exploration of travel and transpersonal development
Consciousness, Spirituality & Transpersonal Psychology September 25, 2020 DOI: 10.53074/cstp.2020.5 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractTravel can foster transpersonal development and spiritual growth by serving as a liminal space for self-knowledge and transformation. Interview analysis from the author's original MSc research, using heuristic inquiry, revealed collective themes. The paper suggests that for people open to experience and capable of processing it, travel shares similarities with spiritual practices, therapy, and rites of passage, leading to meaningful change. The liminal aspects of travel can continue after returning home, aiding integration and re-creating personal and communal life.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Qualitative study (heuristic inquiry) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Key finding | Argues that travel, through a search for authenticity and transcendence, can implicitly share similarities with spiritual practices, therapy, and rites of passage, leading to self-knowledge and authentic transpersonal development. |
Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between travel, transpersonal development and spiritual growth. Due to the personal engagement of the participants and the author in the subject areas being investigated, Moustakas’ (1990) heuristic inquiry was chosen. This is a qualitative methodology ideally suited to reveal tacit knowledge through those “who have directly encountered the phenomenon” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 38). Interview analysis from the author’s original MSc research uncovered themes that were presented through individual depictions, an exemplary depiction and a composite depiction, portraying recurrent collective themes. The composite depiction forms the results section of this paper. The discussion utilises insights and theories from transpersonal psychology as analytical tools to more closely explore the deeper workings of the phenomena being researched. It suggests that for people who are open to experience and capable of processing that experience, travel, through a search for authenticity and transcendence of the known self and outer world can implicitly share similarities with spiritual practices, therapy, and rites of passage. This can lead to self-knowledge, meaningful transformation, and authentic transpersonal development. Furthermore, the liminal aspects of travel can continue on returning home to aid the process of integration, and ‘re-create’ both personal and communal life at home.