Stanislav Grof

Drawing from Alan Watts’s philosophy of paradox, this essay aims to articulate an integrative framework of ontological paradox (i.e., that all aspects of existence feature distinct and integral dimensions). The metaphysical tenet of separation, which undergirds scientific materialism and denies humanity’s embedded place in the world, is merely one pattern of participating in such a paradox. What then are the different types of ways, beyond a materialistic ontology, in which individuals can relate to and participate in the ever-evolving whole of existence (and whole of themselves)? Spanning the fields of philosophy, science, psychology, religion, and mysticism, this integrative inquiry seeks to reconcile and synthesize a broad range of orientations to ontological paradox into a greater frame of reference. The result is the limb and pillar matrix. Providing an alienation-integration spectrum that applies to both internal/micro paradox (i.e., the relation of one’s self to oneself) and external/macro paradox (i.e., the relation of self to the cosmic whole), the limb and pillar matrix consists of five key questions or “pillars” and seven “limbs” or patterns of participating in paradox. The pillars of paradox relate to (a) the existence and (b) resolvability of ontological paradox, as well as (c) access, (d) progressive resolution, and (e) stabilization of resolution (i.e., full integration). The limbs of paradox establish seven multivalent participatory patterns: ignorance, denial, deferment, bypass, transcendence, resolution, and dissolution.

This essay offers a reassessment of Teresa's severe seizures which were such a characteristic feature of her mysticism. The diagnosis of hysteria is no longer viable, at the very least given its abandonment by clinicians. An alternative analysis is developed by phenomenologically comparing Teresa's seizures to parallel experiences of subjects in LSDassisted psychotherapy. Using Stanislav Grof's categories, it is argued that Teresa's seizures are perinatal symptoms. As such, they represent the emergence and reintegration of extremely primitive psychological systems and might be described as the growing pains of transpersonal consciousness. They reflect not degenerative psychopathology but progressive movement toward higher states of consciousness.

This sludy uses a model of consciousness derived from LSD-assisted psychotherapy to illumine an enigmatic set of painful experiences that occur on the mystic's path known in Western circles as the "dark night." It argues that the dark night experiences described in John of the Cross's classic work Dorft Night of the Soul can be conceptualized in terms of Stanislav Grofs category of "perinatal experience." The discussion examines the implications of this reconceptualization in bhree areas: (1) our understanding and evaluation of mysticism, (2) assessing LSD's potential for fostering genuine spirituality, and (3) reassessing the ancient claim that the capacity to experience transcendental states of being is innate.

This paper investigates the relationship between psychoactive substances and so-called paranormal phenomena falling within the study of parapsychology. It is primarily concerned with extrasensory perception (ESP)—telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance—as well as out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs). Psychokinesis (PK), aura vision, encounter experiences, and sleep paralysis only make a very limited contribution to this review as they are seldom related to psychoactive drugs within the parapsychological literature. The paper borrows widely, but by no means exhaustively, from parapsychology as well as transpersonal studies, anthropology, ethnobotany, phytochemistry, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and neurobiology, particularly neurochemistry. It is organized into neurochemical models of paranormal experience (section 1), field reports of intentional and spontaneous phenomena incorporating anthropological, historical and clinical cases, and personal accounts (section 2), surveys of paranormal belief and experience (section 3), experimental research (section 4), and a methodological critique of the experimental research with recommendations for further work (section 5).

Stanislav Grof's map of the mind offers transpersonalists — and further, humanists and all professions working with the human phenomenon — a new kind of intellectual effort. Just as Freudian and Jungian psychologies enriched 20 th Century intellectual life, Grofian is enriching the 21 st. Grof's psychedelic-derived theory promotes cultural interpretation, psychocriticism, curricular enrichment, and new methods of humanistic research. The theory's four-level map of the human mind has received moderate attention primarily by confirming other scholars' global findings — particularly in religion and mythology — while the theory's third, perinatal, level offers rich psychocritical concepts to understand the history and the rhetoric of war, Sartre's philosophy, cinema criticism, and interdisciplinary studies. This article challenges humanists to: (a) use Grof's theory to enrich their fields, (b) view the Consciousness Explorer as a Twentieth Century face of Campbell's hero with a thousand faces, (c) develop current leads to reignite interest in the humanities and enliven university courses, and by extension, (d) incorporate the findings of other psychedelic explorers into humanists' intellectual tasks.

prepublication online release. forthcoming information is on the text pages.

The purpose of the present study was to explore the effects of Holotropica Breathwork (HB), on levels of distress, meaning of life, death anxiety and personal orientation in a young adult sample in the context of a weeklong workshop, and also the subjective effects and persistent effects of HB. A single group, Pre-Post test design, with three follow-ups (1, 6 months and 12 months after the workshop) was used. A total of 29 subjects, aged 18-35 years, participated in the study. The tests used were the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Purpose in Life Test (PIL), the Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), the States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Brief Persisting Effects Questionnaire (BPEQ). Measures were taken before and after the workshop (four weeks, and 6 months later, for the BSI, PLT, POI and DAS, and 12 months after, for the BPEQ) and during the workshop (for the SCQ). No significant differences were found one month after the workshop. Significant increases of Temporal Competency scale, and in 5 subscales of the PEQ were found six months after the weeklong workshop. HB also occasioned mystical-type or peak experiences in 6 participants. At 12 months, volunteers rated the HB experience as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance, and attributed to the experience an increase of personal wellbeing and life satisfaction.

The purpose of the present study is to explore and compare the subjective effects occasioned by different psychedelic compounds and holotropic breathwork, specifically looking to the occurrence of mystical experiences, using the States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ). During the last decades different ways to measure mystical experiences has been developed. Different authors have proposed different criteria and characteristics to define this experience, including W. James, E. Underhill, W. Stace, R. C. Zaehner, A. Maslow and W. Pahnke, and different questionnaires have been developed (Hood, 1975; Pahnke, 1963). Among the most used questionnaires we can found the Hood Mysticism Scale (HMS) and the States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ), both based in the characterizations of the features of mystical experiences provided by Stace (1960). The SCQ is a modified version of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) originally developed in the 1960s by Walter Pahnke (1963, 1966) with the aim of measuring and for the evaluation of the potential single mystical experiences occasioned by psilocybin. The SCQ was developed and administered recently by Griffiths et al (2006, 2008, 2011) to conduct a number of studies to characterize the mystical-type effects of psilocybin using double-blind and placebo controlled methodologies. More recently the SCQ has been used to explore the subjective effects of Holotropic Breathwork (HB) (a technique developed by S. Grof to induce non ordinary states of consciousness), showing that HB can also occasion mystical type experiences (Puente, 2014a; 2014b).

Many theoretical approaches to alcoholism consider this condition to be a disease, yet one of the best known methods of treatment for alcoholism, that of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), considers a higher power, or God, to be central in recovery from this affliction. The thesis of this work is to examine the phenomenological aspects of alcoholism through a historical analysis of the concept of disease, as well as its correlate, sin. It will also utilize the ancient notion of causality, as developed by the philosopher Aristotle, as a hermeneutic model of analysis for this elusive phenomenon. Continuing with this theme, I then examine the imago-Dei (“image of God”), as a historical phenomenon and hermeneutic means of interpreting, not only the phenomenon of alcoholism but also the contents of the unconscious in general. This will reveal a fundamental difference between the general orthodox approach to a higher power, as in Alcoholics Anonymous and most traditional approaches to addiction treatment, with an alternative perspective, using Jung’s depth psychological views on unconscious phenomenology.

From the moment they occur, crisis events involving personal loss can disrupt people's lives and irrevocably change how they engage with the world.
In this brief paper, an autobiographical account of tragic loss demonstrates how exposure to crisis can provide opportunity for significant personal transformation.

The analysis of extreme states of consciousness (perinatal experience and transpersonal experience) is outside the sphere of normal science. Experience goes beyond the empirically evidenced frames of consciousness and become transcendental towards rational manifestations. The author offers hypothesis of possible worlds with emphasis on the authenticity of the experience in the role of the factor enabling an entry into the worlds like an acceptable ontological concept.

The importance and wide ranging psychological applicability of similarity judgment is briefly summarized, and its information representation/processing relationship with connectionist and Gestalt theory is noted. A number of relevant information representation/processing characteristics of connectionist-type systems are presented, followed by a comparable exploration of early Gestalt theory. Some fundamental parallels of connectionist theory and Gestalt theory are summarized. As a post script, a reference to Gestalt processes and the brain is taken as a pointer for speculatively exploring the psychological function of the cerebellum.

The purpose of this essay is to review the Grofs' model of spiritual emergencies. The authors ask: Has the model been useful for identifying and treating psycho-spiritual distress? Should it be amended? Spiritual emergency can be defined as a crisis involving religious, transpersonal, and/or spiritual issues that provides opportunities for growth. Spiritual emergence, meanwhile, lends itself to gentler transformation. The research methods include an archival literature review triangulated with an authoritative interview. The findings are that the Grofs' model of spiritual emergencies was ahead of its time and that the medical establishment needs to catch up. Adaptations and revisions that expand and refine it could help bring acceptance and further application of this useful model to people in psycho-spiritual crises.

Herein, I review the moment in my life when I awoke from the dream of self to find being as part of the living world. It was a sudden, momentous event that is difficult to explain since transcending the self ultimately requires transcending the language structures of which the self consists. Since awakening to the world took place beyond the enclosure of self-speech, it also took place outside our symbolic construction of time. It is strange to place this event and its aftermath as happening long ago in my lifetime, for it is forever present; it surrounds me all the time just as the world seems to do. This fact puts into question the reality of my daily journey from dawn to dusk with all the mundane tasks I must complete (like writing of that which cannot be captured in writing). My linear march to aging and death inexorably continues, yet it seems somehow unreal, the biggest joke of all. Still, I here review the events leading up to my time out of mind and then review the serious repercussions when I was drawn back into the ego-self only to find I did not have the conceptual tools or the maturity to understand what had happened.