We all limit ourselves by attachment to old attitudes and outworn ideas. James Fadiman, Ph.D., author of Be All That You Are, offers several techniques to help us recognize and discard such attitudes and set goals for the changes we desire. A distinguished humanistic psychologist, Dr. Fadiman is past-president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and of the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Studies show that many people can exert a mental influence on the physiological activity of others in distant locations. Marilyn Schlitz, Ph.D., a parapsychologist and anthropologist, is the current President and CEO of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. She suggests that this phenomenon, known as biological psychokinesis, may be the basis for much of what is known as psychic healing.
Kevin Ryerson is a psychic trance medium who has gained considerable attention as the focus of Shirley MacLaine's Out on a Limb and Dancing in the Light. In this program Kevin predicts that the use of psychic intuitives for solving scientific and social problems will become an integral part of our culture within the coming decade. His own work is a step in this direction.
There is a growing body of solid research in the field of psychic healing. Jerry Solfvin, a parapsychologist associated with John F. Kennedy University, describes various experiments showing positive healing results -- even when there was no healer present. Solfvin hypothesizes that positive expectations may play a very important role in psychic and spiritual healing.
In this provocative interview, Michael Scriven, D.Phil., calls to task those who maintain that all psychic claims must be either fraud or error, since such an attitude implies that current scientific models will never be superceded. Dr. Scriven is a multi-disciplinary scholar who has made significant contributions to mathematics, logic, philosophy of science, ethics, education, psychology and parapsychology.
The cosmos is the fertile field from which we humans and the planet earth were born. In another sense the cosmos is also the field of our mind onto which we project our dreams and myths. Richard Grossinger, Ph.D., is author of Planet Medicine and The Night Sky. The scientific worldview, he says, for all its beauty and power is incomplete, and there is much we can learn about ourselves from ancient and modern mythologies of the skies.
Psychic abilities are a natural function of the soul and spirit, while intellect is a natural function of the ego. Carol Dryer is a psychic consultant whose clients include many well-known figures in entertainment, publishing, psychology, science and the arts. Her work is described in Tina Turner's autobiography, I Tina. Ms. Dryer discusses the distinction between the ego, the soul and the spirit.
The underlying cause of most social and personal problems is lack of mindfulness. Psychologist Charles Tart, Ph.D., author of States of Consciousness and Waking Up, discusses how difficult it is to translate meditative awareness to the problems of daily life. He describes the training methods of G. I. Gurdjieff as an alternative form of mindfulness training intended to be used in the midst of workaday activities.
Dramatic, musical and mathematical qualities of the soul are available even to the mentally retarded and those with other neurological deficits. The late Oliver Sacks, M.D., is author of Awakenings, A Leg to Stand On and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. He maintains that our our conventional awareness is limited compared to the talents of those with Tourette's syndrome and other disorders.
The so-called "laws of nature" may actually be more like habits and instincts than immutable and inviolable laws. Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D., biologist and author, suggests that from this perspective all of creation may be viewed as a living organism. This ancient concept, he says, challenges the notion of the universe as a mechanism with God as the great mechanic.
Consciousness is the ability of the mind to reflect upon its own experience. Robert Ornstein, Ph.D., author of nineteen books, suggests that the mind is composed of many subroutines that he refers to as a "squadron of simpletons." Self-awareness requires orcherstrating these "simpletons" to work as a team.
The science of artificial intelligence is a program to accomplish the Socratic injunction, "Know Thyself." The late John McCarthy, Ph.D., invented LISP, the major language today used for artificial intelligence. Here he discusses the history of artificial intelligence and the future role which non-monotonic reasoning will play in enabling computers to simulate the human mind.
Here he examines Carl Jung's notion of synchronicity, or meaningful coincidence, as it applies to the Chinese I Ching. He proposes that the 64 hexagrams actually contain a specific mathematical structure which models both time itself and the human mind. This common structure, he maintains, accounts for the remarkable success of the I Ching in providing guidance into human affairs.
A gifted intuitive and a professional psychologist, Helen Palmer, Ph.D., describes the relationship between intuitive and psychic abilities. Palmer says that intuition training frequently involves the use of disciplines such as concentration, visualization and contemplation, and this often leads to personality growth and spiritual development.
Francis Bacon played a critical role in the development of the western intellectual tradition. Peter Dawkins, an architect and Cambridge scholar, is the president of the British Council of the University for Peace and founder/president of the Francis Bacon Trust. According to Dawkins, Bacon left behind many secret writings which shed light on the true history and importance of his work--and its relevance for the twentieth century.
While meditation may be ideal for some individuals, others with poorly developed ego structures may be harmed by engaging in intensive spiritual practices designed to dissolve the boundaries of the ego, according to Seymour Boorstein, M.D.. A psychoanalyst and editor of Transpersonal Psychotherapy, Dr. Boorstein discusses his transformation from a conventional--and athiestic--psychiatrist to a student of spirituality.
Will computers ever achieve consciousness? John Searle, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy and cognitive science at U.C. Berkeley and author of Intentionality and Minds, Brains and Science. He challenges the notion that the human mind operates like a computer, pointing out that intentionality and other human faculties are not achievable through artificial intelligence.
The purpose of biofeedback is to train us in making internal distinctions which we can then achieve without need for cumbersome equipment. George Fuller-von Bozzay, Ph.D. is director of the Biofeedback Institute of San Francisco and author of several books. He eloquently describes the role of biofeedback for medical treatment, relaxation and personal growth.
Irvin D. Yalom, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, is author of the novel, When Nietzsche Wept. Yalom describes his novel as highlighting the existential issues of human consciousness which are the basis of his own therapeutic approach. The soul-searching, self-examination of the philosopher is contrasted with the methodical approach of a reknowned physician and pioneer psychotherapist.
Western science and traditional spiritual practice are both dedicated to the search for truth. Charles Tart, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis and author of Transpersonal Psychologies, suggests that in the future we may be able to specify which types of individuals are likely to benefit most from particular spiritual disciplines.
Free will and purpose are not inconsistent with a universe subject to law. In fact, says Arthur Young, free will would be ineffective without a determinate world to act upon. Young, philosopher and inventor of the Bell helicopter, discusses the difference between determinism--the belief that everything acts according to law--and pre-destination or fate.
The goddesses of classical Greek mythology represent powerful psychic forces which are active in women today. Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., author of The Tao of Psychology and Goddesses in Every Woman, points out that understanding these archetypes enables us to appreciate the mythological dimensions of our own lives.
Stan Tenen is the director of the Meru Foundation. Here he suggests that the ancient alphabets embody a system of knowledge that is self-referential and not inconsistent with modern thinking in theoretical physics and general systems theory. He claims to have discovered the sacred spiral shape through which one can project all of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and with modifications, the Greek and Arabic alphabets.
Business training techniques often focus mindlessly on "positive thinking," glossing over the need for executives to engage in soul-searching and self-renewal. John O'Neil, former president of the California School of Professional Psychology, discusses the unfortunate trend in business to treat "success" as an all-consuming end in itself, without regard to the consequences of this attitude.
Psychiatrist Irvin Yalom suggests that symptoms initially presented in therapy often serve to mask deeper, existential fears. Irvin Yalom, M.D., is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University and author of numerous books on psychotherapy including Existential Psychotherapy and Love's Executioner, and another novel, Lying on the Couch.
Humanistic-existential psychotherapy is a journey toward greater wholeness and aliveness. The late James Bugental, Ph.D., was the first president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, president of the California State Psychological Association. He is author of The Search for Authenticity, Psychotherapy and Process and several other seminal books. The client in this process does not necessarily alleviate symptoms or change behavior--but rather completes therapy with a larger sense of who he or she is.
Qualities of success -- including goal setting, high self-esteem and a passion for life -- can be developed in all individuals. Lee Pulos, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, describes his work with outstanding achievers in the field of athletics and business, as well as individuals who have successfully oversome cancer. He identifies many characteristics they hold in common.
How can there be separate things in a universe that is interconnected? How can we be separate beings in a universe created by God? Arthur M. Young, inventor of the Bell helicopter, was the founder of the Institute for the Study of Consciousness. Young suggests that the ancient dieties act in our psyches as forces which unite the individual with the universe about us.
Consciousness, rather than being a property which "emerges" at higher orders of complexity, is a basic principle intrinsic to every level of creation, according to this stimulating program with philosopher Arthur M. Young. Inventor of the Bell Helicopter and founder of the Institute for the Study of Consciousness, Young's books include The Reflexive Universe and Which Way Out.
Does the mind exist as a distinct entity apart from our thoughts about it? U. G. Krishnamurti was a disquieting skeptic and author. As "mind" is a myth, he says, so is the notion of "self." The human being is like a dog chewing a dry bone. When its gums bleed, the dog may believe the bone is rich with blood. Just so, we believe the mind is real.
There are striking parallels between western psychotherapeutic methods such as the gestalt therapy of Fritz Perls and the approaches of Sufism and Buddhism. In this revealing interview, Claudio Naranjo, M.D., noted psychiatrist and author of The One Quest and The Healing Journey, also describes his personal experiences with the Arica training system of Dr. Oscar Ichazo, a Chilean Sufi teacher.
To truly understand our spiritual origins we must look to nature -- for our most intimate relationship is with our own biology. Richard Grossinger, Ph.D., is author of Planet Medicine and Embryogenesis. Social and environmental problems, he says, are the inevitable result of our biology. However, consciousness itself is new factor in our biological evolution and may lead us to change our behavior and open up our future options.
Certain paranoid and neurotic states can open the mind to a range of intuitive and psychic experiences, according to this provocative discussion with Helen Palmer, Ph.D.. Author of The Enneagram and a noted psychic intuitive, psychologist and founder of the Center for the Investigation and Training of Intuition, Dr. Palmer suggests that through inner practices we can observe our minds and recognize these experiences when they occur.
Intuition functions in a holistic, non-linear fashion. Patricia Sun, internationally renowned as a seminar leader and spiritual healer, says that intuition arises from a source within us connected to the infinite. Thus, developing intuition involves opening up to one's vulnerability in the face of the infinite. Ultimately, this involves such trust in oneself that whatever may happen, even death, will be acceptable.
As we encounter the archetypal world within us, a partnership is formed whereby we grow as do the gods and goddesses within us. Jean Houston, Ph.D., suggests that the wanderings of Odysseus represent the deepening of the warrior male ego into the feminine mysteries.
Higher states of consciousness and the notion of the superconscious mind have great implications for our identity as human beings. According to Kevin Ryerson, the superconscious mind is that part of us which is in direct contact with God. Ryerson is a noted intuitive consultant and trance channel.
Conscious intelligence may be viewed as a computer system composed of many smaller parallel processing programs. The late Marvin Minsky, Ph.D., was one of the acknowledged founders of the mathematical theory of computation, artificial intelligence, and robotics. He argues that understanding the individual as a very sophisticated machine actually affirms human dignity.
Through quieting the mind we become aware of our unconscious tensions and the act of awareness itself serves to heal those tensions. Buddhist teacher of Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation, clinical psychologist and author of Living Masters of Buddhism and A Clear Forest Pool, Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., seeks out the factors common to all varieties of meditation.
Jon Klimo, author of Channeling, proposes the intriguing view that we are all like cells of a larger organism and that we share in the consciousness of that organism. Thus, channeled "entities" such as Lazaris, Seth, Ramptha, Michael, Emmanuel, etc., may be seen as both part of our deeper mind and as larger than our individual consciousness.
One can approach understanding the mind-body connection through many disciplines, such as dance, massage, biofeedback, martial arts, yoga, etc. Eleanor Criswell, Ed.D., psychologist and managing editor of Somatics, points out that this body of traditions suggests enormous, untapped possibilities for mind-body control. She stresses the importance of such control for managing chronic pain and dealing with addiction.
Dancing and other ritual activities can allow us to recognize our own inner negativity and to transform its power into healing experience. Anna Halprin, director of the Tamalpa Institute, is internationally recognized as an organizer and teacher of dance rituals. In this moving program, Ms. Halprin draws on her own experience battling cancer to discuss the psychological value of body movement and of symbolic action.
The Sufis are inheritors of a tradition which has influenced many world religions. Their work, which involves dreams, altered states of consciousness and teaching stories, is to further the evolution of humanity by offering deep intuitive training to select individuals. The late Mrs. Irina Tweedie was a Sufi teacher and author of Daughter of Fire, a diary of her intensive spiritual training in India with a Sufi master.
Robert Frager, Ph.D., is past president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and the founder of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Here he shares his wide experience as a student and participant in diverse spiritual traditions. These include yoga in India in the school of Paramahansa Yogananda, Sufism within a 300-year-old Turkish Sufi order, and Aikido in Japan under the tutelage of Osensei, the system's founder.
While conventional religion and science are often in conflict, says Willis Harman, Ph.D., there is a growing convergence between non-reductionistic science and internally oriented religious traditions. Dr. Harman points out that this movement reflects an important new area of public interest.
Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, discusses the Tibetan view of mind as a clear space encompassing the entire universe. He describes how the experience of deep compassion is cultivated in Tibetan Buddhism. Then he presents the Tibetan view of rebirth and the afterlife, maintaining that this understanding stems from the experience of meditation masters.
Best-selling author of The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point, physicist Fritjof Capra, Ph.D., discusses the new "wholistic" culture that has emerged in the late twentieth century. He argues that the biological sciences, quantum physics and systems theory will provide a theoretical foundation which will supercede the decaying culture based on a linear, mechanistic worldview.
Learning to trust one's intuition is a matter of practice and risk-taking. We are rewarded for our correct decisions, says Shakti Gawain, by a feeling of greater aliveness. In this penetrating interview, Ms. Gawain, author of Living in the Light and the best-selling Creative Visualization, describes how to deal with the tensions associated with living as a spiritual being in a material world.
Even negative dreams and nightmares can be a source of positive value and growth when we choose to interact creatively with the dream imagery. This can be accomplished with a modest amount of training and suggestion. In this valuable program, Patricia Garfield, Ph.D., co-founder of of The Association for the Study of Dreams and popular author of Creative Dreaming and Women's Bodies, Women's Dreams, offers various methods of working with our own dreams and those of our children.
The images we visualize serve as blueprints for events that manifest in our lives. Shakti Gawain, dynamic author of the best-selling Creative Visualization, adds that we can consciously influence this process by visualizing the positive situations we desire, and she provides instructions for a basic visualization technique that takes only a few minutes and can be used several times a day.
Frances Vaughan, Ph.D., is a transpersonal psychotherapist and president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. She is author of Awakening Intuition and The Inward Arc.
The fear of confronting ourselves and each other leads to unnecessary suppression of our own higher powers. Patricia Sun, an expert in communications and conflict resolution, spiritual teacher, healer and charismatic speaker, suggests that through a return to innocence we can rediscover our connection with each other in a healing manner.
Many of us are afraid to communicate to others our true feelings. One of the most influential modern psychologists and a founder of family therapy, Virginia Satir describes how internalized "rules" for social behavior limit our communication. Ms. Satir demonstrates various communication styles--depreciation, blaming, intellectualizing and irrelevance--which people use to cover up their feelings of low self-esteem.
Our normal waking state of consciousness can be likened to being "asleep" in comparison to other states of awareness we might attain. In this intriguing discussion, psychologist Charles Tart, Ph.D., author of Altered States of Consciousness and Waking Up, suggests that we can begin to "wake up" by allowing our awareness to become conscious of itself. This can become a simple, yet powerful, discipline.
Jane Caputi, professor of American Studies at the University of New Mexico, is author of Gossips, Gorgons and Crones. She notes that, over the centuries, powerful female, mythological figures have been superceded by patriarchal symbols. This also correlates with the rise of the warrior mentality. Today, as we face the problems that our nuclear technology has created, there is an awakening of the old feminine spiritual powers. Caputi maintains that this is necessary in order to reactivate our numbed psyches and bring balance to our culture.
The problems of society result less from an intrinsic "evil" in human nature than from our failure to stop repeating behavior patterns from the past. Change, says Virginia Satir, begins with learning to accept and understand the many parts of oneself.
Psychologist Keith Harary, Ph.D., has worked as both a psychic practitioner in ESP studies and as a researcher at SRI International. Co-author of The Mind Race, Dr. Harary describes the methods he uses for "remote viewing" and the potential practical applications of these techniques in many areas, including a successful parapsychological venture into the silver futures market.
Charlene Spretnak is a scholar who has contributed to the framing of woman's spirituality, eco-feminism and green politics. Author of States of Grace, here she discusses Buddhism, native American spirituality, contemporary goddess spirituality and the Abrahamic traditions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- and the critical insights that they address toward crucial social issues.
Can the methods and ideas of native spiritual healers be incorporated into modern psychological and medical practice? Psychologist Stanley Kripper, Ph.D., tells of his experiences with native shamans and healers in the Americas and Asia. Dr. Krippner, director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the Saybrook Institute, is author of several books including Human Possibilities and Realms of Healing.
Remote viewing" is the process whereby individuals, with no previous training or experience, are able to successfully describe randomly chosen targets at remote locations. Russell Targ, a laser physicist, is one of America's foremost parapsychology researchers. He discusses the history of remote-viewing research and the practical applications of this ability.
Ole Nydahl a trained Tibetan Buddhist meditation master in the Kagyupa tradition, takes us step by step through the teaching--first quieting the mind, then focusing on four motivations for meditation, and finally taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. He also discusses the significance the the Lama in Tibetan tradition and the use of sound and imagery.
Meditation practices can lead to permanent changes in awareness of the self and the transcendence of the ego. Shinzen Young is an ordained Buddhist Monk and scholar of Buddhism. After about a year of meditative practice, he says, one establishes open access to a realm of altered states of awareness. When practicing in a disciplined fashion, one goes on to explore the various stages leading toward enlightenment.
Our real educational and cultural needs are in danger of becoming lost in the erroneous fascination with the information processing model of the mind. One of America's foremost social critics, Theodore Roszak, Ph.D., author of The Making of the Counter-Culture, Eco-Psychology and The Cult of Information, delivers a scathing indictment of the over-selling of computer and high-tech ideology to the American public.
Mythology reminds us that just when things seem the darkest, we may be on the verge of a breakthrough. Lorna Catford, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Sonoma State University in California, is co-author of The Path of the Everyday Hero. She points out that the demands placed upon ordinary people in everyday life, require a heroic commitment if we wish to actualize the best within ourselves.
The late Alan Vaughan, one of America's best-known and most thoroughly tested psychic intuitives, was the author of Patterns of Prophecy, Incredible Coincidences, Dream Telepathy and The Edge of Tomorrow. In this exciting program he first describes the chanelling process. Then, as Vaughan goes into trance, a "spirit entity" named Li Sung appears and describes his role as spiritual guide.
Human survival requires that we become aware of our responsibility for the future. McKenna proposes four key elements of a future mandala: feminism, space exploration, cybernetics and hallucinogens.
All healing comes from a non-verbal "knowingness" within each of us, says Patricia Sun, herself a radiant and articulate spiritual teacher. Ms. Sun explores the nature of the healing process and demonstrates her use of sound as a method of focussing her own healing consciousness. Through experiencing Patricia Sun in this program one begins to feel a connection with one's own deeper healing nature.
Countless factors can mitigate against self-observation in Western society. Charles Tart, Ph.D., noted psychologist and author of Waking Up, suggests we begin by learning to focus on seemingly trivial details such as bodily sensations. Through repeated and diligent practice, he says, the process of self-observation leads us to a larger view of ourselves and our potential.
Ancient cultures cultivated a sensitivity to the environment, to the body and to the inner workings of the mind which is often lost in modern life. Gay Gaer Luce, Ph.D., is author of Body Time and founder/ director of the Nine Gates Mystery School. Today, she says, we have an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the native teachings of many cultures and time periods, connecting with our roots to develop a healthier, well-integrated lifestyle.