Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Transformative, Noetic, And Transpersonal Experiences During Personal Development Workshops, Helané Wahbeh, Cassandra Vieten, Garret Young, Agnes Cartry-Jacobsen, Dean Radin, Arnaud Delorme Sep 2022

Transformative, Noetic, And Transpersonal Experiences During Personal Development Workshops, Helané Wahbeh, Cassandra Vieten, Garret Young, Agnes Cartry-Jacobsen, Dean Radin, Arnaud Delorme

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

The global personal development market was valued at $38.28 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow an additional 5% from 2020 to 2027. Many of these workshops promise to be transformational. This secondary analysis study examined transformative, transpersonal, and noetic aspects of personal development workshops. We found that 74% of post-survey records endorsed that participants experienced a moment of clarity or profound insight during their workshop. In addition, 66% endorsed that participants had experienced at least one noetic experience, and 84% endorsed at least one transpersonal experience. These analyses provide preliminary evidence for the transformational potential of personal development …


The Varieties Of Spiritual States Triggered By Sex: A Systematic Review Of The Empirical Literature, Jenny Wade Jan 2022

The Varieties Of Spiritual States Triggered By Sex: A Systematic Review Of The Empirical Literature, Jenny Wade

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This systematic review integrates the empirical evidence of spiritual experiences triggered by sexual activity, including studies by 10 authors. Despite venerable sexual meditative traditions of embodied spiritual practices, such as Hindu Tantra, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Taoism, empirical studies of sexual spiritual experiences are in their infancy. This review presents the range of sexual altered states experiences identified to date and how they qualify as spiritual experiences phenomenologically and in terms of their lifechanging effects. Seventeen distinct sexual-spiritual states have been identified across authors, with 4 others identified at significant levels in qualitative studies by individual authors. As an emergent area …


Positive Psychological Transformation: A Mixed Methods Investigation Into Catalysts And Processes Of Meaningful Change, Nick Fortino, Paul Dommert Jr., Nadia Santiago, Jen Smith Dec 2021

Positive Psychological Transformation: A Mixed Methods Investigation Into Catalysts And Processes Of Meaningful Change, Nick Fortino, Paul Dommert Jr., Nadia Santiago, Jen Smith

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This mixed methods study investigated the experience of positive psychological transformation, including its catalysts, dynamics, supportive factors, and outcomes. The first phase of the study was a 13-item survey (N=130) that revealed trends and associations in participants’ experiences of transformation. The most significant correlation was between “expressing myself” and change stabilization (p < .01). Forty-four percent of participants reported trauma or emotional distress as the main catalyst of their transformation. Each of the other three main catalysts (dissonance, adaptation, and inspiration) drew approximately 18% of responses. Connecting with nature (71%), introspection (65%), solitude (63%) and empathy (61%) were commonly reported supportive factors. Common changes related to participants’ way of interacting with others (77%), perception (75%), and emotional patterns (70%). The process of transformation differed substantially depending on multiple factors including the catalyst and demographic categories. Additionally, the survey revealed a trend of moving away from organized religion toward a sense of being spiritual but not religious. The second phase of the study consisted of interviews with a portion of the participants who reported trauma as the main catalyst of their transformation (n = 26) and was focused on the experience of posttraumatic growth. Thematic analysis revealed that transformation is typically initiated by a series of traumatic events and that the process of transformation can involve impaired well-being/functioning before elevated well-being/functioning. The results of thematic analysis were consistent with existing data on posttraumatic growth.


Sexuality, Esoteric Energies, And The Subtleties Of Transmutation Versus Transformation, Barnaby B. Barratt Jan 2019

Sexuality, Esoteric Energies, And The Subtleties Of Transmutation Versus Transformation, Barnaby B. Barratt

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

Transpersonal perspectives on the meaningfulness of being human, and especially the significance of subtle energy teachings, necessitate a rethinking of the notion of sexuality, beyond definitions in terms of sex acts, biological endowments, or perhaps even the complex fantasia of desire. This redefining of the erotic dimension of human life leads both to appreciation of healing as inherently sexual and to understanding how the processes of transmutation by the forces of subtle energies profoundly differ from the transformations that representation of thoughts, feelings, and wishes may undergo. Cognitive access (including that of reflective selfconsciousness) to these forces is inevitably limited …