Transpersonal Psychology affirms the spiritual dimension apart from scripture.

by Fernando 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  Fernando

  Discussions on JWN have led me to start reading about the substantive work of Psychiatrists Carl Jung, John Weir Perry, Loren Mosher, Stanislav Grof and others in "Transpersonal Psychology".

  Stanislav explains in this 1-hour long but very revealing video that he had no exposure to religion but became aware of dimensions beyond space-time through controlled Psychiatric research experiments with psychedelic drugs (LSD). This got him started on further research (much without drugs) in "Transpersonal Psychology" for around 45 years.

  His terminology and explanations of the "hylotropic" versus "holotropic" states of consciousness maps powerfully to the "spiritual" versus "physical" in scripture and life (for me at least):

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rXrhfoWJ0U

  How would you respond to his opening question enquiring if you have ever experienced non-ordinary or transcendent consciousness?
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  botchtowersociety

  How would you respond to his opening question enquiring if you have ever experienced non-ordinary or transcendent consciousness?

  I think everyone should at least once.
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  sizemik

  marked for when i've got an hour
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  Finkelstein

  Transpersonal Psychology affirms that LSD can subconsciously make people think there's a spiritual dimension.

  There are many other mind altering drugs that can do the exact same thing.

  What stupid research !
• 

  Twitch

  How would you respond to his opening question enquiring if you have ever experienced non-ordinary or transcendent consciousness?

  In the affirmative. And they didn't involve LSD or psilocybin, though those trips were rather memorable if only for the ability to enable thinking "outside the box", artificial as it was. But the mind doesn't naturally operate in those states and the side effects aren't worth it.
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  scotoma

  Psychedelics and meditative states are great for entertainment and passing the time. Relaxation techniques are moderately effective at relieving stress.

  All that stuff was something to do if you were part of a primitive tribe and the last log on the fire became a glowing ember and there were no books to read and you weren't sleepy and your sexual partner was snoring.

  Calling this stuff "deeper" is based on the idea there is something in there. The mind is capable of fabricating all sorts of stuff and of course you can never get to the "bottom" because neurons keep firing and your attention acts as feedback to structure the shape of things on the imaginary canvas.

  The next level above self-interest is other-interest. There is nothing higher than the social sphere. Going inside is like looking at the mirror image of a mirror image of a mirror image....

  But if you feel you need to do it then do it. It's no worse or better than watching TV.

  It's not going to save you from death anymore than religion.

  I've met a lot of people who meditate regularly. They don't seem to have any greater enlightenment than anyone else.

  Meditating means one day you're going to get up - have a great meditation experience and you will die the next day just like everyone else.