Philosophy Commons^™

The Role Of Spirituality In Mental Health Interventions: A Developmental Perspective, Liora Birnbaum, Atton Birnbaum, Ofra Mayseless

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Th is article presents a four-level developmental description of the extent to which clinicians

apply spirituality in therapy. At the fi rst level, clinicians begin to sense dissonance regarding

their traditional, positivist worldview while conducting conventional psychotherapy, especially

in cases involving life-threatening situations or loss. At the second level, clinicians

open up to the possibility of the existence of a metaphysical reality and to spiritual/transpersonal

beliefs expressed by clients. At the third level, clinicians may cautiously contact this

transcendental reality and seek ways to utilize this dimension to access information relevant

to therapy. At the fourth level, clinicians actively engage …

The Therapeutic Potentials Of A Museum Visit, Andrée Salom

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Museums are safe spaces for the objects they hold and for the persons that visit them, providing environments that can function in therapeutic ways. Within the wide range of objects, there is enough diversity to help guests discover what similarities they have with others as well as what makes them unique as individuals. Within exhibits, individuals can explore themselves through the reactions they have to particular pieces, through the observation of what holds their attention within the environment, and through the awareness and development of their contemplative mind. Museums can introduce transpersonal information, add information to previous transpersonal experiences, and …

A Peircean Panentheist Scientific Mysticism, Søren Brier

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Peirce’s philosophy can be interpreted as an integration of mysticism and science. In Peirce’s

philosophy mind is feeling on the inside and on the outside, spontaneity, chance and chaos

with a tendency to take habits. Peirce’s philosophy has an emptiness beyond the three worlds

of reality (his Categories), which is the source from where the categories spring. He emphasizes

that God cannot be conscious in the way humans are, because there is no content in

his “mind.” Since there is a transcendental3 nothingness behind and before the categories,

it seems that Peirce had a mystical view on reality with a …

Brief History Of Transpersonal Psychology, Stanislav Grof

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The International Transpersonal Association (ITA) was formed in 1978 for the purposes

of promoting education and research in transpersonal subjects, as well as sponsoring

global conferences for the international transpersonal community. The association was

subsequently dissolved in 2004, but is now in the process of being reactivated and revitalized.

As background for this development, this paper reviews the history of ITA including its

international conferences and noteworthy presenters, the organization’s definition, strategies,

and specific goals, and details of its contemporary revival.

Integral Approach To Mental Suffering, Laura B. Gilot

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Th is article further develops one section by the same name in another article published in

the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies entitled Integral Approach in Transpersonal

Psychotherapy (Boggio Gilot, 2003) by proposing a model of mental suff ering based on

uniting scientifi c psychology with meditative wisdom (e.g., derived from Yoga Vedanta). Th e

role of spiritual vision underlines a wider understanding of the origins of mental suff ering,

including damage from ontological unawareness and egoism, non-ethical factors usually

ignored in psychology. Th ese give rise to destructive poisons of the mind such as pride,

greed, fear, resentment, envy, …

The Buddhist Notion Of Emptiness And Its Potential Contribution To Psychology And Psychotherapy, José M. Tirado

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

A growing number of psychologists now have their practices and theories informed by Buddhist

meditation practices. Th ese practices, however, are themselves deeply informed by the

Buddhist notion of emptiness (śūnyatā). Th is Buddhist concept off ers a rich vein of possibilities

in informing psychology and psychotherapy. Th e present paper examines the development

and potential of this concept for infl uencing these and other areas.

Dante’S Terza Rima In Th E Divine Comedy: Th E Road Of Th Erapy, Dennis P. Slattery

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Wisdom’s pursuit through symbols, metaphors, poetry, and therapy is a path of indirection,

less available the more one’s pursuit is direct. Wisdom may be gained through particular

processes of knowing, pilgrimages towards the truth of things. Dante’s 14th century poem

engages a new rhyme scheme to further this pursuit of knowing towards wisdom. He called

it terza rima, or third rhyme. Its structure, the essay argues, embodies two movements of the

soul: the journey towards knowing, one which is always bending back in memory, and the

movement of therapy itself, wherein one becomes more conscious by seeing in the present …