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The editors have dedicated their tenure as editors to expanding the international breadth of the Journal. Beginning in the year 2003, with Volume 22, IJTS will be sponsored by the Saybrook Foundation.
The editors have dedicated their tenure as editors to expanding the international breadth of the Journal. Beginning in the year 2003, with Volume 22, IJTS will be sponsored by the Saybrook Foundation.
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The editors have dedicated their tenure as editors to expanding the international breadth of the Journal. Beginning in the year 2003, with Volume 22, IJTS will be sponsored by the Saybrook Foundation.
Hak Cipta:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Format Tersedia
Unduh sebagai PDF, TXT atau baca online dari Scribd
Volume 21, 2002 Bamboo Hermitage 11 The Universe Grasper 118 The Editors S. I Shapiro Dancing with the Trickster: 1 Endangered Asanas 125 Notes for a Transpersonal Autobiography Ralph Augsburger Stanley Krippner The History of Sanity in 135 The Essence of Transpersonal Psychology: 19 Contemplative Psychotherapy Contemporary Views Edward M Podvoll S. I Shapiro, Grace W Lee, 6- Philippe L. Gross Altered States of Consciousness and 145 Unattached Mind 33 Psychotherapy: A Cross-Cultural Shoshin Ichishima Perspective The Last Time I Saw Fritz 39 Mdrio Simoes Marc L. Joslyn Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter 153 Spring Essence: The Poetry of H6 Xuan Hu' 0' ng 53 Wlodzislaw Duch John Balaban Embodied Light 169 Jean-Jacques Dicker: Photography First 59 Chris McDonough Philippe L. Gross Transpersonal Psychology as a 175 Wu Wei in Chuang Tzu as Life-Systematic 71 Scientific Field Harris Friedman Kuang-ming Wu Language as Aperture 79 LumiGnosis 188 Michael G. Mitchell Duane Preble Quiet Mind 81 Dinomor: Evoking Memories of 195 Dino's Dreams and Death Atsumi Yamamoto Tonu R. Soidla The Re-Cognition of Being's 95 WooflWoofl 203 Infrastructure as Self-Completion Philippe L. Gross Herbert Guenther Arrest, Interrogation, Prison Life 109 About Our Contributors 211 VV Nalimov Bamboo Hermitage T. HIS VOLUME, 0. ur last,. c. oncludes. five years of edit.ing The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. We have dedicated our tenure as editors to expanding the international breadth of the Journal and fashioning it into an evocative mixture of academic, literary, and artistic work. Now, the success of the Journal demands greater resources. Beginning in the year 2003, with Volume 22, IJTS will be sponsored by the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center (San Francisco, California), and coedited by Harris Friedman and Douglas A. MacDonald. We extend deep appreciation and aloha to our Associate Editor Tonu R. Soidla, the Editorial Board and staff; and authors for their invaluable contributions. Writing is joy- so saints and scholars all pursue it. A writer makes new life in the void, knocks on silence to make a sound, binds space and time on a sheet ofsilk and pours out a river from an inch-sized heart. -LuChP Notes Philippe L. Gross S. I. Shapiro Editors 1. In T. Barnstone & E. Ping, Eds., 1966, The art of writing: Teachings of the Chinese masters. Boston: Shambhala, p. 10. Dancing with the Trickster Notes for a Transpersonal Autobiography Stanley Krippner Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center San Francisco, California, USA \ / \\ This autobiographical essay focuses on "anomalous," and "exceptional" experiences, those elements often ignored when individuals write the stories of their lives. Nevertheless, these experiences have life-transformative potentials that may be more salient than the activities usually serving as the basis for autobiographical accounts. If you want to face the Great One, you have to learn to dance in both directions. -Sufi saying U NUSUAL EXPERIENCES are usually omitted from autobiographies, and yet they are often among the most important of one's life (White, 1999). Many people are reticent about revealing these experiences for fear that they will be called deluded, sick, debased, or even fraudulent. Nevertheless, as the result of an invitation from the editors of this journal, I am willing to take the risk, hoping to encourage others to share their own transpersonal and anomalous experiences. I believe that when people share these experiences, they are participating in a process bf cognitive and emotional liberation; those who write these autobiographies provide validation for others who have traversed similar times and spaces. Because I might expand upbn this essay in the future, I am subtitling it "Notes for a Transpersonal Autobiography." At their worst, autobiographies that deal with these issues could lapse into solipsism and narcissism. But at their best, these autobiographies could add to the data necessary for describing the human being capable of coping with contemporary crises, integrating shattered cultures, and helping communities provide support services. Toward this end, my modest contribution describes life episodes that I cbnsider "transpersonal" and/or "anomalous" and/or "exceptional human experiences." When I was fourteen years of age, I desperately wanted an encyclopedia. My aunt was a salesperson for The World Book Encyclopedia, and could have sold a set to me at a reduced rate. However, my parents, who ran an orchard in southern Wisconsin, explained that we simply could not afford this luxury because the weather conditions over the past year had not been favorable for a bumper crop of apples, our chief source of income. I went to my room and began to cry, then realized that I had an uncle who was fairly well-to-do. I stopped crying and speculated about how I would make my appeal to Uncle Max. Suddenly, I bolted upright in my bed. My psyche swelled and my mind expanded in every direction. I suddenly knew what I was not supposed to know: Uncle Max could not be depended upon because he was dead. At that moment, the telephone rang. My mother answered the phone and, between sobs, told us that my cousin had just called. Uncle Max had been taken ill, was rushed to the hospital, and died shortly after his arrival. This was my first anomalous experience. As a university student, as I read books and magazines, I learned that a small group of researchers referred to as "parapsychologists" had been studying these types of experiences The Internationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21, 1-18 1 2002 by Panigada Press since the late 1800s. I also learned that anomalous information of this type often appeared in altered states of consciousness- emotional states such as my own when I was a child-but also in dreams, while drugged, or following hypnotic induction or some other external manipulation. Such information may also emerge during one's everyday activities, often as a hunch or a "gut feeling," or during shifts of attention, when one notices the beauty of a sunrise or is captivated by the antics of a household pet. Some years after my presumptive premonition, I attended a summer youth camp in a beautiful Wisconsin state park. I had the opportunity to climb a forest ranger's tower, and I was eager to give it a try. I had suffered from severe acrophobia all my life and thought the climb might provide a quick cure. I simply didn't look down, and once at the top, I found it hard to believe that I hadn't fainted or panicked along the way. I needed some solitude after this intense experience; walking through the woods, I almost stumbled over a peaceful fawn resting on the grass. Our eyes locked, and for just an instant I felt that we were one organism. There was no fear, no apprehension, and no cause for alarm. We were simply two parts of the same biome, two aspects of the natural environment whose paths had crossed. Decades later, I realized that this had been my first trans personal experience. Anomalous and Transpersonal Experiences M ANY SCHOLARS have attempted to define the term "transpersonal," but I am drawn to Charles Laughlin's (1994) definition: "Transpersonal experiences are those experiences that bring the cognized selfinto question" (p. 7). I like this statement because it implies that whether or not an experience is "transpersonal" depends on the state of the experient's cognitive maturity and/or self-knowledge; what may be a transpersonal experience in one culture might not be considered so in another. Lucid dreaming, for example, may be a transpersonal experience for an experient from the United States, but not for an Australian aborigine who has grown up to understand that Dream Time is the ultimate reality (p. 7). My own definition of "transpersonal studies" echoes and extends Laughlin's construct. For me, the term refers to disciplined inquiry into human experiences in which an individual's sense of identity extends beyond its ordinary limits to encompass wider, broader, or deeper aspects of life (Krippner, 1998, p. ix). Simply put, one's sense of identity is extended beyond its ordinary limits, giving one the impression that "reality" has been encountered more completely. "Transpersonal psychology" is one of several branches of trans personal study, and (unlike some of them) this inquiry is informed by the disciplined inquiry of scientific theory and method. To its adherents, trans personal psychology is a paradigm that attempts to encompass and integrate the entire range of human activity, from the most sublime to the most pathological (Edwards, 2000, p. 239). In this regard, I have been influenced by William James' call for "radical empiricism" in psychology. James (1912/1976) wrote, "To be radical, an empiricism must neither admit into its constructions any element that is not directly experienced, nor exclude from them any element that is directly experienced" (p. 22). For me, James' radical empiricism offers a useful framework for transpersonal psychology and the study of anomalous phenomena, a framework that is requisite if researchers intend to become serious players in the game of science. On the other hand, science is not the only game in town. There are other epistemologies, "ways of knowing" relying on the body, on feelings, on intuition, and on transpersonal and anomalous experiences, that are capable of taking us to realms that mainstream science has yet to acknowledge, much less to appreciate. Anomalous experiences, from my perspective, are uncommon and/or inexplicable episodes in one's life (Cardena, Lynn, & Krippner, 2000, p. 4). According to R. A. White and S. V. Brown (in press), "the anomalous experience, whether it be perceptual, cognitive, or behavioral, originates outside the mainstream of the experiencer's [or experient's] ordinary conscious awareness or self- concept." White (1997) has identified nine general classes of so-called "anomalous," "transpersonal," and "exceptional human experiences." They are called Death Related, Desolation/Nadir, Dissociative, Encounter, Exceptional Human Performance/Feats, Healing, Mystical, Peak, and 2 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Psychical Experiences. As students at the University of Wisconsin in the 1950s, while hearing a recital by the great Chilean pianist, Claudio Arrau, a friend of mine and I had what I would now call "anomalies of personal experience of the peak experience type." I had never been "caught up" in music so intensely; my friend imagined that she was running toward the stage and prostrating herself at Arrau's feet! Other people in the audience might not have been so moved, but for the two of us the musical performance was uncommon and inexplicable in terms of our frames of reference at that time. From my perspective, many transpersonal experiences can be termed "anomalous" because they bring the cognized self into question. However, most anomalous experiences are not transpersonal; they may bring the experient's worldview into question (e.g., when someone who doubts the evidence for precognition has a dream that comes true) but leave the sense of identity fairly intact. Exceptional Human Experiences B OTH ANOMALOUS and transpersonal experiences are exceptional because they "stand out from," or "rise above," ordinary experiences. When an exceptional experience, which may be anomalous, transpersonal, neither, or both, changes the experient's worldview and that person's subsequent attitudes, behavior, or actions, it can be described as what White and Brown (in press) would refer to as an "exceptional human experience" (EHE), an umbrella term to cover those exceptional experiences from which experients have been able to potentiate themselves, sometimes without consciously realizing it, and sometimes after long work and hard effort-not always devoid of risks. Usually this realization results in a transformed identity, lifeview, lifeway, and/or worldview of the experient, at which point the exceptional experience becomes an EHE. The changes are in the direction of realizing and actualizing the experient's full human potential. Our anomalous personal experiences during the Arrau concert were the first-of-their-kind for us; they could be considered exceptional experiences, but would not qualify as EHEs because they did not have life- transforming effects. For an exceptional experience to become an EHE it would have to be special, meaningful, out-of-the-ordinary, genuine, and transformative, leaving the experient "more fully human" (White, 1997, p. 96). White (1997) is especially interested in those anomalous experiences that become transpersonal once their meaning is integrated in ways that result in a transpersonal reorientation. Suzanne V. Brown (2000) has formulated White's (and her own) concepts into a research model of the EHE process consisting of five stages. White considers her work to be an aspect of transpersonal studies, an appropriate designation because her mentor, Gardner Murphy (1949), was one of the first psychologists to use the term "transpersonal." Even beyond Murphy, White's favorite psychologist was William James, in effect a pioneer of trans personal psychology, especially in regard to his concept of what he called the human self's "more," James' term for the heights and depths that transcend one's ordinary identity. For White, beyond even James there was Carl Jung, who also used the term "transpersonal," and utilized a capital "S" for the "self beyond ego." Jung's description of "individuation" resembles what White refers to as the EHE process. Many psychological theorists have emphasized the importance of meaning and purpose as fundamental aspects of human functioning. Their number includes such friends of mine as Abraham Maslow (who wrote about "peak experiences" and "self-actualization," 1968), Carl Rogers (who discussed the "fully functioning person," 1961), Viktor Frankl (who emphasized the "will to meaning," 1992), and Charlotte Buhler and Fred Massarik (who described the "basic life tendencies," 1968). Music to Eat Mushrooms By I N 1954, I read an article in Life magazine by Gordon Wasson and was fascinated by his accounts of the Mazatec shaman Maria Sabina. Following the dictates of a dream, which she felt presaged Wasson's arrival, dona Maria allowed him to participate in an evening ritual featuring the region's sacred, mind-altering mushrooms. At that time, I had no idea that in the years to come, I would be invited to Harvard in 1971 for the presentation of Wasson's book Soma (1971), or that, in 1980, I would participate in an expedition Dancing with the Trickster 3 to Oaxaca, Mexico, where I would meet dona Maria, perhaps conducting the last interview of her challenging but incredible life. The active ingredient of the sacred mushrooms, which she called los hongitos ("the little ones"), and one variety of which mycologists call Psilocybe mexicana, was synthesized into a drug named "psilocybin." A supply fell into the hands of the Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary in the late 1950s, ostensibly as a psychotherapeutic agent for use in research. In August, 1961, I attended a symposium at the American Psychological Association featuring Frank Barron, William Burroughs, Gerald Heard, and Timothy Leary. After hearing them discuss psilocybin and other mind-altering drugs, I recalled Wasson's adventure and wrote Leary a letter volunteering to participate in his experiments. In April, 1962, I arrived at Harvard University to participate in a psilocybin session. Leary invited me to a party in honor of the philosopher Alan Watts, a visiting scholar at Harvard at that time. I ate something at the party that caused me to spend the night vomiting and retching. I was so weak the following morning that I had to lean on my friend Steve on my way to Leary's office. I arrived early, collapsed into a chair, and comported myself as best I could when Leary's assistants interviewed me. As soon as they left, I ran to the bathroom, but I w&s determined to follow through with the evening's session. Just as soon as the psilocybin started to take effect, my malaise disappeared. Leary turned Steve and me over to his assistants and left for a crucial meeting with state :medical officials. Half an hour later, I closed my eyes, seeing a kaleidoscopic vision of colorful shapes and swirls, including a humongous mushroom. A spiral of numbers, letters, and words blew away in a cyclone, stripping me of the verbal and numerical symbols by which I had constructed my world. I ate an apple, smelled spices in the kitchen, felt the fabric of the carpet, and touched the breasts of my indulgent guide Sarah. The recordings of Beethoven and Mussorgsky had never sounded better, and I seemed to be surrounded by chords and tones. The clock on the mantel seemed to be a work from a Cellini studio. I visualized delicate Persian miniatures and arabesques. I was in the court of Kublai Khan; inside a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome; at Versailles with Benjamin Franklin; and danced flamenco with gypsies in Spain, one of whom threw roses into the air which exploded like firecrackers. I was with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello; I watched Edgar Allen Poe write poetry in Baltimore. Suddenly, I was at the White House gazing at a bust of Abraham Lincoln; someone whispered, "The President has been shot," and Lincoln's visage was replaced by that of John Kennedy. I did not realize that this tragic vision would be actualized less than two years later. My eyes were filled with tears, and I visualized a turbulent sea; Steve, Sarah, and our other guide were with me on a small raft, trying to remain afloat. We came upon a gigantic, dark- skinned figure, standing bare-chested and waist- deep in the churning waters. His countenance was graced with a sad smile. He exuded love, compassion, and concern, but could not offer us security. We sensed that this was the face of God, t h ~ body of our Creator, and for an instant, we were &11 one. I received the impression that if we, as humans, expressed love, compassion, and concern in our daily lives, we could partake of divinity. And as abruptly as the experience began, it was over. For a few moments, this experience was transpersonal. However, most of the experience falls into the category that Robert Masters and Jean Houston (1968) refer to as "religious." In the religious experience, one has the conviction that one has encountered God, the Goddess, Fundamental Reality, or the Ground of Being. The transpersonal experience is referred to by Masters and Houston as that of "mystical union" (p. 100). Strictly speaking, those religious experiences during which one's identity remains intact are not transpersonal. Those writers who construct "hierarchies" place mystical and transpersonal experiences in a higher category than those that are simply "religious." Even though there are data linking religious and spiritual experiences with health and longevity (Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001, p. 440), I know of no existing research supporting the efficacy of one type of experience over the other in promoting such benefits. Was my psilocybin experience anomalous in the same way as my awareness of Uncle Max's death? Despite my insight concerning the limitations of words, I wrote an account of my 4 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 experience and distributed it to several friends. When Kennedy was assassinated, some of them suggested that I was a seer. However, I had known beforehand of a strange historical pattern, the fact that presidents elected at twenty-year intervals die in office, and this may have impacted (or even produced) my distressing psilocybin image (Krippner, 1967). Anomalous or not, my be-mushroollled evening was an EHE because I never forgot the insight I had gained. From that time on, I have never taken words as seriously or listened to music in quite the same way again. And ever since, I have savored the concept of a God who is compassionate, but not necessarily and omniscient. The Role of Relationships I N HIS provocative book, The Beaten Path, Ptolemy Tompkins (2001) laments that none ofthe adults, both in and out of his family, whom he encountered in his "search for truth" were fully instructive. Fortunately, his own inner resources proved to be more helpful than an external guru. Tompkins observes that in former times, no young member of a tribal society would have to look very far for answers to the question: "What is the meaning of life?" The culture's mythological system would contain the answers, and would be able to explain every aspect of the youth's existence in its own terms. But David Feinstein and I, in our books and articles on "personal mythology," pointed out that the world's great cultural mythologies are now so badly damaged and challenged that individuals need to create their own worldviews and paradigms for living (Feinstein & Krippner, 1997). The 11th of September 2001 attack on the United States jolted people whose personal mythology held that "Life is predictable, fair, and understandable." This worldview is no longer viable, if it ever was. At times like these, a re- reading of the Book of Job is instructive. When Job, the very model of piety, loses his health, his wealth, and his children, he asks God, "Why me?" God anE!wers Job "out of the whirlwind," telling Job that he "darkens counsel by words without knowledge," and asking him, "Where were YOll when I laid the foundations ofthe earth? Tell me if you have understanding!' Finally Job admits, "I have uttered what I did not understand!' I review this awe-inspiring text whenever I am tempted to whine that "life is unfair" or complain that life should be predictable and comprehensible. I seem to have had better luck than Tompkins, especially in regard to family members and spiritual teachers. Aside from giving eternal thanks to my supportive parents and my sister (and her famHy), I will avoid copying the Academy Award winner who rattles off appreciation after appreciation until silenced by the orchestra. Nonetheless, a sampling of my cherished relationships Iilust include Swami Sivananda Radha and Tara Singh. Initiated in Rishikesh, India, in 1956, Radha was the first Western woman to become a swami. Starting with no financial base or institutional support, she founded a string of "Radha Houses" in Canada, Mexico, the United States, and Western Europe. She considered transpersonal experiences, although extremely rare, to be expressions of a "love affair with the Divine." As a young woman, Radha (then known as Sylvia Hellman) made a mark for herself as a dancer in Germany, but the death of her husband sent her on a spiritual quest to India, where she studied with a number of spiritual masters. Her knowledge was so vast that her many admirers wanted to disseminate her books (e.g., Radha, 1994). One of them speculated that if Radha had a doctorate, this would add luster to her name and win her a new audience. She asked me to serve on her doctoral committee at Union Institute and I gladly agreed, even though I suspected that the addition of a few letters after her name would not propel her to the ranks of authors. Nevertheless, the date for the initial committee meeting WaS agreed upon, and I waited in my San Francisco office for her chauffeur to pick me up. lIe had become terribly confused, thinking that someone else wQuld bring me to the meeting. Without my particjpation, the meeting was cancelled, and along with it the plans for Radha's doctorate. I felt dreadful, blaming myself fo], not checking with her grou.p during the week reganiing arrangements for the meeting. Radha was very gracious, and absQlved me ofresponsibility.,...,-a lesson that I hope I have been able to emulate whenever I am temPted to "blame" someone for a botched perfor:qlance. Dancing with the Trickster 5 ! I But I needed to learn the lesson once more. During the winter of 1992, I received a telephone call from Radha, seriously ill with arthritis, and living in Washington. She invited me to see her, and I made arrangements to do so after a Seattle conference that was to be held in January. I should have made a special trip, because Radha died shortly after our conversation. Her comment that she and I thought "very much alike" was a marvelous compliment. Once again, no blame was placed on me for not making this final assignation. In the meantime, I treasure the White Tara painting she gave me, and turn to it when I need access to my deepest wisdom. Another remarkable relationship began when I met Tara Singh at Virginia Beach, home of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, where Edgar Cayce's work is carried on. Singh was born in India and came to the United States following the Second World War. I always enjoyed his stories about the time spent with Jawajaral Nehru, J. Krishnamurti, and Eleanor Roosevelt, whom I had hosted in 1953 as a student at the University of Wisconsin. An inspired teacher of the lessons gleaned from A Course in Miracles, "Taraji" (as he enjoyed being called) frequently cited the advice of our mutual friend, Helen Schucman. Helen, a psychologist, became the "scribe" for these inspirational volumes and often counseled, "The course is to be lived, not to be learned" (Singh, 1986). I attended some of Taraji's retreats, and appreciated his attempts to bring participants "into the silence." Contemporary Western civilization, with its mania for progress and self- improvement, allows little time for moments of quietness and stillness, where people can reflect, contemplate, or simply experience who they actually are. For Taraji, the most important gift in one's life is silence, but "we must come to silence without desire and wanting" (p. 96). I could see why these retreats were well attended, leaving many participants eager to return the following year. I attended one of these retreats at Asilomar, on the California Pacific coast. During the final day, there was a question and answer session. Much to my surprise, Taraji invited me to sit on the dais with him and turned the bulk of the inquiries over to me. It was out of character for me to give people spiritual advice, but I valued Taraji's confidence. For over an hour I responded, giving examples from my own life whenever I could. For example, I related how one of the course's 365 lessons asked its students to thank those people who had persecuted or maligned them. in my case, the energy spent generating antipathy and anger could find better directions, once I substituted forgiveness for resentment, and moved on with my life. The final question was actually a statement from a "born again" Christian who made an arousing declaration of what it meant to have Jesus in his life. The only response that came to my lips was, "Well then, there you have it!" And with that, Taraji closed the session and we adjourned for lunch. My most memorable interactions with Swami Radha and Tara Singh were neither anomalous nor transpersonal. Indeed, these were "anomalies of personal experience" that were exceptional to me personally, although they might not have been to others. Nonetheless, as White (1997) points out, these experiences have a remarkable and unforgettable effect on the individual and carry the EHE process forward over the course of a lifetime, deepening, heightening, and enlivening the experient. These interpersonal activities, and dozens like them, were important markers on my spiritual path. Sometimes these memorable encounters were very brief. Following one of my workshops on the topic of "personal mythology" at Palas Athena, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, my hosts scheduled an afternoon of dialogue with Thrangu Rinpoche, a visiting Tibetan lama, and his entourage. When it came my turn to ask questions, I asked the lama, ''Why is it that so many articulate spiritual leade:r;s fall prey to financial or sexual excess, or become alcoholics or drug addicts?" The lama replied, "It is easier to preach the dharma than to live. the dharma; a humble monk in a remote monastery may live a life that is far more spiritual than a celebrated guru who appears on television and has written many books." This was a lesson that has remained close to my heart. Sweating in Nevada T HERE IS a controversy among anthropologists about whether shamanic traditions that favor mind-altering plants are "inferior" or "superior" 6 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 to those that do not use drugs. I have never found this distinction useful or accurate. My criterion is based on the biblical injunction, "By their fruits, you will know them." The use of mind-altering plants stretches back over the millennia, and thus cannot be considered a "degenerate" form of shamanism from a historical perspective. I had the opportunity to participate in a powerful mind-altering ritual in 1974 during my first visit to the home of Rolling Thunder, an intertribal medicine man who lived in Carlin, Nevada. When I boarded the connecting flight that was to take me to Nevada, I was surprised to see the actress Corinne Calvet on board. She knew of my plans and had decided to join me, hoping that Rolling Thunder would agree to work on an annoying intestinal ailment of hers that had baffled half a dozen Hollywood doctors. Once we arrived, I introduced Corinne to Rolling Thunder and his wife, Spotted Fawn, who had seen one of Corinne's films on television the night before. Rolling Thunder considered this coincidence a "sign" that he was to work on Corinne's affliction, and a healing session was scheduled for the following night. Deciding that he would need some help in this endeavor, Rolling Thunder invited me, my friends (who had driven to Carlin a few days earlier), and his "spiritual warriors" to enter his wickiup or sweat lodge. The wickiup had been constructed of saplings bent and tied together. Animal hides were draped over them, providing no vent through which air could escape. A shallow pit lay in the center of the earth, and was filled with red-hot rocks. As Rolling Thunder sang, chanted, and prayed, he slowly poured a dipper of water over the rocks. Waves of intense heat enveloped our naked bodies. We took turns adding water and the heat increased until I thought that my skin was on fire. With every breath, I felt as if my lungs were being scorched. I felt that I was going to pass out, and had to take care that I did not fall on the sizzling rocks. Finally, I realized that I could not fight the heat-my best recourse was to receive the heat and ride with it. I tried to become one with the hot air and allowed every breath I took to enhance this concord. Before long, this feeling seemed to extend to our group, the rocks, and to the universe itself. As the sweat poured from my body, I felt purged of anxiety, misery, and all the petty concerns that would limit my participation in the forthcoming healing session. Our group emerged from the wickiup, washed ourselves with a nearby hose, put our clothes back on, and accompanied Rolling Thunder to a campfire where Corinne was sitting expectantly in a comfortable chair. To the sound of drums, we danced around the fire several times while Rolling Thunder conducted his healing ritual, using an eagle claw and feathers in the process. Mter the ceremony, Corinne slept late into the next day. Once she awakened, she never complained of gall bladder discomfort again. Rolling Thunder told me that the eagle was his totem and that he occasionally transformed himself into one to fly over the nearby landscape, looking for medicinal plants. Following a series of dreams pertinent to the topic, I realized that I had at least two totems, or "power animals." One was the deer; I had been introduced to its power during my summer camp experience in Wisconsin. Another was the South American puma. As a child, I enjoyed playing "Animal Bingo" with my sister and our neighborhood friends. Instead of numbers, the Bingo cards were decorated with animal pictures, as was the wheel central to the game. We took turns spinning the wheel, and when it stopped we covered the animal's picture if it appeared on our card. The picture of the puma fascinated me, as it seemed to be jumping out from the wheel and the card. Invariably, it seemed to bring me luck when it appeared on my card. In the years to come, I encountered other deer and puma in magazines, in films, in zoos, and other places. Their fortuitous appearance seemed to coincide with auspicious events in my life. Using mental imagery techniques, I would draw upon the agility and grace of Deer, or the strength and the wildness of Puma, when it was necessary. The memory of my wickiup experience has been a constant reminder of this Native American wisdom. When people hear that I have been given aN ative American name (''Wicasa Waste," Lakota Sioux for "Good Man"), they sometimes ask me if I have a power animal; I am always honored to introduce them to Puma and Deer. Dancing with the Trickster 7 Jesus in Recife H . AVING ATTENDED Lutheran and Presbyterian Sunday School services as a child, I grew up imbued with Biblical accounts of Jesus' miracles as well as the knowledge of his parables. The Protestant Bible does not includ!;l the books from theApocrypha, so I had to wait many years before I discovered one of my favorite sayings attributed to Jesus. The Acts of John contains the passage, "And if you would understand what I am, know this: all that I have said I have uttered playfully, and I was no means ashamed thereby. I danced." Perhaps Jesus waf:) (and still is) a trickster! During my years in New York City, I brought my tourist friends to the Museum of Contemporary Art in midtown Manhattan to see several spectacular paintings by Salvador Dali, including "The Last Supper." In it, a diaphanous, blue-eyed Jesus is preparing the sacrament for his disciples, while dream-like figures float in and out of the background. I bought several small reproductions of this painting, and used them as foci for meditation. One afternoon, after spending nearly an hour in the stillness, I lost my sense of identity and felt a merging with Jesus. These transpersonal moments did not last for long, but I desired to repeat them. It was curious that I could not enter into this union by staring directly at the image of Christ. I needed to put myself into "Christ Consciousness," feeling compassion for the suffering, forgiving my antagonists, vowing to work for peace and justice. Even then, I needed to take one additional step: I found that I had to look obliquely rather than directly at Jesus' image. My interpretation of this phenomenon was that the unitive experience was not as important as the "lived Christ," the daily dance in which one learns to follow the Great Commandment: ''You shall love your neighbor as yourself," or "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Those who follow this commandment will find themselves, perhaps inadvertently, partaking in a transpersonal experience because, in my opinion, love can be defined as the extension of cognitive, emotional, andlor physical activity beyond oneself to facilitate the well-being of another person, persons, or entity. On four occasions I have the Centro Espiritu in Recife, Brazil, a guest of Manoel Rabelo Periera, better known as Pai ("Father") Ely. A former banker who answered his "call," Pai Ely is now a priest in both the Candomble and Umbanda African-Brazilian traditions. The painting on the Centro's wall portrays Oxala, the Candomble orixa (or god) of purity, as Jesus, and it never fails to inspire me. The syncretic Oxalal Jesus in a temple attended by poor people of color affirms my conviction that the basic Christian mission is to identify with the vulnerable, the alienated, and the marginalized, standing beside them in challenging situations, just as Jesus is said to have done two millennia ago. Each orixa favors a particular day ofthe week, and for Oxala that day is Friday. Each orixa is identified with a particular color, and Oxala prefers white. Several Brazilian spiritual leaders insist that I am a "child" of Oxala, and so on Fridays I make a point oflighting a white candle, and using its flame for my morning meditation. Of all the meditation techniques I have tried, I find focusing on a flame, while attending to my breathing, to be the most satisfying. The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, used "fire" as a metaphor for "flux," a reminder that life is constant change, that we never step into the same river twice, and that all "truth" is subject to shifting meanings. Heraclitus anticipated the literary technique of deconstruction-his "fire" is the active principle of deconstruction, which, finally and brilliantly, de constructs itself (Haxton, 2001, p. xiv). These are the musings that flicker in and out of my awareness during meditation. Rather than focusing on them, I simply try to release each thought and let it pass. But when I douse my candle and bring the meditation to a temporary closure, I realize that these are the messages that Jesus, Oxala, and Heraclitus constantly inspire me to incarnate. Ayahuasca in the Rain Forest O NE OF t?e many anomalies I tered III my study of shamamsm is the complex brew known as ayahuasca, yage, and by many other names, depending on the part of the Amazon in which it is used (Polari, 1984; Shannon, 2001). Some tribes attribute humanity's knowledge of the beverage to contact with subaquatic beings, others to the intervention of giant serpents, and others to messages from the 8 The InternationalJournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21 plants themselves. Jeremy Narby (1998) comments: Here are people without electron microscopes who choose, among 80,000 Amazonian plant species, the leaves of a bush containing ... a brain hormone, which they combine with a vine containing substances that activate an enzyme of the digestive tract, which would otherwise block the effect. And they do this to modify their consciousness. It is as if they knew about the molecular properties of plants and the art of combining them. (p. 11) This beverage has become the sacrament of three syncretic Brazilian religious groups, the best known of which is Santo Daime (i.e., "Give Me Health"). In 1996 I participated in an international conference on trans personal psychology in Manaus, Brazil. Although not an official part of the conference, an ayahuasca session was scheduled at a local Santo Daime church. Having partaken of ayahuasca several times earlier, I was motivated to attend the event because a friend of mine was eager to have his initial experience with this "vine of the souls." Shortly after I drank the daime, I had a series of intense images. In my imagery, I had wandered away from the church setting, walking deeply into the rain forest. An exuberant child ran up to me, claiming that he had just seen some goddesses; no, not just one, but three ofthem. I was eager to check out his story, so I continued my trek, even though the trail had disappeared. I was not disappointed: I saw three silver tents in a clearing, and walked up to the first one. Much to my surprise, Aphrodite opened the tent flap and invited me in. Her entire form gave off light, her light blue gown was incandescent, and her features and form were incredibly dazzling. Aphrodite looked directly into my eyes. I approached her, and our embrace brought ecstasy to my loins and tears to my eyes. I stroked her inner legs, working my way up her thighs, making firm circles with my fingertips. I recall removing ajewel in her navel, so that I could kiss her tight belly. Before the Greeks adopted her, Aphrodite was a Phoenician fertility goddess, but it seems as if I had caught her between pregnancies. I later recalled that she had been born from the sperm of Poseidon, or from the severed genitals of Uranus, depending on which tale one finds more appealing. On this night, it little mattered; to cite one account, "from her gleaming fair hair to her silvery feet, everything about her was pure charm and harmony" (Guirand, 1959, p. 131). Suddenly, I was standing in front of a different pavilion. This time it was the Norse goddess Freyja who beckoned me in. Half my ancestry is Norwegian, so I felt at home. Freyja was dressed in tawny tan furs and I remarked that they must be too hot for the jungle setting. With a giggle, she doffed them, standing before me in her naked elegance. I drew her to me, pressing my hands against her back, massaging her spine from her neck to her coccyx. She drew me to her couch, and again I felt a joining of psyche and flesh. I admired her gleaming gold necklace, and later was surprised to read that she had slept with four dwarves to obtain it. For this act, Loki, the Norse trickster god, called her a whore, but I was more forgiving, knowing that this was simply the nature of a love goddess whose ''beauty is unmatched" (Bjarnadottir & Kremer, 2000, p. 157). Soon after, I was in a third tent, that ofErzulie the voudou (or "voodoo") goddess of sexuality, fertility, and love. Her exquisite blackness enveloped me as I fondled her breasts, opening her heart by moving my hands up and down her breastbone, then gently stroking her vulva. Dressed magnificently in the violet and fuschia colors of the tropics, Erzulie's hair was bedecked with the exotic flowers I had seen on her island of Haiti when I was there in 1980. From that visit, I knew that Erzulie gives herself completely to each relationship, but soon is discarded, becoming "the tragic mistress" of voudou (Deren, 1970). I decided that she would not be mistreated this time; she would always be a treas-ured part of me, and that I would forever recall our union with fondness. When I opened my eyes, I found many of the neophytes around me in great discomfort, running to a nearby tree to vomit, returning to their bench, but soon runnjng back to puke again. For me, my bodily sensations were sensuous and delicious, . the aftermath of my transpersonal mergers. Aphrodite. Freyja. Erzulie. Each goddess had provided me with insight and knowledge. I knew that they were, at some level, a part of myself, but for them to take on independent fonns filled me with l:l.stonishIllent. They were also Divine Dancing with the Trickster 9 Mistresses, Kundalini Shaktis, Jungian anima archetypes, even manifestations of the Holy Spirit. All ofthem had invited me into their tents. Lawrence Edwards (2000) points out that this is a common way for union with the Divine to express itself-in several traditions sexual merging represents the highest form of worship. Upon reflection, I recalled that these love goddesses also represent fertility and assist during childbirth, when a baby walks through the door of a new existence. With a start, I realized that these latter two functions represented not only my Norwegian but also my German and Northern Irish heritage; "Krippner" translates into "crib- maker," while my Irish forbears were named "Porter," which translates into "doorkeepers." Jenny Wade (2000) has conducted a brilliant series of phenomenological inquiries into the relationship of sex and spirituality. Her conclusion is that sexual experiences can lead to "genuine transcendence and integrated, embodied spirituality" (p. 103). In addition to the Taoist, Tantric, and Judaic traditions that are deliberately designed for this purpose, as many as one out of twenty people seem to have spontaneous involuntary, nonordinary experiences while making love, regardless of their own beliefs and the mores of their societies. Atheists are included in this company, as well (p. 104). My own experiences support Wade's reports (besides my report ofthe goddesses, you'll simply have to take my word for it). I agree with her conclusion that "sex can take people to the same realms as trance, meditation, [and] drugs" (p. 120). Such experiences are possible despite the tendency of many religious groups to dismiss sex-at best- as a "lower" form of spiritual practice, and-at worst-as a hazard to spiritual transcendence. Treading Sacred Sites I N 1997, one of my Muslim students at Saybrook Graduate School invited me to visit him in Israel. I was able to see the tomb of Moses Maimonides, after whom the medical center in Brooklyn was named, where I had worked for a decade (Ullman & Krippner, with Vaughan, 1989). We also visited the sites in Jerusalem associated with Jesus' burial and resurrection. I visited the Holy Sepulchre revered by the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, and Roman Catholic churches and saw the Garden Tomb venerated by the Protestants. I trod upon sacred soil near other sites as well: the Dome of the Rock, the Via Dolorosa, and the Wailing Wall. On other trips, I left my footprints on Machu Picchu, Delphi, Glastonbury, Stonehenge, Borobudur, Tiahuaneco, the banks ofthe Ganges River, Mount Tamalpais, and such shrines as those dedicated to Fatima, our Lady of Lourdes, and the Virgin of Guadalupe. I was awed by the massive Meso-American and Egyptian pyramids, as well as the smaller pyramids of Ecuador. D. H. Lawrence (1923) wrote about "the spirit of place," noting that every group of people seems to be "polarized" in some particular locality. This pursuit of a "spiritual home base" provided the framework for my 1994 tour of sacred sites in Cornwall, England, where my host was Paul Devereux, director of the Dragon Project, an organization devoted to studying the purported energetic phenomena of these locations. Carn Ingli (or "the peak of angels") was one spot on our itinerary. Its jagged peak in the Preseli ridge makes it a prominent landmark, one where countless passersby claim to have experienced "vibrations," "emanations," and "sensations of energy." Ancient people draped it with necklaces, and, in the sixth century, St. Brynach claimed to speak with angels there. After a journalist reported that his compass behaved erratically at Carn Ingli, Devereux and his group detected full compass deflections on some of the rock surfaces as well as in midair. Checks with other peaks along the Pres eli ridge did not produce similar findings (Devereux, Steele, & Kubrin, 1989). Although I suspected that the power of suggestion was at work, Devereux explained that magnetic rocks that form Carn Ingli contain enough iron to produce a discernable effect. He also told me that there was evidence that the megalith builders made specific use of magnetic stones in the construction of some oftheir sacred monuments. A member of his group urged me to situate myself near to Carn Ingli to "feel the vibrations." However, neither the power of suggestion nor the magnetic rocks themselves were enough to give me an "energetic" experience. Some years earlier, I visited Chichen Itza, a Toltec-Mayan site in central Yucatan. I joined a procession of tourists for a tour of the Castillo pyramid at that site. The passageway was very 10 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 narrow, and the ceiling was quite low. About halfway to our destination, I was overcome by an attack of claustrophobia unlike anything I had experienced previously. I had shortness of breath, was sweating profusely, and had trouble moving my body. Not wanting to impede the journey of the others, I turned around and worked my way back. Surprisingly, I had no trouble exiting from the passageway. Nor had I experienced insurmountable problems in other pyramid interiors or when spelunking in a small Illinois cave. One of my Mexican friends reminded me of the legendary Mayan king, still said to be hiding underground at Chichen Itza, and suggested that he may have been playing a joke on me. Those tricksters. One finds them everywhere! More memorable was the time I spent in Lascaux in 1997. Our group was allowed only thirty-five minutes to tour the cavern and appreciate its 17,OOO-year-old images; even so, it would take the cave's atmosphere several hours to recuperate from our intrusion. It did not take long for the raw power of the wild horses, antlered reindeer, and massive bison to envelop me. The cave's surface brings a three-dimensionality to the paintings; a naturally-formed hole provides the eye for one animal and a bulging rock becomes the shoulder for another. Inevitably, I found myself slipping into the consciousness of those painters from the Upper Paleolithic. However, I received no clear-cut message. Were they executing a ritual to insure success in the hunt? Were these incredible beasts the tribe's spirit guides? Did the images symbolize the power of the tribe and serve magical purposes? Then, in my fantasy, I sensed that the experience ofthese early humans was direct and immediate; the paintings may have provided a narrative of this experience. Sometimes grazing deer are simply grazing deer. I hesitate to use the term "art" to describe these marvels; "art" implies something cut off from direct experience, a form that is sacralized or commercialized. There was nothing detached about the Lascaux creatures; they seemed as vibrant at that moment as they must have been during their creation. The contemporary architect who most directly addressed "spirit of place" was the Wisconsin architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who I had the fortune to encounter several times during his long life and tumultuous career. Wright carried on an ongoing dialogue with the hills and valleys of Wisconsin, as well as with the mountains and deserts of Arizona, his winter home. In 1952, I introduced him to the student body at the University of Wisconsin, and later visited both his schools. He talked (and wrote) about helping people ''break out of the box," which he saw as the architectural prison of the past, and advocated using natural, local materials when implementing his "organic architecture." It was customary for students on the organizing committee to have a private discussion session with guest speakers following their address in the Wisconsin Union Theater. Wright had a well-deserved reputation for being flamboyant and irascible, and his repartee reinforced his image. But one response triggered one of the most consciousness-expanding experiences of my life, clearly superior to anything associated with so-called "mind- manifesting" drugs. The Korean War was raging overseas, and many students feared that they would be drafted once they graduated from the university. One student told Wright about his dilemma; he considered himself a patriotic American, but he was not in favor of war as a means of resolving international disputes. He asked Wright, ''What should I do if! am drafted?" Without a moment's hesitation, Wright threw back his mane of white hair, looked the student directly in the eye, and counseled, "Don't go!"The student queried, "What do you mean? I would have to go." Wright continued, ''You are limiting your options. Tell your draft board you are a pacifist. Move to another country. You could even spend time in jail. But don't go to war." The student group was stunned. Another question was asked, but I did not hear it. I had been reading books about existentialism, and with his remark, Wright taught me that our existential choices often are wider than we think. Later, I put this insight to work when I helped objectors to the Vietnam War brainstorm their options, even coaching some young men who successfully convinced their draft boards that they were unsuitable for military service because oftheir alleged sexual orientation or their assumed drug habits. Dancing with the Trickster 11 As the Wheel Turns I N EARLY 2001, my wife filed for divorce and our marriage of thirty-five years came to an end. For solace, I meditated frequently and, in April, evoked an image of myself falling into the arms . of a tall, noble, compassionate Buddha. Later, I realized this was the 180-foot-high Bamiyan Buddha. Having stood for 1,600 years, it and another Buddha were destroyed by Afghanistan's Taliban regime in a twenty-day assault. For centuries, these Buddhas had observed the advent and decay of many cultures. When I contemplated the scene, using my imagination to move into the flaming red-black glow of the missile's destruction, I realized that everything has its moment. The art of ancient traditions and the bizarreness of extremist religions, much less the thirty-five years I spent with my wife, are all impermanent. Like it or not, flux is our very nature; knowing this, somewhere the Buddha was laughing while his image was being destroyed. As Thich Nhat Hanh (1999) observed, "Wherever and whenever there is mindfulness, true presence, compassion, and understanding, Buddha is there" (p. 153). Paintings, statues, and the like are simply reminders. The Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar claimed that he had discovered his destiny in a dream, in which God called him to save his country from the contentious warlords fighting for cont:rol of Afghanistan. A movement was born, in Omar's words, as "a simple band of dedicated youths determined to establish the laws of God on Earth and prepared to sacrifice everything in pursuit of that goal." Dreams and visions can inspire villains and heroes alike, as can apparently synchronous events. In their remarkable book, Synchronicity: Science, Myth, and the trickster,Allan Combs and Mark Holland (1990) tell how both Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler reported remarkable coincidences that saved their lives. Had it not been for some unaccountable external event matching an internal image or goal (Jung's description of "synchronicity"), history would have been much different. Placing synchronicities into the framework of "chaotic attractors," echoing the Book of Job and its message, Combs and Holland suggest that the universe is fraught with the unexpected and the unforeseeable. Hence, "its purpose cannot in the end be grasped with the rational mind. It must be lived with one's whole being" (p. 144). In addition to my professional work with dreams, these nightly visitations have provided me with some of my own synchronous experiences. Perhaps once a year, I will recall a dream featuring an actor to whom I have paid little attention in my waking thoughts. Nevertheless, during the day I will run across the actor's name in a newspaper or flip the television channel to a film in which he or she starred, or a talk show on which the actor is being interviewed. These synchronicities are what some parapsychologists would label "trivial," but others I have had are more likely to be labeled "terrible." In 1984, while attending a parapsychological conference in Mexico City, I dreamed that I had arrived at the ranch of Mickey Hart, the celebrated percussionist who had introduced me to Rolling Thunder. In my dream, Rolling Thunder and his friends were leaving the ranch in their station wagon. Rolling Thunder had a somber expression on his face, as did the other members of his entourage. I asked, "Where is Spotted Fawn?" Rolling Thunder turned his head slightly toward the back of the vehicle, where I saw a wooden coffin strapped to the floor. I knew that it contained the earthly remains of his beloved wife, my dear friend Spotted Fawn. I awakened, wrote down a few words to remind me of the dream, and went back to sleep. As I was waking up that morning, I heard Spotted Fawn's voice speaking to me: ''You know, I won't be seeing you anymore." Upon returning to the United States, I learned that Spotted Fawn had passed away that very night. I had spent considerable time with Spotted Fawn in the San Francisco hospital where she was being treated for cancer, so her death was not unexpected. Nevertheless, the synchronous timing of my dream with her passing made this a poignant anomalous experience. It was also an EHE, in that it motivated me to bring closure to my interactions with friends who are seriously ill, not knowing if my cu:rrent visit, letter, or phone conversation will be our last. Many people want to know my perspective on "spirits," and I simply express my open- mindedness. I define "spirits" as alleged entities, characterized by an identity and personality 12 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 traits, that can make themselves known (visually, verbally, kinesthetically, etc.) to human beings but do not share their time and space constraints. Their number includes spirits of the dead, nature spirits, deities, angels, demons, and many others. When I heard the voice of Spotted Fawn, it might have been that of her "spirit." Years later, when I went back to my parents' farm for my father's funeral, I stayed in the room I had occupied as a child. I dreamed that my father instructed me to open a small drawer in a desk that I had used decades ago. Upon awakening I did this, and found a photograph of my father and his high school basketball team. Was this cherished memento brought to my attention by a "spirit," or simply by the elicitation of a forgotten memory? I have had other provocative contacts with "spirits" that have a variety of explanations as well. In the meantime, I often answer questions on the topic by stating, "I am open-minded about almost everything, but I am skeptical about it all." In the meantime, such experiences reinforce my habit of recording the dreams that I recall in a notebook, and reviewing them to determine what I can learn from these nighttime visitations; "Dreams" and "dreaming" are two different events. The latter term describes an experience that occurs several times during the course of a night's sleep. The former term describes whatever can be brought back and remembered from that experience. The dream report is never quite the same as the experience of dreaming, and human error can make it quite different. Language and memory are simply not up to the task of making a direct translation. The process of dreaming seems to be essential for a person's health and equilibrium, even if a dream report is rarely given. There may be an analogy between reports of transpersonal experiences and the data indicating an unusual pattern of brain activity that accompanies reports oftranspersonal experience. In their book Why God Won't Go Away, Andrew Newberg, Eugene d'Aquili, and Vince Rause (2001) describe a chain of neurological events that are associated with some Buddhists' reports of "unison with the universe" and some Christian meditators' experience of "unity with Jesus." There is an area near the back of the brain that constantly calculates a person's spatial orientation, the sense of where one's body ends and the external world begins. This region becomes inactive during transpersonal experiences, producing a blurring of the self-other relationship. Newberg and his colleagues conclude, "Our minds are drawn by the intuition ofthis deeper reality, this utter sense of oneness, where suffering vanishes and all desires are at peace" (p. 172). The process of prayer or contemplation may trigger the neural reaction, but, once evoked, the neurological chain may deepen the transpersonal experience. In any event, these authors observe that the taste of apple pie may have brain wave correlates or even be stimulated by probing brain tissue, but that does not mean the pie is not tasty or real. The Buddhist concept of anatta, or "no-self," refers to the conditioned responses that need to be restrained if one is to develop spiritually and live without self-inflicted suffering. But Buddhists, in general, do not deny that there is an enduring individuality, even though it is constantly changing both in this world and (according to some writers) in other worlds. The early Buddhist commentator, Buddhaghosa, likens the situation to the turning of a wheel. When the wheel touches the ground, it generates a conditioned personality state on that occasion, but the wheel itself is enduring and is not reducible to the moments of its contact. Transpersonal experiences represent a return to the wheel itself, rather than a focus on the occasions when it treads the ground. On planet earth, we take our places and carry our banners in one festive parade or another. If we are lucky, from time to time, we are caught up in the exuberance of that parade, forget the banner we are carrying, and remember that our true home is the wheel, not its contact with the earth. Other images that come to mind are the raindrop, which maintains its separation only until it hits the earth, and the wave that is discernable for a moment and then rejoins the ocean. On the other hand, there is a tendency of some avid practitioners of prayer and meditation to avoid or prematurely transcend developmental tasks, basic human needs, and conflicting feelings, retreating into what John Welwood (2001) calls "spiritual bypassing." These people avoid confronting important issues in their lives by creating "new spiritual identities" that are simply the repackaged dysfunctional identities from which they sought an escape. Dancing with the Trickster 13 Lessons from the Paleolithic M OST HUMAN cultures believe in cosmic realms whose reality is commonly verified by means of experiences in alternative states of consciousness (Laughlin, 1994, p. 8). However, Morris Berman (2000), in his stunning book Wandering God, suggests that in Paleolithic times, human experience of the natural world was so intense that the environment seemed to ''blaze''; he suggests that "heightened awareness" may be a more accurate description than "altered state" (p. 30). Berman continues: The constant need of human beings in civilization to create ideologies, religious beliefs, political hierarchies, and the like, investing them with meaning ... so as to feel mirrored, real, validated, part of some transcendent reality ... does not (for the most part) appear in societies that value autonomy and mobility. (p. 168) Sacred experience did exist in Paleolithic times but it was "a more horizontal spirituality" (p. 23). "The aliveness ofthe world is all that needs to be 'worshipped'" (p. 188). I agree with Berman that shamanism and the yearning to shift attentional states seem to occur most frequently among groups that have an intense community life, and that support individual identity (p. 79). I recall instances of Native American tribes who gave autonomy to their members to interpret their own dreams, and would even allow a child to report a dream that seemed to contain a message for the entire community. Mter all, Jesus once remarked that "God's kingdom is within." I appreciate Berman's assertion that "we have never cut the 'cord' connecting us to animal alertness because that cord is part of us and probably part ofthe circuitry ofthe brain" (p. 81). Berman writes of the days when he ''had the sense of a Wandering God around me or within me, and every day was like a golden coin, as though I was out at the Great Barrier Reef' (p. 244). I have similar recollections of wandering alone in the swamp of my parents' Wisconsin farm, finding surprise after surprise as a frog jumped before me, as a bird sang in the trees, or as a new wild flower bloomed where none had blossomed before. These exceptional human experiences taught me to revere the natural world, and resembled Berman's concept of "horizontal spirituality," one with no hierarchy of either angelic beings or altered states. I am uncomfortable with the term "supernatural," as it implies that an experience or an event is cut off from nature. Many Native Americans interact with spirits, plants, and animals in ways that seem "supernatural" to most Western observers. However, Native Americans believe that all of these exchanges are natural, and reject "supernatural" as a word that implies a distancing from Nature. For me, the sacred text that most directly captures this ambience is the Tao Te Ching, supposedly written by Lao Tzu, a contemporary of Heraclitus, both of whom lived some half a millennium B.C.E. The eighty-one verses of the Tao Te Ching have a permanent place on my desk where they are accessible for either pleasure or for guidance. Its first verse can be translated to read, "There are ways, but the Way is uncharted; there are names, but not nature in words" (Blakney, 1955, p. 53). So none of the "ways" described by human beings is the "Master Way" by which nature really works. This is the insight that my 1961 psilocybin experience revealed when a cyclone appeared that whisked away a spiral of numbers, letters, and words. This is the lesson also taught by general semantics, which I studied at the University of Wisconsin, when it points out that "the word is not the thing." This is the circumstance that occurs during meditation when thoughts and concepts are dropped as I disappear into the candle flame before me. This lesson cannot be taught too often, because our culture consistently erects boundaries, constructs borders, and divides the world into neat (and sometimes overly meticulous) categories that allow us to go about our business in a more or less orderly way. Taoism appears to have emerged, in part, from Chinese shamanism, and the similarities are still apparent. In much of the world, however, shamans were replaced by a priestly caste that presided over institutionalized religions, complete with dogmas, ceremonies, and prescribed behaviors. These "old religions" tended to be parochial, insisting that their tribe or nation consisted of "chosen people," while the rest of humanity was in some way inferior. Unlike shamans, priests rarely entered alternative states of consciousness; they had no need to, as 14 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 they basked in revealed truth that needed no revision or supplement. The religions that arose between the fifth century B.C.E. (when Lao Tzu, Zoroaster, and Siddhartha, who became the Buddha, lived) and the eighth century C.E. (the time of Mohammed) offered new perspectives on life and death. They were universalistic, postulating a God or abstract spiritual entity that presided over all hIJ.mans, and not just a particular tribe or nation (Berman, 2000, p. 163). At their best, the "new religions" embrace all humanity, and respect the b ~ l i e f s of those whose religious convictions may differ. At their worst, however, the "new religions" are just as dogmatic and divisive as many of the "old religions," spreading discord while speaking of holy wars and crusades. Barbara Ehrenreich (1997), in Blood Rites, her brilliant book on the origins and history of war, observes, "Whole societies may be swept up into a kind of 'altered state' marked by emQtional intensity ... , ecstasy ... , and feelings ... eerily similar to those normally aroused by religion" (pp. 13-15). Nothing pulls a group together like the appearance of an enemy; "in the face of danger, we need to cleave together, becoming a new, many-headed creature larger than our individual selves" (p. 82). Indeed, transpersonal experience can be associated with war and depravity as well as with peace and love. A week at a Zen retreat, a weekend at a Hitler Youth rally, a night of sexual debauchery, or a day of wanton rape and butchery are all capable of producing experiences that would be classified as "transpersonal;' by a dispassionate observer. Each could extend the experient's sense of identity beyond its ordinary limits to encompass wider, broader, or deeper aspects oflife or the cosmos. As an avid reader of the books on transpersonal psychology by Ken Wilber (e.g., Wilber, 2000), I doubt that my own experiences would attain a very lofty height on his carefully sculptured hierarchy of ''higher consciousness." Yet, I credit him for his attempts to integrate the "three cultures" of science, morality, and art. His provocative books combine erudition with wit and intelligence, and make a case for including Spirit in one's worldview. Wilber places shamanic states of consciousness at the "subtle" level of his consciousness spectrum, characterized by vibrant mental imagery, both with form (e.g., "guiding spirits") and without form (e.g., "white light"). Wilber grants that an occasional shaman broke into the "causal" realm of "pure awareness" and the "void," but not until the advent of meditative disciplines was it possible for someone to attain "absolute" consciousness which experiences its "true nature." Along with his inattention to the varied scope of shamanic states, Wilber gives little consideration to the function of shamans (as opposed to those "yogis" and "mystics" who frequently attain "causal" and/or "absolute" consciousness). Shamans serve their communities, and this dimension is not recognized in Wilber's hierarchy. I am not one to put much stock in hierarchies, but I would suggest the construction of a hierarchy of altruism. Because they serve their communities, shamans would have a higher rating on this scale than practitioners who spend their time accessing "higher consciousness" in retreats, in monasteries, and ashrams rather than in emergency rooms, battered women's c;enters, soup kitchens, and hospices. ) This devotion to service is linked with another aspect of shamanism, namely that of the trickster. Shamans employ, as allies, various tricksters, and sometimes play the role of a trickster themselves. Whether the trickster is aN ative American raven, a crow, or a coyote, whether it is the Hermes of Greek mythology or the Exus of Brazilian Candomble, the trickster jolts people out oftheir complacency. A personal disaster suddenly has unseen benefits; a cherished relationship inexplicably turns sour; a valued project falls apart. Sometimes another comes out of nowhere to take its place, but even if not, one's complacency has been shattered. Transpersonal and anomalous experiences also contain a trickster element. They are basically "deconstructive," to use a term from postmodern studies, in that they break down customary boundaries, classifications, and categories. Western culture is ultra-rational-it prefers sharp distinctions and clear borders. The parapsychologist George Hansen (2001) remarks that even our modern theory of communication is binary, and the term "bit" is shorthand for "binary digit" (p. 31). While studying general semantics, I learned the folly of the "excluded middle," the notion that there is no middle ground, no betwixt and Dancing with the Trickster 15 between. Hansen warns us that we do not eliminate the trickster simply by making sharp distinctions and clear categories. There is still a realm that lies betwixt and between the word and its referent, the signifier and the signified (p. 31). I believe the trickster is ubiquitous in anomalous experiences. It prevents parapsychological experiments from being replicated; it encourages psychiatrists to prescribe medication for patients who ask them about their "out-of-body" experiences; it causes academics to run in the other direction when a colleague suggests that the study of "past lives," "near-death" reports, or "alien abductions" might have some merit. Anomalous and transpersonal experiences not only violate categories, they deconstruct and subvert them. When they lead to exceptional human experiences (EHEs), the result, according to White (1997), must be life-affirming rather than life-denying. For White, an EHE is embedded in a life-potentiating story that rings true to the experient as well as to others. Because EHEs can be described either as "Peak in Darien" or as "fear and trembling," the term ''vivid'' experience has been proposed to cover both peak experiences and nadir experiences, both of which have the potential of becoming EHEs. The former description is attributed to Vasco Balboa's awe-inspiring experience upon seeing the Pacific Ocean from a small peak near the Gulf of Darien; the latter term describes episodes ofhopelessness, despair, anguish, and desolation that, nonetheless, can be instructive (Margo shes & Litt, 1966). My first sighting ofMt. Everest (in Nepal) and my first glimpse ofthe 19uassu Falls (between Brazil and Argentina) were neither anomalous nor transpersonal. However, they were both peak experiences, and they were EHEs; during these outdoor encounters, I remember muttering to myself, "Nature never makes an esthetic mistake." When captured Mricans arrived in Brazil, they brought more than their orixas; the slaves remembered their dances, their songs,and their martial arts. They practiced the latter privately, waiting for the fortuitous time to fight for their freedom. Upon occasion, their slave-masters caught them engaging in these strange movements. The resourceful slaves claimed that they were rehearsing a dance; as a result, capoeira, the ubiquitous Brazilian martial art, was conceived and maintained in trickery. Today, when it is performed by trained capoeiristas, its graceful, catlike movements constantly surprise its spectators, and probably its participants as well. Like a cat falling from a tree, the capoeirista lands on his or her feet; like a cat stalking its prey, a capoeirista is alert for any sound, smell, or movement that will facilitate an advantageous move. It should be no surprise that in addition to sprightly Deer, lithe Puma is my totem, or power animal. With one totem from North America and one from South America, I may have the hemisphere covered! Late in 2001, I began external radiation treatment for prostate cancer. In addition to ingesting nutritional supplements and receiving "distant healing" from a bevy of devoted friends, I conducted daily mental imagery sessions, imagining Puma devouring the dead cancer cells following radiation and Deer bringing in reinforcements from my immune system to restore vitality to the healthy cells. This ordeal would definitely qualify as a nadir experience, but one that renewed my own personal mythology ! and its determination to bring what learning, love, and light I can into this world. A blood test taken when the radiation treatment ended indicated the success of the regimen, mainstream medicine supplemented by complementary procedures. In 1946, Sister Teresa was traveling to Darjeeling, India, on a train. The young nun was "told by God" that her life's work was to recognize the divinity ofthe poorest ofthe poor, and to serve them with love. Later, as Mother Teresa, she won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1996, half a century later, Yigal Amir, an Israeli law student also "heard God." Claiming to be following God's orders, he assassinated Yitzchak Rabin, another Nobel laureate. Did the same "God" speak to both? From my point of view, the former would be an exceptional human experience because it became life-affirming and life-potentiating, while the later, because it was life-denying, would not. From my perspective, a compassionate God, one connected with community and characterized by caring, was present in Mother Teresa's experience, but the "God" who called for murder was a projection of the experient. This is only my point of view, and others will make different judgments. I view "evil" as the absence of God, as ignorance of the Divine, and as intolerable, 16 The International JournalofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21 deliberate harm produced by culpable wrongdoing, but there are others who hold that evil is simply God's "shadow" or "other face." I tend to refrain from being judgmental, but there are life conditions that require decisions. There are those who have abrogated their decision-making function to a dogma, a guru, or a religious leader. Yet, as I have learned by virtue of my extraordinary experiences, when we have any options that allow uS choice, we are thrown back on ourselves to make the final decision. The selves we are thrown back upon may be social constructions, they may consist of conditioned responses, they may be our conduit to Spirit, or they may be the tip of a huge, unknown psychic iceberg, but they are all we have at our disposal when push comes to shove. Thus, like each weighty idea that I have reflected upon, this one ends in paradox. Nevertheless, I believe that people must be thought of as potentially mindful, responsible moral agents. Evil does exist in our world, and needs to be confronted if the parade of life on this planet is to continue. However, we must take care that we do not take a simplistic, naive position on this issue. MyoId friend Alan Watts (1963) wrote that the concept of "evil" is profoundly problematic in a universe supposedly governed by a single God both beneficent and omnipotent. "This then is the paradox that the greater our ethical idealism, the darker is the shadow that we cast, and that ethical monotheism became, in attitude if not in theory, the world's most startling dualism" (p. 46). Watts was more comfortable with the yin/yang of Taoism, the conceptualization that in every yin, there is a little yang, and in every yang a little yin. The Tao Te Ching states, "Since the world points up beauty so much, there is ugliness too. If goodness is taken as goodness, wickedness enters as well" (Blakney, 1955, p. 54). Watts divided people into "prickles" and "goos," but admitted that most people were either "prickly goos" or "gooey prickles." And the God that made most sense to Watts was a "two-handed God," a "hide-and-seek God," a "now you see Her, now you don't" God. "God" may be a word we use to describe transcendent trickery, the ultimate deconstructing of boundaries, and paradoxically the unifying of divisions. This is the God of fluidity, of change, of transcendence-the very Tao itself Native Americans are perceptive when they refer to God as a verb rather than a noun; a correct translation of "the Great Spirit" would read "the Great Spiriting." These are the realizations that come to me during those extraordinary experiences that can be called "transpersonal." But these insights also emerge during nature walks, social encounters, playing games with children, making music, visiting art museums and sacred sites, and engaging in other experiences that are more exceptional than extraordinary. In the meantime, I do my best to imitate the Brazilian capoeiristas, connecting with my "animal alertness," happily dancing, though sometimes clumsily groping my way through life. All the while, I wait for a window of opportunity to make a move on behalf of intelligence, compassion, creativity, integrity, and the other values I hold dear. Sometimes the dance calls out the trickster in me, and sometimes my dancing partners are tricksters themselves; sometimes I detect the trickster, sometimes I don't. Yet when the dance is over, and when I return to the cosmic wheel and the eternal sea, whatever part of me remains from my brief stay on planet earth will be grateful. It will be content that I once had the opportunity to carry a banner in a challenging, perplexing, often disheartening, but sometimes joyous, parade. Notes This essay was supported by the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center Chair for the Study of Consciousness in honor of Dr. Stanley Krippner. References Berman, M. (2000). Wandering God:A study in nomadic spiri- tuality. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Bjarnadottir, V. H., & Kremer, J. W. (2000). Prolegomena to a cosmology of healing in Vanir Norse mythology. In S. Krippner & H. Kalweit (Eds.), Yearbook of cross-cultural medicine and psychotherapy, 1998/99 (pp. 125-174). Ber- lin: Verlag fUr Wissenschaft und Bildung. Blakney, R. B. (Trans.). (1955). The way of life: A new trans- lation of the Tao te Ching. New York: New American Li- brary. Brown, S. v. (2000). The exceptional human experience pro- cess: A preliminary model with exploratory map. Interna- tional Journal of Parapsychology, 11, 89-111. Buhler, C., & Massarik, F. (Eds.). (1968). The course of hu- man life. New York: Springer. Dancing with the Trickster 17 Cardena, E., Lynn, S. J., & Krippner, S. (2000). Anomalous experiences in perspective. In E. Cardena, S. J. Lynn, & S. Krippner (Eds.), Varieties of anomalous experience: Ex- amining the scientific evidence (pp. 3-21). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Combs, A, & Holland, M. (1990). Synchronicity: Science, myth, and the trickster. New York: Paragon House. Deren, M. (1970). Divine horsemen: The voodoo gods of Haiti. New York: Dell. Devereux, P., Steele, J., & Kubrin, D. (1989). Earthmind. New York: Harper & Row. Edwards, L. (2000). The soul's journey: Guidance from the divine within. San Jose, CA: Writer's Showcase. Ehrenreich, B. (1997). Blood rites: Origins and history of the passions of war. New York: Holt. Feinstein, D., & Krippner, S. (1997). The mythic path. New York: PutnamiTarcher. Frankl, V. E. (1992). Man's search for meaning: An introduc- tion to logotherapy. Boston: Beacon Press. Guirand, F. (Ed.). (1959). New Larousse encyclopedia ofmythol- ogy (R. Aldington & D. Ames, Trans.). New York: Hamlyn. Hanh, T. N. (1999). Going home: Jesus and Buddha as broth- ers. New York: Riverhead BookslPenguin Books. Hansen, G. P. (2001). The trickster and the paranormal. New York: Xlibris. Haxton, B. (Ed.). (2001). Fragments: The collected wisdom of Heraclitus. New York: VikinglPenguin. James, W. (1976). Essays in radical empiricism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1912) Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Handbook of religion and health. New York: Oxford Uni- versity Press. Krippner, S. (1967). The cycle of deaths among U.S. presi- dents elected at twenty-year intervals. International Jour- nal of Parapsychology, 9, 145-153. Krippner, S. (1998). Introduction. In D. Rothberg & S. Kelly (Eds.), Ken Wilber in dialogue: Conversations with lead- ing transpersonal thinkers (pp. ix-xi). Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. Lawrence, D. H. (1923). Studies in classic American litera- ture. London: Thomas Seltzer. Laughlin, C. (1994). Transpersonal anthropology, then and now. TranspersonalReview, 1 (1),7-10, Margoshes,A, & Litt, S. (1966). Vivid experiences: Peak and nadir. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 22, 175. Maslow,A H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). New York: Van Nostrand. Masters, R. E. L., & Houston, J. (1968). Psychedelic art. New York: Grove Press. Murphy, G. (1949). Psychical research and personality. Pro- ceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 49,1-15. N arby, J. (1998). The cosmic serpent: DNA and the origins of knowledge. New York: Putnam/Tarcher. Newberg, A., d'Aquili, E., & Rause, V. (2001). Why God won't go away: Brain science and the biology of belief New York: Ballantine Books. Polari,A. (1984). 0 livro das miracles [The book ofmiraclesl. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Record. Radha, S. S. (1978). Kundalini, yoga for the West. Spokane, WA: Timeless Books. Radha, S. S. (1994). Realities of the dreaming mind. Spokane, WA: Timeless Books. Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Shannon, B. (2001). Altered temporality. Journal of Con- sciousness Studies, 8, 35-58. Singh, T. (1986).Agifi for all mankind: Learning the first ten lessons of A Course in Miracles. New York: Ballantine Books. Tompkins, P. (2001). The beaten path: Notes on getting wise in a wisdom-crazy world. New York: Morrow. Ullman, M., & Krippner, S. (with Vaughan,A). (1989). Dream telepathy: Experiments in nocturnal ESP. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Wade, J. (2000). Mapping the course of heavenly bodies: The varieties of transcendent sexual experience. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 32,103-122. Wasson, R. G. (1971). Soma: Divine mushroom of immortal- ity. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Watts, A (1963). The two hands of God: The myths of polar- ity. New York: Braziller. Welwood, J. (2001). Toward a psychology of awakening. Bos- ton: Shambhala. White, R. A (1997). Dissociation, narrative, and exceptional human experiences. In S. Krippner & S. M. Powers (Eds.), Broken images, broken selves: Dissociative narratives in clinical practice (pp. 88-121). Washington, DC: Brunner/ Mazel. White, R. A (1999). How to write an EHE autobiography (3rd ed.). New Bern, NC: Exceptional Human Experiences Network. The latest version of this piece appears on the Exceptional Human Experience Network's website at: http://www.ehe.org White, R. A, & Brown, S. V. (in press). Dictionary of EHE- related terms. Exceptional Human Experience. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Boston: Shambhala. 18 The InternationalJournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, 10l. 21 The Essence of Transpersonal Psychology Contemporary Views S. L Shapiro Grace W. Lee Philippe L. Gross University of Hawai'i Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA The authors compiled 80 chronologically ordered passages from the contemporary psychology literature that address the essence of transpersonal psychology. A thematic analysis of these passages revealed that the two most frequent categories, occurring 53 (66.2%) and 49 (61.2%) times respectively, were: (a) Going beyond or transcending the individual, ego, self, the personal, personality, or personal identity; existence of a deeper, true, or authentic Self; and (b) Spirituality, psychospiritual, psychospiritual development, the spiritual, spirit. Other, less frequent, themes included: special states of consciousness; interconnectivity/unity; going beyond other schools of psychology; emphasis on a scientific approach; mysticism; full range of consciousness; greater potential; inclusion of non-Western psychologies; meditation; and existence of a wider reality. A monk asked, "If this is the True Realm of Reality, where did it come from?" The master said, "Please say that one more time." -Chao-chou [J6shil] (In Green, 1998, p. 47) D URING THE course of a larger study of developmental trends in transpersonal psychology, we took special note of English-language passages in the literature, from 1991 through 2001, 1 that characterized the field of transpersonal psychology. From these we selected those statements which specifically reflected how the authors construed the essence of trans personal psychology. In choosing the entries we selected only those that clearly addressed the essence of transpersonal psychology per se, and not, for example, transpersonal studies, transpersonal therapy, or transpersonalism in general. We also exercised some selectivity in choosing entries,2 such that in our judgment they did not exhibit narrow sectarianism and that they credibly reflected viewpoints about the essence of transpersonal psychology in terms of our knowledge ofthe history and development ofthe discipline. As a result, all but a few ofthe sources for the entries we selected were recognizable to us as having been written by colleagues in the transpersonal psychology movement, as having appeared in established journals, as having a scholarly or reference nature, or! as coming from established educational organizations. The total number of appropriate entries we found for the compilation was 80. 3 The citation sources represent: books (40); journal articles (13); websites (8); brochures (5); newsletters (5); dictionaries 4 (4); letters or flyers (4); encyclopedias (3); school catalogs (1); organizational constitutions (1); and unpublished convention papers (1).5 Below we present the compilation of statements 6 in chronological order followed by a thematic frequency analysis. 1. Transpersonal psychology is a Western formulation which transcends and includes all of the Western behavioural sciences. In encouraging the notion of "going beyond" and "more than," trans personal psychology The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21,19-32 19 2002 by Panigada Press addresses such concepts as life, breath, soul and spirit, holism, and perception as communion. Transpersonal psychology is an endeavour in which consciousness and Mind are primary. [po 30] Diespecker, D. (1991). One mind: An introduction to trans personal psychology. Bellingen, NSW, Australia: Earthrise Press. 2. Many transpersonal psychologists believe that the ego or self is a useful fiction. For these psychologists, ego formation is an important stage in development, but in later developmental stages this illusion of separateness can be transcended, and more globally encompassing modes of consciousness are possible. [po 6] [Statement of Purpose]. (1991, Fall). Transpersonal Psychology Interest Group (TPIG) Newsletter, 6. 3. The transpersonal perspective is a view of people and their relations to the larger world that is compatible with the new world view that sees the universe and everything in it, including human beings, as a series of interconnected, interacting, and mutually influencing systems; Transpersonal psychology approaches human beings in the context of the wider world, including the invisible world of spirit. It insists on recognition by individuals of the breadth of the context in which they live. But transpersonal psychology does not exclude the practical world of everyday living, for it is through our daily lives that we make our imprint on the wider world; while we, in turn, are in the process of being transformed by the practical world every moment of every day. In the trans personal view, the only way the spiritual world can manifest is through ordinary people in the visible world. [pp. 142-143] Singer, J. (1991). Seeing through the visible world: Jung, gnosis, and chaos. San Francisco: HarperCollins. 4. The published literature, my own thinking, and a number of discussion groups lead me to suggest the following as core characteristics of the field [transpersonal psychology]: Constructed Consciousness; Valid Alternate States of Consciousness; Superiority of Some Alternate States; De-Automatizing for Consciousness Change; Consciousness Disciplines in Religions; Genetic Motive for Consciousness Growth; Cosmic Unity; Cosmic Flow; Interdisciplinary Study ofPersonality.7 [po 5] Tisdale, J. R. (1991; Fall). Characteristics of transpersonal psychology. Transpersonal Psychology Interest Group (TPIG) Newsletter, 5. 5. [. .. ] the new field of transpersonal psychology (a psychology that deals with all the things orthodox psychology deals with, but also studies the psychology of spiritual experience). [po 4] Wilber, T. K. (1991). In K. Wilber, Grace and grit: Spiritual- ity and healing in the life and death of Trey a Killam Wilber. Boston: Shambhala. 6. TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY An offshoot of humanistic psychology that encompasses a wide range of self-transcending phenomena, including ecstatic and mystical experiences. Its proponents seek to appropriate insights from the great religious traditions, especially those of the East, in order to develop a new paradigm of scientific understanding. [Glossary, p. G-30] Wulff, D. M; (1991). Psychology of religion: Classic and con" temporary views. New York: Wiley. 7. Transpersonal psychology is both an evolving clinical and scientific tradition within psychology and also an ancient psychospiritual lineage. Transpersonal psychology can be understood to be the study of non-ordinary states of consciousness not traditionally covered by the discipline of ego psychology. This includes states of consciousness such as meditation, religious ecstasy, trance and "unitive conscious experiences" often described in the esoteric and spiritual literature of humankind. This would also incorporate the study of the psychophysiological techniques and introspective disciplines associated with these states of consciousness. Finally the field includes both metaphysical and philosophical paradigms often encountered in the contemporary fields of theoretical physics, neuroscience and cognitive psychology. The transpersonally oriented clinician's perspective is often inclusive of anomalous experiences and does not reflexively reduce noetic or spiritual experiences to organic, psychopathological or even unconscious causes and dynamics, nor elevate disturbed psychological states to the sublime. Also the range or spectrum of consciousness is not necessarily localized to one mind or set of body- mind boundary conditions, or for that matter to one life-time. [pp. 301-302] Bynum, E. B. (1992). A brief overview of trans personal psy- chology. Humanistic Psychologist, 20(2/3),301"306. 8. Following in the path ofhUInanistk psychology, transpersonal psychology grew as a reaction to the limitations of mainstream (first and second "force") psychology, specifically in regard to its failure to address adequately "the farther reaches of human nature." [. .. ] 20 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Transpersonal psychology responded to these limitations by developing an expanded view of human nature and potential, through which human identity could be perceived as including and transcending conventional understandings of ego and personality. [pp. 3-4] Cordts, J. (1992, August). Consciousness, culture, and method: Integrating trans personal and phenomenological psycholo- gies. Paper presented at the Centennial Annual Conven- tion ofthe American Psychological Association, Washing- ton, DC. 9. Transpersonal psychology. Name given to the so-called "fourth force" in psychology. Transpersonal psychology follows from "first force"classical psychoanalytic theory; "second force" behaviorist psychology; and "third force" humanistic psychology. It deals with such areas of human conditions as self-transcendence, peak experience, mystical transformation, and ultimate values. The term "transpersonal" itself refers to that which transcends the ego, and thus implies a sympathy for mystical and paranormal topics and ideas. [po 301] DrUry, N. (1992). Dictionary of mysticism and the esoteric tra- ditions (Rev. ed.). Bridport, England: Prism Press. 10. For me Transpersonal Psychology is a psychological perspective or framework which assigns primary importance to experiential reports of concern or contact with entities, beliefs or realms greater than oneself using them as a basis for conducting and interpreting psychological theories, intervention and research. When I say theory I mean development theory, motivational theory, personality theory. When I say interventions I mean psychotherapy, counseling, and education. [po 308] Krippner, S. (1992). In R May, S. Krippner, & J. L. Doyle, The role of transpersonal psychology in psychology as a whole: A discussion. Humanistic Psychologist 20(213),307-317. 11. Transpersonal psychology is concerned with the study of humanity's highest potential, and with the recognition, understanding, and realization of unitive, spiritual, and transcendent states of consciousness. [po 91] Lajoie, D. H., & Shapiro, S. 1. (1992). Definitions of transpersonal psychology: The first twenty-three years. Journal of Trans personal Psychology 24(1),79-97. 12. The beauty oftranspersonal psychology is that it accepts the flill spectrum of human consciousness, working with the body, emotions, mind, and spirit, according to Frances Vaughan, a well-known transpersonal therapist. Practitioners use dreamwork, guided imagery, and Eastern meditative practices, as well as traditional therapeutic techniques. Unlike other branches of Western psychology, however, the transpersonal approach accepts spiritual insight as a legitimate part of the healing process, so it includes realms of experience, wisdom, and creativity beyond the personality, such as mystical experience, ecstasy, and enlightenment, which were once thought to be the exclusive domain of religion. [po 92] Miller, R. S., & The Editors of New Age JournaL (1992). As above so below: Paths to spiritual renewal in daily life. Los Angeles: Tarcher. 13. Thus humanistic psychology tended to neglect another part of human development, our fourth aspect, the spirit. Not "spirit" in the limited sense of vitality or authenticity, but as something real behind the material manifestations Dflife, something we get fleeting glimpses ofin "mystical experiences," the vital energy underlying religions before they all too often ossify into mechanisms for social control. Transpersonal psychology, the study of the parts of our nature that are beyond (trans) our ordinary, limited, personal self, is the social manifestation of trying to understand and develop this fourth aspect. [po ix] Tart, C. T. (Ed.). (1992). Transpersonal psychologies: Perspec- tives on the mind from seven great spiritual traditions (3rd ed.). San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. 14. Another important conceptual difference [between traditional and transpersonal psychology] exists in regard to the dimensions of the human psyche. While the model of traditional psychology is limited to post-natal biography and to the individual unconscious, the transpersonal image of the human psyche resembles that in the perennial philosophy. It suggests that there exist no absolute boundaries in the universe and that, in the last analysis, the human psyche of each individual is commensurate with all of existence. It thus confirms the famous statement ofthe Upanishad, tat tuam asi (thou art That: you are divine, of the same nature as the creative principle). [po 9] Grof, S. (1993, Fall). in F. Vaughan, C. Grof, R. McDermott, C. T. Tart, & R. Walsh, The future of transpetsonal psy- chology. ATP [Association for Transpersonal Psychology] Newsletter, 8 ~ 1 1 . 15. I See transpersonal psychology as a science which studies the person in his/her wholeness, in the context of a sOcial, ecological and cosmic relationship. ill this waytranspersonal psychology is intercultural, as well as related to other scientific The Essence of Transpersonal Psychology 21 approaches such as medicine, anthropology, sociology, physics, and other sciences. Transpersonal psychology also incorporates elements from other schools of psychology such as behaviorism, psychoanalysis, Jungian psychology, humanistic psychology, and others that study human consciousness, especially in its capacity to transcend the person and the ego. Transpersonal psychology can be defined, therefore, as the scientific study of states of consciousness. [po 3] Matos, L. (Winter, 1993). An intercultural perspective on transpersonal psychology. ATP [Association for Transpersonal Psychology] Newsletter, 3-7. 16. At the turn ofthe century, he [William James] outlined the foundations for the discipline of psychology that would include cognitive science, trans personal psychology (the investigation of spiritual and religious experience) and psychical research. [po 276] Mishlove, J. (1993). The roots of consciousness (Rev. ed.). Tulsa, OK: Council Oak Books. 17. Transpersonal psychology is about dualism, trans meaning beyond, beyond the personal [ ... ] Transpersonal psychology is the study of experiences that seem to transcend that assumption of limited embodiment. [po 124] Tart, C. T. (1993). Mind embodied: Computer-generated vir- tual reality. In K. R. Rao (Ed.), Cultivating consciousness: Enhancing human potential, wellness, and healing (pp. 123-138). Westport, CT: Praeger. 18. Transpersonal experiences may be defined as experiences in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond (trans) the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche, and cosmos [. .. ] Transpersonal psychology is the psychological study of transpersonal experiences and their correlates. These correlates include the nature, varieties, causes, and effects of transpersonal experiences and development, as well as the psychologies, philosophies, disciplines, arts, cultures, lifestyles, reactions, and religions that are inspired by them, or that seek to induce, express, apply, or understand them. 8 [pp. 3-4] Walsh, R., & Vaughan, F. (Eds.). (1993). Introduction. In Paths beyond ego: The transpersonal vision (pp. 1-10). Los An- geles: Tarcher. 19. Transpersonal psychology has been in existence for the last twenty-five years and has become an increasingly important force in scientific, cultural, and political life. It began in the late 1960s as a new movement in psychology which recognized spirituality as an important dimension in human life and studied the entire spectrum of human experience, including non- ordinary states of consciousness. Transpersonal psychology has provided an important bridge between Western psychology and the spiritual history of humanity, particularly shamanism, the great mystical traditions of the world, and the spiritual philosophies of the East. Grof, C., & Grof, S. LetterlFlyer received ca. 1994. 20. Transpersonal psychology attempts to research those experiences in which the sense of identity expands beyond (trans) the individual person, personality, or ego to encompass aspects of humankind, life, and the universe. SUGh experiences have been valued in most cultures at times. Transpersonal psychology aims to explore the nature, varieties, effects, and means of inducing such experiences as well as the philosophies and traditions inspired by them. It attempts to integrate contemporary science and philosophy with the perennial wisdom of East and West [. .. ] Topics of special interest include consciousness and altered states, cross-cultural studies, meditation, contemplation and yoga, lucid dreaming, mythology, psychedelics, philosophical foundations, values, ethics, relationships, exceptional psychological yvell-being and capacities, transconventional development, transpersonal emotions such as love and compassion and motives such as altruism and service, trans personal pathologies, psychotherapies and related clinical concerns, comparative religion, and psychological roots of contemporary global crises. [pp. 548-549] Walsh, R., & Vaughan, F. (1994). Transpersonal psychology II. In R. Corsini (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 548-550). New York: Wiley. 21. The aim oftranspersonal psychology, then, is to give a psychological presentation of the perennial philosophy and the Great Chain of Bemg, fully updated and grounded in modern research and scientific developments. It fully acknowledges and incorporates the findings of modern psychiatry, behaviorism, and developmental psychology, and then adds, where necessary, the further insights and experiences of the existential and spiritual dimensions of the human being. We might say it starts with psychiatry and ends with mysticism. [po x] Wilber, K. (1994). Foreword. In J. E. Nelson,Healing the split: Integrating spirit into our understanding of the mentally ill (Rev. ed., pp. viii-xii). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. 22 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 22. Transpersonal has been called the "fourth force" in psychology (the other three being depth, behavioral, and humanistic psychology). In many ways the transpersonal work has put the soul, spirit, and even consciousness back into the discipline of psychology. [po 98] Achterberg, J. (1994). The foundations and future of transpersonal psychology. ReVision, 16(3), 98. 23. Transpersonal psychology seeks to awaken the individual's fullest potential and consciousness, to reach through and beyond the personal to the essence of being, the mystery of life. Embracing this mystery brings us together as we share the sense that there is something more, a vision of healing, creating, becoming whole. Department of Transpersonal Psychology, Graduate School for Holistic Studies. (n.d.). [Brochure). Received 1995. Orinda, CA: John F. Kennedy University. 24. Transpersonal psychology has set for itselfthe goal of constructing a paradigm that accounts for the full range of human consciousness. [po 132] Flier, L. (1995). Demystifying mysticism: Finding a develop- mental relationship between different ways of knowing. Journal of Trans personal Psychology, 27,131-152. 25. Adherents of this branch of psychology [transpersonal psychology] believe that there is more to being human than is recognized by the other main approaches in the field. Transpersonal psychology contrasts with perspectives that reduce human experiences to strictly personal terms. [po 283J George, L. (1995). Alternative realities: The paranormal, the mystic and the transcendent in human experience. New York: Facts On File. Also:9 George, L. (n.d.). Welcome to spiritual emergence. Retrieved November 14, 2001, from http://www .spiritualemergence.netipagesitrans.html 26. The defining perspective of transpersonal psychology is the application of scientific methods to those areas of human experience beyond the strictly empirical, such as unitive consciousness, transcendence of self, spirit and spiritual practices, meditation, and compassion based in a cosmic consciousness [. .. J Transpersonal psychology has come to give particular attention to Eastern religious experience and Eastern psychology [. .. J The trans personal realm involves levels of spiritual experiences-described primarily in terms of Eastern religious/psychological thought-moving toward enlightened oneness with ultimate reality. [po 66] Kelly, E. w., Jr. (1995). Spirituality and religion in counsel- ing and psychotherapy: Diversity in theory and practice. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. 27. A much larger and faster growing field of investigation, though, is transpersonal psychology, a twenty-five-year-old branch of psychology that actively investigates mystical experiences and the like, experiences that are trans, beyond our ordinary personal and biological self. It is primarily interested in understanding and helping to facilitate such experiences. We moderns are desperate for genuine spirituality based on deep experience, not simply ideas, and there is great hope that transpersonal psychology can bring a nonsectarian spiritual vitality into our culture that can help us. Transpersonal psychology rests on an understanding that a "successful" spiritual life needs a solid basis in deep experience. [po 9] Tart, C. T. (1995). World parliament of superstition? Scien- tific evidence for a basic reality to the spiritual. ReVision, 18(1), 3-10. Also: Tart, C. T. (1997). Body, mind, spirit: Exploring the para- psychology of spiritualism. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads. [pp. 47-48) 28. So they established transpersonal psychology as a means of studying psychological health, peak experiences, and nonordinary states of consciousness. [. .. ] The movement has attracted many individuals of varied backgrounds who are interested in the development of human potentialities and who have found existing images of the person to be too limited [. .. ] [I]ts primary focus on subjective experiences allows these experiences to be interpreted in different ways, though in a spiritual context. [po 21J Vaughan, F. (1995, Fall). Transpersonal psychology. Gnosis, 2l. / 29. At times it seems that one of transpersonal psychology's special contributions is to "make sense" of realities that a conventional viewpoint might dismiss or ignore. [po ivJ Vich, M. (1995). Editor's note. Journal of Trans personal Psy- chology, 27, iv. 30. Transpersonal psychology has attempted to examine phenomena which are an intrinsic part of the quest for wholeness in a situation in which "Boundaries are illusions" (Wilber, 1985, p. 31). It is, then, an attempt to once again find a place for ourselves as part of the universe rather than as its .exploiters and dominators (Fox, 1990), and to bring back into consideration experiences and ideas which are generally regarded as "spiritual" rather than scientific. [po 42; References are to: Wilber, K. The Essence of Transpersonal Psychology 23 (1985). No boundary: Eastern and Western approaches to personal growth. London: Shambhala; Fox, W. (1990). Towards transpersonal ecology. London: Shambhala.l Brazier, D. (1995). Zen therapy. London: Constable. 31. Transpersonal Psychologies. In the 1960s, transpersonal psychology emerged as a movement devoted in part to the study of alternative states of consciousness. Though by no means representative of the mainstream of psychological research in the West, transpersonal psychologists are intrigued by the possibility that human beings possess transcendent powers of consciousness. Some speculate about the mind's untapped potential for awareness and hold to a view of the universe as conscious and purposive. They are convinced that we can be motivated by broader and less selfish impulses than physiological needs and egoistic emotions. For these psychologists, our most important motivations spring from a selflessness that revolves around the pondering of ultimate questions-questions about the meaning, purpose, and value of human life. Often influenced by the recent influx of Eastern psychologies and philosophies into the West, transpersonal psychology seeks to reverse what it considers the disproportionate attention given to man's psychological afflictions at the expense of his great potentialities. This movement may be understood as an attempt to reconnect the science of psychology with the perennial metaphysical teachings of the spiritual traditions. [po 57] Needleman, J., & Eisenberg, R. (1995). Consciousness, States of. In M. Eliade (Ed.), The encyclopedia of religion (Vol. 4, pp. 57-59). New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan. (Origi- nally published 1987) 32. In the 1960s Abraham Maslow's research on healthy, self-actualizing people included a concern for spiritual issues ... By the end of the decade, transpersonal psychology was differentiated from humanistic psychology, placing greater emphasis on the study of spiritual experiences, optimum psychological health and the full spectrum of human consiousneSs, including some states that had previously been mapped only by Eastern disciplines ... Transpersonal pS'ychology, as it developed in the seventies ana eighties, focused more oli the relationship of psychological health to spiritual development and the investigation of inner experience. [po 162] Vaughan, F. (1995). Shadows of the sacred: Seeing through spiritual illusions. Wheaton; IL: Quest Books, 33. Of note in the mission statement [in the first issue of the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology] are three major motifs: (1) a focus on issues traditionally considered religious or spiritual, for example, transcendence and ultimate meanings or values; (2) an emphasis on empirical, scientific studies; and (3) a suspension of belief in the content of the experiences, that is, "optional" interpretations about whether the phenomena are supernatural or not. In other words, trans personal psychology was to be a reflective, scientific-minded approach to matters traditionally considered religious or spiritual. [po 11] Chinen, A. B. (1996). The emergence of transpersonal psy- chiatry. In B. W. Scotton, A. B. Chinen, & J. R. Battista (Eds.), Textbook of trans personal psychiatry and psychol- ogy (pp. 9-18). New York: Basic Books. 34. In its strict sense, transpersonal psychology (trans from the Latin for "beyond" or "through," and personal from the Latin for "mask") studies those experiences which allegealy enable the individual to see beyond the conditioned ego, and to identify some deeper and more enduring sense of self. By extension it is also concerned with those beliefs (such as religious beliefs) that regard individual existence as an expression of some wider reality, whether this reality is defined in terms of an impersonal life force, or personalized into a deity or deities. [po 3] Fontana, D., & Slack, 1. (1996, Fall). The need for transpersonal psychology. ATP [Association for Transpersonal Psychology) Newsletter, 3-7. 35. Transpersonal psychology is a branch of psychology that recognizes and accepts spirituality as an important dimension of the human psyche and of the universal scheme of things. It also studies and honors the entire spectrum of human experience, including various levels and realms of the psyche that become manifest in non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSe). [po 44] Grof, S. (1996). Theoretical and empirical foundations of transpersonal psychology. In S. Boorstein (Ed.), Transpersonal psychotherapy (2nd ed., pp. 43-64). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. 3i. Transpersonal psychology has developed since this period [late 1960s] as that branch of psychological theory which takes religious and mystical experiences seriously as constituting a domain sui generis, refusing to follow the reductionistic interpretations widely accepted in other psychological schools. In doing so, it claims well-known authorities like William 24 The International journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOl. 21 James and Carl Gustav Jung as predecessors. Transpersonal psychologists have devoted themselves to both empirical and theoretical research. The empirical branch has largely concentrated on the field of so-called Altered States of Consciousness (ASC's) induced either by drugs or by various mind-expanding techniques. Theoretical work has concentrated on devising all-embracing "cartographies of consciousness" which distinguish a hierarchy of levels in the psyche. The premise is that the traditional psychological schools address the lower levels of the psyche, but are largely inadequate for dealing with the higher or transpersonal levels. The latter are seen as the proper domain of spiritual traditions, especially of Oriental origin. Transpersonal psychology thus aims at a theoretical synthesis of western psychology and Oriental spiritual systems and technologies. [po 51] A central concern of transpersonal psychology lies therefore in developing "maps" of the mind which explain the dynamics of consciousness within a comprehensive framework, encompassing the complete spectrum from unitive consciousness to the limited ego. [po 246] Hanegraaff, W. J. (1996). New Age religion and Western cul- ture: Esotericism in the mirror of secular thought. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. 37. Transpersonal psychology is a vital, thirty-year- old international movemeht that is leading the way toward reintegrating essehce of consciousness and selfhood-into modern healing practices. Its success in challenging the powerful resistances of entrenched materialism and religious dogmatism speaks for the hunger in Western societies to return psychology to its ancient roots as a logos ofthe psyche, a path to knowing the soul. The overriding aim of these transpersonal techniques is essentially fourfold: (1) To open the compassionate heart to recognize one's own authentic self, which leads to empathetic acceptance of the uniqueness; yet common spirit, of others; (2) To foster creativity by gaining access to recurring archetypal myths that guide humanity to greater wisdom; (3) To open the intuitive "inner eye" that lifts an individual beyond the constraints of his ordinary senses, opening the visionary capacity latent in us alij (4) To expand consciousness to the pOInt that ali indiVidlial directly experiences idehtity with a universal diVine Presence. [pp. 137438] Nelson, J. E. (1996). Ti"anspersomU psycholegy and deptes" sion. In J E. Nelson & A. Nelson tEds.); Sacred sorrows: Embracing and transforming depression (Pp.137-145). Les Angeles: Tarcher. 38. transpersonal1 (in literature, etc.) transcend- ing the personal. 2 Psychology (esp. in psycho- therapy) of or relating to the exploration of transcendent states of consciousness beyond personal identity. The Oxford English reference dictionary. (1996, 2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. 39. The word transpersonal simply means "personal plus." That is, the transpersonal orientation explicitly and carefully includes all the facets of personal psychology and psychiatry, then adds those deeper or higher aspects of human experience that transcend the ordinary and the average-experiences that are, in other words, "transpersonal" or "more than the personal," personal plus. Thus, in the attempt to more fully, accurately, and scientifically reflect the entire range of human experience, trans personal psychiatry and psychology take as their starting point the entire spectrum of consciousness. [po xviii] Wilber, K (1996). Foreword. In B. W. Scotton, A. B. Chihen, & J. R. Battista (Eds.), Textbook of trans personal psychia" try and psychology (pp. xvii-xx). New York: Basic Books. 40. In Maslow's final years, he advanced a new outlook that he called trans personal psychology- focusing on spirituality and "the farthest reaches of human nature." He was a key figure in launching this nascent discipline, for he felt that humanistic psychology was inadequately dealing with spiritual concerns. [po 14] Hoffman, E. (Ed.). (1996). Future visions: The unpublished papers of Abraham Maslow. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 41. Transpersonal psychology can be understood as the melding of the wisdom of the world's spiritual traditions with the learning of modern psychology. [po 8] [ ... ]Transpersonal psychology studies how the spiritual is expressed in and through the personal, as well as the transcendence of the self. Transpersonal psychology in this sense affords a wider perspective for all the learning of conventional psychology. It includes and exceeds traditional psychology. And by holding all of conventional psychology within it, it recasts psychology into a new mold and spiritlial framework. [po 10] Cortright; E. (1997). Psychotherapy and sjJirit: Theory ana practice in transpersdrial jJsychOtherapy. Albany, NY: State Unlverslty of New York Press. 42. Transpersonal psychology Isa scientific dlst1plilie that investigates human experiences which tralis<::eIld the ordinary, particularly spiritual experiences and altered states of cons6ollsness. The Bsence oJ Trilrispef:fOYtal Psychology 25 Lukoff, D. (1997). Sample learning guide for transpersonal psychology and psychotherapy (Course #3510). San Fran- cisco: Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. Retrieved January 3, 2002, from http://www.saybrook.eduJ textonlylLearnguide.html 43. [. .. ] transpersonal psychology, a new philosophical-psychological trend engaged in the study of human nature and the integrity of human consciousness beyond its personal manifestations. [po 13] Granovsky, Yu. (1997). Dedicated to the memory of V. V. Nalimov. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, In- ternational Journal of Trans personal Studies, 16(2), 9-14. 44. Transpersonal Psychology is a marriage of psychology and spirituality. It is the human science that studies, with scientific methods, the psycho-spiritual development of the individual and its manifestations. Australian TranspersonalAssociation. (n.d.). [Flyer]. Received August, 1998. 45. Whenever possible, transpersonal psychology seeks to delve deeply into the most profound aspects of human experience, such as mystical and unitive experiences, personal transformation, meditative awareness, experiences of wonder and ecstasy, and alternative and expansive states of consciousness. In these experiences, we appear to go beyond our usual identification with our limited biological and psychological selves. [po xxi] An important concept within transpersonal psychology is interconnectedness. The trans in transpersonal conveys two aspects of that connectedness. One meaning of trans is "beyond"; it implies the existence of, and connectedness with and relationship to, something beyond the individual. Another meaning of trans is "through"; this implies a connectedness among the various aspects of oneself, as well as a connectedness of oneself with others and with all of Nature. [po 39] Braud, W., & Anderson, R. (1998). Transpersonal research methods for the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 46. The transpersonal perspective includes the wisdom and methods of the preceding orientations [the psychoanalytic, behaviorist, and humanist perspectives], and expands on them to include the spiritual aspects of human experience. Transpersonal psychologists are concerned with the development of a healthy individuality and its extension to include aspects of the Higher Self. This viewpoint acknowledges that behind the masks, roles and melodramas of one's conditioned personality lies a deeper state of being that transcends individual identity. Transpersonal psychologists believe that any model of the human psyche must include this full range of human experience, for it is the upper range that sets the context for understanding the whole human being. As the transpersonal perspective unites the spiritual with the psychological aspects of human experience, it addresses an integration of the whole person-body, mind, emotion and spirit. In doing so, the field is grounded in Western psychological theory and draws on the world's spiritual traditions, mythology, anthropology and the arts as well as research on consciousness. [po 3] Department of Transpersonal Psychology. Graduate School for Holistic Studies. (n.d.). [Brochure]. Received August, 1998. Orinda, CA: John F. Kennedy University. 47. Transpersonal psychology recognizes as a working hypothesis the infinite variability and the infinite potential ofthe human mind, and the essential challenge that underlies the mystery of being. [po 7] Fontana, D. (1998). Modern science and the transpersonal vision. Transpersonal Psychology Review, 2(2), 5-9. 48. Transpersonal psychology, with its initial - intellectual roots in the work of William James, Carl Jung, humanistic psychology (particularly the work of Abraham Maslow), and early studies of Asian contemplative traditions, was self-consciously forged as a separate discipline in the late 1960s. The initial impetus was to bring into psychology the study of a variety of experiences not commonly examined in mainstream psychology and to develop wider conceptions of the nature of the mind, consciousness, human nature, and reality than were found in behaviorist, psychoanalytic, and humanistic approaches. [po 3] Rothberg, D. (1998). Ken Wilber and the future of transpersonal psychology: An introduction to the conver- sation. In D. Rothberg & S. Kelly (Eds.), Ken Wilber in dialogue: Conversations with leading transpersonal think- ers (pp. 1-27). Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. 49. It was out of the humanistic movement that the "fourth force" grew, namely transpersonal psychology, in which psychological science has formed a central connection with spiritual and religious studies [. .. ] In this forum, psychology not only opened itself to a realm of experiences that had been only marginally considered by any science but also entered into a dialog with the full spectrum of world religions. [po 63] Wertz, F. J. (1998). The role ofthe humanistic movement in the history of psychology. Journal of Humanistic Psychol- ogy, 38(1), 42-70. 26 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 50. Transpersonal psychology is a fundamental area of research, scholarship and application based on people's experiences of temporarily transcending our usual identification with our limited biological, historical, cultural and personal self and, at the deepest and most profound levels of experience possible, recognizing/being "some-thing" of vast intelligence and compassion that encompasses/ is the entire universe. [po 4] Institute of Trans personal Psychology. General Catalog, 1998- 1999. Menlo Park, CA: Author. 51. Transpersonal psychology, a more recent development in the field of psychology, views the individual as a whole: body, mind, and spirit. It goes beyond the limits of the ego-self toward the transcendent/spiritual Self. [po 310] Marcandonatou, O. (1998). The experience of being silent. In R. Valle (Ed.), Phenomenological inquiry in psychology: Existential and transpersonal dimensions (pp. 309-320). New York: Plenum Press. 52. transpersonal psychology, a branch of psychology that recognizes altered states of consciousness and transcendent experiences as a means to understand the human mind and treat psychological disorders. [1970-75] [Brackets in original] Random House Webster's unabridged dictionary. (1998, 2nd ed.). New York: Random House. 53. Transpersonal psychology: a body of psychological and spiritual insights into the spectrum of human consciousness incorporating the stages in the development of the ego and the stages of development beyond ego. [pp. 317- 318] Singh, K. D. (1998). The grace in dying: How we are trans- formed spiritually as we die. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. 54. A "fourth force" in Western psychology was also emerging that was explicitly concerned with extending the parameters to encompass the upper reaches of psychospiritual development. As such, it aspired beyond ego, or beyond the personal, hence its name: Transpersonal Psychology. [po 253] Snelling, J. (1998). The Buddhist handbook: The complete guide to Buddhist schools, teaching, practice, and history (Rev. ed.). Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions. 55. The purpose of trans personal psychology was to create a new psychological approach based on planetary needs rather than egocentric ones, honoring the entire spectrum of human experience, including spirituality and non- ordinary states of consciousness, and integrating the various expressions of the spiritual heritage of humanity, both from the Eastern and Western traditions. The Annual Council Meeting of EUROTAS [European Transpersonal Association] and the Founding Assembly of the EUROTAS Creative Initiative. (1999). [Flyer]. 56. transpersonal1 going beyond what is personal. 2 denoting a form of psychology or psychotherapy that emphasizes the use of mystical, psychical, spiritual, religious, etc. experiences as a way of achieving greater self- awareness, potential, etc. Early 20c. Chambers 21st century dictionary. (1999). Edinburgh, Scot- land: Chambers Harrap. 57. Transpersonal psychology extends psychologi- cal research to optimal mental health, con- sciousness and its non-ordinary states, and unexplored human potentialities, such as meaning, will, values, creativity, etc. A funda- mental purpose is to develop a global psychol- ogy, based on planetary rather than egocen- tric needs, encompassing the entire spectrum of human experience, the psychopathological, the existential and the spiritual one. European Transpersonal Psychology Association. (1999). Constitution: October 1999. Also: European Transpersonal Psychology Association. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2001, from http://www.descamps. org/ etpa/index.html 58. Transpersonal psychologists define their field as one that studies experiences in which one's sense of identity extends beyond the personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, and the cosmos [. .. ] [po xii] Krippner, S. (1999). Foreword. In D. Moss (Ed.), Humanistic and trans personal psychology: A historical and biographi- cal sourcebook (pp. xi-xiii). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 59. Transpersonal or Spiritual Psychology acknowledges the reality, which transcends beyond body-ego boundaries. Transpersonal Psychology also transcends extensive focus on negative values, weaknesses, problems and pathology, and without ignoring challenges, draws its strength from positive values, wellness and creativity. For raising questions about the true purpose and meaning of one's life on earth Transpersonal Psychology aims to strengthen one's ability to be present in the moment. [po 1] Hiltunen, S. S. (1999). Therapeutic Noh Theater [Brochure]. Washington, DC: Author. 60. Transpersonal Psychology is the extension of psychological studies into consciousness The Essence of Trampersonal Psychology 27 studies, spiritual inquiry, body-mind relationships and transformation. [po 2] Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. (n.d.). [Brochure]. Re- ceived March, 1999. Palo Alto, CA. Also: Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14,2001, from http://www.itp.edu/aboutltp.html 61. The experiences mystics have described since the beginning of history are the focus of what is today called Transpersonal Psychology- psychology beyond the self. [po 34] Katra, J., & Targ, R. (1999). The heart of the mind: How to expe- rience God without belief Novato, CA: New World Library. 62. [. .. ] transpersonal psychology is the disciplined study of behaviors and experiences that appear to transcend those hypothetical constructs associated with individual identities and self- concepts, as well as their developmental antecedents, and the implications of these behaviors and experiences for education, training, and psychotherapy. [po 97] Krippner, S. (1999). The varieties of dissociative experience. International Journal of Trans personal Psychology, 18(2), 81-101. 63. [. .. ] transpersonal psychology, is devoted to the scientific study of what may be called the "spiritual core" of human beings, and implies a much broader view of the human psychoperceptual range than that proposed in conventional Western psychology. [ .. .] At the heart of transpersonal psychology is the proposal that there is a "mind" or "life" component to consciousness that is qualitatively different from known physical systems, and that some transpersonal experiences are not to be dismissed as merely interesting illusions, unusual patterns of neural firing, and so on, but actually tell us something about the potential for transcending our ordinary physical limits, as for example in out-of"body experiences. [8] Hughes, J. (1999). Altered states: Creativity under the influence. New York: Watson-Guptill. 64. [ ... ] between 1967 and 1969, humanistic psychology split into at least three parts: The first was transpersonal psychology, with its emphasis on spiritual practice, meditation, and higher states of consciousness. [po 274] Taylor, E. I. (1999). Shadow culture: Psychology and spiritu- ality inAmerica. Washington, DC: Counterpoint. 65. Transpersonal psychology is also a psychology with a vector, with an emphasis on mental health and optimal well-being. The human being is assumed to be basically good and oriented toward growth, including not just the self, but also the transcendent levels beyond the personal state. In asserting that there are peak and transcendent experiences, there is also the implicit position that these are worth seeking, just as humanistic psychology holds that human potential is worth exploring and achieving. [po 197] Hastings, A. (1999). Transpersonal psychology: The fourth force. In D. Moss (Ed.), Humanistic and transpersonal psychology: A historical and biographical sourcebook (pp. 192-208). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 66. Transpersonal psychology stands at the interface of psychology and spirituality. It is the field of psychology that integrates psychological concepts, theories, and methods with the subject matter and practices ofthe spiritual disciplines. Its interests include spiritual experiences, mystical states of consciousness, mindfulness and meditative practices, shamanic states, ritual, the overlap of spiritual experiences with disturbed states such as psychosis and depression, and the transpersonal dimensions of interpersonal relationships, service, and encounters with the natural world. The core concept in transpersonal psychology is non-duality, the recognition that each part (e.g., each person) is fundamentally and ultimately a part of the whole (the cosmos). [p.4] Davis, J. (2000). We keep asking ourselves, what is transpersonal psychology? Guidance & Counseling, 15(3), 3-8. Also: Davis, J. (n.d.). A brief definition of trans personal psychol- ogy. Retrieved September 1,2000, from Metropolitan State College of Denver Web site: http://clem.mscd.edu/-davisj/tp/ 67. Transpersonal psychology, while not necessarily denying Freudian theory, sees "trans personal" or spiritual development as another phase of human growth beyond the level of ordinary personal concerns. To adherents of this movement, transpersonal work is intended not only to heal personal trauma, but to help people realize their fullest potential. [. .. ] Taken at its broadest, transpersonal psychology encompasses all forms of psychology that regard the "transpersonal" or spiritual dimension to be an integral part of the psyche; it says that developing this dimension is part, perhaps even the core, of the purpose of human life. [pp. 299-301] Smoley, R., & Kinney, J. (1999). Hidden wisdom., A guide to the Western inner traditions. New York: PenguiniArkana. 68. Transpersonal psychology seriously studies and respects the entire spectrum of human experience, including holotropic states, and all the domains of the psyche-biographical, perinatal and transpersonal. As a result, it is more culturally sensitive and offers a way of understanding the psyche that is universal 28 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 and applicable to any human group and any historical period. It also honors the spiritual dimensions of existence and acknowledges the deep human need for transcendental experiences. In this context, spiritual search appears to be an understandable and legitimate human activity. [po 217J Grof, S. (2000). Psychology of the future: Lessons from mod- ern consciousness research. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. 69. Ordinary psychology has addressed itself to the ego and the instinctual personality. Transpersonal psychology, while also interested in the ego, is especially interested in the Soul, as a spiritual dimension that is beyond ego and the flow of mental phenomena [. .. J Transpersonal psychology expands the scope of inquiry into human nature to explore the further reaches of human development and consciousness. Three decades of research combining ancient wisdom with contemporary science have yielded a rich treasury of insights. Formerly unsuspected states of consciousness have been discovered, with higher stages of development and latent abilities that are potentially available to us all. Italian Association of Trans personal Psychology. (2000). Assisi 2000, Time of the soul: Consciousness, creativity, commit- ment [Brochure]. 70. Transpersonal psychology [. .. J aims to study aspects of the psyche or cosmos beyond the personal, ego, or individual, such as spirituality and mystical experiences. It might be considered an example of ontological idealism (or dualism) if it posits a transcendental realm; or epistemological idealism, insofar as it employs the methods of intuition and contemplation. [po 206J Valentine, E. R. (2000). Metaphysics. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology (Vol. 5, pp. 204-209). New York: Oxford University Press. 71. "Transpersonal psychology" is a branch of psychology that is concerned with the study of those states and processes in which people experience a deeper or wider sense of who they are, or a sense of greater connectedness with others, nature, or the "spiritual" dimension. The term "transpersonal" means "beyond the personal" and a common assumption in transpersonal psychology is that transpersonal experiences involve a higher mode of consciousness in which the ordinary mental- egoic self is transcended. Daniels, M. (n.d.). What is transpersonal psychology? In In- troduction to Transpersonal Psychology. Retrieved Octo- ber, 27, 2001, from http://www.mdani.demon.co.ukltrans/ tranintro.htm 72. "In short, transpersonal psychology stands for the re-enchantment of psychology in com- bination with the highest levels of theoreti- cal and clinical perception and skill. It advo- cates freedom and full self-realization for all beings. It sees the meaning and value of all things and the sacredness ofthe life journey. Without discounting suffering-psychologi- cal, social, political, environmental- transpersonal psychology finds delight, com- fort, and a sense of Home in the primal and profound interconnection of all existence." - John Davis [. .. J Transpersonal Psychology stands for the study and cultivation of optimal mental health, and it calls for the inclusion of spirituality in psychology as the foundation for full human development. Psychology benefits from a recognition and ability to work with an expanded range of human potentials, providing a fuller and richer understanding of therapy and growth. At the same time, psychological concepts and methods can benefit transpersonal seekers. Thus, transpersonal psychology represents the integration of spirituality and psychology through theory, research, and practice. Transpersonal Counseling Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved Oc- tober 27, 2001, from Naropa University Web site: http:// www.naropa.edultranspersonal/ 73. Transpersonal psychology embraces what writer/philosopher Aldous Huxley (1945) called the "perennial philosophy." This philosophy holds the following premises: .. The world as we know it is an expression of a Divine ground of being. .. Humans can know about the Divine ground of being from inference and from direct intuition. .. All human beings possess a dual nature of phenomenal ego and eternal Self. .. Each person can identify with either the phenomenal ego or the eternal Self and each person's life on earth is a means to the end of identifying with the eternal Self. Transpersonal psychology includes in its mission a facilitation of human development toward these transpersonal goals, as embodied in the perennial philosophy. As such, it becomes a valuable resource for counselors who seek to integrate spirituality into their practice. [po 13J Faiver, C., Ingersoll, R. E., O'Brien, E., & McNally, C. (2001). Explorations in counseling and spirituality: Philosophi- cal, practical, and personal reflections. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. The Essence of Trans personal Psychology 29 74. transpersonal 1: extending or going beyond the personal or individual 2: of, relating to, or being psychology concerned esp. with esoteric mental experience (as mysticism and altered states of consciousness) beyond the usual limits of ego and personality. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. (2001, 10th ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. 75. It [transpersonal psychology] embraces the combined fields of clinical psychology; spiritual and pastoral counseling as well as any philosophies which recognize the close connection between the body and the spirit. Transpersonal Psychology works on the basic assumption that physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth are interrelated. Transpersonal Psychology focuses attention on the human capacity for self-transcendence as well as self- realization and is concerned with the optimum development of consciousness. [po 1] National Association for Transpersonal Psychology. (n.d.). What is Transpersonal Psychology? Retrieved November 14, 2001, from http://www.starlighter.cominatp/ 76. L .. ] transpersonal psychology stresses spiri- tuality, transcendence, and compassionate social action [ ... ] [po xxiv, n. 1] Schneider, K. J., Bugental, J. F. T., & Pierson, J. F. (Eds.). (2001). Introduction. In The handbook of humanistic psy- chology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice (pp. xix-xxv). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 77. Transpersonal theory is concerned with the study of the transpersonal and spiritual dimensions of human nature and existence. Etymologically, the term transpersonal means beyond or through (trans-) the personal, and is generally used in the transpersonal literature to reflect concerns, motivations, experiences, developmental stages (cognitive, moral, emotional, interpersonal, etc.), modes of being, and other phenomena that include but transcend the sphere of the individual personality, self, or ego. [po 5] Ferrer, J. N. (2002). Revisioning transpersonal theory: A par- ticipatory vision of human spirituality. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. 78. Compared with the positivism and reductionism that had long dominated the field, transpersonal psychology's inclusion and validation of the spiritual dimension of human experience opened the modern psychological vision to a radically expanded universe of realities-Eastern and Western, ancient and contemporary, esoteric and mystical, shamanic and therapeutic, ordinary and non-ordinary, human and cosmic. Spirituality was now recognized as not only an important focus of psychological theory and research but an essential foundation of psychological health and healing. [po viii] Tarnas, R. (2002). Foreword. In J. N. Ferrer, Revisioning transpersonal theory: A participatory vision of human spiri- tuality (p. vii-xvi). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. 79. Broadly inclusive, it [transpersonal psychology] focuses on psychological, physical, and spiritual experiences that are transpersonal- reaching through, across, and beyond the self. It is concerned with the study of the origins and development of humanity's deepest potentials and their impact on individuals, groups, and cultures L .. ] The field was founded with a commitment to open inquiry, experiential and empirical validation, and a holistic approach to human experience. Association for Transpersonal Psychology. (n.d.). [Flyerl. Re- ceived January, 2002. San Francisco, CA. 80. Transpersonal psychology contributes to the more traditional concerns ofthe discipline an acknowledgment of the spiritual aspect of human experience L .. ] One basic tenet of transpersonal psychology is that there is in each individual a deeper or true self that is experienced in transcendent states of consciousness. Distinct from the personality and the personal ego, it is the source of inner wisdom, health, and harmony. [po 452] Fadiman, J., & Frager, R. (2002). Personality and personal growth (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Thematic Analysis T o BETTER grasp the degree of congruence in the contents of the compilation, we did a frequency analysis of how often different themes in the entries occurred. Table 1 presents the themes and their associated frequencies for those themes occurring six or more times in the 80 entries comprising the compilation. (In tabulating frequencies we did not count the same theme occurring more than once in a given entry.) The most frequently occurring theme (n = 53; 66.2%) reflected going beyond or transcending the personal, ego, or self in some sense-not surprising, since the term "transpersonal" directly suggests this meaning (see, e.g., Sutich, 1976). Although this theme appeared the most frequently, the precise meaning of terms like "ego" and "self' have yet to be explicated and agreed upon in 30 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 the transpersonal literature (Ferrer, 2002, p. 196, n. 9; Lajoie & Shapiro, 1992a, 1992b).10 The second most prevalent theme (n = 49; 61.2%) encompassed the notion of spirituality. This theme, too, can be traced to the origin of transpersonal psychology, one of the aims being to enable the study of religious/spiritual experiences independently of institutionalized religion and theological frameworks (Shapiro, 1994; and see Maslow, 1970). The number of entries that contained both ofthe most frequent themes was 27 (33.7%). Beyond the two prevailing themes, the frequencies of other themes dropped precipitously, as Table 1 indicates. These themes, occurring six or more times, were: special states of consciousness; interconnectivity/unity; going beyond other schools of psychology; emphasis on a scientific approach; mystical experience/mysticism; studying the full range/spectrum of consciousness/experience; emphasis on recognizing greater human potential; inclusion of non-Western psychologies; meditation; and the existence of a wider reality. Some examples of infrequently occurring themes (occurring fewer than six times) were: perennial philosophy; optimal mental health; transformation; mystery of being; and reality or consciousness as constructed. Two earlier studies have some bearing on the thematic frequency analysis. In an analysis ofthe "Statement of Purpose" published in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology from its inception in 1969 through the first issue of 1982, Lajoie, Shapiro, and Roberts (1991) found that while some terms were deleted in the Statement and others were added, some terms continued to appear in one form or another, including peak experiences, ecstasy, mystical experience, essence, bliss, awe, wonder, unitive consciousness, oneness, cosmic awareness, cosmic play, spirit, sacralization of everyday life, and individual and species-wide synergy. Of these concepts, mystical experience, unitive consciousness, oneness, cosmic awareness, and spirit appear with some frequency in the present study. However, it should be noted that among the ongoing terms that appeared in the Journal of Trans personal Psychology Statement, ecstasy, bliss, awe, wonder, cosmic play, and individual and species-wide synergy were rarely, if ever, the subject of articles published in the journal (Lajoie, Shapiro, & Roberts, 1991). In a second study by Lajoie and Shapiro (1992b), definitions of transpersonal psychology Table 1 Thematic Frequency Analysis* Frequency Theme 53 (66.2%) Going beyond or transcending: the individual, ego, sel the personal, personality, or personal identity; existence of a deeper, authentic, or true Self 49 (61.2%) Spirituality, psychospiritual, psychospiritual development, the spiritual, spirit 26 (32.5%) Non-ordinary states of consciousness; altered states of consciousness; other modes of consciousness; transcendent states; higher states of consciousness 17 (21.2%) In terconnectiveness; cosmIC unity or consciousness; cosmic relationship; unity, unitive, unitive consciousness 17 (21.2%) Goes beyond other schools of psychology 14 (17.5%) Emphasis on transpersonal psychology as a scientific approach or discipline; using scientific methods; integrating a scientific approach with other approaches 14 (17.5%) Mystical experience; mysticism 14 (17.5%) Full range or spectrum of consciousness or human experience 13 (16.2%) Greater / deepest/highest/ fullest/ infinite potential 10 (12.5%) Inclusion of non-Western psychologies 7 (8.7%) Meditation 6 (7.5%) Existence of a wider reality *Based on total of 80 entries spanning the first twenty-three years of the transpersonal psychology movement were compiled and subjected to a thematic frequency analysis, similar to the present study. The most frequent themes, occurring 15 or more times in the 37 entries analyzed, were: states of consciousness; highest or ultimate potential; beyond ego or personal self; transcendence; and spiritual. Themes that occurred 5 to 14 times were: trans personal experience; cross-cultural The Essence of Transpersonal Psychology 31 (Asian/East/West); inner states; unitive consciousness; holistic; transformation; and mystical/mysticism. Although no direct comparison between these results and the present study is possible because the criteria for selecting entries in the two compilations differ,l1 we note that most of the themes of the earlier 1992 study are represented in our Table 1. Our overall conclusion, based on the thematic analysis of the entries in the compilation, is that contemporary views of the essence of trans personal psychology over the past decade favor the theme of going beyond the personal and the theme of spirituality, although, less frequently, the essence of trans personal psychology also reflects a variety of other characterizations. Notes 1. Including a few from 2002 that came to our attention before going to press early in the year. 2. The Internet is where we exercised the most selectivity, inasmuch as this medium reflected the most idiosyncrasy in potential entries-not surprisingly, as it is generally less subject to external review than books and journals and is more often associated with marketing endeavors. The compilation is likely to be least exhaustive with respect to the Internet, where search engines can produce thousands of web sites with some link, however tenuous, to the phrase "transpersonal psychology"; moreover, the contents of web sites can periodically change. 3. We did not include entries that were a direct or nearly direct quote of a previous entry in our compilation unless additional substantive material was included, and in these cases (entries 25, 65, and 80) we included only the additional material. 4. Although we consulted several dozen English-language dictionaries of various sizes, we only found four that referred to trans personal psychology, though some others contained the term "transpersonal." 5. The total number of citations for the 80 entries is 85 because five entries are listed with two sources. 6. Bracketed material, including bracketed ellipses, are our additions unless otherwise noted. 7. The nine items in this list are captions, each of which the author explains in more detail. 8. Cf. following variant entry of same year: Transpersonal experiences may be defined as experiences in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond (trans) the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche, or cosmos [ ... J Transpersonal psychology is the area of psychology that focuses on the study of trans personal experiences and related phenomena. These phenomena include the causes, effects and correlates of transpersonal experiences and development, as well as the disciplines and practices inspired by them. [po 203] Walsh, R, & Vaughan, F. (1993). On transpersonal defini- tions. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 25,199-207. 9. In cases where we found another (verbatim or near- verbatim) citation source for a given entry, we included the additional source for the convenience of readers. 10. For an example of the potential intricacy of more precisely characterizing a concept like ego in a single tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, see Guenther (2001). 11. We chose to focus the present compilation on the essence of transpersonal psychology rather than on definitions of the field in the hope of capturing more information about how transpersonal psychology is conceptualized. References Ferrer, J. N. (2002). Revisioning transpersonal theory: A par- ticipatory vision of human spirituality. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Green, J. (Trans.). (1998). The recorded sayings of Zen Mas- ter Joshu [Chao-chou ch'an-shih yu-Iul. Boston: Shambhala. Guenther, H. (2001). The emergence of the ego/self complementarity and its beyond. International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 20, 19-31. Lajoie, D. H., Shapiro, S. I., & Roberts, T. B. (1991). A histori- cal analysis of the Statement of Purpose in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. Journal of Transpersonal Psy- chology, 23,175-182. Lajoie, D. H., & Shapiro, S. I. (1992a). On defining transpersonal psychology. Psychologia, 35, 63-68. Lajoie, D. H., & Shapiro, S. 1. (1992b). Definitions of transpersonal psychology: The first twenty-three years. Journal of Trans personal Psychology, 24,79-98. Maslow, A. H. (1970). Religions, values, and peak experiences. New York: Viking Press. (Paperback reissue of 1964 edi- tion; preface added 1970) Shapiro, S. I. (1994). Religion, spirituality, and transpersonal psychology. International Journal of Trans personal Stud- ies, 13(1), 33-41. Sutich, A. J. (1976). The emergence of the transpersonal ori- entation: A personal account. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 8, 5-19. 32 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Unattached Mind Shoshin Ichishima Taisho University Tokyo, Japan 1. Mind free from attachment II. Form is identical to emptiness III. Discern the voice through the invisible world (i.e., Avalokitefvara) IV. "Unpremeditatedly" (Skt. anabhoga) The Internationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21, 33-37 33 34 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 UnatTached Mind 35 36 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Ralph Augsburger 38 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 The Last Time I Saw Fritz Marc L. Joslyn Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA Zen is not merely an exotic practice imported from the Orient; it is the constantly fresh realization of True Nature everywhere and at every time. So, it may be expected that sparks of Zen will be found in all cultures. Hence, having been engaged with Zen practice since 1964, the author reminisces here about how he turned to Zen after his study of Gestalt psychology and his encounter with Gestalt therapy in the person of Fritz Perls. Gestalt therapy as usually practiced is not Zen, the author concludes. But if it clears the way for a glimmer of the Self which has no need of therapy, then Gestalt is excellent preparation for Zen. T HE LAST time I saw Perls as a psychotherapist was when he told our therapy group, in a matter-of-fact way, that he was going to Israel to paint pictures. Tidying up the situation, Perls gave those in the group who wanted to continue a choice between two Gestalt-trained therapists. A couple of the women in the group got rather tearful, expressing an anticipated sense of loss which was probably what we all felt. Perhaps as periodic resolution of therapee transference and/or as encouragement toward mature independence, Perls had told us in previous sessions to experimentally dialogue with (our individual personification of) "Dr. Perls" in an empty chair opposite. Now, in the last session, he reminded us of such things, and admonished us that the point of Gestalt therapy was to become freer and more self-regulating, so this sniffling was no compliment to him as a therapist. Still, I think he also appreciated the evidence that he was going to be missed. Later he returned from Israel and other places, took up residence at Esalen in Big Sur, California, and became famous. I stopped by Big Sur several times to see him while on my way north or south. He was no longer Frederick S. Perls, M.D., Ph.D. He was FRITZ, the laid-back, white-bearded guru, like a model for Robert Crumb's cartoon, Mr. Natural. The last time I saw him as Fritz or Mr. Natural, we played a game of chess, discovered we both had the same birthday, talked about the phenomenology of Husserl and Heidegger, and compared Fritz' views with the views of Goldstein and others close to the Gestalt school of Wertheimer and Koehler. We learned each of us had had similar life-changing "mystic" experiences, and we talked a little about how everyday life could be expressed as either Gestalt or Zen. (A short visit with a Zen Master in Japan had disappointed him; but since he once reminded me that all psychotherapists are not equally insightful, I reminded him that the same was true of Zen Masters.) On the wall was a poster announcing an upcoming workshop at Esalen to be given by a popular but rather superficial "trainer" or "facilitator." At one point, Fritz indicated the poster and asked what I thought. I glanced at it, looked back at Fritz and shrugged. Maybe I made The Internationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21, 39-52 39 2002 by Panigada Press a face also. Fritz nodded and said "I'm glad you don't lump me with people like that, just because I'm here." It was the first time I realized he cared about my respect for him. He knew I had taken to Zen after he left for Israel. Perhaps he noticed that I had matured in the interim. Although he obviously relished the physical ease and the adulation he received at Esalen, 1 sensed he was glad to have a visit from someone completely outside Esalen, someone who was not a needy therapee, not a competing therapist, someone who obviously enjoyed his company but was otherwise "doing his own thing." Once in a while I considered writing a short memoir about those times with Fritz Perls. I wrote a piece about Zen and Gestalt therapy (Joslyn, 1975), a longer version of which appeared in a German journal (Joslyn, 1977), but Fritz was not the focus. Writing about someone else is also writing about oneself. 1 was not a member of Fritz' family. I was not an old friend. 1 was not a longtime colleague of his. 1 was not even a person with a classic case of a particular disorder whom Fritz might mention later by way of illustration. N or was 1 ajournalist gathering facts and fancies from others about Fritz for a synopsis of his life. Whatever the gist of my acquaintance with Fritz, it moved me in the direction of Zen Buddhism after he left for Israel to paint pictures. So, here, for a few pages, I would like to reminisce about shared events with a remarkable individual whose words I can only paraphrase. And in so doing, perhaps I can convey how those events opened my heart and mind toward Zen. How It Began M y LIFE would have taken a completely different turn had I not glimpsed a subversive title lurking among rows of very dull psychology textbooks. 1 blinked to be sure 1 hadn't misread it. No, there it was, loud and clear, Gestalt Therapy (PerIs, Hefferline, & Goodman, 1951). The grad school professor for whom 1 waited was still out of his room so I opened the book, scanned a few pages eagerly, then noted the authors and the publisher. "Gestalt" was suspect enough. Adding "Therapy" to it made for a really out-of-place title among the textbooks about learning theory and watered-down behaviorism which prevailed at most psych departments in the 1950s and '60s. When the professor returned I asked about the book and, predictably, he apologized for its presence as though it had sneaked into his office by accident. After buying the book, I found that it more than lived up to its promising title. Previously, as an undergraduate, I had read everything I could find on Gestalt psychology because of its phenomenological approach, its aesthetic appeal, and other reasons. (Wertheimer, the founder of Gestalt psychology, by the way, was an accomplished pianist, on the verge of becoming a professional musician before he settled into psychology as a profession.) Prior to getting acquainted with Gestalt, I had read whatever I could find by Freud, Jung,Adler, Rank, and others associated with the psychoanalytic movement. 1 was delighted to discover then that Gestalt Therapy was not only an amalgam of Gestalt and psychoanalysis, it offered entirely new perspectives as well. In a burst of enthusiasm, I wrote a letter to the authors, care of the publisher. Two or three weeks later an answer arrived from Paul Goodman. He thanked me for my praise of the book, and referred me to Fritz Perls who was offering both individual and group sessions in West Los Angeles. Sensing the phenomenological thrust of my letter, Paul Goodman also referred me to works of Erwin W. Straus (1963, 1966) for which he obviously had much admiration. (1 should note in passing that 1 have never heard or seen a reference to Straus' work by any other Gestalt therapist, yet, with no apparent awareness of Zen literature, Straus cleared away most of the conceptual biases in our present scientistic worldview that can obscure Zen.) I felt considerable gratitude toward Goodman for mentioning Straus, and, as the work of Straus became increasingly familiar to me, it no doubt influenced how I interpreted what occurred with Fritz PerIs in psychotherapy. Meeting Perls A PHONE CALL got me an appointment with PerIs. It was a long drive but I had no trouble finding his address. Twenty"five years previously 1 had attended high school just a few blocks from his apartment building. Indeed, arriving there felt like returning to an important but unfinished 40 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 rt of my life. I found the door ofthe apartment, :'ocked and waited, wondering how Perls look. When he opened the door, I met a twmkly- eyed, balding, moust.ached, gentleman, with .a bow tIe, and a c.lgarette m a holder with WhICh he gestured m a refined European manner. He greeted me with a pronounced German accent, and,. although he curtly waved me in, I sensed immediate rapport. (In the antihair era of the 1940s and '50s, beards and long hair were rather rare in Europe and America. I had been wearing a beard for eleven years, and though Perls teased me once about being rather young for it, I sensed that he quietly approved of the beard and its association with a bohemian life style.) In those pre-Esalen days, Perls was still doing some individual therapy. Mter several individual sessions I joined one of his groups to save money, and then, because I wanted as much experience as possible, I joined another of his groups. Looking back now, I feel grateful I was able to begin with individual sessions because I got a better sense of Perls as a person, and with that perspective I could subsequently appreciate how his style in group therapy was evolving. (Please note that referring to Fritz Perls as "Perls" during the period in West Los Angeles, and as "Fritz" during the period in Big Sur and overall as "Fritz Perls" is deliberate.) Individual Sessions T HE fiRST thing that struck me about Perls' style was the SILENCE. This stemmed of course from the psychoanalytic method in which Perls was initially trained. It's one thing however to lie on a sofa and free-associate with a psychoanalyst sitting quietly behind you taking notes; it's another thing altogether to face your therapist in silence. Later, when I became a therapist myself, I began to appreciate the disciplined patience needed to maintain an effective silence in therapy. I've heard it said that Perls was just an egoistic "showman" who liked to perform in group therapy sessions. Such statements, if they are not just hearsay, seem to be made by people who only attended group sessions at Esalen or later. Unquestionably Perls enjoyed the APPARENT MAGIC of evoking personal change in psychotherapy, but I don't see that enjoying one's work is a shortcoming. And, I doubt that anyone who experienced the silent intensity prior to the incisive intervention ofPerls in individual sessions would imagine that "showman" could adequately describe his effective style. Having read his book, I knew that Perls regarded HERE AND NOW AWARENESS a$ the heart of psychotherapy, and that inability to be fully present here and now signified unfinished business from the past. Initially it was difficult to attend effectively to immediate feelings, sensations and thoughts, especially since I came to Perls with previous therapeutic experiences in which past events per se were given much emphasis. I remember admiring Perls' insistence on the present tense of verbs when doing dreamwork, but I thought it was only a device like "role-playing" until I experienced a breakthrough one evening. After years of Zen practice, I now see that attending to the present is much deeper than it appears, even to experienced Gestalt therapists. Continued awareness of the present can ease the habitual tyranny of pigeonholing events after the fact in terms oflinear causality. It can open one to QUALITY or the unique, IMMEDIATE EXPERIENCE of each moment, preceding comparative or quantitative thinking, preceding abstract distancing. When both past and future are experienced as now, there is nothing before and after to hem the present in, hence the present per se as a constricted time interval vanishes. Whether he coined it or just quoted someone else, the "Lose your mind and come to your senses" slogan which Perls emphasized later on, is an inevitable development of present awareness. "Senses" in this case expresses one's immediate experience before there is any separating from it with comparisons or good/bad evaluations. "Mind" in this case expresses the usual after-the-fact thinking and feeling associated with unfinished business ofthe past. (This is not Zen, but it points to Zen.) In one very painful session, I told Perls I couldn't "make up my mind" or "decide" What to do in a particular situatioil. He intruded abruptly by asking rhetorically "What is this 'mind' you are going to make up? Is it a bUilch of pieces to be put together?" I COUldn't answer. Then: "Do you know what 'decide' means?" Answering The Last Time I Saw Fritz 41 himself, he gave me the etymology: "Decide comes from the Latin decidere, to cut off, or cut down. Now what are you going to cut off?" And then, anticipating my inability to answer, he went on to ask "Isn't it really a matter of what you PREFER, rather than what you have to cut off?" He followed through with the image of a primitive hunter at a waterhole, waiting patiently for a particular animal to emerge from the forest into the clearing. He chided me for a tendency to respond prematurely as though shooting at an animal before I could actually identify it. And with that I began to appreciate the importance of trusting preferences in everyday activities, and, in crucial, doubtful situations, of quietly attending until something appropriate seems to emerge spontaneously. Please note here that "preference" is equally objective and subjective in origin. It comes from Latin prae (before) + ferre (carry, bear, put), therefore means to bear or put before, to tend or point toward, to imply, to relate to actually or latently, to embrace or include, to advance or promote. There is nothing in the origin ofthe word restricting it to subjective use only. A rainy day, for instance, can be said to prefer the accompaniment of dark clouds. An arrow shot in the air prefers (or is preferred in) taking an arc- like trajectory before landing. Preference in this comprehensive sense is an innate aspect of quality. It is experienced before being separated by comparisons or temporal series, although it is often reduced to these, after the fact. Nathan Ackerman came out from New York with what was very innovative in those days: family therapy. He gave a lecture on the subject at a downtown Los Angeles hotel. Illustrating the lecture was a film oftherapy sessions with a father, a mother and two sons. It was a masterful demonstration of a general systems view, of psychological problems as interrelational or TRANSPERSONAL PHENOMENA rather than as disorders specific to individuals only. Some well known L.A. area psychiatrists and clinical psychologists attending the lecture began criticizing the presentation during the coffee break, not acknowledging any validity to Ackerman's approach (see Ackerman, 1958). That scene of highly touted psychotherapists nit-picking Ackerman's work, like envious, small-minded competitors, felt like the last straw on top of several weeks offrustrating events at grad school. To be reminded in what seemed like a cheap soap opera that so-called "humanistic psychotherapy" was not free of the mechanistic assumptions (misapplied from physics) which prevailed in academic psychology, that so-called professional "objectivity" was not free of the egoism and commercial greed of show business, put me in a real funk. Mter the lecture I drove to Perls' place for an individual session. There 1 started to pace up and down in his room, fuming about what I'd witnessed at the Ackerman lecture, and about events at graduate school. Perls listened for a short while, then went to sleep, or appeared to sleep. I stopped, touched his shoulder. "Dr. Perls?" He popped one eye open, said "When you stop ranting I will wake up" and closed his eye again. I stopped. Perls slowly opened both eyes like a sleepy old frog. But soon I was off again on the same topic. This time he cut into my monologue with a sharp gesture and sharp voice: "Marc! Who are you talking to?" 1 stopped, and protested. "I'm talking to you, of course." "No!" he shouted. Then more gently "Do you think that after years of professional experience I don't know what egoists, nincompoops, bureaucrats, charlatans there are in psychiatry and psychology? Do you think 1 am blind and deaf and feelingless? Now, who are you really talking to?" That stopped me again and, for five minutes or so, I was able to talk to Perls rather than spout at the ceiling and walls with Perls as a witness. But gradually the feelings welled up and I was on the verge of monologuing again when he nipped it in the bud. He raised his hand and very quietly, very gently, asked me about a woman I once had loved very much. ''What would she do if you carried on like this?" "Mmm, I guess she'd walk out to the kitchen and make something to eat, maybe a good soup." "Well," Perls said, "if that didn't stop you, what then?" "Mmm. I guess she would start pulling up her blouse. And, as soon as I saw her beautiful breasts I'd probably forget everything else." "All right" said Perls. "1 am not a good maker of soups and I don't have beautiful breasts, so at, this moment, what do you want from me, Fritz Perls?" That abrupt summary brought me back to awareness of the room and the reality of another human being, a genuinely caring human being, who was, however, not God. It was as though previously I had been ranting at an undefined deity 42 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 somehow responsible for everything wrong or unfair in life. Perls then referred to an earlier session in which I mentioned quitting work toward what might have been an operatic career because I couldn't stomach the self-touting egoism of many opera singers and their mean-spirited criticism of other singers. He asked me why I expected psychoanalysts and others who had criticized Ackerman's family therapy to be different from opera singers. I replied that people who profess to teach, guide, or function as counselors and therapists, should be free of things like mean- spirited criticism. ''Where did you get this Pollyanna notion? Look at it: Human nature is human nature!" Perls replied with what sounded like "cold-hard-facts- of-life" cynicism. I mulled this over for several minutes in silence, reviewing the "oughtness" or "shouldness" of my expectations, the grief and anger that arose when the actions of important people belied expectations arising from their words, their titles, or their positions. It was not that I had to abandon a sense of the goodness of human nature, but rather that I had to accept the petty, selfish, mean, and even evil aspects of human nature which accompany the goodness. I had to accept the ridiculousness and stupidity of taking any side of a conceptual polarity as the sole value or truth. Light/dark, up/down, good/bad, you name it, there must be an underlying unity to each polarity or else the apparently conflicting entities would be in two, totally separate worlds. Then, out of nowhere, it seemed, a laugh arose. I began to laugh at myself and at human nature in general which does not appreciate its own, basic two- sidedness but tries to gain a certainty and predictability by fixing on one side of a polarity and devaluating, hiding or denying the other side. I realized later that the laughter could just as well have gone to tears. Either way, Perls would have affirmed the genuineness of my response, because he too had had a deep sense ofthe sadness of human existence. From World War Ion, Perls underwent a series offaith-in-goodness-shattering experiences. His sorrow, however, did not become chronic self-pity. He could be impatient with time- wasting indulgence in self-pity by his patients, almost brutally impatient at times. He did not become bitter and almost cynically fatalistic, like Sigmund Freud. Noone who is stuck in chronic cynicism can wholeheartedly espouse Gestalt therapy. Life is not a Boy Scout arrangement with an exact balance of merits and demerits for one's good and bad behavior. There is anger and then there is grief in giving up a Boy Scout sort of worldview but this does not mean concluding that life is meaningless, purposeless and chaotic. A basic tenet of Gestalt therapy is that natura sanat non medicus, NATURE CURES, not the doctor, but this could not be so unless mind and body are more or less SELF-REGULATING (see Paul Goodman, 1977). One of the most useful features of Gestalt therapy is its metaphor for any need or interest (hunger, thirst, sexual desire, and so on) as a figural arc proceeding from arousal to fulfillment, like the arcing phrase line of a melody. There are stages in the natural unfolding of this arc on its way from appearance to disappearance. And each stage can become "problematic," a point clung to in an attempt to prevent the unfolding of the next stage. Letting go of the last stage in the arc is particularly problematic and very likely represents the human tendency to deny death in all its actual or symbolic forms. (The work by Ernest Becker [1973] on the denial of death, provides an important link between Freud's rather forced notion of "death instinct" and the insights of Per Is and Goodman about problems ofletting an aspect of ego "die," when the arc of need or interest is completed.) A simple illustration which emerged in dreamwork with Perls is the reaction I had after a very nice birthday party when I was six or seven years old. It was a late summer afternoon. The presents had been opened, the cake eaten, and everyone had gone home, and I felt very sad. I was clinging to the visual and auditory images of the gifts unwrapped, the cake uneaten, and my friends still present. Had I "died" to those things I could instead have enjoyed the feeling of a full stomach, and perhaps dozed off for a little siesta, then, on awakening, been "reborn" with a new interest. A more detailed illustration of this feature of Gestalt therapy is a dream I had about losing a large piece of my hand with three fingers because of a fishing accident. In the dream I would put the piece of my hand in the kitchen freezer every night, take it out in the morning, and somehow attach it to my hand before leaving the house, pretending in the dream that my hand was still whole. Perls skillfully kept me from distancing The Last Time I Saw Fritz 43 myself from the actual experience of the dream, and I had to agonizingly realize the loss of something important in my life. The next night I dreamed that instead of putting the (now grey and gangrenous) piece of hand in the freezer, I gave up and dumped it in the garbage bin. Two or three weeks went by. Then one night I dreamt that as I looked at my crescent-shaped, thumb and little finger hand, I discovered three, tiny green shoots sprouting up where the lost fingers used to be. I had taken on faith the ancient principle of natura sanat adopted by Gestalt therapy as the principle of self-regulation. In the changes of my life following this dream, I realized that natura sanat is not just a nice theory. Group Sessions T HE MOST notable feature of group sessions was the initial SILENCE which had an effect that seemed more acute even than when it occurred in individual sessions. Typically, each person in the group wanted to get the attention ofPerls and the group for this or that "problem." But the price of such attention was radical honesty. So we waited in silence, caught between wanting attention on the one hand, and anxiety on the other hand about possibly incurring group criticism for lack of honesty. Tension mounted considerably with the silence. For those who habitually relieved tension by fidgeting, the silence was especially discomforting because they had to restrain movements like leg-jiggling or fingernail-biting in an effort to appear collected and calm. The heavy and almost loud silence was broken only when someone overcame the anxiety (of being scorned for phoniness) and gave in to the urge for sharing. As soon as someone else spoke up, each of us probably felt both envy (e.g., "It's not fair that she is getting all this sympathy; my problem is much more pressing!") and relief (e.g., "Thank goodness the group is not getting on my case for beating around the bush like he's doing now"). Perls cultivated silence as the GROUND around which and in which all personal events and group reactions were FIGURES or gestalts. Usually he stared at the walls or the ceiling while quietly smoking a cigarette. He seemed to be totally unconcerned about what we were doing, or not doing, almost as if he were in another world. Subsequently, however, it became evident that not directly, not frontally, but peripherally, so to speak, he was :monitoring our actions and reactions before anyone spoke up. I can appreciate now that we were getting PHENOMENOLOGICAL TRAINING. The silence fostered an uncluttering of secondary concerns, so that a primary concern came more into focus. HONESTY involved staying with one's immediate feelings, perceptions and thoughts as much as possible without interpreting, justifying or explaining away one's immediate experience in terms of past events or future expectations. An example of such honesty might be the matter of professional status in the group. Several ofuB were already licensed professional therapists, or working toward that end. There was an initial tendency then to let the group know that one was a "shrink" and not just a "patient." Perls encouraged the group to short-circuit all attempts toward establishing a professional "pecking order." He had criticized me during an individual session for quoting a passage from Gestalt Therapy (Perls, Hefferline, & Goodman, 1951). At first I thought maybe he was just antitheory; then I recalled hearing some scuttlebutt about him being envious and critical of Paul Goodman's contribution to the theoretical parts of Gestalt Therapy. Finally I realized his attitude was simply part of the basic here-and-now orientation of Gestalt therapy. On occasions outside a therapeutic session, Perls might welcome a theoretical discussion, such as the one we once had about Martin Heidegger's Being and Time (1962). In a therapeutic session, however, we were all JUST HUMAN BEINGS SHARING wherever we were at, trusting that in the Gestalt process something of value to each of us would emerge. Trying to step outside the group by way of claiming to be a therapist rather than a therapee was a denial of the process,juBt as distancing from one's immediate feelings by abstractly quoting from a book was a denial. Feeling as though one were in a ''hot seat" when evoking the group's attention, became formalized later with the label HOT SEAT for a particular chair in the group. Again, from hearsay only, or from late-coming acquaintance with group sessions, some people have spoken ofthe hot seat and other chair assignments as though they were mechanical ploys unique to Perls' groups, and not really necessary to Gestalt therapy. Once while 44 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 conducting a workshop myself, I saw firsthand how any method could become routine and then be played out meaninglessly. A young man in the group was quite adept at mindlessly going back and forth between TWO CHAIRS, expressing this aspect of himself or his situation, then expressing that aspect. To break up the automation, I told him to take a third chair and describe the other two chairs getting alternately occupied by in-the-box character. From the humor in this view of his behavior, the young man was able to break through to something more genuine. The point is that therapeutic methods like the hot seat and two- chair dialogues, while useful, are not absolutely necessary to good therapy. Like other therapeutic methods, they evolved quite naturally within Perls' groups; they were not arbitrarily invented by Perls, nor were they used mechanically by Perls. I am certain that were he to notice any method becoming just a rote part of the therapeutic process, Perls would have modified it to evoke a spontaneous response. Another memorable feature of group sessions was the question with which Perls challenged professionals or would-be professionals: "Why do you want to be a psychotherapist?" He had already put me through that gauntlet in individual sessions: "THERAPIST! WHY?" The usual, cliche answer is "I want to help other people." "Boolsheet!" he might reply. Of course one wants to help other people but making a career of it is another matter. When a career is involved, there are other reasons of which Perls wanted us to become aware. Most importantly, it seemed, he wanted to bring to light the peripheral assumption that we can solve our own problems by solving problems for other people. Do-gooders are all too likely to hold this assumption, thereby postponing dealing with their own problems which will then commingle with the problems of their patients or clients. I had a dream about a toy dump truck rusting away in a sand pile. I mentioned the dream in pl:1.ssing on to another topic, but Perls insisted I back up and work on the dream by regarding it in a manner. At a certain critical point in my narrative he told me to BECOME THE OBJECT in my dream. I resisted. Then, trusting Perls' direction, I gave over to imagining myself being the little red truck. Immediately there was a sense that I (as the truck) had been rusting away on that sand pile for aeons, abandoned by a child in some long-gone, mythological past. From the sadness of being the toy truck in a dream, I recalled getting such a truck for Christmas when I was a child. I recalled asking my father to help me extricate the little truck from a Santa Claus stocking hanging from the fireplace mantel. Right away it became my favorite toy. I could play with it for hours in the backyard sandbox of my great- grandmother's house in Santa Monica, California. I can still appreciate its fire-engine red color, its metallic heaviness and angularity, its coolness if it had been in the shade for a while, or hotness if it had been in the sun. I recalled filling the truck with sand, then driving it (brum, brum) over to ... Suddenly this all-engrossing activity was broken by the sound of a woman weeping. I recalled how I stopped playing in the sand ... listened ... realized it was my mother. She was in the screened area at the back of the house. Naturally I hurried there to see what the matter was. Noticing me, she started to wipe away her tears, seeming to regret that I overheard her. "What's the matter, mommy?" She gave me a hug but denied anything was wrong. I didn't believe her. I had sensed for several weeks that something was amiss. I wanted to do something for my mother, wanted to feel I could make a difference, wanted to ensure in a vague childlike way that my mother (on whom I and my younger siblings depended) wouldn't break down. My father, who should have been taking this responsibility, wasn't home. (We were in the midst ofthe big depression ,and, in spite of his law degree, father was away trying to sell something or other door-to-door.) Later I learned that my parents were on the brink of separating. I was only four years old but I feared the breakup might be my fault and I felt somehow responsible for my mother's well-being. While I was telling the group about these memories, an insightful woman in the group brought me back to the little red truck. (We were all learning a group process, helping as well as being helped.) I began choking up, seeing that although my mother later remarried happily, when I left the truck in the sand pile, I left it forever. It was equivalent to emotionally abandoning part of childhood and beginning to take the premature role of a "parental child." Perls prompted me to follow through with the old, unfinished business, and in doing so I realized The Last Time I Saw Fritz 45 my desire to become a psychotherapist was strongly influenced by this childhood event. Several times after that, Peds prodded me into becoming aware of other unfinished business involved in my goal of becoming a psychotherapist. On another occasion in the group, I worked on a dream about walking through a cemetery. Peds kept herding me, like a sheepdog caring for a wayward lamb. He asked me to report in detail what I was experiencing. I described the direction in which I was walking, the shapes of headstones, the names and dates on them, and so forth. While this was occurring, I experienced pain in my eyes that increased as I progressed down a particular row of graves. Then I was silent for a while. Peds asked me in what direction I was walking, and, when I told him, insisted that I return to the previous row. I resisted because the pain in my eyes suddenly came back. "Look!" Peds insisted. "Tell us what you see" (in the dream of course). The pain increased. "Don't avoid it. Look! Tell us what you see," he insisted. Overcoming considerable resistance, almost whispering, I reported that I saw the name of my little brother on the headstone, and a death date indicating he was four or five years old at the time ofthis dream death. And I saw with a jolt that I had wished for the death of my brother on some occasion. "Okay, Mr. Nice Guy," said Peds sarcastically. I didn't hear him at first. My attention was absorbed in the fact that when I stated without hedging what I saw and accepted responsibility for the implied violence in what I saw, the pain in my eyes ceased. Then I heard Peds saying "Now you begin to recognize your not-so-nice side, Marc." That was probably the hardest moment in my therapy with Peds. I had to let go of an idealized feature in my self-image, but it started a freeing process that went on for several years afterward. Therapeutic Insights A s I write this I am surprised to discover I remember much more than I thought possible. Now, instead of thinking I can easily cover the important features of my interaction with Peds in a few pages, I have become aware of more and more details of interest that must be left out to bring this essay to a close. And the choice of what and what not to include is becoming more and more arbitrary. A fellow in one of Peds' groups complained about the anxiety that was sabotaging his creative work. Peds told him to quit talking about anxiety and to actually manifest the anxiety instead. In effect, Peds used "negative psychology" or PRESCRIBING THE SYMPTOMS, that is, assigning the very thing which the therapee wants to avoid. Some critics might claim that Perls borrowed this kind of therapeutic intervention from Viktor Frankl (1978), but it follows quite naturally from the dynamic principles of Gestalt therapy, as can be seen, for example, in the related prescription above of experimentally "becoming" any person or thing encountered in one's dreams. Prescribing symptoms subsequently became a fine art in the work oftherapists associated with Milton Erickson, Gregory Bateson, and Don Jackson (see, e.g., Jay Haley, 1973, or Paul Watzlawick and his associates, 1974). Perls, however, was a master of prescribing the symptoms in his own way. After carefully watching what had been described as "anxiety," Perls told the fellow to CHANGE THE WORDING; in place of "I am anxious or scared" to say experimentally "I am excited." The fellow protested, but what a difference in his behavior after he changed the label of his experience! He began to see that in imagining he was losing control he had been sabotaging the enthusiasm which accompanies the arising of new, creative ideas. On another occasion, a fellow spoke about suffering guilt. Guilt was prescribed and after watching what was supposedly guilty behavior, Perls asked him to experimentally change the wording and say "I am angry." Again, the change in behavior labeling had a noticeably clarifying effect. Whenever anyone in the group really gave their best to the situation, nakedly exposing deep feelings, Perls could be quite protective. On occasion I've heard people say he was cruel but I would strongly object to that characterization. In the first place, Gestalt was emerging as an on- the-spot, short-term therapy which bypassed the years of free-associating on a couch and working out the dynamics of transference demanded by psychoanalytic therapy. If definite changes of attitude and behavior are to occur in a shorter period, a lot oftime wasted on "amenities" has to be pruned out. Also, as mentioned previously, from his life-and-death experiences Perls had 46 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 little patience with the superficialities, self- justifications, and time-wasting games that people can play in psychotherapy. Once, only once did I challenge his style. I thought he was abetting a kind of group gang-up on a young woman who was expressing some sentiments related to her Roman Catholic background. I called Perls a "frustrated rabbi" (meaning he was denying religious values because of an unacknowledged desire to be recognized as a religious leader). He took the comment quite well. And later he waived the apology I offered when I saw what he had seen: The woman was trying to con the group into accepting her masochistic attitude as an unchangeable part of her religious upbringing. Perls had an unusual grasp of metaphors which express attitudes in physical terms. A man complained about weather conditions, room and body temperatures, as though they had nothing to do with his emotional state. Perls asked him about an upcoming job change (the change was feared) and then about his girlfriend (her pressing for marriage was repeatedly put off). Perls commented: "You've got a good case of cold feet, don't you!" A woman complained she was the object of unwanted sexual attention day and night, yet she dressed, did her makeup, walked, and talked as though she were inviting such attention. Perls asked her to stand up, then he walked over and gestured very gently as though he were going to push her. She fell back into her chair, arms and legs akimbo. Perls commented "You're a real pushover, aren't you!" Gestalt Therapy Verbatim (Perls, 1969b) contains a variety of such therapeutic exchanges. Closing Comments I F PERLS and Goodman were alive now, I wonder what they would say about the present state of psychotherapy in general and Gestalt therapy in particular. They respected comprehensive theory and effective techniques, but they were also leery of what might be called the "bureaucratizing" of their insights. To put it another way, they regarded themselves as artists and while there may be science in an art, art cannot be reduced to science, still less to scientism (where the metaphysics of science are assumed to be absolute). While Perls did not write novels like Goodman, he painted pictures (some of which hung in his West Los Angeles apartment and were, to my eye, quite good). And during our first individual session he said ifhe had had any talent as a musician, he would not have gone into psychiatry. With that remark he was probably testing my resolve to continue in psychology despite the irrelevance then of most academic psychology to real life, but I had no doubt it was an echo of what he faced as a young man seeking an appropriate career. What is the APPROPRIATE behavior in a particular time and place? That may be the final criterion of "mental health." And it may well be the final criterion in many other human evaluations. "Appropriate" is another name for the "just-so-ness," "suchness" or "fittingness," of relationships in and around an event. Appropriate(ness) expresses the unique, unrepeatable QUALITY of any event. Once appropriateness is manifested it can be regarded as PREFERENCE in the double-sided sense of that word mentioned previously. But appropriate to what, for what, and who is to say? Appropriateness depends on human evaluation, but human evaluation changes from time to time and place to place. How can we be certain about things if they're not reducible to timeless and fixed entities? How can we control nature and predict natural events if our means are not purged of the vagaries of hum an evaluation? That is more or less the attitude elaborated in the worldview we inherited from the so-called Age of Reason in Europe. Descartes and others of that time assumed the only things people can agree on are numbers or quantitative relations, and formulations put in terms of numbers. Therefore, to be scientific, everything we see must be reduced to notions like size or speed of movement to which numbers can be attached. Otherwise, our experience must be dismissed as subjective and anthropocentric. In effect, any phenomenon must be reduced for the most part to visual representation (a denial of the relevance of all "lower" sensory, emotional and kinetic input to perception), must be repeatable (a denial ofthe uniqueness of every moment and a denial of the true nature of change), must have a specific boundary (not overlap in any way with other phenomena), must have a specific location (a denial of the dynamic, interactive quality of The Last Time I Saw Pritz 47 all events), and must lend itself to being subdivided in such a way that its parts can be measured, or it is not "real." What word can be used to effectively transcend the kind of reductionism we have inherited from the eighteenth century? There is no word, it seems, which will not subject us to possible derision for refusing to accept a worldview where "life" and "mind" are illusory phenomena reducible to abstractions derived from measurements of dead matter, that all ofus (as life and mind) are isolated from our own bodies, from other human beings, and from nature, our implacable enemy. Hence "artist" is probably as good (or bad) as any other word to describe Perls and Goodman in their approach to life, to problems in human nature, and to Gestalt therapy. Along with the musically gifted Max Wertheimer, founder of Gestalt psychology, to whom Perls dedicated his first book (1947/1966), Kurt Goldstein (1939, 1940/1963) with his organismic psychology also had a strong influence on Perls. And it is interesting to note that Goldstein regarded his work as continuing the tradition of Goethe, the great German poet and playwright whose extensive research in botany and several other fields of science (though sadly neglected hy scientists in his time) is now emerging as a model of how scientific research can be done in a context which no longer tries to bypass or replace the human side of experience. Bortoft (1996), and several other physicists contributing to a volume by Seamon and Zajonc (1998) have elaborated on various perspectives of Goethe's original work and its potential for the future. (For an historical view of the various forms of holism derived from antiatomistic sentiment in German culture, some of which fostered the views of Goldstein and others of Per Is' generation, see Harrington, 1996.) Among contemporary physicists and other scientists who have taken a stance outside the "strait and narrow" orthodoxy of scientism (although they are not in the Goethian tradition), I might mention Bohm (1982), Bohm and Peat (1987), Bohm and Hiley (1993), Jones (1982, 1992), Nalimov (1981,1982), and Toulmin (1990). N ow, leading back from art to trust in appropriateness, here is a. comment I made (Joslyn, 1975, p. 234) in a previous essay about Gestalt therapy. "Whenever a dispute ... arises between people and someone says finally, 'Well, who's to say?' the commonplace mystery of appropriateness is being evoked. Yes indeed, who is to say? And who is to systematize this profound sense of fittingness? But now and again someone like Perls tries." In the present essay I've mentioned silence, here-and-now awareness, quality (unique, irreducible experience), immediate (unmediated) experience, preference (as both objective and subjective), interrelational (transpersonal) phenomena, natura sanat (self- regulation), phenomenological training, radical honesty, and so forth. These were features in my personal encounter with Perls which point toward Zen. To offer a more general supplement, something should also be said about how Perls and his coauthors organized their concepts of appropriateness in the book Gestalt Therapy. Let's look at a summary of the book plan. In a neurotic splitting, one part is kept in unawareness, or it is coldly recognized but alienated from concern, or both parts are carefully isolated from each other and made to seem irrelevant to each other, avoiding conflict and maintaining the status quo. But if in an urgent present situation, whether in the physician's office or in society, one concentrates awareness on the unaware part or on the "irrelevant" connections, then anxiety develops, the result of inhibiting the creative unification. The method of treatment is to come into closer and closer contact with the present crisis, until one identifies, risking the leap into the unknown with the coming creative integration of the split. This book concentrates on and seeks to interpret a series of such basic neurotic dichotomies of theory leading up to a theory of the self and its creative action. We proceed from problems of primary perception and reality through considerations of human development and speech to problems of society, morals, and personality. Successively we draw attention to the following neurotic dichotomies, some of which are universally prevalent, some of which have been dissolved in the history of psychotherapy but are still otherwise assumed, and some of which (of course) are prejudices of psychotherapy itself. (PerIs, HefferIine, & Goodman, 1951, p. 240, emphases added) Someone once told me that Goodman was more of a theorist than Perls, and that Goodman wrote most ofthis section ofthe book. Be that as it may, I assume all three authors shared more or less in 48. The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 the views expressed, whoever did the actual writing. (Perls' previous book [1947/1966] is evidence enough ofms ability to theorize in a very original manner.) What follows is a list of the main dichotomies discussed in the book plan. "Body" and "Mind ": this split is still popularly current, although among the best physicians the psychosomatic unity is taken for granted. We shall show that it is the exercise of a habitual and finally unaware deliberateness in the face of chronic emergency, especially the threat to organic functioning, that has made this crippling division inevitable and almost endemic, resulting in the joylessness and gracelessness of our culture ... "Self" and "External World": this division is an article of faith uniformly throughout modern western science. It goes along with the previous split, but perhaps with more emphasis on threats of a political and inter- personal nature. Unfortunately those who in the history of recent philosophy have shown the absurdity of this division have mostly themselves been infected with either a kind of mentalism or materialism ... "Emotional" (subjective) and "Real" (objective): this split is again a general scientific article of faith, unitarily involved with the preceding. It is a result of the avoidance of contact and involvement and the deliberate isolation ofthe sensoric and motoric functions from each other. (The recent history of statistical sociology is a study in these avoidances raised to a fine art.) We shall try to show that the real is intrinsically an involvement or "engagement." (Perls, Hefferline, & Goodman, 1951, pp. 240-242) Other dichotomies follow like Infantile 1 Mature, Biologicall Cultural, Poetry 1 Prose, Spontaneous 1 Deliberate, Personal 1 Social, Love 1 Aggression, Unconscious 1 Conscious. But the first three almost synonymous dichotomies given above, are the most important. It took much courage for these authors to shake the prevailing cliches of academic psychology and psychotherapy in 1950. When the split of self versus external world is no longer accepted, when it becomes obvious that "reality" is not a given set of objective circumstances imposed on us from the outside but rather the outcome of a subject-object interaction, and when it becomes evident that many social and ecological ills are linked with the previous split, one is inevitably drawn to social criticism, whether or not this is openly stated. One might say that Goodman, as a born U.S. citizen, took freedom of speech for granted and was therefore more vociferous as a social critic (see, e.g., Goodman, 1960, 1964) than Perls, who, as a survivor of World War I and then Naziism, might have been more cautious. But Perls was not lacking in courage and could be quite outspoken about whatever he experienced as shallow or phony. I think the difference is rather that Perls had less faith than Goodman in social processes on a larger scale, even in a democratic country. The "I do my thing and you do your thing" slogan associated with Perls in his late period appears antisocial to some. I think it arose from a kind of "anarchistic" feeling, not uncommon in those who survived the worst of Fascism or Communism and either of the two world wars. Beyond close and well-tested relationships with a few others, such people had a healthy skepticism about the genuineness of large-scale human caring, honesty, and fairness. They might give all their belongings or even their lives for close friends in dire need. But toward shallow relationships with artificial closeness that even had a scent of Big Government propaganda or Big Business advertising, they felt unremitting suspicion. To them, "your thing" and "my thing" may overlap or even be the same, but this potential relationship must unfold of its own accord without external forcing; meanwhile it is better not to assume it. When the split of self versus external world is no longer accepted as reality per se, it is not only the cliches of social reality that become exposed for what they are, the atomistic and mechanistic biases of "scientism" in general become evident as well. When we are IN AND OF THIS WORLD, no longer regarding ourselves as isolated minds reducible to brains, reducible to genes, reducible to subatomic particles, we may realize that nature is not just dead matter, not coldly indifferent or even hostile to us. We are free, for example, to view the "Big Bang" theory about the origin of the universe not as "gospel truth" but rather as an interpretative model (of some observed facts) which will eventually give way to another model (in the way of all past models). We are free to create a working philosophy about all aspects of existence as they relate to our everyday lives, from atoms to galaxies, and from amoebas to human beings. We do not have to suspend sensing and thinking or living in terms of what we sense The Last Time I Saw Fritz 49 and think until some final word about "reality" is formulated by professional cosmologists. THE final model of existence will never be attained, but meanwhile life demands that it be meaningfully lived, here and now, all the time. In theorizing about neurotic dichotomies, Perls and his coauthors avoided the extremes of "mentalism or materialism" which they warned against in the quotation above. And they went on to offer many insightful observations about human experience which could foster abiding interest in a meditative practice like Zen. Still, various aspects of Gestalt Therapy and other writings indicate that Perls and his coauthors were unable to completely break through the dualisms we have all inherited. Take for instance the "sequence of fixations" (Perls, Hefferline, & Goodman, 1951, pp. 460-461): confluence, introjection, projection, retroflection, egotism. Theoretically brilliant and therapeutically very useful though these concepts are, they still exhibit Freudian dualism. "Projection" denotes a throwing outside of that which belongs inside, and vice versa with "introjection." If (as Perls maintains elsewhere) there is no such thing as an organism separate from its environment, how can something be "thrown" from inside to outside, or vice versa? With no further explanation, inside and outside per se refer to the same old split of (self as) mind versus body, or (self as) body versus the environment. Fixation could more appropriately be termed "misallocation" WITHIN a subject-object continuity, thus projection is misallocation toward object, and introjection is misallocation toward subject. From Zen experience one discovers that "ego" (or what is usually thought of as an intentional "I am") is not at all synonymous with the unity or continuity of subject-object. This unity is not a synthesis of subject and object; it precedes the distinction of subject and object. It could be called Self (with a capItal S); it could also be called Nature, or God, but ultimately it is unnameable. It is the indivisible ground of all our experience, and yet it is "empty" or indefineable. Unless it is realized that ego is not Self, the term "confluence" is confusing; it should denote a lack of distinction between ego and non-ego, not a lack of absolute dualism within Self. "Egotism" (the opposite of confluence) denotes a fixation to a present "I" holding out against a change to a future "1"; if the true nature of Self is understood, however, egotism is more economically regarded as ignorance of Self, or denial of Self, and therefore lack of trust about letting a present ego fixation vanish for new, emerging experience. Much more, of course, could be written in appreciation of Gestalt therapy as a process of unlearning or uncluttering in preparation for Zen, even when it is later realized that Gestalt therapy is not synonymous with Zen. What I've written can hardly suffice, but must do. I would like to conclude, oddly enough, with a quote from historian Jacques Barzun which expresses for me the general sense of daring to live in terms of Gestalt psychology and Gestalt therapy, and the specific sense of knowing Fritz Perls: I think I have shown how far modern man is from worshiping himself. He has given up even self-respect. If he is to climb out of his abyss, I repeat he must again philosophize. For to be a philosopher in the sense I mean is identical with being a man, and to be a man anthropos must be willing to be anthropomorphic. He can put what limitations he pleases on this indulgence, but he needs no technical authorization to feel fully himself ... His imagination ranges everywhere and its conflicting intuitions impel him to discover and remake the universe, never finally, never satisfactorily, but always with exaltation of tragedy, and, when no Puritanism prevents, with the gaiety of comedy. In imagination man can infer from the present universe what it was millions of years before his advent; and he can also see that it did not exist in the full sense without him; without him it is colorless, soundless, absolutely unorganized by categories of thoughts and words: as the poet said: "Earth was not Earth before her sons appeared" ... It is this indispensability of man for every purpose which makes his present self- cornering in our scientific culture at once pathetic and perverse. (Barzun, 1964, pp. 305- 306) "Philosophy" here is not an ivory tower substitute for real life. It is regaining the freedom to examine your world view, such as it may be, and to concede no aspect of it to the hearsay of parents, teachers, religious or political leaders, scientists, great books, or other authorities apart from your immediate experience. It is breaking 50 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 through the idolatry of reified words, rediscovering what Barfield (1976, 1985) called "original participation" and learning to take full responsibility for the allocation of meaning and the redefining of events in your life. Becoming a philosopher in this sense is not yet Zen either, but it seems to be a necessary prerequisite to Zen. One must take the scary, lonesome and apparently presumptuous risk of challenging the gods: "What? Me know better than the Gods? Yes, yes, yes! I can see they are half-blind. Not as blind as the materialists and the spiritualists [body or mind extremists], but they too have prejudices galore. Perhaps one day I will find the truth. Yes, pompous thought, the truth!" (Perls, 1969a, p. 3) In so far as Gestalt therapy is rooted in everyday life, Zen realization is always a latent possibility. In so far as Gestalt therapy is a method or means unto itself, Zen is a million miles away. To put this in a Zen way, "When you meet a Gestalt therapist, or Gestalt therapee, eradicate himlher." (Once when I tried to corner my Zen Master with a Zen question, he looked up over his spectacles and said "Not now; now there is only old Japanese gentleman reading newspaper.") Unless a Gestalt therapee intends to become a therapist himlherself, the theories and methods of Gestalt can be reassimilated to everyday life. A Gestalt therapist ought to be free ofthe theories and methods of Gestalt even while practicing Gestalt. Carl Gustav Jung reportedly said in his old age "I am not a Jungian." Similarly, when confronted with some of the present-day disputes about what is or is not officially Gestalt, Fritz Perls, were he still alive might well say, "I am not a Gestaltist." Zen might be described as the fulfillment of realizing the Self that from the very beginning has no need for therapy. Followers of great founders tend to ape, to take literally, and to fixate the initial insights of the founders. To appropriately honor Fritz Perls and the other founders of Gestalt therapy, we need to be free to rediscover everything they discovered afresh. That would be the Zen way. My encounter with Fritz Perls came at a crucial time. Without it I might not have found the courage to hold out in what for a long time seemed like turning the world and myself inside out. So, I want to close with this acknowledgment: Maybe you fulfilled your quest before you died. But if you failed it matters not; though Forty years have passed you are still here. So manifest your Buddha Nature now with me. See! Thank you Fritz, and GASSRO! References Ackerman, N. W. (1958). The psychodynamics offamily life. New York: Basic Books. Barfield, O. (1976). Saving the appearances: A study in idola- try. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Barfield, O. (1985). The rediscovery of meaning and other es- says. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Barzun, J. (1964). Science: The glorious entertainment. New York: Harper & Row. Becker, E. (1973). The denial of death. New York: Free Press. Bohm, D. (1982). Wholeness and the implicate order. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Bohm, D., & Hiley, B. (1993). The undivided universe: An ontological interpretation of quantum theory. London: Routledge. Bohm, D., & Peat, F. D. (1987). Science, order, and creativity. New York: Bantam Books. Bortoft, H. (1996). The wholeness of nature: Goethe's way to- ward a science of conscious participation in nature. Hudson, NY: Lindisfarne Press. Frankl, V. E. (1978). The unheard cry for meaning. New York: Simon & Schuster. Goldstein, K. (1939). The organism: A holistic approach to biology. New York: American Book Company. Goldstein, K. (1963). Human nature in the light ofpsychopa- thology. New York: Schocken Books. (Originally published 1940) Goodman, P. (1960). Growing up absurd. New York: Random House. Goodman, P. (1964). Compulsory miseducation and the com- munity of scholars. New York: Vintage Books. Goodman, P. (1977). Nature heals. New York: Free Life Edi- tions. Haley, J. (1973). Uncommon therapy: The psychiatric tech- niques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. New York: Norton. Harrington, A. (1996). Reenchanted science: Holism in Ger- man culture from Wilhelm II to Hitler. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time ( J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. Jones, R. S. (1982). Physics as metaphor. New York: Merid- ian Books. Jones, R. S. (1992). Physics for the rest of us. Chicago: Con- temporary Books. Joslyn, M. (1975). Figure/ground: Gestalt/Zen. In J. O. Stevens (Ed.), Gestalt is (pp. 229-246). Moab, UT: Real People Press. The Last Time I Saw Fritz 51 Joslyn, M. (1977). Zen und Gestalttherapie [Zen and Gestalt therapyJ. Integrative Therapie, 3/4, 203-227. N alimov, V. v. (1981). Faces of science. Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1982). Realms of the unconscious: The en- chanted frontier. Philadelphia: lSI Press. Perls, F. S. (1966). Ego, hunger and aggression. New York: Julian Press. (Originally published 1947) Perls, F. S. (1969a). A life chronology. [Originally intended for publication with reprint of Ego, hunger and aggression, now available at http://www.gestalt.org/contents.htmJ Perls, F. S. (1969b). Gestalt therapy verbatim. Lafayette, CA: Real People Press. Perls, F. S., Hefferline R. F., & Goodman, P. (1951). Gestalt therapy. New York: Julian Press. Seamon, D., & Zajonc, A. (Eds.). (1998). Goethe's way of sci- ence:Aphenomenology of nature. Albany, NY: State Uni- versity of New York Press. Straus, E. W. (1963). The primary world of the senses. New York: Free Press. Straus, E. W. (1966). Phenomenological psychology. New York: Basic Books. Toulmin, S. (1990). Cosmopolis: The hidden agenda of mo- dernity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Watzlawick, P., Weakland, J., & Fisch, R. (1974). Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution. New York: Norton. 52 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Painting by David Parker Spring Essence The Poetry ofH6 Xuan HU'o'ng John Balaban North Carolina State University-Raleigh Raleigh, North Catolina, USA H 6 Xuan HU'o'ng-her given name means "Spring Essence"-was born around 1780 at the end of the second Le Dynasty, a period of calamity and social disintegration. Her fame in Vietnam as a poet and cultural figure continues to this day. A concubine, although a high- ranking one, she followed Chinese classical styles in her poetry, but preferred to write in Nom, the language of ordinary Vietnamese. And while her prosody followed traditional forms, her poems were anything but conventional: Whether about mountain landscapes, or longings after love, or apparently about such common things as a fan, weaving, some fruit, or even a river snail, almost all her poems were double entendres with hidden sexual meaning. In a Confucian tradition that banished the nude from art, writing about sex was unheard of. And, if this were not enough to incur disfavor in a time when impropriety was punished by the sword, she wrote poems which ridiculed the authority of the decaying Buddhist Church, the feudal state, and Confucian society. Yet, because of her stunning poetic cleverness, she and her poems survived. Young scholar-poets came to match wits with her. Her poems were copied by hand for almost one hundred years before they finally saw a woodblock printing in 1909. The book I have edited and translated, Spring Essence: The Poetry of H6 Xuan HU'o'ng (Copper Canyon Press, 2000), is the first printing of her collected poetry in any Western language. Indeed, it is the first time that her poems have been actually printed in the Nom she wrote in, rather than passed on by hand or copied in limited woodblock editions. Note: The poems appearing here are from John Balaban, editor and translator, Spring Essence: The Poetry of HIi'Xuan HU'o'ng. Copyright 2000 by John Balaban. Reprinted with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P. O. Box271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, USA. The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol 21, 5 3 ~ 5 8 53 Autumn Landscape Drop by drop rain slaps the banana leaves. Praise whoever sketched this desolate scene: the lush, dark canopies of the gnarled trees, the long river, sliding smooth and white. I lift my wine flask, drunk with rivers and hills. My backpack, breathing moonlight, sags with poems. Look, and love everyone. Whoever sees this landscape is stunned. 54 The InternationalJournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 The Retired Doctor He couldn't care less about carriages or staves. Sitting cross-legged on his veranda, pouring out heavenly wine for old friends, he offers toasts with this immortal cure. He recites "Lu'o'ong-Phil" for people near and far. Zithers "Tall Mountain" for dwellers of peaks and clouds. Finding great peace again and again he claps out rhythms, shouts out joy. Spring Essence 55 The Lustful Monk A life in religion weighs heavier than stone. Everything can rest on just one little thing. My boat of compassion would have sailed to Paradise if only bad winds hadn't turned me around. 56 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Country Scene The waterfall plunges in mist. Who can describe this desolate scene: the long white river sliding through the emerald shadows of the ancient canopy ... a shepherd's horn echoing in the valley, fishnets stretched to dry on sandy flats. A bell is tolling, fading, fading just like love. Only poetry lasts. Spring Essence 57 Spring-Watching Pavilion A gentle spring evening arrives airily, unclouded by worldly dust. Three times the bell tolls echoes like a wave. We see heaven upside-down in sad puddles. Love's vast sea cannot be emptied. And springs of grace flow easily everywhere. Where is nirvana? Nirvana is here, nine times out of ten. 58 The InternationalJournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 Jean-Jacques Dicker Photography First Philippe L. Gross Editor, The International Journal of Trans personal Studies Honolulu, Hawai'i, USNFribourg, Switzerland Jean-Jacques and Yuko T HE INSTANT I met JJ I knew that this man had crossed many more boundaries than I have. We both had been selected to exhibit our photographs at the Honolulu Academy of Arts for the Annual Artists ofHawai'i event and were attending the opening reception. As we were moving through the crowd our eyes met, and his first words to me were: "Oh cool! You must be that Swiss guy who wrote the Tao of Photography book." Surprised to be recognized, I acquiesced shyly, and he said that he had read the book and had been wanting to meet me for a long time. JJ then assembled the six young and beautiful Japanese women in his entourage, and pointing at my images, introduced me as "the genius who had taken the photographs," and added more credentials than I knew I had. Then Photo courtesy of the waitress he threw his hands up in the air, stared at me, and referring to the festivities said laughingly: "They just love that shit!" Wearing sandals and loose clothing, JJ behaved with such unusual elegance that his appearance did not matter. His energetic presence, enhanced by his wild curly hair and bass-baritone voice, saturated the air with life. After this initial dadaist introduction, we got to settle down a bit and enjoyed hearing each other's life story-the beginning of a vibrant friendship. Jean-Jacques Dicker was born in 1944 in Geneva to a Swiss father and French mother. Because of his parents' divorce, his childhood years were spent between Paris and Geneva. At the age of seven, he left with his mother and step- father for Honolulu. Passionate about surfing, The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21, 59-70 59 2002 by Panigada Press he eventually wanted to test other waters, and at seventeen he went to Biarritz, France, where he met the "gypsies of the road" who biked or hitchhiked across Europe and North Mrica. It was then that he realized how exciting and fulfilling a backpacker's life could be. From 1962 to 1967 he attended both the University of Geneva and the University ofHawai'i. He parked cars to earn money for his hitchhiking trips across the USA, Mexico, and Central and South America. JJ managed to complete his B.A. degree in French in 1967 and then worked as a waiter in Waikiki to finance a two-and-a-half-year trip to Europe and North Africa. A year earlier he had met Polona, whom he married three years later in Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia). It was in 1968 that he purchased his first 24x36mm camera. With it, he headed off to Central America. Unfortunately, after three months of traveling in Mexico, jaundice interrupted his plan to move further south, and he flew to Switzerland to be treated by his father, a physician. After a quick convalescence, he bought a VW Camper in Germany and spent the next two years traveling around Europe, concluding with a return trip back to Honolulu to earn money for his next voyage. JJ's passion for photography was kindled in the darkroom by the excitement of seeing a large and clear picture being born of a small negative. The enthusiastic reception of his work added to his motivation to pursue the medium further. From 1970 to 1973 he attended photography classes at the University ofHawai'i, and in 1972 he secured his first publications in two local newspapers-The Sun Press and Sun bums-and presented his first one-man exhibition. This was the first step toward a long series of international exhibitions and awards. In 1974 J J received a federal grant for applied arts from Bern (Switzerland), and spent the next two years traveling in Europe, followed by two years of travel through Africa. In 1978 he returned to Honolulu-and to Polona, who had divorced him for being absent. Back in the islands, he decided to print the images from his four-year trip. Two years later, he received another federal grant from Switzerland and spent three months in Southeast Asia. Upon returning to Honolulu, he was summoned to Switzerland to settle a paternity suit involving a prostitute he had lived with four years earlier. Fortunately, he was concurrently offered a grant from the Banque hypothecaire of the canton of Geneva, which permitted him to pay for a two- week round trip to Switzerland. A year later a telegram from his father in Geneva arrived declaring, ''You are not the papa. Love papa." In 1984 he was back for a last six-month trip to Mrica with a Nikon and a Plaubel Makina 6x7. Since then, he has been concentrating on India, Nepal, Japan, Laos, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. ''Why do you travel so much?-It's everywhere the same!" an old philosophy professor once remarked to him. "Are you kidding?" JJ interjected, "You never know what you'll discover around the next corner: unusual people, new smells, an expanded palette of colors-life is so rich! How can you not marvel at its diversity!" Currently, JJ lives with his sweetheart Yuko Kamiyama in Hawai'i Kai, a thirty-minute drive from Honolulu. His house is an imposing collage of dadaist/surrealist/existential art and humor- with erotic overtones. A tour of the house gives the open-minded visitor a jolt of creativity and offers a glimpse of his satirical mind and rebellious personality. It also reveals a very funny character who loves_ to entertain. Such a tour was even featured on 'Olelo, a local television channel. His house is filled with an intriguing melange of objects and props collected from his trips, including indigenous artifacts and humorous bibelots. The walls are covered with artwork and hundreds of political, philosophical, and art statements, including a sociological pinboard featuring the various ways marketers have misspelled his name as well as some notorious political figures pornographically juxtaposed in a satirical collage. Provocative quotations appear throughout the house: "How much reality can you stand?" "If you are traveling with other people, you're a tourist; If you're alone, you're a traveler." A quote by Erica Jong perhaps best captures JJ's political agenda: "If we ban whatever offends any group in our diverse society we will soon have no art, no culture, no humor, no satire." In a culture dominated by marketing "canned" goods and ideas, not losing one's creativity and 60 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21 artistic sensibilities requires strength of charac- ter and resolve. JJ has succeeded in maintaining a fresh eye and a down-to-earth existential stance. Typically, transcending conventional social stan- dards, JJ chose to go barefoot in a Nairobian brothel over more traditional and commodious destinations. JJ's talent could have easily brought him ma- terial wealth had he elected a career in fashion photography; instead he has chosen to do docu- mentary and fine art work. To sustain his artistic vision and freedom, JJ has been working for several years as a waiter in an Ital- ian Restaurant in Waikiki, serving up spaghetti to pay his bills rather than be held hostage to the commercial demands of clients. JJ's most con- spicuous characteris- tic is his genuineness and passionate em- brace of life-a pal- JJ does what he does for the sheer pleasure of doing it. When asked about his motivation for the thousands of prints he has done, JJ simply an- swered: "I don't want to make money; I don't want to be famous. I want to make photographs." The path of the a e s t h e ~ e , while perhaps decep- tively appealing, requires discipline. One photo- graphic ritual that JJ practices on his travels is to photograph his room before settling in. I have to do it. Even though I am tired, and would love to throw my backpack on the floor and rest. The beauty of the room forces me to photograph it. It may never be the same again. And the dance begins, light meter read- ing, rearrange- ment of the mos- quito net, chang- ing lenses, open- ing or closing of windows and so forth until I feel the right image, until all the pos- sibilities of the ex- pable, infectious exu- Three Friends, Three Cigarettes, Nairobi, Kenya, 1977 berance that raises room are Jean-Jacques Dicker hausted. questions about more conventional ways of being. JJ's unorthodox embrace of life is one answer to the question: ''What kind of life is worth living?" The transpersonal field is overweighted with the as- sumption that renunciation of the senses and the body is the way to transpersonal understanding and liberation. The alternative path of ''bathing in the senses" is most often viewed as a self-indulgent trap preventing self-growth. When interacting with JJ, however, one cannot but question such as sump- tions-hisjoie de vivre, spontaneous humor, and un- encumbered enjoyment of life suggest that the path to fulfillment can be found anywhere. The key seems to not be attached to pleasures-and in that respect JJ embodies the famous advice of Chuang-tzu: Mysteriously, wonderfully, I bid farewell to what goes, I greet what comes; for what comes cannot be denied, and what goes cannot be detained.! lIn B. Watson, Trans., 1968. The complete works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press, p. 213. A photographic collection of rooms he has occupied around the world can be viewed in his book Chambres-Empty Rooms, published by Michele Auer's Photo archives (or on line at: http:// www.lenswork.com/emptyrooms.htm). At present, JJ is selecting and printing a backlog of twenty years of negatives from his many world trips and he is eagerly awaiting the release of his 290-page book which chronicles a three-year experience in Africa. The book is published by Ides et Calendes. When asked about his future plans, JJ always answers: "Photography first." The following images illustrate JJ's transcendent photographic eye for beauty, humor, and eroticism. Jean-Jacques Dicker 61 Madras Cap, Udaipur, India, 1999 Jean-Jacques Dicker 62 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Cow in Kashmir, Srinagar, India, 1985 Jean-Jacques Dicker Jean-Jacques Dicker 63 Sarah with Net, Honolulu, 1982 Jean-Jacques Dicker 64 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Heads with Parasols, Kagoshima, Japan, 1987 Jean-Jacques Dicker Jean-Jacques Dicker 65 Birdman,Tokyo,1987 Jean-Jacques Dicker 66 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 Bernard at Barbershop in Agra, India, 1985 Jean-Jacques Dicker Jean-Jacques Dicker 67 Yuko with Octopus, Honolulu, 2000 Jean-Jacques Dicker 68 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 Yuko with Shell, Honolulu, 1998 Jean-Jacques Dicker Jean-Jacques Dicker 69 Man in Mosque, Srinagar, India, 1985 Jean-Jacques Dicker 70 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Wu Wei in Chuang Tzu as Life-Systematic Kuang-ming Wu University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, Missouri, USA Wu wei (non-doing) in Chuang Tzu is expressed in story-bits reflecting life-slices. They are life- systematic, not random, not having a system. One; Chuang Tzu is a dragonfly over the pond of life, dotting the water of daily ongoing without dotting it. Two; the dotting is dot-sayings that yarn life's concrete bits into story-coherence. Three; Chuang Tzu dots and struts around to let others say, and life-coherence appears. Four; life-coherence is a life-family of concrete bits, a thread of many life-fibres twisted together. Five; Chu Hsi and Chuang Tzu have dot-sayings that draw readers into making systems oftheir own to attribute them to Chu and Chuang Tzu. "System" is then a verb, to let-make systems, weaving out a system beyond system. Six; this system-beyond is expressed in spontaneous flexuous story-nets to cipher comprehensive/ systematic life. Seven; being flexibly systematic expresses the inexpressible One Poem of life. All this while, Chuang Tzu has been winking at us, letting us spin out all the above. That is tacit wu wei-of living "happily ever after." T HE ANCIENT Taoist sage Chuang Tzu (399- 295 B.C.) single-handedly, albeit unwittingly, produced that vast, rich and subtle tradition of Chinese literature-poetry, prose poems, fiction, essays, history-as-literature, analects, epistles, epitaphs (the list goes on), l and sired unawares "Zen" (along with Buddhism and Shintoism), the deep multicultural undercurrent. A little phrase above, "albeit unwittingly," is significant. It is synonymous with "wu wei (non- doing)" to bespeak how Chuang Tzu lived it, a central notion of his. Nothing refreshes and fascinates us into chuckling happiness as does his wu wei, which he gives in story-bits to awaken us into being life-systematic unawares. Chuang Tzu thus winks casually-befitting wu wei-to let us realize how absolutely indispensable wu wei is for us not only to survive, but to thrive. Wu wei is life-systematic to "walk Tao out" (Chuang Tzu, 2/33). We must now observe how life-systematic wu wei is in seven points below that "walk" out wu wei. 1. Chuang Tzu is a dragonfly silently hovering over the pond of life, dotting it without dotting it. He dots the pond lightly with story-bits, and ripples of our fascination arise to charm us into reflecting on what all this amounts to. The ripples silently spread, while the dragonfly lightly flies away, nowhere to be seen. It is in the aftermath that we realize the whole situation as being life- systematic, in the overlapping intertwining spread of the ripples. Now, the above poetic description of Chuang Tzu fits him, for poets are more poignantly precise than mathematicians who are inspired by poets if not a sort of poets themselves. This essay follows Chuang Tzu's responsible poesy, neither spinning out deadly analysis nor wallowing in poetic license. Chuang Tzu is the poet par excellence in China, having single-handedly carved out the tradition of Chinese aesthetic sensibility. To describe him requires a poet's sensitivity. 2 He is a boor who demands statistical precision against poetic poignancy. The Internationa/journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VoL 21,71-77 71 2002 by Panigada Press In order to forestall a misunderstanding that all this is a poet's imprecise exuberance used to shun responsible coherent explanation, however, let us consider what "being life-systematic" can mean in Chuang Tzu. 2. To construct a tight analytical system out of life is one thing; living systematically, being systematic within life, is quite another. A system constructed out of life is meant to apply to life, and must be so applied. Such "application" can only amount to an imposition-however much modification we make here and there to the system in the name of "abstract objectivity" and "precision." Imposition on our life ends up damaging us who live our life. The only system that damages no life is one that manifests in the living itself, as it were, which yet is contingent, to wit, haphazard and spotty to our literal mind. Things concrete are dotted/spotty but not random! arbitrary. At least Chuang Tzu's storytelling so indicates, for stories yarn life's concrete bits into story-coherence, and the yarn is a "system" that always flexes/changes to fit life's contour in order to do life the least violence. 3 No wonder Chuang Tzu has no analytical "system" but is systematic in life's concrete organic coherence. Such life-systematicity is dotted as concrete bits oflife are. This observation explains how Chinese writers write. Take, for instance, Chu Rsi (1130-1200), reputed to be a system-builder, a Chinese Aristotle. 4 From his scattered sayings people pick and pull bits into "a system" for him. 5 Yet Chu left us only scattered analects. What system is it ifhe wrote none down? Row are we to know it? Moreover, does he who is our teacher need our help? Wouldn't "systems" others built for him hurt his "system," if any? Queries such as these make us realize that Chinese dot-sayings 6 remain dots, not arbitrary, not an explicit logical system, and yet they are systematic. Being "systematic" here can only be understood as being reflective oflife's coherence, as life talking via Chu to express/exhibit itself as coherent/systematic. 3. Talks can say something; they can also let others say it. Collingwood (1939) said that statements are "answers" to unstated "questions" (pp. 29-43). Questions let someone else say things. The Chinese writers dot their sayings-in aphorisms, analects, stories-as open questions that do not say but let readers freely say/answer. Openly, ambiguously, 7 Chinese sayings dot/strut around to let others say systematically, not as dotted/open questions, and life coherence appears between dot-saying-questioning and systematic- saying -answering. 4. What does such life-coherence look like? Wittgenstein (1958) saw two of its shapes/senses, mutually coherent, of being "systematic" as being "coherent"-"family resemblance" and "spinning a thread" (p. 32e). Since both are parts of human life, one natural, another artful, both can be taken to cipher life's "systematic" coherence. 4.1. The first variety of organic coherence is for a system to become a "family" of what it describes/represents; it shows what it describes as a family. The "system" has the physiognomy of what it presents. An example is Chinese sagely dot sayings above as tacit "questions" that form a family coherence with the readers' commentaries as answers. Another example is J. Tanizaki's adumbration of shadows as where we are at home, in his In Praise of Shadows (1977)8 that takes on a shadowy style, rambling as shadow to follow shadow as it flickers/follows the thing of which it is a shadow. Japanese "in'ei" may be "shade of shade," "penumbra,,,g to wit, umbra of umbra. Tanizaki may be trailing Chuang Tzu's ironic penumbra/umbra dialogue-in-queries below: 10 Penumbra asked Umbra, "Then, you strolled; now, you stop; then, you sat; now, you stand. Why such no-independence?" Umbra said, "Have I what-I-wait-on to be so? Has what-I- wait-on what-it-waits-on, again, to be so? Do I wait on snake's scales, cicada's wings? How would I know why so, how would I know why not so?" Shadow is here reprimanded by its shadow, the penumbra, as lacking in independence. Likewise, Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows "penumbrates" shadows in their very physiognomy that it depicts, itself disappearing ll in the shadows that disappear in the thing of which they are shadows. Tanizaki's praise of shadows has a family resemblance to shadows themselves, being organically "systematic" with shadows; shadow- physiognomic. 4.2. The second variety of organic coherence is likened to the spinning of a thread, where "we twist fibre on fibre, ... overlapping ... many fibres" (Wittgenstein, 1958). It is notions that are spun 72 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 into threads of family resemblance, and "thread" and "family" cipher being systematic. 12 Since notions are separate as they concresce into a "concrete system," such a coherent system is a composite. Such a concrete system is a contingent composite ofloose concresced fibre-bits ofthread or separate individuals in a family. This is why/ how Tanizaki "rambles" (see Appendix). By nature such a rambling cannot be of one piece, totalistic and totalitarian. 5. Such is the concrete system Chu Hsi has woven, but how could he weave, or write, a system by not writing it? The answer is wu wei, in four points. 5.1. One; we could say that Chu has a no- system system, an invisible meta-system, which inspires others to build their own systems and to rightly attribute them to Chu. 5.2. Two; we could say that Chu has no system, but is nevertheless systematic. All his dot-sayings suggest a system, which draws readers into making systems of their own and attributing them to Chu. To the question: Whence then is Chu's individual peculiarity, the answer must be that Chu lived Chu-coherently, Chu-systematically. "System" is no longer a noun but becomes "systematic"; an adjective, an adverb, in fact; then "systematize," a verb, for life is, and Chu's dot-sayings reflect such livinglbeing systematically. In Chu's manner, to let-make a system, then another, is the way life goes on, in others' individualities. I once took Chuang Tzu's words as metaphors of no- metaphor, meta-metaphors that let-metaphor (Wu, 1990, p. 501, Index, "metaphor(s), metaphorical"). Chu unwittingly followed Chuang Tzu. In fact, all Chinese writers are systematic; they are such meta-metaphor-ers, such meta-system-izers. 5.3. Three; scholars such as Wang Yang-ming, Tai Chen, and Ito Jinsai criticized Chu as being too abstract and metaphysical. They accused Chu of mistakenly attributing Chu's own "system" to Confucius', who had no system, no metaphysics. 13 The truth ofthe matter is that Confucius inspired Chu's system-making, or rather, Chu's meta- system-making. Confucius was meta-systematic; his was a meta-meta-system as was Chuang Tzu's. No wonder both Confucius and Chuang Tzu could achieve the name of "Chinese Paragons" with their scattered volumes. 5.4. Four; in other words, the Chinese writers asymptotically approach a "system" forever beyond reach. Writers are imbued with a system- beyond-them, as the poet has one poem-beyond- words of which all hislher poems speak, and as the musician has one music-beyond-sound of which all hislher compositions sing.14 6. Now, this system-beyond, poem-beyond, and music-beyond ciphers being comprehensively systematic as life itself.15 This originates in the rhythm-route of feelings, of the heart/mind perceiving, and of our own understanding understanding itself. It is a fresh look back at whatever the sensibilities of life's heart/mind have been undergoing. Such a "system" amounts to a story, as mentioned above, that life freely spins to understand itself, and so it is as spontaneous, flexuous and open-ended as life itself, a life-net that flexes with life to capture itself. This is in contrast to the traps, the boxes of categories trying vainly to capture the winds of actuality. Harper (1977) said: One of the oldest and most deeply ingrained of Japanese attitudes to literary style holds that too obvious a structure is contrivance, that too orderly an exposition falsifies the ruminations of the heart, that the truest representation of the searching mind is just to "follow the brush." (Afterword, p. 45) This attitude is Chinese as well as Japanese, and does not necessarily oppose "concision and articulation,"16 as Harper (1977) would have us believe, for the following of the brush of life can concisely/precisely paint/articulate life's undergoing of understanding "life"-itself and its beyond-without trappings of technicalities. To undergo self-understanding self-grasps to naturally grow beyond itself, to become comprehensive. Our heart/mind goes from self-realization to comprehensiveness this way. We realize that we find logical coherence by discerning a familiarity between one thing and anotherY This metaphorical discernment enables one fibre- notion to cohere, entwine, with another, for us to take these notions to form a family to belong together. Such family-discernment goes on as life goes on, and thus life-understanding tends to comprehensiveness. Being comprehensively systematic naturally arises out of being organically systematic, which Wu Wei in Chuang Tzu as Life-Systematic 73 implies growing in understanding beyond its cocoon of knowledge now. Neville (1977) said: I, on the other hand, praise the power of systematic thinking to come at things from many angles, relativizing anyone perspective, and taking responsibility for not identifYing any representation wholly with what it represents. Abstract and systematically criticized representations allow us to engage realities with a genuine sense of humility. (p. xvi) I agree, and add, importantly, that such "relativizing" need not go via systematic abstraction for such abstraction. Lacking the protective participation, oversight, and guidance of concrete growing, life risks narcissistic fascination with its own beauty of categoreal scheme. Again Neville (2001) says:18 [A] composite and comprehensive approach is to extend understanding in new directions, creating new bridges between cultures and expanding each culture ... a system in the ancient sense of looking at its topics from every angle imaginable .. .in the sense of being as comprehensive as possible, looking at things from as many theoretical and cultural perspectives as possible. As our common teacher, Paul Weiss, said, system in this sense is the only protection against dogmatism. (pp. xi-xii) That is "systematic" as "comprehensive." It grows out of being organically, concretely, and life- nimbly "systematic." 7. These meditations on being systematic have two important spin-offs. 7.1.: They elucidate what wu wei is. 7.2.: They let us-and aid us to-live happily ever after. 7.1. Things now fall into place. Being flexibly, coherently, and comprehensively systematic is the One Poem Heidegger claimed no poet could write, being so comprehensive. Chinese people dare, however, to ex-press such a One Poem as dots hinting a beyond-system. Collingwood (1939) said that statements are answers to unexpressed questions. Chinese sayings are these tacit questions. They are dots to express unexpressed questions to "draw out" answers, each in its own coherent systematic manner. Tao is the wu that wu wei's, the ''brightlblack hole" that draws in to enable life; birthing, birthing, without ceasing, In a variety of systems, one after another. Explications of "wu wei" above are themselves some of the systems among others that wu wei evoked. The Chinese heart/mind is so life-concrete as to pull such a meta-supra-systematic stunt on Heidegger, ex-pressing the inexpressible One Poem, and on Collingwood, dotting questions that are not spoken. ''Wu wei" is their way of executing such dots on such "One Poems" and "questions." To see how being systematic in life is wu wei, we must turn to concrete China. This is the Chinese art of thinking and expressing; it is an ever-disarmingly simple art of leaving things unsaid to leave readers alone, let them go home, and think for themselves; for telling exhaustively is impossible and counterproductive. My story starts your steps in our boots over rocky ground, and Tao, the concrete universal, or rather, transversal, we thus co-walk out (Chuang Tzu 21 33). Storytelling, journals, and analects are the Tao of co-systematic living, concrete co-thinking, being systematic in life in China, Zen, and Tanizaki, spreading all over. 7.2. Now, have we noticed? Chuang Tzu has been so far winking at us with his stories, one after another. He did nothing, said nothing-to let me do the explaining. I did nothing, either, to let you understand it. That is being systematic in life-tacitly, in a wu wei fashion. "0 what a beautiful morning! 0 what a beautiful day! Everything's going my way!" sings an Oklahoman, a nobody! He is fit! That's wu wei. All the above amounts to this. I agree with Buddhism and medical science that I die daily. N ow, if I die daily, every day that I live is a miracle, and this miracle cuts deeper, embracing suffering. 19 Some days deeply dissatisfY me, but precisely this suffering corner of my life can occasion my partaking of the Beyond, as Bonhoeffer 20 and Buddha did. Here-this life- occasion-is a miracle, as the example below shows. I saw a young man, tall, gawky and hairless, standing by the roadside with me waiting for the bus. He was not smiling, not crying, looking not up, not down, staring and not staring, pensive, profound, deep in thought, standing nowhere. I talked to him and he talked back, quietly, slowly. I thought he must know how and when he would die, being wiser than we who are unaware of our coming death-and then I felt something strange. 74 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 We are all terminal patients as he is, as Buddha reminds us, for we will all die sooner or later, so what else is new? Well, perhaps this is why Chuang Tzu said (2/52) that the baby just born and died has lived longer than the longest-lived of men. Why then don't we live happily ever after as babies who died and men who lived? After all, long or short, life is better and deeper than can be enjoyed and/or suffered. Injoy and in suffering, I am grateful for this possibility, this privilege of breathing joy without joy, for ultimate joy is no joy (Chuang Tzu, 18/11). "Everyday is a good day," Zen says. This is life's miracle. What miracle? Well, Chuang Tzu 21 begins his book with the Northern Dark, where there is a Big Fish called "K'un," which can mean "fish roe." The name may say that the "Big" implicates (can mean) a bit, the small, and a bit (roe) contains the big (can grow). Small is beautiful because it is big, and big is beautiful because it is small. Then K'un changes into a Big Bird, "P' eng," which can mean a bunch of friends. It "rages" up out of the water far into the blue sky. It takes three months to prepare for foods to fly to the Southern Dark region. Such Big Above far beyond the below small! Unexpectedly, however, small birdies down below here chitchat to laugh at P'eng, "What does he think he is doing?" Again, the big implicates bits, and bits contain the big. The big and bits go beyond each other and hold each other.22 The beyond is inside. That's life loafing, that's miracle, just fooling around. Now we realize that being systematic in this manner is beyond making/doing a system, a wu wei. This is being systematic in life manifested everywhere in the indescribability of doing- without-doing (wu wei) in Zen (indirection), Tao (Great Tao declares not), awakening (butterfly dreaming), psychology (counselor-client inter- mothering-healing), writing (self-shaping and sharing), and the ineffable list goes on. Being systematic makes "sense." Being life- systematic makes sense, real, comprehensive, approachable, and unreachable-as wu wei. Wu wei is a beyond-system, a tacit system, a system of no system. It is a strange anti-"black hole," the Bright Black Hole, mysterious and dark (hsilan, ming). The shady roomy dark gives birth to white light (Chuang Tzu, 4/33), to let others do without "doing it yourself." Non-doers are let-doers, more than conquerors, for letting many others do is surely more powerful than doing alone. Let-do darkly sucks life to enable it, to shine forth to prosper together. Need more be said? The wild, the desert, calls, "Return!" and "Gor and Opens us to the wild-circle-in us and out. Wilde beasts wordlessly roam, with Birds, big and small, hooting, chirping, Beating time, beating no time. Music of the wild opens the wild. We all return. We all go out. All are up and about In swamps that sustain, In rivers they meander. And Soon enough, far in the South, The dusk hugs Misty Mountains, and Birds fly in pairs home to their nests. So much is here, for nothing is here, Aloud in stillness, beyond words. Non-sense just stays, Being systematic beyond sense. We simply return, one and all, and the wild opens. In Wu Wei. 23 Appendix W E fiND theme-bits in Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows (1977) (though the author himself does not say this) thus-horne-building, fixtures (pp. 1-2), shoji (2,20,21), lighting, heating (2-3), toilet (3-6), paper (6-8, 9-10, 21-22), science (7), jade (10, 15, 30), shadow (10-11), sheen of old, glow of grime (11), hospital, restaurant (12), lacquerware, ceramics (14), soup (15), foods, rice (16), building (17) as a variation of shadows (18) to exist for shadows (19), inkwash painting (18, 20), shoji (thinnest), alcove (darkest) (20), silence, music (9, 15, 20), light becomes shadow (20) and serves shadows to calm us (22), gold glitters in dim room (22), Noh (23-28), skin (23-24, 31-34), puppets (28), women (28-30), Japan vs. the West (30-31), teahouse (34), modern wasteful Japan (35-37), old man complaining in his dotage (39). Amazingly, shadows thus appear in his rambling/trailing of them, not of "his brush" (45). Why can he not describe shadows? For description throws light, and shadow disappears. Shadow is best adumbrated indirectly in a "shadowy" (40) Wu Wei in Chuang Tzu as Lift-Systematic 75 manner. Tanizaki embodies and executes wu wei. Likewise, the present essay proceeds in a Tanizaki-esque manner, in wu wei. The beauty of it is that it was not preplanned this way, for such a way cannot be planned. It evolves all by itself, life-systematically. Wu wei is life- systematic, loafing as life itself. Notes 1. Personally speaking, without him, I would not have been able to survive as a poor plodding writer. 2. Martin Buber is a rare genius who did pull off this stunt of presenting Lao Tzu's and Chuang Tzu's profound obscurity with his own profound obscurity (Buber, 1957, pp. 31-58), despite our dispute about whether Buber's mystical profundity matches theirs. The description is unmistakably Buber's with a Taoist touch. That's all we can say, and that speaks well for Buber who followed, as well as for Chuang Tzu who enabled. 3. For stories' historical magnificence and abiding power, see Erdoes and Ortiz (1984, pp. xi-xv); Este (1999, pp. ix-xxx), and Wu (1990, p. 506, Index on "story," "stories"). 4. Another Chinese Aristotle is of course Hsiin Tzu. 5. For recent examples, see Ching (2000) and Kim (2000). 6. On Chinese sayings as dotted see Wu (2001, p. 664, Index, "dot-pragmatics"). 7. "Ambiguity" means to walk-around. Western dotters, such as Emerson, seem not to ask but to say. 8. Incidentally, Tanizaki's attachment to shadows that shelter/reveal things and a shadowy comforting toilet may originate in motherly shelters. 9. "Penumbra," as partial umbra, came from the fact that penumbra is at the edge of umbra to define umbra. I take penumbra to mean, then, the umbra of umbra as umbra is shadow of a thing that defines the thing. As umbra is shadow to a thing, so penumbra is shadow to a shadow. 10. This dialogue (2/92-94, my translation) precedes the "butterfly dream" that ends Chapter Two. Chuang Tzu has penumbra, umbra of umbra, nudge umbra to see umbra wavering. What subtlety of adumbration! (cf. Wu, 1990, p. 505, Index on "shadow"). 11. Wu (2001, pp. 615-640) suggests that the true pedagogue disappears in the subjects taught. 12. Wittgenstein took those two senses to be mutually coherent/twisted/threaded, and people follow him in taking both as one coherent whole, but we can also see them as two separate notions inter-cohered. 13. On WangYang-ming, see Chan (1963); on Tai Chen, see Chin and Freeman (1990); on Ito Jinsai, see Huang (2000). 14. Whitehead (1978) said, ''Words and phrases must be stretched towards a generality foreign to their ordinary usage; and however such elements of language be stabilized as technicalities, they remain metaphors mutely appealing for an imaginative leap" (p. 4). Artur Schnabel (1991) said that the music "is better than it can be played" (p. 10). Heidegger (1971) said that every thinker is a poet who has only one poem, itself uncomposed, out of which and of which all other poems speak (p. 160). The Chuang Tzu, the Analects, and the Tao Te Ching are Chuang Tzu's, Confucius', and Lao Tzu's uncomposed poems to evoke many composed ones. 15. After all, family resemblance and thread spinning are two phenomena of our daily common life. 16. See "precision" in Wu (2001, p. 669, Index on "precision") . 17. On the inner intricacies of metaphor-process, see Wu (2001). 18. I apologize for quoting from Neville to illustrate how an honest dialogue can inter-elicit insights-and dialogue is personal and life-systematic as question-and- answer is. This is how, in China, writings come out as "analects." 19. Chuang Tzu has much to say on suffering, as in his Chapter Three. See Wu (1990, pp. 281-359). 20. Similar ideas appear loosely in Bethge (2000, pp. 15- 16). 21. See also Wu (1990, pp. 69-76; 86-90; 492, Index, "bird"; 496, Index, "fish"). 22. The entire Chapter One of Chuang Tzu goes on like this to show how the Big and the bit inter-contain, inter- thread. The beyond is outside, and so in life the outside threads inside and the inside, out. 23. I freely combined bits of Chuang Tzu, T'ao Ch'ien, and Edward Abbey (1968), three Nature poets ofwu wei. References Abbey, E. (1968). Desert solitaire:A season in the wilderness. New York: Ballantine Books. Bethge, E. (Ed.). (2000). Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Letters and pa- pers from prison. London: Folio Society. Buber, M. (1957). Pointing the way: Collected essays. Atlan- tic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International. Chan, W.-T. (Ed. & Trans.). (1963). A source book in Chinese philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chin, A., & Freeman, M. (1990). Tai Chen on Mencius: Ex- plorations in words and meaning. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Ching, J. (2000). The religious thought of Chu Hsi. London: Oxford University Press. Collingwood, R. G. (1939). An autobiography. London: Ox- ford University Press. 76 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Erdoes, R., & Ortiz, A. (Eds.). (1984). American Indian myths and legends. New York: Pantheon Books. Este, C. P. (Ed.). (1999). Tales of the Brothers Grimm. New York: Quality Paperback Club. Harper, T. J. (1977). Afterword. In J. Tanizaki, In praise of shadows. Stony Creek, CT: Leete's Island Books. Heidegger, M. (1971). On the way to language (P. D. Hertz, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. Huang, C. C. (2000). Ito Jinsai on Confucius' Analects: A type of Confucian hermeneutics in Asia. Unpublished manu- script. Kim, Y. S. (2000). The natural philosophy of Chu Hsi (1130- 1200). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. Neville, R. (1997). Foreword. In K-M. Wu, Chinese body think- ing: A cultural hermeneutic. Leiden: Brill. Neville, R. (2001). Foreword. In K-M. Wu, On metaphoring: A cultural hermeneutic. Leiden: Brill. Schnabel,A. (1991). [Liner notes]. Artur Schnabel, Beethoven: The complete piano sonatas [CD]. Hays, Middlesex, En- gland: EMI Records, CDHH 63765. Tanizaki, J. (1977). In praise of shadows (T. J. Harper & E. G. Seidensticker, Trans.). Stony Creek, CT: Leete's Island Books. Watson, B. (1968). The complete works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press. Whitehead, A. N. (1978). Process and reality. New York: Free Press. Wittgenstein, L. (1958). Philosophical investigations (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan. Wu, K-M. (1990). The butterfly as companion: Meditations on the first three chapters of the Chuang Tzu. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Wu, K-M. (2001). On metaphoring: A cultural hermeneutic. Leiden: Brill. ~ ' . . ~ . - - :," - -.I - Wu Wei in Chuang Tzu as Life-Systematic 77 Hmm . .. tell me more about these oceanic feelings. 78 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 Language as Aperture Duane Preble University of Hawai'i Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA Languages-verbal and nonverbal-are rich in multiple perspectives and shape our apprehension of the world. The richness of languages can serve to expand our consciousness and bring us to the threshold of the transpersonal. The only true voyage of discovery would not be to visit strange lands, but to possess other eyes, to behold the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others-to behold a hundred universes that each of them beholds, that each of them is. -Marcel Proust V ERBAL AND nonverbal languages shape human thought and consciousness. Could we have developed the kind of intelligences we have if our ancestors had not invented image-making, music, body language, and dance, as well as spoken and written language? And, if photography, cinematography, sound recording, radio, television, and the computer had not been developed? Languages can freeze human knowledge and potential or they can provide the means to break free of past constraints; they can limit our realities or expand them. Between direct perception and our responses to it lie the mediating processes of language. When languages first began to develop they were as much an integral part of nature as birdcalls and whale songs. As we evolved, the development of the often abstract signs and symbols increasingly used conditioned our conscious awareness. From prehistoric times, humans have felt a need to reexperience and rethink, to tell and retell our stories and express our feelings in order to make meaningful and memorable that which could otherwise appear meaningless and chaotic. In this context, languages as thinking tools become the defining means for making sense of raw experience. The way we use language becomes the framework for our actions and decision- making, our personal, interpersonal, and transpersonal understanding-our whole living attitude toward the world and our relationship to it. The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 79-80 79 2002 by Panigada Press Skillfully used in combination, words can connote ideas in multiple dimensions beyond words; but we can also think and communicate in sensory modes that include visual and kinesthetic realms. If we grow up hearing and learning to speak only one verbal language, it is a surprise to learn another language and come to realize that each language offers a unique view, a selected segment of reality. This is a major reason for learning more than one language. One language carries one view of the world; a second language exponentially expands that view. Active use of both verbal and nonverbal arts can open innumerable windows. What we can say and the way we can say something in one language often cannot be said in another language. This is true when comparing verbal languages and it is true when comparing communication modes-languages in the broad sense-as in the visual and performing arts. The dancer Isadora Duncan said, "If I could say it, I wouldn't have to dance it." And the painter Georgia O'Keefe stated, "I found I could say things with shapes and colors that I had no words for." Words more than images break reality into small pieces. Each thing named is so much more than its name. Many visual artists have realized that you must forget the name of what is observed if you really want to see it-that is, if you want to see it without prejudice. Not only different languages but also differences in how languages are used make huge changes in meaning. PoetrY allows for content that uses the sounds and meanings of words but goes beyond them. The shades of meaning conveyed by the spoken sounds of words can vary enormously according to the interpretation of the speaker and the context of the words. Each musician interprets a given piece of music differently. Even the ways in which languages are written change what they mean and who can read them. The transpersonal-so all-encompassing, so vast-preeminently lends itself to multiplicity of expression. During this period of massive change fueled by expanding layers of information overload and world-shrinking communication technologies, we would do well to both learn from and transcend personal and cultural habits of thought. The multiple realities reflected in different languages-verbal and nonverbal-also alert us to deeper, more universal layers of reality. Although languages are not reality but about reality, their richness can serve as a doorway to the transpersonal. 80 The International JournalofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Quiet Mind Atsumi Yamamoto Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21,81-94 81 82 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Quiet Mind 83 84 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Quiet Mind 85 86 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Quiet Mind 87 88 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 Q;tiet Mind 89 "fa.VI ~ . ~ i ..... ~ 90 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 Quiet Mind 91 92 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 Quiet Mind 93 94 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 The Re-Cognition of Being's Infrastructure as Self-Completion Herbert Guenther University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Wholeness as indivisible and the human being's connectedness with it are the abiding themes of the Buddhist experience-rooted and process-oriented thinking that goes by the name of rDzogs-chen. From its basically holistic point of view, the human being is a sub-whole, similar to a variation on a musical theme. From another point of view, however, based on the confusion of a compacted (and hence de-compactable) totality with wholeness, the human being is seen as being a reality that is internally divided and feels uncertain about who/ what he really is. Together, the intolerable feelings of being divided and uncertain cause a yearning for wholeness and transcendence. Both wholeness and transcendence are realized in the face-to-face encounter with the experiencer's real being and its recognition. Know thyself. -Anonymous Inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi How little do we know that which we are! How less what we may be! -Lord Byron, Don Juan All our knowledge is ourselves to know. -Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man: Epistle 4 La vraie science et la vrai etude de l'homme, c'est l'homme. -Pierre Charron, Sagesse Translated by Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man (2,1), as The proper study of mankind is man, and by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wahlverwandtschaften (2,4), as Das eigentliche Studium der Menschheit ist der Mensch I T IS interesting to note that the word l'homme used by the French theologian Pierre Charron (1541-1603), the principal expositor of the French essayist and skeptical philosopher Michel de Montaigne's (1533-1592) ideas, has been translated as mankind by Alexander Pope and Menschheit by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, both translations giving the original French l'homme an abstract twist. Unfortunately the English word mankind has acquired a sexist connotation opposed by some feminists. By contrast, the German word Menschheit does not have any sexist connotation, but the use of the word Mensch (from which the abstract noun Menschheit is derived) would, for a number of reasons, go against the grain of English language purists. I shall, however, use the words man and men, where necessary, in their generic sense to include both men and women. Concerning the pronouns he and she and their related his and her, I shall use he / his generically, and she / her specifically. Every statement has been made by someone who is always something more than what we assume him to be. There is about him, as about every word we speak, an aura ofthe unexpressed that, apart from causing much confusion, links him with a dimension that is larger than the one, the anthropic, to which he is habituated. This larger one we shall call the cosmic dimension. Together with and inseparable from the "smaller" anthropic dimension, is the "larger" dimension which I shall call the cosmic dimension. Summed up in the single abstract noun anthropocosmism that, like all -isms, is an ugly word, it yet expresses a profound idea. This abstract noun's two root words are: (1) the Greek word anthropos, meaning "Man" in the sense of the German word The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 95-108 95 2002 by Panigada Press Mensch, and as such quite distinct from the Greek word aner meaning man as a gendered being; and (2) the Greek word kosmos, (Anglicized as cosmos and turned into an adjective as cosmic), meaning order. What is particularly interesting about this anthropocosmic worldview is that it is grounded in itself, and that out ofthis ground, about which nothing can be said without contradiction, there emerges an overall reality. From the perspective of its inherent dynamic, this reality is the whole's (Being's) closure onto itself that in its closure remains open to wholeness. It is in the definition of reality that the twin notions of order and structure gain added significance. Usually we tend to conceive of these twin notions as involving some permanence and rigidity, all the time being oblivious to the fact that they are formalized results of processes that initiated and sustained them within the context in which they occurred. On closer inspection, however, both order and structure turn out to be basically dynamic. But regardless of whether we, by habituation, use the seemingly static notions of order and structure or, by preference, their more dynamic versions of ordering and structuring, we are faced with the deeper question of how this ordering and structuring, as an interweaving of forces, has come about. If, for argument's sake, we conceive of our universe as overtly ordered and presenting a distinct structure, we may speak of its covert dynamic as being of the nature of a suborder, presenting itself as the infrastructure of the overt order and structure. Ordering and structuring presupposes an intellig"fmce, creating a new worldview and illuminating it in the strict sense of these words. It cannot, therefore, be reduced to and equated with a quantitatively measurable facet of some solitary ego with its limited intellectual horizon (IQ).l To the rDzogs-chen thinkers belongs the credit of being the first to notice an important difference between two kinds of intelligence. One is pervasive of Being-qua-being (and, implicitly, our own being by virtue of our being-qua-body as an integral aspect of Being-qua-being); the other is an intelligence that is a tight rationality locked up in an ego and measurable in terms of its intensity as a low-level, medium-level, and high- level "quality;" The key terms in Tibetan for this difference are rig-Cpa) and ma-rig-(pa), respectively. As concepts by intuition, a "seeing from within" in the immediacy of experience, these are thoroughly dynamic and, on closer inspection, reveal the inadequacy oftheir current so-called translations. Let us start with the term ma-rig-(pa), whose extended meaning is given as 'khrul-pa "errancy," or "going astray (into mistaken identification)." From this it follows that ma-rig-(pa) can by no means be equated with our notion of ignorance as a denial of knowledge. Rather, what this term intends is to draw our attention to the fact that what is so designated is not quite (ma) what it should or might be, namely, rig-cpa). Turning to the rDzogs-chen definitions ofma-rig-(pa), we find that it is not something solitary, but is one feature working in complicity with two other features. It gives its "name" to this complexity that we tend to conceive of as a simplex and, ultimately, as the source of our enworldedness. Thus we are told: 2 In the animate beings Emotionality (nyon-mongs) and unexcitability (ma-rig) prevail: Their founding stratum is the aggregate of pat- terns, Their locale is between the lungs and the heart. (The above) has three features: Unexcitability (ma-rig-pa), mentality (sems), and the egological self (yid). Unexcitability is never alone, (Its attendant feature) mentality gathers all the sedimentations of past experiences as causes for future experiences, Which obscure and veil [the living system's] originaryawareness [or Urwissen], and (Its attendant feature) the egological self in- troduces a split between itself (as subject) and its cognitive domain (as object), Whereby it obscures and veils the very light- ing-up of [the living system's} supraconscious ecstatic intensity. Lumping these three features together One speaks of them as unexcitability, and This is the "stuff' of which samsara is made. In it the five poisons and the six (referents of one's) anger As the sum total of the emotions and sedi- mentations of past experiences as causes of future experiences are located. Before proceeding with an explication of the salient topics in the above quote, three more quotations that deal with this unitrinity called 96 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 "unexcitability" in its "errancy mode" ('khrul-pa) may be adduced. The one tells us: 3 Although in Being-qua-being there are no such features as errancy or non-errancy, It is when [its] ecstatic intensity (rig-pa) comes to be active that the egological self (yid ) be- comes agitated and the [system's] mental- ity (sems) goes astray, Whereby, not recognizing the reality of its Dasein, [the system's very] ecstatic inten- sity (rig-pa) becomes [its] unexcitability (rna-rig). Losing its head, this ecstatic intensity, no longer holding to its legitimate dwelling, Does not recognize (its) creativity (source)4 and strays into the darkness that is samsara, [in which case] Errancy that is the belief in something to be what it is not, takes over And from it all the beings in the six life-forms embark on their going astray. The other has this to say:5 Unexcitability's flickering is sort of (Being's) ecstatic intensity. Although, actually, (this unexcitability's flick- ering) is the inner dynamic (rtsal) of (Being's) ecstatic intensity, It becomes the ego logical self (being carried away) by (its own) motility (acting as the egological self's) horse. And the last one states: 6 The "stuff' mentality is made of is its unexcitability; Its inner dynamic is its unceasing beliefin du- ality, and Its ostensible functioning is its being engaged in joy as well as in sadness. In the first quotation, that initiated the subsequent quotations with their emphasis on ma-rig-pa as a corollary of mentality (sems) and the egological self (yid), the "aggregate of patterns" refers to the experiencer's "physical" situatedness. It does so in the sense that one is a preeminently visible and tangible pattern among other visible and tangible patterns with which interaction occurs. In the narrower sense of the word "situatedness," one is the site on which emotionality and unexcitability determine one's specific aliveness. This aliveness' specific features are the lungs and the heart. In the first place, there are the lungs, intimating breathing as the whole system's motility. Figuratively speaking, this motility may get out of control and, like a panic-stricken horse, may carry its rider, ma-rig- pa, ever farther away from a state of authentic being. In the second place, there is the heart, intimating, again figuratively speaking, the fact that one who has no heart also cannot think, in the same way as an unthinking person has no heart to make him feel with and about others. In the quotations following the introductory one the emphasis is more on the underlying, if not to say, inner dynamic of the going astray into unexcitability and unexcitedness that is the hallmark of an ordinary living being. Such a being is aptly termed in Tibetan sems-can, meaning "(someone) being of the nature of (can) mentality/ mentation (sems)." In plain English, that is someone having opinions, but not necessarily knowledge. In passing it may be pointed out that there is an enormous difference between what in Tibetan is called sems-can and in Sanskrit sattua. The Tibetan term reflects a worldview that bases itself on the Geistigkeit des Seins (Being's mental- spiritual nature); the Sanskrit equivalent sattua, a relatively late derivative from the verbal root as-"to be," "to exist"-reflects a worldview that bases itself on the palpable and/or the "materiaL" This inner dynamic (rtsal) may be conceived of as the anthropocosmic whole's functionality that, precisely because it is never at rest, is ambivalent. Through its functioning "things may go wrong," which means that its optimal "ecstatic intensity" (rig-pa) may slip into its nonoptimal intensity, that is, an intensity and/or "excitability that is . not quite what it could be" (ma-rig-pa). This means that a concrete living individual, the ubiquitous experiencer, is a malfunction that just happens ''by itself' (rang-byung) with no external agent or agency being involved or even required. By the same logic, this "by itself' inner dynamic is self-regulatory which, with respect to the concrete living individual, means that "something can be done" to restore, if this is the apppropiate word, the functioning's optimal intensity that is felt to express itselfin gracefulness of movement, vivacity, agility, lissomness, and its pervasive luster and radiance. Accordingly, in an impressive passage that already foreshadows the importance of self- cognition as are-cognition of what we really are, we are told: 7 The Re-Cognition of Being's Infrastructure as Self-Completion 97 ! ' ! i Although with respect to [Being-qua-being] there are no such (statuses as) an ordinary sentient being (sems-can) and an erlichtet (spiritually alight) one, It is suffocated [and hampered in its being itself] by the snare of (one's) dichotomic thinking (that is the hallmark of one's) unexcitability. Since it is difficult to remove this stain (put on Being-qua-being) by dichotomic thinking, It is important to deal with it in a practical manner proceeding step by step. Although (the whole's) originary awareness (ye-shes) is present in (the whole's closure onto itself) mentation (sems), It will not radiate as long as it is not cultivated ["polished"] ; Although oil has been pervasively present since (Being's) beginningless beginning In a sesame seed or a mustard seed, It will not come forth as long as either seed is not pressed; Although milk is by nature butter, It will not become butter as long as it is not churned; Even if seeds are lying in the soil, How will they ever ripen into a crop If no farming is done? In the same manner, all the features that constitute one's reality Are present in (what is) a living being's Existenz 8 (and) Although they have been, since time before time, the impetus of one's becoming erlichtet, How will one realize (Being's) symbolic pregnance (as) the outcome Without dealing with them practically, step by step, By means of an imaging process that moves from the external to the internal. 9 Although (Being's) originary awareness is, (in showing) its face,10 versatile, It is unable to rise in its four objectively [visibly and feelingly] experience able intensities ll Unless [its self-imposed] deceptions are step by step brought under control. When in this process the originary awareness that has risen Encounters its real being in (Being's) ecstatic intensity that is its very "stuff," Whatever has risen [as a presence] dissolves like the coils of a snake (uncoiling). This rising (as an "objectively" seen and felt presence) and its dissolving that occur simultaneously, do not involve a subject (as their agents), The [seemingly] ecstatic intensity and the welter of dichotomies do not involve a subject (as their agents); The phenomenal and its interpretation dissolve [in the higher order of their] understanding, (and) Through (the whole's) cognitiveness having become relaxed all problems dissolve. 12 By having (one's) Dasein brought under control one knows (what Dasein) is (in showing) its face. Mter this excursion into and exegesis of ma-rig- Cpa) as rig-Cpa) at its lowest level, a similar excursion into and exegesis of rig-Cpa) at its highest or penultimately highest level, is now called for. To highlight the difference ofma-rig-Cpa) from rig- (pa) I render rig-Cpa) hermeneutically as "supraconscious ecstatic intensity." Here, intensity is meant to describe the whole's excitability and excitation that is ek-static (ecstatic) by virtue of its "standing" (static) "outside" (ek-, ec) the ego's narrowly circumscribed confines; hence, it is also "supraconscious." The implication is twofold. The first implication is that rig-Cpa) is basic or, as the rDzogs-chen texts would say, pervasive of the whole. This is the case, whether from the perspective of the ever-present experiencer, from that ofthe whole itself, or from that ofthe experiencer as the whole's closure onto itself; hence rig-pa is "stable" (not to be confused with "stagnant"). The other is that rig-Cpa) is "unstable" (not to be confused with "inconstant" and/or "unbalanced") and hence "creative" in opening up new and fresh visions. It is in-between these extremes, that of "lack of excitability and mental-spiritual intensity" (ma-rig-pa), and that of "supraconscious ecstatic intensity" (rig-pa), that an "inner dynamic" exists. It is inseparable from the whole, and yet defies any reduction to it. It is at work, and gives rise to either extreme, the one, as we have already seen, a sort of alienation from; the other, as we shall see, an approximation to, what just is. About the latter we are told: 13 The "stuff' the supraconscious ecstatic intensity is made of is its irrealization [of what is deemed to be "real"J,14 Its inner dynamic is its discriminatively appreciative capacity par excellence, and Its ostensible functioning is its being engaged in nonduality. 98 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 This quote relates the supraconscious ecstatic intensity to nonduality that is descriptive of the immediacy of experience. It also introduces another key term of Buddhist thought that has been sadly misunderstood, and still continues to make a farce of what the Buddhist thinkers had to say. 15 This key term is, in Tibetan, shes-rab, and, in Sanskrit prajfia. Its analytically discerning, discriminatively appreciative character, reflecting the basically positive and wholesomelhealthy outlook of what goes by the name of Buddhism, can be traced back to its earliest stratum and was never forgotten. It even gained added significance in the context oflived- through experience, as may be gleaned from its specification by par excellence (Tib. chen-po). Notwithstanding its importance and the high esteem in which it was held, shes-rab is not some solitary or abstract phenomenon; rather it is a multifaceted "operation" with respect to the phenomenality of what we eventually call "world." By "world" is meant an expression of the inner dynamic (rtsal) of the whole's in-formationlself- organizing dynamic (thig-le), in whose encounter as a re-cognition of what we "really" are, three kinds of shes-rab playa significant role. Thus we are told: 16 The inner dynamic of (Being's) in-formation! self-organizing dynamic concerning (Being's) lighting-up in an ultimate sense (as the phenomenality of world) Involves an "invariant" shes-rab, An "unceasing" shes-rab, and A "transsubjective" shes-rab. By coming face-to-face with these three kinds of shes-rab [and re-cognizing them as one's creativity] One irrealizes the very now [and here oftheir projections mistaken as "realities"]. The same text continues presenting a variation on the above theme, first by specifying rig-pa as autonomous, (as not depending on anything other than itself and hence self-reflexive, rang-rig); and then by elaborating it in terms of its "stuff," its thereness, and its functioning: 17 This rang-rig involves the triad of its "stuff" its thereness, and its functioning: ' Its "stuff" is this rang-rig as auto- luminescence, Its thereness is its not having an eigenbeing, and Its functioning is the triad of shes-rabs- A shes-rab that is without a beginning, A shes-rab that maintains its flow, and A shes-rab that irrealizes [what is deemed to be "real"]. By coming face-to-face with these three kinds of shes-rab [and re-cognizing them to be our creativity] This rig-pa dissolves in (what is Being's) originary awareness modes in their ultimate sense. It would exceed the space and scope of this disquisition to go into the details of the relationship of these three kinds of shes-rab to the three fore-structures (sku gsum) of the concrete individual, and into their hierarchical order-referred to in terms of the external the internal, and the arcane. Suffice it to refer to its being inextricably interwoven with such other aspects of psychic life as rig-pa and ye-shes as evidenced by the following quotation: 18 ' Since rig-pa andye-shes are such that neither the one nor the other can be added to or abstracted from each other Efficacy (thabs) is unceasing ;e-shes and Critically appreciative acumen is unalterable ye-shes. Efficacy and critically appreciative acumen are mutually enhancing in the sense that, the more critically appreciative (shes-rab) I become of a given situation, the better I can deal with it; and the better I can deal with the situation (thabs), the deeper becomes my appreciation of what the situation holds for me. Eventually and imperceptibly both will fuse with my, the participatory ubiquitous experiencer's, nonegological and nonegocentric originary awareness modes (ye-shes). These, in presenting themselves, can be geometrically "seen" as an almost circular design (or Being's incipient closure onto itself). The design has no planes of weakness, because none ofthe sutures lie opposite each other . ' It can be holistically conceived of as a kind of Urwissen, a higher-order cognitiveness whose inspiriting and enlivening power and intrinsic intensity are rig-pa. It should, therefore, not come as a surprise that in this supraordinary, imaginal dimensionality or realm we come across a plethora of process pointers, such as shes-rab, ye-shes, rig- pa, rang-rig, rig-pa'i ye-shes, rtsal. All of these are suggestive of a still deeper or higher "reality" that we ascertainably "feel" deep within us, in our closure as the unlimited whole's "core intensity" (snying-po). But if we live in an environing reality The Re-Cognition o/Being's Infrastructure as Self-Completion 99 that is imaginal through and through, we too as an integral aspect of this reality are and experience ourselves as imaginal through and through. This imaginal quality, as pervasive of what we, as embodied beings, cannot but analytically refer to as our body-mind syndrome, is in the usual code diction ofthis literary genre succinctly expressed in the following passage: 19 In particular, this rig-pa in its functionality as ye-shes (rig-pa'i ye-shes) Pervades all embodied beings (Ius-can), (and) In particular, dwells in the following ("physical") locations: The heart, the veins, the cerebrum, and The eyes, together forming an immeasurably large (palatial) mansion. It is in this (mansion) that this ye-shes par excellence (ye-shes-chen-po) dwells. [To restate the above in terms ofthe "imaginal" expressing itself in direct experience:] 20 In the body (lus) of all embodied beings The tsitta, the dung-khang, the rtsa, and the sgo Are the locations of the rig-pa. Mind/mentality (sems), too, is this rig-pa's own inner dynamic [which is to say]: [Being's] openness-nothingness-"stuff" (ngo- bo) (as) mind/mentality is a brightness with no trace (of brightness) in it. [Being's] own most unique ability-to-be (rang- bzhin) (as) mind/mentality is a radiance- (estatic) intensity-nothingness, [Being's] suprasensual concern (thugs-rje) (as) mind/mentality is an intangibility as to subtleness and coarseness. Mind/mentality is, (as far as its) creating dichotomies (goes), radiant, but (as far as its) openness-nothingness-"stuff' (goes,) (it is) a voiding: [In this respect] it does not present a duality of itself and rig-pa; [Rather,] in the body as a value (rin-chen-lus)21 It is (its) sole, holistically pervasive mind/ mentality. (Its) openness-nothingness-"stuff' in its voiding-cum-radiating (stong-gsal) abides as [the experiencer's] corporeal pattern (sku); (Its) own most unique ability-to-be in its radiating-cum-voiding (gsal-stong) (abides as) the luminosity that is its [the experiencer-qua-system's] in-formation! self-organizing dynamic (thig-le'i 'od );22 (Its) suprasensual concern in its lighting-up- cum-voiding (snang-stong) (abides as) a shining lamp.23 After a lengthy discussion of the luminous- sonorous imagery emerging in the imaginal dimension ofthe experiencer's psychic reality, the author links this seemingly "static," horizontally seen landscape, with its "dynamic," vertically- hierarchically organized unfolding in the experiencer's growth process. The following quotation should make this clear: 24 rig-pa is precisely the three ("seen and felt") fore-structures (sku) [of one's embodied being]: [In its capacity of its] voiding with no cessation involved (stong-pa 'gag-med) it is (one's being a) chos-sku; [In its capacity of its] radiating-cum-voiding (gsal-stong) with no subjectivity involved ('dzin-med) it is (one's being a) longs-sku; [In its capacity of its] intensity-cum-inner dynamic (rig-rtsal) with no cessation involved ('gag-med) it is (one's being a) sprul-sku; (To restate it briefly:) the non-cessation ('gag- med) of (a) voiding-cum-radiating (stong- gsal) [is what is meant by] rig-pa. rig-pa, by virtue of being invariance ('gyur- ba-med ), 25 is the starting point [of one's spiritual growth and journey through life] (gzhi ), rig-pa, by virtue of being noncessation ('gag- pa-med), is the way (as one's going) (lam); rig-pa, by virtue of being self-reflexivity (rang- rig) is (a) voiding (stong-pa), (and this triunity) Is called the climax/goal ('bras-bu). We now have all the key terms and/or ideas that go into the making of what is the emergent experiencer's tacit infrastructure. Being itself a process that, temporally speaking, has neither a beginning nor an end, and, spatially speaking, neither a center nor a periphery, it has been described as involving three phase spaces that language can express only in a linear fashion. Moreover, our language is so steeped in the Aristotelian categories that we fail to realize that our "adjectives" (accidentals with respect to nouns) are rather "adverbs" that cannot be abstracted from the process. The three verbaVadverbial terms, as listed in the original texts, are stong gsal rig-(pa)lkun-khyab. Here kun-khyab ("all-pervasive") means that what all three terms stand for is mutually 100 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 pervasive. In the process of their experience they become expressed in the formula stong-gsal gsal-stong rig-stong / snang-stong. Here snang-stong ("a lighting-up of what becomes and is the phenomenal that yet remains 'nothing''') describes, in mathematical terms, a symmetry break in Being's perfect symmetry. The break comes when, as we might say, Being starts closing in onto itself, which is tantamount to saying that the cosmic becomes anthropocosmic, with emphasis on its anthropic (''human'') aspect. The result is that a subtle and yet decisive change in Being's infrastructure occurs and henceforward affects the framework in which we are about to understand ourselves, and in which our actions are going to be carried out. This "new" (substantival) formula is the triad (unitrinity) of ngo-bo rang-bzhin thugs-rje. The literal meaning of thugs-rje is "spirit/ spirituality being the lord." As such, it is more than one's petty ego, with its diminished cognitive-mental-spiritual intensity (ma-rig-pa), and hence more of the nature of rig-pa, if not to say, identical with it. It expresses itself in its human cpntext as a "suprasensual concern" for what is the phenomenal (snang-ba), and deals with it from its supraconscious ecstatic intensity level, that is the infrastructure's rig-pa. While this "suprasensual concern" for all that comes into the orbit ofthe vision and other senses, stresses the individual's cognitive side, it is matched by his "circumspective concerned activity" (phrin-las). This, far from being narrowly circumscribed, is more in the nature of what we might call "free play" (rol-pa) and in this respect is quite different from what is called "games." In the usual sense, "games" turn Juvenal's (c. 55-c.130 C.E.) dictum of mens sana in corpore sano ("a healthy mind in a healthy body") into its travesty of mens insana in corpore defatigato ("an insane mind in a tired body") if not a corpore mutilato ("mutilated body"). The association of an individual's circumspective and concerned activity with play lets the above mentioned formula now read as follows: 26 ngo-bo rang-bzhin rol-pa. This idea of playas specific to the individual's circumspective and concerned activity, which adds gracefulness to one's dealings with others, calls to mind the German poet Friedrich von Schiller's challenging prononncement: 27 Denn, um es endlich auf einmal heraus- zusagen, der Mensch spielt nur, wo er in voller Bedeutung des Wortes Mensch ist, under ist nUr da ganz Mensch, wo er spielt (Therefore, to state it finally and once and for all, Man only plays when, in the strict sense of the word, he is Man(-qua-man), and he is only Man(-qua-man) when he plays). [Emphasis in the original] More than two centuries later, the physicist David Bohm and the scientist and writer F. David Peat took up the idea of "thought as play" and noted that: Unfortunately, however, our English language does not have a word for thought which plays true. Perhaps this is a reflection ofa work ethic which does not consider the importance of play and suggests that work itself is noble while play is, at best, recreational and, at worst, frivolous and nonserious. (Bohm & Peat, 2000, p. 48) As these two authors also point out: This notion of falseness that can creep into the play of thought is shown in the etymology of the words illusion, delusion, and collusion, all of which have as their Latin root ludere, "to play." So illusion implies playing false with perception; delusion, playing false with thought; collusion, playing false together in order to support each other's illusions and delusions. (p. 48) Other modern writers emphasize the relationship of the word "play" to the erotic and unduly narrow its broad meaning (Huizinga, 1955, p. 43; Ackerman, 1999, p. 8). Again, it is Padmasambhava who, centuries before the above Western writers noted that play can be true and false, spoke in terms of its having a symbolic character as well as a samsaric one: 28 (Play's) division is twofold: Symbolically (speaking), (Being's) creativity is a play; Samsarically (speaking), (one's) subjectivity/ individuality is a play. He then elaborates this aphorism by placing it into the context of Being's (the whole's) inner dynamic (rtsal ), that apart from its playfulness (rol-pa) also manifests itself in its "ornamenta- tion" (rgyan). The point to note is that for him The Re-Cognition of Being's Infrastructure as Self-Completion 101 :1 samsara is not eo ipso negative (as usually claimed); it becomes negative when "something goes wrong" in what is said to be Being's inner dynamic, that, in the last analysis, is ourselves as its experiencers according to the degree of our mental/spiritual capacity. In passing, it may be pointed out that the two formulas run as ngo-bo rang-bzhin thugs-rje and ngo-bo rang-bzhin rol-pa are supplemented by a third formula that runs as ngo-bo rang-bzhin mtshan-nyid. Although this formula is first found in a work by or attributed to Srisirilha,29 a contemporary of Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra, it does not figure at all in the available works pertaining to this early phase of rDzogs-chen thought, but seems to have gained prominence in circles that were inclined to thematization-speculation. 30 The word mtshan-nyid, meaning "that which makes (nyid ) specific characteristics (mtshan / mtshan- ma) to be specific characteristics," is usually used as a summary designation of the epistemology- oriented philosophical systems that somehow can be said to be frozen phase spaces of something very much alive and thoroughly dynamic. 31 Its original dynamic intention is well expressed by Padmasambhava: 32 mtshan-nyid is determined to be threefold: mtshan-nyid as (Being's) lighting-up is (Being's) auto-lighting-up; mtshan-nyid as (Being's) Dasein is (Being's) birthlessness; mtshan-nyid as (Being's) errancy is The belief in (Being's) supraconscious ecstatic intensity and (its) egological closure forming a duality. In view of the fact that the terms Dasein (gnas-lugs) and eigenbeing (rang-bzhin) are used synonymously, and refer to the emergence of our individuality-qua- individuality or what we "really" are, the emphasis placed on (our) eigenbeing results in the formulas rang-bzhin ngo-bo thugs-rje and rang-bzhin ngo-bo mtshan-nyid. The emergence of rang-bzhin (or, stated differently without changing the basic idea, the rang-bzhin becoming the "foreground" against its "background"), or the whole's nothingness- openness (ngo-bo) from a dynamic perspective, also marks the unfolding of the originary awareness modes (ye-shes). The relationship between rang-bzhin and mtshan-nyid can be therefore stated, in modern phenomenological diction, as the founding (rten) and the founded (brten), implying, in the technical language of rDzogs-chen thinking, the inseparability of structure (sku) and function (ye-shes). In any case, the interactive dynamic between ngo-bo and rang-bzhin is, (as far as we can say anything about what must be experienced in order to be known) the very "stuff' we are made of. It is this which, as the very infrastructure of concepts, ideas, intuitions, and values, impels us to learn more about ourselves. This task is summed up in a single term, ngo-sprod. Literally it means a "coming face-to-face with (one's selflSelf) ," this self! Self being, in its irreducibility to anything other than itself, a Mystery. It is a task for which no human being has ever been able to find a word or name, and which, in its mind-boggling "giving itself (to us)," explodes us out of our conceptuality prison and enriches us beyond measure. Listen to Padmasambhava's explication of this term: 33 By showing its face to itself giving (itself to itself) is (its) receiving. This giving and receiving are not two different acts; rather, the giving gives without holding back, which means that it gives itself and becomes selfless (as usually understood or misunderstood). And, in this giving up of itself, it opens itself up to receiving what may be given to it. And what may be given intimates its visibility by virtue of its showing of itself. This process, in turn, relates to our visual and visionary capacity that, far from being "merely" receptive, is also preeminently creative. In this sense, seeing is not believing; it is knowing, and as a creative act it outgrows its everyday mode of seeing that in its subject-object structure merely reflects the petty ego's need for security, an obsession shared by politicians and metaphysicians alike. It should, therefore, not come as a surprise that in the many synonyms for ngo-sprod, seeing and knowing playa significant role in pointing out that "self- 102 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 knowledge" is not a spectator sport. Such synonyms are: 34 "Seeing (one's) nothingness-openness" (ngo-bo mthong-ba); "knowing (one's) face" (rang-ngo shes-pa); ''knowing Being (as) the reality (that we are)" (gzhi'i don shes-pa); (cognitively ecstatic) intensity (as [one's] existential) meaning-rich (spiritual) fore structure (as [one's] deeply felt) understanding (rig-pa chos- sku rtogs-pa);35 "to see (one's) existential reality (to be) infallible" (don ma-nor-ba mthong-ba), [all of which] is "(Being's) binding communication in showing one's intelligence's functionality" (rang-gi mtshan-nyid bstan-pa'i gdams-ngag).36 In view ofthe fact that Buddhist thinkers were fond of numbers, the text, not unexpectedly, continues listing seven procedures to come face- to-face with what we are and to know, rather than to opine about, the mystery that we are and that challenges us to fathom it. However, it should be borne in mind that the use of numbers is not primarily meant to itemize what is under consideration, but rather to bracket related ideas within the complexity of their anthropocosmic worldview. According to the manner in which we go about "counting things," the numbers range from three to twenty-one "encounters" (ngo-sprod ) that, in one way or another, can be reduced to the most favored number three. It also should be noted that this "numbers game" vanes with the different schools of Buddhism. 37 Let us begin with the "threefold" approach and follow it up with excursions into its ramifications. Its process character is unmistakable as it moves from the "external" (phyi) through the "internal" (nang) into the "arcane" (gsang), which is mysterious or a mystery for those unable (and maybe unwilling) to break out of their enframement in the commonplace, (the Gestell in Martin Heidegger's probing terminology). Though the "arcane" may, for simplicity's sake, be conceived of as the "end" of the process, the very nature of a process counters this assumption, since it is such that it never ends. In order to intimate this never- ending, language cannot but speak of an "arcane more arcane than the arcane" (yang-gsang) and run the risk of falling prey to its own thingification. Padmasambhava is quite explicit in stating that each successive encounter is meant to transcend the preceding one. This transcending is likened to crossing a mountain pass (la zla-ba) that somehow, figuratively speaking, stands between us in our closure and us as openness. Padmasambhava's words, emphasizing the anthropic implication, are: 38 The encounter with each topic in the triad of the external, the internal, and the arcane Is meant as transcending each (of its limits in order to effect one's) Linkage with what vision means. Encountering the external means Re-cognizing the phenomenal as the dimensionality where meanings are stored and in statu nascendi; Encountering the internal means Re-cognizing it as (Being-in-its-closure-onto- itself's) two patterned manifestations;39 Encountering the arcane means Recognizing it as (Being's) supraconscious ecstatic intensity as being (us as presenting a) structure that is meaning through and through (chos-sku). Elsewhere he speaks of this encounter as one's re-cognizing oneself from an cosmo-ontology- oriented perspective: 40 The ngo-sprod is threefold: Encountering (Being in its) Dasein (gnas-lugs) is re-cognizing it as being invariant, Encountering (Being in its) lighting-up (snang- tshul) is re-cognizing it as being indetermi- nate; Encountering (Being in its) duality (of its be- ing invariant as (one's/its) Dasein and in- determinate as (its) lighting-up) is re- cognizing it as being non-dual. The number three occurs again in the syllogistic presentation ofthe ngo-sprod that runs as follows: 41 A river, a mirror, and a crystal ball are the analogies of ngo-sprod, The chos-sku, the longs-sku, and the sprul-sku are the substance of the ngo-sprod, [Being's] thinking's thinking (sems-nyid), [Being's] creativity (chos-nyid), and [Being's] originary awareness as functions of its supraconscious ecstatic intensity (rig- pa'i ye-shes) are the rationale of the ngo- sprod. A few explicatory remarks concerning this aphorism may not be out of place. For our binary mode of thinking, caught in the impasse of matter/material as more or less static and mind! mental as more or less dynamic, the first two lines pose a problem because, according to rDzogs-chen thinking, they are on the side of what we would call the "material." Certainly, we have no The Re-Cognition of Being's Infrastructure as Self-Completion 103 difficulty in assessing a river, a mirror, and a crystal ball as material objects and, with some stretching of our imagination, the chos-sku, longs- sku, and sprul-sku as mental objects. Unfortunately this facile assessment misses the point. The river, the mirror, and the crystal ball are images of movement: the river flows on and on; the mirror ceaselessly reflects and, more importantly, reveals; and the crystal ball never stops shimmering in all the colors of the spectrum. By contrast, the chos-sku, longs-sku, and sprul-sku are images of rest in the sense that they describe our existentiality as remaining the same under all conditions and in all circumstances. Only the third line can be said to be "mental," providing we do not reduce it to something egological and turn it into another thing by our ego's thingifying thinking. The thrust of what is designated by the term ngo-sprod that, strictly speaking, defies any reductionist translation, is in the direction of understanding by coming face-to-face with what we really are and in so doing re-cognizing ourselves. This experience is the dissipation (sangs) ofthe darkness of one's re-presentational mode ofthinking, and as such a spreading (rgyas) of the light of one's Urwissen (ye-shes).42 As an experience, sangs-rgyas is never a commercial Buddhathing (to be roused from its sleep, whatever this and similar slogans may mean); it has no name (ming-med ), and its encounter-cum- re-cognition (ngo-sprod) allows itself to be expressed only in images of symbolic pregnance: 43 There is the profound instruction 44 by way of the symbolically meant statement of five luminescences arising in their irrealizing quality Out of a luminous lantern that is the radiat- ing (of Being's) spatiality; There IS the profound instruction by way of the symbolically meant statement of the darkness becoming completely translucent by the brilliant sun arising in (what is) some pitch-black darkness, which is to say that The totality ofthe phenomenal world with its probabilistic interpretation is filled with a brilliant luminescence. There is the profound instruction by way of the symbolically meant statement of there being two mansions: the one being the di- vine mansion of the luminescence of (Being's) [nirvanicl lighting-up, the other being the samsaric mansion of darkness which is to say that ' Once the door of darkness has been shut, the door through which the originary awareness (modes) will shine, opens, whereby All the sentient beings of (Being's) lighting-up and probabilistic interpretations in terms of samsara and nirvana will be seen in gaz- ing at them as becoming and being erlichtet (alight, sangs-rgyas). After this excursion into the deeper significance of the term ngo-sprod, we may now return to the much favored numerical assessment of its application on the part of the experiencer. Most intriguing in this context is its being ofthe nature of seven varieties. 45 The preamble to these self-encounters is the differentiation between the "elemental forces" ('byung-ba) that are basically luminous, and their "corruptions" (snyigs-ma) that prevent their luminosities from prevailing in what is the joint cosmogony and anthropogony. This differentiation makes it possible to come face-to-face with the three forestructures of our enworlded being (sku-gsum), their five originary awareness modes (ye-shes lnga), and their deterioration into the eight perceptual patterns (tshogs-brgyad ) that we call our mind and/or consciousness, due to the loss of luminosity and the lack of awareness. 46 Within this complexity of encounters that is meant to make us understand (rtogs) ourselves and even further to transcend (la zla) ourselves the exposition of the three forestructures images of what we feel to constitute our wholeness, has been a recurrent theme. Although the relevant literature is enormous, it has been mostly ignored for obvious reasons: the difficulty of a language that reverberates with the immediacy of experience, and the inherent defiance of any reductionism. Two quotations may suffice. The one states: 47 From perspective of (its) ecstatic intensity, a radiance-cum-nothingness, in which its Proto-light and (proto-)turbulence have not yet arisen, One speaks ofthe "stuff" (of which) the chos- sku is made. From the perspective of a stirring (that has occurred in this nothingness and resulted in the) emergence of its proto-light (taking on the character of a) corporeal pattern that together with the spirituality (of the noth- ingness) Forms a whole, (this is what is the) longs-sku. 104 The InternationalJournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 From the perspective of the (unity of) a corpo- real pattern and a spiritual (quality) one speaks ofthis combination as the sprul-sku. The other has this to say:48 From the perspective of (Being's) ecstatic in- tensity (one speaks of) a chos-sku, From the perspective of (Being's transforma- tion into its) proto-light (one speaks of) a longs-sku, From the perspective ofthe radiance of the five perceptual patterns, this is seen as a stir- ring (in the direction of a) multiplicity, and this very stirring is (what is meant by) sprul-sku. Even more intriguing in this context is the encounter with, and assessment of, the five originary awareness modes. In the epistemology- oriented and speculative texts, these have been dealt with in terms of their being the founded (brten) on the founding (rten), that, is the sku. Here, there are two approaches. In the one approach, (which I shall call the "more or less conventional" one), the interchangeability ofthe awareness modes with the elemental forces, similar to the interchangeability of rig-pa and chos-sku, is stated to be as follows: 49 The mirroring/revealing awareness mode [has its raison d'etre in what is] the water's raison d'etre, The identity-with-itself-and-with-every- thing-else awareness mode [has its raison d'etre in what is] the earth's raison d'etre, The specificity-initiating awareness mode [has its raison d'etre in what is] the fire's raison d'etre, The task-posed-and-accomplished awareness mode [has its raison d'etre in what is] the wind's raison d'etre, The meaning-rich dimensionality awareness mode [has its raison d'etre in what is] the (sky-like) spatium's raison d'etre. Translated into the modern, preeminently rationalistic jargon, this quotation attempts to impress on us the deeply felt understanding of the nature of each element. Water is primarily cleansing and, in so doing, reveals what has been normally hidden from sight: Earth provides a solid ground, on which we, being an identity in the sense of an as yet unbroken symmetry, can stand firmly: Fire is the spark evolving into the blaze of our analytically selective rationality: Wind blows away our laboriously built-up figments: The spatium is an opening-up, as well as the openness in which "things can happen." The other approach reflects Padmasambhava's yang-ti understanding and teaching, that goes far beyond his spyi-ti understanding and teaching. The presentation of this approach is by (or attributed to) a certain Sriratnavajra (about whom nothing is known). It runs as follows: 50 An originary awareness mode (that is Being's) symbolic pregnance (and) no- birth. An originary awareness mode (that is Being's) brilliance (emerging) from the vortex of its proto-light (having become an actual) brilliance, An originary awareness mode (that is Being's) brilliance in its self- originatedness (and) disposition to be luminous, An originary awareness mode (that is Being's) auto-luminescence (and) auto- dissipation (of darkness)-(as a) spreading oflight, . An originary awareness mode (that is Being's) lighting-up by itself and (this lighting-up's) dissolution in its legitimate dwelling. It would exceed the scope of an essay to go into the details of each and every encounter with and recognition of one's "infrastructure." Suffice it to point out and emphasize that this infrastructure's Lichthaftigkeit (alightness), as revealed in its understanding that, however it is prized, is never a speculant's absolute, but a phase in one's growth into one's humanity (so often misunderstood as a regression into some sort of primitivism or an escape from being-in-this-world). Rather, this growing-up is crossing the mountainlike barrier that stands between us as sentient (opinionated) beings (sems-can) and us as sensibly erlichtet (alight) beings. In the words ofPadmasambhava: 51 As long as we are [mere] sentient beings (sems- can) we deal with the five sense objects com- placently, Once we have some deeper understanding (rtogs-ldan), (we deal with them in such a manner) that as (Being's) auto-manifesta- tion we let them dissolve in our no-(longer-) appropriating them, Once we have become erlichtet (sangs-rgyas) we (deal with them) in having become sen- sitively concerned about everything, which means n-o-t-h-i-n-g. The Re-Cognition o/Being's Infrastructure as Self-Completion 105 But this "nothing" is not a nothing; rather, in our having become and being erlichtet through an ongoing process of encountering and re- cognizing this dynamic state's infrastructure, any rigidifying and thingifying trend, positive or negative, has been transcended. This ongoing transcending is a challenge and few will rise to face it. Within our Western world frame I do not know of any better formulation of this pursuit and vision than the one as a postscript to his distich Kenne dich selbst ("Know yourself'), written in 1798 by the German poet N ovalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg): Einem gelang es-er hob den Schleier der Gottin zu Sais- Aberwas sah er? Er sah-Wunder des Wunders- sich selbst (One person succeeded-he lifted the veil of the goddess at Sais- But what did he see? He saw-miracle of miracles-himself ). Notes 1. A very lucid interpretation of intelligence as dynamic and creative and of intellect as static and more or less self- limiting, has been given by Bohm and Peat (2000, p. 114). 2. Kun-tu-bzang-mo klong-gsal 'bar-ma nyi-ma'i gsang- rgyud, 25: 379ab. 3. rGyud thams-cad-kyi spyi-phud nyi-zla bkod-pa nam- mkha' dang mnyam-pa'i rgyud, 1: 101b. 4. This rather cryptic statement presumes an acquaintance with Padmasambhava's favorite image of a child "returning home" to its mother and, in this reunion with her, recognizing the intimate bond between them that makes the two one, though not in a numerical sense. In the Rin-po-che sNang-gsal spu-gri 'bar-bas 'khrul- snang rtsad-nas gcod-pa nam-mkha'i mtha' dang mnyam- pa'i rgyud, 2: 296b, Padmasambhva tells us: By recognizing (Being's) creativity as one's mother, there is no aversion (and its) Mistaken identification as hell has been eradicated. 5. Kun-tu-bzang-mo klong-gsal 'bar-ma nyi-ma'i gsang- rgyud, 25: 374a. 6. Rin-po-che 'od-'bar-ba'i rgyud, Taipei ed., vol. 55, p. 404, column 7. 7. Kun-tu-bzang-mo klong-gsal 'bar-ma nyi-ma'i gsang- rgyud, 25: 353a. A similar passage is found on fol. 380a of the same work. 8. The meaning of this German word as explicated by Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) in his Philosophy, I: Existenz is the never objectified source of my thoughts and actions. It is that whereof I speak in trains of thought that involve no cognition. It is what relates to itself, and thus to its transcendence ... Standing on the borderline of world and Existenz, possible Existence views all existence as more than existence [.J (1967, p. 56) The definition corresponds exactly to what the rDzogs- chen thinkers understood by rgyud. Its Sanskrit equivalent tantra, having the double meaning of being a treatise and an experience of an intrapsychic reality, has nothing to do with what the sex-crazed "Tantrics," be they Westerners or Easterners, have made of it by way oftheir being in the clutches ofma-rig-pa. 9. "Imaging process" is my rendering ofthe Tibetan term sgom, whose Sanskrit equivalent is bhavana, usually rendered by "meditation." What the Tibetan and Sanskrit terms describe is akin to what the late Carl Gustav Jung has called "active imagination." Specifically, the Sanskrit term is a causative noun, meaning "letting and aiding images to come to the fore." As a dynamic process, imaging has nothing to do with what is popularly referred to as "meditation," concerning which its contemporary practitioners are deeply confused due to their inability, or should one say, ma-rig-pa, to distinguish between fixation and concentration. 10. rang-ngo. The use ofthis expression foreshadows the experiencer's coming face-to-face with what he really is in his beingness from a dynamic perspective. 11. These are the immediacy of its felt presence, its growth in intensity, its reaching the limits of its intensity, and its transcending itself. 12. In the above four stanzas the key terms bral and grol highlight the principle of complementarity, characteristic ofrDzogs-chen thinking. Both bral andgrol are "neutral" verb forms (neither transitive nor intransitive according to our verbal categories): bral intimates the feeling tone of "apartness," grol intimates the feeling tone of a "parting." 13. Rin-po-che 'od-'bar-ba'i rgyud, Taipei ed., vol. 55, p. 404, column 7. 14. The Tibetan term zang -thaI is a concept that describes an experience in which one comes to what seems to be an impenetrable wall, that suddenly gives way so that one can go "right through" it. 15. This harsh statement is amply supported by wisdom- crazy cultists and academics (in the West) and their imitators (in the East). The mistranslation of prajiiii by "wisdom" goes back to the late Edward Conze who is reported to have thrown a fit when the word wisdom was mentioned in its Western context, and to have declared that the West has no wisdom, which he then identified with the ordinances ofthe politbureau ofthe former USSR. The perpetuation ofthis mistranslation by academics seems to be due to their being more concerned with proving the dictum (ascribed to Anatole France) "Les savants ne sont pas curieux," rather than with studying the original texts. 1 06 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 16. Nor-bu-rin-po-che'i rgyud, Taipei ed., vol. 55, p. 404, column 4. 17. Ibid., columns 4-5. 18. sPros-bral don-gsal, 1: 7b. 19. Kun-tu-bzang-mo klong-gsal 'bar-ma nyi-ma'i gsang- rgyud, 25: 350ab. 20. The borderline between the "physical" and the "imaginal" is extremely fluid so that, without taking the context and its linguistic expression into account, under the still prevailing reductionism, the distinct features of these two dimensionalities may simply be ignored or obliterated. Thus the imaginal tsitta (a Tibetanized form of the Sanskrit word citta) may be equated with the "heart" as the seat of dispassionate thinking, mythopoeically assuming the shape of calm and serene "deities." The imaginal dung-khang may be equated with the "cerebrum" as the seat of passionate thinking, mythopoeically assuming the shape of fierce and furious "deities." The imaginal rtsa may be equated with the "veins," mythopoeically assuming the character of the imaginal body's skeleton or, more precisely, its dynamic scaffolding. The sgo may be equated with the "eyes," mythopoeically assuming the character of gates through which, as we might say, the so-called mental-spiritual "goes out" to meet the so-called physical and letting it "come in." The reference to the two eyes implies the other senses as well. This reference to the eyes reflects the fact that in us, as living beings, sight has taken precedence over the other sensory functions. 21. The term, in this spelling, links the more or less concrete body (lus) of the experiencer with its dynamic process character, as experienced in the incipient closure onto itself of Being, and referred to as rin-chen-sbubs "preciousness envelope." In view of the fact that rDzogs- chen thinkers thought of the living individual as being basically spiritual and luminous, it may not be out of place to quote Ernst Cassirer's (1874-1945) similar idea expressed in his The Individual and the Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy: Every spiritual being has its centre within itself. And its participation in the divine consists precisely in this centring ... Individuality is not simply a limitation; rather, it represents a particular value that may not be eliminated or extinguished, because it is only through it that the One, that which is "beyond being," becomes ascertainable to us. (1964, p. 28) 22. The rendering of this admittedly difficult Tibetan phrase is prompted by the consideration that the term 'od refers to "light" as virtual. It becomes "actual" when it "radiates" (gsal ) and in its radiance comes in distinct colors. This distinction between "virtual" and "actual" calls to mind Thomas Aquinas' (1224125-1274) dictum: color nihil aliud est, quam lux incorporata (color is nothing else but light embodied) quoted in Anita Albus', The Art of Arts - Rediscovering Painting (2001, p. 293). The term thig-le denotes a multifaceted reality in the specific sense of in-forming and organizing the system that it is. This "information" is "light," and just as this light shines in itself and by itself, so also information is not a transfer of information, but the system's information to itself of its dynamic. 23. The last three stanzas are also quoted by Klong-chen rab-'byams-pa Dri-med 'od-zer (1308-1364) in his mKha'- 'gro yang-tig II, 199-200, forming volume 5 of his sNying- tig ya-bzhi. His version collated with the sDe-dge edition makes it possible to present a correct text. It is this "corrected" version that has been given in translation. The last stanza is particularly difficult to render. The term snang has the double meaning of "lighting up" (as translated), and of "making visible." Similarly, "a shining lamp" may imply a quincunx of lamps. Our language simply cannot cope with the singular and plural as a single "reality." 24. Kun-tu-bzang-mo klong-gsal 'bar-ma nyi-ma'igsang- rgyud, 25: 352a. 25. From a linguistic point of view it is important to notice the difference between 'gyur-ba-med and mi-'gyur-ba. According to our categories the first term is a noun, the second is an adjective. The same holds good for 'gag-(pa)- med and mi-'gag-pa. 26. Ye-shes thig-le zang-thal-gyi rgyud, Taipei ed.,vol. 55, p. 417, column 7. 27. Die asthetische Erziehung des Menschen, in einer Reihe von Briefen. 1795, 15th letter. 28. sPros-bral don-gsal, 1:12a. 29. bDe-ba-chen-po byang-chub-kyi sems rmad-du byung- ba'i le'u, 25: 225b-226a. 30. To the best of my knowledge, the longest and most detailed disquisition is given by Klong-chen-rab-'byams- pa Dri-med-'od-zer in his Grub-mtha'-mdzod, sDe-dge ed., vol. Kha, fols. 122a-127a. 31. It is interesting to note that the Sanskrit language does not distinguish between mtshan-nyid and mtshan / mtshan-ma. It has only one word: laklarta. 32. bDud-rtsi bcud-bsdus sGron-ma brtsegs-pa: 2: 328. 33. sPros-bral don-gsal, 1: 37a. 34. Ibid. 35. In this capacity it is (a) "voiding" (stong-pa) , (b) "unceasing" (mi-'gag), (c) "indivisible" (dbye mi-phyed-pa), (d) ''knowing this to be so" (der shes), and (e) "intangible" (thogs-pa med ). These five qualifiers are the "insubstantial and irrealizing rig-pa's" transformations into originary awareness modes (ye-shes) such that: (a) the "voiding" becomes the awareness mode-qua-dimensionality where meanings are stored as well as being in statu nascendi (chos- dbyings ye-shes), from whose auto-luminescence the voiding is seen and felt as being of a deep-blue color; (b) the "unceasing" becomes the quasi-mirroring awareness mode- qua-dimensionality (me-long lta-bu'i ye-shes), from whose auto-luminescence (unceasingly mirroring the meaning The Re-Cognition o/Being's Infrastructure as Self-Completion 107 dimensionality and revealing its richness) this unceasing mirroring is seen and felt as being of a white color; (c) the "indivisible" (in the sense that the "two" preceding qualifiers cannot be separated from each other) becomes the identify- with-itself-and-with-everything-else ("the plane of consistency" in the words of Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari [1987, p. 70f.], "perfect symmetry" in the mathematicians' language) awareness mode-qua- dimensionality (mnyam-nyid ye-shes), from whose auto- luminescence the indivisible is seen and felt as being of a yellow color; (d) the "knowing this to be so" becomes the specificity-initiating selectively mapping awareness mode- qua-dimensionality (so-sor rtog-pa'i ye-shes), from whose auto-luminescence the intangible is seen and felt as being of a red color; (e) the "intangible" becomes the task-posed and accomplishes awareness mode-qua-dimensionality (bya-ba grub-pa'i ye-shes), from whose auto-luminescence the intangible is seen and felt as being of a green color. While from the perspective of complementarity rig-pa emphasizes the dynamic aspect of Being, chos-sku emphasizes its stability that, strictly speaking, defies any verbalization. As the last term in this triune ngo-sprod code, "the understanding" (rtogs-pa), intimates, what we have to understand is the paradox of nothing being everything. 36. On the difference between intelligence and intellect see note 1. In the Tibetan language this difference is expressed by the terms mtshan-nyid and blo. 37. The counting by three in different contexts applies to the older form of Tibetan Buddhism with its ontological interest; in its later form, the highest number is five, as is evident from sGam-po-pa's writings. See his Collected Works (gsung-'bum), vols. 10, fol. 18b; 23, fol.2a, and 25, fol. 11b. 38. sPros-bral don-gsal, 1: 35ab. 39. These are the longs-sku and the sprul-sku. The longs- sku refers to us as social beings (being-with-others and enjoying it) and the sprul-sku refers to us as being guiding images. 40. sNang-srid kha-sbyor, 2: 253b. 41. Kun-tu-bzang-mo klong-gsal 'bar-ma nyi-ma'igsang- rgyud, 25: 356b. 42. The use of the German word Urwissen for ye-shes does not contradict the rendering ofye-shes by "originary awareness." Urwissen emphasizes the ontological (stable/ invariant) character of Being, while "originary awareness" emphasizes its dynamic character. It is unfortunate that in our language "aware" has lost its verbal character. If I were allowed to use "aware" as a verb, its gerundival form "awaring" would convey what ye-shes means: "a knowing (shes) rooted in Being's primordiality (ye) and bringing it to its illumining Being." 43. I have borrowed the expression "symbolic pregnance" from Ernst Cassirer's The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (1953-1957). The above exegesis is an attempt to render intelligibly the Tibetan phrase sangs-rgyas ngo-sprod brda'-chos. The quoted passage is found in Padmasambhava's rGyud thams-cad-kyi rgyal-po Nyi-zla'i snying-po 'od-'bar-ba bdud-rtsi rgya-mtsho 'khyil-ba, 3: 36a. 44. Although the Tibetan term man-ngag is said to correspond to the Sanskrit word upadesa, it represents the quintessence of Being's efficacy (thabs). 45. sPros-bral don-gsal, 1: 28a-37a. 46. The number eight derives from the observation that the four sensory perceptual patterns of (1) seeing, (2) hearing, (3) smelling, and (4) tasting are spread out over our (5) body. This is itself a perceptual pattern (touching) and thus forms the founding stratum ofthe egological mind that is twofold in (6) perceiving something to be there and (7) perceiving this something emotionally-affectively; and (8) their "founding stratum," that is our ontic foundation. 47. sPros-bral don-gsal, 1: 30b-31a. 48. Ibid., 35b. 49. Kun-tu-bzang-mo klong-gsal 'bar-ma nyi-ma'i gsang- rgyud, 25: 367a. 50. rGyud thams-cad-kyi rtse-rgyal nam-mkha' 'bar-ba'i rgyud, 1: 94b-95a. 51. sPros-bral don-gsal, 1: 32a. References A. Works in English Ackerman, D. (1999). Deep play. New York: Vintage Books. Albus, A. (2001). The art of arts: Rediscovering painting (M. Robertson, Trans.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Bohm, D., & Peat, F. D. (2000). Science, order, and creativity (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Cassirer, E. (1964). The individual and the cosmos in Renais- sance philosophy (M. Domandi, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. Cassirer, E. (1953-1957). The philosophy of symbolic forms (R. Manheim, Trans.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987).A thousand plateaus: Capi- talism and schizophrenia (B. Massuni, Trans.). Minneapo- lis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Hardenberg, F. v. (1798). Distichen [Distichs] (M. Kiessig, Ed., 1966). Stuttgart: Reclam. Huizinga, J. (1955). Homo ludens: A study of the play element in culture. Boston: Beacon Press. Jaspers, K. (1967). Philosophy (E. B. Ashton, Trans.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Schiller, F. v. (1795). Die iisthetische Erziehung des Menschen in einer Reihe von Briefen [The aesthetic education of Man in a series ofletters]. [In: Samtliche Werke in zwolfBanden.] Berlin: A. Weichert. B. Works in Tibetan Unless stated otherwise all works are quoted from the Derge (sDe-dge) edition ofthe rNying-ma rgyud-'bum by volume and folio numbers. 108 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Arrest, Interrogation, Prison Life v. V. Nalimov Moscow State University Moscow, Russia The Arrest T HERE WERE no signs of trouble. On October 22, 1936, I came home after a concert and peacefully went to bed. I woke up immediately, however: Someone was searching under my pillow. I opened my eyes: The investigator was looking for a revolver. I also saw his assistant in the room, a witness, and a soldier with a rifle, the bayonet out. I was shown the warrant with the word "search," but the words after were covered by the investigator's finger. I demanded to see the whole warrant that the investigator would not show me. Then, at last, I saw the previously covered words, "and arrest." It turned out the words were covered so as not to worry me ahead of time. The whole story began with a lie; they wanted to convince me that the warrant was only for the search. The search was carried out meticulously: Every bit of paper, every page of every book was carefully examined. The investigating intuition of the searchers helped them to select anything that would characterize my personality. Then the search continued in my mother-in-law's room. My father started to protest: So far the warrant for the search was valid only for me. The protest was registered. Editors' note: In publishing this work and the following one, IJTS commemorates the extraordinary character of Professor V V Nalimov (1910-1997) and his many contributions to transpersonal and global understanding. At last the search was over. Mother-in-law solicitously prepared winter clothes and underwear for me. The investigator summoned a car and we squeezed into it. The first piece of luck that occurred was that the investigator, dazed by the search, with heaps of books and papers, forgot to take away his loot. (Later, they were never demanded, an act of forgetfulness that could well discredit the investigator.) The car arrived at the famous building on the Lubyanka square. Iron gates were opened. A few formalities. Photos were taken that came out better than any before. Then off to the Butyrki prison, this time by a prison car (called a "black raven" by the folklore). In the morning I entered cell N 70. A short conversation followed with the monitor ofthe cell. I was given a place in the middle of the plank bed, which turned out to be a privilege. Newcomers were commonly given places near the toilet pail. Only people with "true political charges" were an exception. I became a political convict from the start. The first act of this absurd theatrical performance came when I was asked about the recent political news. I answered that I was not in the know. They started to reassure me, "Don't be afraid!" But I was not afraid. I simply had not read newspapers for a couple of weeks; we never subscribed to them in our family. The political quarrels did not interest us a bit. But who would believe it? I looked like a true political case, not a mere joke-teller. Later, only a few people The Internationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 109-117 109 2002 by Panigada Press understood that this not reading newspapers was already a political challenge. Interrogations T HE SAME evening, I was summoned for a short interrogation. The investigator read the information he had on me and informed me that I would be accused according to article 58, 10-11 (pertaining to counterrevolutionary propaganda I:l.nd organization). He immediately started to pretend that the case was not really serious: "It is a trifle, of course, you should confess everything, then you will only be sent into exile, you will practice your profession and will soon return to Moscow." He suggested that I sign the confession and indicate that Alexei Alexandrovich Solonovich controlled everything from exile, through his wife, Agniya Onisimovna Solonovich. 1 It goes without saying that I refused to sign this piece of absurdity. The response was, "So much the worse for you." That was the end of the first interrogation. The information against the accused described a group of six people, five of whom had known one another from childhood or early youth, and four of whom (Ion Sharevsky, Yura Proferansov, Igor' Tarle [who died young], and myself) were intimate friends. Ion [Iosif] Ioffe was named as part of our group, being a younger cousin of Sharevsky; and Igor' Breshkov was a friend of his. It was obvious that some member of the group was an informer. But who? How could such a thing happen in a small group of people, well-acquainted since childhood? It was also obvious that the whole matter was somehow connected with the village ofKargasok, in Western Siberia, where Sharevsky and Solonovich had been exiled and where the repressive organs of the State were preparing a provocation. A day later I was called to another interrogation: This time it lasted throughout the night. All in all, there were about thirty interrogations. All of them were held from evening until morning, every other day. The situation soon became clear: it was Iosif Ioffe 2 who turned out to be the KGB informer. For two years, he had informed the KGB about each of our meetings, including, for example, one lasting only a few minutes when we had come to a railway station to see Proferansov off, who, being a geologist, often used to leave Moscow. The situation developed in a very dangerous way. The group was accused of belonging to the clandestine counterrevolutionary terrorist organization of Mystical Anarchists (see note 1) whose activities were said to be directed against the Soviet administration. Sharevsky refused to give evidence, that is, he refused to play the game. Proferansov and Breshkov pleaded guilty. They gave up without fighting. I was the only one to start a defense. I demanded information about the charges. What kind of organization was this to which we were alleged to belong? Where were its statutes, its program, or goal? The investigator then changed the formulation: It was not an organization, but a political group. However, the Criminal Code deals with organizations, not with groups of people who come together informally to talk. Next came the charge of spreading propaganda. Whom had I tried to persuade? I asked to have a confrontation with this person. The investigator retorted, "You campaigned for the kind of nonviolence, nonresistance to evil advocated by Gandhi." I denied this. "No, I never campaigned for that, I merely discussed a new successful way of nonviolent social action; I discussed it with my friends who were interested in this subject." The investigator remarked, "Also, you recited anarchic poems by Maximilian Voloshin." I had, indeed, done so; but these poems are not interdicted, they can be found in libraries. Some facts I acknowledged in order to make them look neutral, nonpolitical. Indeed, I gave money to support the Kropotkin museum. In that epoch it was the only institution in Moscow not supported by the State. 3 Its existence presupposed potential donations. I also gave money to the Black Cross to help repressed anarchists. But this foundation had existed since the beginning of the century, and was never prohibited. The Red Cross was a similar foundation. 4 I confessed that we had buried books on anarchism. However, these books had never been banned by anyone. 5 The decision to bury them was made because in those years of general suspicion, it was unnecessarily dangerous to keep them. We felt we could not possibly burn them; it would have been a shame. Thus for thirty nights we repeated the same interrogation. The investigator'sB task was to make me acknowledge the existence of a clandestine counterrevolutionary organization. I would refuse 110 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 stubbornly. Sometimes he would start to threaten me saying that my relatives would be "repressed," to which I would answer, "Is it stipulated by the Criminal Code?" That irritated him; he would start to shout something about terrorism and Trotskyism, then he would suddenly switch back to my crime which, according to him, was my favorable attitude to Gandhi, Tolstoy, and Voloshin. Once, a small performance was even staged for my sake: A group of investigators came and scrutinized me. Then someone said, ''Yes, it's him." - "Of course, it's him!" - "I recognize him." - "Stop playing the fool," I answered. After which all ofthem left, abusing me in the foulest language. Some evidence against me was given by M. A. Nazarov, a senior member of the group, also arrested. For some reason, however, it was not registered in the protocols and remained in reserve. I insisted on having a confrontation with Nazarov. At last he was brought. I could hardly recognize him. He was completely broken. I only had time to tell him, "Mikhail Alexeevich, collect yourself!" and then he was taken away. After about two months, the interrogations stopped. I was of no interest to the investigator, and stayed for months in the cell waiting to be sentenced. It was evident that the investigation had taken a new direction, and that Gandhi and Voloshin were now regarded merely as a nuisance. Life in Prison A PRISON IS a special world, an island of madness in everyday life. Not only are its inhabitants mad, but also its rulers. Butyrki prison was a Moscow threshold to the hell of a correction camp. The Butyrki prison was a fundamental institution. It had been built by Christian guardians oflaw and order. It had large cells with large windows, over which the new order had installed special shutters (called "muzzles"), and long and wide corridors. At the intersections, there were big electric clocks, another novelty, each showing its own encoded time, in order to unbalance the psychical state of prisoners by giving them a sense ofthe instability oftime. Small exercise yards were surrounded by high walls of brick, from which the guards watched prisoners. The punishment cell was in Pugachyov tower, so called because according to the legend, the great Russian rebel Yemelyan Pugachyov was held there. Many new small cells had been made for interrogations, also a novelty, because there were not enough old ones. There was incessant motion in the corridors: Prisoners were convoyed to and from interrogations, to the toilets, to the exercise yards; all this, accompanied by the sound of keys clinking against the convoyers' buckles. On hearing this sound, prisoners must turn their faces to the wall, to avoid recognizing one another or, God forbid, exchanging a few words. The cells were large. Twenty-four folding bed frames were fixed to the walls. The frames had been permanently unfolded and covered by solid wooden boards. On days when there were many inmates, these boards were also put down in the passage between two rows of bed frames. A toilet pail was placed near the door. The cells had originally been intended for twenty-four persons. N ow, in the period of constructing socialism, sometimes a hundred or even a hundred and fifty persons were squeezed into each. This was the way in which the significant statement of the "Father of the People" [Stalin], on the "acute" stage ofthe class struggle in the transitional period, was reflected in life. The first impression one had of the prison in the initial period of an investigation was of a tense, even an overtense, waiting and of the complete idleness of a hundred men. This idleness was very strange for me, who had always been an active and busy person. There was nowhere to hurry to, and nothing to take care of All my previous aims, values, and worries lost their meaning. They were gone from my life in an instant, and, it seemed, were gone forever, like a dream. A new reality opened up that had only one aim: to fight against the demoniacal force of the crazy State. However, life is apt to adapt itself to new circumstances. Quite unexpectedly, I discovered the fascinating aspect of being in prison: There were ceaseless talks with people of different backgrounds, with different pasts. Separated before, these now all of a sudden lived together: representatives of different parties and ethnic movements; those who simply liked to tell jokes; true spies; and representatives of foreign communist parties-the rigorous Persian one, the Bulgarian, the German. All of them turned into a uniform "enemy"; and there was no place for them in that glorious future which the "Father of the People" was preparing for humanity. Many ofthese people still worshipped this demon; they were still blind. Arrest, Interrogation, Prison Life III I I, Here are a few interesting episodes. 1. A middle-aged stout man, very excited, was brought into the cell. He told us he had been "driven out"7 from another cell, which made everybody feel on the alert. But he explained, "It was not my fault. When I was taken to Butyrki I had to fill in the form. There is a question which asks whether I am a Party member. I indicated that I was. So I was put into the cell for Party members.s But when I told them I had been a member ofthe Party of Socialist Revolutionaries since the turn of the century, and had been in Butyrki under the tsarist regime, awful indignation was aroused. Those were members of the ruling communist party, and I was for them a cursed enemy. 'Take him away, annihilate him!'" This man also told us the history of the Butyrki prison. Every cell in it, every corridor, was marked by a certain event. "In this corridor in such-and-such a year we put a toilet pail on the warder's head." It is hardly possible to record a complete history of this prison. And anyhow it could only become a fragment in the history of the Russian fight for freedom. 2. Once a man of Oriental appearance was brought in. He was gloomy and confused. But after the first interrogation he came back happy: "They only wanted me to confess that I was a spy. Well, ifthey really want it, why not confess?" The following day: "Today they wanted to know my connections. This is a reasonable question; if indeed I was a spy, I had to have connections. So I named the man who sold peaches at the corner." We were amazed and asked why he had betrayed an unknown man for nothing. "But what was I to do? I am in prison; let him also be put into prison; he is no better than me." Quite a logical piece of reasoning, though the logic looks somewhat frustrating. 3. Another case was that of an odd-looking redhead. He introduced himself as "a citizen of the free town of Danzig." His Russian was poor. We tried to speak other languages to him, but also failed. Then we asked him what was his nationality, his origin, and why he was in Moscow. "I did not answer these questions even when the pq)curator asked them. Why should I answer them now?" Soon he was taken away - for good. That one seemed at last to be a real spy. 4. All of a sudden, several dozen Germans were brought in. Far from being intellectuals, they were all members of the communist party, and all had fled from Hitler, to their "brothers" - and got into a trap. They were indignant and irritated. Participating in a common talk one of them told us how they, the Germans, had won the battle in the Baltic Sea during World War I. A former Russian seaman, my neighbor, whispered indignantly: "Stuff and nonsense! What a bastard! We bombed and destroyed them!" - "Say it out loud! How does it look when a German in a Russian prison disgraces Russia?" ---,-- "I don't care!" That was the spirit of internationalism of the epoch. There was also a Russian German in our cell, gentle and somewhat sentimental; his compatriots, the Party members, scared him to death. 5. Many of us had a prison account (based on money sent from home), and once every ten days we were allowed to order food from the prison store for a limited sum of money (ten percent of which was assigned for the poor ofthe cell, mainly to buy cigarettes). One day an old and sick intellectual said that it was hard for him (on his days of duty) to carry and empty the toilet pail and that he was ready to hire a poor cellmate for the price of his store share. One ofthe cellmates was willing to do that. But that provoked a real storm of indignation! "An exploitation of man! Hired labor in prison!" An acute discussion went on for hours, an aftertaste of socialist upbringing. Such was, indeed, the dominant attitude ofthose years, the attitude preserved even in prison. It is difficult to understand it now. The theater of the absurd can be truly appreciated only by those who were brought up in an absurd way. N ow I would like to present to the reader portraits of certain inhabitants of the prison. 1. Eyup Ibragimovich Akchurin; a Tartar, the son of a Kazan millionaire. His parents were educated in Paris. His own education was also affected by this. He was an intellectual, with a brilliant knowledge of foreign languages, and with an almost professional mastery of his voice. He and several dozen other Tartars were arrested in Moscow. They did not deny that they used to gather together, to respect their mullah. They were proud of their culture. And that was sufficient reason for arrest and incrimination for active nationalism. His personal case was based on the information given by an acquaintance. She conveyed the contents of a conversation she pretended to have overheard through a thin partition. Akchurin denied everything and 112 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol: 21 managed not to say anything dangerous at the interrogation. At the trial he demanded to see the document concerning when the notorious partition was built. It turned out to have been built a year after the conversation in question. The charge should have surely been removed, but no: He was condemned to seven years of imprisonment. 2. Nikita Ivanovich Kharus; a Ukranian nationalist. He told us about the traditions of rural Ukranian culture, intertwining his stories with memories of national heroes of the past. He saw his task in the liberation and revival of his people; so that "everyone had bread and fat." "We would make everyone work," he used to say, "including those whores of ballet dancers; we shall make them plough." He had already been to the camp, and escaped. He walked from the Komi Republic to N ovorossiisk (near the Black Sea), visited by foreign ships, from where he was able to escape aboard a ship. He told us that Komi peasant women gave him food. He had a very common appearance. In Novorossiisk he pretended to be a worker and started to work at the shipyard. Someone wanted to marry him to an old woman. Thus he would be above suspicion, but a letter he sent to his relatives betrayed him. The secret police discovered him. At the first interrogation, he put down on the questionnaire: "uneducated." The interrogator showed him the letter and he understood he had been found out. "OK, then note that I have two higher education degrees." He had been in Butyrki for about a year already. He seemed to have been prepared for some special case. At present his dream seems to be coming true in the Ukraine. For me, however, it was clear even then, in Butyrki, what a huge force was accumulating in reaction to national suppression. It could not be annihilated by terror. It was the only force that could not be suppressed despite its archaic and obsolete nature. 3. A Menshevik, whose name I do not remember, had been a mechanical engineer in the Black Sea Squadron before the revolution. He had been in prison for a year under the tsarist regime for participating in the Menshevist movement. Under the new regime he had worked in polygraphy. But once an old friend came to see him. They had a talk, and discussed current events: They had both been brought up under Marxism, though of a different flavor. And later this conversation cost him five years of labor camps. I seem to remember that once, while being deported, I met the son of the man who had informed the KGB about the contents of their conversation. It was not so rarely that a noose would close this way. N ow I would like to say a few words about the general arrangement of cell life. It was based on a mutual guarantee: The whole cell was responsible for the behavior of each of its members. All obeyed the orders of a monitor, who was honestly elected and respected by everybody. If, for instance, someone needed to contact another person in a neighboring cell, who was charged with the same case, by "knocking," he had to approach the monitor, explain everything, and get permission for knocking (in a serious case). If the knocking was discovered by the prison authorities, the whole cell could be temporarily deprived of a walk or of access to the store. The noteworthy fact is that the decision to endanger the whole cell was taken by the monitor on his own responsibility, and the nature of the request made to the monitor was guaranteed not to be disclosed. The second important person in the cell was an "organizer of cultural leisure." He organized general discussions, and lectures on various subjects (including scientific ones). In the evenings, concerts were organized: recitations, the singing of opera airs and romances, or the telling of stories, usually of one's life. Those who left the cell for the camp or another prison were seen offwith a chorus of the SolovkiAnthem and the romance by Vertinski, beginning with the following words: I don't know who needs that and why, Who sent them to death with the untrembling hand. The prison had an excellent library. Once in ten days each prisoner could order several books, including those in foreign languages, together with dictionaries. For me this was a very important privilege. The system of inter-cell connections was well developed. Almost every day someone was taken away to an interrogation in the Central Lubyanka prison, to a hospital, or to some other place. On their way these prisoners would meet many people. Thus, when I had to transmit a message, I would give the message after the interrogation, and it would be passed on by a chain of these brief meetings. Arrest, Interrogation, Prison Life 113 Here is an example: At the beginning of the investigation, the investigator hinted that the initial information had come from Sharevsky. It was important for me to know for sure if that was true. The message was sent. The result was: One day the peep-hole ofthe door was opened for a second and I heard, "Vasya, don't believe them!" Then the noise of a fight. It is true that for sending this message Sharevsky had to spend several days in the punishment cell of the Pugachyov tower. We learned that also by means of an inter- cell message. I was lucky to be put in Butyrki in the epoch when the freedom-loving traditions ofthe Russian revolutionaries were still preserved there. The Sentence J UNE, 18, 1937. My sentence was announced: I was condemned to five years of corrective labor camps according to article 58, 10-11.9 The sentence was passed by the Special Conference, and it goes without saying that I was not present: Even the procurator expressed no desire to talk to me. In those days a sentence like mine was the maximum possible given in the absence of the accused. It was a miracle that I was not tried by a court. I would like to think that this was largely due to my resistance. I interpreted the material of the preliminary investigation in a different way, and at the trial many ofthe accused could have supported my interpretation. Another miracle was that our case was over before the Special Conference acquired the right to sentence for ten years, which happened soon afterward. I would surely have been given this sentence, and it would have complicated many things in the future. All the prisoners involved in our case and sentenced by the Special Conference 1o gathered near the room where the sentence was announced. After the sentence, we were all sent to the same temporary cell from which prisoners were taken to other places. Here at last we could talk to each other to our hearts' contentY My friendship with Yura Proferansov held despite the fact that he had given evidence against me, which made my resistance to the investigator all the more difficult. Certain events in his private life, however, extenuated his guilt. He had passed through a difficult unrequited love, and when this experience was over, and he had settled down with another woman and was blissfully happy, he was arrested. It was natural for him to believe the interrogator's promise that he would be sentenced only to exile. That was his last hope. I am well aware that this justification of his behavior is rather insufficient, but it was inconceivable for me to break up our former friendship. As for the elder participants of the movement, their position remained unclear; they avoided discussing this subject. I will, however, return to this later. It can be imagined how much we talked and thought during the days before sentence was passed. We understood we were approaching death. What would be our lot? In prison we were informed that the situation in the camps was becoming more dangerous every day. Those were the years of unrestrained mounting terror: terror directed against the people ofthe country in the name of a crazy idea. We were aware that those in our group were the only ones in the cell to have chosen our lot back while we were yet free. We were even proud to have made this choice; to us that was a continuation of the tradition of the Russian revolutionaries. It was the awareness of the significance of our choice that enabled us to survive in the camps. The only one to perish (during the first year in the camp) was Yura Proferansov. Being a geologist, one would have thought he would be able to adapt to the new conditions more easily than the others. I believe it was the loss of his love that broke his resistance. It is not easy for a young man to suppress the first glimpses of mutual love. The Siberian High Road T HIS ROUTE is famous in Russian history. It has seen the passage of many brave, unsubdued people. Now it was my turn. We were taken by "black ravens" to the freight yard of Yaroslavsky railway station. The train that awaited us was composed of freight cars adapted for carrying prisoners. Inside they had two-story bed frames, a makeshift toilet, and a small window. The cars were packed to capacity and even beyond. The destination was Vladivostok, a town in the Far East, and the journey took a month, according to the schedule of freight trains. We got off the train only once, 114 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 in Krasnoyarsk. There we were taken to the baths; to get there we were marched across the whole city, accompanied by a convoy strengthened with dogs. Quite by chance, I was lucky enough to get a place on an upper bed, near the window, and thus could see at least one side of the Siberian road. In the subways of Moscow, at small stations, deserted crying women were waiting for us: They knew the schedule of the prison trains. Some of us threw them messages to be sent to relatives. 12 The wind would blow these scraps of paper away and the women would run to catch them; and indeed, messages would finally come to the addressees. The food was, of course, scant. We were often given salted herring (which is today regarded as a delicacy). Hungry people, though well aware there would not be enough water, ate greedily, and then at the stations would start screaming, "Water, give us water!" The cry would come in waves all along the train. We were badly fed, but well guarded. Every evening all the prisoners were counted one by one, and the floor was knocked by a wooden stick to discover any hiding- place. On the roof was a machine-gun. These prison trains were running all over Russia. Some prisoners were taken to camps, others to new interrogations. The industry of prison transportation was well developed. Those in charge had their own cars,13 their own rules of transportation, food supplies, guarding. Prison transportation composed an essential part ofthe entire system of transportation of the country. Golden Horn Bay A T LAST we arrived in Vladivostok. It was a sunny day, as if in a Southern town. Again we were convoyed across the city. Though the prisoners from each car were ordered to march separately, I managed to run through the whole column and to see familiar faces, to ask what was the accusation and the sentence. The prison zone was situated on the shore of the bay. Calm, friendly sea was visible shimmering in the sun. This seascape was incongruous side by side with barbed wire and the now familiar sentry boxes. After the boring voyage the sea seemed to be willing to apologize for the madness of the country and to welcome us. If I were asked what national emblem our country should choose, I would suggest a watchtower: to commemorate those who perished; and for the edification of posterity, so that future generations would never forget the past, and that the country would feel its guilt and never attempt to repeat it. That would be a real repentance. The necessary formalities in the zone took a lot of time. We were treated as strictly accountable articles, therefore there were numerous searches, countings and re-countings, checkings, and so on. It grew dark and started to rain; at last we were assigned to different sections of the zone. I, and another person who was seriously ill, were directed to a special gate where we were passed on to the local administration. All the officials wore dark cloaks with hoods and had torches just like members of the Spanish Inquisition, the way we see it in pictures. I was ordered, "Take the sick person by the hand and march ahead!" While we walked, one of the hooded figures turned towards me, took off the hood and lifted the torch: "You don't recognize me, Vasya?" "Misha!" Indeed, it was Mikhail Stepanovich Cherevkov, a painter, and in the not so distant past, the husband of Ion Sharevsky's sister. He used to belong to a different world alien to me, the world of exquisite Moscow Bohemia a la Oscar Wilde. But here our paths crossed. The amazing fact is that even in the pre-camp zone he really looked "artistic," unlike others; even his ragged clothes looked elegant and picturesque. Thus I found myself in the special section of the zone: On the one hand, it contained gravely sick people; on the other hand, prisoners who registered those newly arrived and prepared papers for their further transportation to Magadan. Strange as it may seem, at that time politicaP4 prisoners were still allowed to do office jobs. The team was headed by the former physician of the Bolshoi Theater, and he was also responsible for selecting its members. That was a real "resort behind bars": Bohemian intellectuals,15 and the sea so close at hand, just a few steps down, that one could jump into the water. But no, we were taken to baths. That realm was already ruled by criminals. My boots were immediately stolen, and I walked in the zone in rubbers, and was still wearing them Arrest, Interrogation, Prison Lifo 115 when I arrived at Magadan. I was happy to have them; we were given nothing by the administration, and had to make do with what we had of our own. The boat, "Zhurba," that took us to Magadan was a common cargo steamer adapted for the transporation of prisoners. In the holds (naturally, without windows) were built four rows of bed frames. The air could enter only from the upper hatches where the stairs began. This monster of a boat had to accommodate no less than three thousand people. The task of organization was assigned to a small group of prisoners, while the guards stood by grinning. I was a member of this group, which enabled me to spend almost all of the ten days of the voyage on the deck, not in this horrible hold. But we were responsible for everything that happened in the hold. We were the first to reach the deck. We understood that many would feel sick in the hold and we had to leave places for them in the upper storey. But when the crowd rushed inside, everybody wanted to climb upwards onto the upper storey and we felt we were unable to control them. At this moment, a young man who was in our group, a slender youth with a sort offeminine grace, a former student of the Navy College, ripped off his buttonless 16 uniform and with all his might struck the first burly man right across his face, ordering him to go downstairs. It helped: Nobody struck back, nobody rebelled. Everyone obediently went downstairs. I breathed a sigh of relief, remembering the lines of the Russian poet Gumilev: When rebel on board alighted Captain pulls a pistol out of a belt Such that down drops lace gold Of the pinkish Mechlin cuff No, there was no gold and no lace, there was merely a violent blow, but it had been struck in time, and the rebellious man submitted; Indeed, in a critical situation that was the only way to control people; and though I am an anarchist by conviction, I have to acknowledge that. This is sad. The steamer pushed off and I said goodbye, for long years, to the continent 17 and to everything that was dear to me. From the ship, I could see the Southern sea, the Southern starlit sky, the coast of a Japanese island and their black patrol destroyer. Then very soon we sailed out into the cold gray and stormy Sea of Okhotsk. Water was pouring over the mid- deck. On guard at the entrance to the terrible hold, I suddenly forgot my slavery and humiliation. I felt in me a power str()nger than that which brought me to this deck. I also remember a tragic-comical episode. A man, mad with seasickness, rushed to the deck with a toilet pail, ran (for some reason) to the prow, and splashed out the contents in the teeth ofthe hurricane. It was next to impossible to wash off the filth. I feel the same thing keeps happening to us in the hurricane of political battles, when, exasperated and exhausted, we splash everything on ourselves. That was the beginning of a new, savage and mutilated life. We were doomed for years of slavery to the brutal system, in a climate unfit for human existence. And who could know or believe in that epoch that half a century later, I, a former prisoner of the Stalin camps, would again see the waters of the Pacific - but from the other shore, from friendly California and a cozy island near Seattle, with a still-existing Indian reservation on it. Notes This work is based on the author's personal experience and materials from the Central Archives prepared by Jeanna Nalimov-Drogalina. It is a chapter from V. V. Nalimov's autobiographical memoir, A Rope-Dancer (A Wreckage), published in Russian in 1994. The chapter was translated into English by A. V. Yarkho and has been further edited for the present work. l. See V. V. Nalimov, (2001), "On the History of Mystical Anarchism in Russia," International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 20,85-98; 2. From his childhood, Iosif Ioffe had followed his older cousin; he was very enthusiastic about the ideas of Anarchism and could pass his enthusiasm on to other people. But he seemed to be less talented than his cousin and that could have been the reason for a secret rivalry. In 1934, a man who had been in exile in Kargasok brought greetings from Sharevsky. The man seems to have been an informer, and it was probably then that some contacts could have been made. The noteworthy fact is that I was warned twice. Once, the warning came from a student from the college where Ioffe studied. It was just a warning; no explanations were given. Another time, it came from our former housekeeper, a retired woman who still lived in our apartment. She told me, "Why do you, Vasya, go to meet him? He will surely betray you." And again I did not listen to the prophetic voice. 116 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 I was later told that, immediately after my arrest, loffe visited my family. When my father saw him, he understood everything. Without uttering a word, loffe went away, confused and embarassed. But what was done could not be undone. In the archives we found evidence to the effect that he had helped to concoct several such cases. 3. The widow of Kropotkin refused to accept a state pension on principle. 4. I remember that, for some time, cigarettes provided by the Red Cross were brought into our cell. 5. These were mainly the editions ofthe publishing house "Golos Truda" (The Voice of Labor). The shop of the publishing house existed in Okhotnyi Ryad (one of the central streets of Moscow) until the end of the 1920s. 6. The investigation was mainly carried out by a man called Makarov. He acted in a fairly professional way: He had at his disposal a prefabricated set of questions and standard formulations of answers. Now that we have access to the archives and can read the protocols, we get the impression that all those interrogated spoke a standard language, whether they accepted or rejected the accusations. The administration seemed to approve of such a standardization ofthe procedure - Makarov got his first promotion for the interrogations. Sometimes, another interrogator would come, a certain Golovanov. In contrast to Makarov, who wore a uniform, Golovanov was always in civilian clothes. His interrogations sometimes even had a philosophical flavor. For example, he said to me, "You are a Stoic, that is why we cannot get anything from you." I had an impression that he was not a rank-and-file investigator but controlled the whole case. 7. That means that other prisoners in the cell required that he be expelled for an offense. Each cell was held collectively responsible for the behavior of all of its members, and it had the right to ask that a disobedient member be sent away. Such persons were very unwelcome in other cells; 8. In that epoch special cells for the members ofthe ruling party still existed. Even in prison they had privileges. That meant that even in prison all were equal but some were "more equal than others." The principle of Bolshevist "equality" was observed everywhere. 9. The sentence read as follows: "Condemned for counterrevolutionary activities" (denoted by the index eRA). The essential thing was not only the term of confinement, but the wording as well. Trotskyites were condemned with the index CRTA (T for "terrorist"), which carried a much graver sentence, even though the term was the same. 10. Some of the accused were tried by the Supreme Board of the Military Collegium. 11. These are the people who were together in the cell on that day: S. R. Leshchuk, a mathematician; P. A. Arensky, of the theater; G. V. Gorinevsky, an architect; and B. V. Korostelev, on the staff of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (he was somewhat avoided). The members of the youth group, besides myself, were: Yura Proferansov, a geologist; and Igor' Breshkov, a teacher. 12. Despite meticulous searches, experienced prisoners managed to keep a stub of a pencil, a scrap of paper, and a razor blade. 13. Some prisoners were also transported in common "Stalin" compartment cars with barred windows; these compartments were usually unbearably stuffy, as the number of prisoners squeezed into them was fantastic. There were also the so-called "Stolypin" cars, with a big salon inside, which was rather comfortable. Even now, when I hear the name ofStolypin, I remember cars named after him: the severe Russian tsarist minister was a true humanitarian. 14. Officially, there were no political prisoners in our country. The notorious clause 58 belonged to the Criminal Code, and all people sentenced according to the Criminal Code are criminals. But as a matter of fact that was a sinister clause. 15. I learned later that the elite ofthe "resort" zone could by some means avoid being sent further. They had a secret life of their own; they even published a homosexual magazine. It is amazing that people remain themselves under all conditions. 16. All metal objects were cut off from our clothes. 17. People who lived on Kolyma called it an island, because then it was accessible only by Sea. 4:.. Arrest, Interrogation, Prison Life 117 v V Nalirnov, Paris, 1989 118 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 The Universe Grasper S. L Shapiro University of Hawai'i Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA I wanted to look through the open window, behind the window of the whole universe, and that very Universe to grasp. T HESE WORDS were spoken by Vassily Vassilievich N alimov to his wife and colleague, Jeanna, two days before he died in Moscow on 19 January 1997 . .. , Nestled in a four-legged woven basket on my desk at the university sits a quaint wooden egg, 9mm tall, painted in bright shades of red, yellow, green, and blue. It is a treasured memento. 1 lift the egg out of its resting place and look at it once again, slowly rotating it in my hand: onion-domed Russian churches and green trees pass by; above, a deep blue sky, below, a vivid red flower with a yellow sun for a center; an elliptical universe memorializing the marriage of heaven and earth. My mind drifts off to the symbolism of the egg: life, renewal, rebirth . . . .I look up from work for a moment. On top of two file cabinets in my university office, reaching almost to the ceiling, are a dozen red, green, brown, and maroon stacks ofVassily's books translated into English awaiting shipment. On my desk at home lie two ofVassily's manuscripts 1 am editing for publication . ... On cold, blustery winter days in New England, my son, David, a Russian history and literature major in college, makes his way between classes protected by a gray and white woolen turtleneck sweater. It was given to him by Jeanna during a study visit to Russia. It belonged to Vassily . ... 1 sit down to write this paper-our paths cross again. Three years have passed since Vassily's departure, but we continue to meet. Why? Reprinted (with revisions) from Scientometrics, 2001, Vol. 52, pp. 337-344, by permission of the publishers, Akademiai Kiad6, Budapest, and Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. 2001 Akademiai Kaid6, Budapest. The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vo!. 21,118-124 119 I came to know Vassily only during the last decade of his life. Others have known him and been inspired by him for much longer. Still; we are deeply connected. Why? To me it is 'unfathomable ... a mystery. But it would not have been a mystery to Vassily. His natural bent was to seek out new frontiers alid connectIons, following his mUSe undaunted as the urikhown beckoned to him. In his lifelong quest to grasp "that very universe" -'-the meaning and ground of existence--'-Vassily was a :polymath who apprehended connections alid wandered across borders with unbounded imagination and enthusiasm. One new territory Vassily discovered was the burgeoning field ofttanspersonal psychology. The transpersonal psychology movenient emerged in the United States in the late 1960s. It sought to open up and legitimize an area of human consCiousness and experience largely neglected by modern Western psychology, calling for an exploration of "the farther reaches of human nature"--'-inclucling spiritual, mystical, ahd t:hmspersonal states Of consciousness (Maslow, 1969). In Vassily's words, transpersonal psychology "represents an attempt to study htiman consciousness beyond the boundaries of its discrete capsulizatibn;' (Nalimov, 1985, p. 70). Oile reviewer commented: The relevance of Nalimov's work transcends the boUndaries of science. His view of the world enCOmpasses and integrates the totality of the experience acquired by all of humanity; It transcends provincial, national, politiCai; racial and religious chauvinism, and ideological clashes of competing systems based on igIiorance of the holistic nature of reality. In the cOIltext of his vision, the only hope for humanity is the creatioIi of an entirely new human cuiture through a radical transformation of consciousness. (Grof, 1982, p. 188) VassilY's transpersonal work appeared in the rEllevant major English-language journals: The Jburnal of Humanistic Psychology; The Journal of Trans personal Psychology; ReVision; and The International journal ofTranspersonai Studies; The last journal was especially instrumental in milking Vassily's work known to an international audience by publishing some 22 contributions by or about him (see Bibliography; also website: http://panigada.hypermart.net). Vassily's transpersonal publicatibnS in English also helped to inject the transpersonal ihovement with intellectual vigor, breadth, and vision. Equally important to understanding Vassily's transpersonal views, are four books published in English by 1St Press through the foresight of Eugene Garfield in the USA In the Labyrinths of Language: A Mathematician's Journey (1981); Faces of Science (1981); Realms of the Unconscious: The Enchanted Frontier (1982); and Space, Time, and Life: The Probabilistic Pathways of EvoZution (1985). The publication of these visionary works helped to internationalize the transpersonal perspective and to expand it to other disciplines; The specific contributions Vassily made to trarispersonalism have been summarized well elsewhere (e.g., Kazyutinsky & Drogalina-Nalimov, 1997; Z. n Nalimov, 1990; Na1iInbv, & Zuyev, 2000; Thompson; 1993). Vassily was also the Elarliest researcher I ani aware of to make use of scieritometrics tb survey and characterize the field oftranspersonal psychology CNaliiri.bv & Drogalina, 1996); An early and prolific contributor te the tiansperEiOhal movement, by nature; reflection, and experience, Vassily would have embodied a traIlspersbnal perspective had the formal transpersonal movement hever arisen. Early in life he was already drawIl to Mystical Anarchism, a spiritual movement ih Russia whose ideals continued to inspire 120 the International Journal iJjYranspersonit1 StUdies; 2002, Vol. 21 him. Later on, the many years Vassily spent in the Gulag and in exile provided ample grounds to test his transpersonal mettle, Penetrate deeply enough to the ground of some one thing and it is possible to arrive at the ground of everything. Vassily's chosen doorway to Everything was to pursue, relentlessly, the meaning of meaning. What he found at the core was a semantic vacuum of plentitude-the principle of Spontaneity and ground of hmnan potential: The World is dialectical, its unpacked meanings are ephemeral within it. They are not substantial. They are born in spontaneity and into spontaneity are they gone, leaving an invisible trace behind. Spontaneity is the Incomprehensible. Spontaneity is what acts through Measure, not through Law. Spontaneity is Freedom ofthe World. Spontaneity is Love. Spontaneity is Gnosis, revelation of meanings, their extraction frolll Non-existence. Spontaneity is Ma:n himself. Spontaneity is Entity. Spo:ntaneity is the Potentiality of the World. CNalimov, 1985, pp. 96-97) One and the same semantic vacuum encompassing limitless possibilities: at one end, manipulation, subjugation, oppression; at the other end, creativity, freedom, transcendence. Words used to kill, words used to emancipate, In preparing these reflections, I leaf through the ph()tographs I have ofVassily, seeking to stimulate my memory. One picture leaps out at me, speaks to me. You see it facing the title page of this essay. The photograph was taken in 1989 at a railway station in Paris. Vassily, a universal man, was delighted to be able to travel outside Russia in the twilight of his life. It's both a worldly and otherw()rldly portrait. The architecture of his face hints at a wealth of story lines. It looks t() me like a weary and saddened face, but untrammeled-supported by a light from within. It's the face of a scholar certainly. A shock of white hair and thick eyeglass frames; a civilized and professional-lo()king man, wearing a tie ... a bit loose, unconstricting. It's a kindly face behind the scholarly eyeglasses. The eyes are knowingly focused both here and on a faraway place. The mouth has a bit of a smile; amusement, too. Some time after writing down these impressions, I receive a copy of a memorial notice about Vassily published iIi Scientbmetrics a few years ago (Colleagues, Friends, 1997). It is accompanied by the very same photograph that I chose to desc:ribe above. I continue to look at Vassily's picture ahd he seems to look back at me ... What does it mean to live? What does it mean to die? Once Vassily corpo:really roamed the Earth, now his presence is .. ;collnectivity-=manifest in photographs, books, journals, mem()rial issues; loved ones, students and colleagues, eggcshaped mic:rocosms, warm tu:rtleneck The Universe Grasper 121 sweaters ... and what else? The master of the realm of words was also conversant with the wordless realm: The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother often thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery. (Feng & English, 1972, sect. 1) Although we corresponded for several years, it was only in the summer of 1995 that I met Vassily and Jeanna in person at their flat in Moscow. I was welcomed one evening into a small combined living room and study, filled with books, artwork, photographs, and memorabilia. We conversed together for some hours, slowly making our way through a bottle of Georgian wine and Jeanna's pastries. My most vivid impression of that enchanted evening was the sheer warmth and radiance that emanated from my two gracious hosts-its palpable quality remains with me to this day. It was an altogether timeless evening. Before leaving, Vassily and Jeanna placed in my hands the painted egg and woven basket that grace my university desk. In March of 1997, two months after Vassily died, Jeanna wrote to me the following words that best express Vassily's extraordinary presence: You know Vassily's most remarkable quality-his radiant nature. He had the star inside-the light from within. It is no wonder that Vassily came to be one of the leading figures of the international transpersonal movement. He was naturally attuned to taking a cosmic eye view of the universe-such was the nature of his mind and inner vision from early on: where others saw fragmentation, he apprehended unity; where others saw discrete events, he perceived connectivity. Others had one specialty, Vassily had many; others were comforted by answers, Vassily rejoiced in raising new questions; others sought the meaning of this or that, Vassily sought the meaning of meaning; others tried to grasp some one thing, Vassily wanted to grasp everything-the whole universe. To sum up the contents of an earlier journal issue commemorating Vassily (Soidla, Shapiro, & Gross, 1997), the editors entitled their introduction: "v. V. Nalimov-Scientist, Teacher, Friend, Mentor, Prisoner, Rope-Dancer, Master of Meaning, Mystical Anarchist, High Priest, Apostle of Spontaneity, Transpersonalist." To epitomize the boundless nature ofVassily's life and work, we could simply say: Vassily Vassilievich Nalimov-Universe Grasper. 122 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 References Colleagues, Friends. (1997). In memoriam of Vassily Vassiliyevich Nalimov, 1910-1997. Scientometrics, 39, 143-145. Feng, G.-F., & English, J. (Trans.). (1972). Lao Tsu: Tao Te Ching. New York: Knopf. Grof, S. (1982). [Review of the book Realms of the unconscious: The enchanted frontier J.Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 14, 186-188. Kazyutinsky, V. v., & Drogalina-Nalimov, J. (1997). Apostle of spontaneity. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 16(2), 15-37. Maslow, A. H. (1969). The farther reaches of human nature. Journal of Trans personal Psychology, 1969, 1(1), 1-9. N alimov, V. V. (1981). Faces of science (R. G. Colodny, Ed.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1981). In the labyrinths of language: A mathematician's journey (R. G. Colodny, Ed.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1982). Realms of the unconscious: The enchanted frontier (R. G. Colodny, Ed., A. V. Yarkho, Trans.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1985). Space, time and life: The probabilistic pathways of evolution (R. G. Colodny, Ed., A. V. Yarkho, Trans.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V., Drogalina-Nalimov, J., & Zuyev, K. (2000). The universe of meanings. Interna- tional Journal of Trans personal Studies, 19, 109-118. Nalimov, Z. D. (1990). Nalimov's conception of human nature. ReVision, 12(3), 19-29. Thompson, A. M. (1993). Vassily Vasilyevich Nalimov: Russian visionary. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 33(3), 82-98. Bibliography English Language Works Related to Transpersonalism by or about V. V. Nalimov Clement, C., & Trott, J. (1998). From the earth to the sky: Shamanic roots of Russian transpersonalism. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 5, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 17, 161-166. Drogalina-Nalimov, J. (1998). Vassily Vassilievich Nalimov ... The whisper of destiny. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 5, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 17, 103- 105. Garfield, E. (1997). Professor V. V. Nalimov-Dear friend and mentor. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 16(2), 5. Granovsky, Yu. V. (1997). Dedicated to the memory of V. V. Nalimov. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 16(2), 9-14. Grof, S. (1982). [Review of the book Realms of the unconscious: The enchanted frontier J. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 14, 186-188. Guenther, H. (1997). The complexity ofthe initial condition. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism. Vol. 4, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 16(2), 52-70. Gurjeva, L. G., & Wouters, P. (2001). Scientometrics in the context of probabilistic philosophy. Scientometrics, 52,111-126. Kazyutinsky, V. V., & Drogalina-Nalimov, J. (1997). Apostle of spontaneity. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 16(2), 15-37. Nalimov, V. V. (1981). Faces of science (R. G. Colodny, Ed.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1981). In the labyrinths of language: A mathematician's journey (R. G. Colodny, Ed.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1982). Realms of the unconscious: The enchanted frontier (R. G. Colodny, Ed., A. V. Yarkho, Trans.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1985). Space, time and life: The probabilistic pathways of evolution (R. G. Colodny, Ed., A. V. Yarkho, Trans.). Philadelphia: lSI Press. Nalimov, V. V. (1989). Can philosophy be mathematized? Probabilistic theory of meanings and semantic architectonics of personality. Philosophia Mathematica:An International Journal for the Study of Modern Mathematics, Series II, 4(2),129-146. N alimov, V. V. (1992). Spontaneity of consciousness: An attempt of mathematical interpretation of certain of Plato's ideas. In M. E. Carvallo (Ed.), Nature, cognition and system II (pp. 313-324). Dordrecht: Kluwer. N alimov, V. V. (1995). Facing the Mystery: A philosophical approach. Entering the Light: Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 1, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 14(Supple- The Universe Grasper 123 ment), 25-29. Also in Scientometrics, 2001, 52, 179-184; P. V Alekseyev, 1999, Russiq,n philoso- phers of the XIX-XX centuries (pp. 552-553). Moscow: Academic Project (shortened version). Nalimov, V. V. (1996). Existential vacuum and how to overcome it. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 2, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 15(1), 1-6. Also in: T. R Soidla & S. I. Shapiro (Eds.), 1997, Everything is according to the Way: Voices of Russian Transpersonalism (pp. 43-48). Brisbane, Australia: Bolda-Lok Publishing. Nalimov, VV (1996). Constructivist aspects of a mathematical model of consciousness. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 3, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 15(Supple- ment), 10-19. Also in: T. R Soidla & S, I. Shapiro (Eds.), Everything is according to the Way (pp, 49-59). Brisbane, Australia: Bolda-Lok Publishing. Nalimov, V V (1997). The self-conscious universe. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, In- ternational Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 16(2), 38c41. Nalimov, V V (1997). A rope-dancer (A wreckage).voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4,Inter- national Journq,l of Trans personal Studies, 16(2),42-51. N alimov, V V (1998). Culture at a turning point: Observations and speculations. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 5, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 17, 111-125. Nalimov, V V (2001). On the history of Mystical Anarchism in Russia. International Journq,l of Transpersonal Studies, 20, 85-98. Nalimov, V V (2001). Philosophy of number: How metrical hermeneutics is possible. Scientometrics, 52, 185-192. Nalimov, V V (2002). Arrest, interrogation, prison life. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 21,109-117. Nalimov, V V Rope-Dancer. [Memoirsl. English translation in preparation. N alimov, V V Spontq,neity ()f consciousness. English translation in preparation. N alimov, V V The temptation of Holy Russia: Karmic theory of our culture; Mini-chronicle of our epoch. English translation in preparation. Nalimov, V V, & Drogalina, J. A. (1996). The transpersonal movement: A Russian perspective on its emergence and prospects for further development. Journal of Trans personal Psychology, 28, 49-62. Nalimov, V V, Drogalina-Nalimov, J., & Zuyev, K. (2000). The universe of meanings. Internq,tional Journal of Trans personal Studies, 19, 109-118. Also in: Scientometrics, 2001, 52,345-360. N alimov, V V, & N alimov, Z. D. (1995). The emergence of transpersonal psychology in Russia: A dialogue. Entering the Light: Voices of Russian TranspersonalisTlJ, Vol. 1, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 14(Supplement), 20c24. Nalimov, Z. D. (1990). Nalimov's conception of human nature. ReVision, 12(3),19-29. Roy, R (1997). Vassily N alimov-Modern Russia.n high priest. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 16(2), 6-7. Also in: Scientometrics, 2001, 52,167-169. . Shapiro, S. I. (1998). Ground zero: The genesis of Voices of Russian Transpersonalism. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 5, International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 17, 101-102. Shapiro, S. I. (2001). The universe grasper. Scientometrics, 52(2),337-344. Soidla, T. R, Shapiro, S. I., & Gross, P. L. (1997). Introduction: V V Nalimov-Scientist, teacher, friend, mentor, prisoner, rope-dallcer, master of meaning, mystical anarchist, high priest, apostle of spontaneity, transpersonalist. V()ices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, Internati()nal Jour- nq,l ofTrq,nspersonal Studies, 16(2), 1-4. Thompson, A. M. (1993). Vassily Nalimov: Russian visionary. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 33(3), 82-98. Yarkho, A. (1998). Vassily N alimov ... as I remember him. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. f),International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 17, 107-109. Zakgeim, A. (1997). A teacher. Voices of Russian Transpersonalism, Vol. 4, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 16(2), 8. 124 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 Endangered Asanas Ralph Augsburger Geneva, Switzerland The Internationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 125-134 125 2002 by Panigada Press The Ostrich 126 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 The Flamingo Endangered Asanas 127 The Caterpillar 128 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2 0 0 ~ , Vol. 21 The Spider EndangeredAsanas 129 The Rooster 130 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 The Microbe EndangeredAsanas 131 The Mosquito 132 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 The Pinocchio Endangered Asanas 133 The Firefly 134 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 The History of Sanity in Contemplative Psychotherapy Edward M Podvoll Mahamudra Ling Le Bost, France A patient in therapy has two kinds of psychological history: a history of sanity as well as a history of illness. In order for healthy development to begin within the therapeutic relationship, it is necessary that both patient and therapist shift their allegiance towards the history of sanity. Landmark events in that history can be found in both developmental moments and in the current experience of neurosis or psychosis. Six types of landmarks derived from clinical experience reveal the history of sanity. The patient has periods of repulsion when feeling estranged from life and nauseated about his or her way ofliving. If the repulsion is not recognized as an intelligent response to the patient's condition, it can degenerate into a suicidal self-loathing. The patient longs to transcend his or her stifling and constant self-centeredness. Ordinary everyday experience can provide a glimpse beyond the walled-off territory of isolation. The patient has an urge for discipline, to gain some control over mind and body. Each seemingly mundane attempt at discipline carries with it the urge to work with one's state of mind, by synchronizing physical and mental activity. The patient has a longing for compassionate action. The patient's regret and frustration at losing this basically human capacity is a powerful sign of his or her intelligence, although if fixating upon this the patient comes to feel less than human. There have been times in the patient's life when he or she was capable of a precise sense of clarity. The patient longs for this capacity for nondistraction. By being helped to track and be mindful ofthe wandering mind itself, the patient can again sharpen his or her sense of clarity. The patient has demonstrated courage in daily confrontation with fear and punishment within the thought- world of psychosis. If others do not support this courage, the patient may lose confidence and abandon himself or herself to illness. It is essential for client and therapist to learn to recognize and protect these six landmarks of sanity. The author discusses particular applications of the history of sanity to the therapeutic relationship, and shows that the therapist's path of training parallels the patient's path to recovery. HERE ARE two kinds of psychological history that we come to know when working with people. One of them is the history of pain, discouragement, missed opportunities, the continual accumulation of unfulfilled hopes and the consequences of unrealized actions in relationships. Such a history of neurosis has a compelling quality that can capture and freeze a psychotherapeutic relationship into an endless dissection, searching for the origin of an inhibited development. On the other hand, embedded Excerpted from an upcoming book by Edward Podvoll to be published by Shambhala Publications in autumn, 2003. Printed with permission. within the history of neurosis is another kind of history whose subtlety and evanescence make it more difficult to explore. It is the history of sanity. In order for a healthy development to begin within the psychotherapeutic relationship, it is necessary that both the therapist and patient shift their allegiance towards the history of sanity. That shift of allegiance might be more possible if we can identify and clarifY the landmarks in the historical development of health or sanity. Seeing psychotherapy from the point of view of eradicating or undoing an illness, one looks for signs of the disease process, perhaps to highlight it, expose it, or work it through. The implicit historical question becomes, "Where did things The InternationalJournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VoL 21, 135-144 135 go wrong?" That kind of psychological history involves a limited conception of psychotherapy and imposes a particular kind of relationship. The form of such a relationship might range anywhere from a collaborative search for an object of blame to subtle forms of paranoia. Ultimately, the point of view of psychotherapy is rooted in, and further raises the question of, what is meant by sane or healthy development. There is a particular impoverishment, however, in most psychological theory about the nature of health, in general going little beyond the notion of domestication and survival in a complex world. At the same time the development of psychological health and even brilliance does exist. Paradoxically, the history of sanity can be glimpsed even within the biographical history of neurosis. The development of health is especially prominent in recollections of the past and its manifestations in the present, of how people work with their states of mind. Other historical questions then become meaningful: What kind of training is needed to work with one's mind? Where does it come from? And, where in one's life is it missing? Flight of Ideas A BRIEF AND ordinary clinical example might be useful here. When one talks with a man who is in a state of impending manic excitement there is a hectic quality to his ideas, stories, anecdotes, memories and plans. The pressure of his words fills up every instant of doubt and reflection, going further out on limb after limb, all of which is difficult to follow and oppressive to listen to. At some point we acknowledge this difficulty. Following this, a spontaneous gap frequently occurs in the patient's streallling thought processes. A moment of confusion is punctuated by the question: "Where was 17" Then there occurs a somewhat tortured return to the point, and the process of escalation begins again. This natural occurrence comes from the sensation that one has gone too far in the elaboration of a daydream: a sudden awakening followed by a struggle about which way to go. The whole thing often happens very quickly and usually we notice it only after the fact. The above example was taken from psychotherapy with a skilled musician. His musical discipline had been strengthened in the course of psychotherapy to the point where he could play his sight-reading exercises while entertaining a complex train of disturbing and self-condemning yet fascinating thoughts. His musical discipline, which allowed him to cut short the wanderings of his mind, gradually was expanded into other areas of his life. The spontarieous returns from "flights of ideas" began to increase and gather during the psychotherapeutic sessions. He recognized that he had always had a latent ability to let go ofthought patterns, even as a child. From that point he began to communicate the source of his pain while at the same time developing some confidence that he was not at the mercy of his thought processes. The patient was able to use the pressure of a chain reaction of thoughts as a sudden reminder. From that he was better able to discriminate daydream from reality. He then began to exert the effort to come back to the point and from there developed the courage to work directly with his twenty-year" old habitual tendency towards a manic state of mind. This is an example of the sharp, intelligent quality of sanity that can manifest moment-to- moment even in the midst of psychopathology. The above example indicates that one could be relieved from the illlPulsive pressure of the chain reaction of thoughts, the root pathology of manic denial or obliviousness. Thereby one could cultivate the ability to discriminate daydream from reality with increased precision and could begin to rouse the effort, even courage, to come back to the point. Experience has shown that this leads to the development of patience. Returning to the story of neurosis, we find that a symptom or dysfunction is an attempt to tie together and find a coherent cause-and-effect relationship in the disparate phenomena of one's life. Such a story is frequently filled with fear, guilt, blame and aggression; it resembles the history of nations at war, where one war inexorably triggers another in the ageless recycling of insult and territorial revenge. The story line threads together a variety of memories with an explanation of why one event follows another and how one got to be the way one is. Sometimes the therapist does the same thing by using the template of his particular develoPlllental theory to string together a story line just as in a dream, where the display of dream fragments forms a seemingly logical and expectable dream story. The history of neurosis can seem like a complete cloth covering all of experience. The 136 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Wl. 21 history of sanity on the other hand, is episodic and appears to be fleeting and delicate. Because it is the history of wakefulness, dignity and patience; its continuity is often lost by people in despair. To perceive the history of sanity, we need the curiosity and effort to look further. When the psychotherapist relates directly to another's wakefulness and becomes curious about the history of his sanity, a different kind of relationship develops: one of mutual appreciation and trust not based on dependence, hope or even memory. The question arises of how to relate to the history of sanity: "what to look for." But the issue is not really what the therapist searches for or hunts; rather it is what the therapist recognizes. There are certain signs and landmark events that characterize wakefulness and sanity in another's life; but they can hardly be noticed until one first experiences and identifies them in oneself. Then one can recognize the inherent health in another person's experience. This is why the personal discipline of mindfulness-awareness meditation practice is so crucial for the development of the psychotherapist. Only by studying the nature of' our own minds and examining the experience of wakefulness in our oWn lives, can we recognize and appreciate it in another. The practice of meditation is the most direct, straightforward way to do that. It is a tuning process, making one more sensitive to psychological and interpersonal experience. This way of training oneself in the history of sanity might appear to be an extra burden put onto the psychotherapeutic relationship. But it is hardly that. It is really the first necessary step taken toward fully appreciating the intrinsic health of another. With that kind of training, a natural curiosity begins to develop about the other person's sanity and we begin to feel drawn to it. What we see occurring frrst in our own, then in another person's experience, is an intrinsic instinct toward wakefulness. It is first sensed as a flickering, and from that flickering there can occur an enormous curiosity. We find that instinct to be as strong and as omnipresent as any described by Freud and his students, by ethnologists or by cognitive scientists. While most other instincts appear to involve striving towards personal security, self- justification Or pleasure, the instinct toward wakefulness is the urge to penetrate beyond the continuous cycle of ego's self-justification and aggrandizing daydreaming. The most subtle aspect ofthe history of sanity is how one works with that instinct. The signs ofthat instinct are manifest in the most confused and degraded psychopathology, as well as in mild neurosis. It becomes the choice of the patient whether or not to develop that instinct, and it becomes the option ofthe therapist to encourage and enrich that development. We are always startled to see how people in intense despair, locked into a hallucinatory world, can suddenly step out ofthe grip of delusion in a moment of communal crisis, as for example during a fire in a hospital. Sometimes it takes that vivid an awakening to strike through the sleep of delusion. Less dramatically, we see any number of people who, in spite of their own turnioil, act wakefully in a crisis, maybe even showing the "best" of themselves. Something allows them to immediately drop their preoccupations and act appropriately, possibly even wisely. Marks of Sanity T HE SIGNS or trademarks of the history of sanity can be recognized in both the development ahd the current experience of all neurosis and psychosis. They could be divided into several categories. It should be noted that these categories are not derived from a conceptualization about relationships or a theory of development traced onto the psychotherapy; neither do they COllie from any technique or proposed strategy. This view stems from direct clinical experience and the categories are abstracted from a variety of clinical phenomena of patients during the phases of recovery. Interestingly enough, the therapist's act of recognizing signs of recovery, whether within the person's life cycle or on a moment-to-moment level, has the subtle effect of turning the psychotherapeutic relationship into an allegiance toward sanity. Repulsion F IRST, THERE is a sign of fundamental estrangement and a feelIng of nausea about one's way of living. It might last for a brief moment or it might endure for years. One is simply sick and tired of unceasing daydreams, instantly manufactured hopes and fears, and the endless cycle of habitual patterns ofthinking' and acting. The History of Sanity in Contemplative Psychotherapy 137 The endless cycle of alcoholism and a variety of other addictions takes the following form: bingeing/repentance/self-aggression/despair/ bingeing. That is the experiential form-almost an energy cycle of the psychopathology of addictions. Conventionally speaking, the "chief complaint" ofthe patient is usually self-aggression and contempt over the destructive quality of bingeing, gorging or any other collapse into animal-like indulgence. But that is only the outer shell of the "chief complaint." If it persists, it almost immediately chain-links into repentance, attempts at purification, and an insistent solicitation of forgiveness. The inner aspect of the "chief complaint" is actually repulsion toward the cyclic nature ofthe whole situation, the endless circularity, the nauseating rotation. That repulsion degenerates into self-aggression and begins the chain reaction. When seen together, the outer and inner "chief complaints" reveal intelligence in the original repulsion. The patient says, in one form or another, "I'm tired of this because I see through things." From the viewpoint of the history of sanity, the question becomes, "What does one see?" This disgust is connected with how one is working with one's state of mind. One could acknowledge that a real discrimination takes place. That discrimination requires a moment of clarity, a sign of active intelligence. A feeling of despair might occur, but that is only an elaboration ofturning away from the insight that things could be different. The ability to discriminate that something could be different in one's life means that something different has been glimpsed. Where and when has that happened? And how can one carry through with that? Perhaps it has been in relationship with one's grandfather, a teacher, or oneself during a particular year of school. It might include subtle or subconscious distinctions between what is healthy and what is not, and it frequently occurs at the height of neurosis itself. An unnamable feeling of guilt can develop because one cannot live according to the more wholesome vision. It was at such points that the insane John Perceval would look into the mirror and lacerate himselfwith the word hypocrite, later echoed in his hallucinations. 1 Such repulsion can happen in a moment of clarity but may soon degenerate into despair and self-loathing; ending in a nihilistic view about the worth of life at all. In the same way, each landmark event or moment of wakefulness in the history of sanity can be distorted into an aggressive drama. That is the basic perversion: the turning away from intelligence. But with the help of a therapist the situation need not go that far. It is the sense of repulsion that usually leads one to a psychotherapist. Quite early in the psychotherapeutic relationship-during the initial allegiance toward sanity-the heightened discrimination between what is healthy and unhealthy may take the form of token actions such as the long-awaited giving up smoking, a sudden end to chronic nailbiting, or an attempt to attenuate obsessional masturbation. These are more likely to happen when the patient has recognized some glimpse that such activities are mindless, that they have the qualities of absorption or trance. Beyond Self F ROM THE moment of repulsion there occurs a longing to transcend the sense of self. This longing can become manifest in an instant, or from one sentence or association to another, or occur over a period of months. But it is the moment-to- moment phenomena that provide the seed and the pattern for the more gross forms of behavior and pathological symptoms. This is one of the important contributions that contemplative psychotherapy has to offer: By understanding the patterns and tendencies of the mind, our understanding of both pathology and the variety of spontaneous attempts at recovery of health is vastly enriched. One of those spontaneous attempts at recovery is an urge to go beyond a stifling sense of self. It is a fascinating and mercurial moment. For example, a patient in crisis often arrives at the statement, "1 don't know who 1 am any more. I used to know, but now I don't." This might happen from the shock of awakening from a manic spree, from psychotic delusion, or from a dream. During moments of depression the statement might be made, "1 don't know myself any more. I have lost myself." When we try to find out who this self really is or was, there usually occurs an immediate confusion, followed by a series of confabulations. Then tenuous attempts are made to construct a cohesive story that describes the nature of self. Nietzsche called this the major obsession of 138 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Western man. A feeling of uncertainty, of cloudiness and doubt undercuts each attempt to materialize a consistent sense of identity. But we forget that it is a futile task. No wonder that the syndrome of "identity crisis" has become such a popular conception. Even though the seemingly reflex attempt to manufacture a self can be seen to be made up of a series of discrete habitual patterns which yield a momentary sense of security, there remains a gnawing doubt about the creation. Sometimes, if this doubt is intensified, there may occur frantic efforts to override it, to strengthen an image of identity or jump to a new one. Such a situation is involved in the "actual neurosis" of adolescents. No matter how vigorous the effort becomes to reinforce or idealize a feeling of centeredness or self through identifications, projections or denials, there is dissatisfaction. Discontent or loneliness arises, not simply because one cannot safely live up to that ideal image but also because there is a clarity and awareness that one is actually more than that. One senses that the limitations ofthat image are not only false and arbitrary but are also constricting and inhibiting one's health. That feeling might escalate into a sense of self as monstrosity, but even that can be abruptly undercut, as in the experience of falling in love, where the feeling of who one is can change in a moment. Psychosis has one of its primary origins in the desire to transcend the sense of self. One generates an enormous hope of arising fresh and purified from an abandoned and disfigured self. This leads to unwitting mental manipulations through which the former identity can be discarded and a new self hallucinated. However, in psychotic mental turmoil a genuine and wakeful vision of self, freed from the boundaries of identity, may fleetingly occur before it is degraded by the lust and greed for a purified self of pleasure or power. Such people may demonstrate a belief in the fantasy of rebirth through letting go completely, touching bottom, getting it over with, as if to exhaust the selfthat craves alcohol, violence or withdrawal. This completes another form ofthe perpetual cycle we saw occurring in the alcoholic who is forever bingeing, insightfully repenting and bingeing again. Suicide, of course, would be the ultimate perversion of a desire to transcend self. Many of the so-called "mystical experiences" during psychosis or other states of mind undergo a similar kind of abortion. Often they are felt to be "awakenings," and the accompanying psychological fireworks are seen as evidence of personal extraordinariness. Hallucinogenic experiences take this familiar course: having briefly experienced the potential beyond self and having seen through the beguiling machinery of continual self-reorientation, the experience frequently deteriorates into arrogance and paranoia. 2 Unlike the conventional psychological models of "ego" that view an identity as formed bit by bit from childhood through adolescence to form a vehicle that carries one to adult life, the history of sanity exposes the quest for identity as a perpetual crisis. In adults it can be recognized as a primordial anxiety. In children it may translate itself into a sense offragility or a threat to bodily survival. The perpetual crisis is not in failing to achieve a substantial enough identity but in recognizing that it is an unstable state, a delusion, and always falling apart. Thus the history of neurosis points to the anxiety, self-consciousness and embarrassment of self-fabrication, while the history of sanity emphasizes the clarity of perception behind the anxiety. The first hint of a longing to transcend self and an urge toward a fresh state can be provoked by experiences of body-mind synchronization. People in morbid states of mind, even in the grip of self- hatred, have said that their nihilistic depression dissolved in a moment while somehow "engrossed in activity." Ordinary everyday experiences, in particular the disciplines of art forms, provide a glimpse beyond walled-off territory, beyond the hesitations imposed by identification. When these glimpses occur, one's curiosity begins to heighten further. The Urge for Discipline F ROM THE point of repulsion or nausea and then a longing to transcend one's conditioned personality, there usually develops a desire for action towards making things more straightforward: a sense of pruning or paring down. A natural movement develops that has the quality of renewed energy. With it one feels a sense of urging towards simplicity and discipline. It could be as simple as beginning to make schedules for daily activities The History of Sanity in Contemplative Psychotherapy 139 or meeting a therapist with regularity. It could happen ina moment of cleaning one's desk before working. The urge for discipline may develop over a long period of time or it may appear in a moment. From the point of view of the history of sanity the therapist would be particularly curious about the details of the experiences of discipline that have taken place in another person's life. The reasons why the history of discipline should be so precise are twofold: to find out exactly wl:mt another person understands by the natq.re of discipline and what his or her relationship has been to it; and secondly, because there is a possibility that within that discipline, there has occurred some insight into how mind and body work. Everyone seems to have a basic curiosity about how mind works and thif3 can be provoked even in periods of extreme disinterest or distraction. On looking into the nature of discipline, one often finds that one has learned more than one realizes. The practice of a discipline might have sharpened one's accuracy to perceive smaller moments of psychological time. It might be exactly that quality of prE')cision that will allow for the recovery of health. An episode of discipline often stands out. OnE') woman, who for several years drifted around the country and wandered from one source of entertainment to another until her aimlessness ended in despair and (3uicidal preoccupation, recalled a year of her otherwise futile college experience during which she went swimming every day. Not a very dramatic memory, but the daily discipline had become a focus of her life; she had a sense of "taking care" of herself properly. Consequently, she studied in a more orderly way and felt some sense of development taking phl.Ce. Rejection by a boyfriend ended all this. Her statement, "If only I had that kind of energy again," turned out to be a comment on the accuracy and effort that resulted from her si:rnple discipline. Within such episodes of personal discipline, people often talk of a feeling of dignity, not necessarily because they were happy, but because there was a senf3e of dOIng something correctly and relating straightforwardly and pointedly to the rest oftheir lives, Each seemingly mundane attempt at discipline carries within it the urge to work with one's state of mind, by directly connecting or synchronizing physical and mental activity. It might be athletics, survival disciplines, art forms, cooking, collecting stamps---,-any of which can become highly discriminating disciplines that sharpen the senses and create further vividness and appreciation for the sensory world. The history ofthe experience of discipline and "settling down" can give us important clues about working with people. How does a person relate to that discipline? What is the experience of effort? Is there a love-hate relationship with the discipline? What did they learn from it about cutting daydreams and taming the mind? How do they expand that to other activities? Who were their teachers and what were they like? These experiences can become directly intertwined with the psychotherapeutic relationship. The discipline ofthe relationship itself can become a prototype of how one works with one's state of mind and life situations in general. When the musician in the state of mania, who was mentioned before, became irritated by even the most simple daily structure that might harness his energy, he said, "It's too much for me. I can't do it." When asked what he would reply to his young music student who voiced the same hesitation many times, he said, "I would tell him to start again and take it very, very slowly." His own advice soon became a useful guideline to the psychotherapy. Yet, any discipline can become perverted into the service of neurosis, providing all the possibilities for escape, avoidance and trance states. That is, the discipline may be distorted into an activity which causes disconnection between body and mind, leaving mind unanchored, out of COntrol and free to hallucinate. From this point of view, the relevant history of neurosis involvef3 curiosity about how such disciplines were lost, where and why they broke down, how they were perverted, and how the feeling of dignity was lost. Compassion T HE HISTORY of longing toward compassionate action is continually present in the lives of our patients. It is this compassion that is the key to psychotherapeutic work of any kind. Generally, we see cQmpassion as arising out of the development of basic warmth toward oneself, but most of our patients are particularly undeveloped in this area. In fact, it is usually obvious that much self-hatred has accumulated over the years. Nevertheless, patients manifest compassionate 140 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 urgings, even in moments of extreme despair, and are unable to recognize them. An elderly woman whom I worked with for several months said, "I have become obsessed with myself; I don't seem to care for anyone else anymore." I replied that that couldn't be true because I felt her recently caring a lot about me. In some types of psychopathology; compassionate longing takes a particularly disfigured form, as in the undercurrent of messianic megalomania, It appears that, when compassion is frozen, either situationally or developmentally, it undergoes a perverse form of development. From the point of view of the history of sanity, the therapist can b ~ g i n to recognize, even within the crudest symptoms, aspects of healthiness. This means that psychopathology is not something to be eliminated but to be worked with in its momentary detail, because it is primarily seen as the result of obstruction to intelligent impulses. Because of the history of discipline, both therapist and patient should be able to become acutely precise about the chain-linking states of mind particular to any psychopathology. The therapist might weave back and forth between the accuracy of the patient's real discipline-for example, skiing-and bring that same precision to bear on the patient's symptom offear, paranoia, the wish to regress, to sleep. When a therapist begins to recognize the enormous richness and fertility of another person's psychopathology, a relaxation appears that allows one to begin working with people exactly as they are, without the slightest desire to change them. In fact, out ofthat, a vivid sense of appreciation for the other develops. I recall many delightful hours I spent with a young woman recovering from psychosis, turning the accuracy she developed during her competitive skiing career toward the phenomena of thoughts escalating out of control into hallucination. Recently, I was pleased to find myselftalking with a diminutive but rugged ex-jockey who was determined to ride through a violent alcoholism. I wondered what he knew about how to hold his seat on a wild horse on the verge of being out of control. It is just this quality of appreciation and heightened curiosity that makes "burn-out" out of the question. It is this very same progression-from compassion to appreciation and vividness-that our patients need to make to recover genuine health. Once I worked with a woman in her seventies who had been in a state of deteriorating depression and alcoholism for three years. She was obese and slouched but also manifested the robustness and courage of her earlier life as a farm woman building a home on the great plains. She said she "just wanted to die"; more than that, she was "already dead." She felt that she had completely lost her connection with the outside world. Nothing struck her any more. Nothing moved her or inspired her: colors failed to excite her, birds were of no interest, and even as she watched her young grandchildren playing she was appalled by her lack offeeling for them. Her mind was obsessed with the following recycling obsession: "What has happened to me ... I am a monstrosity ... I am losing my mind .. .I want to die, I must go to sleep." But she was also severely insomniac. She would sit in a chair at home churning her obsessive thoughts, immobilized in a state of daydreaming. She dreaded her lack of energy, though at one time she had had a relentless enthusiasm for work; she was unable to concentrate on any detail, although she had been a superb craftswoman at patchwork quilting. Passion arose in psychotherapy. In turn, it awakened her love for her husband, which over the years had become frozen by fear and ambivalence. Her dreams were filled with glowing warmth about the way "things used to be"- energetic, warm and childishly joyful. They were patently nostalgic and provoked her irritation with the way she was living. Then there came a time when she delightedly schemed to win back her husband, to seduce him out ofthe torpor and constriction that he called his "old age." Along with this, there gradually developed an increasing interest in her perceptual world, an appreciation for her environment, and then insight into the patchwork quality of her depression. The course ofthe relationship showed that kind of progression which later could be seen happening even within one psychotherapeutic session. It was not as though the course oftherapy did not have some serious interruptions, but the repeated sequence of passion, opening toward concern for others beyond an impoverished self, leading to a more general appreciation and vividness, had a cumulative effect. The recovery of her health was inseparable from the recovery of her compassion. The History o/Sanity in Contemplative Psychotherapy 141 The experience of compassion and its relationship to recovery is rarely talked about in psychotherapeutic writings. One striking exception is Harold Searles who refers to "a therapeutic devotion that all human beings share." He says, "1 am hypothesizing that the patient is ill because, and to the degree that, his own psychotherapeutic strivings have been subjected to such vicissitudes that they have been rendered inordinately intense, frustrated of fulfillment or even acknowledgement, and admixed therefore with unduly intense elements of hate, envy and competitiveness." He goes so far as to say, "1 know of no other determinant of psychological illness that compares in ideological importance, with this one." About the course of recovery, he has observed, "The more ill a patient is, the more does his successful treatment require that he become, and be implicitly acknowledged as having become, a therapist to his officially designated therapist ... "3 When such strivings are not acknowledged, their sudden upsurge in the form of selfless devotion could become intoxicating because they expand so vastly. It could become a compassion run wild. In fact, this is related to the fifty-year habitual tendency to manic-depressive cycles experienced by the elderly farm woman. When faced with an exploding generosity and warmth, the compassion turned aggressive and became only a burden to others. Then the object of passion became an object of disapproval and rejection. That sequence, which could be seen in a single hour, was the seed of psychotic depression, because any feeling of sanity or worthwhileness that she felt was directly dependent on her compassionate strivings. The permutations of passion and compassion are of course endless, and the forms are completely individual. But experience shows that people recover when their compassion is more fully developed. This is why the unfolding or the journey of compassion within the psychotherapeutic relationship is such a crucial factor in the awakening of one's history of sanity. Environment of Clarity P SYCHOTHERAPY CAN be a specialized environment where the history of sanity is articulated and acknowledged. One's active relationship to basic wakefulness or intrinsic health could begin at that point. Many moments of any psychotherapeutic encounter are marked by a sense of clarity and complete presence. Actually, such moments are continually happening throughout our lives. Even our dreams bear the imprint of this intelligence. At the moment of awakening from a dream, we frequently find that the whole dream experience is totally clear, translucent and even brilliant. At that moment we are beyond reflection, before interpretation or analysis. The dream is vivid and clear, without subterfuge or disguise. It is a naked experience of clarity that becomes clouded over and forgotten. These barely perceptible moments of clarity are highlighted within the context of disciplines that synchronize or balance body and mind. A young rock climber bitterly complained about the meaninglessness and oppressiveness of his life. His ordinary adolescent life was sullen and confused but while climbing he felt accomplished and thoroughly awake. No matter what problems occupied him in his internal dialogue, while climbing they were cut through as every foothold and piton placement became a life-or-death possibility. Within that framework, he described how he would work with the tendency of his mind to wander. The accuracy of his discipline sharpened his ability to notice shifts or transition states of mind. At that point he would allow himself to come back to the sensation of his body hugging rock or the wind whipping around him. If this was particularly difficult, he would remind himselfto wake up with the saying, "Come to your senses!" It was not just the exhilaration of accomplishment that he longed for but also the sense of sharpness and precision that can arise out of fear. When such experiences were clarified and he could appreciate them within the context of psychotherapy, he became able to recognize their natural and spontaneous occurrences in the less dramatic aspects of his life. In the same way, he began to recognize the effort that was required to notice the elastic drifts and returns of his state of mind. But this longing for clarity might have some perverse variations. People might put themselves in extremely frightening situations in order to experience moments of clarity, as in the ritualistic preparations for some types of self-mutilation, or the fearful drama of recurrent suicide attempts. There are also more subtle forms of perversion such as the manic "flight of ideas," which may be an attempt to cover over any moment of gap or 142 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 doubt, or the "pressure of speech," which can become a systematic resistance to coming back to the senses or the situation. Eventually they become mindlessness practices to produce altered states of consciousness. Perhaps this is the ultimate meaning of the word resistance: an unwillingness or an incapacity to experience intrinsic health. It may even lead to pain, envy or paranoia when wakefulness is experienced in the therapeutic environment. The clarity of the therapeutic environment is crucially involved in the practice of psychotherapy. The qualities of wakefulness, crispness, simplicity and dignity provide an extremely important environment for patients to observe the shifts in their state of mind. It is that kind of atmosphere that might be the provocation that awakens one to the natural history of sanity. Courage F INALLY, IT is important to talk about courage and history. In his autobiographical journals, Charles Darwin asks, "Why don't the psychologists ever talk about courage?" Darwin traveled widely during his development as a field biologist and also became something of an anthropologist. He came to feel that courage was the most significant factor in allowing individuals and tribes to survive and propagate their culture, even in the most remote places and extreme conditions of isolation and loneliness. Darwin was no stranger to fear, loneliness and courage. It could be said that Darwin's courage was the primary factor in his struggle between confidence and debilitating neurosis. He held back for some thirty years the explosive announcement ofthe non-theistic origin of the species. During that time he suffered with his own cycle of confidence, fear and isolation while he amassed overwhelming evidence. But before that, his nightmares were concerned with the murder of God, the destruction of his father's well-being, and the ransacking of t4e deepest convictions of his culture. In the end, he would publicly be accused of exactly that. Before he could make his outrageous statements however, symptoms developed. He developed a profound revulsion toward aggression, especially his own. Each occasion of confidence that arose in his investigations faced him with the action he might have to take and its fearful deterioration into aggressive pride. He would then collapse in punishing headaches and exhausting physical illnesses of unaccountable origin. His courage was continually fluctuating. It was only through the force of circumstances and his deep friendship with a group of naturalists turned street-fighters that he was able to persevere. Because the experience of courage in the history of sanity is so connected with the experience of fear, it is useful to look into the psychological structure of fear at a moment-to- moment level. Fear is particularly observable during the stages of recovery from a psychosis, when one feels so vulnerable and tender. One young woman vividly described a cycle offear occurring throughout the day that turned her "blood into ice-water" and culminated in shaking chills that made her irresistibly drawn to return to bed to crawl under the covers to sleep. This was especially exaggerated at the moment of awakening in the morning. At first, her descriptions were only of intense fear. When her attention was turned toward the nature of that fear, she began to notice a preliminary phase of "overwhelming brightness." Then there appeared the thoughts, "I can't go on, I can't get up." She felt herself pulled back to "dimness, warmth and coziness." From there she would begin to indulge in fantasies of safety that progressively enclosed her in a dream. Coming out ofthat state took excruciating effort, and any interruption was met with aggression. Gradually, the oscillation between brightness and fear was seen in a variety of life situations and was understood to be an exaggerated habitual regressive tendency accumulated over many years of psychotic episodes. On the one hand, her psychotherapy consisted of arousing her courage to work directly with her fear, and on the other hand, her environment was arranged so that she could relate with many courageous people. Even in the case of what seems to be irreversible damage, we find that a quality of courage is not only necessary for recovery but is the nature of health itself. There is much to learn from the case ofthe warrior Zasetsky.4 His life as an enthusiastic engineering student was interrupted by war, during which he manned a flame-thrower on the Russian front. There he endured a penetrating brain wound to his left parieto-occipital cortex. The resulting disability was vast and every aspect of his life seemed damaged beyond repair. His memory, cognition, and perceptions were all in The History of Sanity in Contemplative Psychotherapy 143 disarray and he lived in a "terrible body" which he could no longer recognize. His aphasia was almost complete and he could not communicate even his fragmented world. He suffered from severe attacks of "catastrophic reaction" with the usual progression of confusion! fearlstupor/grief/denial and outrage. Intense headaches and incomparable fatigue exhausted his endurance. He found himself "waiting for the nightmare to be over," but eventually began to realize the hopelessness of either waiting or suicide. He said, "I can't just wait until I wake up," and he resolved "to start all over again ... without a past ... to make bits and pieces into a coherent whole ... to break out ofthe. fog ... never give up." He began to work directly with the ground of his damage. Over the years he gradually developed practices that allowed him to partially circumvent the defects in his neurological circuitry. His journal of twenty-five years was one such painstaking practice, through which he felt he discovered further depths of patience and tenacity and the possibility of a fresh start within illness itself. Throughout it all, his major inspiration was to ''be useful. .. to contribute to others about how to live beyond helplessness" and what it means "to be human." The experience of psychotherapy teaches us about aspects of courage, that of the patient and that of the therapist. The patient's courage takes many forms-for example, the effort to follow a path out of addiction or the weaning fro:m. chronic psychoactive medications. The therapist's courage also takes diverse forms, but the most comprehensive of all is the ability to be in a relationship beyond memory, repetition, or transference. But if such a relationship is not guided by a variety of personal practices it could become dangerous. The extreme might be therapeutic megalomania or lesser forms of what used to be called "furor therapeuticus." Something quite interesting occurs when the therapist practices the various disciplines of courage: Courage becomes a quality of the therapeutic relationship, and as that expands into the total therapeutic environment, it begins to attract and motivate the intelligence and healthiness of everyone involved. The practice of psychotherapy involves a therapist in the whole sequence of events, from revulsion to courage, just as it does the patient. The conventional psychotherapies have attempted to describe in great detail the history of neurosis or pathology, but even the most useful, such as the concept of "developmental lines" described by Anna Freud,5 neglect the developmental line of mind: wakefulness, inquisitiveness and curiosity. A genuine contemplative psychotherapy adds that crucially missing dimension, the training and study of mind. This was understood by William J ames from his observations of nitrous oxide intoxication, psychosis, and religious conversions, but he was unable to follow through with his studies because he lacked a framework or discipline to continue. 6 The various disciplines of contemplative psychotherapy can vastly extend our understanding of mind and relationships. When oile trains in this way, one naturally becomes interested in history from the point of view of sanity, and that gives rise to the development of compassion. From the perspective of the history of sanity, it is apparent that the pathway of psychotherapeutic training has the same form as the pathway to recovery from illness. Notes 1. Perceval, J. (1961). Perceval's narrative; a patient's account of his psychosis, 1830-1832 (G. Bateson, Ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 2. Michaux, H. (1974). The major ordeals of the mind, and countless minor ones (R. Howard, Trans.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 3. Searles, H. (1979). The patient as therapist. In Countertransference and related subjects. New York: International Universities Press. 4. Luria, A. R. (1972). The man with a shattered world; the history of a brain wound (L. Solotaroff, Trans.). New York: Basic Books. 5. Freud,A. (1966). Normalcy and pathology in childhood. New York: International Universities Press. 6. James, W. (1961). Psychology: Briefer course. New York: Dover. (Original work published 1892): The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. No one is compos sui if he have it not. An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence. But it is easier to define this ideal than to give practical direction for bringing it about. (p. 424) 144 The International Journal of Trans persona I Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Altered States of Consciousness and Psychotherapy A Cross-Cultural Perspective Mario Simoes Psychiatric University Clinic Lisbon, Portugal The main physiological and induced Altered States of Consciousness CASCs) are outlined as well as methods of induction. The phenomenology of ASCs is described and related to psychopathology. A short commentary is given about ASCs used in some ethnopsychotherapies. Psychotherapies of Western origin using ASCs, especially hypnosis, Holotropic Breathwork, and Personalized Experiential Restructuralization Therapy CPast-LifelRegression Therapy) are outlined and discussed. Altered. (Waking) States of Consciousness (ASCs) ULTURAL ISSUES were included, although in a limited fashion, in the diagnostic man- uals ICD-10 (World Health Organization, 1992) and DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Asso- ciation, 1994). As Fabrega (1995) points out, the study of the cultural sciences as they pertain to psychiatry offers a necessary corrective to the in- creasing impersonality and reductionism that has come to characterize the neurobiological ap- proach. A major enterprise in cultural psychia- try in recent years has been the integration of clinical science and anthropology (Minas, 1996). This paper is also an attempt to make such an integration. It deals with a psychological phenom- enon that is rooted in the cultural life of a wide variety of peoples and which has only recently come to the attention of Western researchers, in spite of a long European tradition in research on Altered States of Consciousness (Beringer, 1927; Stoll, 1947). There is a current view that accepts the existence of different levels of reality, according to the state of consciousness (level) which an individual is in at the moment. Normal daily consciousness (the ordinary state of consciousness) gives access to an ordinary reality, but altered states of consciousness, for example, in dreaming, permit contact with a nonordinary reality. Less familiar forms of consciousness are those categorized under the general designation of altered states of consciousness (ASC). These should be understood as altered or modified in relation to the waking state of consciousness, since this ordinary state of consciousness can be considered, itself, an unusual state, impossible to maintain for long, and secured only by a modicum of perceptual intake and continuous interior discourse (Gowan, 1978). In fact, a discrete fluctuation in the ordinary state of consciousness exists, giving rise to what Tart (1975) calls discrete states of mind. An ASC is present when there is a deviation in subjective experience or psychological functioning from certain general norms for that individual, recognized by the subject or observers (Kokoszka, 1987; Ludwig, 1966). Some authors (Dittrich, von Arx, & Staub, 1986) add some other features to this basic definition: 1. Every ASC has certain verbally comprehen- sible features which occur only infrequently during the normal waking state. The number of such differential characteristics determines the state of an ASC on dimensions ranging from the normal waking state to an extreme ASC. The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 145-152 145 2002 by Panigada Press 2. ASCs normally last for only a few minutes to hours, which is an important difference from psychiatric diseases. 3. ASCs are self-induced, that is, they are usually voluntarily induced, or may occur in the normal way oflife. They are not the result of illness or adverse social circumstances. 4. The various means of inducing ASC can be grouped into four types: (a) hallucinogens of the first order (e.g., LSD, DMT, THC); (b) hallucinogens of the second order (e.g., Scopolamine, nitrous oxide); (c) reduction of environmental stimulation or contact in the broadest sense (e.g., sensory deprivation, meditation, falling asleep, awakening); and (d) increased environmental stimulation and contact (e.g., intense rhythmic stimulation, extremely variable stimuli). U sing the APZ (Abnorme psychische Zustaende) questionnaire (Dittrich, 1975) for scanning ASCs of the different types mentioned above, various authors in different countries (Dittrich, vonArx, & Staub, 1986; Simoes, Po16nio, von Arx, Staub, & Dittrich, 1986) found that some common characteristics of ASCs remained sufficiently stable under different methods of induction. Analyses on a dimensional level identified three primary subscales, positively intercorrelated, and designated as follows with regard to content: (1) Oceanic Boundlessness; (2) Dread of Ego-Dissolution; and (3) Visionary Restructuralization. The first subscale describes a state similar to mystical experiences; the second subscale contains features which indicate a very unpleasant state, similar to what is called a "bad trip" by drug users and similar to some symptoms in schizophrenia; and the third subscale includes items on visual (pseudo)hallucinations: visions, illusions and coenaesthetic hallucinations, or a change of significance of the surroundings. As Dittrich, von Arx, and Staub (1986) point out, referring to Huxley (1961), it could be said that the three primary etiology-independent aspects of ASCs correspond to Heaven, Hell, and Visions. Altered States of Consciousness and Society A SCs, even when recognized in Western soci- eties, still possess negative connotations. They are labeled as different, irrational, strange, abnormal, or pathological. This is more likely to happen if these states emerge spontaneously, because the so-called "functional" psychiatric dis- eases also arise in an apparently spontaneous way. An acute paranoid syndrome triggered by marijuana, in its early stages, is very similar to an acute schizophrenic episode, giving some sup- port to the classification of an acute paranoid syndrome as an ASC (Simoes, 1995). The phe- nomenology included in the three subscales men- tioned above can be present simultaneously in a psychotic and in a spiritual/mystical experience, but the degree of involvement of each subscale is different in the two kinds of experience (Dittrich, 1988). These data indicate the possibility that both experiences may have a common psycho- physiologial basis, such as a common path of fi- nal expression. As Mandell (1982) admitted, this common path may "reflect the neurobiological mechanisms underlying transcendence, God in the brain," or, metaphorically, the brain as a ho- logram of the all-one. But the question remains whether a givenASC is to be considered pathological. Its classification as pathological is not strictly based on biological or phenomenological criteria, for the stigma of pathology can as well be seen as a measure of social control (Dittrich, 1996). Crombach (1974) believes that ASCs would lose their strange and "irrational" character if they were considered as "another" way of getting knowledge or "framing reality." Pathological ASCs should be recognized as those that arise spontaneously and present the following characteristics: (1) they are a dominant experience in daily life; (2) they serve to enable the experiencer to avoid the necessity of finding adequate solutions for the problems of daily life; and (3) the context in which they emerge provides no cognitive or social structures with which those ASCs can be dealt with. The last situation, for example, is the case where societies, although used to spontaneous or induced ASCs, cannot integrate in their cultural frame the ego dissolution experienced by schizophrenic patients (Scharfetter, 1990). Ethnological studies (Bourguignon, 1973) indicate that in ninety percent of societies quoted in the Ethnographic Atlas (Murdock, 1967),ASCs are used for some social events, so one can speak of them as an anthropological constant. Earlier on, ASCs were thought to be an uncommon experience in Western societies, and those 146 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 experiencing them did not talk about the subject, fearing to be considered psychiatric patients. But now, the results of a survey conducted by Hay (1982) have been confirmed (Kokoszka, 1989; Valla, 1992) and indicate fifty-four percent ofthe population experiencing a "deep" (mystic-like) ASC, whereas eighty-four percent referred to some form of "slight" (alteration in reality feeling and disturbance of cognitive process) ASC, occurring more often in religious situations than in everyday situations or during cognitive processes. The tendency to emphasize rationality and intersubjective communication makes an ASC more likely to be considered abnormal. It evokes fear of mental disease because it does not conform to experiential stereotypes. It should be noted that relaxation techniques, socially spread as meditation or autogenic training, can be followed by ASCs. In Western societies, mystic-like ASCs can be considered as a healing mechanism (Lukoff, Turner, & Lu, 1992; Valla, 1992). Altered States of Consciousness in Ethnopsychotherapy M ANY NONINDUSTRIAL cultures employ ASCs in various spiritual and healing rituals. Anthropologists have used phrases such as trance or possession states to describe these practices. Psychologists have used other terms to describe them in Western cultures: hypnotic states, mystical experiences, and hysterical dissociation are some examples (Jilek, 1989). Differences among these states are considered to be more cultural than psychological or neurophysiological in nature. The capacity to enter into an ASC is common to all human beings, but frequency is a function of social and cultural variables. Among these, there is the possibility that an individual may be required to fulfill certain social roles in the culture, to practice certain permitted "roles" sometimes sought after in that culture to satisfy social, personal, or other healing needs. Some cultures use ASCs in healing rituals that are similar to Western psychotherapeutic tech- niques. These rituals may employ psychoactive plants (Rios, 1989) or rhythmic stimuli such as dancing or drumming (Jilek, 1989) in the induc- tion process, while in the Western psychothera- peutic context, other means (e.g., sensory overload or deprivation, with or without guided visualiza- tion) are generally preferred. There is no contra- diction here because according to the current un- derstanding of the interdependence of the mind- body, psychological processes affect biochemical changes and vice versa. When we study ASCs in different cultural set- tings, the first problem we must face is whether these states are internally consistent or dependent upon social or cultural factors (Ward, 1989). The data indicate that these positions are not antago- nistic. Although behavior during ASCs in some aspects can be different, ways of induction, and social and cultural objectives exhibit some simi- larities. There is not always social and functional equivalence, however, even when neurophysiolog- ical mechanisms are common. The greatest dif- ference between what is observed in Western cul- tures and those of other cultures in relation to psychotherapy has to do with causal attribution (Lambek, 1989). It is interesting to note that in Western societies there are different schools of psychotherapy, each with its own etiological mod- el of disease. Yoga Y OGA HAS been practiced in Asia for millennia and has often been used therapeutically in contemporary times to treat insomnia and other psychological problems (Hehr, 1987). A practitioner of yoga strives to become aware of corporeal sensations and perceptions, while keeping this bodily awareness free of ego involvement. To attain this state, one uses visualization techniques as well as physical postures, or asanas, frequently in combination with controlled breathing. This state has neurophysiological correlates which are similar to those observed in opium smokers (Hehr, 1987) -thus leading to the endorphin hypothesis for explaining these sensations associated with Yoga. Umbanda and Voodoo H EALING CEREMONIES in Umbanda (Brazil) and Voodoo (Haiti) cults contain psychophysical techniques which manipulate consciousness. According to U mbanda, the etiology of disorders is centered on supernatural fluids that are prejudicial because of ethical-religious errors, magic, spiritual and karmic forces, or derived from an underdeveloped mediumship. Therapy is executed by a medium in an ASC under the influence of a spirit of a deceased person that Altered States of Consciousness and Psychotherapy 147 blows away those fluids. Many clients themselves seek to become mediums, which brings them social prestige and assists in the cure. Voodoo technique is partly similar to Umbanda, and both aim to promote social and psychological integration (Pressel, 1987). The types of "spirit" that orient therapy, through the medium, which are the caboclo (handsome man), preto velho (old man), crianr:;a (child), and exu (a supernatural being), represent aspects of a socially well-adapted personality, which explains the frequency with which they appear in terreiros (ceremony playgrounds) (Pressel, 1987). Voodoo ceremonies are not principally for healing as in Umbanda-and animal sacrifice is often involved. The concept of supernatural fluids permits the medium an approach to modern neurophysiological and biochemical correlates on one hand and the social relations ofthe patient and other persons on the other hand. It can be seen as part of an organized, integrative effort by that society to satisfy the need of its members to know life's meaning, as well as a biological need for a cure (Pressel, 1987). Induction processes used are dance, mainly around the body axis, and rhythmic drumming and hand clapping. These belong to the category, listed earlier, of ASC induction by sensory overload with simultaneous rhythmic monotony. Both rhythms belong to the EEG theta frequency (4-7 hertz/second) which is the most common frequency found in ceremonies that lead to trance (Jilek, 1989) and is confirmed in ceremonies accompanied by rhythmic batuque in Siberia, Haiti, Africa, and Indonesia (Neher, 1962). American Indian Dance H EALING CEREMONIES through dance have also been observed among North American Indians (Salish, Algonquians, Kiowa; Jilek, 1989). The patient is brought into an ASC, following the instructions of an "initiator" and helped by the community. Production of these ASCs generally occurs without use of hallucinogenic drugs (e.g., peyote, psilocybin). These states are provoked through waking-sleep variations, hypo- and hyper- ventilation, or rhythmic acoustic and motor stimulation (Jilek, 1989). Considering this type of therapy from a Western point of view, various therapeutic parameters are clear: occupational and activation therapy, group psychotherapy, cathartic abreaction, psychodrama, suggestive support, and physical exercises. The psychosocial function of these ritualistic dances with healing properties can be interpreted as a way to obtain emotional and spiritual well-being and responsibility and self-esteem for autochthones, especially in modern times when they have difficulties in finding their identity in a society dominated by white North Americans (Jilek, 1989). Altered States of Consciousness in Western Psychotherapies Because hypnosis, bodywork, and so-called "image work" are currently popular, I will briefly consider them. Hypnosis A WELL-KNOWN joke is that the first use of hypnosis was when God hypnotized Adam in order to take his rib for the creation of Eve. While this may be stretching things a bit, hypnosis is certainly an ancient technique, in use for millennia. We find the phenomenology of hypnosis in Egyptian sleep temples, for example, as well as in numerous other sites around the world. Many famous physicians were involved in the development of hypnosis in one way or another: among them, Paracelsus, Mesmer, Faria, Braid, Charcot, Freud, Pavlov, and Janet. The Portuguese Abade Faria is notable in that he was the first to consider hypnosis to be a state of autosuggestion. Interest in hypnosis is still strong (Burrows & Stanley, 1995; Walter, 1995; Araoz, 1998). The hypnotic state (as opposed to the practice of inducing hypnosis) can be defined as an ASC characterized by attentive and receptive concentration with a relative suspension of peripheral awareness (Spiegel & Spira, 1993). To date, neurophysiological or clinical correlates have not been found to be specific to this state (Walter, 1995), which is why some authors claim that it does not exist at all (Barber, 1970; Wagstaff, 1981). Others see it as self-controlled behavior by individuals in response to demanding social roles, while being present as passive actors in a drama in which they could lose control (Spanos, 1989). Still others think that a true ASC is involved as well as learned responses to social roles (Hilgard, 1986; Tart, 1975). Experiences and behavior under hypnosis are associated with a subjective conviction similar to 148 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 delusion, and with a sense of unwillingness similar to compulsion (Kihlstrom, 1985). These aspects have contributed to some popular misconceptions: that hypnosis is a dream; that it is passive (something one does to somebody else); that everyone is hypnotizable; that it is dangerous; that it is therapeutic per se; or that it is a special susceptibility or spiritual weakness. Hypnotic susceptibility can be evaluated through tests, and it is influenced by the rapport or trusting relationship that is established between the therapist and patient. In hypnosis, "resistance" does not come from the patient, as in psychoanalysis, but from a failure in rapport. The success of the session depends also on hypnotic susceptibility, which has also been shown to vary widely among different people, and to vary in individuals over their lifetime. Hypnotizability seems to be something that is inherited, in that parents who are easily hypnotized are more likely to have children who share this susceptibility (Matthews, Conti, & Starr, 1998). Methods of induction are based on monotonous rhythmic stimuli in an environment of little or no other acoustic or visual input. Trance levels range from hypnoidal to somnolent states, and some of the different phenomena which can be observed include hallucination, anesthesia, age regression, and post-hypnotic suggestion. The spectrum of possible use is wide-ranging from the treatment of phobias and multiple personality disorder, to modern research on traumatic childhood memories (Kluft, 1995). Hypnotic-like procedures are found in Shamanism, and native practitioners utilize the same human capacities (Krippner, 1999; Richeport, 1987). Krippner (1999), as a cross-cultural psychologist, remarks that the human psyche cannot be extricated from the historically variable and diverse "intentional worlds" in which it plays a co-constituting part. There is another therapeutic technique in some Western countries that also uses hypnosis-spirit releasement therapy-developed by Baldwin (1993). Such an approach will stretch or overstep the bounds of some therapists' credulity and it is advised that psychotherapists who do this type of work have a working knowledge of metaphysics, spirituality, and nonphysical levels of reality (Wicker, 2000). There is some controversy about the use of hypnosis in recovering repressed memories (Yapko, 1995) that would not exist if therapists were more careful about verifying subjective "certainty." Of course, material obtained under hypnosis must be considered as deserving further research-especially when suspicion of sexual abuse persists. Hypnosis can be considered an ASC similar to others common in daily life (e.g., relaxing, reading a book in deep concentration), but different from the normal waking state in relation to dreaming or sleep, where the distinction between these is stable both for humans and other mammals (Stengers, 1993). Holotropic Breathwork T HE NAME ofthis psychotherapy-holotropic- derives from the Greek, meaning both "whole" and "moving toward." Developed by Grof (1979), this method facilitates altered states of conscious- ness by means of conscious breathing, evocative music, and focused bodywork. Grof's research led him to a map of consciousness with three levels: the biographical, perinatal (related to traumas of biological birth), and the transpersonal (expe- riences supposed to happen in a time and space out of the ordinary frame). The holotropic ap- proach is intended to bring into consciousness content from the unconscious that has a strong emotional charge and is relevant from a psycho" dynamic point of view (Grof, 1996). In this therapy, symptoms are seen as the first stage of healing. Though the majority of emotional problems have their roots in childhood, others originate in the other aforementioned levels. A resolution of problems means letting the patient experience the other levels associated with the problems under treatment. Grof (1996) uses holotropic breathwork to activate the self- healing potential guided by one's own deep inner intelligence. Personalized Experiential Restructuralization Therapy (Past-Life! Regression Therapy) T HIS DESCRIPTIVE title is intended to summarize and integrate what in some circles is known as "Past-Life/Regression Therapy," recent discoveries on imagery (Achterberg, 1985), and clinical applications of nondrug-induced states (Budzinski, 1986). In its early days, this therapy referred to a concept somehow strange to Western culture-the notion of reincarnation-the Altered States o/Consciousness and Psychotherapy 149 possibility that an individual could experience various lives in different bodies in different times and cultures through the agency of an immortal spirit or soul. This idea is not strange for many Eastern societies and can even be found in some Western cultural circles. Because it is beyond the scope of this work, I will not discuss reincarnation here, although there is a growing literature of rigorous scientific investigations into the matter (Stevenson, 1970, 1983; Andrade, 1988; Keil, 1994). This brief introduction makes clear that it is more neutral to call the therapy "Personalized Experiential Restructuralization Therapy." Being symbolic in nature, imagination permits representations ofthings that do not exist or which are approximations of reality. It is a capacity that allows elaboration of concepts or precognitions which would be impossible to realize in any other way. The graphic representation of mental disorder in a patient's inner world is sometimes like a Bosch picture. In reality though, one's world is more similar to daily life than to the representations of Bosch. There are cognitive distortions leading to fantasies, logically unsolvable, but able to be represented in consciousness. This imaginative potential can be used for healing purposes when combined with an ASC (Achterberg, 1985). This procedure is based on hypnosis, and has been used by Wambach (1978) in an effort to obtain answers to certain questions. For example, some seek proof of memories of a supposed past life or to discover areas in the mind able to be activated under hypnosis but not in the waking state. Others that have contributed to "regressive" therapy include Netherton and Shiffrin (1978), who called it "Past- Life Therapy." The idea of exploring reincarnation is close to the therapeutic concept that a patient must reexperience the primal trauma to exhaust emotion tied to it. It is arguable whether or not hypnosis is being used since patients remain awake and in contact with the therapist in a dreamlike situation, oscillating in alpha-theta EEG frequency (Simoes et aI., 1998). It does not matter if experiences are true or not; what is important is that an event is experienced in a personalized way. These scenes can be dramatizations of unconscious material, facts experienced in a supposed past life or really in the biographic life-whatever they are, they are always accepted as they "happen" (Peres, 1992). It seems that believing in reincarnation is not important for success (Clark, 1995), and sometimes the contents of experiences have nothing to do with past lives (Baldwin, 1993). The growing importance of these issues is indicated by the appearance of several journals and a handbook devoted to the subject (Lucas, 1993). As in any psychotherapy, rapport is very important and is a very good clinical indicator in relation to the success of treatment. Induction of the ASC varies, depending on the author or therapist in question; hyperventilation, minimalist music, autogenic training, or hypnotic suggestions can all be used. The experience must be accomplished in the evolutional stages (in the womb, birth, childhood, and adulthood) and involve experiences that the patient attributes to past lives. Some of these experiences are evoked through a bodily stimulus that lets the patient reexperience bodily sensations (Woolger, 2000). According to Peres (1992), each session takes nearly two hours and passes through several phases, the core of which is the subjectively identified trauma and, afterwards, a cognitive restructuralization is done by the patient, helped by the therapist. As in hypnosis, a "hidden observer" (Hilgard, 1986) controls emotions and the patient experiences only what he or she can comfortably handle. In this procedure the patient acts as therapist and works as a helper ofthe therapeutic process throughout the session. Afterwards, a positive suggestion for the future concerning the problem is made and the patient is brought slowly back to a normal waking state. Problematic personal relationships, phobias, and a lack of meaning and purpose in life have been the conditions most successfully treated with this therapy; addictions, weight problems, and depression have been cited as the least successfully treated (Clark, 1995). Some Final Considerations T HE FACTOR common to Western and shamanic psychotherapies consists in a reconciliation with one's destiny, social group, and the domain ofthe transpersonal. These objectives are attained with a modification of perspective in each ofthese three domains, within an ASC where there is an intense cathartic and dramatic experience conforming to the prevailing cultural concepts of disease, shared by patient and therapist. 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New York: Wiley. 152 The InternationalJournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter Wlodzislaw Duch Nicholas Copernicus University Torun, Poland Experiments with remote perception and Random Event Generators (REG) performed over the last decades show small but significant anomalous effects. Since these effects seem to be independent of spatial and temporal distance, they appear to be in disagreement with the standard scientific worldview. A very simple explanation of quantum mechanics is pre- sented, rejecting all unjustified claims about the world. A view of mind in agreement with cognitive neuroscience is introduced. It is argued that mind and consciousness are emer- gent properties of the brain and are understandable without any nonphysical assumptions. A plausible explanation of the results of anomalous experiments, based on the concept of synchronicity, introduced by C.G. Jung and advocated by W. Pauli, is offered. A proof is given that strong correlations should exist between any systems that once interacted. Synchronicity events between parts of the brain and physical objects may be sufficient to explain the results of anomalous experiments. Standard physics is sufficient to understand these phenomena. Motto: It would be most satisfactory if physics and psyche could be seen as complementary aspects of the same reality. -w. Pauli (In Jung & Pauli, 1952/1973) I. Introduction: On Mind and Matter P UBLICATION OF the Pauli-Jung corre- spondence (Pauli & Jung, 1992) leaves no doubt that Wolfgang Pauli devoted much thought to the concept of synchronicity, or the acausal synchronicity of meaningful events. This concept was introduced by C. G. Jung (Jung & Pauli, 1952/1973) in a book that also includes Pau- li's contribution. Despite many discussions of synchronicity that Pauli had with scientists work- ing at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, USA (where he spent his war years), the idea was somehow abandoned. Physicists were not ready to discuss acausal coincidences between events distant in time and space, mental experi- ences (dreams, intentions, thoughts), and mean- ing. Pauli himself was famous for creating trou- ble in laboratories he visited, and apparently he regarded this ''Pauli effect" as a manifestation of synchronicity. The wish that Pauli expressed more than forty years ago to see physics and psyche as complementary aspects of the same reality may slowly become manifest now, thanks to our deep- er understanding of the foundations of physics and the development of the cognitive sciences. Perceptual and cognitive processes are not passive but involve fitting the best models to the incoming data. Perceiving three-dimensional ob- jects with colors that are almost independent of illumination requires many assumptions that the brain has learned to make in the course of evolu- tion. Active perception leads to the metaphor of the brain as the "machine generating meaning" (Freeman, 1996), discriminating and evaluating everything from a subjective perspective. It is sufficient to see only those aspects of reality that may influence our decisions, so we do not see more. Looking for meaning is a great strategy facilitating survival in typical situations, but it also leads to finding meaningful patterns in ran- dom dots or shapes of the clouds. At the cogni- tive level the situation is analogous. We assume that "we" know "ourselves," but how can we real- ly know? We know by observing and making the- ories about our own behavior (Gopnik, 1993). The Internationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 153-168 153 2002 by Panigada Press These theories lead to deeply ingrained illusions about our minds. Understanding means relating new facts to old theories and personal beliefs. Cognitive science is based on systematic observations, theories that cannot be easily replaced by alternative ones. So many details about cognition are now understood that the introduction of new paradigms may be very difficult. The difficulties of a mathematical description of nature are progressively increasing at each step: classical physics is able to solve the two body problem exactly; in relativistic quantum mechanics exact solutions are obtained only for the one particle case; in quantum electrodynam- ics only the vacuum problem (zero particles) is exactly solvable; while in quantum chromodynam- ics even the vacuum problem is too difficult to be exactly solvable. Future grand unified theories will not be easier to understand or to apply. The solu- tion ofthe conceptual problems of physics and the cognitive sciences and the description of physical phenomena involving ordinary matter cannot lie in exotic physical theories. A unified view of mind and matter should be possible already within the present paradigms, or we may not be able to un- derstand such a theory at all. Since paradigms are so hard to change there is a natural tendency to dismiss all evidence that does not fit into an existing framework. In the last decades, a large number of experiments in- volving human operators have been performed, giving data that seem to be hard to understand within the scientific framework (Jahn & Dunne, 1987; Jahn, 1982; Schmidt, 1993; Puthoff & Targ, 1976). The effects observed were analyzed in tra- ditional terms derived from parapsychology, such as psychokinesis, telepathy or precognition. More recent terms include "anomalous data," "remote viewing," "remote perception," or "human opera- tor effects." These results are largely ignored as impossible, or threatening to the scientific worldview. Hope that a simple systematic error explaining such data will be discovered does not seem to be justified. Data pointing to the exist- ence of such effects are accumulating. In partic- ular, solid evidence for what is called "remote perception" and for the influence of intentional mind states on random events, including past and future events, has been accumulated. The last type of effect has also been called a "micropsychokinetic effect." A large amount of experimental data has been obtained using the Random Event Generators (REGs) in the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory, USA (Jahn & Dunne, 1987). The portable equipment and the software for per- forming such experiments is now available from this laboratory to other scientists interested in experimenting on their own. These effects seem to represent the reproducible synchronicity events that Pauli called for in his letter to Fierz (quoted in Laurikainen, 1988): "For me person- ally it would be much nicer to begin with 'acausal orderings' which are always reproducible (includ- ing those of quantum physics) and attempt to understand the psycho-physical connections as a special case of this general species." Perhaps the time is ripe for such an attempt. The explanation of such experiments is very difficult for two reasons: the involvement of hu- man operators, and our persistent illusions about reality. Quantum mechanics is presented first as a remedy for such illusions. Mind as an emer- gent property of the brain is presented next. Phys- ical and mental points of view are combined to give a plausible explanation ofthe observed data as a special case of synchronicity. In contrast to many other explanations of anomalous phenom- ena, no extensions to physics used in the descrip- tion of matter, nor cognitive science used in the description of minds, is needed. The result is a reasonable, unified view of mind and matter. H. Quantum Correlations T HE PROGRESS of science is the history of shed- ding illusions and false assumptions. At the beginning ofthe twentieth century scientists as- sumed that nature works according to the prin- ciples of classical mechanics. Ideas about reality were mistaken for reality itself. Positions, forc- es, inertia or momenta, have well-grounded in- tuitive meanings referring to feedback from body movements. Any object-human, tree, or atom- is reduced to a rather small set of properties that human minds are able to conceive. Instead of a full, infinitely subtle description of an object ("in- finity in a grain of sand," as Blake puts it), many ideas about space, time and movement are pro- jected onto reality. In fact, each object is infinite- ly complex, and thus it should be represented by a vector IO(t with an infinite number of com- ponents, describing its properties (its state) at time t. The state vector should contain perfect knowl- edge about the object, allowing for determination 154 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 of any property P. A measurement is needed to determine it, requiring an interaction with the object 0. For example, in order to look at a glass, scattered light is needed to see it, and eyes and brain (or camera and computer) are needed to estimate its position, shape, size, and color. The measuring procedure is symbolized by a certain operator P acting on the vector, PIO). In return, a value of the measured property Ap is obtained, and the state ofthe object 10) remains unchanged. This measurement procedure is summarized in symbolic form as: PIO) = Ap 10) This is the basic equation of quantum mechan- ics, called eigenequation for the operator P cor- responding to some observable property. No as- sumptions about the world are required to apply this general procedure. If 10) represents a hu- man and P a procedure of asking questions then Ap is a verbal answer. To measure classical phys- ics properties, such as energy, position, momen- tum or time flow, an appropriate operator is need- ed. In psychology and physics the answers to two questions P, Q that cannot be answered at the same time may depend on the order of the ques- tions. This is the celebrated Heisenberg relation, PQIO) 1= QPIO). For example, the position and momentum of a particle cannot be measured at the same time. Localization of a particle increas- es the uncertainty of its momentum. All matter shows wave-like properties if an operation P to measure them is set up. There- fore, a good mathematical representation of a state vector for an elementary particle is a wave function I'll). Setting up the mathematical struc- ture of such a theory may be done in many ways and is a technical matter. The momentum opera- tor p is proportional to the changes of the I') wave between two points (i.e., to the derivative of I') in respect to position), while the kinetic energy operator H (by analogy to classical me- chanics called the Hamilton operator) is propor- tional to the square of the momentum p2. This operator represents a measurement of energy of a system described by a state vector I'): HI') = EI') This is the famous Schrodinger equation. It is a symbolic representation of the general princi- ple: to know some property prepare a measure- ment procedure H acting on the object in a given state 10)=1'). Quantum mechanics allows only for predic- tions of results of the measurements. What has not been measured should not be claimed. The answers depend on the questions that are posed. Nature shows different faces in different experi- ments. This is not a unique property of micro- objects. Many properties of people also depend on the questions that are asked and the details of experimental arrangements. As long as objects are not changed by interactions in the measure- ment process, the same values of their proper- ties are obtained in repeated experiments. This is usually the case with macroscopic physical properties. In the realm of complex systems with internal structure, such as minds, and in the realm of very small objects, such as atoms, inter- actions always change state vectors. Elementary objects are absolutely identical. Two objects that once were part of a quantum system (i.e., interacted with each other) should be described by a common state vector. Even when these objects become separated at a large distance they still form one system. Only by measuring their properties, and finding no correlations between the results, may the independence of the objects be established. There are two kinds of correlations. Trivial correlations result from conservation laws: If the total object had zero momentum, and after separation one part had momentum p, then the other part should have momentum -po Finding such correlations shows that the systems have interacted in the past. Nontrivial correlations concern properties that cannot be simultaneously measured. In the hypothetical case of two people with identical views, it may still happen that some views change, depending on the order in which questions are asked. For example, question P may be about a favorite musical instrument and ques- tion Q about a favorite musician who is playing it. Asking the first question prepares (primes) the subject for the second. If one person is asked the same questions, in the same order as the other person, the answer should be identical. Howev- er, ifthe order in which questions are asked does matter, PQIO) 1= QPIO), and questions are pre- sented in random order, then two identical sets of answers are a sign of nontrivial correlations. Suppose the first person answers "trumpet" to question P and "Miles Davis" to Q. The second person, asked about the musicians, first has several choices, but still answers "Miles Davis" and "trumpet." Although their views are identi- Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter 155 cal, the choices could have been different. If they are not, they are correlated in a nontrivial way. Although no one has done such an experiment with people (learning a list of paired associations could be one possibility) we assume that only triv- ial correlations between people are possible. Quantum mechanics predicts that tests with el- ementary objects, such as photons, electrons or atoms, should show nontrivial correlations. In fact, this was Einstein's main objection to quan- tum mechanics. His formulation of an apparent paradox (Einstein, Podolsky, & Rosen 1935), known as the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox, brought the deep problem of a descrip- tion of separated systems in quantum mechan- ics to the attention of physicists. Systems that are described by a common state vector are called "entangled." The problem is, how can the state vector representing the whole group of objects be broken into separate vectors that describe two or more independent parts, that is, how to disen- tangle the system? To summarize the main point of this section: From a theoretical point of view disentanglement is impossible. As Wolfgang Pauli once remarked: "Was Gott vereint hat, solI der Mensch nicht trennen" ("What God has united men should not separate"). One cannot start with the two independent vectors describing the system without "playing God's role." This became evident in the last two decades when very precise experiments measuring correlations between properties of pairs of particles separated at large distances were performed (Selleri, 1987). These correlations were in full agreement with the predictions of quantum mechanics, but could not be explained assuming that state vectors of particles were independent. Existence of these nontrivial correlations, called the EPR correlations, or correlations violating Bell's inequality (an inequality setting a limit on the magnitude of correlations between measurements for independent particles) was predicted by quantum mechanics. The experimental verification ofthese predictions (cf. Selleri, 1987) was a great success. Interactions with other particles create complex networks of nontrivially correlated events, making it difficult to measure correlations between pairs of particles. Independence is one of these illusions acquired in early childhood. It is an illusion in the same sense as the independent existence of space and time is an illusion, although in both cases Newtonian concepts are useful approximations. The heated debates about the meaning of these results showed how hard it is to give up such deeply held convictions. Quantum mechanics (QM) is unable to de- scribe the process of separation in which parti- cles become independent (the proof is in the Ap- pendix). Some experts came up with alternative theories announcing the "death of quantum me- chanics" (Piron, 1985, p. 207) and presenting a theory ofthe quantum-logic type that allows for the existence of independent objects (Aerts, 1982). Despite all the successes of quantum mechanics, scientists keep projecting their own ideas onto reality, trying to tell nature how to behave. The- ories that allow for separation have never been successful in predicting anything. How can one tell that the separated subsystems are really in- dependent? Only by rejecting the temptation to make unjustifiable claims, and testing for corre- lations in carefully designed experiments. Cor- relations between several particles that have not been directly entangled are also measurable (Nielsen & Chuang, 2000). It is not clear how to apply a full quantum me- chanical treatment to small systems, such as a crystal or a biomolecule, in the neighborhood of a large system (Primas, 1981). Microscopic bodies cannot be isolated in a quantum mechanical sense, since they are always strongly coupled with their environment and thus should show nontrivial cor- relations. Different patterns of neural excitation may be modeled in quantum mechanical fashion as the eigenstates of some operators. Since two different patterns cannot exist at the same time, these operators cannot commute. An analog of Bell's theorem for such a model should establish a limit for correlations between two neural systems. Straightforward estimation of the correlation co- efficient obtained in the Appendix shows that cor- relations should always be large. Why is it, then, so hard to measure such effects? Interaction with warm, macroscopic bodies (thermal degrees of free- dom) may wash them out completely. Detailed in- vestigation of this point brought Khalfin and Tsirelson (1992) to the conclusion: "Under very care- ful, but undoubtedly feasible isolation ofthe collec- tive degrees of freedom from the thermal ones, quantum correlations can arise and be conserved for long periods of time, even in the mechanical motion of macroscopic bodies" (p. 947). Such quan- tum mechanical correlations between two sepa- rated crystals should be induced by mechanical movement and should persist for a long time. 156 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 If the measurement on the first particle is per- formed after one second, and on the other parti- cle one year after the separation, statistical cor- relations between the results may still be stron- ger than could be expected if the two particles were independent of each other. From another point of view, such correlations may look like an influence of the present measurements on the future or past measurements, or like precogni- tive or retrocognitive results. Quantum mechan- ics does not admit such interpretations, since this would be claiming more than the experimental results justify. Nontrivial correlations are acausal. Experimental devices are designed to measure only simple correlations, for example by counting photons. Interactions among a large number of particles may be too subtle to be mea- sured with equipment that is not sensitive to subtle changes in the correlated patterns. Is it possible that our brains are sensitive to such pat- terns? Are the remote viewing and the REG ex- periments simply another expression of this ba- sic interdependence of nature? HI. Brains and Minds I N THE remote viewing and REG experiments, intentional states of mind are crucial. Con- sciousness is regarded by some physicists as an ill-defined force pervading the universe, some- thing necessary to "collapse wave functions" and interfere directly in the measurement process. This idea has been proposed by E. Wigner (Wigner, 1962, pp. 284-302), who gave it up later (Mehra & Wightman, 1995, p. 271), when he un- derstood the difficulties of maintaining coherent quantum states in the brain. Discussions of this topic still go on without any reference to real cog- nitive phenomena (Stapp, 1993; Penrose, 1994). Before the measurement the state vector 10) con- tains all possible outcomes of experiments. After the measurement they suddenly collapse to the observed value (e.g., the particle found at some position). The state vector is not a physical ob- ject but a collection of properties that are deter- mined through measurements. The interaction of a quantum system with classical measuring apparatus has been successfully described with- out the need for conscious intervention (Giulini, Joos, Kiefer, Kupsch, Stamatescu, & Zeh, 1996). Neurons are sufficiently large to be accurately described as classical systems. Quantum effects in neurons may be observed only at timescales shorter than one picosecond (Tegmark, 2000), therefore they have no influence on their normal functioning, which is a billion times slower. Quantum and spiritual explanations postulate some mysterious processes that give rise to men- tal states, without really explaining anything. Why does a specific kind of damage to the brain dramatically change the inner world of the per- son? The only fruitful approach to such questions so far has been based on a natural assumption that minds are emergent properties of very com- plex brains. Mind is a complex of many faculties related to perception, cognition, emotion, think- ing, planning, imagining, acting, maintaining a subjective view of the world and the self in it (Freeman, 1996). The inner world seems to have nothing in common with the brain and its state, being qualitatively quite different. How then can mind arise from the brain? Philosopher H. Putnam calls it a "disastrous picture ofthe world," an explanation that is "more obscure than the phenomenon to be explained" (Putnam, 1978). There are so many misconceptions here that this issue requires careful investigation. Brain is the substrate in which mental processes take place. Connections between information process- ing by different areas of the cortex and subcorti- cal nuclei on the one hand, and mental functions and dysfunctions on the other, are well established (Ruppin, 1995). Although the brain is the most complex object in the known Universe, and exper- iments with human brains are technically very difficult, the neural sciences have recently made unprecedented progress, describing processes at levels ranging from the molecular to that of glo- bal brain dynamics (Gazzaniga, 1999). Mental . functions result from information processing by highly specialized brain areas, and can be observed using brain imaging techniques. Electric and mag- netic fields showing this activity may be correlat- ed directly with mental experiences in monkeys (Leopold & Logothetis, 1999), and the introduc- tion of noninvasive techniques that will do the same with humans is just a matter of time. Con- sciousness will lose its mystery once we are able to observe, using brain imaging techniques, what goes on in the mind of the owner of the brain. How can the inner world be a product of the brain? And how is it that sound is converted into electrical signals, compressed into a wire and sent over large distances? How is it possible that mov- ing images, spatio-temporal structures, are stored in the form of binary patterns on a DVD disk? To Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter 157 philosophers of a pre technological era all these questions would have been equally puzzling. Bi- nary patterns on the disk are turned, with the help of appropriate hardware, into electrical signals that become bright and dark spots on a screen. Binary patterns encode the structure ofthe imag- es and the electronic player with the TV set recre- ates the state of the camera's photosensitive ele- ment. The representation does not have to resem- ble the original-brain and mind states may be quite different. Similarity should be sought at another level. Recognizing danger starts a series of brain states, a part of a network with complex inner relations. A network of mind states exhibits similar relations. Second-order similarity, that is similarity of relations between states, rather than the states themselves, is sufficient to link mind with brain (Edelman, 1998). Does this mean that mind may be reduced to the brain? Not at all. The brain is a product of millions of years of adaptations that enabled sur- vival in a hostile, changing environment. Cogni- tive faculties have been framed by the needs of organisms. We pay attention to and notice only those events that have potential value or mean- ing for us. For example, color constancy is achieved in a wide variety of illuminations, making it easy to discriminate between red and green fruits. Light reflected from surfaces carries much information that the brain removes to simplifY the object rec- ognition task (Shepard, 1993). The sensory cortex prepares the incoming signals to facilitate deci- sions taken by the mind at the highest level of control. At the mind level individual history, a subjective view of the world and acquired cogni- tive skills are responsible for taking actions, de- riving meaning from the input signals. Brain structures have evolved to support the mind; they exist only because they are useful to the mind. Understanding of the mind requires understanding of the subjective world, and of re- lations between different states of mind. Hearing the same melody brings very different associations to different minds. Understanding these associa- tions requires understanding oflocal culture and individual history. Brain science stops at explain- ing general cognitive and affective mechanisms. Mind uses these mechanisms to create an inner, subjective world at an emergent, autonomous lev- el. Animal behavior does not follow from anatomy and physiology, but requires understanding of evo- lution, environment, and social patterns ofbehav- ior. Biology is not reducible to chemistry. N euro- physiological processes are needed to support the mind but do not explain it fully. If we knew all about the brain, we still would not understand the inner world of the individual. Mind states cannot be reduced to brain states. Mind is based on states that the brain may po- tentially enter, relations between those states and operations transforming one state into another. Nothing else is needed to explain the structure of experience. The sensorimotoric actions of primi- tive animals become inner actions, that do not al- ways end in motor behavior, but transform one mind state into another. Seeing is a way of explor- ingthe environment (O'Regan & Noe, 2001). Brain states differ in a qualitative way: Seeing and hear- ing engage different areas of the brain, and see- ing red and green colors are different states ofthe visual cortex. These brain states are associated with other states, creating, for example, a state that the mind evaluates as "a pleasant red evening sky" experience. The mind-body problem, which has been called the most serious obstacle to the advancement of science (Rakover, 1993), does not exist. The qualitative character of experience, called the "hard problem" of consciousness (Chalmers, 1996), is an obvious consequence of brain-mind relations. Any system (call it an "artilect") that works on brain-like principles, cre- ating internal physical states sufficiently rich to respond to changing sensory stimulation, and be- ing able to evaluate these states by making asso- ciations with memorized states, will claim to have experiences of different qualities. The comments of such an artilect will resemble the human stream of consciousness. For technical reasons, it is still very difficult to create human-like responses to sensory stimulations, and thus to create a detailed structure ofthe human-like mind. Mathematical modeling is more powerful than mere linguistic description. Verbal descriptions are imprecise models of reality, while mathematical models may have an arbitrary degree of precision. Everything that can be expressed in words can also be subject to mathematical modeling. Things that cannot be expressed in words, continuous changes, can be treated using the formalism of dynamical systems. Cognitive science, aiming at understanding how the mind works, should be based on mathematical language. The lack of a proper language to describe mind events is respon- sible for fundamental problems in the cognitive sciences. A Platonic model of the mind sketched in Duch (1994-1997) provides such a language. In 158 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 some respects it is similar to N alimov's probabilis- tic semantics and program of geometrization in lin- guistics and psychology (Nalimov, 1985). Nalimov starts from logic and linguistics, defining the se- mantic field and probability distributions over this field. This brings him towards fuzzy theories of meaning, developed by L. Zadeh (Wang, 2001). The idea of a living world as a text, and semantics as something given, is a serious restriction on the ap- plicability of N alimov's approach. The Platonic model starts from brain dynamics, defining the space in which mental events take place. Space-time is an arena in which physical events take place. Cognition is dominated by vision, and geometrical concepts of physics are therefore use- ful metaphors. Kurt Lewin in 1938 proposed a sim- ilar language for psychology (Lewin, 1938). Men- tal events were taking place in a "psychological space" under the influence of "cognitive forces." George Kelly, in his psychology of personal con- structs, also favored geometry instead of logics (Kelly, 1955). Some psychologists would like to use his ideas for a central theory in cognitive science (Shaw & Gaines, 1992). Roger Shepard (1987, 1994) has done much to analyze the geometry of inner space, finding invariant laws of stimulus generalization in spaces based on nonlinear input transformations (multidimensional scaling). The Platonic model follows this line of reasoning, try- ing to connect it with the brain's dynamics. The name has been derived from a famous allegory of Plato: Mind events of which we are conscious are only shadows of true reality, the neurodynamics of the brain. The real objects of mind are not words or ab- stract symbols but rather "chunks of experience," involving sensorimotoric, bodily reactions. Mind objects are combinations of many features deter- mined by the low-level processing of the brain cir- cuits. In analogy to natural objects in quantum mechanics, objects of mind are nondecomposable and multidimensional, experienced in a unified, nonfragmented way. Symbolic names are given to some of the objects ofthe mind. These names facil- itate verbal communication by pointing to mind states. It is convenient to think about mind objects as embedded in some multidimensional space, called the "mind space," spanned by axes (dimen- sions) corresponding to features of internal repre- sentations. The Platonic world of abstract concepts is just a small subspace of the whole mind space filled with these multidimensional mind objects. Mind space serves as an arena for all mind events. Objects in the mind space are described by a "mind function" M(X.) for all relevant features X ~ i' playing a similar role as the probability distribu- tion function of Nalimov (1985). Nonzero values of the mind function define these objects as fuzzy regions in the mind space. Topographical relations of objects in this space are very difficult to imag- ine because of the large number of dimensions involved. The mind function, defined in the mind space, represents all objects that such a system is able to recognize (i.e., correctly discriminate us- ing partial description or distorted input). The cog- nitive system is able to modify the contents of the mind space by adding more objects (learning and remembering), modifying existing objects or learn- ing new associations (changing topographical re- lations between existing objects). The creation of mind objects is elucidated by developmental psychology (Rutkowska, 1994). Mind arises from the brain, psyche from physics, during interactions forming the inner represen- tation ofthe world. Symbols, or abstract labels of the mind objects, have no meaning without the mind to interpret them. They are very useful for rapid activation and structuring of the mind ob- jects, since they are almost unique. Nonsymbolic features of mind objects are derived from sensory features and motor behavior. There is no reason to believe that the whole complexity of a real mind space could be recreated using only symbolic names. Artificial intelligence, based on the processing of symbols, does not lead to artificial minds based on the multidimensional mind objects. The meaning ofthe mind objects is grounded in the combination of all relevant features of their representation. Logic and reasoning are only approximations ofthe dynamics of activations of objects in the mind space. Expressions such as "to have in mind," "to keep in mind," "to put in mind," "to make up one's mind," and so on, refer directly to the mind space. The topography of objects in the mind space, that is, their relative distances and shared features, determine intuitive, quick responses to questions that do not leave time to think. Intuitive knowl- edge is identified with the quality of inner repre- sentations, formed in the process of unsupervised learning, of real objects and events in the envi- ronment in which the cognitive system develops. At a given moment of time some objects may be active. The probability distribution ofthese active objects (corresponding to neurodynamical activity) is called the mind state. In the simplest case it is a point in the mind space, Xi(t). Changing from one Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter 159 state of mind to another requires energy. The sys- tem receives this energy from the environment (the brain useS twenty percent of the total energy pro- vided by metabolic processes). The external stim- uli drive changes in the features of representa- tion X/t ) leading to the recognition and learning processes. The internal dynamics lead to activa- tions of the entrained mind objects (trains of thoughts or series of associations) and includes a stochastic component influencing the momentum of changes of mind states. The dynamics of the whole system is a mixture of these internal and external dynamics. The states of mind that lead to the strongest values of the mind function leave memory traces and are remembered as "an experience," enabling feedback (reflection). This experience is evaluat- ed in light of previous experiences ("consciously perceived") ifit is active (sustained in a short-term memory) for a sufficiently long time. In the brain many other processes are taking place, represent- ing subconscious activity. The results of experiments on processing words and pseudowords (Pulvermueller, Preissl, Eulitz, Pantev, Lutzenberger, Elbert, & Birbaumer, 1994) support the hypothesis that transcortical cell assemblies are involved in the recognition of mind objects. Cell assemblies are large groups of neurons, with strongly reciprocal internal connections, binding parts of the cortex in which different sensory modalities are pro- cessed. Transcortical cell assemblies are sufficient to create objects ofthe mind space, binding differ- ent sensory modalities in one experience, without any central place in the cortex where all informa- tion is gathered. The natural hardware realiza- tion of this function has the form of a neural net- work (Duch, 1996b). There is no "mind-body problem" because from the beginning there has been no mind-body sepa- ration. Mind is a reflection of a part of the U n i ~ verse in the brain/body; mind space stores all chunks of sensory and bodily experiences and the dynamics governing changes of the mind states recalls them. A picture of a beloved person seen from a distance increases the heartbeat. Even abstract thinking can involve the body. In a vital, experien- tial sense, mind, being a reflection of Nature, has no boundaries and is of primary importance. The symbol grounding problem (Hamad, 1990) (where does the sense of symbols come from) is solved in a straightforward way, together with the problem of qualia. An activation of a mind object is done using a subset of its features. Since it brings the state of mind into a specific region of the mind space, other qualities associated with this object are immediately accessible, and the back-projec- tion paths to the sensors activated. The experi- ence is repeated, with vividness dependent on the strength ofthe back-coupling and the level of ac- tivation of the object. What do I mean by "sweet"? Something sweet! The brain/mind system recre- ates the sensory experiences "dressed" in all asso- ciations. Discussion on grounding symbols puts the cart before the horse. Symbols are not grounded in experiences, experiences come before symbols and are labeled by symbols. The label "sweet" corresponds to a projection of all sensations, all mind objects that are associated with it. The ex- istence of qualia has observable consequences: The probability of the next mind state obviously de" pends on them. "Sweet" sensation brings up mem- ories of sweet things. The language ofthe quantum mechanics of con- sciousness proposed by Jahn and Dunne (1987) may be useful to describe events in the mind space. Other problems; such as the problem of free will, also have a natural solution in the mind space model (for an in-depth discussion of the free will problem from a neuroscientific point of view, see Libet, Freeman, Sutherland, and Sutherland, 2000). The mind model sketched here allows for an explanation of many facts related to cognition (Duch, 1996a), provides a language that connects mind events to both neurophysiological events and psychological events (Duch, 1995), and is useful in creating computational models of cognitive sys" tems (Duch, 1996b, 1997). What has been said above should be sufficient to talk about mind -body interactions in the context of anomalous experi- ments. Intentional states of mind activate certain parts of mind space, with objects that have active motor components. Persistent, weak activation does not enter short-term memory and thus is not experienced in a conscious way. IV. Entanglement, Mind, and Synchronicity I s THERE a chance that the brain is just an instrument ofthe spirit? This would imply that mental functions cannot arise in artificial systems built on similar principles. Computational cogni- tive neurosciences (Gazzaniga, 1999) is a relatively new branch of the neurosciences investigating theoretical and computational models of neurons. It is clear that even the simplest neural network 160 The Internationaljournal oJTranspersonalStudies, 2002, Vol. 21 models function more in a mindlike, than a com- puterlike, way. For example, in neural models memory has no location; it is distributed in the strength of synaptic connections between neurons. Damage to such a network leads to gradual deg- radation of its powers, as seen in aging people, rather than to the forgetting of specific facts. The network memory is called associative, because it can retrieve the most similar original episodes it has been trained on from fragments or associated patterns of the presented episodes. The memory has no location but is context addressable and may show errors based on phonological or semantic associations. Damaged networks may hallucinate, retrieving episodes from combination of memo- rized fragments. The time needed to recall a fact from a computer database is proportional to its size, since it has to be searched for facts. In neu- ral models the time of recall is independent ofthe size of the database. Trying to learn too many things in a short time may lead to confusion and chaotic responses. The specific organization ofthe brain explains many mysterious phenomena known to psychiatrists and neuropsychologists (Parks, Levine, & Long, 1998). Mental behavior results from brainlike information processing. Looking at the emergent properties of neural networks, it is hard to escape the conclusion that further development along these lines should al- low for the creation of artificial minds. This will be the ultimate test of cognitive science theories, such as the mind space theory. Theories that are more complex will be needed only when this sim- ple, pragmatic approach fails. This is solid science that will not go away. Why do souls and spirits become a matter of widespread beliefs in the first place? They were the simplest solution to the problem of movement that ancient philosophers worried about. Things do not move unless they are alive, so spirits were invented to push planets and move inert bodies. Since New- ton, this reason for the existence of spirits has lost its appeal. St. Thomas elaborated the Aristotelian system of the three souls: (1) the vegetative soul responsible for basic functions (roughly corre- sponding to metabolic processes); (2) the sensitive soul, present in animals and children, responsi- ble for reflexes (these are sensorimotoric brain functions); and (3) the rational soul responsible for higher cognitive faculties (corresponding to frontal lobe functions). Science has explained all functions ascribed to souls and spirits, leaving these concepts empty. Ancient (mis)conceptions were never useful in explaining anything (Lewis, 1964). In this respect they are similar to the modern quantum approach- es to consciousness (Stapp, 1993; Penrose, 1994). They lead to the identification of mind and con- sciousness with some kind of substance. The view presented in the previous section stresses relations between mind states. The relational theory of mind is nonmaterialistic, although a substrate (a brain) is needed to physically realize ("materialize") mind states. Even if mind and consciousness were in- dependent of the brain, they would have to work according to neural network principles to produce mental experiences. A "new approach" is frequent- ly called for in view of the "crisis" in science, an approach always based on old ideas (Duch, 1994). Quantum mechanics teaches us not to claim more than we really know. Observations of synchronicity do not compel us to draw conclusions of higher beings finding interest in our development, as claimed by Mansfield (1995). All that is observed are "meaningful correlations." How many strange correlations between events may happen during a lifetime? This is very difficult to estimate, because the brain searches for meaning in whatever is expe- rienced (Freeman, 1996). After a sleepless night or strange dreams many events may be found meaningful, especially with the human ability to reorganize memories to fit one's beliefs. A na'ive estimation of such probability may be as follows. Suppose that using m letters (e.g., of the English alphabet) a random string of the length N is formed. It is then almost certain that all possible substrings of the length logmN will be found in this string. Every few seconds a new perception takes place; in a year about 10 million percep- tions. Assume that attention is paid to about 3,000 distinct elements forming these percep- tions. Then it is almost certain that a subsequence of any two of these elements will happen. Those that have little meaning will not be remembered, but some will be evaluated as remarkable coinci- dences. Many factors may increase this probabili- ty to significantly higher values. It is impossible to draw inferences from incidental or anecdotal stories, although they may look very impressive. Synchronicity may only be discovered by system- atic observation. If such events are fairly com- mon (like thinking about a friend who calls at this very moment) the brain, always searching for meaning, will have to recognize some Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter 161 synchronicity events as meaningful, emotionally exciting, and worth remembering. Synchronicity in everyday events is hard to quantifY, and thus to ascribe to pure chance, or to some "acausal orderings." This quantification problem is quite serious in the remote percep- tion experiments (Jahn & Dunne, 1987). Even though the agreement between drawings and de- scriptions oftarget events is in some cases quite striking, it is hard to express it in statistical terms. REG experiments are much closer to the reproducible experiments with synchronicity events than anything else. There are two com- plementary points of view here. From the para- psychological point of view they are about "miqopsychokinesis, remote perception, precog- nitive perception," and so on (Jahn & Dunne, 1987). From the synchronicity point of view there is a series of correlated events that do not seem to be causally connected. Before two sets of data are compared-human intentions and machine states, operator's reports and actual events- nothing unusual is noticed. There may be devia- tions of a distribution of random events from ex- pected statistics, but unless correlations with some acausal factors in a longer series of experi- ments are found, deviations may be random fluc- tuations. Drawings and descriptions produced during remote perception experiments become interesting only when acausal correlations with the real target events are observed. Synchronicity correlations are sufficient to ex- plain the anomalous experimental data. The ques- tion is: How is it possible that intentional states of mind are correlated with specific events in na- ture? Nontrivial correlations of entangled systems are possible without any interactions between them. All that is necessary are two sets ofmeasure- ments. Looking at a white wall for a f e ~ minutes, the visual system, having little input, is working on a threshold of noise. Various mind objects are activated in an apparently random fashion and the internal dynamics ofthe mind state evolution prevails. One may describe this process as a measure- ment: The mind (highest-level control processes) measures the activity patterns of the visual cor- tex. In the remote viewing experiments the mind discovers in visual patterns different objects that appear to be correlated in a nontrivial way with external events. Some results of these measure- ments have no correlation with later events or with target scene objects. That should be expected since only some results of the joint measurements are correlated in a nontrivial, synchronicity way. The results of these measurements are independent of the time of the second measurement (event). Nontrivial correlations may wash out for longer times due to entanglement of the brain with too many objects. The remote perception experiences are prima- rily visual. The precise recognition of objects imagined or seen requires many input features. If the visual inputs are weak, inputs from the optic nerve are comparable to the natural fluctu- ations of activity in the visual cortex. Quantum entanglement correlates patterns of neural exci- tation with some other patterns slightly chang- ing these fluctuations. This may be sufficient for recognition of elements of the picture; simple mental objects that for a brief moment are acti- vated strongly enough to be recognized. This pro- cess takes more time than the recognition of vi- sual scenes when inputs are strong enough to allow quick recognition of many simple objects and the retention of the picture ofthe whole scene as one complex object in working memory. One should experience flashes, short activations of simple objects belonging to the remote scene or event. The dynamics of the low-level excitations in the visual system are almost chaotic in the ab- sence of other, stronger stimuli. In the terminol- ogy of the previous paragraph, mind objects are weakly and randomly activated. This activation may be correlated, via quantum entanglement, with many objects and events in nature. Direct entanglement should be most effective (having close contact with the other person). An inten- tion to think about a person who has visited an unknown place, or even thinking about someone who will later compare the results of the remote perception experiment with descriptions and drawings that are being made, creates experi- mental conditions making the mind more sensi- tive to objects or processes at that place. In such conditions certain mind objects are more often activated strongly enough to appear as flashes or short visions. Experiments with Random Event Generators (REG) are also understandable from this point of view. In REG experiments, an intentional state of mind is generated and subconsciously sus- 162 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 tained.An appropriate object of mind correspond- ing to the intention of obtaining positive or nega- tive results is created in the mind space and pe- riodically activated. Again, this activation or rec- ognition may be described as the measurement process. On the other hand it may be interpreted as "prediction." The entanglement mechanism proposed here allows an explanation of the strange features of these experiments: .. Effects should be small but statistically significant. Correlations between only two entangled particles involving simple pho- ton counts are already hard to measure. Correlations between complex patterns involving billions of particles are measured by the brain. Most of these correlations are of a trivial nature, that is, they are accidental or explainable by causal thought processes. <\! The brain of an operator should have a cue to get entangled with the hardware equipment or with the brains of other peo- ple involved in the experiment. Avoiding direct comparison of two sets of measure- ments may reduce the effect. Group expe- riences, such as media, sport, or religious events, during which the brain is ab- sorbed in some focused activity, should be particularly effective to set intentional states of the brain. .. Effects have to be intentional: Out of all possible correlations with natural events one has to focus on a particular place or on a piece of equipment. Intention is nec- essary to start the brain process that se- lects associations belonging to a chain that starts with known mind objects, rep- resenting equipment or people involved in the experiment. Some people may be more skilled at, or capable of, forming such associations than others, and this should be reflected in the results. OJ Consciousness does not have a direct ef- fect on results. The role of intention is only to set the brain of the operator in a certain state. Once set, the intentional process goes on in the brain even if the operator does not pay much attention to the experiment. II> During the experiments the brain should be active in a normal, waking conscious- ness, but not too much distracted by ex- ternal stimuli. Sensory overloading or engagement of the brain in a demand- ing activity may destroy the intentional process and reduce the correlations to chance level. .. No special assumptions about the entan- gled systems are necessary. Since all sys- tems are entangled to a similar degree, correlations should not depend on the type of noise sources in REG experiments or targets in the remote viewing experi- ments. Since there is no exchange of energy, only correlations, statistical results should not significantly depend on the distance between the target and the operator in- volved or on the time delays between the two measurements. Local probabilities are never affected by quantum entanglement, only the joint probabilities of measurements are, therefore the local data should not look "unusual." Anomalous effects should be seen only when two sets of data are com- pared in a series of experiments. The psychological effect of looking into water or gazing at a crystal, or any oth- er activity that does not disturb the in- tentional states in the brain, should be favorable for remote viewing. Most of these effects have been observed in the experiments quoted (Jahn & Dunne, 1987). Synchronicity via quantum entanglement seems to be the only mechanism that can explain the correlation of human intentions and mental events with the results of experiments that have been already performed (Schmidt, 1993) or that will be performed in the future. Interestingly, reexamination of a large amount of experimental data has led very recently to conclusions similar to those presented here (Jahn & Dunne, 2001). In particular there seems to be no direct involvement of consciousness. It would be extremely interesting ifthe intentional processes in the brain could be identified and their intensity correlated with the synchronicity effects. This Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter 163 may require identification of the cortical cell assemblies involved. At present such identification is possible only for monkeys and other animals requiring implanted electrodes. It is very hard to use experimental physical techniques to discover correlations between more than a few particles. Consider a living cell, for example, a brain cell. Many biochemical process- es take place every second in a cell; many of them are controlled by photon emissions and absorp- tion providing energy for reactions. This ultraweak radiation is very coherent (Pqpp, 1992; Chang, Fisch, & Popp, 1998). The pattern of these emissions and absorptions may be correlated in a very subtle way to many processes in nature, but it is not yet possible to measure such subtle effects in the laboratory. On the other hand, in- fluences on the patterns of neural excitation in the brain should have noticeable effects on the activation of mind objects. Microtubules are good candidate structures for sensitive elements of cells that may be influenced by quantum effects (Penrose, 1994). Super-radiance and other collec- tive quantum states should be possible in these cytoskeletal structures. Insinna (1992) has al- ready discussed synchronicity in connection with quantum coherence in microtubules. Although quantum effects may not be useful for under- standing the mind and consciousness, they may be the basis of synchronicity. V. Conclusions R EMOTE PERCEPTION and REG experiments seem . to challenge the scientific world view (Jahn & Dunne, 1987). A unified view of mind and nature, capable of elucidating these strange phenomena, is possible. Quantum physics provides a view of nature based on what is really known, that is, what has been measured. Cognitive science provides a view of mind as an emergent property ofthe brain. Occam's razor applied to this problem leads to the "minimum metaphysics" solution: Synchronicity effects are found when two sets of measurements are compared. The proof in the Appendix shows that significant quantum entanglement effects should always be present. Other theoretical models that try to accommodate the results of anomalous experiments require either a nonlinear version of quantum mechanics, or peculiar interpretations of the quantum measurement process (Stapp, 1994). It is very difficult to give up deeply ingrained convictions, such as those related to the separability of things, whether we think about the objects of nature as a collection of independent bodies, or about ourselves as separated from Nature. In both cases separability, although sometimes a useful approximation, is ultimately an illusion. Many people with deep insight into their own minds and their thinking process, including Erwin Schrodinger, have already written on this subject not only from the point of view of physics, but also from their own personal point of view. Once the idea of separability is given up, the results of EPR experiments, REG experiments, remote perception, and the relation between minds and brainslbodies are understandable. Infants learn rather early to separate their body from the environment, distinguish "me" and "not-me," and the idea of separability is firmly established. Although the calculation of quantum probabilities for such complex systems as brains is not feasible, some suggestions and the understanding of certain features of experiments involving human operators are possible. Quantum effects are not necessary to explain the cognitive mind but seem to be indispensable to an understanding of the subtle features of the mind manifested in synchronicity. A detailed theory of synchronicity should be based on the quantum mechanics of macroscopic bodies and their entanglements (Primas, 1981). There is no a priori reason why there should be no acausal correlation between brain activity and events in nature. To prove that such correlations do not exist we would have to compute an analog of Bell's inequality for a very complex system, with wave functions for parts ofthe brain on one side and various natural objects on the other. Since it is impossible to separate the wave functions of any physical systems, especially macroscopic bodies, and detailed calculations of multi particle correlations are too difficult, one has to resort to experiments. The results of experiments indicate that a small but consistent effect exists. The simplest explanation consistent with all experimental data is based on synchronicity due to quantum mechanical entanglement. The synchronicity effects described here are consistent with present theories of physics and cognitive science, and do not require any extensions of our knowledge into unknown territories. 164 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Appendix T HIS APPENDIX provides a technical proof showing the inseparability of subsystems in quantum mechanics. State vectors representing objects belong to a Hilbert space. Operator P representing an observable (that is, property that can be observed) applied to some arbitrary state vector converts it into another state vector. Quantum mechanics is a holistic theory and does not allow for a well- defined way of describing the separation of systems. This fact gave rise to alternative formulations of mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics (Piron, 1985; Aerts, 1982), but so far all experi- ments show that standard quantum mechanics is correct. The Hilbert space of antisymmetric, many particle functions, describing the total system, cannot be decomposed into separate subspaces. Consider two physical systems, SA and SB' withNA andN B particles (electrons or other fermions), respectively. Each system is described by its own function, 'P A antisymmetric for permutations of all NA particles and 'PB antisymmetric for NB particles. Assuming that both functions are normalized to unity, it is easy to show that the product function 'P AB = 'A 'PB is always "far" from the antisymmetric function' = A 'P AB' where A is the antisYmmetrization operator. The distance may be measured by an overlap ('P AB I 'P) or by the norm of difference: sll'P AB-'PW s 2. The square ofthe norm does not exceed 2 because ofthe Schwartz inequality. The second inequal- ity is slightly more difficult to prove. The orthonormal basis {<I\A} and {<1>/} is defined for SA and SB subsystems, and since they are separated (<1>i A I <1>/) =<\. The unsymmetrized, normalized product functions are: NA <D A ( Xl' X2 , "X NA ) = IT i A (Xi) i=1 NB <DB (Xp X 2 , .. X N J = IT / (Xi) i=1 The idempotent antisymmetrizer does not give proper normalization. The proper antisymmetrizer is: AN = I (-I)P P, where P is a permutation operator and (-I)Pis its parity. Therefore 'P A is ob- -vN! P tained by: An analogous expression is true for 'P B The antisymmetrizer A that creates from the product function'P AB totally antisymmetric function 'P=A ' AB is: where N = NA + NB and P AB is either identity or it permutes particles of SA with those of SB' Since 'P and 'II AB are normalized, II 'F AB - 'F 112=11 'F AB W + II 'F 112 -2('F AB I A'F AB) = (' AB t H )''" PAS ' AI' )?c '" 0.59 because the overlap integral ('P AB I 'P)=(' AB I A' AB) is nonzero only for P AB=I. The antisymmetric func- tion and the product wavefunction are quite different. There is no way in quantum mechanics to go from one to the other, that is, to describe the process of separation of systems that have once interacted. Synchronicity, Mind, and Matter 165 In the textbook of A. Messiah (Messiah, 1976, Chapter XlV, 8) it is proven that this nonseparability should not matter because probabilities of different states of a spatially isolated subsystem do not depend on the antisymmetrization of the function of this subsystem with functions of all other particles in the Universe. But what about the results of joint measurements, that is correlations between observations? Consider the systems SA and SB and two independent measurements of observables corresponding to the operators 0 A and 0B" The wavefunctions of these systems may be expanded in the eigenbasis of: a lfB = IC:lf!; 0B lf ! =7hlf! b Messiah (1976) proves that taking the total function 'II instead of the product functions 'P A 'P E does not change the probabilities 1 CaA 12. However, he does not look at the possible correlations of joint measurements. Assuming that the two systems are separated, the result ofthe joint measurement is: Define now a coefficient CAB measuring the difference between this result and the result obtained without assumption of separability, calculated with the total wave function 'P: CAB = ((lfAlfB IOAOB I lfAlfB}-(lf I 0AOB Ilf))/(OA}(OB} =1- (IfI 0AOB Ilf) (0 A)(OB} If there is no difference between these two cases this coefficient should be zero. However, (If I 0AOE I If) = N A ~ ~ B ! ~ ( -ly' (-I)Q (P(lfAlf E) I 0 AOE I Q(lf AlfB)) = N ~ ~ B ! (0 A) (0 B ) since all matrix elements for permutations (P,Q)::j:: (I, I) vanish by virtue oflocalization of the SA and SE subsystems. This leads to the following inequality for the correlation coefficient: 1:2 C AB :2 0.5 Thus there is a huge difference. 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London: Heinemann. 168 The Intemationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, vol 21 Embodied Light Chris McDonough Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA Chris McDonough The movement of whose body is the world, whose speech the sum of all language, Whose jewels are the moon and s t a r s ~ t o that pure Siva I bow! -Abhinaya Darpat).a Underwater photography triggers new ways of experiencing space, time, and being. In the seemingly boundless liquid space, the self expands and focused attention induces intense clarity of the present moment and of our basic nakedness. This portfolio seeks to capture the primal embodied experience of weightless energy and the unceasing dance oflight, the creator/destroyer. The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 169-174 169 2002 by Panigada Press Chris McDonough 170 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Chris McDonough Embodied Light 171 Chris McDonough 172 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Chris McDonough Embodied Light 173 Chris McDonough 174 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field Harris Friedman Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center San Francisco, California, USA The importance ofthe development oftranspersonal psychology as a science is considered. Arguments from romanticism, scientism, and constructionism that challenge this possibility are countered. A distinction is drawn between the field of trans personal psychology as a science and the broader area known as trans personal studies that may legitimately use scientific or nonscientific methods. The concepts of transpersonal phenomena and transcendent noumena are delineated, the latter being seen as outside of the purview of science. The benefits of embracing a scientific approach are contrasted to a number of epistemological alternatives. The scientific approach is forwarded for its potential contribution towards providing a unifying paradigm for the discipline of psychology and for solving crucial problems in the world. I hope that this presentation challenges the reader to more deeply examine the role of science in trans personal psychology. T RANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY has never developed a coherent scientific frame of reference, and despite numerous attempts to adequately define it (e.g., Lajoie & Shapiro, 1992; Walsh & Vaughan, 1993), still suffers from serious ambiguity regarding its scope and appropriate methodology. As a result, little progress in understanding transpersonal psychological phenomena from a scientific perspective has occurred since the founding of the field. In this paper, I consider the importance of specifying transpersonal psychology as a scientific field and propose some strategies to further its progress as a science. Reasons to Restrict the Field of Transpersonal Psychology to Science T HERE ARE three pragmatic reasons why the study of trans personal psychology should be unambiguously restricted to scientific approaches. First, transpersonal psychology was clearly instituted as a field that was meant to be part of the larger discipline of scientific psychology. The major founders of trans personal psychology were clearly invested in extending the rigorous scientific discipline of psychology beyond the conventional boundaries of psychoanalytical, behavioral, and humanistic psychology. Their purpose was not to abandon science, as exemplified by the statement in the first issue of the major publication which initially launched the field: "The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology is concerned with the publication of theoretical and applied research, original contributions, empirical papers, articles and studies in ... " (Sutich, 1969, p. 16). Thereafter, a number of diverse content areas were listed, but clearly a scientific agenda was presented.! Second, since the discipline of psychology is clearly identified as a science by the majority of psychologists and also by society as a whole, the field of transpersonal psychology explicitly lays The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 175-187 175 2002 by Panigada Press claim through its name to be part ofthat scientific discipline. Likewise, the rewards of scientific status accrue to transpersonal psychology through its association with psychology. For example, professional psychological services are provided in a context that is legitimized by various governments based on the rationale that scientific standards are being used in such practice. Legitimization entails specific benefits to practitioners as provided through licensing laws. A practitioner operating outside the scientific framework in providing applied services offered through a professional psychology license would be perceived as violating this implicit contract. It is well established in law that psychologists who use approaches that are not scientifically justifiable can be sanctioned for professional discipline such as loss of their licenses to practice. There may also be civil penalties, enforced through malpractice action, and even criminal penalties for a licensed professional operating in a nonscientific fashion. Furthermore, if nonscientific approaches were to be allowed as a legitimate part of professional practice by applied transpersonal psychologists, a situation of inequity would be created that would discriminate against other practitioners, such as religious healers, who might use similar nonscientific methods yet not be allowed a comparable professional license and its privileges. (Even in academic and scholarly arenas, transpersonal psychologists enjoy benefits due to their attributed scientific status, such as in receiving greater public acceptance as authoritative experts.) Consequently, I argue that to allow practices that are not scientifically based within the field of transpersonal psychology is neither legally nor ethically defensible. Third, and most importantly, I consider the development of a scientific transpersonal psychology crucial for human survival and the betterment of life. Relegating the field to the collection and reportage of unscientific folk traditions presented in a journalistic fashion would at best be superfluous since such sources are abundant and have little likelihood of helping humanity in any progressive way. If the field is used to promulgate any specific religious or spiritual folk traditions, under a falsely assumed scientific label, the deception could be damaging in many ways, including the possibility of undermining further scientific development of the field. I believe that the best hope for lasting solutions to many ofthe grave problems faced by humans, and the earth itself, at this time lies in psychological rather than technical progress. For example, although pressures of escalating overpopulation in third world nations could be eased through further attempts toward increasing agricultural output, as through genetically enhanced crops, this type of solution is likely not to prove sustainable but only to postpone overpopulation breaking points. Psychological solutions, such as changing core attitudes toward reproduction that are currently embedded in religious belief systems, are likely to be more effective than technical solutions to these human-based problems. Furthermore, the type of psychological solutions required for these crucial problems of contemporary adaptation, both human and planetary, cannot be adequately addressed solely through the limited conceptualizations offered by mainstream psychology but require, instead, transpersonal considerations. Only transpersonal psychology allows for innovative avenues in which scientific approaches can address many of the most pressing problems that threaten our very survival as a species and the survival of our planet. And, beyond mere deficit motivations, a scientific transpersonal psychology is required for the optimum development of our human potential. To throwaway the unique promise offered by transpersonal psychology through rejecting the proper role of science in the field would be not only irresponsible but tragic. In summary, based on the historic roots of the field, the ethical and legal implications of its connection with the discipline of scientific psychology, and the importance of the field for human survival and betterment, transpersonal psychology should be bound to a scientific commitment. Those who wish to abandon scientific approaches to pursue their transpersonal work should be unfettered as long as they use a broader term, such as transpersonal studies, to describe their work. But those who elect to associate their work with the field of transpersonal psychology need to be aware of the implications of their choice. In particular, those who disseminate their own religious or spiritual beliefs through their professional work should not present themselves as transpersonal psychologists. 176 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Objections from Romanticism, Scientism, and Constructionism H AVING ADVOCATED that transpersonal psychology be restricted to the realm of science, I will focus the discussion now on directly confronting the positions of those who are hostile to the possibility of a scientific transpersonal psychology. For simplicity, three opposing positions that I label as romanticism, scientism, and constructionism will be explored. The view identified with romanticism poses the greatest current threat to the development of a scientific transpersonal psychology since so many people ofthis persuasion are attracted to the field. The romantic movement has long opposed the scientific approach in all spheres. Most advocates of romanticism seem to cast doubt upon both the value and possibility of a scientifically based transpersonal psychology by offering broad critiques such as that science is inherently reductionistic or deterministic. To be fair, some who are less extreme argue cogently that the approach of romanticism provides initial ways to explore important realms that are not yet amenable to scientific approaches, such as "poetic, intuitive, and visionary states" (Schneider, 1998, p. 284) but do not fully disregard the utility of science. I accept that, while these methods of romanticism may not meet the criteria of science, they may still be legitimate and worthwhile scholarly efforts within what could be called transpersonal studies; however, they should not be viewed as trans personal psychology. The positions of romanticists thus range from those who outrightly dismiss any applicability of science to the field to those who posit a more moderate view that science may one day be useful to investigate the transpersonal realm but currently is inadequate for the task. The former type of romanticism poses a severe challenge to the field. There are those, for example, who take such romanticism as a license to naively accept, and promulgate, questionable beliefs and practices that have not been critically evaluated from a scientific perspective. Such a stance provides a variety of benefits: Clinical practitioners with this attitude, for example, may rely on whatever happens in a psychotherapy session without having to tax their skills by using rational treatment strategies or taking responsibility for outcomes. Thus they may comfortably serve, or exploit, their clients without any accountability, at least until the regulators and litigators arrive. In addition, romanticism can lucratively be used to sell questionable transpersonal works-witness the numerous ludicrous books and seminars marketed to a naive public. It seems that including the terms spirit or soul in such work increases its marketability. Responsible transpersonal psychologists need to consistently and rigorously examine the appropriateness of including extreme romanticism within the field: For example, should astrology be included in transpersonal psychology? Even though systems of astrology are filled with nonscientific assumptions and fail to demonstrate any consistent evidence of validity, numerous so- called professionals openly promote this folk system in their teachings, writings, and even professional practice. I strongly advocate that scientific studies on astrology, such as exploring the antecedents and consequences of belief in astrology, are appropriate material for a scientific transpersonal psychology. Likewise, it is appropriate to continue to scientifically explore the validity of systems of astrology, although I think that the lack of evidence thus far is such that serious investigators would likely not want to invest their time further in this direction. But it is deplorable to write or teach about astrology in any way other than as an unsubstantiated folk tradition and especially to use astrology as part of a licensed psychological practice. This abuse exemplifies one practice steeped in romanticism that is unfortunately tolerated within transpersonal psychology. Astrology and similar, nonscientific practices should not be sanctioned as a legitimate part of the field. The myriad of other pseudoscientific approaches used by those who embrace extreme romanticism within the field of transpersonal psychology should also be held up to scientific standards or be excluded from the field. A difficult issue that should be addressed in this discussion is the way in which traditional religions are handled. For example, many Western transpersonal psychologists seem to have rejected their own religious traditions and have become enamored of seemingly more exotic traditions. It can even be claimed that at present the field. oftranspersonal psychology can be largely characterized as the Western practice of Eastern religions in a pseudoscientific guise. But why should traditional beliefs or practices Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field 177 from some other culture with little or no supporting empirical evidence be given any special credence? The same can be said for pastoral counseling in the predominantly Judeo-Christian tradition in the West. This argument is not meant to deny the importance of belief systems and their cultural relevance in effective psychological practice. The point is that science, including its applications in professional practice, should not be tied to any particular religious or spiritual tradition although it can clearly be used appropriately within the context of such a tradition. In addition, traditions might be sources of fruitful hypotheses for beginning to scientifically explore within transpersonal psychology, but a skeptical scientific attitude should prevail unless support is evidenced. Finally, I intend no disrespect for those in any religious or spiritual tradition as long as they do not try to characterize their tradition as science and do not try to stop scientific inquiry, as exemplified by a recent challenge by advocates of creationism to the teaching of evolution in Kansas, USA. A romanticism that lacks discrimination in regard to numerous prevailing folk beliefs and unsubstantiated claims has unfortunately proliferated within transpersonal psychology. This has encouraged a perspective in which rational scrutiny has been placed in abeyance to the degree that there is no difference perceived between, metaphorically speaking, gold and pyrite, not to mention denying that feet may be of mere clay. Thus many trans personal psychologists have unfortunately taken the position of affirming that everything claiming to be spiritual, particularly if it is from an Eastern tradition, is gold. But I believe strongly we can and must distinguish gold from baser metals and, even more importantly, simple clay. The Sufi aphorism that there would not be counterfeiters if there were not real gold applies to the huge number of romantic approaches in the field that suggest at least the possibility of value in the transpersonal area. Excesses of romanticism may have some role in the larger scheme ofthings, but only scientific discrimination can allow us to reliably and validly distinguish what is of value from what is not. Likewise, romanticists who dogmatically embrace only one specific tradition, seeing gold only within that tradition, need to consider that other traditions may also contain gold and even that their own tradition may also contain baser elements. In dramatic contrast to the rejection of the field by advocates of extreme romanticism, there is also a strong rejection by those who advocate a position of scientism which is characterized by an attitude that outwardly appears similar to the attitude of science but is actually dominated by a rigid and closed-minded view. Scientism is not a legitimate aspect ofthe scientific approach per se, since openness is a core scientific value that is complementary to skepticism; instead scientism is a perversion of science that has been corrupted into a parochial ideology. Science should never be an ideology but an approach to knowledge grounded in respect for understanding experience. It is unfortunate that some adherents to scientism have dismissed the entire field of transpersonal psychology as fundamentally irrational and therefore not amenable to scientific approaches. Ellis (1989) has written the best expression of this misguided rejection of transpersonal psychology through engaging in catastrophic thinking, a type of cognitive error he made famous. In his book, he regards the transpersonal perspective as having no value for scientific psychology and he views transpersonal psychology as thoroughly dangerous. Those who embrace scientism and reject the field in this way, however, err through confusing the lack of critical discrimination and the excesses among those embracing extreme romanticism that is endemic in transpersonal psychology with what the field could actually achieve. Their conclusion is not realistically based on any limitation inherent in transpersonal psychology as a science per se, only on fear of the consequences of unbridled romanticism (not totally unwarranted given the problems rampant in the field). I find it fascinating that both romanticism and scientism, appearing antithetical on the surface, fundamentally agree in prematurely rejecting the possibility that transpersonal psychology can be a science. The romanticists need to consider the futility of romantic speculation not based on empirical observation. They should ponder the prospects of their efforts helping to bring in an unfortunate New Age-a New Dark Age. And those who embrace scientism need to consider the narrowness of their approach in the light of the scientific value of openness as opposed to an overly closed-minded skepticism. Neither ofthese protests against the applicability of science to the field can be substantiated and, therefore, a 178 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 science of trans personal psychology cannot be so easily dismissed. Another threat to transpersonal psychology's becoming established as a science stems from the postmodern movement known as constructionism, a term frequently prefaced with adjectives such as social or cognitive (e.g., Gergen, 1994). This approach emphasizes that human knowledge is always constructed in some fashion by "knowers" who bring along personal baggage. Thus all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, is perceived as an artifact having no real independent existence. Furthermore, this construction always is seen in a context limited not only by material constraints but mediated by culture, that is, those who control social power also control the way in which knowledge is constructed. Therefore, knowledge is always relative; there is never an absolute truth, only limited, constructed viewpoints that are necessarily equivocal. The assumptions of constructionism are, in themselves, useful observations about the limitations inherent in all claims to knowledge. However, one unfortunate result of constructionism is that all viewpoints are held to be equally valid. This eliminates science as the defining method for pursuing knowledge and even the value of any knowledge. As applied to the field of transpersonal psychology, assumptions from constructionism may be exaggerated in a particularly problematic way. For example, the recognition of limitations to knowledge widely accepted in the physical sciences (e.g., the Heisenberg uncertainty principle) has eroded the unquestioned authority of the scientific method in general. Constructs such as consciousness and free will that are assumed relevant to all human sciences have further undermined the legitimacy oftraditional approaches to science as applied to the discipline of psychology. It is argued that the limitations of science in the material world are eclipsed by the magnitude of the additional limitations science faces in dealing with the greater complexity inherent in the human world. Finally, in the field of trans personal psychology, science is often blatantly dismissed as irrelevant, particularly in relation to arguments based on transpersonal concepts that openly defy basic scientific assumptions. For example, one such scientific assumption is the presumed requirement of the independence of subject and object in any valid observation or experiment. This assumption is brought into question, however, by constructs such as transpersonal self-expansiveness (MacDonald, Gagnier, & Friedman, 2000; Friedman, 1983) in which the individual is conceptualized as possibly surpassing limitations that allow for any absolute subject-object dichotomy. Thus the uncertainty recognized through the Heisenberg principle in all of science is magnified by the unique concerns of human, as opposed to natural, science and then is further increased in the transpersonal field, bringing doubt as to the ultimate worth of science in trans personal psychology. Constructionism, bolstered by these types of legitimate concerns about scientific limitations, provides an especially potent challenge to the hegemony of science in transpersonal psychology, as well as a challenge to science in general. Several alternative positions to constructionism can contribute to this discussion. One is to clearly posit that aspects of reality can be known, at least to some degree, in ways that are not just cognitively or socially constructed. For example, there may be differences among language users from different cultures as to how they might discuss the ways to climb a mountain. Nevertheless, the mountain appears to solidly exist as an independent reality regardless of how it is described linguistically: Thus significant relativism from the perspective of constructionism might primarily involve the meanings of associated reality, not the reality itself. Remember the Zen saying, "First the mountains are just mountains; then, they are no longer mountains; and in the end they are mountains again." One interpretation of this is that after completing a mystical journey in which reality is deconstructed, reality should once more be reconstructed and realized in both levels ofthat word. One might argue further, from a realist position, that to deny the fundamental reality of the mountain, and its dangers, would be foolhardy and tantamount to death if one were called upon to climb the mountain. Despite the current popularity of constructionism in the humanities and among some in the social sciences, realism is not only viable but still is the main philosophical underpinning of most of contemporary science. Nevertheless, it has been aptly pointed out that, "As we enter the twenty- Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field 179 first century, we psychologists are having trouble with reality" (Martin & Sugarman, 1999, p. 177), particularly in the attempt to reconcile modern with postmodern perspectives. Another alternative to the constructionist argument is the kind of positivism that approaches science as a language game of theory building which mayor may not relate to any ultimate reality. Sometimes this is called postpositivism when there are specific efforts to distance science from veridical ties to any external reality. From this perspective, science should avoid claims about truth and, instead, should only offer theories that progressively become more elegant and closely related to empirical data through their refinement over time. Truth, at least in relationship to any underlying reality, is irrelevant to purists from such a perspective. What is relevant is the ability of a model to be useful in the game of science. This strategy is illustrated by the classic scientific use ofthe null hypothesis, a clever ploy in which scientists construct hypothetical alternative explanations to challenge their theoretical formulations. The scientific method then proceeds by attempting to nullify or disprove these alternative hypotheses. This method does not allow for directly trying to prove the validity of hypotheses that support the theory being would be attempting to affirm something as true: Instead attempts are made to whittle down alternative explanations so that the theory offered becomes either increasingly more compelling or is found to have problems and is rejected. The absolute truth of any theory is thus irrelevant and never proven through this approach to the scientific method: Instead, the systematic rejections of null hypotheses provide increasing circumstantial evidence to enable more confidence to be had in the potential usefulness of a theory. Furthermore, the expectation is that a theory is always a work in progress and will be revised as more becomes known. All theory is therefore relative, a version of our best understanding at the moment. In spite of the current popularity of constructionism in some circles, science based on such versions of positivism is still viable. Unfortunately, it is easy for those who read transpersonal literature and are not conversant with modern science exc;ept through transpersonal "pop" science to misconstrue the importance 'of postmodernism in general and constructionism in particular. Science clearly remains the dominant worldview and is not about to be replaced by a constructionist revolution that would immobilize it. In addition, most scientists do not engage in much philosophical reflection as they proceed in doing science, since the scientific method provides such obvious results. The process of most science is basically oblivious to the implications of constructionism; most scientists implicitly embrace traditional scientific perspectives and avoid the nihilistic quandary of constructionism. That so many transpersonal psychologists have jumped on the constructionist bandwagon as justification for abandoning science is truly counterproductive. In my opinion, the extreme nihilistic implications of constructionism will eventually be seen as an intellectual dead end similar to the sophist paradoxes offered by the ancient Greeks that alleged to demonstrate the impossibility of change. At the same time, constructionism has been useful in further sensitizing us to potential bias issues, such as power and position differences among scientists. Study in the field of transpersonal psychology does involve some specific philosophical difficulties from a scientific perspective but, of course, all sciences struggle with their unique disciplinary problems. Even though constructionism provides some clear insight into scientific limitations, it does not demonstrate that science is irrelevant to transpersonal psychology-and arguments from extreme romanticism and scientism should be outrightly rejected. I conclude that, in spite of the challenges, finding ways to proceed with a science of trans personal psychology should be ardently pursued. Important Distinctions to Facilitate Scientific Progress in Transpersonal Psychology T o FURTHER this discussion, an important distinction alluded to earlier needs to be formally established, namely, that transpersonal studies and transpersonal psychology are not equivalent. The former is a broadly defined domain of inquiry that can legitimately include a diversity of methods ranging from those ofthe humanities to those of a variety of scientific endeavors. Psychology, on the other hand, is defined by most psychologists as a scientific 180 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 discipline; except for a few humanistic and transpersonal adherents who insist that including alternative, that is, nonscientific, approaches is important for the discipline, science is widely accepted as the mainstay of the discipline. A preliminary conceptualization of transpersonal psychology that I see as useful is to place it as a field of study and applied practice positioned at the intersection between the broader domain of inquiry known as trans personal studies and the scientific discipline of psychology. Furthermore, I see transpersonal psychology foremost as a field within the discipline of scientific psychology that focuses on those aspects of trans personal studies that involve the individual, including thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as found in the individual's biological, cultural, social, and wider contexts. In studies or applications related to such transpersonal phenomena, transpersonal psychology can draw upon content common to diverse fields of transpersonal studies. As a field of psychology, however, it requires responsible use of the scientific approach, such as submitting transpersonal folk beliefs to rigorous scientific examination. I consider all nonscientific approaches to transpersonal material better viewed as distinct from transpersonal psychology and classified, instead, within the broader domain of trans personal studies. Likewise, transpersonal approaches that are not focused on the individual, regardless of whether scientific or not, are best viewEld as residing in other transpersonal fields. Unfortunately, the domain of transpersonal studies is often confounded with the field of transpersonal psychology. This has led to much confusion, which I hope the distinction I have drawn clarifies. The present argument is not intended to delimit the methods used by transpersonal studies in anyway; further, it explicitly acknowledges that methods from that domain could be either scientific or representative of other approaches of knowing (e.g., hermeneutics) that are legitimate but not within the realm of science. Nor is the argument intended to limit spiritual or religious beliefs or expressions, whether traditional or New Age. All of these pursuits can, of course, inform and be informed by transpersonal psychology in a variety of creative ways. Another way to facilitate scientific progress in transpersonal psychology would be to overtly recognize specific areas in which science might be irrelevant and bracket them from scientific inquiry. For example, areas resisting scientific efforts since they are not yet amenable to empirical exploration, as previously mentioned, could be appropriately explored by nonscientific methods that are openly recognized as such. This type of exploration would then be seen as prescientific in the sense that it does not preclude the possibility that scientific approaches may later prove possible. An extremely important area that has been immensely problematic to transpersonal psychology is the transcendent. The transcendent is intertwined with most conceptualizations ofthe field, yet I see it as outside of the purview of all scientific approaches, now and in the future. I consider it to be the ultimate holistic concept that can only be experienced, if at all, in a direct and unmediated fashion unhampered by any specific limitation. Since all concepts are inherently limited, they are inadequate vehicles for comprehending the transcendent. All discussions of any attributes of transcendence, for example, through using terms such as "ultimate transcendence" in contrast to "nonultimate transcendence," break down as meaningless. The transcendent is beyond all conventional thought that involves symbolic mediation by words or any limiting symbolic system and beyond all public discourse including science. Thus any direct experience of the transcendent, such as unity consciousness, would be accompanied by an over- ride or shut-down of conventional thought during the time of the experience of transcendence. In this mode, a merger of subject with object would likely occur such that the knower would cease, in any ordinary meaningful way, to be a separate individual. Since unmediated knowledge would be, by definition, experienced directly and, when the experience was over, forgotten or vaguely coded in some system of symbols, one who disappeared as a separate being in transcendence would, upon reentry into the world of ordinary thought and discourse, have to rely on symbolically mediated memory ofthat experience after the transcendence. Even if one were to remain connected with transcendent experience while using a symbolic system such as language, as an enlightened being might possibly be, that use would necessarily be filtered through the limitations ofthe symbolic system and would thus also be limited. Thus I conclude that science is required to be mute about the ultimate issue of Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field 181 the transcendent since it transcends the symbolic process itselfthat is the sole vehicle of science. A major difficulty preventing scientific progress in transpersonal psychology therefore can be avoided through making a clear delineation between the concept ofthe transpersonal and that of the transcendent, a distinction which I hope will lead to a productive reframing of many transpersonal questions. This important distinction between the trans personal and the transcendent is not original. Valle (1998), for example, contrasted transpersonal with transcendent awareness. He described transcendent awareness as prerefiective, or the ground of consciousness without a subject-object split, whereas he described transpersonal awareness as referring to experiences deeper or beyond our ordinary ego sense but not necessarily transcendent. Transpersonal awareness still contains the content of self as a separate knower, in contrast to the transcendent which is radically beyond any limiting content, including rational description, and thus defies direct scientific exploration. However, the transpersonal realm (excluding the transcendent) remains open to scientific study, as does the indirect relationship between indicators of the transcendent and more conventional concepts. Thus asking questions about the transcendent may be still within the realm of science as long as we recognize it is always "about" the transcendent and not directly addressing it (e.g., "How does having transcendent experiences [or at least experiences people are willing to label in such a way] change aspects of a person's life?" or "How do different religious conceptions ofthe transcendent relate to objective cultural or environmental sources of variability?"). The distinction between phenomena and noumena, found throughout the history of Western philosophy, is applicable here in that science can directly study phenomena but not underlying noumena. In this regard, some transpersonal theorists might argue that noumena should be approached only through a higher-level understanding than science can provide (e.g., the "eye of spirit" proposed by Wilber, 1997). Alternatively, I advocate that we exclude the transcendent from direct discourse since we cannot make meaningful statements about it. This position is also congruent with the beliefs of many Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, such as the Judaic emphasis on the essential mystery of God's unknowability and the Taoist emphasis in the Tao Te Ching that those who speak about the Tao do not know of what they speak. There is also a long history of this type of perspective in Western philosophy, going back at least to Plato's famous cave metaphor, that similarly points out limits to what can be directly known. It is therefore imperative for a viable science of transpersonal psychology to clearly delineate the trans personal domain into two areas that have been implicitly confounded by the field. For clarity, I am labeling these as transcendent noumena which are beyond the scope of scientific study, and transpersonal phenomena which are amenable to scientific study. Juxtaposing the term transpersonal with the term phenomena is meant to establish reference to a nontranscendent and non-noumenal area of the transpersonal domain. This distinction provides the important advantage of pointing to the possibility of rigorous scientific examination of transpersonal phenomena while bracketing the metaphysical morass ofthe direct role of science, or rather lack of role, in regard to the transcendent. The transcendent no longer remains confounded with transpersonal phenomena and thus the questions beyond science regarding the transcendent can be fruitfully ignored by a scientific trans personal psychology. It should be explicitly restated, however, that phenomena related to the transcendent, like all phenomena, can be studied by science while the transcendent itself can only be scientifically studied indirectly through secondary indicators. Thus, approaches toward developing a science of trans personal psychology that explicitly excludes the direct study of transcendent noumena provides a firmer basis for scientific progress. Of course, transcendent noumena can still be the focus of transpersonal studies that utilize nonscientific methods, such as comparing poetic depictions of transcendent states. It should be noted, however, that there is a way for science to provide an indirect comment on the transcendent. Even if something cannot be directly shown, it may be delineated through a process of pointing out what it is not. Since all that materially exists may be seen as existing 182 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 within time and space, the realm of the nontranscendent can be symbolically placed on a map of space-time such as used in the construct of transpersonal self-expansiveness (Friedman, 1983). That which transcends this map may be implied by its absence. This type of residual approach to the transcendent can be heuristic and is a core feature of the construct of self-expansiveness. This strategy toward approaching, but never fully grasping, transcendence is similar to that in which some meditative traditions stress disidentifying the self with all limitations, resulting in what is left being that with which one cannot disidentify, the residual of the transcendent. From a more conventional perspective, as calculus can be used to make successive approximations to approach the true measure of the area under a curve, so can a transpersonal approach gradually be like an asymptote and move toward the transcendent while never quite achieving that goal. In my opinion, though, to grasp the transcendent in any meaningful way would require abandoning science and directly experiencing transcendence. Thus a science of transpersonal psychology, though not dealing directly with transcendence, can elucidate the relationship of the transcendent to the world of space-time in which humans typically dwell and about which humans can meaningfully discourse. Furthermore, a transpersonal psychology limited to the domain oftranspersonal phenomena, while excluding transcendent noumena, can be potentially amenable to scientific study and capable of yielding beneficial applications. Transpersonal psychology sorely needs a revolution in perspective, one that allows for transpersonal psychology to be responsibly grounded in scientific approaches. I hope the explicit delineation offered here moves the field in such a direction. Finally, I think it wise, from a scientific perspective, to remain agnostic about the transcendent, even as to whether it can be meaningfully said to exist since it is beyond any categories, even the most fundamental ones of existence and nonexistence. Abandoning all direct speculation about the transcendent would be a productive scientific strategy. Those who operate under the banner of transpersonal psychology while engaging in speculation about the transcendent or, worse, endorsing one system or another that allegedly develops transcendent qualities as part of their professional practice, should be regarded as outside the domain ofthe field. Of course, no religious or spiritual approaches to the transcendent need to be questioned as long as they are not promoted as part of the field of trans personal psychology. Epistemological Considerations T o GRASP more deeply the need for a scientific perspective in the field of transpersonal psychology, it is helpful to attend to how we know anything-the field of epistemology. Transpersonal psychologists who reject science as useful in the discipline are implicitly relying on other strategies for obtaining knowledge. These other strategies, including their benefits and limitations, need to be made explicit. Science, as one way of knowing, is characterized by its emphasis on empiricism, that is, relying on information from our experience as a criterion for affirming knowledge. Our experience may be based upon external sensory input, as is usually emphasized in science, but also can be based on internal sources of experience such as proprioception. Our experience can also be extended through communication with others and through technology, including simple technology such as standardized self-report procedures used in conventional psychometric instruments. However, there are other ways of knowing that mayor may not be more useful than the empiricism of science, depending upon circumstances. For example, following an authority such as a wise guru can be an expedient means to obtain valuable transpersonal knowledge. This may be especially useful if it involves knowledge that may not yet be scientifically available. Science itself has sometimes been criticicized as authoritarian because those who have not been initiated into the fold really cannot evaluate the veracity of its claims. However, at least potentially, individuals can replicate or empirically observe for themselves any process of science and draw their own conclusions, although it might take years oftraining to do so. Of course if the observation requires an enormously expensive piece of equipment, it is an option open only to the scientifically elite. Fortunately, science is competitive, and those who assert any claim typically have an ample supply Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field 183 of competitors to try to disprove their assertion, thus providing a vital check and balance to the system. In this way, science strives to be highly antiauthoritarian, challenging any claims that are not backed up by evidence. Another approach to gaining knowledge is through tradition exemplified by the common platitude as to why something is done a certain way, "because it has always been done that way around here." Traditions are formed in interesting ways; sometimes they are useful, oftentimes they are not. Many religious traditions may provide valuable transpersonal knowledge that may not yet be scientifically available. Science itself has sometimes been criticized for blindly following traditions. Some ofthese scientific traditions may or may not turn out to be useful. The self-corrective nature of science, however, openly encourages growth that can expose what traditions are useful and what are not. Another way of knowing is through intuition. Examples include a felt body sense such as "knowing in the bones" or through a directly revealed inner symbolic system such as dreams. Many transpersonal psychologists seem to especially honor intuition as having a power beyond other ways of knowing. Intuition is a very personal way to know and can seem very compelling. Intuition by itself is based only on one person's insight and is therefore not subject to social testing or capable of being clearly articulated and passed on to others (though it can be translated into a consensual symbolic system and thereby studied scientifically). Furthermore, intuition can be as misleading as any tyrannical system of authority or tradition, especially considering the many biases in human judgment that can alter how intuition becomes interpreted into belief or action. To be able to tell the difference between accurate and inaccurate intuition cannot be resolved at the level of intuition. I am a strong believer, for example, in the meaningfulness of dreams in my personal and professional life. How to accurately interpret these dreams, which I believe are deep intuitive revelations from my unconscious (and/or perhaps superconscious?) is the rub. I know how easy it is for me to arbitrarily flip-flop from one interpretation to another for the same dream as my mood or mindset changes. I would also like to draw a parallel between intuition and emotional knowing. Emotions can be seen as a more primitive way of knowing, based on body arousals that are preverbal and not cognitively mediated. They may arise from simpler brain structures such as our so-called reptilian brain. Thus intuition may have a powerful biological basis in emotion and indeed be accurate at times, but this is not a way of knowing that I would exalt as more accurate than cognitive approaches based on higher brain functions. Ideally I advocate for congruence between what we cognitively know in our higher (mammalian) brain and what we might intuit in our reptilian brain or in our bodies. When there is mismatch, much more deliberation is warranted. Science also draws upon intuition and some of the greatest scientific advances have stemmed from intuitive insight. However science specifically attempts to bring these into the realm of consensual methods that are empirically available. It should be noted, too, that as ambiguity increases in a situation, we tend to rely on others through a process called social comparison. In the transpersonal arena, ambiguity is often maximized since we are looking for that which is customarily unseen, although it is all around us and, indeed, we are it. Thus transpersonal psychology is particularly vulnerable to the infirmities of both misguided tradition and authority in which we tend to rely on others without question. As an example, just as research subjects can be hypnotized into believing false memories, even conscientious meditators who are sincerely looking for a deep truth can unwittingly be led through subtle suggestion to believe in phenomena (and concepts about transcendent noumena) that are not valid. Such socially constructed meanings mayor may not be valid despite an illustrious history of transmission and regardless of whether underlying motives might be benevolent or otherwise. In addition, when phenomena do not easily make cognitive sense, individuals may overvalue intuition. Since at present, transpersonal phenomena are not understood well cognitively, overvaluation of intuition is rampant in the area. The scientific method provides a way of knowing through which blind reliance on tradition, authority, and intuition can be avoided. These other ways of knowing may still be sources 184 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 of inspiration for scientific exploration: for example, they can be scientifically used to produce potential hypotheses for empirical testing through science. To be able to rely on concepts based on experience, regardless of any authority figure or long-held tradition or individual intuitions, provides a unique openness characteristic of science. And because science benefits from cumulative knowledge and is inherently self-correcting, the Con tin uous discovery of new knowledge mayor may not alter what was previously believed. 2 As previously discussed, some transpersonal psychologists are strong adherents to romanticism and blatantly reject the scientific approach as too narrow to be useful to transpersonal inquiry. However, James (18901 1950), one of the pioneers of psychology, argued for a broad, open approach to science that can answer this concern. He called his approach radical empiricism and, over a hundred years ago, clearly addressed much of the contemporary criticism that rejects the applicability of the scientific method to the field. I share his view of the need for a radical empiricism that can allow research into a broad range of experience. Specifically, science may appropriately include innovative approaches that allow for exploring deeply private experiences or even those that require placing an observer in an altered state of consciousness. In this regard, even aspects of certain states of meditation that can be entered only through years of following an esoteric path can be brought into the objective and consensual domain of scientific scrutiny through the use of appropriate methodologies. For example, Tart's (1975) state-specific theory of science allows for a broad view of scientific approaches that includes such techniques as gathering data during altered states of consciousness. His state theory approach to science is an excellent example of how innovative yet rigorous approaches to science can fruitfully be used to explore transpersonal phenomena that were previously thought to be unamenable to scientific research. Although this type of scientific approach might require researchers to devote years toward mastering a meditation technique in order to research a type of transpersonal phenomenon, it is not so dissimilar to the years of mastery required by researchers in areas of conventional science. Conclusions I T IS important to consider some ofthe beneficial implications that could come with success in developing a scientific transpersonal psychology. The discipline of scientific psychology as a whole has been struggling throughout its short history to develop a unifying paradigm (Yanchar & Slife, 1997). I believe that the transpersonal perspective is the most comprehensive perspective possible for psychology and could provide such a paradigm. Similarly, Cortright (1997) wrote, "Transpersonal psychology is in the unique position of being the only psychological approach to human experience that can be more than just integrative but fully inclusive ... " (p. 242). Ifthe field oftranspersonal psychology could abandon its current posture of ambivalence, if not overt rejection, toward science, it could progress beyond being an isolated and narrow endeavor to having a real impact on the larger discipline of psychology. Transpersonal psychology should therefore be actively concerned with contributing to the development of mainstream, conventional psychology and not remain content with its marginalized status within the larger discipline. More crucially, a scientific transpersonal psychology could have major consequences in productively addressing the massive crises rampant in our contemporary world. Krippner (1998) expressed this theme well: "There is an urgent need in today's fractious world for integrative transpersonal perspectives, especially if presented in ways that are self-critical and able to be linked in contemporary scientific and practical concerns" (pp. x-xi). Returning to its scientific roots is the only path for transpersonal psychology to take in order to make such needed contributions. Furthermore, accelerating advances within science, such as sophisticated new neurotechnologies applicable to studying consciousness, are increasingly opening innovative and exciting scientific avenues for exploring trans personal psychology. A redirection back to science would both allow transpersonal psychology to gain acceptance as a legitimate enterprise within the larger community of scientific efforts, including the discipline of psychology, and allow for its responsible application toward human betterment. Perhaps no field identified with the discipline of psychology has openly accepted so many Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field 185 nonscientific approaches as has transpersonal psychology. Wilber (1998) has aptly expressed the current state of the field, as follows: "There are many who see all too clearly the sad shape our field is in. They tell me about it all the time. They are truly alarmed by the reactionary, antiprogressive, and regressive fog thickly creeping over the entire field" (p. 336). Without a rededication to science, the field is unlikely to progress or earn acceptance by the scientific and professional communities and, accordingly, it is likely to eventually stagnate and disappear, its ultimate impact on humankind being slight. Transpersonal psychology could be either totally forgotten or remembered only as an obscure footnote in a few ofthe more comprehensive history of psychology books. Sadly, this is generally its status now in mainstream psychology. If trans personal psychology, however, were to return to its original vision and fully embrace a renewed commitment to science, it could become not only scientifically and professionally viable but also one of the most important assets to the survival of humankind and its continued evolution. Simply stated, the path transpersonal psychology will follow will be determined by whether its scientific proponents actively demonstrate renewed commitment toward creating a responsible science or, instead, allow the field to lapse into the default status of merely being another superfluous New Age movement or worse, a sham promulgating Eastern religious traditions under the false pretenses of being part of the discipline of psychology. We are at a choicepoint: if transpersonal psychology fails to more fully embrace science and thereby ceases to exist as a field, its disappearance would create an unfortunate void since no other field is so well oriented toward forging the necessary scientific perspectives to directly address pressing global problems. In contrast, if a renewed commitment to science were to occur, competent theorists and researchers would be attracted to the challenges abundant in this field. I do not know of any field more worthy, nor in need, of intense scientific efforts. I am also convinced that, if concerted scientific efforts were to be made in transpersonal psychology, the resulting advances could have great potential for improving the human condition, even for preserving our planet from destruction. As we go about destroying our own planet with our material success (excess), the roots of any salvation for our species and our world can be found only in the firm realization of the interconnectedness of ourselves and all humankind to our ultimate ground of being. Transpersonal psychology can provide such a focus for this realization. I hope that transpersonal psychologists will become involved in a deeper and more systematic examination about what the field promotes and where it is heading in order to provide an additional impetus for its redirection to science. Ultimately, I believe that scientific progress in the field will lead not only to increased transpersonal understanding but may even lay the groundwork for larger numbers of us to directly experience transcendence-which, indeed, goes beyond what science can directly grasp, but toward which science can possibly point. Notes This article is partially based on the following: Friedman, H. (2000). Toward developing transpersonal psychology as a scientific field. Paper presented at the Old Saybrook 2 Conference, State University of West Georgia, Carrolton, Georgia, USA. l. The complete statement of purpose reads as follows: The Journal of Trans personal Psychology is concerned with the publication of theoretical and applied research, original contributions, empirical papers, articles and studies in meta-needs, ultimate values, unitive consciousness, peak experience, ecstasy, mystical experience, B-values, essence, bliss, awe, wonder, self- actualization, ultimate meaning, transcendence ofthe self, spirit, sacralization of everyday life, oneness, cosmic awareness, cosmic play, individual and species wide synergy, maximal interpersonal encounter, transcendental phenomena; maximal sensory awareness, responsiveness and expression; compassion; and related concepts, experiences and activities. As a statement of purpose, this formulation is to be understood as subject to optional individual or group interpretations, either wholly or in part, with regard to the acceptance of its content as essentially naturalistic, theistic, supernaturalistic, or any other designated classification. 2. As an aside, it is undeniable that many have intentionally defrauded others for monetary or other advantages in the transpersonal arena, not to speak of the dogmatic intolerance in this area which has caused much human suffering. I therefore maintain strongly that science, as an open system with built-in checks and balances, is sorely needed in transpersonal psychology to protect consumers of both knowledge and services from exploitation. In fact, I think it is needed more in trans personal psychology than in any other field. 186 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 References Cortright, B. (1997). Psychotherapy and spirit: Theory and practice in transpersonal psychology. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Ellis, A. (1989). Why some therapies don't work: The dangers of transpersonal psychology. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books. Friedman, H. (1983). The Self-Expansiveness Level Form: A conceptualization and measurement of a trans personal construct. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 15, 37- 50. Gergen, K. (1994). Realities and relationships: Soundings in social construction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. James, W. (1950). The principles of psychology. New York: Dover. (Original work published 1890) Krippner, S. (1998). Foreword. In D. Rothberg & S. Kelly (Eds.), Ken Wilber in dialogue. Wheaton, IL: Theosophi- cal Publishing House. Lajoie, D., & Shapiro, S. I. (1992). Definitions oftranspersonal psychology: The first twenty-three years. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 24,79-98. Martin, J., & Sugarman, J. (1999). Psychology's reality de- bate: A "levels of reality" approach. Theoretical and Philo- sophical Psychology, 19, 177-194. MacDonald, D., Gagnier, J., & Friedman, H. (2000). Transpersonal self-concept and the five-factor model of personality: Evidence for a sixth stable dimension of per- sonality. Psychological Reports, 86,707-726. Schneider, K. (1998). Toward a science of the heart: Roman- ticism and the revival of psychology. American Psycholo- gist, 55,277-289. Sutich, A. (1969). Some considerations regarding transpersonal psychology. Journal of Transpersonal Psy- chology, 1(1), 11-20. Tart, C. (1975). States of consciousness. New York: Dutton. Valle, R (1998). Transpersonal awareness: Implications for phenomenological research. In R Valle (Ed.), Phenomeno- logical inquiry in psychology: Existential and transpersonal dimensions (pp. 273-279). New York: Ple- num Press. Walsh, R, & Vaughan, F. (1993). On transpersonal defini- tions. Journal of Trans personal Psychology, 25,199-207. Wilber, K. (1997). The eye of spirit: An integral vision for a world gone slightly mad. Boston: Shambhala. Wilber, K. (1998). A more integral approach. In D. Rothberg & S. Kelly (Eds.), Ken Wilber in dialogue (pp. 400-402). Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House. Yanchar, S., & Slife, B. (1997). Pursuing unity in a fragmented psychology: Problems and prospects. Review of General Psychology, 1, 235-255. Transpersonal Psychology as a Scientific Field 187 Michael G. Mitchell 188 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 LumiGnosis Michael G. Mitchell Washington DC, USA P HOTOGRAPHY CAN compress what moves through eternity into the appearance of a single moment. Eternity is always willing to participate; light is its favorite son. Light is always ready to befriend the sensitive photographer and to induce metacomprehensive wonder. I have sometimes wondered whether light might actually be alive; or perhaps something alive is breathing through it. In either case, I am a prostrated moth. I was twenty-four when light introduced itself one night. It was not just a handshake. In the throes of great despair, I had been trying to photographically diagram my own internal wiring when I photographically discovered the current running through it. It was a spontaneous initiation: a young ego looking through a lens and meeting the Self Light was not the current flowing through my wires, but the two mysteriously conspired in successive synchronicities. The experience began when I walked out onto a pier at night. It was late; the sky shouldn't have been as bright as it was. I was surrounded by a fast-moving, vaporous luminance that seemed more infinite than a sky full of stars. Offshore I noticed a cluster of rocks. They seemed to hang suspended in a perplexing penumbral glow. My eyes could fix upon nothing else. The light was spaceless motion in which I too was suspended and an almost mathematical equation formed between man and rock. As the clouds suddenly lifted like a theater curtain going up, an enormous full moon at center stage beckoned me to join it. The plot then unfolded within a multidimensional polygon formed of things seen and unseen, things known and unknowable. A love of immeasurable density reached out to me, embraced me, invited me to dwell within it. The whole experience, enacted in a poetic geometry, both empyrean and intimate, was what British author Charles Williams must have meant when he said that love is "the pure mathematics of the spirit." When the drama was over, the image on the opposite page was left on stage-"a footprint left at the passing ofjoy"-as C. S. Lewis once said. Everything in my life became reordered around a new center. Truth has always come to me through my eyes. What I call "greater truth" comes as poetry sung by the voice of light. Michael G. Mitchell The Internationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 188-194 189 2002 by Panigada Press Michael G. Mitchell 190 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Michael G. Mitchell LumiGnosis 191 Michael G. Mitchell 192 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Michael G. Mitchell LumiGnosis 193 Michael G. Mitchell 194 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol 21 Dinomor Evoking Memories of Dino's Dreams and Death Tonu R. Soidla Institute of Cytology St. Petersburg, Russia This is a transpersonal fantasy about the last days of the dinosaurs ca., sixty-five million years ago. I suppose that communication with the Timeless (or if one prefers to put it- with Another) in one's mind precedes intraspecies communication and that one of the first recognizable acts of mystical life is surrender. A more specific and of course more far-out and irreverent hypothesis underlying this fantasy is that-unlike the bulk of individual memory records-Timeless memory "seeds" of unspecified origin are transmittable by a [retrolenterovirus. This leads to the possibility of horizontal transmission of this type of memory. In the new host, the Timeless memory virus persists until one day, after a possibly quite long genetical adjustment process, it will be inserted into DNA coding for synchronization signals of the memory recording machinery of this organism. Within the synchronization signals Timeless memory seeds will further adjust to the new host and then become active in a cycle of reciprocal editing of individual memory records (that is often quite adaptive for the host organism) and as a result will often multiply to very high titers (copy numbers). NEVER SAY THIS DIRTY WORD TRANSPERSONAL AGAIN. MORMORANDO A CREATOR OF even a primitive plot can easily (albeit most likely rather idiosyncratically) visualize the global difference between "below-transpersonal" and "transpersonal" worlds. Below-transpersonal can have to do with the psychology of heroes, with ethical or aesthetic problems one has in one's mind when writing. Transpersonal exists on a quite different level, that can be present or absent in a given literary product as an important component of its quality. Of course, it can appear, not as some mystical overtones of the story, rather as some "authentity" ("an entity of authentic," "a demon of authentic"), as an energy animating the dramatis personae. I have a dream of being a writer. I fancy I have managed to borrow some really living stuff from the famous fate-forming sisters. It is the kitchen of the Moiras where one comes to borrow some living water (that volens nolens comes together with a good bottle of the dead one). I imagine that I am (or: Mind is) in possession of programs to tackle such a task. What one needs to do is to learn to activate them-and then not to interfere (active personal free will spoils the operation). To write a novel is a long story and one must have enough time to fall in love with "one's own creatures" (they are not something one can own, but we are prone to forgetting this kind of "mystical knowledge"). One easily forgets the teachings from the Moiras' kitchen. One feels one can help one's heroes along a bit. (Why not? One does the writing, one seems to be the creator of the magical world.) One can even try to concoct a happy ending. But it doesn't work. With one's heightened responsibility one feels that the life energy leaves one's heroes and one is left with dead dolls-good for nothing. One is forced to conclude The lnternationaljournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 195-202 195 2002 by Panigada Press that, intending to help one's own heroes, one has confronted a powerful adversary. One of course learns to cheat this force one is opposing: with mixed results. After a long series of attempts, after discovering a lot of long-term adverse effects, one grows to understand that only, say, God's help will really overcome this force. One has to invite a God into one's own dollhouse. But one cannot obtain God's (as well as gods') help for nothing, and inviting this ultimate force into a dollhouse, one has to borrow a version of one's own life story, a version which one possibly does not quite like. Or-and for me this is also a difficult decision-one has to accept the rules of the Moiras, of the fate-forming forces. To give life to one's heroes one has to invite Death and a lot of other dreadful archetypes to their cradles. To cultivate life in one's glass box one must accept the rights of forces that seem to be hostile to life or that transcend the very meaning of life. And so it is: life and death, love and hate, heaven and earth- the powerful machinery that one may find difficult to accept, but at the same time is clearly unable to ignore. Getting intimate with this shocking world does not bring happiness, but it can bring understanding. Forms rise and disappear. Something that seems to be a power-laden- nothing-or nonsense-remains.-This is still a below-transpersonal world. And then one day, one just surrenders. CHILDREN OF /(RONOS B ACK IN the black and white below- transpersonal world I am writing this very text. The twin towers of the WTC lie in ruins, antiterror is fighting terror in the mountains of Afghanistan. Alas. A lot of awful things have already happened in the very beginning of the new millennium; even worse things seem quite likely to surface one day in the future. Maybe this is the way our world is (it just happens-in a stochastic manner); maybe this is a part of an even greater plan of the awe-inspiring great consciousness. (Personally, I feel inclined to believe in the last version, but this is something that one can never prove. Dualistically speaking, I still believe that we can be clever, very clever. On the practical level, we can corner some most dangerous terrorists and even bomb some threatening asteroids. On the metaphysical level, we can find refuge in transforming ourselves either to atheists or to religious fundamentalists. We can have impressive local success along all these lines. But there remains something in the Great Mind that transcends our best intentions and clever tricks, that-dancing like Shiva-a trivial thing to say, an awful event to perceive-blows away its own safeguarding devices and challenges us at the highest level. And this is the way any limited world ends one fine day.) Anyway, it is obviously not difficult to imagine catastrophes of any scale in these last days of the year 2001. These famous catastrophes in planet Earth's history ... Quite ironically, the sad thoughts about the world's end have led us to the beginning of our story. INTRODUCING DINO M ANY MILLIONS of years ago there lived dinosaur Dino. At least I would like to call him this way. A rather small guy-if one has in mind all the other-huge-dinosaurs of the popular books written sixty-five million years later: seven or eight feet high or so. (I hope you would not make an attempt to measure his massive tail. The tail does not count, ... at least in an empathy and identity game like this-and then Dino would never allow anyone to touch his tail. He is not a lizard! No, sir! Don't touch it!) Dino's time was evenly divided between hunger, fear, and hate. He had to fear all the massive creatures, and there were so many of them around. There were not enough small animals to catch and devour, and not enough corpses killed by larger dinosaurs, not enough eggs left unguarded ... and so he was hungry almost all day. Also, there were many, possibly thirty or so dinosaurs of his own kind searching for the same edible stuff. Hateful creatures. Sssshh-Aarrh! They had to be kept away, when he was eating. (Or one had to attempt to scare them away when they were eating and Dino was hungry. This happened only too often.) When Dino grew older and stronger his life felt more orderly and comfortable. He had mastered most of the necessary minidinosaurian arts of hide-and -seek, and strangely enough, he seemed to get even less and less dependent on 196 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 having a supply of his traditional food. He was better at finding something to eat, he had broadened his menu to include insect larvae and even some plants, and he seemed to simply need less food. Overeating sometimes even gave him stomach pains. More and more time passed just roaming about and looking around together with his mate d'O. (This is not a love story, so she will not be mentioned further in this treatise, but I would like to suppose that she was an important figure in Dino's life.) Occasionally Dino met small furry creatures: most unpleasant, worthless, eating dinosaurs' eggs and also almost anything else on their way. They displayed extreme cowardice, and at the same time, cunning guerrilla tactics in getting to eggs. They were the scum of life, decadent, revolting new-age figures, too gregarious, a visible negation of the dinosaurian way of life, always present around, under some bush, quick in running away (never in a straight line), and in some not quite clear way, dangerous. In his older age Dino hated these perverse creatures no less than in his youth-but now he avoided killing them. For some mysterious reason these hideous creatures had to be respected. As an old dinosaur he was generally more cautious now, listening to subtle inner warnings. Sometimes he had to use all his inner power to block-with noisy breathing-his fits of rage. Rrrshh! And then after a few minutes he was his basic melancholic, old age, everyday self again. Even the furry decadents felt quite funny now. He had gotten a strange feeling that in roaming this way he was saying farewell, an endless farewell to some invisible relatives of his. So every day he went higher and higher into the hills, where the overbearing heat gave way to a comfortable coolness. And the surrounding scenery of the uplands induced a feeling of pleasant inner silence that seemed to replace much of his hunger. One very hot summer day, he managed to climb beyond a snowy, usually inaccessible mountain pass. He reached a large high valley-a place of practically no food competition, of no natural enemies. Dino was not a very effective dinosaur, and this place oflow competition and a scarce but constant food supply was a blessing. The huge trees ofthis valley gave him a special feeling, leading his mind to a state of deep comfort. Recalling this comfort, he got a strange intuition that, in its totality, his own life of making guesses and decisions was in a way like a tree, or maybe a small branch of a huge world tree.-With Dino, the form of this intuitive knowledge was of course quite different from what is written here (something on white paper with black, computer-generated letters and concepts like "totality of his life" and "world"). But in some basic dimension these differences are possibly not so important. Dino experienced long silent exchanges of feelings with certain trees. (No fellow dinosaurs had ever induced him to attempt such "conversations." Speaking with gods comes into being before the emerging-development-of any "formal" or "normal" language.) DINO'S DREAMS, GUESSES, SURRENDER O THER NEW things occurring were dreams that he now often remembered after waking. (The technique that he developed in his refugee valley was to recall dreams within the very first moments after waking. This opened to him a whole new source of creative feedback, a world loaded with protorefiection.) Some of these dreams were nightmarish-like the very first dreams he memorized-but during the last few years a lot of his "new" dreams were most rewarding: hills and forests more inviting than he had ever seen; sometimes he saw them from a strange point of view, as iffiying over them. He wanted to reenter some of his dreams, but he noted that exerting his own will usually spoiled his efforts. Shapes could be recalled, but they were gray; their behavior was a train of lifeless actions. Dino learned to be passive to reenter the real dream world. His simple but powerful metaphysics slowly created a notion of Another that was hidden in his Mind. This Another was behind the forms oftrees, creeks, and the countless living creatures he was prone to meet in dreams. He had to surrender to this Another to reach the living world of dreams. Without his surrender, this world was lifeless. Being alone, now he often started humming to thank this life-giving Another. In some way, it meant, among other things, the realization that only surrender could lead to the comfort and insights of the dream world. Dinomor 197 Dreamlike states now began coming to him during the daytime. There were not so many enemies in the upland and so Dino could allow himself to be carried away by these daydreams. In the pauses between different images, he sometimes found something even more important: a feeling of some great presence that made everything else seem insignificant; something preceding everything that he perceived around him. And it gave him a feeling of certainty. Of course, Dino was not able to ask: Who am I? But at least he was able to hum and to feel a foretaste of some future total surrender. All dinosaurs were a bit preadapted for surrender, and maybe this is why they became extinct. It started with egg shells growing thicker than those of other reptiles, which necessitated mothers biting their eggs to release the baby dinosaurs when they were hatched by the sun. As a result, their standard perinatal experiences included the immediate experience of their mothers' teeth, linking birth and life to danger and death. And it made dinosaurs more prone to surrender to death, not to fight, invent, or adapt, just surrender-when the catastrophe came. (Excuse me, Prof Grof! ) Pondering on my friend (maybe even alter ego) Dino-sixty-five million years away-I would risk saying that if dinosaurs were monsters, then certainly, they were also metaphysical monsters, ready for a major blast of consciousness. In the case of Dino, metaphysical discoveries started flooding his small brain like a newborn landslide. Timeless parts of his memory were creating more and more hybrid structures with his individual memory at an ever-increasing pace. And there were other dinosaurs of his kind in countless isolated valleys of Mother Gaia. It was like a repeating epidemic-this virus infectionlike growth of a great Another-of timeless repetitive parts of memory, once inserted into inherited synchronization signals (see Soidla, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001). Would Dino's descendants have been on the way toward stealing a seed oflanguage from the Timeless, towards building rational thinking, culture, and civilization? Would they have created moral discrimination (judgment) and metaphysics and physics? Would they have invented something even more powerful? We know their fate was otherwise. THE ECHO OF THE FUTURE BANG. THE WORLD ENDS. BASTA C URIOUSLY, DINO in a way was warned, but couldn't understand or make any use of this warning. And what could he do? Like an average human being in such a situation, he was just scared. The first sign of some approaching major events was that things started to follow each other in new patterns-first in dreams and then in a wakeful state. (Dino had a keen intuitive eye for patterns.) Soon Dino's anxiety was building up. He noticed that at times, although the air was quiet, some branches started hectic movements as if trying to get his attention. No one was in these trees. One day Dino found that a huge stone had fallen and half-closed the entrance to the cave where he used to take his afternoon nap. Strange new ailments made him feel bad. And the dreams! This was not a precognition of the coming catastrophe, nothing as clear as this, but some distant roar of approaching global changes, a shattering of the familiar way of constellations linking his life events. In this world of new patterns he learned more about surrender. A dream turns into a nightmare: Some giant dark shape resembling a fat pig-like mammal, but huge and impossibly dark, approached him. Instead of his usual reaction of a scared hiss and scream-this time, somehow, he had an intuition to surrender to this danger: Momentarily he was transferred to a strange very peaceful landscape of primary colors that made him feel happy beyond measure. He woke up having learned his lesson. Then, something very major, very basic, very bad indeed, happened. Dino could not understand it-he just felt something more awful than the worst nightmare. One afternoon, fire appeared at the barely visible Twin Peaks, and mists grew around them. Dino's valley was shaken by thunder and then by a roar of stormy God's winds. The following days were ones of darkness, endless rains, and torrents in valleys, carrying away whole parts of forests. The air was deadly cold. Was it this asteroid? Or was it something else, leading to a local catastrophe only? In the last case, the dinosaurs in other localities had 1,000 or 10,000 or maybe 100,000 years of further evolution. This makes a very small difference on 198 The Internationaljournal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 the cosmic time scale. (We know, that for mammalians, even the huge asteroid of sixty-five million years ago was not the final event.) But let us honor Dino, supposing that he perished in the famous global catastrophe. Dino was deathly scared. He did not yet know that he was doomed and that after a few weeks, his corpse-due to his crest and tail curiously looking like a three-meter-Iong ADM sign on the fresh snow-would be devoured by a small group of scared but determined mammalians. But in a way his experience of surrender in his dreamlife helped him to accept his own weakness, and the surrounding new cold and darkness as a part of something more powerful than himself- something that could possibly restore him to an ecstatic life again, if only he could surrender appropriately as he usually did upon reentering the dream world. What surrounded him now just could not be a real world. It was so different from everything he had ever experienced. Surrender, surrender. Death means Life. Only to be able to surrender. You must not hope for any sophisticated thoughts from this little scavenger, a tiny relative of Tyrannosaurus rex. But these protothoughts were the greatest breakthrough of his world, something that no one could surpass for millions of years. DINO'S PERI-HOLOCAUST DREAMS. CADENZA D REAMS WERE by far the most important part of his life during the few special weeks before the asteroid fall and in some warmer days after the catastrophe. Dino saw his own valley, then a white dinosaur with a huge wound on his side near a stream. Dino had to cross the nearby stream to reach this dying Dinosaur. The water, that closed in for a moment above his head, made his thoughts very silent, almost crystal clear. Dino had a strange feeling that this dying dinosaur was in a way inviting him to eat its flesh. Drawing closer, he noticed that this was really quite a fancy dinosaur; his head was different, unlike everything he had ever seen. His scavenger instincts revolted. He was attracted to this feast and at the same time was frightened by this dinosaur, or possibly of something that would happen if he ate its flesh. Slowly he began to recognize that this was a dream. Then he was restored to a chilly morning in his valley. A train of impressions came with this dream- as if to Dino-or maybe to the mind that recreated this scene. But who knows the limits of an Awakened dinosaurian mind? Dino seemed to have revived a seed of a story about something that happened a long time ago, when Dina had not yet quite the same personality. All this opened a door to a mirrored passageway of minds, from pro-Dinos to Dina to me, trying to come to an understanding together of something that had once happened and possibly was to happen again and again. Dino- or one of the not-quite Dinos-seemed to remember that something new had entered his consciousness, as if starting from the moment when he tasted the flesh of this dying dinosaur. Something had entered his consciousness / memory, something like an illness that was to last for a long time, but an illness, that in a way was dear to his very I, to his heart, that was melting away. It was as if a timeless dialogue had begun that was to expand his very nature and make it more complex. (And to open him rather soon to some gifts of the Timeless.) He entered into this complexity, that turned out to be a state of great peace and silence. Dino saw an unlimited tree of countless leaves, branches, flowers, and fruits in semidarkness, and then a pitch-black darkness where dead branches were sleeping with hollows full of insects. He surrendered to this dark plane of horror, and suddenly butterflies flying over branches bathing in sunshine surrounded him. Still it was the same tree. Moreover, the tree itself, the butterflies, and Dino were the same tree. And it seemed as though this was the only tree in the world. Suddenly Dino (who was the tree) felt that the tree was larger than the world itself and that there were small worlds-countless worlds-like dewdrops on the leaves of the tree. This dream sent him whirling into a deep inviting silence. He awoke happy and full of energy. Dino saw soil rising, and under the earth the giant head of a dinosaur started emerging. Before he could recognize his panic he surfaced into the gray world of a chilly winter morning. He fell asleep again. He awoke, being somehow called to the entrance of his den. He saw the back of a dark, giant dinosaur with a rather small head covered with something soiled. He noticed the lack of a tail and black fur. Yes, something was very, very wrong with this shape. Dino screamed and screamed, and then he really awoke. Dinomor 199 It was a clear world of black sky, brilliant stars, and four large, cold, shining moons. Dino felt a strange thought he could not quite comprehend. The thought took the form of a dark huge mountain crystal of incredible complexity behind its shining facets. But he was aware that this polyhedron was nothing else than the thought that he had to comprehend. It made him dizzy, and then he almost got what the crystal wanted him to know. Still separate from this new knowledge, he grew happy about having almost understood. The crystal changed to a rainbow-colored-bubble full of almost imperceptible, very quick movement. Complex interwoven patterns of pure sounds- that he seemed never in his life to have encountered-were filling the space around the bubble. The complexity he had felt was now infinitely enhanced and was clearly related to the bubble and to the attached music. He looked and looked. Time seemed to have stopped. Dino awoke into the darkness of night. When Dino continued his dream something had changed. The great rainbow bubble he knew must have been nearby could not be seen any more: only darkness with countless stars. After a period of time he was not able to estimate, a luminous white dinosaur passed Dino, radiating silence and peace. Dino knew this dinosaur but was not able to recall any details oftheir meeting. Suddenly everything changed and now a different dinosaur glided into place behind Dino. A strange dinosaur it was-with a multicolored fur coat and two lines of gleaming mammalian-like breast nipples that made Dino shudder. The dinosaur's face exuded fury. A low-pitched, growing roar shook the space around Dino, but it did not scare him: as if all this did not quite reach him, was behind some screen, some dividing line. The dinosaur's body was glowing, his giant, enlarged tail filling almost all the space. Legions of smaller, fire-tailed dinosaurs followed the giant one. Dino perceived their anguish. He felt that this was an end of something important. From the depths of his consciousness arose a wave of desire to smash into something warm and fun oflife, to destroy it and to destroy himself as well. No, there was an important point to keep in mind. He had to leap into the dark water of death, but in some mysterious but obvious way he also had to merge with the mirror image on its surface, and then victoriously reemerge in some airless, but animated, comfortless, but highly energy-laden state, oflife-in-death. It was unbearable! Nothing could be more alien to Dino's profound but simple Jurassic Self. A fit of panic enveloped him; and then he managed to surrender. It was so easy, so natural. He was back in his valley and dandelionlike seeds were flying all around. The sun warmed Dino who was lying in deep grass. The sky above him was cloudless and peaceful. The image slowly faded, and Dino awoke into cold morning mist. A giant red dinosaur, who turned out to be constituted of many tongues of fire, was dancing-facing Dino. For us-who are looking back from the distance of millions of years-this dance was hilarious and cosmic, ceremonious and mocking. Dino perceived only something "impossible," something related to extreme fear. Not only the mysterious aspects of red dinosaur behavior scared him. The fire itselfwas what he feared most. Dino attempted to surrender and thus dissolve this frightening image but was unable to do so. This panicked him even more, but then, as he instinctively changed his body position, the images blurred and disappeared in a whirl of fire, growing dimmer and dimmer and finally disappearing in the darkness of sleep. The very last night of his life once again Dino saw blue sky, a bit distorted, and seen from the strange perspective of someone lying below the ground level. Colored boughs framed the lower part ofthis scene. There were no signs of any life; only the feeling of a presence of some benign, endless serenity. This day Dino woke up happy. SUMMA AND CODA D INO HAD learned to navigate the dream world, that in turn had taught him to be a good witness. Dreams-together with jolts of his inner world due to memory lapses-had taught Dino about a great tree of alternative worlds penetrating all layers of reality. As a by-product, this gave him a certain affinity toward trees, almost leading to the power of communicating. What is more important, Dino had learned about a Source giving life and reality to his images. He had learned that in the blank silence between images there is a direct way to a supportive Source. (Somehow he was sure it was the same Source in both cases.) He had learned about the 200 The International Journal of Trans per sonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 changing patterns of his own life story and his world. But behind the surface of his happiness or panic, the Source remained steady, luminous in the coming dark. In his fleeting connection with inner silence he sensed a direct way to this Source. In his own intuitive, wordless way he had come very close to a nondual realization. It is the dualistic world where the Timeless is an object of worship, a Lord, and also an ideal servant; a cosmic manipulator, and also an object of metaphysical manipulation; an embodiment of love and grace and also an ultimate divider and destroyer. In the nondualistic world, the Self and the Timeless are one. Dino did not feel our compassionate and understanding eyes focused on him. No pathos. No self-pity. He just felt that Great Mind was returning to its oceanlike silence. Somehow his consciousness just leaped towards this great silence. Dino surrendered. He disappeared into the smoky mists of the after-asteroid world like Hans Castorp. Ahead lay several weeks of his body trying to adjust to the new environment. Body was acting, Self was witnessing. The entity Dino had left the scene. RELATING TO THE WORLD THAT ENDED. GRAVE D INO HAD felt the riverlike great flow of timeless consciousness. He had been a tiny but not unimportant part of it. But he was never aware that this powerful torrent was on the verge of disappearance-like a river vanishing underground-for sixty-five million years or so. Is this missing time really so important? In the timeless world of the Source (of the Great Mind behind the world, etc.) it is just one more factoid concerning the path of consciousness on our planet. The Timeless had come to us as a heavenly virus, a message of Silence, a generative text of the Source. (Are we able to delete an unrelated item on the above list? Words are misleading, understanding blinks.) After the great dinosaur catastrophe, the Timeless continued its existence- like a dark, conservative, and at the same time all-powerful force, lacking focused self- awareness-within synchronization signals of the inherited protomemory (Soidla, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997,2001) of countless surviving creatures who were to inherit the Globe. The Timeless slept- (but who can ever measure its countless in-sleep activities)-to resume, one day, the great dialogue of the Timeless and the personal. The Timeless will reemerge, yet something- a will-o'-the-wisp of individual self-awareness above the dark waters of memory-had vanished, a small spark that enlightened one mind (maybe a few separated dinosaurian minds). There was no one to be sad about it. MEMENTO DINO. MEMORIES THROUGH MEMORIES THROUGH MEMORIES. CON DOLORE A SMALL FACT? For a Great Mind it may be so, it is for us humans that the "plus/minus humankind" part of the great consciousness equation makes a difference, feels personal. It is our humanness that allows us to feel emotionally the "plus/minus dinosaurs" part of the same equation. Our mind is reaching for missing overtones, for a missing resonance of the music of our consciousness, for missing relatives to be added to a family photo. Children busily collect dinosaurs' pictures-so in a way Dino has already entered our family archives. What I write about Dino is of course an exercise of a multimillion-years' empathic leap: for most of my readers more or less a play of fantasy. I will not argue this point. Still, I would propose that we-inhabiting the great field of consciousness many millions of years after these events-erect a monument to Dino and his contemporaries: a monument to change our mind. A monument of any material. Of course it starts in a subtle realm of our limited consciousness and memory. Then it transmutes the memory to some gross matter. Eternity is in love with the productions of time. And I suppose that the Timeless enjoyed Dino's time. (The dreams and intuitions I have guessed at here are not a major argument on this point: Our children intuit it directly.) Yes, the Timeless is in love with the productions oftime. But at the same time we, timelings, are in love with the subtle Timeless. Possibly this passion for the Timeless leads us to create artifacts that are more stable than our transient bodies. Artifacts that allow us to make whole, to "totalize" our love, to come closer to the Timeless in the "objective" physical world, before transcending it. Dinomor 201 Also important is that we may feel how near we have come to our own destruction these days. If Dino could be miraculously transferred to our world he would be scared by a subtle, holistic, pericatastrophic deja vu experience ... (Still I hope we can proceed by a different bough of the many- worlds tree.) Who will remember us when we humans disappear? Erecting a monument to Dino, inconnu, we build a monument to the inhabitants of the other mansions of our father, to other beings sharing with us the great field of consciousness; to our own vulnerable existence. For many of us this will be an important step forward to openly facing the field of Great Mind and Great Memory. Brother Dino, countless other beings, we are all together. In the great silence of our common Source. SONG OF A SMALL RAINBOW BUBBLE A dreaming Dino Of the elusive ensemble of Timeless Drafting first Drumming Memory Nursery Rhymes Within Timeless Within Drumming Stumbling Blocks Thundering Boulders Trumpeting Alleluias Countless Stars Serpents Dragons Birds Sharks Whole Singing Holy Kingdom Horos Sunlike Countenance That Self Void Formless Source Thou Comforter Passionate Messenger New Bond Within Timeless The boy of the Chorus of Horos Reciting Trumpeting Memory Nursery Rhymes References Soidla, T. R. (1993). Some preliminary notes for a RNA-edit- ing based model of memory. Folia Baeriana, 6, 261-268. Soidla, T. R. (1995). Open mouth, open mind: An impression- istic attempt at a transpersonal autobiography. Part 2. Living and losing with high energies [With Appendix- The basic hypothesis: An editing model of memory]. Inter- national Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 14(Supple- ment),43-59. Soidla, T. R. (1996). A constant rate synthesis/editing model of memory coding. In Consciousness Research Abstracts. Toward a Science of Consciousness, 1996, "Tucson II," p. 66. Soidla, T. R. (1997). Biological texts, spiritual values. In T. R. Soidla & S. 1. Shapiro. (Eds.), Everything is according to the Way: Voices of Russian Transpersonalism. Brisbane, Australia: Bolda-Lok Publishing, pp. 109-112. A prelimi- nary version of this paper was published in 1993 as "Bio- logical Texts and Spiritual Values." (In Revival of Rus- sian Religious-Philosophical Thought, Proceedings of the International Conference, March 22-24,1993. Glagol: St. Petersburg, pp. 25-29) Soidla, T. R. (2001). Dreams and reflections under a hill: Frag- ments of a triviographic description ofthe Umbra vale by a XXth-century ex-Soviet transrational traveler. Interna- tional Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 20,5-18. T. R. Saidla, Magic Island, Honolulu, 1999 202 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 WooflWoofl Philippe L. Gross Editor, The International Journal of Trans personal Studies Honolulu, Hawai'i, USAIPrihourg, Switzerland Peeking Dog, Honolulu, 1998 Philippe L. Gross The InternationalJournal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 203-210 203 2002 by Panigada Press Doggy Bag, Honolulu, 1999 Philippe L. Gross 204 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, VOL 21 Guard Dog, Xico, Mexico, 2001 Philippe L. Gross Woof Woof 205 Hat Vendor, Papantla, Mexico, 2002 Philippe 1. Gross 206 The International Journal ofTranspersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Keeping Pace, San Francisco, 1998 Philippe L. Gross Woof! Woof! 207 Merger, Honolulu, 1999 Philippe L. Gross 208 The Internationaljournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Two Dogs, Vevey, Switzerland, 1995 Philippe L. Gross Woof! Woof! 209 Dog & Bull, Mexico, 2001 Philippe 1. Gross 210 The International Journal of Trans persona I Studies, 2002, VoL 21 About OUf Contributors Ralph Augsburger was born in 1932 in La Chaux- de-Fonds, Switzerland. After completing his studies at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts of La Chaux-de-Fonds, he dedicated himselfto engraving and painting. He has been honored with many awards-including the First Prize of the city of Geneva for watchmaking, jewelry design, and diamond-setting (1961); the First Prize ofla Palette Carougeoise (1977); and the 1st prize of Aart's Masters Paris Monaco (1996). In 1996 he be- came Associate Academician in Art at the International Academia Greci Marino. Augsburger's life has been sculpted by a constant drive to travel the world, which has filled him with humorous and poetic anecdotes; including that of a departure from Kenya when he had to pay a tax on his own paint- ings because, as the custom official declared, ''You are taking with you the colors of my country." He has also painted several murals abroad, at home, and on a boat: Mauritius Island, Tahiti, La Chaux- de-Fonds, Basel, and the transoceanique boat "Le Rousseau." His paintings have been exhibited world- wide in galleries and museums in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Los Angeles, Monaco, New York, Paris, Sidney, Tahiti, Tokyo, and Zurich. Most recently, he contributed to the Pax 2000 event for the United Na- tions in Geneva. His work can be sampled on the Web at: http://www.ralphaugsburger.com Author's address: Rue Liotard 11, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. E-mail: maraja@freesurf.ch John Balaban is the author of eleven books of poetry and prose, including four volumes which together have won The Academy of American Poets' Lamont prize, a National Poetry Series Selection, and two nominations for the National Book Award. His Locusts at the Edge of Summer: New and Selected Poems won the 1998 William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America. During the Vietnam War, Balaban volunteered as a civilian conscientious objector, first as a teacher of descriptive linguistics at a Vietnamese university and then, after the university was bombed in the Tet Offensive and he was wounded, as the Field Representative for a group of Americans who funded the treatment of war- injured children. Later, in 1971-1972, he returned to travel the countryside collecting on tape the oral poetry known as ca dao. His experiences as a conscientious objector and his translations of Vietnamese oral poetry will appear in 2002 as Ca Dao Vietnam: A Bilingual Anthology of Vietnamese Folk Poetry (Copper Canyon Press) and Remembering Heaven's Face (University of Georgia) after being out- of-print for many years. Balaban is Poet-in-Residence and Professor of English at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Author's address: Department of English, North Carolina State University-Raleigh, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA. E-mail: jbalaba@Unity.ncsu.edu Jean-Jacques Dicker was born in 1944 in Geneva, Switzerland. He later moved to Honolulu where he received a B.A. in French from the University of Hawai'i in 1967. Since 1972 Dicker has been featured in more than 100 publications, including Nikon News and Hebdo (Switzerland), Photo (France), Stern and Die Zeit (Germany), Photo Japon and Target (Japan), and Popular Photography, Hustler, Shutterbug, DoubleTake, and LensWork (USA). His photographs have been exhibited in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Romania, Switzerland, and the USA. Dicker has received many awards for his work (including several grants from the Swiss Federal Government) and his works have been acquired by private collectors and major institutions including the Kunsthaus (Zurich), the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (Honolulu), the Cabinet des Estampes of the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva), the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire (Fribourg, Switzerland), the Bibliotheque National des Arts Contemportains (Paris), the Foundation Nationale des Arts Contemporains (Paris), and the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris). His first monograph, titled Chambres-Empty Rooms, was published in 1996 by Michele Auer's Photoarchives. His forthcoming book on Africa about three years of exploration on the continent The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21, 211-216 211 2002 by Panigada Press features 290 photographs. Additional biographical information on Dicker is contained in the introduction to his portfolio in this issue of IJTS. Author's address: 465 Kekauluohi Street, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96825, USA. Wlodzislaw Duch, Ph.D., heads the Department of Informatics at Nicholas Copernicus University, Torun, Poland. His formal education and degrees are in theoretical physics, computational sciences and quantum chemistry. He has held various aca- demic positions at universities and scientific insti- tutions around the world. These include: the Uni- versity of Southern California and the University of Florida (USA); the University of Alberta (Canada); Meiji University, the Kyushu Institute of Technology, and Rikkyo University (Japan); Louis Pasteur Universite (Strasbourg, France); Max- Planck-Institut fUr Astrophysik (Munich); and King's College (London). Duch has been an editor of a number of professional journals, including IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Computer Physics Communications, and has been a head of the Scientific Committee of the Polish Cognitive Science journal. He worked as an expert for the European Union 5th Framework Science Program, and for the Polish Committee of Scientific Research and the Ministry of Education. He has published four books and over 250 scientific and popular ar- ticles in various journals. Since 1975, he has been a member of several Zen groups in Europe and the USA. A full curriculum vita can be found at: www.phys.uni.torun.pll-duch Author's address: Department of Informatics, Nicolas Copernicus University, ul. Grudziad 5, 87-100 Torun, Poland. E-mail: duch@phys.uni.torun.pl Harris Friedman, Ph.D., is a member of the Executive Faculty at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in San Francisco where he currently serves as Professor of Psychology and Organizational Studies and where he was formerly Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs. He is also a licensed psychologist, organizational consultant, and teacher of Aikido. He has retired from the practice of clinical psychology in which he specialized in Gestalt and bioenergetic approaches to psychotherapy and hypnotherapy. His current research interests focus primarily on the assessment of transpersonal and spiritual constructs, including the relationship of these constructs to various psychological, sociological, and health variables. He constructed and validated the Self-Expansiveness Level Form, a measure of transpersonal self-concept, which he is further researching and developing. He is also interested in the assessment of organizational culture and change, as well as in epistemological issues in empirical research methodology. He received his doctorate in Personality-Clinical Psychology from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, with a major in transpersonal psychology, possibly the first such doctorate in transpersonal psychology from an accredited school in the USA. He is active in human rights and environmental causes on both a local and global level. He lives on a wilderness preserve near the Everglades region of Florida where he considers communing with nature to be a spiritual practice. Author's address: 1255 Tom Coker Road SW, LaBelle, Florida 33935, USA. E-mail: hfriedman@saybrook.edu Philippe L. Gross, Ph.D., is the Editor in Chief and Publisher of The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies and a research psychologist with the State of Hawai'i Department of Health where he studies severe and persistent mental ill- nesses. He is also interested in aesthetics, creative seeing, and the study of knowledge and wisdom across cultures. Gross has taught and written about Taoist themes, photography, and transpersonal psy- chology for many years. He has also taught a variety of other courses, including: humanistic and exis- tential psychology; philosophy; general psychology; personality; developmental psychology; psychology of emotion; and cross-cultural psychology. As a pho- tographer, Gross has given workshops, received several awards, exhibited injuried exhibits in Swit- zerland, Mexico, and the USA, and published photographs in a variety of professional journals. He was recently honored with an exhibit during the Festival of Light in Xalapa, Mexico. His new, coau- thored book, The Tao of Photography: Seeing Beyond Seeing (2001)-published by Ten Speed Press-is a work that celebrates a decade-long exploration of ancient Taoist wisdom, artistic creativity, and the art ofliving. Author's address: Manoa Innovation Center, University of Hawai'i Psychosocial Rehabilitation Center, 2800 Woodlawn Drive, Suite 120, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA. E-mail: grossphi@hawaii.edu 212 The International Journal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Herbert Guenther, Ph.D., D.Litt., was born in Bremen, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in Indian Languages, Philosophy, and Literature from Munich University in 1939, and his Dr. phil.habil. from Vienna University. (This degree was necessary for being allowed to teach at German and Austrian uni- versities: the so-called venia legendi.) In 1950 he moved to India to teach at the University of Lucknow and at the Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishvavidyala at VaranasilBenares, where the medium of instruction was Sanskrit. There he also was instrumental in in- troducing Tibetan studies on a nonsectarian basis. In 1964 Guenther was invited to Canada to chair the newly established (now defunct) Department of Far Eastern Studies at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. In 1966 he was visit- ing professor at Yale University. In 1983 he was the first scholar to be awarded the degree ofD.Litt. from the University of Saskatchewan, from which he re- tired in 1984 as Professor Emeritus of Far Eastern Studies. In 1987 Guenther became the only non-In- dian to receive a citation and a silver plaque and ceremonial scarf from the Anantajyoti-Vidyapith Academy at Lucknow for outstanding contributions to Indian culture. In 1999 he was selected as "Inter- national Man of the Millennium" by the International Biographical Centre of Cambridge, England, in rec- ognition of his services to education. He is also listed in Outstanding People of the 20th Century. Guenther is currently Distinguished Consultant Professor at Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. He continues research in his chosen field of interest. He is married, has two married daughters, one grand- son, and two granddaughters, and lives with his wife in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Author's address: 1320 13th Street East, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7H OC6, Canada. Shoshin Ichishima is Abbot of Senzoji Temple, Inzai City, Japan. He was Vice Abbot of the Tendai Buddhist Temple of Hawai'i thirty years ago. While in Honolulu he translated and edited Buddhist texts in English: A Chinese text of the T'ien t'ai fourfold teachings (with David Chappell), and a Sanskrit text, the third process of meditative actualization by Kamalashila (with Robert Olson). Currently, Ichishima is a professor of Indology, director of the Library, and chief of the International Programs Center ofTaisho University in Tokyo. From Tibetan and Sanskrit sources, he identified the author ofthe "Sutra Samuccaya" compiled in the Taisho Tripitaka, Volume 32, as N agarjuna ("The Author of the Sutra Samuccaya," Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, Vol. 37, No.2, 1968). His special area of studies is Buddhism in India in the eighth to twelfth centuries. He has correctly identified the donor of an important Bodhisattva statue in the Tokyo National Museum as the Hungarian Buddhist scholar Csoma Shandor. Ichishima is a member of the Translation Committee of the BDK English Tripitaka publishing project of the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Author's address: 971 Izumi, Inzai-City, Chiba- Prefecture 2701351, Japan. Marc L. Joslyn, Ph.D., (Zen name Shozan), is an ordained Osho (priest/teacher) of Rinzai Zen who, together with his wife, cares for the sangha at a little Zendo on an island across from Seattle (USA). Since retiring as a Gestalt therapist several years ago, he has been concerned with writing about sparks of Zen to be found in the literature of countries outside the realm of traditional Buddhism. It will not be easy for Zen to get rooted in the United States, for example, because there is a lack of a Buddhist subculture to nourish it. But bringing attention to the interrelationship of Zen-like perceptions latently present in the West may foster a network of social awareness, which can support individual efforts to become free of idolatry of the pseudo-immortality promised by gods like Technology and Money in our present-day Pantheon. Author's address: 8842 Mandus Olson Road NE, Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110, USA. E-mail: MarcJoslyn@aol.com Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Alan W. Watts Professor of Psychology at Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco, is the former director of the Kent State University Child Study Center (Kent, Ohio) and the Maimonides Medical Center Dream Research Laboratory (Brooklyn, New York). He is coauthor of Extraordinary Dreams (State University of New York Press, 2002) and coeditor of Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examining the Scientific Evidence (American Psychological Association, 2000) and Civilian Victims of War Trauma: An International Perspective (Greenwood Press, 2003). Krippner is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Indian Psychology and Revista Argentina de Psicologia Paranormal, and holds faculty appointments at the Universidade Holistica Internacional (Brasilia) and the Instituto de Medicina y Tecnologia Avanzada de la Conducta About Our Contributors 213 (Ciudad Juarez). He is a member of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and a former president of both the Association for Humanistic Psychology and the Parapsychological Association. Author's address: Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, 450 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, California 94133, USA. E-mail: skrippner@saybrook.edu Grace W. Lee, M.A., is completing work on her doctoral dissertation in psychology (The Subjective Well-Being of Meditators and Non-Meditators) at the University of Hawai'i. Her interest in transpersonal psychology includes the study and practice of yoga, and she is a hatha yoga instructor at the university. Lee has also taught various undergraduate courses, including transpersonal psychology, social psychology, the psychology of personality, and the psychology of human sexuality. Her clinical experience includes working with individuals with serious mental illnesses both in the community and at the Hawai'i State Hospital. Hiking Hawai'i's beautiful mountain trails is a beloved pastime, to be a good gardener is her goal, and reading great fiction makes her happy. Author's address: Department of Psychology, University of Hawai'i, 2430 Campus Road, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA. E-mail: gwlee@hawaii.edu Chris McDonough, B.F.A., is an independent professional photographer in advertising and fine art. He received his art degree from the School for Visual Arts in New York and later became an apprentice of Life photographer Pete Peterson. McDonough describes himself as "primarily self-taught, finding inspiration in literature and psychology." His work has been published internationally, primarily in the USA and Japan. He has received several awards for both his color and black and white photographs and his work has been included in more than twenty juried shows. Author's address: 4329 Papu Circle, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96816, USA. E-mail: Cjmacphoto@aol.com Michael G. Mitchell was a published photographer at the age of thirteen in 1958, and ten years later had become one of the most visible magazine photographers in Washington, DC. He had his first one-man show of fine art photography in New York in 1971. Although his gallery and museum shows continued into the 1980s, he became increasingly frustrated by the art world. Mitchell comments: When my commercial work expanded into doing corporate annual reports and advertising, I let myself be dominated by its demands. But I never stopped the self-tutorial in much deeper matters that had begun as a result of my experience of "LumiGnosis" in 1969. Mter I took a couple of workshops with Ira Progoff in the 1970s, I started to record the many incidents of synchronicity that have transfused my life and have often given birth to my photographs. I'm currently working on a memoir that reflects upon these influences. Author's address: 1756 T Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA. E-mail: mmaluna@mindspring.com VassilyVassilievich Nalimov (1910-1997), D.Sc., Professor, a self-made person, Ugro-Finn by origin, managed not only to survive the gruelling regime of the Gulag (1936-1954)-when hell pursued people-but to oppose it by his "courage to be," his way of mind, and his devotion to the meanings which created his anarchistic personality: love for freedom and nonviolence. He insisted upon being a "free thinker" and proved it by the pioneer character of his works, both in science and philosophy. It was N alimov who, by probabilistic inspiration, shifted the paradigm of cause-and-effect, revealing the continuity of meanings and the voice of eternity. He created a national school of mathematical methods of experimental design; formulated the conception of Scientometrics, including coining the very term; elaborated a probabilistically oriented model of language, consciousness, and evolution viewed as a self-organization process; and elaborated the integrated world outlook based on Plato's philosophy. He made a critical analysis of modern science, raising the issue of what "scientific" means in modern science-which contains both rational and irrational elements within it. N alimov's books were translated into several European languages; five ofthem were published in the USA, and two more were translated and kept on microfilm in the Library of Congress (USA). His name was in the list of "Citation Classics," due to his contribution to the application of mathematical statistics. Mathematics and philosophy for him were closely combined: Since his youth he had been convinced that philosophic comprehension of the world was only possible by means of mathematical language. He loved "thought as it is," and he worked until the last day of his life. His last words addressed the 214 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21 Universe: "I wanted to look through the open window, behind the window ofthe whole Universe, and that very Universe to grasp." Edward M. Podvoll, M.D., received his medical degree from New York University-Bellevue College of Medicine. He is a graduate and former faculty member of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. For nine years he was a staff psychiatrist and one of the directors of Chestnut Lodge Hospital. He was a senior psychiatrist and the Director of Education and Training at the Austen Riggs Center (Stockbridge, Massachussetts). In 1977 Podvoll moved to Boulder, Colorado. There he founded and directed the Department of Contemplative Psychotherapy at N aropa Institute; was the founding Medical Director of Maitri Psychological Services, a "Windhorse" treatment center; and established the Friendship House (a treatment residence). Podvoll thoroughly elucidated these experiences in his groundbreaking book The Seduction of Madness: Revolutionary Insights Into the World of Psychosis and a Compassionate Approach to Recovery at Home (HarperCollins, 1990). Over the past twenty years Podvoll and his associates have established treatment centers in Northampton, Massachusetts and Boulder, Colorado in the USA, and in Vienna and Zurich, based on the principles outlined in his book. In 1991 Podvoll entered a longterm meditation/study retreat in a Buddhist monastery, Mahamudra Ling, in France. He plans to complete this retreat in 2003 and then resume his teaching, writing, and consulting activities. Author's address: c/o Jeffrey Fortuna, Windhorse Community Services, 1501 Yarmouth Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80304, USA. Duane Preble, M.F.A., has devoted much of his life to art education and is now Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He holds an undergraduate degree in painting, graphics, and sculpture from the University of California-Los Angeles and the M.F.A. from the University of Hawai'i. Preble has exhibited paintings, photographs, and sculpture in solo and group shows since the early 1960s and has taught a wide variety of courses, including introduction to the visual arts, art history, photography, drawing, color, and design. In 1969 he was selected by his university for an Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 1975 he was included in Outstanding Educators of America. In 1972 he authored, and has since coauthored, the college art textbook Artforms, an introduction to the visual arts, now in its seventh full edition. Extensive travel has given him a global perspective. He has taught in the World Semester- at-Sea Voyages Program with the Institute for Shipboard Education, and has led university study tours in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Mter thirty years, Preble retired from the University of Hawai'i to further his own art and to work with Hawai'i's elementary school teachers in integrating the visual arts into the curriculum. He has served on the boards of numerous educational, governmental, art, and environmental organizations. Author's address: Department of Art, 2535 McCarthy Mall, University ofHawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA. E-mail: preble@lava.net S. I. Shapiro, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawai'i and a member ofthe Bud- dhist Studies Program and of the Center on Aging. He teaches a wide range of topics in the psychology of knowledge and wisdom, including classical Asian psychologies of the mind, transpersonal studies, consciousness and the arts, and conscious living and dying. Shapiro is Executive Editor of The Interna- tional Journal of Trans personal Studies and was the founder and coeditor of the journal's subseries Voices of Russian Transpersonalism. He has published some one hundred articles and reviews and three books. Author's address: Department of Psychology, 2430 Campus Road, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA. Mario Simoes, Ph.D., M.D., is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist working in Lisbon. After his medical training, he also graduated in Anthropology and Ethnology at the Technical University of Lisbon. His undergraduate work was at several universities and clinics, including university psychiatric clinics in Lisbon, Zurich, Vienna, and Madrid. This transcultural approach to psychiatry included the most classical as well as other representative schools of psychiatry, which brought him a broad spectrum of influences for daily practice and teaching. During the time he was in Vienna, he entered into contact with the late Viktor Frankl, attending his classes at the university. In Zurich, he learned how to develop experimental settings for research in altered states of consciousness, which he pursued upon returning to Portugal. Later, Simoes About Our Contributors 215 also became interested in parapsychology and worked with the late Hans Bender at the Parapsychological Institute of Freiburg. Having obtained Master of Psychiatry and Ph.D. degrees in Medicine (Psychiatry) at the University of Lisbon, Simoes is now Professor of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon. His main scientific interests include research in different aspects of Altered States of Consciousness, hypnosis, religious experience, and alternative forms of psychotherapy, and he has published several articles on these topics. Simoes was a cofounder of the Portuguese Brazilian TranspersonalAssociation, and he currently serves as president of the organization. Author's address: Praceta Bernardo Santareno, 1-6- Esq., 1900-098 Lisbon, Portugal. E-mail: psicopraxis@maiLtelepac.pt Tonu R. Soidla, Ph.D., D.Sc., was born in Estonia. Since 1965 he has lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he works in the field of genetics together with his wife Olga. He has published about eighty papers on different problems in genetics, and during the last ten years, also fifteen rather marginal essays on transpersonal topics. Sometimes he feels that he is a natural dualist (even protofundamentalist) in search of an attainable but elusive nondual realization. Author's address: Institute of Cytology, Tikhoretsky Avenue 4, St. Petersburg 194064, Russia. E-mail: tsoidla@link.cytspb.rssi.ru Kuang-ming Wu, Ph.D., received his degree from Yale University in Philosophy. At present, he teaches Japanese culture/language and Chinese philosophy at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has been a professor of history at the National Chung-cheng University (Taiwan), John McN. Rosebush University Professor at the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh (USA), and a visiting professor at the National Taiwan University, the University of South Mrica (Pretoria),Aarhus University (Denmark), and the University ofTexas-El Paso (USA). He is working on his eleventh volume, Nonsense: Cultural Meditations on the Beyond, from which this essay is derived. Other volumes of his include: Chuang Tzu: World Philosopher at Play (Crossroad/Scholars, 1982); The Butterfly as Companion (State University of New York Press, 1990); History, Thinking, and Literature in Chinese Philosophy (Academia Sinica, 1991); On Chinese Body Thinking (Brill, 1997; National Science Council Distinguished Award, Taiwan); On the "Logic" of Togetherness (Brill, 1998); On Metaphoring (Brill, 2001); and Chinese Culture and Its World Significance Today (University of Hong Kong Press, forthcoming), among other works. He has chapters in Time and Space in Chinese Culture (Brill, 1995), Norms and the State in China (Brill, 1993), Understanding the Chinese Mind (Oxford, 1989), and other edited works. At home in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Taiwanese, he is interested in comparative culture/philosophy, philosophy of religion, phenomenology, and aesthetics. The author adds the following comments: Of the two ways of thinking, decent and goofy, goofy thinking fascinates me because it is so slippery, defying efforts to make sense of it. Such is life, however, as well as Chinese thinking, that follows life and lacks tangible systems. Instinctively reacting against Western logical thinking during my Yale-philosophy years, I have been trying to make sense of goofy Chinese thinking and living itself. My reflections resulted in volumes on Chuang Tzu, the goofY stunning poet-thinker, on what Chinese thinking as philosophy means, and on intercultural communication. Finally, I am fascinated with the Beyond that contests, embraces, and enables all our thinking life, goofiness included. My partiality for religion (without organized religion) continues to this day. Author's address: P. O. Box 30791, Columbia, Missouri 65205, USA. E-mail: kuang_wu@hotmail.com Atsumi Yamamoto, M.F.A., was born in Fukui Prefecture in Japan where she studied calligraphy for ten years and had her work frequently recognized. In 1988 she moved to Colorado, USA, where she studied drawing and painting. Two years later she moved to Honolulu and studied art at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where in 1995 she received her B.F.A., and in 2000, her M.F.A. in painting. In addition to her studio work in Makiki, Honolulu, since 1998 she has been the art and design director for The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies. Yamamoto's paintings have been exhibited in a variety ofjuried and joint shows. Her latest exhibit, co-produced, was entitled "Dogs and Beaches." In addition to private collections, her work has been acquired by the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Author's address: 1001 Wilder Avenue #1004, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA. E-mail: atsumiY@Yahoo.com 216 The InternationalJournal of Trans personal Studies, 2002, Vol. 21
IJTS 33-2-03 PP 16-32 Hunt 2014 Implications and Consequences of Post-Modern Philosophy For Contemporary Transpersonal Studies III Deleuze and Some Related Phenomenologies of Felt-Meaning