Transpersonal
Psychology and
Science
Transpersonal
Psychology and
Science
:
An Evaluation of Its Present
Status and Future Directions
Edited by
Douglas A. MacDonald
and Manuel Almendro
Transpersonal Psychology and Science:
An Evaluation of Its Present Status and Future Directions
Edited by Douglas A. MacDonald and Manuel Almendro
This book first published 2021
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Copyright © 2021 by Douglas A. MacDonald and Manuel Almendro and
contributors
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN (10): 1-5275-7459-8
ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-7459-5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About the Editors ........................................................................................ ix
About the Contributors ................................................................................ x
Acknowledgements ................................................................................... xx
Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1
Introduction
Douglas A. MacDonald and Manuel Almendro
Chapter Two ................................................................................................ 6
The Advancement of Transpersonal Psychological Science:
A Neurophenomenological Trajectory
Adam J. Rock and Charles D. Laughlin
Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 14
The Future of Transpersonal Psychology
Allan Leslie Combs
Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 20
Past, Present and Future of Transpersonal Psychology: A Personal
Perspective
Ana María González Garza
Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 28
The Necessity of a Transpersonal Perspective
Anette Kjellgren
Chapter Six ................................................................................................ 33
Transpersonal Psychology: Mysticism and the Science of Mind
B. Les Lancaster
Chapter Seven ............................................................................................ 43
Responses to Questions of Almendro and MacDonald
Claudio Naranjo
Table of Contents
vi
Chapter Eight ............................................................................................. 51
Transpersonal Psychology and Science: Some Thoughts on the Current
State of Affairs
Douglas A. MacDonald
Chapter Nine .............................................................................................. 60
A Conversation with Ken Wilber About the Past, Present, and Future
of Transpersonal Psychology
Douglas A. MacDonald and Harris L. Friedman
Chapter Ten ............................................................................................... 79
Transpersonal Psychology and Scientific Progress
Ed Dale
Chapter Eleven .......................................................................................... 86
Past, Present, and Future of Transpersonal Psychology
Elías Capriles
Chapter Twelve ......................................................................................... 98
Transpersonal Psychology as an Integrative Psychology of the Whole
Person
Glenn Hartelius
Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 112
The Future of Transpersonal Psychology Depends on How It Is Positioned
and What Contributions It Makes
Harris L. Friedman and Stanley Krippner
Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 118
Transpersonal Psychology—Where Do You Go?
Ingo Benjamin Jahrsetz
Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 127
The Orientations of Transpersonal Psychology
Irma Azomoza
Chapter Sixteen ....................................................................................... 131
Science and the Future of Transpersonal Psychology: Beyond Naturalism
and Supernaturalism
Jorge N. Ferrer
Transpersonal Psychology and Science: An Evaluation of Its Present
Status and Future Directions
vii
Chapter Seventeen ................................................................................... 144
Transpersonal Psychology: A Personal View
Juan Diego Duque Martínez
Chapter Eighteen ..................................................................................... 153
Into the Far Reaches of Consciousness: Methodological Challenges
for Transpersonal Research
Kaisa Puhakka
Chapter Nineteen ..................................................................................... 162
Transpersonal and Transcendental in the Indian Context
Kiran Kumar K. Salagame
Chapter Twenty ....................................................................................... 179
Responses to Questions of Almendro and MacDonald
Laura Boggio-Gilot
Chapter Twenty-One ............................................................................... 182
Transpersonal Psychology S.O.S.
Manuel Almendro
Chapter Twenty-Two ............................................................................... 222
Visiting and Re-visiting the Transpersonal Terrain
Marcie Boucouvalas
Chapter Twenty-Three ............................................................................. 233
Response to Questions of Almendro and MacDonald
María Teresa Román López
Chapter Twenty-Four .............................................................................. 241
Trans and Personal: Toward a Vibrant Transpersonal Psychology
Reggie Pawle
Chapter Twenty-Five ............................................................................... 249
Evaluation of the Current State of Transpersonal Psychology Worldwide
Roman Gonzalvo
Chapter Twenty-Six ................................................................................. 265
Transpersonal Vision: The Earth is Not Flat!
Virginia Gawel
Table of Contents
viii
Chapter Twenty-Seven ............................................................................ 272
Tomorrow’s Transpersonal Psychology
Vitor Rodrigues and Mário Simões
Chapter Twenty-Eight ............................................................................. 278
Transpersonal Psychology: Quo Vadis?
Wilfried Belschner
Chapter Twenty-Nine .............................................................................. 282
Closing Remarks and Recommendations
Douglas A. MacDonald and Manuel Almendro
References ............................................................................................... 290
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Manuel Almendro, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and director of
Oxigeme, a private school and a process of integration for a psychology
and psychotherapy of Consciousness in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain,
where he conducts individual and group psychotherapy as well as a
research and training program. He holds a European Certificate in
Psychology and Psychotherapy (EuroPsy). He is a member of the European
Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA) and past founding
president of the Spanish Transpersonal Association (ATRE). He is on the
editorial boards of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies and
the Journal of Transpersonal Research. Dr. Almendro is the author of a
number of articles and books. Since 1980, he has worked with the
Mazateca of Mexico, the Ashaninka and Shipibo-Conibo, Cocamas, of the
Peruvian Amazon, and also since seventies in Zen tradition. He also
conducts seminars with some masters in psychotherapy and meditation
introducing innovative psychotherapeutic methods. The triad clinical
psychology, Zen tradition and indigenous traditional medicine mark the
line of working and research of Oxigeme. Based in Spain, Dr. Almendro
also lectures and conducts workshops throughout Europe and South
Douglas A. MacDonald, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology
at the University of Detroit Mercy, Adjunct Faculty at Saybrook
University, and Associated Distinguished Professor at the California
Institute of Integral Studies. He is an Editor Emeritus for the International
Journal of Transpersonal Studies, Associate Editor for the Journal of
Transpersonal Psychology, Senior Research Editor for the Journal of
Humanistic Psychology, and a Consulting Editor/Editorial Board Member
for the Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, Psychology of
Religion and Spirituality, and the Australian Gestalt Journal. He also
serves as an ad hoc reviewer for a number of other journals that specialize
in research on religion, spirituality, personality, psychology, and
consciousness. He can be reached via email at macdonda@udmercy.edu
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Irma Azomoza, Ph.D. majored in Psychology at UDLAP, Pue. She
obtained two masters degrees and ultimately received her doctorate in
Psychology at Newport University in California, USA. She has also engaged
in studies in around 15 specialties with some of the most experienced
professionals in the world and she has actively explored several disciplines
within psychology. She is the current President of TRANSPERSONAL, a
Mexican transpersonal association and university. She has been actively
involved with several international conferences and is acknowledged
professionally for her entrepreneurship and contributions to knowledge.
Dr. Azomoza has been the President of the “Consciencia, de la Ciencia a
la Espiritualidad” Congress where different brilliant minded experts come
together with the purpose of expanding our understanding of consciousness.
Wilfried Belschner, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus at University of
Oldenburg where he has held an academic appointment since 1974. His
research expertise and interests focus on the psychology of consciousness
and clinical and health psychology. He is founder and president of the
German Association for Transpersonal Psychology and Psychotherapy,
now known as the Society for Consciousness Sciences and Culture of
Consciousness. He is scientific director for further education in Qigong
Studies at the University of Oldenburg, board member of the Foundation
Consciousness Sciences, and editor of the book series Transpersonal
Studies, Psychology of Consciousness, and Psychology and Culture of
Consciousness. He also runs a course program on “Transcendence Training”.
Laura Boggio-Gilot is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist,
instructor of Yoga-Vedanta meditation, and author. She is the founder and
President of the Italian Association of Transpersonal Psychology (A
IPT),
where she offers yearly courses of meditation, psychology of consciousness
and integral psychology. She is also the co-Founder and Past President of
the European Transpersonal Association (E
UROTAS), and the European
Transpersonal Psychology Association (E
TPA) of which she now is
Honorary President. She has given courses and lectures in Europe, in
Colombia, and the United States, particularly at the California School for
Transpersonal Psychology and Science: An Evaluation of Its Present
Status and Future Directions
xi
Integral Studies, the Institute for Humanistic Psychology in San Francisco,
and the California School for Professional Psychology in Fresno and
Berkeley. Besides numerous articles and some book co-authorships, she
authored several books, many of which in the publishing house Satya –
A
IPT Publications, which she founded and directs.
Marcie Boucouvalas, Ph.D. is Professor and Program Director
(ALHR) Emerita in the Department of Human Development, Virginia
Tech/National Capital Region and editor of The Journal of Transpersonal
Psychology. In addition, she serves on the Editorial Board of five other
Journals (e.g., the Journal of Transformative Education, the Adult
Education Quarterly, etc.). She continues to serve as external examiner for
dissertations, for on-site program reviews and evaluations, and consulting
well as research projects in a variety of countries. A Fulbright scholar, she
has authored numerous refereed publications, book chapters and books or
edited volumes, including the recently released Metamorphosis through
Conscious Living: A transpersonal psychology approach, co-edited with
two international colleagues (Lindy McMullin from Greece and Regina
Hess from Germany). Her decades of contributions have included theory
and research, as well as grass roots action within a variety of institutional
contexts, in geographically diverse areas, in urban and rural settings, and
with a myriad of populations, special interest groups, and diverse cultures.
She has also served in a variety on international leadership roles such as
US delegate to UNESCO Assembles and as VP for North America to the
International Council for Adult Education.
Elias Capriles is Philosophy Professor and Buddhism, Dzogchen
Teacher and author of the celebrated four-volume book The Beyond Mind
Papers: Transpersonal and Metatranspersonal Theory (2013), and of
many books, papers and book chapters in many countries. After a period
of psychedelic experimentation, in the 1970s he set up spiritual emergency
refuges in India and Nepal, and then for years practiced Dzogchen in
retreat in the Himalayas. His work is discussed in many books, journals
(including the JTP) and encyclopedia entries, and he sits in the ITA’s
Board and the Board of Editors of academic journals in various countries.
He lectures on many subjects and teaches Buddhism and Dzogchen
throughout the world.
About the Contributors
xii
Allan Leslie Combs, Ph.D. is a transpersonal psychologist,
consciousness researcher, neuropsychologist, systems theorist, and President
of The Society for Consciousness Studies. He holds appointments at the
California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), Saybrook University, and
the Graduate Institute of Connecticut. He is also Professor Emeritus at the
University of North Carolina-Asheville. Professor Combs is author of over
200 articles, chapters, and books on consciousness and the brain including
Consciousness Explained Better: Towards an Integral Understanding of
Multifaceted Nature of Consciousness; Radiance of Being: Understanding
the Grand Integral Vision, Living the Integral Life with a foreword by Ken
Wilber, The Victorian’s Guide to Consciousness, Synchronicity: Through
the Eyes of Science, Myth, and the Trickster (with Mark Holland), Mind in
Time: The Dynamics of Thought, Reality, and Consciousness (with Ben
Goertzel and Mark Germine), Changing Visions: Human Cognitive Maps
Past, Present, and Future (with Ervin Laszlo), and Thomas Berry:
Dreamer of the Earth (with Ervin Laszlo). Professor Combs is the
Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at CIIS and President of
The Society for Conscious Studies. He is also co-founder of The Society
for Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences, and a member of
The
General Evolution Research Group, and the one hundred member
Club of Budapest. He is Co-Editor of the Journal of Conscious Evolution,
and Editor of CONSCIOUSNESS: Ideas and Research for the 21
st
Century.
Ed Dale, Ph.D. has previously worked as a researcher on child
development projects at the University of Kent. He is the author of
Completing Piaget’s Project: Transpersonal Philosophy and the Future of
Psychology. He has contributed to journals in philosophy, psychology, and
anthropology as an author and editor, and is currently completing a book
on the spiritual lives of the great scientist for Paragon House. Ed is a
director of the information technology company GDCT LTD, and is
pursuing private projects on the interface of computation, AI, and
consciousness.
Juan Diego Duque Martínez, M.S. received his B.A. in psychology
from the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Columbia and his M.S. in
Psychotherapy Interventions from the Univeridad de Salamanca in
Salamanca, Spain. Since 2009, he has been a Professor in the Transpersonal
Psychology training program at the Sasana Corporation in Bogota,
Columbia. He has published works in the area of transpersonal psychology
including his co-authored book entitled Epistemological Foundations of
Transpersonal Psychology and Science: An Evaluation of Its Present
Status and Future Directions
xiii
Psychology – with an Emphasis on Transpersonal Psychology, and he
serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Transpersonal Research.
Jorge N. Ferrer, Ph.D. held a position as core faculty member in the
Department of East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral
Studies (CIIS) from 1998 to 2020 and is currently associate faculty at the
Instituto Transpersonal Integrativo in Spain. He is the award-winning
author of Revisioning Transpersonal Theory: A Participatory Vision of
Human Spirituality (State University of New York Press, 2002) and
Participation and Spirit: Transpersonal Essays in Psychology, Education,
and Religion (State University of New York Press, 2017), as well as
coeditor (with Jacob H. Sherman) of The Participatory Turn: Spirituality,
Mysticism, Religious Studies (State University of New York Press, 2008).
In 2009, he became an advisor to the organization Religions for Peace at
the United Nations on a research project aimed at solving global inter-
religious conflict. He was born in Barcelona, Spain.
Harris L. Friedman, Ph.D. received his doctorate from Georgia
State University in clinical psychology, specializing in transpersonal
psychology. He was board certified in both Clinical and Organizational-
Consulting Psychology by the American Board of Professional
Psychology. He is Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, and recently
retired as Research Professor at University of Florida. He teaches part-
time at the California Institute for Integral Studies and Canterbury Christ
Church University in the UK. He has over 200 professional publications,
mainly on transpersonal psychology and cultural psychology, as well as in
the applied areas of clinical and organizational psychology. He serves as
Senior Editor of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, and
Associate Editor of both The Humanistic Psychologist and Journal of
Humanistic Psychology.
Virginia Gawel is a psychologist, teacher, and writer, born in
Argentina in 1961. She is founder of the Centro Transpersonal de Buenos
Aires and has served as its director since 1994 (www.centrotrans
personal.com.ar). She is a specialist in the integration of Techniques to
Direct Access to the Unconscious (TDAUs), a system which aims to
merge the views of East and West with the contribution of neuroscience.
She is a professor at the Universidad Maimónides in Buenos Aires,
Argentina and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Transpersonal
Research. She is one of the leading proponents of Transpersonal
About the Contributors
xiv
Psychology in Latin America and offers seminars to Spanish speaking
attendants worldwide.
Ana Maria Gonzalez Garza, Ph.D. received her doctorate in
Integral Human Development from the Iberoamericana University (UIA)
in Mexico City and is a recognized pioneer of the transpersonal approach
in the Spanish-speaking world. In 1986 she introduced the transpersonal
approach to therapeutic, educational and developmental processes of
consciousness at the UIA. One of her principal contributions to
transpersonal thought is formulating the proposal on the Spiral of
Consciousness. Director of the Department of Education and Human
Development of the UIA 1991 to 1999. She has been a speaker and
lecturer at a wide number of conferences and academic events throughout
Mexico and in several other countries (e.g., USA, Spain, Colombia,
Argentina, India, South Korea, Ireland and, Italy). She is also author of
numerous articles, book chapters, and books concerning such topics as
human development, education, humanistic psychology, existential-
humanistic philosophy, transpersonal psychology, integral (holistic)
development, evolution of consciousness, meaningful learning, science
and spirituality, self-actualization and transcendence, values and intra and
interpersonal communication, among others. Some of her most notable
publications include El Niño y su Mundo. México: Trillas. 1985, De la
Sombra a la Luz. México: Editorial Jus 1995, Caminos de Trascendencia.
Ed. Atheleia, México, D.F. 2004, Colisión de Paradigmas. Hacia una
psicologia de la conciencia de unidad. Barcelona: Kairós. 2005, Enfoque
Centrado en la Persona. Aplicaciones a la Educación. Méx,: Trillas. 3ª.
Ed, El Niño y la Educación. México: Trillas. 4ª. Ed. 2008, El Niño y su
Mundo. México: Trillas. 7ª. Reimpresión 2007, and Educación Holística.
La Pedagogía del Siglo XXI. Barcelona, Editorial Kairós. 2009.
Roman Gonzalvo, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychotherapist from
Spain, professor of transpersonal psychotherapy at the Institute of
Psychology Studies – ISEP and visiting professor of transpersonal
psychotherapy at the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Zaragoza
(Spain). He has investigated the spiritual needs, lifelong learning, and
personal transformation of dying patients for several years. He was the
founder of the Journal of Transpersonal Research (JTR) in 2009, the
Ibero-American Transpersonal Association (ATI) and the Symposium of
Transpersonal Psychology and Spirituality in 2015, and the Group of
Transpersonal Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Official School of
Psychology in Madrid in 2017. Following his passion for the homeless
Transpersonal Psychology and Science: An Evaluation of Its Present
Status and Future Directions
xv
people, he also works with them since 2019 in the City Center for
Homeless People (CMAPSH) of his home town Tudela (Navarra).
Glenn Hartelius, Ph.D. is the Founding Chair of the PhD in Integral
and Transpersonal Psychology at the California Institute of Integral
Studies and serves as Main Editor of the International Journal of
Transpersonal Studies. Along with Harris Friedman, he is co-editor of The
Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology (2013).
Ingo Benjamin Jahrsetz, Ph.D. is a transpersonal practitioner and
educator with expertise in Integrative Psychotherapy, Systemic Family
Therapy, Systemic Constellations, Psychodrama, and Holotropic
Breathwork. He has a practice in Freiburg, Germany and offers
supervision, seminars and training courses in transpersonal breathwork
and psychotherapy in Germany and abroad. His is the founder and Co-
Director of the International Institute for Consciousness Exploration and
Psychotherapy (in Freiburg, Germany), the initiator and honorary
chairman of the German branch of the Spiritual Emergence Network, and
is a former president of the European Transpersonal Association.
Anette Kjellgren, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at Karlstad
University, Sweden. Information about her scholarly work can be found at
https://www.kau.se/en/researchers/anette-kjellgren
Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. received a doctorate in educational
psychology from Northwestern University and was Professor of
Psychology and Integrative Inquiry at Saybrook University until 2019.
Currently, he is a Distinguished Professor at the California Institute of
Integral Studies. In 2002, he received the American Psychological
Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International
Advancement of Psychology. He is a Fellow of several professional
organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the
Association for Psychological Science, the Society for the Scientific Study
of Religion, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. He co-
edited Varieties of Anomalous Experience (published by the American
Psychological Association), co-authored Personal Mythology and
Extraordinary Dreams, and co-edited or co-authored three books on war
trauma. He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Society
for Humanistic Psychology, the Parapsychological Association, and the
International Association for the Study of Dreams. Krippner serves on the
About the Contributors
xvi
editorial or advisory boards of several journals including the Journal of
Transpersonal Psychology, the International Journal of Transpersonal
Research, and the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies.
B. Les Lancaster, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus of Transpersonal
Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University, Associated
Distinguished Professor of Integral and Transpersonal Psychology at the
California Institute of Integral Studies, Honorary Research Fellow in the
Center for Jewish Studies at Manchester University, and founding director
of the Alef Trust. Information about his professional and scholarly
activities is available at https://www.aleftrust.org/team/les-lancaster/
Charles D. Laughlin, Ph.D. is a Professor Emeritus of
Anthropology and Religion at Carleton University. Information about Dr.
Laughlin’s life and work can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Charles_Laughlin
Claudio Naranjo received his MD at the University of Chile and
completed his psychiatric training at the Clinica Psiquiátrica Universitaria
under Ignacio Matte Blanco. He has also been awarded an Honorary Ed.D.
from the University of Udine in Italy, an Honorary Ph.D. from the U. of
Aguascalientes and nominated for the Nobel Peace prize. He served as a
visiting scholar at Harvard’s Center for Studies in Personality and at the
University of California Institute for Personality Assessment and Research
in Berkeley. and later became known for the formulation of the
Psychology of Enneatypes—a development of Ichazo’s ‘Protoanalysis’.
He was a resident and workshop leader at the Esalen Institute in the late
1960s and completed training with Fritz Perls and James Simkin while
there. He has delivered numerous keynote addresses at international
Gestalt Conferences throughout the years and founded the SAT Institute
and program at Berkeley in 1972. He was a member of the ‘Future’s
Planning Council’ of the Dioceses of California and the USA Club of
Rome. He passed away on July 12, 2019. At the time of his passing, he
was the President of the Claudio Naranjo Foundation in Spain, which is
dedicated to the development of an
education to transcend patriarchy.
Throughout his career wrote over 20 books and in the years preceding his
death taught extensively in Latin America and Europe.
Transpersonal Psychology and Science: An Evaluation of Its Present
Status and Future Directions
xvii
Reggie Pawle, Ph.D. is in private practice in Kyoto, Japan. He has
taught cultural psychology (Kansai Gaidai University, HIrakata, Japan)
and counseling psychology (Graduate School of Psychology, Assumption
University, Bangkok, Thailand). His research is on the psychology of
Buddhism and Daoism. His primary personal practice since 1974 has been
Zen Buddhist. Website: http://www.reggiepawle.net
Kaisa Puhakka, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at California Institute of
Integral Studies and former editor of the Journal of Transpersonal
Psychology. Co-editor with T. Hart and P. Nelson of Transpersonal
knowing: Exploring the horizon of consciousness, she has published some
fifty articles and book chapters in the areas of transpersonal psychology,
Buddhist studies, and psychotherapy.
Adam J. Rock, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer at the University of New
England, Australia, and an Associated Distinguished Professor at the
California Institute of Integral Studies. Information about his research
interests and scholarly works is available on his staff profile page located
at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/psychology/arock
Vitor Rodrigues, Ph.D. is a Psychologist, Psychotherapist, and
Former President of EUROTAS, the European Transpersonal Association.
He taught Educational Psychology and Developmental Psychology at
Portuguese Universities during 17 years and has published 12 books in
Portuguese, so diverse as to include social criticism essays, science fiction,
and self-help manuals. He is an international lecturer and trainer in stress
management, depression and happiness, meditation, regression therapy,
psychic self-defence, and hypnosis.
María Teresa Román López, Ph.D. has a Bachelor’s degree in
Psychology, a doctorate in Philosophy, and is a Full Professor in the
Faculty of Philosophy at the National University of Distance Education
(UNED), where she teaches the following undergraduate courses: Ancient
Oriental Wisdoms of India, Buddhism and China, and Egyptian,
Mesopotamian, and Iranian Thought, as well as a Master’s Degree course,
Indian Thought. She is presently a member of the Academic Society of
Philosophy. Apart from several articles on oriental thought, she has
published the following books: Diccionario de las Religiones, Buda:
sendero del alma, Reflejos del alma, Enseñanzas espirituales de la India,
Diccionario antológico de budismo, Sabidurías Orientales de la
About the Contributors
xviii
Antigüedad, Un viaje al corazón del budismo, El gran enigma de la
muerte, and La maleta del buscador: herramientas para la libertad y el
crecimiento personal.
Kiran Kumar K. Salagame, Ph.D. graduated from and served in
the University of Mysore, India as a faculty for more than three decades
and superannuated as Professor of Psychology. Currently he is the Vice-
President of the International Transpersonal Association, USA. He has
authored the book Psychology of Meditation: A contextual approach. He is a
member of the Board of Editors of International Journal of Transpersonal
Studies, USA; Journal of Transpersonal Research, Spain; and Spiritual
Psychology and Counselling, Turkey. He featured as a Guest in New
Thinking Allowed video interview. He also served as Associate Editor,
Psychological Studies, India. He in on the editorial board of national
journals. He researched on altered states of consciousness for his doctoral
thesis and obtained Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the National
Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, India. He was a
Senior Research Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Sciences
Research, New Delhi (2013-15); He was awarded Fulbright-Nehru
Visiting Professor to teach at the University of Central Arkansas, Conway
in 2011. He was a Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellow at Saybrook Graduate
School in San Francisco in 1990-91. He was awarded with an Honorary
Professor, International Academy
for Yoga Teacher Training, Belgrade,
Serbia; Member, Scientific Board, International Society for
Interdisciplinary Yoga Research, Belgrade, Serbia in 2010. He is also a
Fellow of the Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists and the
Association presented Psycho-Award in 2006 for his distinguished
contributions to the field of psychology. He is known nationally and
internationally through his publications in journals and books related to
different topics - health and well-being, locus of control, meditation &
Yoga, positive psychology, self and identity, states of consciousness, social
cognition and transpersonal psychology. He has developed a tool to assess
social cognition in children. Integrating Indian psychological concepts to
mainstream psychology is his primary focus. He has visited Bahrain,
Canada, Czech Republic, Russia, Serbia, Uganda, UK and USA to attend
conferences and/or to give lectures. General reading, listening to music,
watching TV, gardening and travel are some of his extracurricular
interests.
Transpersonal Psychology and Science: An Evaluation of Its Present
Status and Future Directions
xix
Mário Simões, MD, Ph.D. is a Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist.
Professor of Psychiatry and Mental Health and Introduction to
Consciousness Sciences, Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon (FML). Director
of the Postgraduate Course in Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (FML).
Director of LIMMIT – Mind-Matter Interaction Laboratory of Therapeutic
Intention (FML). Co-founder of ALUBRAT - Brazilian Portuguese
Transpersonal Association. Co-founder of Imaginal - Portuguese Association
of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Co-author of Psychology of
Consciousness - a transpersonal perspective and the Handbook of Clinical
Hypnosis - theory, research and practice. Member of the Scientific
Council of the Bial Foundation and several scientific journals. Co-author
of Psychotherapy “Life Trajectory”. Research interests: psychology and
psychophysiology of altered states of consciousness, clinical hypnosis,
Ethnomedical, exceptional experiences and psychology and spirituality.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The editors would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Jacek Brewczynski
and Dr. Harris L. Friedman for their helpful comments, advice, feedback,
and support.
CHAPTER ONE
I
NTRODUCTION
D
OUGLAS A. MACDONALD
AND MANUEL ALMENDRO
Transpersonal psychology is a discipline born in the 1960s from the
tripartite influences of the psychedelic movement, the influx of Eastern
and indigenous spiritual ideas and practices into Western psychology, and
the growth of humanistic psychology to incorporate spirituality and
transcendent experience as necessary components for studying and
understanding the entirety of human potential and consciousness. While
initially an American phenomenon, the discipline has come to be
embraced by scholars and practitioners throughout the world. At present,
there are a variety of academic journals (e.g., International Journal of
Transpersonal Studies, Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, Journal of
Transpersonal Research, Transpersonal Psychology Review) and
professional organizations (e.g., Association for Transpersonal Psychology
http://atpweb.org/; European Transpersonal Association [EUROTAS],
http://eurotas.org/; International Transpersonal Association [ITA]
http://www.transpersonalassociation.com/) that are dedicated to supporting,
exploring, and promulgating the transpersonal viewpoint both within
psychology and across a range of other disciplines and areas of inquiry
including but not limited to anthropology, sociology, medicine, nursing,
counseling, education, social work, philosophy, religious studies, creative
arts, and gender studies.
Though these developments may lead one to think the discipline has a
coherent and agreed upon worldview, since coming on the scene and
throughout its existence, transpersonal psychology has struggled with a
variety of very fundamental issues concerning its definition, scope, and
methods that have led some to criticize the field and/or to proffer ways of
bringing clarity and focus to its mission and vision (e.g., see Friedman &
Hartelius, 2013a). Among the most contentious and important of these
Chapter One
2
issues is the extent to which transpersonal psychology can and should
operate as a science (e.g., Daniels, 2005; Ferrer, 2014; Friedman, 2002).
We ourselves know of many scholars and practitioners who have an
interest in transpersonal psychology but are uncomfortable with the field
being framed as a “psychology” and/or a “science” because they feel that
it goes beyond the boundaries of both psychology and science writ large.
For several of these people, issues regarding transpersonal psychology as a
science are embedded in a larger set of problems with trying to demarcate
how the foundational ideas of the discipline can be adapted to the
traditions, methods, and practices of their own areas of inquiry, and they
are critical of any efforts at trying to fit everything under the umbrella of a
psychology, whether scientific or otherwise. At the same time, we know of
a fair number of people, almost all of whom lack formal training in
psychology and are without recognized professional credentials, who have
shown an eagerness to use the name of the discipline as a way of
enhancing their legitimacy in the eyes of others and to use their status as
“transpersonal psychologists” to make claims and/or offer services to the
public that we think most advocates for the discipline would find
questionable and even troublesome. We consider the first of these
situations to be a concrete reflection of the uncertainties surrounding the
identity of the transpersonal psychological movement and the latter as an
indication of the potentially undesirable consequences that can arise when
there are no agreed upon structures, processes, or methods that can be used
to meaningfully evaluate claims and hold people into account for their
actions done in the name of the field. In our opinion, both of these
instances provide a strong impetus for the transpersonal psychological
community to begin open, inclusive, and critical dialogue regarding its
present status and what it wants for its future.
As researchers and psychologists who treat transpersonal psychology
as a central part of our own professional identities, we ourselves have been
actively engaged in trying to make sense of the field with particular
attention given to how it could incorporate and more effectively utilize
science (e.g., see Almendro, 2009a; MacDonald, 2013). From what we can
determine, the discipline has a lot to gain by embracing science in terms of
recognition, credibility, accountability, and opportunities to participate in
the broader workings of the scientific community. As well, we think that
transpersonal psychology has a lot to offer science and has the potential to
influence the direction that science takes with respect to the ideas and
phenomena that transpersonalists hold dear and value as essential for a
more complete understanding of human consciousness and well-being. In
our view, science is not a closed and immutable system that only seeks to
Introduction
3
reduce things to material processes. To the contrary, we see it as open,
dynamic, and responsive to different perspectives. However, our view
seems to be in the minority as many people who consider themselves
transpersonalists appear to harbor mostly negative attitudes about science,
either seeing it as a threat or as an encumberance which is unnecessary for
the field to sustain itself. Nonetheless, after considerable reflection, we
have come to the conclusion that in order for transpersonal psychology as
a whole to make significant progress on issues related to science, there is a
need to consider the myriad perspectives of those who are recognized
authorities the field so as to get the best possible sense of how they may be
reconciled and integrated into a coherent framework upon which others
like us can ground their ideas, research, and practices. In turn, we see this
having tremendous implications for addressing the larger issues of
discipline identity as it could aid people in making determinations as to
whether or not transpersonal psychology or another field of inquiry is
suitable to their values and interests.
With all of this in mind, the aim of this book is simple—to give
interested readers a resource where they can examine the views of
recognized transpersonalists from all over the world on the matter of the
relation of transpersonal psychology to science. To the best of our
knowledge, there is no single publication that provides a centralized
source for such discourse and dialogue. We felt it important to include
voices “from all over the world” because most of the discussion and
debate that has transpired in the literature to date has come from scholars
in the United States and, less so, the United Kingdom. We adopted the
stance that differences in perspectives which may be linked to culture need
to be respected and incorporated as much as possible if the dialogue is
going to have any positive and lasting influence over the current and future
workings of transpersonal psychology as a discipline.
To accomplish our aim, we identified scholars and practitioners who
are known for their contributions to transpersonal psychology and we
invited them to provide written submissions in which they addressed five
questions. These questions were (a) What is transpersonal psychology? (b)
What is science, particularly quantitative science, in relation to what you
consider to be transpersonal psychology? (c) What is the current state of
transpersonal psychology in your opinion? (d) If nothing changes, what is
the future of transpersonal psychology in your opinion? (e) What needs to
be done to ensure that transpersonal psychology has a vibrant and
productive future? Invitees were encouraged to write whatever they felt as
being most reflective of their own point of view and were told that they
could be as personal or as scholarly as they liked. The only constraint that
Chapter One
4
we asked everyone to honor as much as possible was to keep their
submissions reasonably concise.
While we did not hear back from each and every person, the majority
of invitees replied. Several were appreciative of being invited but declined,
primarily due to lack of time because of other commitments or simple lack
of interest. However, most of these scholars gave praise for our efforts
with one stating “[t]ranspersonal research will benefit from varying points
of view and cordial scholarly debate.” Some of those who responded with
either an acceptance or declination provided notable comments in their
initial communication which onto themselves were interesting as they
seemed reflect the invitee’s sense of the state and/or significance of
transpersonal psychology as a discipline. For instance, one invitee stated “I
find [transpersonal psychological] basic ideas doing wonderfully culture-
wide, but barely noticed in psychology.” Another one commented that
transpersonal psychology “has always been a grab bag, or an umbrella
term for a bunch of different approaches, and that’s still the case.” In a
poignantly toned email, a third invitee replied that transpersonal psychology
used to suffer from an “anti-intellectualism” in its early years which has
appeared to have waned somewhat in more recent times. Nevertheless, due
to its history and politics in its formative years, the invitee decided to not
restrict his/her allegiances to transpersonal psychology.
In total, we received submissions from a respectably large number of
experts. Many are solo authored but several are co-written compositions.
In this book, we present the submissions in separate chapters organized
alphabetically by author first name (first author first name in multi-
authored pieces). We opted to use such an approach to organization
because we wanted to be theoretically and ideologically nonpartisan and to
mitigate any potential criticisms that might arise if a more conceptual or
thematic structure were imposed by us (or, in other words, we did not want
to appear that we were favoring some perspectives and arguments over
others). While some submissions needed revision to improve quality of
expression, we endeavored as much as possible to keep all submissions in
the form we received them. It was our intent to preserve the unique voices
of all contributors as much as possible.
Without divulging too much up front, our careful reading of the
submissions revealed a wide array of responses to our aforementioned
questions. Some authors lament the state of transpersonal psychology and
offer serious criticisms of its perceived failure in realizing its potential.
Others express little by way of concern, characterizing the field in an
almost panglossian manner as vibrant and as needing little, if any, change.
Others still offer some constructive insights into areas where the discipline
Introduction
5
could benefit from some retooling. In all cases, the authors offer their
viewpoints with honesty, integrity, and with a sincere desire to benefit the
field.
Following the various perspectives shared by our contributors, we
provide a brief summary of some of the main grievances and issues
expressed and then offer a variety of suggestions that we hope will be
helpful in moving transpersonal psychology toward greater visibility,
coherency, and rigor in its scholarship and professional applications.
CHAPTER TWO
T
HE ADVANCEMENT OF TRANSPERSONAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE:
A
NEUROPHENOMENOLOGICAL TRAJECTORY
A
DAM J. ROCK AND CHARLES D. LAUGHLIN
In 1968 Abraham Maslow asserted that, “I consider humanistic, Third
Force psychology, to be transitional, a preparation for a still ‘higher’
Fourth psychology, transpersonal, transhuman, centered in the cosmos
rather than in human needs and interests, going beyond humanness,
identity, self-actualization and the like” (as quoted in Visser, 2003, p. 43).
Almost four decades later, Hartelius, Caplan, and Rardin (2007)
thematically analyzed 160 definitions of the term transpersonal psychology
derived from publications and interviews with transpersonal colleagues
from 1968 through 2002. Three comprehensive constituent themes were
identified: (1) beyond-ego, (2) integrative/holistic, and (3) transformative.
With respect to (1), ego refers to one’s individual sense of self, which
inhabits a clearly delineated space-time location, as distinguished from
Freud’s conception of the ego as the mediator between the superego and
id. That is, (1) implies that transpersonal psychology focuses on
experiences of spatial and temporal transcendence (see Friedman, 1983).
Regarding (2), integrative/holistic suggests that transpersonal psychologists
avoid reductionistic (e.g., biological) formulations and investigate persons
in the context of their social-cultural-political milieu. In terms of (3),
transformative suggests that transpersonal psychologists investigate
injunctions or state-change technologies (e.g., meditation) that facilitate
the attainment of states of phenomenology (e.g., samadhi) associated with
greater positive affect (e.g., joy, love) and meaningfulness compared to
ordinary waking states. Thus, following Hartelius et al. (2007) the
conjunction of (1), (2), and (3) above may be conceptualized as a
sufficient condition for a research content area to be deemed transpersonal
psychology.
The Advancement of Transpersonal Psychological Science
7
The aim of the present chapter is to argue that the advancement of
transpersonal psychological science may be facilitated by the adoption of a
neurophenomenological approach. In order to achieve this objective we
will first examine the relationship between transpersonal psychology and
science. Second, we will appraise the current state of transpersonal
psychology. Third, we will provide a brief exposition of phenomenology
with special emphasis on Husserlian phenomenological methodology.
Finally, we will outline a possible future neurophenomenological trajectory
for transpersonal psychology.
Transpersonal Psychology and Science
Friedman (2002) examined the relationship between transpersonal
psychology and science, and concluded that,
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. (p. 176)
What most people would consider a scientific psychology would be one in
which theories are built from, and tested using direct observations of
reality. Specifically, a scientifically grounded transpersonal psychology
would be one that espouses views that are, in principle, falsifiable either
through direct experience or through controlled experimentation. This
does not mean that everyone who practices scientific psychology agrees
upon appropriate methods. We note, for example, the current controversy
surrounding the prevalence of questionable research practices (QRPs;
e.g., rounding down a p value from .053 to .049 to obtain significance; see
John, Loewenstein, & Prelec, 2012; Simmons, Nelson, & Simonsohn,
2011), and the inability to replicate initial results (e.g., Begley & Ellis,
2012). Indeed, one foundational principle of science is replicability.
Pashler and Wagenmakers (2012) posed the question, “Is there currently a
crisis of confidence in psychological science reflecting an unprecedented
level of doubt among practitioners about the reliability of research findings
in the field? It would certainly appear that there is” (p. 528).
Irrespective of the current status of psychological science, we agree
with Friedman (2002) that the importance of transpersonal psychology for
“human survival and betterment” (p. 176) necessitates an embrace of the
scientific method rather than the peddling of folk beliefs and anecdotal
evidence. Several decades ago, Tart (1972) provided a model for this
embrace. Tart (1998) asserted that states of consciousness (SoC) consist of
Chapter Two
8
“state-specific perceptions and logics” (p.103). For example, ordinary
waking consciousness is characterized, in part, by the logic of linear and
binary segmentation (i.e., temporality and duality, respectively), whereas
various transpersonal experiences (e.g. savikalpa samadhi) consist of logic
that is ostensibly non-linear and non-dual. Tart further proposed that, “the
methods of essential science (observation, theorizing, prediction,
communication/consensual validation) can be applied from within various
SoCs and ASCs” to create what he termed state-specific sciences (SSS) (p.
103). However, Tart (1972) emphasized that SSSs should be used to
complement, rather than invalidate, the experiential knowledge obtained
by what he referred to as normal consciousness sciences (NCS). For
instance, Laughlin had a lucid dream in which he was with various friends
and became aware that he was dreaming. He told his friends that they were
all dreaming together, and that he could prove it. He reached out his hand
toward a sweater laying on a table and by exerting his will, caused it to
levitate. “There,” he told his friends, “we could not do that if we were
awake.” He was thinking at that moment that he was empirically proving
he was dreaming. This is an example of how state-specific phenomenology
may be practiced. It depends upon cultivating sufficient awareness within
the state of consciousness to pursue relevant questions (see also Rock &
Klettke, 2009).
The Current State of Transpersonal Psychology
An examination of articles published in the International Journal of
Transpersonal Studies (IJTS) from 2008 to 2019 revealed that 8.74% (18)
were quantitative studies, 12.14% (25) were qualitative studies, 3.40% (7)
were mixed-method studies, and 1.94% (4) were interviews. In contrast,
73.79% (152) of published papers were essays (i.e., not empirical studies;
see Figure 2-1). Thus, transpersonal researchers appear to focus largely on
the production of essays rather than the application of the scientific
method to transpersonal phenomena. Of course it is clear that in many
cases, the application of parametric statistics is inappropriate, for the
universe is not known. In order to sample an attribute within a population,
one must know who among the population exhibits that attribute. For
instance, to validly sample lucid dreamers within a population (say, the
population of the United States), one must identify everyone within that
population who is a lucid dreamer. Only then is the application of
parametric statistics valid. Moreover, even if the researcher samples from
a known universe (all lucid dreamers in the US), the results of the statistics
used can only be generalized to the population of lucid dreamers in the
The Advancement of Transpersonal Psychological Science
9
US—not to all lucid dreamers in the world, a classic error made frequently
in psychology where it is assumed that what characterizes a sample of
university student volunteer subjects characterizes the whole world. The
point here of course is that transpersonal data are often anecdotal and
experiential and the use of high-powered statistics is simply inappropriate.
Figure 2-1. Type of article published in the International Journal of Transpersonal
Studies (2008 to 2019)
The counter-contention regarding the results displayed in Figure 2-1
is, of course, that we have created a “straw-man” argument on the grounds
that a distinction may be “drawn between the field of transpersonal
psychology as a science and the broader area known as transpersonal
studies that may legitimately use scientific or nonscientific methods”
(Friedman, 2002, p. 175). Interestingly, however, an examination of the
content of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology’s Journal of
Transpersonal Psychology and the British Psychological Society’s
Transpersonal Psychology Review reveals an equivalent trend characterized
by an overemphasis on essays, which is consistent with Friedman’s (2002)
lament that transpersonal psychology has produced little quantitative
research relative to other sub-disciplines of psychology. (Friedman’s
lament may, of course, be extended to qualitative and mixed-methods
research). Indeed, in an attempt “to begin to rectify the lack of many
quantitative empirical papers in transpersonal psychology”, Friedman and
Hartelius (2007, p. 56) published a special issue of IJTS titled “Applying
Quantitative Research Methods in Transpersonal Psychology”.
Chapter Two
10
According to Leahey (1992, p. 17),
For scientific research to be progressive, the scientific community in a
particular research area must agree on certain basic issues. Its members
must agree on the goals of their science, on the basic characteristics of
the real world relevant to their subject, and on permissible research
methods and mathematical techniques.
This notion of progressive scientific research is especially problematic
within transpersonal psychology where transpersonal authors “frequently
portray science as inadequate for and irrelevant to addressing transpersonal
concerns” (Friedman, 2005, p. 3). In addition, debate continues regarding
“permissible research methods”. For example, while some prominent
transpersonal researchers (e.g., Friedman & MacDonald, 2002) advocate
quantitative approaches, we note that the anthology, Transpersonal research
methods for the social sciences (Braud & Anderson, 1998) outlines five
transpersonal research methods (i.e., integral inquiry, intuitive inquiry,
organic research, transpersonal-phenomenological inquiry, inquiry informed
by exceptional human experiences), none of which utilize statistical tests.
Thus, broadly speaking, this particular sub-discipline of psychology
demonstrates a predilection for formulating sets of logically related
hypotheses (i.e., theories) coupled with a disinclination to engage in
hypothesis testing; a curious state of affairs, indeed. This predilection has
numerous negative outcomes including: (1) The glacial accumulation of
empirical knowledge, which hampers the development of an evidence base
concerning, for example, the efficacy of transpersonal psychotherapy (e.g.,
holotropic breathwork); (2) A dearth of studies that provide quantitative
phenomenological maps of ostensibly transpersonal states of conscious
awareness (e.g., kevala nirvikalpa samadhi) and therefore a failure to
respond adequately to Tart’s (1972) decades-old call for the establishment
of SSSs; and (3) A lack of validation of quantitative instruments designed
to measure transpersonal constructs.
Psychology’s sister discipline, anthropology, has an opposite problem.
Because, with the exception of so-called holocultural studies of transpersonal
experiences (e.g., Bourguignon & Evascu, 1977), anthropological research
is naturalistic, it rarely has a way of determining a universe for which
parametric statistics would be valid. Hence, anthropology has had no such
methodological quandary, for ethnographic fieldwork is normally
qualitative and grounded upon what is call participant observation: that is,
learning about life in other cultures by participating in the host’s everyday
life and seeing what happens. As is often the case when doing fieldwork
among non-Western peoples, anthropologists have come across practices
