Transformative, Exceptional Human Experiences at Music Festivals: a Transpersonal Phenomenological Exploration
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TRANSFORMATIVE, EXCEPTIONAL HUMAN EXPERIENCES AT MUSIC FESTIVALS: A TRANSPERSONAL PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLORATION BRITTANY A. BANNERMAN B.A., University of Lethbridge, 2012 A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Lethbridge in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF EDUCATION (COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY) Faculty of Education University of Lethbridge LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA © Brittany A. Bannerman, 2016 TRANSFORMATIVE, EXCEPTIONAL HUMAN EXPERIENCES AT MUSIC FESTIVALS: A TRANSPERSONAL PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXPLORATION BRITTANY A. BANNERMAN Date of Defence: July 19, 2016 Dr. G. Tzu Associate Professor Ph.D. Thesis Supervisor Dr. H. Rodrigues Professor Ph.D. Thesis Examination Committee Member Dr. T. Leighton Assistant Professor Ph.D. Thesis Examination Committee Member Dr. H. France-Rodriguez Professor Ed.D. External Examiner University of Victoria Victoria, British Columbia Dr. R. Hudson Breen Assistant Professor Ph.D. Chair, Thesis Examination Committee Dedication To the exceptional human experiencers whose lives have been transformed; may you continue your journeys into expanded awareness and wholeness, wherever it may take you. iii Abstract The current study investigated the phenomenological experience of transformative mystical and transcendent exceptional human experiences (EHEs) in the context of two music festivals (i.e., Shambhala and Burning Man), while also considering the festivals’ characteristics and the co-researcher’s EHE integration processes. Six co-researchers who had attended one or both of the festivals and experienced a life-changing mystical or transcendent EHE therein were recruited and interviewed. The analysis of emergent themes was conducted using transpersonal, phenomenological, heuristic, and hermeneutic research methods. The identified themes unfolded within three parts: Entering Mystical Kingdoms, Illuminating the Exceptional Human Experience, and The Essential Gifts of the Exceptional Human Experience. These parts explicated meaningful festival characteristics, the triggers and phenomenology of the EHEs themselves, and the EHEs’ transformative effects and integration processes, respectively. A prominent theme involving acceptance and surrender to the EHE and its transformative effects and integration emerged from the data. The findings from this study provide important implications for mental health and psychotherapy regarding EHE integration, guidelines for potential experiencers, and areas for future research around EHEs. Further research on the EHE as an opportunity for movement into awakening and consciousness development is encouraged. iv Acknowledgments To Gary Tzu, for your guidance and support as I journeyed to integrate my own transformative EHE and continue unfolding into non-dual awakening. You have left a lasting impression upon my soul and have helped make my dreams tangible. For this I am forever grateful. To Ruby and Blair Bannerman, I could not have achieved this without your ever- present love and support through thick and thin. Thanks mom and dad. To Mike Grieve, you were a catalyst, an inspiration, and a support through both dark and light. Thank you for being a part of my exceptional adventures. To Artem Assoiants, for your grand mirroring. You help me reach heights I never thought possible and continue to support me through my growth and transformational healing journey. Thank you for your love, patience, and acceptance. To my dear friends and classmates, who listened to my passionate revelations about EHEs and music festivals. You all taught me so much, thank you. To Rhea White, thank you for breaking massive ground in the study of EHEs. I am awed and inspired by your work. While you no longer walk the earth in body, I was humbled to feel your spirit very much alive throughout this research process. To all the Shambhalovelies, for making my experiences at Shambhala unforgettable, transformational, and providing a powerful space for my EHE. Through each of you, I remember that home can always be found within. Thank you. To the co-researchers, who allowed me to glimpse into their EHEs and souls, this research would be impossible without you and your stories. Thank you. v Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 The Implicated Researcher .................................................................................... 2 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 5 The Controversial Role of Anomalous Experiences in the West .......................... 5 Exceptional Human Experiences .......................................................................... 6 Theoretical Foundations of EHEs ......................................................................... 9 Triggers of EHEs ................................................................................................ 11 Integration and Potentiation of EHEs ................................................................. 11 Effects of EHEs ................................................................................................... 14 Studies of Transformative EHEs ......................................................................... 16 Why Study EHEs? Therapeutic Applications ..................................................... 19 Therapeutic Potential of Altered States of Consciousness .................................. 23 Other Effects of Altered States of Consciousness .............................................. 25 Shadows Cast from Light .................................................................................... 26 Drugs as the Great Revealers .............................................................................. 27 A New Consciousness at Raves .......................................................................... 33 vi Important Transformational Aspects of Music Festivals .................................... 33 Community themes ................................................................................. 34 The role of electronic music .................................................................... 36 Communitas ............................................................................................ 37 Collective consciousness/effervescence .................................................. 40 The Eastern Influence: Music Festivals as Ashrams, DJs as Gurus, and EHEs as Shaktipat .............................................................................................................. 42 Spiritual Resonance at Music Festivals .............................................................. 46 A Study of Spiritual Resonance .......................................................................... 48 Chapter 3: Research Methods ......................................................................................... 53 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................... 53 Research Design Methodology ........................................................................... 53 Transpersonal research ............................................................................ 54 Phenomenological research ..................................................................... 55 Heuristics and hermeneutics .................................................................... 56 Research Procedure ............................................................................................. 58 Selection of co-researchers ...................................................................... 58 Research site ............................................................................................ 58 Recruitment and inclusion ....................................................................... 59 The initial screening process ................................................................... 60 Data Collection ................................................................................................... 63 Interview Instruments ......................................................................................... 64 Interview protocol ................................................................................... 64 vii Interview questions ................................................................................. 65 Researcher’s role and biases ................................................................... 66 Ethical Issues ....................................................................................................... 68 Validity ...............................................................................................................