TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTERAPY (TPP)

Orlin Baev

web | Transpersonal psychology. Sacred sexuality

Transpersonal psychology (TPP) is the fourth - most avanguarde, all-encompassing and integral branch of modern psychology, most fully corresponding to the constantly extending borderlines of knowledge about human nature and the universe. Its paradigm integrades the first branch of psychology - psychoanalysis (the psycho-dynamic psychology), successfully uses the methods of the second one - behaviorism na its "baby" - cognitivism, bravely steps on the different perspective of the third branch - humanitarian psychology and introduces measureless richness into the tree of modern psychology through its scientific approach to the ancient wisdom of the universal spiritual systems.

The term "transpersonal" means outpersonal. Outpersonal is not in the sense of loss of identity, but awareness of Self (Overall Personality) beyond the frames of roles of the persons, by which we experience ourselves in our social and interpersonal functioning. These persons can be identifications with the physiological bearer of consciousness, with the social roles, with the mental matrixes of functioning - the character schemes, emotional and cognitive believes, models, realizations and patterns, which we think to be our nature - while they are not. As Buddhist psychology claims, they are no more than "scandhi" - changing "accumulations", parametres, through which pure human consciousness manifests. In the process of extension, Self does not dissolve, but broadens its knowledge outlines.

Pioneers of the modern transpersonal school are such significant figures in psychology as Carl Gustav Jung, William James, Abraham Maslow, Aurobindo Ghosh, Roberto Assagioli, Stanislav Grof, Ken Wilber, Robert Anton Wilson...

Transpersonal psychology studies human psyche in its wholeness - it encompasses the complex subtleties of mentality in all of its aspects- from pure biochemistry and neurology, through all psychological schools to the superconscious potential of our unrecognized abilities.

In order a person to be a transpersonal psychologist, he has to thoroughly know all branches of the big tree of psychology - biological and cognitive psychology, analytic and humanitarian schools, neuro-sciences, psychiatry and psychopatology, upon which to build scientifically the exciting knowledge of human and universe, taught by the world esoteric schools.

But, except knowledge and intelligence, the transpersonal psychologist has to possess also personal experience in the investigation of his/her own subconsciousness, as well as of his/her superconsciousness. The experienced transpersonal therapist continuously analyses his/her own mental movements, realizes his/her different mental components, synthesizes and intergrates in unified functionality both the dark abysses of his/her Shadow and the brightest flights of his/her superconsciousness. The transpersonal therapist experiences the objective life from the point of view of Self, the silent observer, who guides the process of his/her own individuation process to a harmonious integral Self - overall personality, which gives him/her the right and capabilities for psychotherapeutic help.

TPP DEPICTS

SCIENCE GOING INTO ONE INFINITELY WIDER PARADIGM FOR HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS, NATURE AND LIFE AS A WHOLE!

Conventional psychology, being developed in Western society during the last 150 years, can be compared to a medieval science, hardly making its first steps. In the same way as this science has been geocentric in some infantile way, the toddling psychological schools from the beginning of the 20^th century, under the influence of which the academic psychology is, are rather childishly egocentric. And the center of such an ego is ignorance about the universal life, the stages of consciousness, reality and illusions.

Empirical Aspect of TPP

TPP is completely empirical and rational discipline. In spite of the fact that the highest states of transpersonal consciousness are beyond rational perception, transpersonal psychology is firmly founded on rational analysis, which extremely enriches human knowledge - at least within its confines. Transpersonal psychology simply states, that there also exist other, much powerful and fast working instruments for knowing reality: intuition, clear knowledge of direct awareness, which are the essence of meditation and contemplation.

The question of the empirical aspect of TPP is especially topical. Being officially approved branch of scientific psychology, many scientists put the question about scientific empiricism and provability of the studied transpersonal states of consciousness. The empirical aspect of TPP is as important as it is for every other scientific discipline. Thousands and thousands of scientists - investigators of mind during the ages - have reach to identical factually objective results in the process of their experiments. But since this objectivity concerns dimensions of consciousness and reality beyond the apparent appearances, rather different from daily ones, the description and cartography of the experimental results can be done only in symbolic form.

My personal and not engaging opinion is that experimental side of modern conventional psychology is, generally, too subjective with respect to instruments as, for example, the tests - the main assisting means in experimental psychology. Their validity is strongly influenced by the subjective criteria of the creator of the relevant test with respect to the studied constructs, by the momentary state of mind of those who answer the test, by their believes, honesty, level of intelligence and adequate self-judgement.

As for the experiments of the cognitive science - my rhetorical question is - what do they investigate - the psyche per se or simply its biological functions and correlates? If perception, memory, attention and study, which are object of investigation of cognitive psychology, are examined only in their most rough perspective, connected to the pragmatic apparent appearances of life, the results from such experiments will be, of course, valid. But, as the transpersonal researchers have experimentally proved in the course of countless millenniums, perception is not limited only to biological senses, knowledge does not occur only within the narrow vibrational spectrum of the "objective" (from the perspective of TPP, it is rather subjective) external reality, and the attention and the memory connected to it can function within the subatomic realities of one more inital being! One enormous minus of cognitive science/psychology for the present remains the experimentation on the stimulus-reaction principle, and the psyche is a black box, unknown sphere, about which it is judged only on the external reactions during the experiments. Such mediocrity is a good basis for investigation of the perception, but as for the real mental movements, currently, the cognitive science cannot track the path of only one thought or feeling, intuitive insight or creative insight. Cognitive science, as it is presently, denies the investigative potential of the introspection, with which it marginalizes consciousness as a byproduct from the neural processes... In such a final form, cognitive science is a simple consequence of the narrow vision of its researchers and the broken connection with the deep humanity in their mental life.

As every other science, psychology is strictly empirical and has rich instrumentarium for accomplishment of its experiments. Not denying the place and role of psychological tests, memory and perceptual experiments and the possibility for statistical processing of the results from such experiments, I claim that if human mind studies rely only on such methods, quite shallow with regard to our limitless mentality, there is a real danger of rough reductionism.

The empirical aspect of TPP relies on the direct living through the personal experience of the researcher. The objective validity of such experience is confirmed by the comparative research of the data from the experimental investigations of the practitioners in this field.

Subject of the Experimental Studies on TPP

Subject of research on TPP is the broad spectrum of mind: experiential direct penetrating into subconsciousness and superconsciousness - a process, navigated by self-consciousness, which integrates the whole psyche into a unified stably functioning psyche - which C.G. Jung calls the hero’s journey.

In the course of this journey, the instruments of the transpersonal psychologist are his/her permanently developing intuition; creativity of mind; improved and harmonized libido energy; active creative imagination; concentration and meditation; emotional intelligence; breathing, libido-energetic and physical exercises (directly connected to changes in the mind), work on the dreams - analysis, as well as conscious penetration of self into the field of dreams - the tools of this most advanced and penetrating branch of modern scientific psychology are countless, since the studied construct - the mind - is boundless. The instruments of the transpersonal psychologist are countless, and the intellectually centered analysis of the human psyche is only one of them.

The outpersonal centered approach in psychology insists not only on intellectual understanding of the functioning of the psyche and the key moments in ethio-patho-genesis, but also on direct awareness and experiencing the mental components and processes by a strong and stable "Self", who constantly extends the borders and spectrum of his/her self-consciousness.

In TPP consciousness, the personal and collective unconscious, Amina and Animus, self and Self, the Shadow, the Overall personality, the hero’s journey (individuation), the subconsciousness and superconsciousness are not only terms for defining brain processes. Unlike other trends in psychology, which accept human mentality as a side result from the central nervous system, according to TPP the mental components and processes are realized in independently existing subatomic fields of objective manifestation of our consciousness and are even more real and materially - objective than the state of awake existence, which we call life. Within TPP’s paradigm it is assumed that the mental availabilities and actions manifest through their biological foundation - neuronets and brain structures, are reciprocally interdependent, but are by no means identical.

In the process of the experimental studies of the transpersonal psychology, the great significance of prenatal and perinatal states and the birth process distinguish for the quality of mental functioning of the future human being.

The direct connection, mental interdependence and unity not only between the individual representatives of mankind, but also between all living and intelligent beings is being empirically experienced. According to immediate evidence of TPP such are even the representatives of the animal world, the plants, planets, suns and the substance of the universe and its inhabitants at different stages of conscious manifestation.

In TPP man is considered as a complex process of the more and more complete manifestation of the real Self - the hero, Buddha, who studies the lessons of the space-time simulator, enriches him-/herself with wisdom, love and free will in order to take up his/her initial function of a universal citizen.

Mental Cartography

In orthodox psychology, mental cartography is either extremely incomplete and unsatisfactorily depicting the boundless possibilities and spheres of mentality or is completely missing.

Transpersonal psychology, unlike the conventional one, offers a whole precise and rich mental cartography, which has a s a result from the millennial studies of the transpersonal pioneers-researchers. Here are some examples:

- The Analytical Psychology of Carl Gustav Jung adds to the general concept unconscious and the collective unconscious, inhabited by the so called archetypes.

The archetypes can be easily understood, if we compare them to the parallel terms from esoteric psychology - egregore and thought-form.

Carl Gustav Jung introduces the concept of contra-sexual mental compounds - Anima and Animus. Modern researchers of analytical psychology accept that both genders possess both compounds and this strictly corresponds to the concept of dichotomy of human psyche in TPP.

Shadow - strictly corresponds to the Freudian concept of "IT" - the attributes, desires, drives, thoughts and dispositions, which the self neither wants nor accepts.

Carl Gustav Jung classifies the simple concept emotions as: senses, feelings and intuition, placing intuition to the most internal mental plan. According to Jung human psyche is a really existing fine sphere, which is not simply and only consequence of brain activity, but just the opposite.

Persona - according to Jung the Persona, i.e. the person, the mask, is the role which man plays in society and with which he/she identifies.

Self - man’s higher Self that integrates and encompasses all mental components into a harmonious whole.

- The psychosynthesis of Roberto Assagioli enriches modern psychology (or, to be more precise, reminds it) by differentiation of the concept unconscious into two categories: Subconsciousness and Superconsciousness.

Assagioli discerns the so called small self, i. e. the mask, the social role of the individual, from the higher human Self - his/her real individuality, which functions in the superconsciousness and tends to integrate the whole psyche (Self is analogue to Jung’s Self concept).

- Ken Wilber a contemporary transpersonal researcher presents a stunningly rich cartography of human cognition, based on the comparative research of both the mystical systems of spirituality and modern psychology authors. The model of developing mind, proposed by Wilber, includes impressively enormous number of psychological and esoteric authors and schools and can be found in his books.

The basic stages of the mental development and correlatively basic structures in the individual and collective consciousness according to Wilber are:

• Sensory-motor level

• Fancy-emotional level

• Concrete operational logic

• Formal operations - abstract logic

• Postformal logic, which is divided into:

  • Vision logic

  • Mental vision

  • Penetrating (archetype) vision

  • Causal 1) formful (rupa) and 2) formless (arupa) vision

  • Non-dual vision

Self development:

• Material Self

• Body ego

• Persona (person, role)

• Ego

• Centaur (integrated Self, body and psyche)

• Soul

• Spirit

The development of the outlook on life according to Wilber:

• Archaic

• Magic

• Mythic

• Rational

• Pluralistic relativism (dynamic systems)

• Holistic integralism (cross paradigmality)

• Mental (unity with the world process)

• Penetrating (archetype - unity with the delicate reality)

• Causal

• Non-dual

Moral stages according to Wilber:

• Autism

• Egoism

• Magical narcissism

• Hedonism

• Power

• Conformism (at the level of family, tribe, country, nation)

• Rational reflectivity

• Global - all human beings

• All earth creatures

• All feeling creatures without exceptions

• The whole manifested and non-manifested reality

Development of the affect according to Wilber (emotional stages):

• Sensations and physiological states

• Pleasure and pain

• Protoemotions - stress, fear-anger, pleasure

• Basic emotions - anxiety, desire, liking, safety

• Joy, love, depression, hate, belonging

• Altruism, compassion, global justice, all-human love

• Veneration, admiration, love towards all living creatures, world-centered altruism

• Ananda (nirvana), ecstasy, holy devotedness, liberation

• Holy compassion

- Theosophy - a quite scientific esoteric psychological discipline, synthesizes the models of mind of the world mystical psychological schools and proposes the following model:

• Physical bearer of the mind

• Ethereal bearer (energy)

• Emotional bearer

• Mental bearer - in Theosophy mentality is the demarcation line between essential, real mental components and their manifested repercussions.

• Causal bearer, Manas (abstract mind)

• Buddha bearer (Love)

• Atmic Bearer (Will)

The last three mental levels and fields of manifestation of the conscious Self are the constructs of the real human nature.

The above examples are only individual excerpts from the enormous variety of schools in TPP, which map human mind. The result from the made comparative studies by researchers such as Elena Blavatsky, Ani Bezant, Ken Wilber, Stanislav Grof is an orderly picture, and, often, behind the different terms, analogical or mutually-dependent mental components are hidden.

TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY IS THE ONLY ONE AND FOR THAT REASON UNIQUE TREND IN PSYCHOLOGY, WHICH ENCOMPASSES THE WHOLE SPECTRUM OF MIND. THIS EXTENDS THE FIELD OF ITS STUDIES UP TO THE REAL INFINITY OF HUMAN POTENTIAL!

Duality (Binarity) and Unity

Transpersonal researchers of mind have found that the main mental constructs of human consciousness - sexual drive, emotionality and cognition - function on the principle of binarity.

1. Binarity and unity of the mental energy and emotionality of man - energy, on principle, is electro-magnetic, emissive-receptive. In human psyche, this duality is expressed as the basic driving binarity: passion and hate. In psychodynamic (Freudian) psychology, this pair of opposites is called: libido and mortido (eros and tanatos) or drive to life and drive to death.

The more primitive the mind of a personality is, the more polarized and contradictory is the manifestation of these two drives. Libido is experienced as lust, and mortido as actual violence. In the process of development of consciousness, passion evolves into selfless love and aggression - to creativity, and they both merge into one unified integral whole.

2. Binarity and unity of human cognition - the standard cognition based on logical thinking is strictly a binary one. The object is there, I am here. This is me, that one is mine. Intellect is superb though a poor instrument for investigation of the world, when it is used only in its capacity of an instrument. However, the binary logical intellect turns into a prison for the mind, which identifies with it. In the process of extension of consciousness, the need of poor indirect perception of the world, which inevitably leads to relevant rough infantile emotionality - is gradually replaced by the ability for direct knowledge of the object of investigation, and it is experimentally realized the unity between recognizer and object of recognition, observer and object of observation. This ability of course directly communicates with the experience of affective and libido fillings in their higher form of creativity and selfless love as a principle.

Transpersonal Psychotherapy

The immensity of paradigm in TPP defines also the richness of the methods applied in psychotherapy. Main psychotherapeutic trends in TPP are the psychosynthesis of Roberto Asagioli, the holothropic and rebirthing breathing of Stanislav Groff and Lenard Or, the analytical psychotherapy of Carl Gustav Jung as well as the endless diversity of meditative, breathing and bodily-orientated techniques of the world spiritual traditions. Here are some proposals for transpersonal psychotherapeutic techniques different from the methods of conventional psychotherapy.

Meditation

Meditation is a method of connection of self with Self - of mastering the cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects of our daily life. Meditation connects us to freedom, knowledge and the power within ourselves.

Meditation in the world schools is presented in two ways - in upward direction (Bottom -Up) and in downward direction (Up - Down). Each school emphasizes one of the approaches, but at a certain level of practicing both methods converge to make one.

Top - Down Meditation

This is the most natural and correctly practiced - safe method for development of the consciousness and mental integrity of an individual. To the point, it is establishment of the power of the real person in his/her psychological manifestations.

Conventional psychology accepts that binary logic of an intellect is the final and most supreme manifestation of human cognition. But, transpersonal psychology begins where the conventional one ends. Using intellect up to its full potential in the process of psychoanalysis, transpersonal psychotherapy continues the process of psyche mastering by turning from an intellectual psychoanalysis into overall mental synthesis. Such a synthesis could not be accomplished only with the help of the intellect - it is necessary to dig up the foundation of the Shadow ("It") - to realize understanding on the existent mental disintegration and unconscious problem availabilities. The purely analytical approaches of psychotherapy end there. For the purposes of implementation of overall psychological integrity (psychosynthesis), a more powerful and total approach is needed. Such an approach is meditation.

Meditation is liberation of the ego-space, which is assimilated and adapted by our true nature for the functioning of:

• a higher non-dual cognition, which transcends the dual logic and turns it into the non-dual knowledge of Wisdom.

• the peaceful joy, radiating Love, and the intuition of direct sensitivity, which replace the binary emotionality (passion-hate, libido-mortido, eros-tanatos).

• the clear awareness of the energy nature of life, which ties the sexual energy up at the work of a unified Will, bringing forth Freedom.

The mentioned three mental components of human Self:

• Wisdom of direct knowledge

• Intuition and sensitivity of Love

• Free Will, liberating from apparent appearances

In the Eastern psychological systems they are mentioned Sat, Chit, Ananda, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, or Atman, Buddha, Manas. In Christian terminology they are symbolically presented by the Divine Trinity. In the school of the Bulgarian Master and supreme transpersonal psychologist Peter Dunov, the three components of our essential nature are called Love, Wisdom, Truth. The three of them are compared to the qualities of fire: warmth, light and power...

The dichotomy of polar logic and emotionality, which divides reality into subject and object, good and evil, transforms into a nondualistic vision of the clear awareness - vision and intuition, where the difference between perceiver and perceived disappears, and the researcher experiences the unity of life as a whole. In such a state time and space disappear - only the clear light of direct pure knowledge remains. The confused human mind, always wandering between good and evil, light and shadow, reaffirms itself in the broadness of vision, which embraces both. This leads to cognitive balance and peace. If the standard thinking of orthodox science objects that in such a state of mind knowledge is impossible, I would answer that it opens a far greater scope of knowledge, where separation between object and subject of cognition, typical of the indirect understanding of logic - disappear, replaced by penetration into the very essence of the object of cognition. There exist multiple descriptions of that ability of people, who have advanced in meditation. Such a learned man needs not external instruments. The only instrument is his/her own mind. Just looking at an object - a man or a situation - such a learned man understands the overall nature, psychological characteristics, temperament, natural gifts, health, predisposition to certain diseases of the subject of observation. Freedom of will extends its confines, and man turns from a marionette into a free architect of his/her own destiny.

In its essence, meditation is awakening of the Self, of the hero in ourselves, who has slept up to that moment and has identified with the dreams of the intellectually affective nature and the social roles of the biological carrier (the body).

When a person is at the beginning of the process of this awakening, of course, it is better to make his/her attempts in silence - external, emotional and mental. He/she understands that his/her physiology, emotions and thoughts are different from Him-/herself. The more awakened and powerful is the Self, the easier they are controlled. In the course of time, intuition, will and love of the Self penetrate into the daily life of the individual and the normal cognition remains as a means. The process of mastering the habitual affective and cognitive life of our little self is the deepest and most complete psychointegrity and psychotherapy known to mankind!

Bottom - Up Meditation

While the above mentioned method is led by the person himself in the true sense of the word - by his/her universal Self, by his/her inner Teacher, the meditation directed upwards is done by the normal human cognition and affectivity. This approach involves a rich number of techniques and methods, which vary for every school for psychological development. An experienced instructor is needed for their performance. I will briefly mark only some of the billions of approaches:

- Sexual sublimation (coitus sublimatus, holotropic sexuality) - it includes mastering the control over the libido mental energy - the basic and only power, involved in all mental processes - emotional and cognitive ones. In fact, here, at the level of the basic drives, the dichotomy, typical of our conventional mental structure is also present. In this case, the sexual drive - libido (eros) - is mentally supplemented by the drive to destruction (aggression, destrudo, mortido, tanatos). At the beginning of 20^th century the great personality in modern psychology - Zigmund Freud - recognized the crucial significance of libido power for the healthy or pathological functioning of the psyche. With exceptional insight of his bright intellect, he analyzed the pathological processes, which originate from suppression of the libido drive. During the time when Freud developed his topics, the moral censure over the individual, imposed by social and religious norms, was the reason for such libido suppression and the neurotic and psychotic pathologies or perversions that followed.

At present the situation is just the opposite - from sexual oppression humanity has dashed into sexual excessiveness, indulgence and promiscuity. If the main polar mental power - libido/mortido - (sex/aggression) - is oppressed or wasted, the result is always mental or physiological imbalance. The result can be seen in the present social environment, which is a product of such ignorant attitude towards the mental energy: enormous aggression and violence, increasing neurotic cases and regression. According to the transpersonal psychology it is best to find the middle way of resolving the problem.

The ancient psychological systems of the East have recognized the great role played by sexuality from long ago. The Tao and Tantra yoga systems and the Tantra Buddhism point to appropriate methods to sublimate and channel the power of the drive - in sexual act or celibacy. The libido is channeled within the internal energy system, the primitive "natural" orgasm turns into much more intensive and extensive valley orgasm. Emotions are transformed from primitive passion into refined love. During such a sexual act the partners practically experience the transpersonal Psychological State of non-dual unity. During such a state the binary logic is swept by the light of clear awareness, emotional bliss and direct experience of the inner power. Such a meditative act submerges the couple in transpersonal states of mind, which go on hours after its end. The endocrine distress, caused by the conventional orgasm is substituted by a refined hormonal balance and saturation of the synapsis mediation and the blood plasma by the hormonal correlate of the most supreme and selfless love - the oxytocin hormone as well as by endorphin and enkephalin - the biological correlates of happiness. The brief narcotic explosion of dopamine within the nuclei of the septum, followed by its "evil cousin" - the dynorphin and the sharp collapse of satisfactory reward, leading to depression, anxiety, dysthimia (bad mood) - as a result of the standard primitive orgasm - are replaced by a stable level of dopamine secretion and the possibility for saturation of the blood plasma with endogenous opiates - the hormones of happiness. Psychologically such an act turns into an empirical experience of transpersonal mental state in which the three basic components of human psyche - libido, emotions and cognition - are sublimated in their more supreme equivalents: will, pure love and clear light nondual cognition.

Notice: The method is taught and supervised indirectly by a therapist.

- Breathing practices - breathing is directly connected with the three basic mental components: sexual, emotional and cognitive. My experience shows that if sexual sublimation is well mastered and applied, the breathing techniques may be a mechanism furthering an alternative state of consciousness, which has a healing and therapeutic effect. If sexual power is wasted in the standard way, the breathing practices are non-effective at best, and if powerful techniques like bhastrica are used, they are even harmful since the stability of self is lowered and achieving an alternative state of mind in such a case becomes dangerous. There follows a cursory presentation of the main psychotherapeutic advantages of controlled breathing:

• Holding breath without air - during full breathing or after bhastrica, breath is released according to the individual rate of discomfort. This aims at experiencing the anxiety, the basic fear, deeply rooted in ourselves, which is completely unlocked during breath holding without air. Within a few seconds the deepest fear in us - the fear of death - emerges. The beauty of this simple and effective technique consists in the conscious control over the process, which can always be stopped and at the same time, within a few seconds, such a "digging" of the unconscious mind is done, that requires years of standard psychoanalysis. Even the unstable self of a highly neurotic person can manage this method, because the power of the unlocked subconscious fears depends on the continuity of breath holding, which actually is under his/her control. More in number, but briefer in continuity moments of breath holding are recommended. In my own practice, I have found that during breath holding, the self experiences contact with death and the sense that he/she disappears, which he/she completely resists. This directly reinforces his stability and steadiness. During this experience, a controlled recognition of the deepest unconscious contents takes place, which have been hidden up to that moment into the difficult to reach by any therapy shadows of the unconscious mind. The roots of enormous number of mental disorders are within these shadows. When the experience of contact with our deepest anxieties takes place, the self needs to "clutch" at something like a drowning man during a gale. Such a life-belt might be a brief positive affirmation chosen from the problematic context. One to three positive self-affirming words, which the self eagerly holds fast to during such moments have healing power to change the specific therapeutic state. Normal or full breathing is practiced between the moments of breath holding.

• Bhastrica, breath holding with full lungs and triple locking - there are many breathing exercises, but bhastrica is unique. Bhastrica literally means bellows. This type of breathing practice saturates the body with energy, which is clearly sensed. A person feels like an overflowing vessel emanating pranah. When after a couple of minutes practice of bhastrica one holds the breath together with the so called triple lock (bandha traya, the three pumps) the energy saturates the brain. At this, the daily polar consciousness vanishes. There remains only the experience of the Self. For some time - perhaps a minute - one completely forgets the roles of his persona. Only the feeling of "here" and "now" remains. The brain activity - like painful burden - vanishes. I can compare this experience of clear awareness to bliss, which is experienced after the removal of a sharp pain. There remains pure space, liberated from the habitual polar cognition and emotions. There remains only the awareness of Self and the sense of energy. A certain hissing sound in the ears is heard and the body begins vibrating. All this lasts not more than a minute. If concentration is not stable enough, loss of consciousness may occur. Breathing - bhastrica is a basis for the so called holothropic breathing (orientated towards the whole - Greek word) of Stanislav Groff. In the modification, taught by Groff, it is performed on one’s back (which, according to me, deprives it of much its initial quality), without bandhi (the energy lockings) and breath holding. According to the thousands performers of this modification, the results are amazing - penetration into the four basic perinatal matrixes, visions and healing transpersonal states of mind. I have no experience with unlocking of visions, but only with the described states of mind, caused by the classical bhastrica performance. The psychotherapeutic values of this breathing exercise, which unlocks the inner power and stimulates directly the experience of non-dual mental states are obvious. Like a scuba diver, who gets suffocated by the overburdening mental components of our daily thinking, during bhastrica, our true nature surfaces the mind and turns from a passive witness into an active integrative centre of the total psyche. Having experienced such a state of mind, one will never get satisfied by the half-sleeping and obsessed by the daily passions and thoughts little mind. And, this little mind is always the main cause and root of the neurotic states because of its impossibility to be anything more than that - only a reflection of our real Self. Such a reflection is doomed to have a limited sphere of perceptions, and the larger part of the spectrum of the mind remains terra incognita. As Zigmund Freud says, "IT" has to become self". Just like him, the great psychologist from the East - Gautama Buddha - claims that human sufferings are based on ignorance...

• Intuitive full breathing - in the recommendations for breathing exercises, often, there are directions for different breathing rhythms, which should be based on the rhythms of the universe, etc. According to my experience, if one concentrates on counting the seconds or the heart pulsations, one misses the most important thing of the breathing exercises - the meditative transition to a higher cognition and sensitivity and the clear experience of the inner energy. While counting the creative performance is lost and one remains fixed to the ordinary thinking (counting being its favorite activity), and adapting to the specific requirements of the body and mind is impossible.

By "intuitive cfull breathing" I mean performance of overall (full) breathing in and breathing out - lower, middle and upper breathing - in smooth rhythm, intuitively regulating the continuity of breathing in, holding with air, breathing out and holding without air. A criterion for the correct performance is the feeling of light freshness during breathing in, of liberation of the breathing energy during holding back, which is experienced as a feeling of joy and optimism, the naturally smooth breathing out and holding without air without strain. The rhythm and tempo vary according to the inner sense and need of the organism of oxygen. Concentration is upon the state of mind: clear awareness, delight and pure energy.

Note: the methods are practiced within therapeutic sessions guided by a therapist.

- The inner energy - according to the paradigm of transpersonal psychology, the mental power is not an abstract construct, but a specific availability. Power can be accumulated or lost, transformed into finer and spiritual essence or find expressions into ruder specifics. According to transpersonal researchers human being possesses not only a physical organism, but also a body of energy with its energy centers and channels. They slightly differ according to the different schools, but this is a seeming difference and originates from emphasizing some and neglecting others within each system. The mental energy, or libido, is the power which being enough and well balanced guarantees the foundation of healthy mental work at the higher levels of mental manifestations: emotions and cognition.

In Tao and Hindu Yoga, as well as the Buddha schools, work with inner energy, its accumulation and tracing its flow through an inner network of channels is widely spread. There are special methods of sublimation (transformation) of power to raise it at finer manifestations and accumulate and apply it for spiritual and humane purposes.

The practice of energy (libido) circulation can be done statically with or without breathing exercises or in a dynamic way - taj chi, paneurhythmy and even jogging, or a simple walk.

Some Specific Applications of Meditation in Psychotherapy

Transpersonal psychotherapy is an adaptive and integral system, which embraces, within its approaches, the methods of the other schools. For example, the psychosynthesis of Roberto Assagioli includes analysis, but does not stop there, and goes on with the synthesis of the mental components around the center of the Self.

Meditation, expressing the higher human will, wisdom and love, is a powerful psychotherapeutic instrument! The emotional balance and harmony, which result from appropriate practice of meditation, overcoming the bipolar emotionality, are a reliable therapeutical instrument for affective (emotional) disorders, such as the bipolar disorder (mania-depression), cyclotimia (unstable mood), the recurrent depressive disorder and dysthymia (bad mood).

When working with phobic anxiety disorders, together with the analytic work on the problem, during meditation, one learns to face his/her fear, look directly at it and dissolve it into the light of calmness and power, which result from the contact with the higher Self.

During obsessive-compulsive disorders (obsessive neurosis) one is mentally or in behavior obsessed by rituals, which he/ she performs and which comprise painful repetitions, which unconsciously protect him/her from the fear of an experienced psycho-traumatic conflict. Meditation first removes the obsessive thoughts and images at a cognitive level, which is a relief in itself. Secondly, if meditation deepens, one experiences directly and neutralizes the fear, which causes his/her obsessions.

In the near past, the psychological and psychiatric professions accepted neurasthenia and psychasthenia to be diagnostic categories. Literally, they respectively mean nervous and mental weakness (Greek). These are two synthetic categories, which according to modern classifications include a wide range of neurotic disorders. The main characteristic of neurasthenia is the quick exhaustion and irritability, inability for longer concentrations, social escape and dysthimia (bad mood). Psychasthenia is described as extreme lack of self-confidence, timidity and indecision. During regular meditative sessions, the integrative centre of self-consciousness is reliably established, concentration increases, and the emotional instability is replaced by assertiveness.

Main component in the etiology of neurotic disorders is often the sexual imbalance. The excesses or insufficiency of the libido inescapably leads to deep neurotic states. Transpersonal psychology offers practical methods for sublimation of libido - so that it feeds emotional harmony and power of thinking.

Conclusion

Modern psychology, with its bunch of psychoanalytic, cognitive and humanitarian trends, successfully penetrates into the greatest mystery of human being - the mind. All branches of science at the moment note the necessity of integral and interdisciplinary knowledge - within the frames of different trends within one and the same scientific discipline and also between the main scientific domains: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, philosophy, psychology, etc.

Such a tendency to synthesis, relativity and spacious integral vision is observed also in modern psychology. The transpersonal trend in modern scientific psychology comprises in its paradigm and practice the whole totality of human being and integrates in its theory and practice not only all psychological schools, but also a significant part of the main scientific branches. Transpersonal psychology proves theoretically and empirically the unity of knowledge and life, the overall integrity of the separate elements of the unified matter of wisdom. The most advanced achievements of subatomic (quantum) physics, comparative religion, the treasures of world philosophy, the biological foundations of psychology and cognition, as well as, of course, the essence of the rest of the psychological schools are integrated into the paradigm of the TPP.

Being multidimensional, brave and advanced leader in modern psychology, the most brief definition for it is the one given by the humanitarian psychologist Abraham Maslow: "This is the psychology of the future!"

© Orlin Baev
© Galina Markina - tra nslated from bulgarian
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© E-publisher LiterNet, 29.12.2010
Orlin Baev. Transpersonal psychology. Sacred sexuality. Varna: LiterNet, 2010.