Europe’s Journal of Psychology 1/2009 www.ejop.org The value of the Transpersonal in psychotherapy and in everyday life

A general outline of transpersonal psychology is presented and the definition of the transpersonal itself is suggested. The differences between the transpersonal, paranormal or extrapersonal are considered and both the benefits and dangers of transpersonal experiences are discussed. Finally, the value of the transpersonal in daily life is addressed.


Transpersonal psychology: an overview
The position of transpersonal psychology is interesting.On one hand, it is a culmination or, better yet, an inevitable result, of the development of mechanical behaviorist and psychoanalytic psychology.These have both been dominant psychological forces for more than one hundred years and while they are both quite valid from certain points of view, human nature is arguably much more complicated than these schools suggest.Transpersonal psychology provides an answer to the need for more precise and flexible psychology as it embraces states of awareness that are well beyond the scope of even the keenest intellect.Transpersonal psychology is a silent call for deeper understanding of higher, so-called mystical and spiritual, experiences such as have been known to mankind in both the East and West (India, China, Japan, Native America, Egypt etc...) for thousands of years.
We live in the world of thoughts or, as modern cognitive psychology states, we base our perception of the world on mental representations (Kellogg, 2007).As hard sciences like physics (Greene 2004) and neurobiology (Dispenza 2007) advance the understanding of the worlds within and without, so it seems does the descriptive In reality there exists not only a difference but an actual antagonism between these two conceptions of 'archetypes' and from this confusion between them arise various debatable consequences, debatable at the theoretical level and liable to be harmful in therapy.(Assagioli 1967, p.8) Abraham Maslow is another thought leader who has had a significant influence on the development of transpersonal psychology.Maslow's research on the peak experiences (Maslow 1962) is of great importance for all psychologists, for it shows that these profound experiences come from well beyond what psychoanalysts are able to analyze.
Maslow's focus on self-actualization is of great interest for me and my humanistic psychotherapy practice.Peak experiences bestow upon the person 'a deep sense of selfhood', as Dr. Rowan so neatly put it (Rowan 2005, p.44), and they offer the power to, and often do, turn the tide of the process of psychotherapy.I have witnessed it many times in my psychotherapy practice.One of my clients shared an experience that by any criteria very easily comes under the category of peak experiences: The value of the Transpersonal 3 "I was just waking up in the early morning and was about to think of the issues I have with my partner and was yet again just about to give in to the worries when a deep sense of complete self confidence started to grow in my chest, near the heart.I felt as though my whole chest is burning with this firm and yet loving inner sense of wholeness and completeness.Is that sense me?Yes, it is me, it has always been, I have just managed to cover it up with my worries..." This particular client had a difficult road to travel up to this point in the therapy, but after that experience everything was much easier as we had firmer ground to build on.
Maslow describes the peak experiences quite interestingly: "All peak experiences may be fruitfully understood as completion-of-the-act... or as Gestalt psychologists' closure, or on the paradigm of the Reichian type of complete orgasm, or as total discharge, catharsis, culmination, climax, consummation, emptying or finishing."(Maslow 1968, p.111)This is rather eloquently put and is very close to what my client experienced.The experience was indeed the culmination of her efforts and a natural outcome of her opening up to deeper and greater authenticity in her life.She has already successfully faced her fears, self-manifested doubts, and made a huge step forward in expressing real emotions.She started pursuing her own authentic goals-as opposed to the goals set by her education, parents, partner, social position and so on.She began to believe in her dreams.Her self-awareness and assertiveness has grown quite a bit, and in social situations and relationships, her presence has become more powerful, more peaceful.Authority figures in her life have started to notice her, hear her.No doubt, the aforementioned experience was bound to happen.
Certain other peak experiences (Rowan 2005, p.44;Maslow, 1954, p.216) are of course not so dissimilar from any transpersonal experience that the wise men of old in most ancient cultures would have recognized as self-realization, enlightenment, illumination of awareness, encounter with the spirit, samadhi, satori, nirvana etc...I have witnessed other people attain these transpersonal states of consciousness on many occasions.Satori state of consciousness happens when a person becomes aware of his own true nature, and this inherent true nature always turns out to be what has always been.Dr. Amit Goswami, a theoretical nuclear physicist with an obvious inclination to the transpersonal, defines satori in the controversial movie What the Bleep Do We Know (2004) as "observer becoming aware of himself, as the observer".
There are many methods and paths that lead to such experiences, and one modern path is Enlightenment Intensive (EI)-in my opinion, a brilliant integration of ancient Zen Buddhist mental contemplation and modern focused communication.Explore the subject in Noyes' 1998 writings.
On one of my Enlightenment Intensives a person, right after experiencing satori, shared this: "False ego is an illusion, it simply does not exist.And That who I am is Infinite and Eternal.There is no difference between you and me.Your ego, too, is an illusion; all of this is just an illusion.I am." (Cigale 1998, an unpublished script) Such experiences are the transpersonal proper, as we see in Rowan (2005, p. 76 ).
Let me share one of my own experiences: "I was not focusing on anything in particular; I only noticed a bug there in the grass that was emitting some sound.At that moment, everything just seemed to stop.My perception ceased to function.It was as though someone switched off the movie projector that was projecting images on the screen of my consciousness.Everything just stopped being-and then I knew.I knew that the sound the bug was producing; it was the song of love.I knew that there are really no differences between that bug and me, that there is only One Truth, One Existence.That Existence is living through that bug and through me as well.There were no points of reference whatsoever, only Love and the Awareness.No God up there in Heaven, no poor and insignificant humans down below on Earth-it was just Me. "My" heart was completely fulfilled, tears flowed without any control, "I" could not utter a single word.I only knew I "was."(Cigale, 1996, unpublished script).
That was an experience of the Causal transpersonal level, also called samadhi.The word samadhi is a Sanskrit word meaning 'One with' (sama) 'The Lord' or 'The Absolute' (adhi).There are various levels of samadhi, of course.Ancient texts differ in the descriptions of these levels.Ramana Maharshi (1975), a great spiritual master, has outlined three: sabikalpa, nribikalpa and sahaja nirbikalpa samadhi.This level of our existence is described in numerous ways: formlessness, void, I and the Father are One, My me is God (Rowan, 2005, p. 76) and is not as unreachable as it may seem.

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It is this level of my existence that colors the meaning of life for me.It rejuvenates my wonder and respect for life.It is this knowledge or state of being that I rely on when nothing else seems to soothe me.High winds, stormy weather, or dry summers-it does not matter really.All relative sensory input cannot compete with the strength of Being nor with the power of Knowing.
Andrew Neher (1980) thoroughly examines the wide range of spiritual experiences in his work and does not dismiss the notion of such experiences.Quite the opposite : "Thus, mystical experience can be more than temporary respite from the cares and worries of our everyday lives.Sometimes, in revealing a whole new order of things, it profoundly transforms a life."(Neher 1980, p. 130).
In this light, it is interesting to observe how the understanding of human nature has improved since the Freudian era.Psychoanalysis interpreted such mystical experiences as a regression into primary narcissism and infantile helplessness and even interpreted religion itself as an obsessive-compulsive neurosis of humanity (Freud 1924).Some psychoanalysts went even further than Freud and described states attained by Buddhist meditation as self-induced catatonia (Alexander 1931).
Such notions are really intriguing, seen from a modern perspective.The psychoanalytic interpretation is especially questionable when we consider that one of the leading Buddhists in the world, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, is a perfectly normally functioning individual to say the least, and was awarded the Nobel Price for Peace in 1989.
And so transpersonal psychology acknowledges, regardless of various religious connotations, most of the authentic experiences acknowledged by all major spiritual traditions on Earth as genuinely spiritual or transpersonal.
The same cannot be said for psychiatry where certain transpersonal states of awareness are diagnosed as pathological.In actuality, certain experiences are so far beyond the reach of the psychiatric and Freudian psychoanalytic approaches that they simply cannot be understood or dealt with properly without the help of transpersonal theory and without a firm grasp of transpersonal experiences.I came across one such situation a few years ago.My old friend's rather unfortunate tendency for sharing such experiences, when refraining from it would be wiser, played a crucial role in it.I have known my friend − let's call him Steven − since childhood, and he, was committed to a mental institution years ago due to the problems his LSD flashbacks caused in his daily life.He took LSD only once or twice Europe's Journal of Psychology 6 and, according to the local psychiatrist, it was enough to push him out of the 'normal' human behavior framework.
He had an appointment at the institution when he was getting better and while he was talking about the progress, he said: "Oh I healed my sister-in-law at a distance; her ear was infected.I was using Reiki.She is fine now."That was, it seems, too much for the good doctor and so Steven was put under some powerful antipsychotic drugs for three days in order to realign his perception of reality to the narrowed lens of the psychiatrist and his scientific grounding in psychiatry.
Months later Steven and I talked about this and had a good laugh when I said that if I had shared my own Reiki experiences with the doctor, he would no doubt have committed me for life.
The subject of Reiki is well beyond the scope of our theme, but let us take a glimpse at it nevertheless.While the usage of energy work like Reiki for therapeutic goals may even today be frowned upon by academia, many independent scientific researches with interesting results have been conducted over the years.The work done by Drs.Robert Becker, John Zimmerman, and James L. Oschman (Oschman, 2000) has shown that Reiki not only has positive and measurable effects on the human body but also that it can be successfully used as a complementary method for medical remedies.
Obviously, certain experiences may be well beyond the reach of the mechanical and speculative psychology, which sometimes are-from a psychoanalytical point of view-rather pathological in nature.Certain states of consciousness and consequent actions are quite impossible to comprehend without profound insights into the innate nature of these levels of existence.An excellent example of this is Vamsidasa Babaji, a truly great Indian saint who was, recognized and acknowledged by most advanced scholars of his time.He was so extraordinary that in any Western culture, he would certainly have been committed or incarcerated for life (see Bhakti Vikasa Swami,1996).
Whatever can be said in praise of higher education and intellectual might, I would venture that mental speculation hard at work without transpersonal experiences can contribute very little to descriptive sciences like psychology.One such speculation is the extraordinary belief of some psychoanalysts that God (the transpersonal proper) and the Unconscious are the same thing: The value of the Transpersonal 7 "The aim of the Buddhists is often described as the attainment of Absolute Consciousness.From the point of view of modern psychology as influenced by Freud and Jung, the mystic appears to be exploring the depths of the Unconscious, while yet remaining wholly conscious.Timelessness, which is know on the mystical journey and in the sudden experiences of depth and meaning common to many, is one of the characteristics Freud discovered in the Unconscious.Another characteristic, the co-presence of opposites, parallels the paradoxes in which mystics very generally express their thoughts.For these reasons, among others, it may be proposed that the God of the Christian mystics and the Unconscious of (depth) psychology are substantially similar concepts.(Bomford 2002, p.340) Dr. Rowan's comment on these thoughts is strong, as he points out that such statement can hardly be taken seriously (Rowan 2005, p.296).I am inclined, however, to share his observation that 'it is very easy to make obvious mistakes in this difficult area' (p.296).
From my experiences as a Kriya Yoga teacher and an Enlightenment Intensive master, it really is difficult, if not impossible, to discern the personal (which would include Freud's unconscious) and the transpersonal.The only real and just authority, in my honest opinion, on such experiences should be the person who is having them.
We have seen, thus far, that certain experiences are quite distinct from the psychoanalytical Freudian inventions; but in reality, not all spiritual experiences are transpersonal, for they may be paranormal or extrapersonal in essence.
Paranormal and extrapersonal vs. transpersonal Parapsychological researchers − Joseph Banks Rhine, Gardner Murphy, Charles Tart, Arthur Hastings, Russell Targ, to name only a few − have gone a long way in the precise scientific work that suggests the existence of telepathy, remote viewing, psychic diagnosis and healing, poltergeists and psychokinesis.And yet, Alyce and Elmer Green drew a distinction between the paranormal or extrapersonal and the transpersonal.This distinction suggests that in the transpersonal one can find a definite scent of the divine, whereas the extrapersonal is material or subtly material in essence (table 1. adopted from Rowan 2005, p.8).
In my previous work (Cigale 1996, ch.4)I drew a similar line between the Absolute consciousness or pure spiritual experiences (transpersonal) and the side effects (extrapersonal) of these elevated states of awareness, or 'plastic roses' as I call them.
In my experience, extrapersonal abilities can be very useful and quite pragmatically employed in everyday life, especially in psychotherapy (ESP for example).But these abilities yield no real and deep self-knowledge nor are they of any firmly loving support when the inner skies are starting to turn gray.Quite the opposite, actually -in such high pressure situations, they can become a serious hindrance to progress.High archetypes (Jung) The Soul (Hillman 1975) The supersonsciousness (Withmore

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Guidance self (Whitmont 1969) The Self Transfigured self (Heron 1988) The value of the Transpersonal 9 Intensive) on the integration of the transpersonal experience (he calls it enlightenment, self-realization or satori) into everyday life, brilliant: "You could just be happy with the fact that you at least now know who you are and can live your life from who you actually are instead of from a fake beingness or personality; that you can now take any growth technique or spiritual practice and make excellent progress with it because of this conscious, direct knowledge of yourself; that you can now know where you are coming from in life." Conscious, direct knowledge of one's true, absolute self-as opposed to relative selves or masks; in ancient Greek, persona signifies the mask that actors wore on stage-is what makes the transpersonal so different from extrapersonal or paranormal experiences.Benefits of transpersonal experiences can be profound.I must admit that in my case, I have not really lived nor authentically perceived the world prior to experiencing the true transpersonal Self.For me, the satori experience was a definite wake-up moment.It was as though I was viewing my hands for the first time, tasted sounds around me afresh, and knew the meaning of being awake clearly and deeply.
It is important to note that transpersonal is not a synonym for spiritual.Spiritual too is quite vague a word, a very general one at best.As we have seen so far, the transpersonal is not personal (as delineated in the mainstream psychology), it is not prepersonal (if we use Jung's terms), and not even paranormal or extrapersonal (as outlined above).However, it is also distinct from 'spritual'.'Spiritual' is very broad-a word which can and does signify most of the experiences we do not really want to accept as genuinely transpersonal.If we did that, we would risk the misinterpretation of quite mundane insights for the transpersonal ones.Dr. Rowan makes this quite clear when he says that the transpersonal (the Causal level) is the source of all mystical experiences (Rowan 2005, p.272).Put in plain words, we may feel very elevated and profoundly touched when singing in a church.We may think we are Dalai Lama-like when we experience the power of non-violence for the first time.We might even think we are standing right next to the God when extrasensory perception reveals itself as a precognitive dream.However, with all due respect to these experiences, they are not transpersonal.The transpersonal has nothing to do with anything in the sphere of human personal or extra personal experience.The transpersonal just is-an Abstract potential, beyond words, thoughts, and deeds.It is the Source.
Transpersonal is also not the same as 'religious'.Moreover, a religion and the transpersonal stand on quite the opposite banks of the river of life.While religion has more to do with the vast masses and organized spreading of religious teachings, the transpersonal is very close up and personal.Transpersonal experiences are intimate insights into the absolute reality that may or may not be expressed within the framework and terminology of any existing religious doctrine.I concur with Dr.
Rowan when he says: "In other words, the transpersonal is a realm of personal discovery, not something which one joins" (Rowan 2005, p.10).
I would suggest this is what the transpersonal really conveys: integration and harmony of inner and outer psychological forces, by making one become what one really is, has been and always will be.It is in this direction, I believe, that we should seek the precise definition of the transpersonal.

The dangers of the transpersonal experiences
The difference between the spiritual and the transpersonal has already been established above, but it is nevertheless worth mentioning the dangers of the socalled spiritual path.
Fukuyama and Sevig (1999) presented these dangers as the 'negative expressions of spirituality'.Let us take sunlight, for example.It is of critical importance for life on Earth, but when used in certain conditions, it can become very harmful.We may say that the same light in the form of laser-Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation-is a negative expression of the sunlight.I have seen most of these negative expressions in my private practice.Instead of facing and resolving personal issues, it seems so much easier to be "spiritual" (note the quotes).But the personal issues that are causing anguish and pain in daily life cannot be simply by-passed or effectively And what seems to be that danger?Transpersonal experiences have unique tendencies to pull the practitioner out of the world, as it were, by virtue of being in such stark contrast to the ordinary day-to-day life experiences: the sense of complete freedom, deep sense of wholeness, pure love, peace, joy and happiness, Oneness, Omnipresence, utter lack of any kind of reference -unlike anything experienced in the daily affairs.
These experiences can be so profound that a single second spent in such a transpersonal state can result in a strong detachment from everything material or non-transpersonal.I have been down this road a few times so far, and it is never Most humanistic psychotherapists have had various intense situations during sessions.Differing severely from impersonal and clinical psychotherapy, humanistic approaches with their soft, human touch tend to elicit deep and profound emotions from clients.I have witnessed such situations on many occasions.In most of them, my ESP abilities, empathy, and all intellectual speed are worth less than a dime.Only deep and clear awareness of the true transpersonal nature of us both, client and me, does get us through the stormy seas of past trauma, abuse and compromises.The transpersonal experiences proper (they cannot really be called abilities), on the other hand, do offer inner strength, complete self reliance and a bottomless source of motivation.I find the words of Charles Berner (the originator of Enlightenment pretty.I can remember the first few days after my first transpersonal experience: I was just sitting there in the living room with a blank stare, completely disinterested in anything happening at home.I am fortunate that my father was quite flexible and just left me be; it was what I needed, no doubt.I needed some time to get the normal perception going again.It was as though I had just awakened from a lifetime of watching an ongoing play on stage, realizing that the play I always took for real was, in fact, only a drama, an on stage choreography.Of course, the same happened in my social life.I was withdrawn, seemingly detached, and disinterested in daily affairs.All of this made my life quite difficult at the time.Instead of facing life and especially others at their true value, I floated a few feet above the ground, avoiding the real issues I had in life.It was not pretty, yet it was unavoidable for me at that stage.It is my experience that only sincere and persistent work on grounding and bringing these transpersonal insights into the everyday experience can bring balance back into one's life.Practices such as diligently fulfilling one's duties in family life and the social arena, and following and realizing desires and dreams in personal and intimate life can enable a person to reach the important and balanced state: A life 'with the head near God and with the legs on the ground' asYogananda (1946), a well known Kriya Yoga master puts it.
ignored.How could they?It is interesting how often this one fact is overlooked: the same issues in everyday life present very real obstacles in one's spiritual progress as well.Spirituality, as anything else, can indeed be defensive as well as transformative, We can see how easy it is to delude oneself about realized level of selfdevelopment, and we really don't want to believe that the more advanced one is, the easier it gets.Dr. Rowan has outlined the dangers that many unaware transpersonal seekers fall prey to: delusion and ego inflation, privation and pride, these words: "As one of my clients put it: 'As soon as my ex-husband started meditating and doing The Course in Miracles, he stopped sending his child support payments.'"(p.80).