The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
October 31, 2022
Charles Hamilton
Ram Dass, born Richard Alpert, transformed from a clinical psychologist constrained by Western expectations into a free, embodied spiritual teacher who guided others toward loving awareness. His concept of self evolved through three stages: from a psychological object of study, to a shared experience of co-discovery, and finally to a witnessing soul recognizing the self as continuous, moment-to-moment spiritual transformation. This account describes his spiritual journey and the shift in identity that allowed him to bring Eastern wisdom to Western audiences through books and dharma talks.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
October 31, 2022
Glenn Hartelius
Several scholars in transpersonal psychology are converging on open scientific naturalism as a fruitful philosophical and methodological framework. This approach builds on early transpersonal psychology's naturalism before it entered a metaphysical phase (roughly 1975 to 2000). Science must assume some kind of world to operate, and not all background assumptions can be empirically tested, making some metaphysics unavoidable. However, this necessity does not justify inserting foreground metaphysical explanations for psychological or spiritual phenomena. Instead of broadening psychology by adding metaphysics, open scientific naturalism can make it more inclusive and scientific by challenging metaphysically based disbeliefs rooted in specifically Western background reality assumptions.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
October 31, 2022
Tadas Stumbrys
People who have lucid dreams—dreams in which they know they are dreaming—may experience spiritual growth, especially when those dreams include mystical qualities. In an online survey of 471 respondents, 95% of whom had experienced lucid dreams and 65% were frequent lucid dreamers, spiritual transcendence was positively linked to both how often people had lucid dreams and how mystical those dreams felt. The findings suggest that recurrent lucid dreams and mystical experiences within them could foster spiritual development, possibly making lucid dreaming a viable spiritual practice, particularly in secular contexts. Because the research is correlational, causality cannot be inferred, and further longitudinal studies are needed.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
August 5, 2022
Glenn Hartelius
An analysis of articles published in the two main transpersonal psychology journals over the field's first five decades shows that empirical research has played a small but gradually increasing role in the literature. Gender diversity has improved from early dominance by male authors in North America, though gender imbalance remains greater in transpersonal psychology than in psychology overall. International authorship has grown but has not kept pace with the growth of North American authorship.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
August 5, 2022
Hessel Engelbregt, Hugo F. Alderse Bass, Sietske De Grauw et al.
Practicing mindfulness meditation in pairs, compared to alone, increases left-frontal alpha and theta brainwave power, as measured by EEG in healthy female university students with no prior meditation experience. The study compared a 5-minute paired meditation condition with individual meditation and a control condition, with participants separated by an opaque screen to isolate the effect of co-presence. The findings suggest that social facilitation or activation of theory of mind may underlie the observed brain activity differences, inviting further exploration of interpersonal dynamics during mindfulness.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
March 18, 2022
H. L. Walker
Among 21 adult North Americans working to address the ecological crisis, themes from heuristic inquiry and participatory action research included entheogenic and nature-based awe experiences, identifying the crisis's origins, both high and low political efficacy, nature-related wellbeing, and mutual stimulation between psychospiritual development and activism. Challenges to activism and the need for self-growth to overcome them emerged, along with individuation needs that both inspired and challenged activism. Many participants held negative attitudes toward sociopolitical activism, indicating a need for psychospiritual supports to foster collaborative sociopolitical change.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
March 18, 2022
K. O. St. Arnaud
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy may help alleviate existential suffering in patients nearing the end of life, a form of distress often poorly addressed by existing interventions. The article reviews classic psychedelics and their use in psychotherapy, then explains how psychedelic-induced mystical states can facilitate self-transcendence, which in turn may reduce existential suffering. Practical and ethical considerations for safe application are discussed, including developmental factors for assessing therapist and patient suitability.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
March 18, 2022
N. Yiangou
The Sufi tradition within Islam offers a detailed map of the self and its transformations, developed over a millennium of practice and discourse. Sufis have explored stages of a spiritual journey toward union with the One, describing an emergent transpersonal self. Their models, contextualized in phenomenology, epistemology, theology, and ontology, provide insights into a holistic psychology of self-realization and the making of the complete human.
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
February 17, 2022
Glenn Hartelius
Transpersonal psychology is a transformative psychology of the whole person, embedded in a diverse, interconnected, and evolving world, with particular attention to states of consciousness and developmental models that expand beyond conventional notions of self. This description draws from research on definitions of the field and themes in its literature over 20 years. Each element of the definition is examined, along with four phases of definitional development from the field's founding in 1968 to the present.