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The term transpersonal means 'beyond the personal'
and refers to those states, processes and events in which our ordinary limited sense
of self is transcended and in which we obtain a higher, or deeper or greater understanding
of ourselves and the world(s) we inhabit.
For many people, the transpersonal is synonymous with spirituality,
and many areas of interest to transpersonal researchers have traditionally been
associated with religion (e.g., mystical experience, meditation). However the transpersonal
also encompasses aspects of human experience that do not necessarily imply a spiritual-religious
perspective (e.g., creativity, dreaming, ecological concern).
Academic study of the transpersonal emerged in the late 19th and 20th
centuries, and was mainly pioneered by psychologists and psychiatrists. Transpersonal
Psychology became a named discipline in the late 1960s and this was marked by the
publication of the Journal
of Transpersonal Psychology (1969) and the formation of the
Association for Transpersonal Psychology (1972).
Transpersonal Psychology aims to investigate the transpersonal in a scientific
and scholarly way, while also recognising the importance of a commitment to transpersonal
ideals such as empathy, compassion, personal-development and wisdom.
Being a relatively new academic discipline, Transpersonal Psychology
has yet to be recognised formally by the
American Psychological Association. However,
in 1997, the British Psychological
Society approved the formation of a
Transpersonal Psychology Section, as well as one for the related area of
Consciousness and Experiential Psychology. Also several Universities in
the US and Britain now offer Masters and Doctoral level programs in Transpersonal
Psychology.
As a branch of psychology, Transpersonal Psychology is primarily
concerned with the psychological understanding of the transpersonal, However, it
also recognises the importance of a mutli-perspectival and integrative approach in which other disciplines
are acknowledged to have their own contributions to make in our combined explorations
of the transpersonal. These other disciplines include philosophy, psychiatry, sociology,
politics, education, anthropology, history, literary studies, religious studies,
biology and physics.
Among the topics currently being explored by transpersonal psychologists
and other transpersonal disciplines are:
- Experiences of love.
- Empathy
- Creativity and inspiration
- Channeling
- Transpersonal Art
- Altered states of consciousness
- Dream consciousness
- Mind-body relationship
- Psychedelic experience
- Mystical experiences
- Spiritual emergencies and crises
- The Dark Night of the Soul
- Archetypal experiences
- Near-death experiences, death and dying
- The psychology of meditation
- Practice and experience within Eastern and Western religious and
esoteric traditions
- Buddhist psychology
- Shamanism and indigenous spiritualities
- Ecological consciousness
- Psychology of self and self-realisation
- The Higher Self
- Self-transcendence
- Male and female perspectives on the transpersonal
- Paranormal experiences
- Transpersonal approaches in psychotherapy / counselling and in education
- The evolution of consciousness
- Transpersonal research methods
- Integral approaches to knowledge
- The Perennial Philosophy
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What
Transpersonal Psychology is NOT
Transpersonal psychology is, in the broadest sense, a scientific enterprise
- it is NOT a religion or ideology. Individual transpersonal psychologists may or
may not have their own religious or spiritual beliefs, although most will be engaged
in some kind of transpersonal practice (e.g., meditation, ritual, service, devotion,
transpersonal therapy, reflective living, political action). Although there is currently
a predominance of Buddhist-inspired transpersonal psychologists, other traditions
are also well represented. These include Christian, Jewish, Sufi, Hindu, Shamanic,
Taoist, Tantric, Magical, Gurdjieffian, Theosophical, and Agnostic.
Transpersonal psychology is NOT the New Age. Although transpersonal psychology
represents a paradigm shift in consciousness, science and culture, it seeks to distance
itself from the kind of uncritical adoption of New Age beliefs that characterises
certain elements of the so-called counter culture. Transpersonal psychology has
very little, if anything, to do with crystals, UFOs, alien abduction, chakras, auras,
fairies, psychism, aromatherapy, levitation, fire-walking, or the new millennium,
except as these phenomena, practices or experiences may be investigated in terms
of their transformational consequences.
Transpersonal Psychology is NOT metaphysics. This is rather more problematic,
because many would claim that transpersonal experiences imply a metaphysical belief
in a spiritual, divine, or transcendent realm. However, there are some transpersonal
psychologists who understand the transpersonal in more immanent terms, for example
the developing of a greater sense of connectedness with the deeper Self, the world
of nature, or the social, interpersonal dimension. In practice it is important that
transpersonal psychologists are clear and open about their own metaphysical assumptions.
Transpersonal Psychology is NOT anti-rationalist. Although many would
argue that the highest states of transpersonal consciousness are ineffable and beyond
a rational appreciation, transpersonal psychology does not dismiss or devalue rational
and intellectual analysis, which can add much to our knowledge and understanding
in these areas. However, it is important also to acknowledge the reality and importance
of non-rational modes of knowing, such as intuition, integrative awareness, and
contemplation.
Pioneers of Transpersonal Psychology
William James, through his ground-breaking work
on paranormal experiences and the varieties of religious experience.
Aldous Huxley, especially because of his investigations
into the apparent expansion of consciousness using mescalin, and for his analysis
of the elements of the "Perennial Philosophy"
Teilhard de Chardin, who developed a model of the
evolution of consciousness that integrates biological science with Christian theology.
Sri Aurobindo, who developed a similar model of
the evolution of consciousness, based on Eastern philosophies.
Carl Gustav Jung, who introduced the concepts of
the collective unconscious and archetypes, and especially for his attempt to understand
religious archetypes from a psychological perspective.
Abraham Maslow, through his studies of self-actualization,
peak experiences, self-transcendence, and metamotivation. Maslow was one of the
key founders of both the "third force" (humanistic psychology) and "fourth
force" (transpersonal psychology). Together with Anthony Sutich and Stan Grof,
he was responsible for the establishment of the
Journal of Transpersonal Psychology
and the Association for Transpersonal
Psychology.
Stan Grof, through his extensive explorations of
transpersonal experiences resulting from the use of LSD and Holotropic Breathwork
TM
Roberto Assagioli, the founder of psychosynthesis,
a transpersonally-based approach to therapy and personal growth.
Charles T. Tart, who pioneered empirical research
into altered states of consciousness.
Ken Wilber, currently the most influential theorist
in transpersonal psychology, who has developed a comprehensive model of the evolution
of consciousness that aims to integrate the philosophies and psychologies of West
and East, ancient and modern.
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