Psychology of the Future Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research

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345 pages

Summarizes Grof’s experiences and observations from more than forty years of research into non-ordinary states of consciousness.

This accessible and comprehensive overview of the work of Stanislav Grof, one of the founders of transpersonal psychology, was specifically written to acquaint newcomers with his work. Serving as a summation of his career and previous works, this entirely new book is the source to introduce Grof’s enormous contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychology, especially his central concept of holotropic experience, where holotropic signifies “moving toward wholeness.” Grof maintains that the current basic assumptions and concepts of psychology and psychiatry require a radical revision based on the intensive and systematic research of holotropic experience. He suggests that a radical inner transformation of humanity and a rise to a higher level of consciousness might be humankind’s only real hope for the future.

This book is the source to introduce Grof’s enormous contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychology, especially his central concept of holotropic experience, where holotropic signifies “moving toward wholeness.” This book presents the core material of the Holotropic BreathworkTM  Training program.

“It’s rare to find a textbook that is both extremely informative and enjoyable to read. Psychology of the Future has to be one of the first ones I’ve ever come across … Each chapter brought an entirely new concept, theory, or method that was just as engaging as the previous one.” — Dr. Tami Brady, TCM Reviews

“This book is by a pioneering genius in consciousness research. It presents the full spectrum of Grof’s ideas, from his earliest mappings of using LSD psychotherapy, to his clinical work with people facing death, to his more recent work with holotropic breathing, to his latest thoughts about the cosmological implications of consciousness research and the prospects for dealing with an emerging planetary crisis. Grof has always been one of the most original thinkers in the transpersonal field, and his creativity has kept pace with the maturity of his overall vision.” — Michael Washburn, author of Transpersonal Psychology in Psychoanalytic Perspective

“Grof offers an outstanding contribution to the ever-growing debate about the nature of human consciousness and about the place of humankind in the cosmos. If more psychiatrists could be persuaded that human consciousness transcends the limitations of the physical brain, and instead is but an aspect of what may best be described as ‘cosmic consciousness,’ we could not only expect treatment modalities to change, but we could also anticipate the possibility of culture-wide rethinking of the basic presuppositions of modern cosmology, the cosmology that grounds Western institutions, ideologies, and beliefs about the nature of personhood.” — Michael E. Zimmerman, author of Contesting Earth’s Future: Radical Ecology and Postmodernity

Tav Sparks, 1949-2020

Former Director Tav Sparks (deceased) was co-director of Grof Transpersonal Training (GTT) until his death on August 9, 2020. Tav was a gifted and inspirational teacher, consultant, and writer who worked therapeutically with people in non-ordinary states of consciousness for 34 years.

A tribute to Tav’s life can be found here.

From 1986 until close to his death, Tav conducted hundreds of trainings and workshops and supported thousands of individuals in their deep inner work. In 1990, he became the primary faculty member of GTT, working alongside Stanislav Grof, M.D. (co-creator, with Christina Grof, of Holotropic Breathwork®, and author of Psychology of the Future, The Cosmic Game, and When the Impossible Happens). In 1998, Tav, along with Cary Sparks, took over GTT from the Grofs, and he led and oversaw a network of seminars and events all over Europe; North and South America; and Australia.

Tav was the author of four books, a training manual, and five professionally produced CDs. In his most recent book, The Power Within: Becoming, Being, and the Holotropic Paradigm published in 2016, Tav shares a wealth of wisdom from his deep understanding of Holotropic Breathwork®. He shows how a holotropic paradigm can inform all sorts of settings, from the therapeutic to the personal and interpersonal, and more.

His previous book, Movie Yoga: How Every Film Can Change Your Life, demonstrates how movie watching can be a deep spiritual practice. Stanislav Grof said Movie Yoga “is a unique instrument that could transform one of the most popular mass entertainments into an adventure of self-discovery, self-healing, and inner transformation.” Tav’s CD series covers four topics as they relate to Holotropic Breathwork®: Getting Started on Your Inner Journey; Addiction, Recovery, and the Spiritual Path; A Modern Spiritual Method with Lessons for Practical Life; and Healing Stories from Holotropic Breathwork®.

His work for four years in a traditional recovery environment, and his experience of the limitations of the current treatment model, were the inspiration for Tav’s first book, The Wide Open Door: The 12 Steps, Spiritual Tradition, and the New Psychology. In this groundbreaking text, he pioneered the wellness approach to addiction and recovery. International lecturer and author Rokelle Lerner calls the book a “stunning synthesis of psychology, spirituality, and Twelve Step traditions” and “an important contribution to the addictions field.”

His 1987 article in Revision Journal, “Transpersonal Treatment of Addictions: Radical Return to Roots” was the forerunner of currently accepted trends in treatment.

Tav is also author of the training manual Doing Not Doing: A Facilitators Guide to Holotropic Breathwork. His poetry book Through Thunder: A Death Rebirth Journey, received much praise, and he has also completed seven screenplays.

He was program coordinator for three conferences of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and served as a member of the ITA Board of Directors.

Tav lived in Northern California and was the father of two sons, Ason and Bryn, and the grandfather of four boys.

Watch Tav’s video on the inner healer in Holotropic Breathwork
Tav’s Movie yoga website
Movie Yoga video 1
Movie Yoga video 2
Movie Yoga video 3
Movie Yoga video 4

Holotropic Breathwork® CD Series (4 disc set)

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To purchase digital downloads, see pages for the individual CDs in this series, or go here.

Disc 1 – Getting Started on Your Inner Journey

Tav talks about moving into the fast lane of healing and recovery, how to give ourselves a safe structure, how the birth experience affects our lives and describes what happens in a Holotropic Breathwork™ session.

Disc 2 – Addiction, Recovery and the Spiritual Path

Tav shares his own recovery story and the importance of one’s birth experience to one’s addiction and recovery. He describes the opportunities to learn healthy boundaries, heal trauma, and prevent relapse that are available by doing Holotropic Breathwork™.

Disc 3 – A Modern Spiritual Method with Lessons for Practical Life

Tav talks about the benefits and the healing power of working in enhanced states of awareness in Holotropic Breathwork™. Transforming deep patterns will impact your everyday life in meaningful ways.

Disc 4 – Healing Stories from Holotropic Breathwork™

Tav tells some amazing stories of some doing on-going Holotropic Breathwork™ who have experienced healing from Raynaud’s Disease, asthma, in-uterine trauma, migraine headaches, and depression.

When The Impossible Happens

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300 pages

Feelings of oneness with other people, nature, and the universe. Encounters with extraterrestrials, deities, and demons. Out-of-body experiences and past-life memories. Science casts a skeptical eye. But Dr. Stanislav Grof—the psychiatric researcher who cofounded transpersonal psychology—believes otherwise. When the Impossible Happens presents Dr. Grof ‘s mesmerizing firsthand account of over 50 years of inquiry into waters uncharted by classical psychology, one that will leave readers questioning the very fabric of our existence. From his first LSD session that gave him a glimpse of cosmic consciousness to his latest work with Holotropic Breathwork, When the Impossible Happens will amaze readers with vivid explorations of topics such as:

  • “Temptations of a Non-Local Universe—experiments in astral projection
  • “Praying Mantis in Manhattan” and other tales of synchronicity
  • “Trailing Clouds of Glory—remembering birth and prenatal life
  • “Dying and Beyond”—survival of consciousness after death

Here is an incredible opportunity to journey beyond ordinary consciousness—guaranteed to shake the foundations of what we assume to be reality—and sure to offer a new vision of our human potential, as we contemplate When the Impossible Happens.

Stanislav Grof: Researcher, Author, Teacher, and Visionary DVD

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77 minutes

VIEW TRAILER

This documentary traces Stan’s phenomenal fifty-year career as consciousness researcher.  Learn about Stan’s remarkable journey from his early research on psychedelics, to the birth of the transpersonal movement, to Holotropic Breathwork.  Highlights include Grof’s first psychedelic experience and its impact on his life and career, his days at Esalen Institute as a Scholar-in-Residence, and his insights into non-ordinary states and their potential for healing and transformation.  Included are interviews with Stan, his wife and partner Christina Grof, and UCI researcher Charles Grob, MD, as well as archival photographs from throughout his life with friends, colleagues, and prominent teachers and visionaries.

Was $20, now $16

Incensed: the Novel

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“Laughs and insights in equal measure. Seekers, read this book!”

– Wes Nisker, Buddhist teacher and author of Essential Crazy Wisdom

Incensed: The Novel takes a sly look at the predicament of balancing true spiritual yearning with the foibles of the human ego, even for those supposedly far along the path to enlightenment.

Graphic artist Michaela Thomason is distraught when the arrogant owners of hot new restaurant Eighth (as in eighth chakra) proclaim her “not spiritual enough” to design their menus, sending her scrambling for instant higher consciousness.

On her quest, Michaela crosses paths with …
…workshop junkie and incense salesman Rennie Morrow, whose worldly desire to be a famous meditation teacher conflicts with his inner yearning for enlightenment
… Dorothea Light, seminar leader and author, who’s either a true healer or an utter narcissist
…a sangha of Maserati-driving Tibetan monks
and a host of other sentient beings, all searching for spiritual answers to a worldly existence.

More reviews at caryjanesparks.com

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Medicine Work

Award-winning shamanic-trance drummer Byron Metcalf and master didgeridoo artist Rob Thomas of Inlakesh combine their musical and personal medicines to create an extremely potent sonic brew.

MEDICINE WORK is a call to the deep journey. An invitation to explore vast mysteries of Initiation & Rites of Passage; Alchemy & Transmutation; Transformation & Transcendence; Cycles of Death & Rebirth; realms of the primordial, archetypal & mythological. The journey concludes with the safe return Home to the harmonic resonance of the traveler’s Heart and True Nature.

Tracklist:

  1. This Way [00:13:52]
  2. A Deeper Descent [00:15:20]
  3. Medicine Work [00:16:49]
  4. Gates Of Initiation [00:07:59]
  5. Servants Of The Mystery [00:17:30]