Presented By CJ PickeringLife Your Best Life

A Spiritual Journey:The Road Less Traveled

“Live to learn to love. Learn to love to live. Love to live to learn so that you may live the life that you yearn .”-Rico Dasheem

Agenda

What is transpersonal psychology? What does transpersonal psychology

consider? Steps to transpersonal psychology. What is the Fourth Force? Present day transpersonal psychology. Practices of transpersonal psychology. Benefits to society from transpersonalism. Traditional versus forward thinkers.

What Is Transpersonal Psychology?

Transpersonal –- study of psychological growth a person experiences- enhanced stages of consciousness; beyond reason- explores the mystical, the unexplainable

Transpersonal Psychology- -involves the study of the transpersonal and spiritual aspects of human beings

Transpersonal Psychology Considers…

Spiritual Self-Development - belief that extraordinary potential lies deep within each of us; largely untapped in most people

Mystical Experiences- heightened states of conscious awareness; understanding of the true meaning of their “being” through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight.

Systemic Trance - a state of ecstasy, any modalities and states of mind, which bring about awareness or consciousness; occurs involuntarily or voluntarily; associated with meditation, magic, and prayer

Transpersonal Psychology: Peak Experiences and the Self Beyond Ego

Peak Experiences – describes any transpersonal states one might experience; involve moments of euphoria, interconnectedness, and harmony; an awakening to the higher truth

“Self” beyond ego – a knowing of your true “Self”; ego is the perception of identity of oneself in the physical world; ego prohibits the actualization of true “Self”

Steps To Transpersonal Psychology…

Psychoanalysis - is a psychological theory developed by Sigmund Freud-involves human behavior and thinking at irrational levels-attempts to bring behavioral drives into awareness - one's development is determined by events in early childhood-conflicts between conscious view of reality and unconscious material can result in mental disturbances -the freeing from mental disturbances is achieved by bringing the unconscious material into the consciousness

Steps To Transpersonal Psychology… Behaviorism- philosophy of

psychology that believes acting, thinking and feeling are behaviors-also known as learning perspective , which considers any action to be behavior

Humanistic Psychology- is a psychological perspective focusing on the condition of human existence - involves an individual’s thoughts, feelings, emotions, and their purpose of life.- study of structures of consciousness perceived from the first-person point of view

The Fourth Force…

Transpersonal psychology was developed from the original three schools of psychology: psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology to become the fourth wave force of psychology.

Transpersonal psychology incorporates all matters pertaining to human development.- is considered to be the most integrated psychology- covers everything from personality to transpersonality, mind to meditation, neuroscience to Nirvana

Present Day Transpersonal Psychology Transpersonal psychology now

includes approaches to social sciences, health, and the practical arts.

Transpersonal ideas are being used in a wide-range of diverse fields, such as: pharmacology, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

Transpersonal concepts are being integrated into many psychology departments in universities around the globe, including the United States and Europe.

Practices of Transpersonal Psychology…

Involves any practice that leads to an expanded awareness, a greater sense of purpose and presence, and a greater degree of self-transcendence

Core practices of transpersonal psychology include:- contemplative prayer (non-verbal, a form of mental prayer)- meditation (refers to an assortment of practices that are geared towards training the mind to be aware)- ritual (describes any set of actions performed for symbolic value)

Benefits to Society from Transpersonalism

Developments in transpersonal psychology benefit both psychology and spiritual disciplines

Psychology benefits:- greater understanding of the human experience and it’s full potential- will help people to realize and development this “potential”

Spiritual Community benefits:- can gain insights into human development that will help people to overcome obstacles to spiritual enlightenment

The Path Followed or The Road Less Traveled

Path followers or “traditional thinkers”- do not believe nor recognize transpersonalism, which goes beyond psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology

Road Less Travelers or “ forward thinkers”- believe in evolutionary nature of consciousness with its instinctive drive to self-transcendence

- embraces other 3 forms of psychology as integral parts to the development of human awareness and potential

References

Cortright, Brant (1997, July). Psychotherapy and Spirit: Theory and Practice in Transpersonal Psychotherapy, State University of New York Press

Daniels, Michael (2005, August 25). Shadow, Self, Spirit, Imprint Academic Publisher

Walsh, Roger, Vaughn, Frances (1993, September 15). Paths Beyond Ego: The Transpersonal Vision, Tarcher Publishers

References

Battista, John, Chinen, Allen, and Scotton, Bruce. (1996 May 17). Textbook of transpersonal psychiatry and psychology. Basic Books.

Cortwright, Brant. (1997 Jul). Psychotherapy and spirit: theory and practice in transpersonal psychotherapy (sucy series, philosophy of psychology). State University of New York Press.

Grof, Stanislov. (2000 July). Psychology of the future: lessons from the modern consciousness research (suny series, transpersonal and humanistic psychology. State University of New York Press.