19 Apr Transpersonal or Exceptional Human Experiences
Transpersonal experiences, also referred to as peak experiences, exceptional human experiences (EHEs), religious experiences, nonordinary and transcendent experiences, and anomalous experiences in parapsychology, have been seen by most cultures as powerful healing events or processes. Walsh & Vaughn (1993) defined transpersonal experiences as
… experiences in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond (trans) the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche or cosmos. (p. 203))
These transpersonal experiences may come to an individual as the result of years of disciplined practice, or happen by complete surprise. They are reported by persons in all walks of life, not just to people interested in or cultivating spirituality. The number of people who have had transpersonal experiences is unknown, as they are not validated by the mainstream culture so often go unreported.
Daniels (2021) states that transpersonal experiences can be broken into several different types: mystical, psychic, encounter-type (with other beings, UFOs, the divine), death-related, and otherwise exceptional experiences. Top triggers of transpersonal experiences include crisis situations such as depression, spiritual emergencies, death of a loved one, and cultivated transpersonal experiences brought about by meditation and prayer.
It is hard if not impossible to quantitatively measure a person’s transpersonal experience. Charles Tart (2015), leading parapsychologist and transpersonal psychologist, offers the definition that a transpersonal experience is one in which a person reports feeling a qualitative alteration or distinction from their normal waking consciousness. Because of this, transpersonal researchers do not seek to verify the truth of the person’s report, but rather, according to Palmer & Hastings, 2015, p. 333), transpersonal experiences “are studied particularly for their meaning and their transformational potentials in the lives of the experiencers.” Some theorists claim that all transpersonal and exceptional human experiences are healing in and of themselves, and others do not agree.
Daniels, M. (2021). Shadow, self, spirit: Essays in transpersonal psychology. Imprint Academic.
Palmer, G. & Hastings, A. (2015). Exploring the nature of exceptional human experiences: recognizing, understanding, and appreciating EHEs. In Friedman, H. L., & Hartelius, G., (eds.). (2015). The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of transpersonal psychology. Wiley Blackwell.
Walsh, R. & Vaughan, F. (1993) On transpersonal definitions. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 25(2), 199-207
© 2023 Catherine Auman
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