Transpersonal psychology, a look from the literature on the subject

  • 2018

Transpersonal psychology is one of the least known fields of psychology. It began in the late 1960s as an attempt to establish a "fourth force" in psychology, following psychodynamic, behavioral and humanistic approaches.

Thus, one of the first humanist psychologists, Abraham Maslow, pioneered the transpersonal approach.

On the other hand, transpersonal psychology was influenced by the sixty movements of "human potential" and "counterculture." It also influences the experiments with the use of psychedelic substances, meditation and other practices of change of consciousness. Specifically, these different ways of seeing reality, were revealed through experimentation.

The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental health. Abraham Maslow

At the same time, attempts were made to integrate the ideas and knowledge of Western psychology, with the spiritual practices of Eastern Buddhism and yoga. In the latter, the analysis of the states of the "high" levels of consciousness was sought.

As Abraham Maslow himself said, the role of transpersonal psychology was "to explore the reach of human nature."

This is one of the issues that usually catch those who enter the world of transpersonal psychology. Enter a world that goes beyond the "normal" states of being, which is, in some way, limited.

In this discipline it is recognized that we are more, and that there are more expansive, more intense states of consciousness, that we can experience if we wish. They are called "wake up" experiences .

We fear our maximum possibilities. In general, we are afraid of becoming what we envision in our best moments, in the most perfect and most courageous conditions. Abraham Maslow

Steve Taylor's books "Waking From Sleep" and "Out of the Darkness" are based on case studies of people who experienced a shift to a "wake up" state after intense periods of confusion and chaos.

These changes do not occur during spiritual retreats or yoga practice, but in the midst of daily activities . Walking through the countryside, running or swimming, appreciating a work of art, or a theatrical function, or in the middle of a common day between agitation and stress.

The roots of transpersonal psychology can be found long before 1960. One hundred years before the psychologist William James, expressed the essential look at transpersonal psychology:

Our normal state of awareness awake, rational consciousness, is only one type of consciousness ... We have the potential for other totally different forms of consciousness.

Characteristics of transpersonal psychology

  1. It does not have a specific method

According to psychotherapist and writer Jeffrey Sumber, "transpersonal psychology is based on an ideology that focuses more on the intention that motivates the intervention and less on a specific methodology."

  1. Relationships are the key

Sumber asserts that transpersonal psychology is an approach to understand how our minds operate through our relationships with others, with the belief that there is something bigger and deeper that operates on us.

The relationship between the therapist and the patient is as important as the other relationships of the patient. The space between therapist and patient is as sacred as that of the patient with his affairs, family, friends.

  1. The therapist is not the expert

Rather, the therapist is the "facilitator, who assists the client to discover their own truth and their own processes, " says Sumber. "The therapist must have the ability to reflect the truth of the client with the least possible weight."

  1. Transpersonal psychology does not judge the experiences of others.

Sumber states: "Both the client and the therapist have their own experiences and none of them is correct, incorrect, healthy or sick."

"If a client presents an experience in therapy that makes me feel uncomfortable, I have the ability to look at my discomfort and work on it."

Transpersonal psychology tells us that we can be more, that we do not give our full potential, and that our way of perceiving the world is not necessarily correct.

Our glance at a higher state does not have to be temporary, we can turn it into a permanent state of consciousness.

EDITOR: Carolina, editor of the great family of the White Brotherhood.

REFERENCES: www.stevenmtaylor.com, www.jeffreysumber.com

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