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Stanislav Grof, M.D Document Page v Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 1988 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Grof, Stanislav, 1931- The adventure of self-discovery. (SUNY series in transpersonal and humanistic psychology) Includes bibliographies and index. 1. Psychotherapy. 2. Hallucinogenic drugs. 3. Consciousness Research. I. Title. II. Series. [DNLM: 1. Consciousness. 2. Psychotherapy. 3. Self Concept. WM 420 G874a] RC480.5.G76 1987 616.89'14 87-17967 ISBN 0-88706-540-6 ISBN 0-88706-541-4 (pbk.) 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_v.html [2008-08-06 18:23:31] Document Page vi To Christina and my mother Marie who have helped me to understand the archetype of the Feminine. file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_vi.html [2008-08-06 18:23:31] Document Page vii CONTENTS Introduction xi I Dimensions of Consciousness: New Cartography of the Human Psyche 1 The Sensory Barrier and the Recollective-Biographical Level 3 Encounter with Birth and Death: Dynamics of the Perinatal Matrices 7 First Basic Perinatal Matrix (BPM I): The Amniotic Universe 11 Second Basic Perinatal Matrix (BPM II): Cosmic Engulfment and No Exit 15 Third Basic Perinatal Mat (BPM III): The Death-Rebirth Struggle 21 Fourth Basic Perinatal Matrix (BPM IV): The Death-Rebirth Experience 29 Beyond the Brain: Transpersonal Dimensions of the Psyche 37 Experiential Extension Within Consensus Reality and Space-Time 45 1. Transcendence of Spatial Boundaries 45 a. Experience of Dual Unity 45 b. Identification with Other Persons 47 c. Group Identification and Group Consciousness 50 d. Identification with Animals 52 e. Identification with Plants and Botanical Processes 58 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_vii.html (1 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:32] Document f. Oneness with Life and All Creation 60 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_vii.html (2 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:32] Document Page viii g. Experience of Inanimate Matter and Inorganic Processes 62 h. Planetary Consciousness 65 i. Extraterrestrial Experiences 67 j. Identification with the Entire Physical Universe 68 k. Psychic Phenomena Involving Transcendence of Space 69 2. Transcendence of the Boundaries of Linear Time 74 a. Embryonal and Fetal Experiences 74 b. Ancestral Experiences 78 c. Racial and Collective Experiences 81 d. Past Incarnation Experiences 84 e. Phylogenetic Experiences 93 f. Experiences of Planetary Evolution 99 g. Cosmogenetic Experiences 99 h. Psychic Phenomena Involving Transcendence of Time 100 3. Physical Introversion and Narrowing of Consciousness 103 Experiential Extension Beyond Consensus Reality and Space-Time 105 a. Spiritistic and Mediumistic Experiences 106 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_viii.html (1 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:33] Document b. Energetic Phenomena of the Subtle Body 110 c. Experiences of Animal Spirits 118 d. Encounters with Spirit Guides and Suprahuman Beings 121 e. Visits to Other Universes and Meetings with Their Inhabitants 123 f. Experiences of Mythological and Fairy-Tale Sequences 126 g. Experiences of Specific Blissful and Wrathful Deities 130 h. Experiences of Universal Archetypes 134 i. Intuitive Understanding of Universal Symbols 138 j. Creative Inspiration and the Promethean Impulse 140 k. Experience of the Demiurg and Insights into Cosmic Creation 142 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_viii.html (2 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:33] Document Page ix l. Experience of Cosmic Consciousness 144 m. The Supracosmic and Metacosmic Void 147 Transpersonal Experiences of Psychoid Nature 148 1. Synchronistic Links between Consciousness and Matter 150 2. Spontaneous Psychoid Events 153 a. Supernormal Physical Feats 153 b. Spiritistic Phenomena and Physical Mediumship 153 c. Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis 154 d. Unidentified Flying Objects 156 3. Intentional Psychokinesis 157 a. Ceremonial Magic 157 b. Healing and Hexing 158 c. Siddhis 158 d. Laboratory Psychokinesis 160 Philosophical Challenges From Transpersonal Experiences 160 II New Perspectives in Psychotherapy and Inner Exploration 165 Principles of Holotropic Therapy 167 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_ix.html (1 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:33] Document Therapeutic Effects of Intense Breathing 170 (Pneumocatharsis) The Healing Potential of Music 184 Focused Bodywork 194 The Procedure of Holotropic Therapy 200 Effective Mechanisms of Healing and Personality Transformation 219 Intensification of Conventional Therapeutic Mechanisms 222 Dynamic Shifts in the Psyche's Governing Systems 227 Therapeutic Potential of the Death-Rebirth Process 234 Therapeutic Mechanisms on the Transpersonal Level 236 Healing as a Movement Toward Wholeness 238 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_ix.html (2 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:33] Document Page x Potential and Goals of Experiential Self-Exploration 249 Emotional and Psychosomatic Healing 250 Pursuit of a More Rewarding Life Strategy 258 Philosophical and Spiritual Quest 265 III Appendix A: Psychedelics in Self-Exploration and Psychotherapy 275 Psychedelic Plants and Substances 275 Ritual and Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics 281 Principles of Psychedelic Therapy 289 Appendix B: Table of Basic Perinatal Matrices 299 Bibliography 303 Index 311 file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_x.html [2008-08-06 18:23:34] Document Page xi INTRODUCTION <><><><><><><><><><><><> If you will know yourselves, then you will be known and you will know that you are the sons of the Living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty and you are poverty. Jesus, The Gospel According to Thomas, Logion 3. <><><><><><><><><><><><> Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment. Mastering others requires force; Mastering self needs strength. Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching XXXIII <><><><><><><><><><><><> Gnotis te auton (Know thyself). Socrates Several profound personal experiences with psychedelic substances and clinical observations of their effects in psychiatric patients attracted my attention early in my professional career to the remarkable healing and transformative potential of nonordinary states of consciousness. Systematic exploration of the theoretical significance and practical value of these states has been the central focus on my research for over three decades. During the first twenty years, this work focused almost exclusively on various psychedelic substances; it was carried out initially in several research facilities in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and later in the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center in Baltimore, Maryland. This work convinced me that psychedelics if used properly and judiciously under expert guidance represent extraordinary tools for file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_xi.html (1 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:34] Document file:///C|/download/www.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll@BookID=7773&FileName=Page_xi.html (2 of 2) [2008-08-06 18:23:34] Document Page xii psychiatry and psychology. Instead of inducing drug-specific states like other pharmaca, they function more like unspecific catalysts or amplifiers of the unconscious processes. By increasing the energetic niveau of the human psyche, they reveal its deep contents and intrinsic dynamics. Clinical work with LSD and other psychedelics thus is not the study of a powerful and exotic psychoactive substance or a group of compounds, but probably the most promising avenue of research of the human psyche and nature. The findings from psychedelic explorations are directly applicable to other situations in which consciousness is altered by various nonpharmacological means. They throw entirely new light on the material from history, comparative religion, and anthropology concerning the ancient mysteries of death and rebirth, rites of passage of various cultures, shamanic procedures of all times, aboriginal healing ceremonies, spiritual practices of various religious and mystical traditions, and other phenomena of great cultural significance. Nonordinary states of consciousness that occur in these various contexts are in some instances induced by the use of sacred psychedelic plants (see the discussion in the appendix of this book), and in others by powerful nondrug techniques that combine in various ways respiratory maneuvers, chanting, drumming, monotonous dancing, sensory overload, social and sensory isolation, fasting, and sleep deprivation. It is interesting to notice that the spectrum of experiences induced by psychedelic compounds is practically indistinguishable from those resulting from various nondrug techniques. Similar phenomena can also be observed in the work with modern laboratory methods that can facilitate nonordinary states of consciousness. Here
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