When I began my graduate work in transpersonal psychology in 1983, Ken Wilber was the glowing sun in the center of the field. His view of the hierarchical structure of spiritual development was intoxicating and gave us something to shoot for. It had all seemed...
I really appreciated Daniels’s musings on the shadow, especially as it relates to our field. The issue of the “exotic agenda” really spoke to me, and I pondered quite a bit over his list of the mundane events of life that have most influenced him:...
Since their inceptions, both humanistic and transpersonal psychologies have stood outside the mainstream of scientific, reductionist psychology. Both disciplines have remained outsiders, even though many of the concepts, techniques, and worldviews of humanistic and transpersonal have permeated mainstream psychological thought, appearing especially in the psychotherapy...
When we talk about foreshadowing the transpersonal: William James, the Transcendentalists and Depth Psychology, it seems to be a bit of a misnomer. William James, in fact, rather than foreshadowing, created transpersonal psychology in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience. When I read this...
This week’s emphasis on self and culture has made a clear case for the social construction of self. Daniels provides an overview of the many concepts of self/soul throughout world religions and cultures and talks about the lack of sophistication of the English language in...
I must confess to being quite blown away by Constructing the Self – the whole concept that we’ve become a people who create our sense of self through consumerism -- I can’t stop thinking about this, considering examples in the media, in my patients, and...
What we know of as Western psychology began in the late 1880s as the fledgling discipline attempted to incorporate the scientific worldview (Hartelius, date unknown). During the previous century, in what was known as the Age of Reason, people’s relationship with God had been increasingly...
The maxim “I think therefore I am” has been lurking in my peripheral vision for as long as I’ve been a thinking person, appearing in textbooks, pleasure reading, and on coffee cups and t-shirts. I’ve never held it as much more than a historical placeholder,...
I'm applying for a doctoral program and they require an Autobiographical Statement. Here's my life organized as a progression toward a PhD:Perhaps being born into an all-American dysfunctional family is an auspicious beginning for a future psychotherapist. It took the next fifty years to overcome...
Interview with Catherine Auman, LMFT Jesse D. Mounts American Public University System May 22, 2020 PSYC498: Senior Seminar in Psychology Introduction There are many professionals in the field of psychology, and each job varies in unique ways. Counseling psychology is a very popular option for individuals wishing to help others elevate...