Stanislav Grof gained worldwide fame thanks to his studies of the effects of LSD, altered states of human consciousness. Being one of the founders of transpersonal psychology, he is also its main theorist. Author of over 20 books translated into 16 languages. Behind him are numerous therapeutic sessions and training seminars on holotropic breathing held in different countries.
"Mystical" direction of modern psychology
Transpersonal psychology began to take shape in the 60s in America. The focus of research in this area is altered states of consciousness, near-death experiences, as well as features of the experiences of being in the womb and at the time of birth, the memories of which are stored in the depths of the human subconscious.
Spiritual and religious practices are included in psychotherapeutic work. To solve intrapersonal problems, removephysical blocks, clamps, a person is offered techniques for experiencing transpersonal experience. It can be achieved through a special way of breathing, hypnosis and self-hypnosis, dream work, creativity, meditation.
Participation in the experiment provoked a steady interest in the study of expanded states of consciousness
Volunteer in 1956, while participating in a scientific experiment using psychedelic drugs, Stanislav Grof experienced an expanded state of consciousness. Already a practicing psychiatrist-clinician with a scientific doctorate, he was overwhelmed by the experience.
For the scientist, it became obvious that consciousness is something much more than described in the literature on medicine and psychology. This determined the further course of his scientific activity. He actively engaged in the study of expanded states of consciousness. Beginning in 1960, Stanislav Grof was engaged in legal work with psychedelic drugs for several years. Until 1967, he studied their effects in Czechoslovakia, then in America until the ban on psychedelics was imposed - until 1973.
During this time, the scientist conducted about 2500 sessions with the use of LSD, and collected more than 1000 protocols for conducting such studies under the guidance of his colleagues. Stanislav Grof devoted all his books to the results of these and subsequent studies in the field of an altered state of consciousness.
"Esalen" - the center of humanistic alternative education
Esalen Institutewas founded in 1962 by Stanford graduates Michael Murphy and Dick Price. Their goal was to support alternative methods of studying the human mind. This educational institution is located in the area where the Indians of the Esalen tribe once lived, on the coast of Central California. This is a very picturesque place: on the one hand, the Pacific Ocean, on the other - the mountains.
The Esalen Institute played a key role in the flourishing of the public "Movement for the Development of Human Potential", the ideological basis of which was the concept of personal growth and the realization of extraordinary potentials that everyone has, but not fully disclosed. Innovation, a focus on the connection between mind and body, constant experimentation in terms of personal consciousness led to the emergence of many ideas that later became mainstream.
In 1973, Grof received an advance fee that enabled him to write his first book. At the invitation of Michael Murphy to work on it, he moves to Essalen. He was offered to settle in a house on the ocean. From there, there was a beautiful view with a panoramic view of 180 degrees. He came there for one year and lived and worked there for 14 years, until 1987.
1975 was marked for Stanislav by the fact that he met Christina, his future wife. From that moment began their personal relationship, closely intertwined with the professional.
Holotropic Breathwork
From 1975 to 1976, Stanislav and Christina Grof created an innovativemethod, which was given the name "holotropic breathing". This made it possible to enter an expanded state of consciousness without the use of LSD or other psychedelic drugs.
At the same time, they started using the new method in their seminars. Between 1987 and 1994, the couple performed Holotropic Breathwork sessions for approximately 25,000 people. According to the authors, this is a unique way of self-discovery and personal growth.
Subsequently, this method served as the basis for holotropic therapy, the sessions of which the scientist actively practiced. He also taught training courses for practicing transpersonal psychologists.
Together with his wife, Grof traveled the world with his seminars and lectures, talking about transpersonal psychology and the results of consciousness research. Over the years, he has supported people who have experienced a psycho-spiritual crisis - episodes of expanded consciousness.
Books about the conscious and the unconscious
If you read the books of Stanislav Grof in order, you can trace the development of ideas about consciousness and its expanded states within the framework of transpersonal psychology.
Stanislav Grof in his book "Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death and Transcendence in Psychotherapy" summarizes the results of the author's research over 30 years of his scientific activity. It talks about the expanded cartography of the psyche, the dynamics of perinatal matrices, psychotherapy and spiritual development.
Grof suggested that most of the mental conditions classified in psychiatry as diseases,for example, neurosis and psychosis are crises of a person's spiritual and personal growth that almost everyone can face.
The reason may be a spontaneously experienced spiritual experience, which you could not cope with on your own. The author offers psychotherapeutic approaches based on the use of the human body's ability to heal itself.
Stanislav Grof's book "Space Game: Exploring the Limits of Human Consciousness" offers readers a synthesis of modern science and ancient wisdom, psychology and religion. The theoretical views of the author are based on extensive clinical studies.
In the book "Call of the Jaguar" the results of many years of research are presented by the author in the form of a work of art - a science fiction novel. The plot is based on real experiences of transpersonal experience both by the author himself and observed by other people.
20th century: books by Stanislav Grof in chronological order
1975 "Regions of the Human Unconscious: Evidence from LSD Research".
1977. "Man in the Face of Death" co-authored with Joan Halifax.
1980. "LSD-Psychotherapy".
1981. "Beyond Death: Gates of Consciousness" co-authored with Christina Grof.
1984 "Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science", edited by Stanislav Grof. The book includes articles by many speakers who spoke at the 1982 conference of the InternationalTranspersonal Psychology in Bombay, India.
1985 "Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death and Transcendence in Psychotherapy".
1988 "Human Survival and the Evolution of Consciousness", edited by Stanislav Grof and Marjorie L. Valer. A total of 18 collaborators contributed to this book.
1988 "Journeys in Search of Self: Dimensions of Consciousness and New Perspectives in Psychotherapy".
1989 "Spiritual Crisis: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis", co-authored with Christina Grof.
1990 "The Frantic Search for Self: A Guide to Personal Growth Through a Transformational Crisis", co-authored with Christina Grof.
1992. "Holotropic Consciousness: The Three Levels of Human Consciousness and How They Shape Our Lives" by Hal Zina Bennett.
1993 "Books of the Dead: Guides for Life and Death".
1998 "Transpersonal Vision: The Healing Possibilities of Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness".
1998 "Space Game: Exploring the Frontiers of Human Consciousness".
1999 "Consciousness Revolution: A Transatlantic Dialogue", co-authored with Erwin Laszlo and Peter Russell. The foreword to the book was written by Ken Wilber.
In just 24 years, the author has written neither more nor less than 15 books. With so many other important and time-consuming things to do, this seems incredible.
21st century: books by Stanislav Grof in chronological orderokay
2000 year. "Psychology of the Future".
2001. "Call of the Jaguar".
2004. "Dreams of Lilibite". The book was written by Melody Sullivan, and the role of the illustrator went to Stanislav Grof.
2006. "When the Impossible is Possible: Adventures in Extraordinary Realities".
2006. "The Greatest Journey. Consciousness and the Mystery of Death".
2010 year. "Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy", co-authored with Christina Grof.
2012 year. "Healing Our Deepest Wounds: A Holotropic Paradigm Shift".
Most likely to be continued…
Achievements and contribution to the development of science
Stanislav Grof - known throughout the world as a modern reformer of psychiatry and the brightest representative of transpersonal psychology. His innovative ideas influenced the interpenetration of Western science and the spiritual dimension. The books he authored have been translated into several languages. His research on the healing and transformative potential of expanded states of consciousness has been ongoing since 1960.
In 1978 Stanislav Grof founded the "International Association of Transpersonal Psychology". The goals for which it was created were to encourage education and research in this area, sponsoring global conferences.
October 5, 2007 in Prague, he was awarded the prestigious "VISION-97" award. It was provided by the Dagmar and Vaclav Havel Foundation,created to support innovative projects of great importance for the future of mankind.
Stanislav Grof continues his professional career at the California Institute for Integral Studies in San Francisco, as well as Wisdom University in Oakland. He lectures and teaches professional training programs in Holotropic Breathwork and Transpersonal Psychology. And also takes part in practical seminars, traveling around the world.
