TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

A TRANSPRERSONAL SEARCH FOR MEANING

By

Yaro Starak, Gestalt Therapist

Photo: Saint Circ La Popie FRANCE By Yaro Starak

The 2013 New Year is here. The media continues to expose the horrors and terror that is being inflicted upon humans and nature in many parts of the world accompanied by false ideologies, religious fundamentalism and the struggle for power.

We are entering, more and more into a vortex of self-destruction based on the illusion and false belief in “our” God. And so the world has changed very little since the evolution of humanity. In psychotherapy we are also entering a place of divisions, a plethora of “treatment” methods of our ills and much confusion about what is good and ethical practice calling for legal management (control) of false practitioners selling solutions to our ills.

Over one hundred years now we are exploring and researching ways of dealing with problems of the human psyche and still the outcomes are unclear. However some more recent developments could bring us some hope. Psychology and Spirituality seem to be getting closer due to the re-discovery of ancient shamanism and spiritual practices coming from the Eastern traditions that have been unknown in the west for thousands of years. Ken Wilber’s book on “The Marriage of Sense and Soul” is only one example of an attempt of union between science of the West and spirituality of the East.

Still the majority of people are experiencing a new creeping fundamentalism that is creating a new “inquisition” that questions those attempts to ‘marry’ ancient spiritual practices with hard science. Evangelism in both scientific circles and religious groups are fighting against ways that are touching our most intimate relationships and even re-interpreting the sexual relationships in all genders.

This split between sense and soul has created much confusion in people searching for a spiritual understanding and a path of awareness that is one of the most important psycho-spiritual needs today. Many enter this search by way of Yoga (there are many), Tantra, various meditations, the Enneagram and so on. A few join ‘growth’ weekends with visiting “gurus” and get a sense of temporary well-being and talk about their ‘virtual transformation’ that eventually result in a temporary trance state leading to more confusion later. The most difficult question is still the same: “Who am I?”

There are stories in many journals about the true search of a spiritual Master or Guide that has been able to give the disciple THE WAY. However, where to find such a Master among the thousands of so called ‘enlightened’ guides that eventually take your money and go home. Many charlatans and New Age marketers can be found on the internet selling everything: from instant ‘enlightenment’ to Viagra.

Zen philosophers for millennia have been saying that if you are confused and do not know what to do, then do no-thing. This will help you to get out of the trance state of the spiritual supermarket and begin a search for a true Master.

THE TRUE MASTER

Transpersonal psychology is a branch of psychology that has been attempting to interface between spirituality and modern psychology. Studies conducted to find a definition of a Master have been many and what follows is a summary. The true Master is not a master over others, but a master of himself or herself. The very word and gestures that come from such a master reflect a state of inner wisdom. He has no personal goals, no desire to educate or change but accept things as they are – here and now.

With a true Master we experience our own true Nature and in his silence we find our calm and inner peace. A Master has much to share and not to lead us somewhere. He enables to create a mutual field of energy where disciples can find their own path to selfhood. However, to choose a path to that selfhood with a Master is not easy. It is a constant challenge; a struggle to transform our old patterns and social conditioning and that process may often be very painful and take a long time. Many choose not to go that way and seek a ‘quick fix’ instead of developing a long term discipline.

A spiritual search is not some sort of holidays from reality as it is. It takes more than a week or two of residential seminars where we may feel free to practice our spiritual discipline for a while and then get back to the chores at home. The spiritual path is a constant process of discovery of our own limitations, errors and confusions as we experience life each day.

Most people end up searching for a therapist. A good therapist may be able to help us with ways of achieving a healthier life style or a more satisfactory relationship or a deeper awareness of our blocks to growth or even gain insights how to resolve issues based on a false self. At times a good therapist will be able to guide us to find a spiritual path, but at the end, the full journey is ours alone.

A therapist, no matter how good or capable he or she may be, will never be able to become our spiritual Master. Some therapists may have their own unfinished issues to complete while others will have excellent techniques that will help us to reach a point of resolution of our life issues but at the end, the therapist has to earn a living from the therapy work (called a profession) and therefore very few have been able to dedicate themselves to a spiritual search themselves.

Many people may ask: “Do I really need to have a spiritual master”? “What for”? Life as it is today has so many distractions that an honest search requires much work and time. A spiritual guide comes when we are ready. This means that we have had a long inner struggle with our self and our shadow. The ancient monks called “the dark night of the soul”. Finally such struggle requires help from someone who has been there to guide us into the light.

Yet this struggle is worthwhile. Rumi, the great Sufi poet once said: “false gold exists because the real gold exists”. The spiritual guide is there to help us to distinguish real gold from false gold. Being clear and authentic in our aim to search for a true spiritual path must begin with the first step and that is meeting the guide and then embark on a life-long journey without end.

Today, the word “enlightenment” has been used in so many contexts including in the current New Age marketing of ‘spiritual solutions’ that is much better to begin with self-understanding and personal growth rather than search for an “enlightenment” formula. In addition, as we grow into more awareness each day, we will be able to assist others in our community to do their personal growth work. As a song states: “we are the world” – the source of all beauty and part of all Nature interconnected with everything that exists.

Most people live in a limited consciousness and therefore inhabit a dark well (Socrates) and see nothing but their shadows reflected on its walls. They believe that those shadows are THE reality. By opening our eyes and drop the veils of illusion, we may be able to eradicate the evil shadows of cultural conditioning that has been the cause of much pain for millennia. However, without a spiritual guide who has harnessed the creative energy of passion and therefore of Love for all creation rather than destruction we cannot reach the understanding that brings peace, harmony and an understanding that we are all longing for. Eradicating evil takes a spiritual discipline and not a warrior nature. Allowing the passion without the repression that leads to destruction and imbalance requires understanding and integration of the gift of creative light that comes from the pure center (heart) of each human being. 
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Transpersonal psychology is a school of psychology that studies the transpersonal, the transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology describes transpersonal psychology as "the study of humanity’s highest potential, and with the recognition, understanding, and realization of unitive, spiritual, and transcendent states of consciousness" (Lajoie and Shapiro, 1992:91). Issues considered in transpersonal psychology include spiritual self-development, peak experiences, mystical experiences, systemic trance and other metaphysical experiences of living.

Transpersonal psychologists see the school as a companion to other schools of psychology that include psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology. Transpersonal psychology attempts to unify modern psychology theory with frameworks from different forms of mysticism. These vary greatly depending on the origin but include religious conversion, altered states of consciousness, trance and other spiritual practices. Although Carl Jung and others have explored aspects of the spiritual and transpersonal in their work, transpersonal psychology for the most part has been overlooked by psychologists who are focused on the personal and developmental aspects of the human psyche (Cowley & Derezotes, 1994; Miller, 1998).