Transpersonal Psychology: Transcendence

15 Nov Transpersonal Psychology: Transcendence

When talking about how writing and the academic journey may be self-transcendent, it is important to first distinguish what we mean by the term. The problem with the word transcendent (Daniels, 2001) is that it is commonly perceived to mean rising above the self, the body, even the world, to that which is greater than the self. In the early days of transpersonal psychology this was the essence of Ken Wilber’s ascending line, and Walsh and Vaugh (1993) used this definition in their explication of practices that foster transcendence.

Walsh and Vaughn, however, expand the definition of transcendence to mean that which is beyond the self, rather than above, almost as in the participatory definition of Ferrer. With this definition, writing could be seen as self-transcendent, as it is usually composed for an audience of readers, and the writer is sharing what they have learned with them. It is also self-transformative in that the writer must go beyond their personal preferences and write in ways that will communicate with the audience in the style they expect, whether that is scholarly or a romance novel.

The academic journey is transformative especially how in its postmodern iteration it expands the student’s sense of the positionality of other thought leaders and themselves. This is an eye-opening process particularly for women, BIPOCs, LGBTQs, others who have been kept outside the mainstream conversation, and conscious White men. This awareness helps the scholar ferret out what Ferrer (2008) refers to as the “internalized patriarchy” of much spiritual and psychological thought. Many if not most of our conceptions of spirituality come from the patriarchal ascending path.

If we use Walsh and Vaugh’s schema to assess transformation, we can see that the academic journey potentially fosters all of the six common elements: attentional training – students must learn to concentrate on often-difficult concepts and persevere on lengthy projects; ethical training – academic study exposes students to other viewpoints and ecological frameworks which increase compassion; emotional transformation –not addressed directly in most academic programs but certainly students mature during the process; the redirection of motivation and decreased self-centeredness; the refining of awareness, and the cultivation of wisdom or accepting of reality.

References

Daniels, M. (2001) On transcendence in transpersonal psychology. Transpersonal Psychology Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 3-11.

Ferrer, J. (2008). What does it mean to live a fully embodied spiritual life? International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 27(1).

Walsh, R., Vaughan, F. (1993). The art of transcendence: an introduction to common elements of transpersonal practices. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, Vol. 25,(11), p. 1-9

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