TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Transpersonal psychology started off within humanistic psychology, and then became more distinct, with its own separate journals and conferences. So here we have something which goes beyond the borders of humanistic psychology. Yet if we look at a map of the transpersonal, such as the one given to us by Ken Wilber (see Figure 1), we can see that it overlaps with the humanistic. So there is still a strong connection, such that for example Frances Vaughan, a star of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, could be elected President of the Association for Humanistic Psychology.
Transpersonal experiences involve an expansion or extension of consciousness beyond the usual ego boundaries and beyond the limitations of time and space. Maslow talked about peak experiences, and these form a good entrance point for understanding the transpersonal.
It is very important, however, not to fall into the one-two-three-infinity theory of the transpersonal, where we say that one is the body, two is the emotions, three is the intellect, and everything beyond that is one great mish- mash called "the transpersonal". As the chart demonstrates, there is more than one realm within the transpersonal, and these distinctions are quite essential if we are not to misunderstand our own experience.
Progression from one level to the next is not easy, because it is, as Wilber has emphasised, a dialectical process involving the negating of the previous phase. Many of us have had the experience of seeing the mental ego, with all its rules and roles, as quite ugly and wrong, when we first came into the stage of authenticity. And just in a similar way, we have to renounce the sense of a separate self with clear boundaries when we move on to the stage of the Subtle self or soul. This is a rich realm, full of symbols and myths, archetypes and visions, multiplicity and imagination. This is where we get in touch with the higher self, the deeper self, the transpersonal self, as Assagioli called it.
Robert Assagioli was a great pioneer in this area, taking off from Jung and developing his own approach, which he called psychosynthesis. In many ways this is an advance on Jung, and is certainly much more approachable and understandable. It takes over from Jung the notion of the collective unconscious, and this is a very important concept at this stage.
One way of using symbols deliberately is in the form of symboldrama, also known as a guided fantasy, directed daydream or pathworking. What we do is to use a simple scene or story to enter what Hillman has called the imaginal world. For example, we might say - "imagine a meadow". Already in that simple thing each person will imagine a different meadow, and by exploring and analysing further, much can be discovered about the person's needs at the level of soul. The very form of the symboldrama will help the person to open up to the transpersonal realm. It gives a hint, as it were, on the symbolic level, which the person can take up if he or she is ready to do so.
Because of the emphasis on manyness at this level, places such as wells and standing stones become very important, and we can be inspired by sacred sites. They can nourish our souls and open our hearts. Shamanic work can help at this stage, working with power animals and so on. The feeling for nature which this may inspire can result in a deep ecological awareness, where we feel part of nature, and nature as holy.
The great way of entering and developing within this stage is through ritual, where deep forces are introduced in a controlled way. If entry to this stage comes suddenly and unawares, however, this may result in a spiritual emergency, which is sometimes hard to distinguish from psychosis. This needs careful handling, and can come out very well if this is done - it is the difference between breakdown and breakthrough.
But when we want to move on again to the Causal level, the level of spirit, we have to leave behind symbol and ritual, and use meditation as the prime method. Here again there is a renunciation of the previous stage, which can be painful and difficult. Now we are in the deep water of spirituality, where we have none of the comfortable warmth of the previous stage. As with all these matters, it is safer to meditate with others in a school, rather than thinking that this is something to do on one's own. Meditation is almost tailor-made for self-deception if we work in an isolated way.
Some people speak and write as if the Causal level were the only transpersonal level, and that everything else is subordinate to it. It is certainly very important and worth pursuing, because the purest mystical experiences are to be found here. Nondual consciousness finds its natural home at this level of development.
Although it is possible to go in for transpersonal work at any time in one's life, Jung thought that it is more appropriate in the second half of life, when there has been time for the other levels to develop fully. Certainly it seems that it is safer to postpone any very deep entry into this realm until the real self has been contacted. Otherwise there is a danger of projecting mother stuff, father stuff, womb stuff, birth stuff, shadow stuff and so on, into the spiritual world, which can lead to frightening experiences. Taken at the right time, however, the transpersonal can be one of the best experiences in this whole field.
One point which Wilber makes, and which again helps to clarify all this, is that when we repudiate a previous stage, we do not lose it. Psychospiritual development is like a set of Russian dolls, one within the other. We do not lose the mental ego, we simply do not let it run our lives or need its image any more. We do not lose the real self, we simply do not take it for granted, and we do not need our self-image any more. We do not lose our soul, we recognise that it does not have to be central, and we do not need our soul-image any more. Much of the talk in this realm about losing the ego is quite confused and unhelpful. It is never lost - rather it is questioned in one way and expanded in another.
So far as psychotherapy is concerned, most transpersonal therapists work at the level of soul most of the time, in practice. But all therapists have to work at all levels of which they are capable, at times. And some therapists say they they obtain a lot of strength and inspiration from their own work at the level of spirit.
BOOKLIST
Subtle stages
Goldberg, Philip (1983) The intuitive edge Jeremy Tarcher, Los Angeles. A good book on all aspects of intuition.
Greene L & Sasportas H (1987) The development of the personality) Routledge, London. Good on childhood, marriage, subpersonalities, puer and senex.
Greene L & Sasportas H (1989) Dynamics of the unconscious) Arkana, London. On aggression, depression, the sublime and alchemy.
Grof, Stanislav (1992) The holotropic mind Harper San Francisco. A good account of many transpersonal experiences.
Hillman, James (1989) The essential James Hillman (introduced and edited by Thomas Moore) Routledge, London. An excellent introduction to this brilliant writer, who has contributed so much to this field.
Watkins M (1976) Waking dreams Harper Colophon, New York. A thin but not so easy book on imagery in psychotherapy - very sophisticated.
Causal Stage
Horne, James R (1978) Beyond mysticism Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo. Sophisticated and very clear.
LeShan,Lawrence (1989) How to meditate Crucible, London. This first appeared in 1974, and is very helpful.
Otsu, Zen Master D R (1989) The bull and his herdsman: The ten traditional pictures Zen Centre, London. A good explanation.
Shen-Yeng, Zen Master (1988) Ox herding at Morgan's Bay Dharma Drum Publications, Elmhurst. An up-to date look at the Ox-Herding Pictures.
Underhill, Evelyn ((1961) Mysticism E P Dutton, New York. This has appeared in many editions since it first appeared in 1911. A classic.
Vaughan, Frances (1986) The inward arc New Science Library, Boston. A very helpful reworking of some of Ken Wilber's ideas, well handled.
Walsh R N & Vaughan F (eds)(1993) Paths beyond ego: The transpersonal vision J P Tarcher, Los Angeles. Rather bitty and incomplete, but contains some classic essays by good people.
Wilber, Ken (1980) The Atman Project Quest, Wheaton. An amazing account of thw whole field. Read his other book "The spectrum of consciousness" too, which has a fine rundown on the causal.
Psychotherapy
Boorstein, Seymour (ed)(1996) Transpersonal psychotherapy (2nd ed) SUNY Press, Albany. Somewhat updated revision of 1980 edition: many things unchanged.
Chaplin J (1988) Feminist counselling in action Sage, London. Marvellous use of Goddess imagery to illuminate the therapeutic process.
Feinstein, David & Krippner, Stanley (1990) Personal mythology Mandala, London. Based on workshops, helpful exercises for self-discovery.
Ferrucci, Piero (1982) What we may be: The visions and techniques of psychosynthesis Turnstone Press, Wellingborough. A well-written account, with many exercises.
Gordon-Brown, Ian & Somers, Barbara (1988) 'Transpersonal psychotherapy' in John Rowan & Windy Dryden (eds) Innovative therapy in Britain Open University Press, Milton Keynes. An excellent rundown on how one school of transpersonal counselling operates.
Houston, Jean (1987) The search for the beloved: Journeys in sacred psychology J P Tarcher, Los Angeles. A superb book from one of the leaders of humanistic psychology. British edition now from Crucible.
Larsen, Stephen (1990) The mythic imagination: Your quest for meaning through personal mythology Bantam, New York. An excellent account by one of the pioneers of this approach.
Mintz, Elizabeth (1983) The psychic thread: Paranormal and transpersonal aspects of psychotherapy Human Sciences Press, New York. A very fine book all about ESP, psi, myth, ritual and symbol in individual and group counselling. How to recognise and deal with transpersonal material.
Rowan, John (1993) The transpersonal: in psychotherapy and counselling Routledge, London. The fullest account yet available on this application of the transpersonal, showing how it is used in practice.
Whitmore, Diana (1991) Psychosynthesis counselling in action Sage, London. An excellent rundown, including much practical material.
Wilber, Ken (1981) No boundary Routledge, London. A book which should be read by every therapist, every counsellor. Short, simple and deep.
Wilber, Ken (with Jack Engler and Daniel Brown)(1986) Transformations of consciousness (with Jack Engler and Daniel Brown) New Science Library, Boston. Further explorations into counselling and the relationship between psychological and spiritual development and pathologies. This goes much further than No boundary, and suggests that the counsellor of the future will have to deal with nine levels of treatment.
Wilmer, Harry A (1987) Practical Jung: Nuts and bolts of Jungian psychotherapy Chiron Publications, Wilmette. A wonderful and very explicit account of how to do transpersonal counselling. Delightful style.
Woolger, Roger (1987) Other lives, other selves Crucible, Wellingborough. A very good book about past lives therapy, by a Jungian.
Spiritual emergencies
Bragdon, Emma (1990) The call of spiritual emergency: From personal crisis to personal transformation Harper & Row, San Francisco. Good rundown.
Grof, Christina and Stanislav (1990) The stormy search for the self: A guide to personal growth through transformational crisis Jeremy Tarcher, Los Angeles. Includes a chapter on addiction as spiritual emergency.
Grof, Stanislav and Christina (eds)(1989) Spiritual emergency: When personal transformation becomes a crisis Jeremy Tarcher, Los Angeles. Contains many fascinating chapters by big names, such as Perry, Sannella and Rebillot.
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