Transpersonal Psychology Commons^™

An Approach To Transpersonal Psychology As A Science, Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Meditation-Induced After Death Communication: A Contemporary Modality For Grief Therapy, Neda Wassie

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Meditation-induced after death communication (MI-ADC) was introduced as a potential modality for grief therapy. Traditional and contemporary approaches were compared in order to evaluate effective paradigms and theories of bereavement. The Continuing Bonds theory of attachment emerged as an adaptive framework for grief therapy, especially with attention to meaning-making and the strength of continued bonds. Considerations were implemented from research in psychomanteum, mediumship, and induced after death communication. Specifically, visual stimuli and timing of after death communications were emphasized. The discussion was encouraging for the conceptualization of MI-ADC as an effective construct and as an inquiry for empirical research.

Locating The Embodied Sense Of Self And Examining Its Relationship With Psychological Well-Being, Adam Wesley Hanley, Natalie Lecy, Robert Hanley

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Westerners tend to localize their sense of self in the head, and, to a lesser degree, in the chest. However, single-point, localization studies of the self omit direct exploration of the size and shape of the embodied self. This study explored a) beliefs about the location and spatial distribution of the embodied sense of self, and b) whether individual differences in how the embodied self was represented were associated with psychological and subjective well-being. Results from a sample of 206 American adults confirm extant reports, indicating that the embodied sense of self is most often located in the head and …

Book Review: The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching: A New Translation And Commentary, By Rosemarie Anderson, Sheri D. Kling

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Table Of Contents—Masthead

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Harris Friedman: Pioneer Of Transpersonal Psychology As A Science, Harris L. Friedman, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Intimations Of A Spiritual New Age: V. Socio-Cultural Bases Of A Globalizing Neo-Shamanism And Its Relation To Climate Crisis: Possibilities, Inevitabilities, Barriers, Harry T. Hunt

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Extending this series of papers on a futural spirituality, and considering the numinous as an inherent human capacity for an awe that confers a sense of all-inclusive meaning, communality, and humility, the question arises whether, in the face of a secularization of traditional world religions, globalization of a techno/capitalist economy of perpetual commodification of planet and person, and a widening sense of loss of meaning and higher purpose, some collective re-newal of the sense of the sacred might be possible —or not. While Jung, Toynbee, and Sorokin regarded such a movement as inevitable, bringing forward to the degree possible the …

Transpersonal Psychology: Trends In Empirical Research And Diversity During The First Five Decades Of The Field (Corrected), Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Prior research on the role of empirical research in transpersonal psychology is updated, along with trends in gender diversity and geographical distribution of authorships. Data was compiled from a review of articles published in the two main journals of the field, The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology and the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, over the first five decades of the field. Based on these records of the field's published work, it appears that empirical research has played a small though gradually growing role in the literature, and that there has been substantive correction from early skews toward male authorship in …

Brain Activity During Paired And Individual Mindfulness Meditation: A Controlled Eeg Study, Hessel Engelbregt, Hugo F. Alderse Bass, Sietske De Grauw, Jan Berend Deijen

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Objective: In this study, we evaluated brain electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in healthy participants during the performance of paired and individual mindfulness meditation (MM). We hypothesized that EEG activity is differentially affected by meditation in pairs compared to individual meditation. Methods: A total of 20 healthy female university students (mean age 19.54 years, SD =1.53) with no prior experience in MM participated in this study. All participants had to perform a 5-minute MM task together and individually while the other participant was in rest or performing a concentration task (control condition). To exclude social interaction as main factor, participants were separated …

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

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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 …

Lgbt Inclusivity In Transpersonal Psychology: A Case For Incorporating Lgbt Spiritual Experiences In Transpersonal Education, Daniel A. Seda, Phd

Journal of Conscious Evolution

After conducting three qualitative interviews on the somatic experiences of transgender individuals and finding relatively few resources with which to draw significant conclusions in the field, it is clear that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) scholarship is severely lacking in transpersonal psychology.

Method: This research revealed that an understanding and appreciation for the lived experiences of gay people––specifically that of gay men––are also limited and are not appropriately represented through the use of feminist or queer models. Therefore, an alarming number of issues affecting the transgender and gay male populations are not being adequately addressed within the discipline of …

Book Review: Mythic Imagination Today: The Interpretation Of Mythology And Science By Terry Marks-Tarlow, Ivana Gligoric

Journal of Conscious Evolution

Terry Marks-Tarlow interprets mythology and science as endless curiosity about the workings of the Universe, combing with humans’ creative urges to transform inner and outer worlds. The author perceives mythology as a universal product of the human imagination in interaction with the physical and social world, driven by the urge to communicate with others symbolically and make meaning out of life experiences. Moreover, Marks-Tarlow studied the origins of a human story within the social brain, mythmakers, and myths from multiple cultures. At the same time, she explored how contemporary sciences of chaos, complexity theories, and fractal geometry unite with ancient …

Book Review: If Women Rose Rooted: A Life Changing Journey To Authenticity And Healing By Sharon Blackie, Katherine T. Ziemke

Journal of Conscious Evolution

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Mythic Imagination Today: The Interpenetration Of Mythology And Science, Alexandra Sedgwick

Journal of Conscious Evolution

No abstract provided.

Relative And Absolute: States Of Consciousness And Turiya, Jenna Mcdonald

Journal of Conscious Evolution

This paper aims to explore the phenomena of dreaming, waking, sleeping and the witness-consciousness that is exists in and through all three states. It draws from current and past literature about consciousness, helping to build a framework for both psychological and spiritual development. It correlates the pause between the inhale and exhale to the self-evident junction between dreaming, sleep and waking states.

Nondual Writing: A Perspective On Who Owns Ideas, And A Way To Write With Greater Ease, Andrew Erdman

Journal of Conscious Evolution

The act of writing can cause great anxiety, stoking flames of perfectionism and fears of criticism, narcissistic injury, or indifference. While Buddhist teachings provide liberation from such egoic loneliness, it is not often recognized that postmodern and post-structural thought may also put the “author” and their “writing” in a less-individualized context—one in which a written work is understood to be in fact an ongoing process taking shape in interactions among writer, reader, critic, fan, and the world of literature at large. Keeping such a model in mind can help return joy to the act of writing as it poses the …

A Phenomenology Of Challenging Psychedelic Experiences: From Relational Trauma To Relational Healing, Leland Guthrie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psychedelic medicine is a re-emerging therapeutic paradigm with potentially significant clinical applications. This study contributes to an understanding of the aspects of challenging psychedelic experiences that may contribute to therapeutic outcomes. Interview and written data from five participants about their challenging Ayahuasca experiences was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The results of this analysis revealed a phenomenological structure of challenging psychedelic experiences consisting of a change process that moved the participants from a sense of disconnection to a sense of connection with themselves, others, nature and the cosmos. Findings from the study suggest that challenging psychedelic experiences may be …

Git (Gender-Informed Trauma) In Black N Blue Boys / Broken Men: How Concepts Of Gender Restrict The Black Male Actor’S Creative Process And The Methods He Can Use For Creative Freedom., Tyler Tate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how the black male actor’s creative process can be affected by historical and cultural constructions of masculinity connected to race, sexuality, and physical movement. My research on black men’s experience with gender identity finds that social and cultural forces lead black men to reproduce behaviors that mirror a prescribed masculine ideal through physical movement. This prescribed masculine behavior is typically coded in terms of stiffness or lack of expression. This study explores how self-imposed restrictions reiterated by social standards of masculine behavior limit the creative freedom in the black male actor’s creative process. Specifically, black male actors’ …

Reimagining The Role Of Physical Space In Future Human Thriving, Adrian Young

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

As a positive psychology practitioner and residential planner, I divide energy and effort into two distinct fields; one focused on human welfare and the other on optimal aesthetics and functionality of our physical surroundings. This text explores a philosophical shift in motivation for space design prompted by the experience and new potential that result from COVID-19. Rather than space as a means to epitomize style and serve utility, I urge considering the full complexity of the human experience and what would be most conducive to general well-being as a new leading priority. What influence can environmental design bring to generalized …

Reiki For Recovery: Incorporating Japanese Health Practices To Increase Contemporary Resiliency In American Health, Leif Peterson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Japanese health practice of Reiki attempts to maximize the latent ability of the human system to heal itself. The Reiki system, established over a century ago, combines multiple Asian health traditions, experimenting with practices that maximize the natural processes of the body to perform its own repairs. Reiki encourages healthy behaviors that balance the mind and body, return the human system to a lowered stress level, and allow for an optimal recovery state for the patient. This paper illustrates how this Japanese health-affirming method can be integrated and utilized within existing health and medical practices. An area that is …