American psychologist and psychiatrist Stanislav Grof: author's books, matrices and main ideas

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The combination of the words " altered state of consciousness" causes some excitement and awe, just like the name of a person who devoted his life to such research. We are talking about the famous founder of transpersonal psychology named Stanislav Grof.

Biography

He was born in Prague in 1931. He received a higher medical education, for twenty years he studied psychoactive substances and their use in psychotherapy. This knowledge is set forth in the book LSD Psychotherapy.

Since 1967, Stanislav lived and worked in America. In 1975, he meets his future wife, this gives rise to new discoveries. In connection with the prohibition of psychedelic drugs, an alternative method of immersion in a state of altered consciousness was developed - holotropic breathing. Together they begin to conduct sessions. Then Stanislav Grof begins to work on the training of transpersonal psychologists, gives lectures and conducts seminars around the world.

What is transpersonal psychology?

Experiences of a special kind,which is called the spiritual world of man. They are conventionally divided into two groups: those included in the "objective" reality and those that go beyond it. The first group includes: the experiences of the child during fetal development, the experience of ancestors, the phenomena of foresight, memories of past incarnations, and much more. The second group includes the experience of mediums and spiritual experience.

The peculiarity of this direction is that it actively uses the ideas of philosophy, religious teachings, sociology and other sciences.

Most scientific communities do not recognize transpersonal psychology, believe that it has no scientific basis, and the effectiveness of its methods is highly questionable.

Expanded Mind Map

Before Grof, it was believed in psychology that a newborn child is a blank slate. He has no memories, no experience. However, during the sessions of the scientist, it turned out that people remember both birth and the period of intrauterine development, are able to leave the limits of their body, merge with the consciousness of other living beings, even with the Universe and the planet.

Based on research, three levels of consciousness have been identified:

• Biographical, that is, containing information from the moment of birth.
• Perinatal covering fetal development and birth.
• Transpersonal.

This card includes not only Western theories, but also those that contain the spiritual teachings of the East. Grof also revealed the relationship between the level of awareness and availablehuman energy level.

Holotropic Breathwork Idea

Holotropic breathing helped to gain popularity not only in narrow circles of specialists, but also among people interested in psychology for personal purposes. This is a technique created by Stanislav Grof. Holotropic Breathwork was developed by a scientist and his wife in order to obtain an alternative to LSD, which was banned. However, there are points of view that similar breathing techniques have been used for a long time, for example, in the practice of yoga to achieve the highest state - samadhi.

The methodology is criticized. It is believed that hypoxia causes the destruction of brain cells, therefore it is dangerous. Proponents argue that the experiences that a person experiences during a session are healing. This allows you to bring out from the depths of the unconscious emotions and unpleasant experiences that are not conscious, and therefore continue to disturb a person and manifest themselves as various symptoms.

The essence of the method

Holotropic breathing is a method, the essence of which is to create a situation of hyperventilation of the lungs through the technique of frequent breathing. This method eliminates carbon dioxide from human blood, creates a situation of oxygen starvation, to which the brain reacts with an altered state of consciousness. It is believed that this activates the unconscious, repressed experiences rise to the surface in the form of hallucinations.

Two people participate in the session. One is a holonaut, he breathes, the other is a sitter, his role is to help and observe. Then the pair change places. The technique has a long list of contraindications.

Basic perinatal matrices

This is another theory by Stanislav Grof. Matrices are a model that describes the state of the human psyche during fetal development and birth. This theory states that, living through the period of intrauterine development, and then the moment of birth, a person receives a special experience that affects the rest of his life, and can also be the cause of mental disorders.

The first matrix, called the "amniotic universe", refers to the period when the embryo is in the womb, perceives it as his universe. This is a static matrix. If the pregnancy was easy, then the matrix is filled with a sense of peace and joy. Any complications during pregnancy add negative elements to the matrix (paradise metaphor).

The second matrix corresponds to the period of contractions before childbirth. There is no way out yet, but there is already not enough oxygen and nutrients (a metaphor for hopelessness).

The third matrix refers to the period of attempts in childbirth. The fetus gradually moves through the birth canal, this becomes the first experience of overcoming in life (a metaphor for struggle).

The fourth matrix is related to the birth itself and the first moments that the child experiences immediately after it. This is the final loss of connection with the mother's body, the first breath, the feeling of light and others (a metaphor for rebirth).

The theory of matrices has also been actively criticized in scientific circles. However, there are studies that were conducted separately and with other goals, but they confirmed that the course of pregnancy and childbirth does have an impact on the mental development of a person.

Works by Stanislav Grof

If you liked the ideas expressed by Stanislav Grof, books are one way to get to know them better. In Russian, you can find 18 of his works. In total, his books have been published in 16 languages. What work is Stanislav Grof most proud of? Holotropic Consciousness is one of his most popular books. In it, he details his theories, backed up by vivid clinical stories.

Another interesting book written by Stanislav Grof is Beyond the Brain. In it, he not only describes his scientific theories, but also criticizes those who do not accept the ideas of expanding human consciousness and calls those who have experienced such an experience mentally ill. The book written by Stanislav Grof (“Beyond the Brain”) also examines many of the actions of famous people and politicians from the point of view of the influence of birth trauma on them. Everyone should read these masterpieces.

Are you interested in Stanislav Grof? His books will definitely tell more about all methods of work, research.