Of The Erotic In A Myth Of Inanna, Judy Grahn

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Myths of Mesopotamian Goddess Inanna, planet Venus in the ancient Sumerian pantheon, have

been useful in psychological processes of contemporary women. A lesser-known myth, “Inanna and

Shukaletuda,” includes sexual transgression against the deity and ties the deified erotic feminine

with fecundity and sacredness of fields and trees. Interpretation of Inanna’s love poems and poems of

nature’s justice contextualizes ecofeminist relevance to psychological issues. Deconstruction of rich

imagery illustrates menstrual power as female authority, erotic as a female aesthetic bringing order,

and transgender as sacred office of transformation. Meador’s (2000) interpretation of three Inanna

poems by a high priestess of ancient …

A Transpersonal Feminist Approach To Family Systems, Irene S. Lazarus

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper presents a preliminary description of A Transpersonal Feminist Approach to Family

Systems (ATFAFS) as taught at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP) between 1995

and 2002. In this approach, students studied the principles of Murray Bowen’s family systems

theory with attention to feminist revisions of the theory while simultaneously investigating

their own multigenerational family histories. Additionally, students kept a journal, recorded

and worked with their dreams, and worked with a chosen creative expressive modality. They

may also have worked with other transpersonal modalities. Student narratives, informed by

organic inquiry, illustrate aspects of the approach. The paper concludes with …

Stanley Mcchrystal, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Jérôme Kerviel: Are We All Ciphers?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article examines the fall of United States (US) Army General Stanley McChrystal, and the concepts of the self and identity.

An Update On Suicide Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author considers the potential moral and ethical merits of suicide and suicide terrorism from a historical and philosophical perspective.

Psychologists Gone Wild: The Politics Of Scientific Psychology, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

With power on the line in science, one should expect controversy beyond the substantive. In scientific psychology—whether discovering human nature or discovering what can be said about it—the search for the what of human nature becomes a mask for human nature.

Are We All On The M Squad? Murdering Schoolchildren In China, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the phenomena of violent attacks against schoolchildren in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and its relevance to political psychologists.

Why Terrorism? Whose Terror?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author considers terrorism as a competitor for the legally constituted authority and power of governments.

Relational Spirituality, Part 2 The Belief In Others As A Hindrance To Enlightenment: Narcissism And The Denigration Of Relationship Within Transpersonal Psychology And The New Age, Gregg Lahood

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The aim of this paper is to tease out from the New Age religion and religious transpersonal psychology a more relational spirituality. Humanistic and transpersonal psychologies were important forces in the emergence of the social phenomenon of the New Age. New Age transpersonalism leans toward a restrictive non-relational spirituality because of its historical affirmation of individualism and transcendence. Relational spirituality, which is central to the emerging participatory paradigm, swims against strong and popular currents in New Age transpersonal thinking which tend to see spirituality as an individual, personal, inner pursuit, often into Eastern/Oriental nondualism. Whatever the merits of impersonal Advaita …

Transpersonal And Other Models Of Spiritual Development, Harris Friedman, Stanley Krippner, Linda Riebel, Chad Johnson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This chapter focuses on exploring various models of spiritual development. It first addresses

philosophical dilemmas underpinning the concept of spiritual development by questioning

whether these can be addressed without metaphysical assumptions embedded in religious

worldviews and thus understood in any consensual way across different historical and

cultural contexts. Traditional models of spiritual development are then reviewed, drawing

from indigenous, Eastern, and Western cultures. Integrative-philosophical and scientific

models, including those from the psychology of religion, transpersonal psychology, and

neurobiology, are then presented. The chapter concludes by noting the complexities involved

in understanding spiritual development accompanied by suggestions on future directions

for …

The Gift Of Life: Death As Teacher In The Aghori Sect, Rochelle Suri, Daniel B. Pitchford

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article utilizes the example of the Aghori, with their radical and unique perspective on death,

as a challenge to the Western world to live an authentic, present life by maintaining awareness of

mortality. Specifically, three main themes are explored: first, a theoretical engagement of the concept

of death based on the (Western) philosophy of existentialism, second, a review of the historical

origins and philosophy of the Aghori sect, and third, a depiction of the Aghoris as a living example

of vigorously accepting death as an inevitability of life. On this basis a brief comparison of Western

and Eastern attitudes …

Relational Spirituality, Part 1 Paradise Unbound: Cosmic Hybridity And Spiritual Narcissism In The “One Truth” Of New Age Transpersonalism, Gregg Lahood

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Cosmological hybridization, a process in which spiritual paradises are bound together, is

highly active in American religious culture. Beginning with an early Christianized version of

the Buddha, this religious Creolization gathered speed after WWII and peaked during the

Vietnam War, leading to a complex spiritual revolution in which transcendence became an

all important orientation. This revolution set the scene for the emergence of a non-relational

transpersonal psychology in which Americanized nondualism gained ascendency. It is argued

here that popular New Age transpersonalism traps the spirit, breeding a self-serving, Selfas-

everything form of spiritual narcissism. Given that some are calling the …