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Syncretism In Transpersonal Studies: Introduction To This Issue’S Special Topics Section, Harris L. Friedman, Douglas A. Macdonald

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Transpersonal Education: Problems, Prospects And Challenges, Paul F. Cunningham

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Despite its substantial scientific, academic, and professional achievements, transpersonal psychology has

not been fully incorporated within traditional undergraduate psychology curricula. One reason is conventional

psychology’s prejudiced perception of humanity’s spiritual nature. Other reasons lie within the field

of transpersonal psychology itself, including the lack of agreed-upon general curricular models, absence of

normative educational (student) outcomes, unstructured courses with restricted content coverage, and conceptual

and methodological disagreements among experts. One of the most pressing challenges facing contemporary

transpersonal education is the publication of an authoritative, standard textbook that would

effectively introduce undergraduate students to transpersonal psychology and facilitate the progress of …

Gebser's Integral Consciousness And Living In The Real World: Facilitating Its Emergence Using A Course In Miracles, Cornelius J. Holland, Douglas A. Macdonald

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper discusses certain parallels between the work of Jean Gebser, the European philosopher and student of consciousness, and A Course in Miracles (ACIM), a contemporary spiritual system. More specifically, it 1) establishes parallels between Gebser’s conception of the ego, especially its basis in anger, and the ego according to ACIM, and 2) shows how a forgiveness exercise may lead to a time-free present, called in ACIM, “The Holy Instant.”

Manifest, Hidden, And Divine: Introduction To Sefirot Aikido, Jack Susman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The potential for forging a valuable relationship between two transpersonal systems, Aikido, a Japanese martial art and spiritual tradition, and Kabbalah, a Jewish spiritual tradition, is explored. Aikido is not simply a martial art, rather it is also a way to achieve a sense of the spiritual. However, especially for Westerners, many of its spiritual tenets are elusive, based on abstruse Japanese cultural roots, whereas Kabbalah, as a spiritual tradition more fully explicated for Western audiences, can provide an accessible framework for grasping some of Aikido’s deeper meanings. A blend of these traditions, called Sefirot Aikido, uses Kabbalah to understand, …

Statement Of Transition - Editor's Introduction, Douglas A. Macdonald, Harris Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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An Exploratory Investigation Into The Association Of Neuroticization, Cognitive Style, And Spirituality To Reported Altered States Of Consciousness In Women Experiencing Childbirth, Nikolai Gruzdev, Dimitri Spivak

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study examined the relation of altered states of consciousness to neuroticization, spiritual experience,

and divergent thinking in a sample of women (N= 102) at late pregnancy and post-delivery. The results

suggest that stress associated with imminent childbirth is linked to higher levels of ASCs and that neuroticization

and spirituality seem to be implicated in the induction of ASCs.

Beyond Mind Ii: Further Steps To A Metatranspersonal Philosophy And Psychology, Elías Capriles

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Some of Wilber’s “holoarchies” are gradations of being, which he views as truth itself; however, being is

delusion, and its gradations are gradations of delusion. Wilber’s supposedly universal ontogenetic

holoarchy contradicts all Buddhist Paths, whereas his view of phylogeny contradicts Buddhist Tantra and

Dzogchen, which claim delusion/being increase throughout the aeon to finally achieve reductio ad absurdum .

Wilber presents spiritual healing as ascent; Grof and Washburn represent it as descent—yet they are

all equally off the mark. Phenomenologically speaking, the Dzogchen Path is “descending,” but not in

Washburn’s or Grof ’s sense—and “transpersonal” is not a synonym of “sanity.” …

Why Does The Universe Exist? An Advaita Vedantic Perspective, Adam J. Rock

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Debates concerning causal explanations of the universe tend to be based on a priori propositions (e.g., Edwards, 1973; Smith, 1995; Swinburne, 1978). The present paper, however, addresses the metaphysical question, “Why does the universe exist?” from the perspective of a school of Hindu philosophy referred to as advaita vedanta and two of its a posteriori derived creation theories: the theory of simultaneous creation (drishti-srishti vada) and the theory of non-causality (ajata vada). Objections to advaita vedanta are also discussed. It is concluded that advaita vedanta has the potential to make a significant contribution to contemporary metaphysical debate in general and …

Russian Soul: A Report From The European Transpersonal Association 2005 Conference In Moscow, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Nondualism And The Divine Domain, Burton Daniels

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper claims that the ultimate issue confronting transpersonal theory is that of nondualism.

The revelation of this spiritual reality has a long history in the spiritual traditions, which

has been perhaps most prolifically advocated by Ken Wilber (1995, 2000a), and fully explicated

by David Loy (1998). Nonetheless, these scholarly accounts of nondual reality, and the spiritual

traditions upon which they are based, either do not include or else misrepresent the revelation

of a contemporary spiritual master crucial to the understanding of nondualism. Avatar

Adi Da not only offers a greater differentiation of nondual reality than can be found in …

The Myth Of Nature And The Nature Of Myth: Becoming Transparent To Transcendence, Dennis P. Slattery

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The works by the American mythologist, Joseph Campbell, as well as the poetry of John Keats,

especially his “Ode to a Nightingale,” offer new ways to reimagine our relation to the earth, to

the dead and to language’s continued vitality. Beginning with a brief overview of some of the

major tenets of Campbell’s guiding force of the “monomyth,” which gathers all the various world

mythologies as inflections of one universal story, the essay then moves into a discussion of Keats’

poem in order to reveal the power of poetic utterance in reconfiguring a vital mythology. If there

is to be …

Myth, Archetype And The Neutral Mask: Actor Training And Transformation In Light Of The Work Of Joseph Campbell And Stanislav Grof, Ashley Wain

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper explores the influence of transpersonal thinking, including the mythological perspective

of Joseph Campbell and the holotropic perspective of Stanislav Grof, on actor training using

the neutral mask. An outline of training in the neutral mask is given, focusing on the approach

of David Latham, as experienced by the author in his own training. Points of correspondence

with the vision of Campbell and Grof, and their influence, are discriminated and discussed.

These correspondences open up two areas of inquiry: the transformative effect of the mask work

when conducted in a transpersonally-oriented set, and the use of the neutral mask …

The Transpersonal Tradition In Russian Culture, Vladimir Maykov

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Synthesis And Plurality: Stories Of The Self, Jason Wright

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Editors’ Introduction, Harris Friedman, Douglas A. Macdonald

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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On Therapy By Means Of Spiritual Culture, Mark E. Burno

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Creativity Lies At The Edge Of Disintegration: Addressing The Shadow Of Power And Leadership Within Psychotherapy Training Organisations, Rupert K. Tower

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Higher Self – Spark Of The Mind – Summit Of The Soul: Early History Of An Important Concept Of Transpersonal Psychology In The West, Harald Walach

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The Higher Self is a concept introduced by Roberto Assagioli, the founder of psychosynthesis,

into transpersonal psychology. This notion is explained and linked up with the Western mystical

tradition. Here, coming from antiquity and specifically from the neo-Platonic tradition, a

similiar concept has been developed which became known as the spark of the soul, or summit of

the mind. This history is sketched and the meaning of the term illustrated. During the middle

ages it was developed into a psychology of mysticism by Thomas Gallus, popularized by

Bonaventure, and radicalized by the Carthusian writer Hugh of Balma. Spark of the …

Fear No Spirits: A Pilgrim’S Journey Through The Brazilian Churches Of Ayahuasca, Robert Tindall

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This is an intimate account of a pilgrimage through the “Holy Land” of Daime, the Brazilian

frontier state of Acre, in which the author weaves together accounts of his own healing experience.

It also portrays the extraordinary variation and vitality of the communities there, both

indigenous and Catholic/Afro-Brazilian, who use ayahuasca as a sacrament.

The Sources Of Higher States Of Consciousness, Steve Taylor

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

In this paper, it is argued that “higher states of consciousness”–or mystical experiences–have two

main sources: they can be caused by a disruption of the normal homeostasis of the human organism

and also by an intensification of the “consciousness-energy” that constitutes our being.

(These are termed HD and ICE states). The author investigates examples of both types of experience,

and compares and contrasts them. It is concluded that the second type of experience is

the only one which is truly positive and which can become a fully integrated and permanent

higher state of consciousness.

The Psychic Defense, Vitor Rodrigues

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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We Were Made For These Times, Tanna Jakubowicz-Mount

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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A Love Letter, Kidder Smith

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Toward A Participative Integral Philosophy, Daryl S. Paulson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Editors’ Introduction, Harris Friedman, Douglas A. Macdonald

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Art And Spirit: The Artistic Brain, The Navajo Concept Of Hozho, And Kandinsky’S “Inner Necessity”, Charles D. Laughlin

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Most traditional art forms around the planet are an expression of the spiritual dimension of a culture’s

cosmology and the spiritual experiences of individuals. Religious art and iconography often

reveal the hidden aspects of spirit as glimpsed through the filter of cultural significance. Moreover,

traditional art, although often highly abstract, may actually describe sensory experiences derived

in alternative states of consciousness (ASC). This article analyzes the often fuzzy concepts of “art”

and “spirit” and then operationalizes them in a way that makes them useful for cross-cultural

transpersonal research. The fact of the universally abstract nature of traditional art is analyzed …

Transpersonal Functions Of Masks In Nohkido, Sirkku M. Hiltunen

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article discusses the transpersonal functions of masks in ritual and in drama therapy as

expressed in the creative path of NohKiDo. NohKiDo, whose main components include the

Prism of Consciousness (Personal, Transpersonal, and Universal), the Rainbow Method, Action

Meditation techniques (masked meditation, etc.), and Therapeutic Noh Theater, is a therapeutic

system developed by the author through the redefinition and interpretation of a set of

transpersonal concepts based on Zeami’s (one of the founders of Noh) original Noh formulation

for Therapeutic Noh Theater. The most significant concepts of Ma (heightened energy through

stillness and silence), Mushin-no-kan (transpersonal projection), Ichu no …

The Trans/Trans Fallacy And The Dichotomy Debate, Burton Daniels

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper presents an integration of transpersonal structural theory. It is claimed that a

“dichotomy debate” is currently taking place within transpersonal psychology, which involves

what Wilber has called the “pre/trans fallacy” (1993) and the “ascender/descender debate”

(1995). The pre/trans fallacy states that early, prepersonal life experiences are confused for

transpersonal experiences of higher consciousness. Yet Grof (1985, 2000) and Washburn (1995)

contend that early, prenatal, life experiences are legitimate sources of transpersonal experience,

and can be thought of as the presence of deeper consciousness. Consequently, it is suggested that

confusing prepersonal life experiences for prenatal life experiences—as well as …

Reframing The Conflict In Fiji: Economic And Transpersonal Frameworks For Peace, Harris Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Reframing is presented as a psychological technique applicable to facilitating change leading to conflict resolution and the achievement of peace. The current conflict in Fiji is discussed as a case study of one such application. Fijian problems have been commonly attributed to racial and ethnic divides that are not easily amenable to change. An intervention providing an alternative understanding of these conflicts, namely that they are better seen as due to competing economic models, is described. The scientific transpersonal perspective is presented as another alternative framework, seen as especially applicable to religious conflicts, which potentially provides an inclusive way to …

Integral Psychology And Foreign Policy: Lessons From The Fulbright Scholars Program, Daniel Holland

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Humanistic, transpersonal, and integral psychological principles have many applications for social and foreign policy, but concrete examples are needed to illustrate this connection. The Fulbright Scholars Program represents one concrete example of an effort in U.S. foreign policy that closely reflects the values of humanistic, transpersonal, and integral psychology. The implications that such a program has for the purposeful involvement of humanistic, transpersonal, and integral psychologists in other social policy efforts is discussed. The need for integral psychologists to expand beyond the traditional boundaries of professional psychological practice into such realms as foreign policy is emphasized.