The adventure of self discovery. Stanislav Grof 2022-10-20

The Adventure of Self

Minutes later, I found myself a frog and started propelling myself with long kicks. Sometimes, the experience of identification with all of life is only horizontal, involving all the complex interactions and interdependences of various life forms in all the permutations of their synergisms and antagonisms that constitute the planetary ecology. Physical traumas are not seen as having a direct influence on the psychological development of the individual and as participating in the psychogenesis of emotional and psychosomatic disorders. This slowly changed into equally convincing identification with various kinds of fish, sea horses, anemones, and even kelp, all which were authentic and astonishing in biological detail. Conversely, she felt that I had unlimited access to her mind and that I could ''read her as an open book. Encounter With Birth and Death: Dynamics of the Perinatal Matrices As the process of experiential self-exploration deepens, the elements of emotional and physical pain can reach extraordinary intensity.

Stanislav Grof

Among the psychedelic plants that have played a critical role in the spiritual life of humanity are the legendary Vedic sacrament soma whose botanical identity is unknown, the African eboga Tabernanthe iboga , various parts of hemp Cannabis indica and sativa , the fly agaric Amanita muscaria , the Mexican sacred mushrooms teonanacatl Psilocybe mexicana , the visionary cactus peyote Lophophora williamsii , morning glory seeds or ololiuqui Turbina corymbosa , and the Amazonian liana Banisteriopsis caapi, the main ingredient of yajé or ayahuasca. One of the characteristic forms that this experience can take is identification with raging elements of nature, such as volcanoes, electric storms, earthquakes, tidal waves, or tornadoes. Observations from clinical work with non-ordinary states of consciousness show that many forms of psychopathology have deep roots in the biological aspects of birth. Here the original harmony and equilibrium of the fetal existence is disturbed, first by alarming chemical signals and later by mechanical contractions of the uterus. Similar selective connections exist also to various forms of positive transpersonal experiences with related themes.

The adventure of self

Although most of these mechanisms represent new principles in the Western therapeutic armamentarium, they are actually ancient; since time immemorial, they have played an important role in shamanic practices, healing rituals, and rites of passage. I presume that the general intellectual climate has changed to such an extent that many readers either are familiar with the arguments I would bring forth or will be able to accept the data without it. Experiences of Animal Spirits 118 d. The fact that many perinatal and transpersonal experiences can also occur during spontaneous episodes of nonordinary states of consciousness has far-reaching consequences for the understanding and treatment of many conditions that traditional psychiatry interprets as psychotic and thus indicative of mental disease. Since the arteries supplying the placenta follow a winding course through the complex spiral, circular and longitudinal fabric of the uterine musculature, each contraction restricts the supply of blood and thus oxygen, nourishment, and warmth to the fetus.

9780887065415: The Adventure of Self

Maybe the task was to complete the reliving of birth by an experience of emerging into the world. During his stay, he underwent a variety of alternative treatments and, with several ups and downs, he actually lived more than two and half years. In a similar way, one can transcend the limits of the specifically human experience and identify with the consciousness of animals, plants, or even inorganic objects and processes. Supernormal Physical Feats b. Instead of inducing drug-specific states like other pharmaca, they function more like unspecific catalysts or amplifiers of the unconscious processes.

The Adventure of Self

Soon we went back down to the waters edge, eager to stretch and swim, to dive, and swirl around. A horrible taste in my mouth made me want to vomit. Intuitive Understanding of Universal Symbols j. An individual tuned into this experiential realm has a convinced sense of identification with various plants, parts of plants, or even physiological and biochemical processes in them. Additional ISBNs for this eTextbook include 0887065406, 0887065414, 9780887065408, 9780887065415. The experiences of death and rebirth reflecting the perinatal level of the unconsious are rich and complex.

The Journey of Self

The basic perinatal matrices have also specific relations to different aspects of the activities in the Freudian erogenous zones and to various forms of psychopathology see the synoptic paradigm in Appendix B. Second Basic Perinatal Matrix BPM II : Cosmic Engulfment and No Exit This experiential pattern is related to the onset of biological delivery and to its first clinical stage. Recent consciousness research has thus made it possible for the first time to review seriously ancient and non-Western knowledge about consciousness and to approach a genuine synthesis of age-old wisdom and modern science Grof 1984. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N. The world appears to be a beautiful and safe place and the zest for life is considerably increased. Before I could realize what was happening, the emphasis of my experience shifted. From the biographical level, elements of important COEX systems that deal with physical abuse and violation, threat, separation, pain, and suffocation or, conversely, with states of biological and emotional satisfaction, are closely related to specific aspects of BPMs.

The crucial question I seemed to be dealing with was whether life on this planet would survive. At this point, I was flooded by memories of my recent trip to India, experiencing again how deeply I was moved by the incredibly broad range of existence that one can encounter in that country From the profound misery of unimaginable poverty, dirt, disease, and death to the timeless beauty of sublime temple architecture and sculpture and the highest achievements of human spirit. Many transpersonal experiences, being ineffable, elude adequate verbal description and occur on levels of reality where those very aspects that could ordinarily serve as principia divisionis, such as time, space, duality, and polarity, or linear causality, are transcended. Classical descriptions of OOBEs can be found in spiritual literature and philosophical texts of all ages, particularly in the Tibetan Book of the Dead Bardo Thötröl or Thödöl and other similar literature. When the experience is well integrated, it results not only in increased ability to enjoy existence, but also in better functioning in the world.

In spite of its dose connection to childbirth, the perinatal process transcends biology and has important psychological, philosophical, and spiritual dimensions. However, the fact that they brought the person close to death and involved extreme discomfort and pain connects them to the birth trauma. I was aware of the placentary connection with my mother and clearly sensed the flow of blood through the arterial and venous circuits, the passage of oxygen and nourishment, and the disposal of metabolic products. This report is a good example of a powerful birth experience that, by its elemental power and meaningful connection to everyday life, convinced an intelligent, skeptical, and scientifically trained individual. Document Page v Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1988 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This condition seemed to have a definite chemical component I felt sick, nauseated, intoxicated, poisoned. Equally frequent in this context are experiences of attack by a monstrous octopus or tarantula.

In more advanced forms of OOBE, the individual experiences himself or herself in other rooms of the building, in remote locations astral projection , flying above the earth, or moving away from it. The titanic aspect is quite understandable in view of the enormity of the forces encountered in this stage of the childbirth. Full reliving of events from childhood can be occasionally accompanied by experiential identification with the protagonists e. In states of mystical union with the universe, the state of dual unity can be experienced in relation to any aspect of existence not only people, but animals, plants, and inanimate objects. It was easy to identify this state as a deep regression, a return into fetal existence. There exists a wide spectrum of ancient and Oriental spiritual practices that are specifically designed to facilitate access to the perinatal and transpersonal domains. As a matter of fact, problems that have clearly psychosomatic manifestations can always be traced to unconscious themes on the biographical, perinatal, or transpersonal level that involve physical traumatization as a significant element.

I was soaring by skillfully using the air currents and subtle changes of the position of my wings. It seemed to be toxic and poisonous in a chemical sense, but also dangerous and evil in the metaphysical sense. That dearly appeared to be an impossible task and if that was a necessary condition for liberation from this hellish situation, there was not much hope. This involves an enormous struggle for survival, crushing mechanical pressures, and often a high degree of anoxia and suffocation. It is worshipped because it differs so dramatically from the mercurial, turbulent, and erratic states of consciousness characterizing ordinary human existence and the world of biology. Even an inexperienced sitter or witness of such episodes can perceive such situations as serious vital emergencies. Experiences of Specific Blissful and Wrathful Deities h.