plik

NOTICE TO
SUBSCRIBERS

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology is published
semi-annually beginning with Volume 1, No. 1, 1969.

NOTICE TO

AUTHORS

BOOKS FOR REVIEW

Current year subscriptions—Volume 29, 1997.

To individuals: $24.00 per year; $12.00 either issue.
To libraries and all institutions: $32 per year or $16 either issue.

Overseas airmail, add $13 per volume, $6.50 per issue.

Back volumes:

Volumes  24-28  (2  issues  per  volume)  $24  each,  $12  per  issue.
Volumes  15-23  (2  issues  per  volume)  $20  each,  $10  per  issue.
Volumes 1-14 (2 issues per volume) $14 each, $7 per issue.
All  Journal  issues  are  available.  See  back  pages  of  this  issue  for
previous contents.

Order from and make remittances payable to:

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, P.O. Box 4437,
Stanford, California 94309.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology is indexed in

Psychological Abstracts and listed in
Chicorel Health Science Indexes,

International Bibliography of Periodical Literature,

International Bibliography of Book Reviews,
Mental Health Abstracts,
Psychological Reader's Guide, and beginning in 1982

Current Contents/Social & Behavioral Sciences

Social Sciences Citation Index

Contenta Religionum

Manuscript deadlines: Manuscripts may be submitted by any

author at any time. Regular deadline dates are February 1 and

July 1 for Summer and Winter issues, respectively.

All manuscripts, and an abstract of not more than 150 words,
should be submitted in triplicate, double-spaced to the Editor,

345 California Avenue, Suite No. 1, Palo Alto, California 94306
(with a postage-paid return envelope enclosed).

Send to Editor, 345 California Avenue,
Suite No. 1, Palo Alto, California 94306.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology and the Association for Transpersonal

Psychology  are  divisions  of  the  Transpersonal  Institute,  a  non-profit,  tax-exempt
organization.  The  views  and  opinions  presented  by  authors  and  reviewers  in  the
Journal  do  not  necessarily  represent  those  of  the  editors  or  the  Transpersonal

Institute.

345 California Avenue, Suite No. 1, Palo Alto, California 94306

Scan & OCR by Shiva2012

VOLUME 29, NUMBER 1, 1 997
THE JOURNAL OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Editor’s note

The spiritual dimension in logotherapy: Viktor Frankl’s
contribution to transpersonal psychology

eremias

arseille

The role of religion in counseling victims
of organized violence

arl

eltzer

Buddhist teachers’ experience with
extreme mental states in Western meditators

Lois V

ander

ooi

The “calling,” the yeti, and the ban jhakri
(“forest shaman”) in Nepalese shamanism
L

arry

G. P

eters

Measuring the psychological construct of control:
Applications to transpersonal psychology

ohn

A. A

stin

& D

eane

H. S

hapiro

, J

Book review

Books our editors are reading

Books noted

About the authors

Abstracts

table

contents

Back issues

editor’s note

Extreme events in human experience can change forever the life of an individual,
a society, or the entire world.

Viktor  Frankl,  a  founding  and  still-serving  member  of  JTP’s  Board  of  Editors,  is
a  survivor  of  the  Nazi  death  camps  of  World  War  11.  The  challenges  he  faced  as
a  student  and  young  physician  during  the  holocaust  led  him  to  develop  a  therapy
in  which  meaning  is  the  fundamental  healing  agent.  As  Jeremias  Marseille  points
out,  Viktor  Frankl’s  crucial  early  insights  aided  the  founding  of  this  Journal,  one
of his many contributions as a therapist of the human soul.

The  meaning  that  victims  of  organized  violence  assign  to  the  horrific  traumas
they  endure  can  be  a  factor  in  their  survival  and  healing.  Karl  Peltzer,  writing
from  South  Africa,  explores  the  role  religious  and  spiritual  meanings  have
played in the life and death struggles of victims of contemporary' social conflict.

Extreme mental disturbances sometimes arise in the lives of meditators. As Lois

VanderKooi shows, the psychological sophistication of those who teach medita

tion can have an important influence on people experiencing serious psychologi
cal problems as they pursue a spiritual practice.

In an investigation of Nepalese shamanism, Larry G. Peters describes his field

research  into  reports  of  the  yeti  and  forest  shaman.  His  in-depth  interviews  with
Nepalese,  and  his  study  of  the  related  anthropological  literature,  suggest  that
extreme,  life-crisis  rituals  shape  the  reality  of  some  Nepalese  children  and
adults.

The  human  condition,  in  extremis,  can  lead  people  to  look  for  a  way  to  control
their  lives.  In  religious  and  spiritual  systems,  self-control  of  various  kinds  may
be  promulgated  as  an  adaptive  solution  to  many  problems.  An  examination  of  the
construct  of  control,  and  its  application  to  transpersonal  psychology,  is  the  focus
of John A. Astin and Deane H. Shapiro Jr.’s analysis.

These five papers, drawing from diverse cultures, remind us of the vast human

opacities for both good and ill. They also indicate how much there is yet to learn

about the implications of extreme human experiences.

THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION IN LOGOTHERAPY:

VIKTOR FRANKL’S CONTRIBUTION

TO TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Jeremias Marseille
Meschede, Germany

Sometime ago a friend gave me the following beautiful short poem by Christine
Busta:

I believe that every human being will leave this earth with an unfulfilled longing.
But I believe also, that the loyalty to this longing will be the fulfillment of his life.

It  is  rather  remarkable  that,  as  the  founder  of  logotherapy,  Viktor  Frankl  made  a
significant  contribution  to  psychology  when,  as  early  as  the  end  of  the  1920s,  he
opened  psychotherapy  to  the  spiritual  dimensions  of  human  experience.  At  that  time,
in  Vienna,  psychotherapy  was  influenced  strongly  by  Freud’s  rather  reductionistic
psychological  theories.  This  situation  created  an  atmosphere  of  spiritual  barrenness  in
psychotherapy  in  Europe.  It  was  not  until  the  late  1960s  that  the  spiritual  factor  began

to be reintroduced systematically in psychology and psychotherapy via transpersonal

psychology (Sutich, 1969). Frankl made an early contribution to this new field as
well, and a decade-and-a-half later, Vaughan (Keizer, Gorringe & Vaughan, 1980)
described Viktor Frankl as “a precursor for transpersonal psychology.”

VIKTOR FRANKL’S CONTRIBUTION TO PSYCHOTHERAPY

Bom  in  Vienna  in  1905,  Frankl  still  lives  there  at  the  blessed  age  of  92  years.  The
existential  questions  about  life,  death,  and  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  life  were
strongly  expressed  even  in  his  early  years  as  a  school  boy.  Frankl  was  fourteen  years
old  when  his  science  teacher  taught  that  a  human  being  is  nothing  more  than  a  process
of  combustion.  At  that  moment  Frankl  sprang  out  of  his  chair,  and  a  question
spontaneously burst out of him, “What meaning does human life have then?”

As a sixteen-year-old he held a lecture in a philosophical circle in Vienna about the
“Meaning of Life.” By that time one could see the inward turn of his worldview. He

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

proposed  that  man’s  deeper  reality  is  not  based  on  putting  questions  to  life  but
answering  the  questions  that  come  from  life  to  oneself.  Life  asks  its  questions,  and
human  beings  show  essential  traces  of  an  “answering-character"  by  responding  to  the
range  in-between  their  pre-determined  givens  and  their  possibilities  for  overcoming
their  patterns  of  development.  Therefore,  his  logotherapy  ("meaning  therapy”)  tries

to  focus  on  the  unique  personality  of  the  client  within  a  more  panoramic  schema  of
somatic  and  psychological  patterns.  Frankl  developed  a  very  “fine  sense”  for  any
indication  of  a  reductionist  attitude  in  psychotherapy—especially  any  that  reduces
inner  personal  life.  In  his  approach,  all  aspects  of  the  client’s  humanness  must  be
explored  by  way  of  a  phenomenological  approach.  Phenomenology,  as  Frankl  (1967)

understands it, “speaks the language of man’s prereflected self-understanding rather

than interpreting a given phenomenon after preconceived patterns."

When  Frankl  was  a  teenager,  he  corresponded  with  Sigmund  Freud.  The  letters  were
later  taken  away  by  the  German  Nazi  Gestapo.  At  that  time  he  was  enthusiastic  about
psychoanalytic  drive-principles.  Later  on  he  became  a  consistent  criticizer  of  tradi
tional  psychoanalysis  with  its  pan-deterministic  interpretations  of  sexuality.  He
acknowledged  the  strengths  of  Freud’s  theory  of  personality  and  understood  his
theory  of  drives  as  a  fundamental  principle  of  modern  psychology  paving  the  way  for
further  development.  Nevertheless,  he  warned  of  walking  into  the  trap  of  seeing
man's  ego  only  in  a  closed  and  therefore  pessimistic  system.  This  view  of  the  person
meant  that,  on  the  one  hand,  man  is  portrayed  as  “nothing  but,”  as  a  passive  object
with  an  undermined  sense  of  meaning.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  struggling  for  an  I-
identity which gives the illusion of a constant reality, the highest goal in one’s life.

Frankl  struggled  to  clarify  the  important  difference  between  biologically  rooted
drives  and  spiritually  rooted  yearnings.  He  theorized  that  when  the  so-called  original
‘‘will  to  meaning”  is  frustrated,  then  life  energy  is  projected  down  into  the  lower
dimension  of  a  “will  to  power,”  as  described  in  the  individual  psychology  of  Alfred
Adler.  If  this  process  is  also  frustrated,  energy  will  be  projected  down  into  the  next
lower  dimension  of  the  “will  to  pleasure."  "Lower”  and  "higher”  here  do  not  suggest
a value judgment, but rather stress the position of these spaces.

To  become  free  from  limiting  determinants  one  has  to  follow  the  much  deeper
longings  that  come  from  inside  oneself  as  well  as  the  much  greater  challenges  from
outside.  But  because  one  cannot  choose  to  have  a  “will  to  meaning,”  one  can  only
attract  or  activate  this  life-energy  by  more  extended  motivational  concepts.  Frankl
(1988) says:

To the extent to which one makes happiness the object of his motivation, he necessarily
makes it the object of his attention. But precisely by so doing he loses sight of the reason for
happiness, and happiness itself must fade away.

Imagine  man  with  an  original  intention  of  living  for  a  purpose  or  meaning  in  life.
Pleasure  then  is  not  a  primary  goal  but  a  by-product  of  having  done  something
meaningful.  Thus,  power  is  not  an  end  in  itself  but  only  a  means  to  an  end  that  is

attained by using power in a meaningful way.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. 1997, Vol. 29. No. 1

Frankl was a follower of Alfred Adler and a member of the circle around him during

the beginning of Adler’s development of individual psychology. Here Frankl found a

somewhat more open system. According to Adler’s theory, individual life style is

formed in the first years of childhood when the ways of responding to responsibilities

in one’s community are determined. After three years of following Adlerian psychol

ogy,  Frankl  left  Adler’s  circle.  He  began  to  integrate  the  idea  of  a  spiritual  factor  into
psychological  life.  According  to  Frankl’s  "will  to  meaning,”  a  “spiritual  uncon
scious”  exists.  Spirituality  is  a  genuine  human  need  in  itself,  one  which  needs  to  be
shared  or  experienced  on  its  own  terms  and  not  explained  away  by  reductionist
systems.  If  this  spirituality  is  ignored,  problems  may  ensue.  Frankl  (1986):  “Some
times  the  ground  of  neurotic  existence  is  to  be  seen  in  a  deficiency,  in  that  a  person’s
relation to transcendence is repressed.”

Reaching beyond the classical field of psychotherapy, the existential analysis of

logotherapy aims at nothing less than leading individuals to become more conscious

and  responsible.  Frankl  describes  his  system  as  ethically  neutral,  though  on  an  ethical
borderline,  which  makes  no  statement  about  “to  what”  or  “for  what”  consciousness
and  the  responsibility  are  intended.  That  is  left  to  the  individual  to  answer.  It  is
important  that  logotherapy  be  applicable  to  each  and  every  client,  religious  or

irreligious, and useful in the hands of each and every therapist. Frankl wanted “to

furnish as far as possible the chambers of immanence—while being careful not to

block the door to transcendence” (Frankl, 1986).

Frankl (1986) says, “Medical ministry (as a specific aspect of logotherapy) lies
between two realms. It therefore is a border area, and as such a no-man’s-land. And
yet, what a land of promise!”

In 1926 Frankl spoke of “logotherapy” for the first time. He understood it as an
integrative extension of psychotherapy, not a nullification of other systems but one
that reached across them.

As a medical student he organized, in several large cities, advice-bureaus for unem

ployed young people who lived in crisis with a deep feeling of meaninglessness.

Charlotte  Buhler,  later  on  a  representative  of  the  American  humanistic  psychology
movement,  was  one  of  the  circle  who  supported  him  in  this  work.  In  the  1930s  he
worked  for  four  years  with  women  who  had  attempted  suicide  during  the  time  of
widespread  economic  depression  before  the  Second  World  War.  He  encountered

more than three thousand clients every year. In this massive challenge he tried to

forget everything he had learned from the study of psychology and started learning

directly  from  his  clients  and  their  own  methods  for  finding  a  way  out  of  their  misery.
This  experience  led  him  to  develop  a  receptive  attitude  toward  motivating  people  to
discover  their  own  possibilities  and  to  look  for  both  actual  and  more  universal

meanings. In this approach, one’s soul can experience a widening and opening in spite

of traumatic and painful psychic wounds. Then such wounds can be acknowledged,

unblocking the core of personality, and thus healing in an extended, more far-reaching
way. This is not an easy way, but it is a way that recognizes the dignity of the human

person.

The Spiritual Dimension in Logotherapy

Frankl  (1966)  always  stresses  that  “man  is  originally  pushed  by  drives  but  pulled  by
meaning,”  and  that  .  .  .  man’s  primary  concern  is  his  will  to  meaning!”  Such  an
assumption  lets  the  therapist  encounter  the  client  by  focusing  on  a  sane,  intact  core  of
personality  that  may  be  blocked  by  psychodynamic  factors  but  that  can  never  be
destroyed.  This  same  intact  core  of  personality  that  the  client  can  feel,  especially  very
needy clients, is the basis for healing.

The system of logotherapy was presented in an unpublished manuscript for a book

written  before  the  Second  World  War.  Frankl,  as  a  Jewish  doctor,  waited  for  a  visa  to
go  to  the  United  States.  He  received  it  but—in  a  very  spontaneous  and  deep  moment
of  existential  decision—did  not  take  the  chance  to  escape  from  the  German  Nazis.
Instead,  he  stayed  to  shelter  his  parents.  But  in  1942,  only  a  few  months  after  his
marriage,  his  family  was  deported  to  a  concentration  camp  and,  except  for  his  sister,
all  were  murdered.  He  himself  survived  four  different  concentration  camps  over  three
years.  His  personal  holocaust  was  a  crucial  test  for  his  therapeutic  system,  which
recognized the nature of suffering within a mental and spiritual context.

This may be a special characteristic of logotherapy: encountering people and trying to

find a way for them to face suffering when they meet an unchangeable fate. Self

detachment and self-transcendence were survival factors for Frankl on his way

through the hell of Auschwitz and the other camps. After the liberation, he recreated
the manuscript which should have been published before the war. Its English title is

The Doctor and the Soul.

Applying  a  special  logotherapeutic  way  of  processing  and  working  up  one’s  personal
history,  he  next  wrote  of  his  experiences  during  his  “fire-time”  of  suffering.  The
resulting  book  is  in  German,  and  the  title  (translated)  is  Say  Yes  to  Life  in  Spite  of
Everything:  A  Psychologist  Experiences  the  Concentration  Camp  (Frankl,  1982).  In  it
he  describes  not  only  the  horrible  aspects  of  camp  life  but  also  the  survival  values  of
the  prisoners.  This  way  of  processing  the  past  contained  not  only  a  healing  for  himself
but  also  for  innumerable  readers  of  the  book.  His  story  is  a  great  testimony  to  human
capacities  and  the  importance  for  a  healthy  core  of  personality.  It  also  provides  a
model of bibliotherapy by showing the healing potential of writing an autobiography.

Some students of logotherapy have applied it in a one-year course of autobiographical
writing, as developed by Elisabeth Lukas (1991). Writing down the remembrances of

the past, reflecting on one’s present situation, and imagining one’s future constitute an

inner, silent confrontation of one’s own existence with spirit—an intensive way of

being  with  oneself.  This  method  shows  that  imagination  and  expectations  about  the
future  can  produce  as  much  therapeutic  material  as  reflecting  on  the  past.  And  the
essence  of  this  experience  is  the  present,  in  which  the  past  and  future  are  melded
together.

A BRIEF THEORETICAL OUTLINE OF LOGOTHERAPY

As  previously  indicated,  logotherapy  integrates  and  extends  therapy  beyond  the
psychodynamic  and  Adlerian  psychologies  of  that  era.  Psychoanalysis  stresses  the
increasing  consciousness  of  oneself  by  integrating  the  influences  of  the  id  into  ego

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

functioning,  in  order  to  free  the  ego.  These  functions  and  their  dynamics  are  often
spoken  of  metaphorically  as  operating  in  a  spatial  dimension.  Individual  psychology
stresses  freeing  the  ego  through  a  recognition  of  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  oneself
and  for  the  community  of  which  one  is  a  part.  This  is  a  way  of  differentiating  oneself
both  in  the  present  and  in  the  future,  a  dynamic  often  spoken  of  metaphorically  as  in
the dimension of time.

Frankl’s  view  also  sees  consciousness  and  responsibility  as  having  basic  roles  in  the
drama  of  existence.  But  these  roles  are  only  activated  when  one  aspect  of  reality  is
counterposed  to  a  different  aspect,  i.e.,  everything  in  human  experience  exists  only
with reference to something else: "‘To be’ always means in essence 'to be different.’

.. . Actually, only the relationship ‘exists.’” In psychological terms, "Only an ego

which intends a you, can integrate an id" (Frankl, 1986). Frankl’s idea can be
understood as an unlimited affirmation of the interior life in an existence constantly
challenged by events that constitute the background reality.

Three Basic Human Capabilities

Frankl’s  theory  holds  that  there  are  three  capabilities  that  express  mankind's  noologi-
cal  (human  dimension)  possibilities:  self-detachment;  self-transcendence  (as  the
essence  of  human  existence);  and  the  ability  to  “spiritually  be  in  touch”  (German:

geistiges Bei-sein) with something or someone, independent of spatial and time

dimensions. Frankl (1986) says:

Being  human  is  always  directed,  pointing  to  something  or  someone  other  than  oneself:  to  a
meaning  to  fulfill  or  another  human  being  to  encounter,  a  course  to  serve  or  a  person  to
love.  Only  to  the  extent  that  someone  is  living  out  this  self-transcendence  of  human

existence, is he truly human or does he become his true self.

Three Key Postulates

Frankl’s theory reflects the anthropological, psychological, and philosophical ap

proaches. The anthropological postulate: The dignity of a human being exists in a

sane and undcstroyable core of personality, a province of inner freedom that exists in
spite of all conditions of fate (against the pitfall of pan-determinism). The psychologi

cal postulate: Man’s primary motivation is his will to meaning (against the pitfall of
reductionism). The philosophical postulate: Life is unconditionally meaningful, no

matter what happens. It follows that an (ultimate) meaning exists even when one

cannot find a meaning in a life-situation (against the pitfall of nihilism).

"Dimensional Ontology"

A  human  being,  in  Frankl's  view,  is  a  somatic,  psychological,  and  noological  or
spiritual  multiplicity,  an  ontic  totality  (Frankl,  1988).  The  distinction  of  different
dimensions  is  a  “working  hypothesis.”  Actually,  one  cannot  separate  them,  because
they  interpenetrate.  The  spiritual  dimension  is  the  most  extensive,  pervading  the

The Spiritual Dimension in Logotherapy

totality  and  uniqueness  of  the  human  being.  Thus,  in  diagnostic  and  therapeutic
situations  one  should  remember  that  life  is  not  an  “either-or,”  “yes-or-no”  choice.
Frankl  emphasizes  in  Latin:  teriium  datur  (the  third  answer/way  is  given).  By  this  he
means  that  life  is  a  complex  web.  One  can  discover  different  phenomena  for  different
perspectives  and  combine  the  phenomena  with  an  "And"  as  in  the  "And  philosophy”
of  William  James’  pragmatism.  In  this  pluralistic  view  the  decision  is  not  between

right  or  wrong,  but  between  authentic  and  inauthentic.  The  relationships  between  the
separate  aspects  of  a  person  emerge  out  of  experience.  The  spiritual  dimension,  for
example,  is  not  a  subject  outside  the  psyche  but  has  an  intrinsic,  far-reaching  meaning
within it (James, 1977, 1979).

The Three Dimensions and Three Categories of Values

Frankl holds that creative, experiential, and attitudinal values, which may interpen
etrate, can be actualized from possibility into reality. For example, by actualizing
creative values, experiential and attitudinal values may be engaged. Frankl (1986):

But most far-reaching are the attitude values which can be actualized to one's last breath.

The meaning of suffering—unavoidable and inescapable suffering alone, of course—can
be the deepest possible meaning.

The  mental  power  of  the  spiritual  dimension  can  I  i  berate  a  person  from  attachments  to
psychophysical  matters,  bursting  a  limiting  perspective  on  one’s  life-situation.  Of
course,  it’s  natural  that  we  would  try  to  avoid  or  escape  unpleasant  and  painful

circumstances,  or  struggle  against  them.  No  one  wants  to  suffer.  Inner  disturbances
tend  to  come  into  awareness  just  when  we  attempt  to  repress  them.  The  art  of  being
human  is  in  how  to  deal  with  them.  These  moments  require  an  attitude  of  inner

willingness to suffer, while remaining in touch spiritually with one’s own extended

dimensions. It can mean that a therapist must confront or emotionally stay engaged
with the client, and withstand the inner tension of the client wrestling with his own

inner self. When this inner struggle becomes calm, one can experience how the lower

somatic and psychological dimensions influence the higher spiritual dimension but do

not produce or cause it. One can discover despair despite success, and fulfillment
despite failure.

In reaching out for the much deeper and wider spiritual dimension, a person can avoid
hyperreflection and hyperintention, traps that can create an inner prison, the pitfall of

repression.  One  can  become  aware,  not  only  of  the  quality  of  inner  unpleasant
feelings,  of  anxiety,  aggression,  boredom,  jealousy,  etc.,  but  also  of  the  way  they
come  into  being  and  go  away.  For  example,  one  may  become  aware  that  “I  am  not  the
anxiety;  I  have  anxious  feelings.  I  am  more  than  the  feeling.  Perhaps  one  day  I  will
have the inner experience that I Am."

According  to  Frankl’s  dimensional  differentiation,  a  dimensional  diagnosis  is  re
quired  to  conclude,  for  example,  if  a  neurosis  has  its  actual  basis  in  the  somatic,
psychic,  or  mental-spiritual  dimension.  In  the  latter  case,  Frankl  speaks  about  a
noogenic  neurosis  being  grounded  in  an  existential  vacuum,  giving  rise  to  a  deep

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

feeling of meaninglessness. In his long years of practice as a neurologist and psychia

trist, he discovered that many clients suffer from a lack of content and purpose in life,
and that discovering a special significance for one’s life can lead to a psychological
healing process.

What is meant by meaning?

To experience meaning is to have the experience that life is personal to me, in a very

specific way, changing from time to time and from place to place.

Meaning is something to be found rather than to be given, discovered rather than to be

invented (Frankl, 1982).

That  means  trying  to  give  the  right  answer  to  a  question  (according  to  a  widening
sense  of  responsibility)  and  trying  to  find  the  true  meaning  of  a  situation  (according  to
a  widening  range  of  consciousness),  as  in  a  "Gestalt-perception”  of  an  ambiguous
image.

Joseph Fabry (1988), a follower of Frankl and founder of the Institute of Logotherapy

in California, says:

Meaning  occurs  on  two  levels:  ultimate  meaning  and  the  meaning  of  the  moment.  .  .  .  THE
meaning  of  life—the  ultimate  meaning—is  like  a  horizon,  which  you  never  will  reach.  If
you  think  you  could  attain  it,  you  would  be  spiritually  dead..  .  .  But,  to  lead  a  fulfilled

existence you have to try to reach the meaning of the moment.

In his work one sees a link between ultimate meaning and the meaning of the moment.

If  you  are  aware  of  ultimate  meaning,  in  either  a  religious  or  a  secular  context,  you  will  be
able  to  respond  meaningfully  lo  the  offerings  of  the  moment  because  you  have  a  built-in
compass  that  points  toward  meaning.  If  you  are  not  aware  of  ultimate  meaning,  you  will
respond  to  the  meaning  of  the  moment  as  best  you  can,  and  in  the  course  of  your  life  you
will gradually approach understanding of ultimate meaning (Fabry, 1988).

My  own  view  is  that  for  creative  values,  meaning  will  be  obvious  in  the  creative
objects.  In  the  case  of  experiential  values,  one  may  get  an  inner  feeling  of  meaning,
such  as  joy,  inspiration,  peak-experiences,  devotion,  encouragement,  also  the  feeling
of  being-in-balance,  of  contentedness  and  thankfulness.  In  the  context  of  attitudinal
values,  a  "wordless  inner  knowing”  of  meaning  can  arise  in  the  core  of  oneself,  and  an
awareness of Life as a spiritual presence can increase.

Frankl has mentioned that belief in a super-meaning is founded on the power of love,
for which we have an inner predisposition. In the presence of such a love energy
everything is meaningful, and nothing is ever lost.

Looking for meaning with a person in an existentially frustrated situation means
looking for buried remembrances of being, those remembrances in which life had
very personal meaning.

The Spiritual Dimension in Logotherapy

Imagine  a  client  whose  life  has  fallen  like  a  house  of  cards,  coming  to  the  realization,
“I  cannot  remember  that  I  was  loved  even  one  time  in  my  l i f e . . . " H e   has  “hit
bottom.”  In  this  moment  the  therapist’s  inner  attitude  and  conviction  that  life  is
unconditionally  meaningful  can  be  a  fresh  source  of  energy.  At  such  a  time,  if  the
therapist  does  not  experience  words  arising  from  an  inner  intuition,  then  any  word
spoken  is  too  much.  It  would  be  better  to  be  silent  and  endure  with  the  client  the
painful  inner  tension,  and  live  the  silence.  This  is  a  way  to  understand  by  "knowing”
about  the  "personal  plus”  in  life.  Then  one  can  experience  the  space  of  revelation  with

the  client,  by  trying  to  hear  "logohints”  which  may  be  stored  on  an  unconscious  level.
A  “logohint”  can  be  a  phrase,  even  a  word,  or  a  nonverbal  indication  such  as  a  tone  of
excitement,  one  that  hints  at  what  is  meaningful  to  the  seeker  (Fabry,  1988).  In  the
process  of  becoming  more  aware  of  feelings  moving  from  inside  to  outside  and
outside to inside, the healing process can begin to find its own way.

FRANKL’S CONTRIBUTION TO TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

At  the  end  of  the  1960s  and  early  in  the  1970s,  Frankl  was  a  guest  professor  at  Harvard
and  Stanford  universities,  and  also  met  Abraham  Maslow  of  Brandeis  University.
They  became  colleagues  in  search  for  the  healthy  resources  in  clients.  The  Maslow
interpreter  Colin  Wilson  (1972)  talks  about  the  "Maslow-Frankl  theory  of  mental
health.”  This  can  include  such  methods  as  looking  for  peak  experiences  which  can
have  a  positive  therapeutic  transference  effect.  Similarly,  Gordon  Allport  had  stressed

that, according to his own theory of human nature, the psychologist has the power of
elevating or degrading that human experience.

While developing a "fourth force" in psychology, Maslow opened his humanistic and
transhumanistic perspective to Frankl’s theory, which held that meaning can also be
experienced even if basic needs are not yet gratified. Maslow (1966) wrote:

I agree entirely with Frankl that man's primary concern (I would rather say "highest

concern") is his will to meaning . . . [and] Frankl teaches us, that B-Cognition [Being-
cognition) can come from pain, suffering, and tragedy.

In 1968 Frankl took part in a discussion with Abraham Maslow, Stanislav Grof, and

James Fadiman about the decision calling the "fourth force” movement “trans

humanistic” (after Julian Huxley) or "transpersonal” psychology (Sutich, 1969,

1976). At that time, in addition to Paul Halmos, Wales, and Arthur Koestler, London,

the  European  members  of  the  “Board  of  Editors”  of  the  Journal  of  Transpersonal
Psychology  included  Roberto  Assagioli,  founder  of  Psychosynthesis;  Medard  Boss,
therapist  of  Martin  Heidegger  and  founder  of  an  existential-oriented  field  of  psy
chology;  and  Frankl  with  his  meaning-centered  psychotherapy.  Frankl  appreciated
transpersonal  experiences,  but  his  preference  is  to  be  rather  discrete  and  reserved  in
spiritual  matters,  “standing  theoretically  at  the  border”  or  "holding  a  foot  in  the

door” to this area. Although as a psychiatrist, it seems not to be his choice to walk

inside, he encourages the client to “venture to be.” In this way, logotherapy can

encourage the receptivity for transpersonal experiences, though not as a directly
intended effect.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

There  is  a  passage  in  Frankl’s  autobiographical  writings  that  is  relevant  here.  It  is
about  a  young  woman  in  a  concentration  camp.  She  lay  on  a  wooden  resting  place,  and
knew  she  would  be  dying  in  a  few  days.  As  a  doctor,  Frankl  was  asked  to  visit  her.  He

found her cheerful in spite of her situation. She pointed through a window of the

barrack  and  said,  "This  tree  here  is  the  only  friend  I  have  in  my  loneliness.”  It  was  a
chestnut  tree  in  bloom.  Frankl  bowed  down,  seeing  through  the  little  window  one
branch  of  the  tree  with  two  blossoms.  “I  often  talk  to  this  tree,"  she  said.  Frankl  asked
if  the  tree  also  gave  answers,  and  she  continued,  "It  told  me:  I  am  here—I—am—
here—I am the Life—the eternal Life . . ( F r a n k l .  1982).

Points of Comparison in Frankl’s, Maslow's, and Wilber’s Systems

There are several observations that may be useful in a comparison of Frankl’s,
Maslow’s, and Ken Wilber’s systems.

Maslow  (1987)  emphasized  self-actualization  in  his  humanistic  era  theory.  According
to  his  organismic  view,  meta-needs  (needs  for  transcendent  values)  are  biologically
rooted.  Therefore,  there  is  a  predisposition  to  self-actualization,  in  which  life  starts
with the healthy inner self.

Frankl emphasized self-transcendence and stresses the inner freedom of the self. The

fruitful development of the human being doesn’t automatically unfold, even when a

person has the right environment. In the response to life's questions we become co

creators.

Both  Maslow  and  Frankl  see  that  self-actualization  can  be  an  expression  of  a  reality
transcending  the  self  as  well  as  the  world.  But  Frankl  maintains  a  “symbol-specific
difference”  between  an  original,  direct  knowing  of  being  and  the  secondary  knowl
edge  of  reflective  consciousness  (Frankl,  1990).  Also  we  can  say  Frankl  differenti
ates  between  the  power  of  consciousness  and  what  is  called  self-consciousness,
whereas  in  Maslow’s  meta-theory,  consciousness  and  self-consciousness  seem  to  be
more  similar.  A  fuller  statement  of  Maslow’s  transpersonal  or  spiritual  psychology
was developed and presented in the early years of this Journal.

But  the  spiritual  power  of  transcending  is  a  more  far  reaching  dimension  than  the
psychophysical  dimensions  of  inner  human  nature.  For  Frankl,  one’s  outward  relation
to  the  world  is  not  a  mere  reflection  of  the  inner  healing  process,  but  is  also  a
motivation  that  stimulates  the  inner  healing  process.  The  reality  of  the  social  environ
ment also expresses a challenge to the human spirit. Frankl (1975) says:

I don't know who I am and I don’t know what I am. The uniqueness of my person becomes

obvious in the moment it is involved and engaged in an uniqueness of a situation, which I
encounter, in which I am living.

While considering this differentiation between original, direct knowing of being and
the secondary knowing of a reflective consciousness, the present author discovered
the spectrum of consciousness system developed by Ken Wilber.

The Spiritual Dimension in Logotherapy

Both Frankl and Wilber diagram their concept of human consciousness in nested
concentric circles, though Wilber’s system is more differentiated in the transpersonal

levels. At these levels Frankl speaks in general about the noetic or spiritual dimension.

The philosophical layer-model of body, mind, and spirit, each separated from the
other, is transformed into a dimensional model, which combines the qualities of the
different dimensions.

It’s  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  systems  of  Frankl  and  Wilber,  the  different  levels  or
dimensions  arise  out  of  the  unconscious  base  (according  to  Frankl,  the  “unconscious
and  conscious  core  of  personality”).  We  also  find  in  both  systems  a  differentiation
between  consciousness  and  self-consciousness  (Wilber),  between  the  primary  know

ing of being (German: Gewußtsein) and the secondary knowing of consciousness

(German: Bewußtsein) (Frankl).

Frankl has a non-preferential approach to different religious orientations. Therefore

we find logotherapy applicable in Western and Eastern contexts. Logotherapy’s

primary goal is to describe, phenomenologically, the essence of being via its different

names, such as "Dasein," “Tao,” “self-realization,” “Zen-consciousness,” and so on,

and take this into consideration in the therapeutic encounter (Ko, 1980).

Wilber  goes  further  in  developing  a  system  which  intends  a  linking  of  whole  networks
of  concepts.  According  to  his  view  of  the  spectrum  of  consciousness,  Frankl’s  system
overcomes  the  dualism  of  body-mind-spirit,  but  is  limited  by  a  separate  identity.  For
Frankl  the  unique  personality  is  insuperable  (Walsh  &  Vaughan,  1988).  It  could  be
said that his way is more “you-oriented” and Wilber’s way is more being-oriented.

This distinction can become obvious in meditative practice. For example, one can find

people meditating for years, having deep experiences, but also experiencing a lot of

fear,  isolation,  and  lowered  trust  in  daily  life  situations.  This  could  reflect  unsolved
issues  at  the  prepersonal  and  personal  level  of  one’s  personality.  Jumping  over  the
"you-oriented”  dimension  to  go  straight  on  to  the  being-oriented  dimension  could
lead  to  a  pitfall.  Essential  values  such  as  trusting  and  loving  are  learned  and  exercised
in  the  you-dimension,  even  though  the  spiritual  energy  for  living  this  “you-way”
comes  out  of  the  essential  ground  of  being.  The  other  way  can  also  be  a  pitfall  on  the
spiritual  path—holding  the  individual  in  the  you-dimension  and  not  paying  attention
to his being-orientation.

CONCLUSION

Logotherapy  focuses  more  on  the  outward  intentional  nature  of  Being;  transpersonal
psychology  focuses  more  on  the  inward  trans-intentional  nature  of  Being.  Both  views,
understood  in  terms  of  a  phenomenological  attitude,  such  as  the  "And-philosophy”  of
William  James,  can  help  us  examine  the  relationship  between  personal  and  trans
personal experiences.

One way is to view universal spirit as incarnating in a relational structure of Love, one
which becomes more and more intense, and more and more one. This view appears in
the different spiritual traditions.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

Similarly, a presupposition of a universal consciousness (spirit) or a universal charac
ter of human personality, also assumes a relationalism in the universal (v. Brück,

1986). Thus, according to Frankl’s logotheoretical insights, human personality is

woven like a red thread throughout life, and in this life the transpersonal realities are

also connected by actions and consequences. It seems that personal and transpersonal

reality  exists  in  an  interactional  and  reciprocal  relationship.  The  personal  experience
of  inner  freedom  and  inner  responsibility  increases  and  becomes  transformed  in
proportion  to  transpersonal  experience.  Hence,  the  psychospiritual  development  of
humanity  implies  that  life’s  challenges  will  become  greater  and  will  be  experienced  in
transformed  ways.  As  a  result,  life  would  not  become  easier  in  the  sense  of  being  more
manageable,  but  would  become  more  direct  and  more  intense.  This  is  like  a  mysticism
that is “between times and spaces,” a birthplace of universal love.

Like a meditation practice, the therapeutic relationship stands in the fruitful tension

between devotional love and the peaceful consciousness of open awareness. The art

and craft of psychotherapy is—as Frankl emphasized in one of his last lectures a year-

and-a-half ago—the art of improvisation and individualization. It is an endless art of

understanding.

It  is  also  good  to  sense  the  integrative  potential  of  trying  to  make  full  use  of  all
psychological  resources  and  letting  them  become  available  for  the  benefit  of  the
client.  In  such  an  approach  we  can  find  enough  reasons  to  leam  from  all  sources,
especially from the clients themselves.

Perhaps it is most appropriate to let Frank! (1986) himself make the final observations
on these matters:

... logotherapy—by its very name a meaning-centered psychotherapy—views even man’s

orientation toward ultimate meaning as a human phenomenon rather than anything di

vine. . ..

We  must  remain  aware  of  the  fact  that  as  long  as  absolute  truth  is  not  accessible  to  us  (and
it  never  will  be),  relative  truths  have  to  function  as  mutual  correctives.  Approaching  the  one
truth  from  various  sides,  sometimes  even  in  opposite  directions,  we  cannot  attain  it,  but  we
may at least encircle it.

REFERENCES

v. B

ruck

, M. (1986). Einheit der Wirklichkeit. Gott, Gotteserfahrung und Meditation im

hinduistisch-christlichen Dialog. Munchen: Kaiser Vlg.

abry

, J. (1988). Guideposts to meaning: Discovering what really matters. Oakland: New

Harbinger Publications.

rankl

, V. (1966). Self-transcendence as a human phenomenon. Journal of Humanistic

Psychology. 6(2), 97-106.

rankl

, V. (1967). Psychotherapy and existentialism: Selected papers on logotherapy by

Viktor E. Frankl with contributions by James C. Crumbaugh, Hans O. Gerz. Leonhard T.

Maholick. New York: Simon & Schuster.

rankl

, V. (1975). Interview with K.-H. Fleckenslein. In Fleckenstein, Karl-Hcinz, Am

Fenster der Welt. Im Gesprach mit. . . Munchen, Zurich: Wien: Neue Stadt Vlg., 100-117.

The Spiritual Dimension in Logotherapy

rankl

, V. (1982). ... trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagcn. Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentra-

tionslager. Vorwort von Hans Weigel. München: dtv. Bd. 10023, 1. Aufl. (Engl, title:

Man's search for meaning).

Frankl, V. (1986). The doctor and the soul: From psychotherapy to logotherapy. New York:

Vintage Books.

Frankl, V. (1988). The wilt to meaning. New York: Meridian.
F

rankl

, V. (1990). Der leidende Mensch. Anthropologische Crundlagen der Psychotherapie.

Mit 6 Abbildungen. Munchen, Zurich: Piper Vlg.

ames

, W. (1977). Der Pragmatismus. Ein neuer Name für alte Denkmethoden. Ubersetzt von

Wilhelm Jerusalem. Mit einer Einleitung herausgegeben von Klaus Oehler. Hamburg:

Felix Meiner Vlg., 1. Aufl.

James, W. (1979). Die Vielfalt religioser Erfahrung. Eine Studie über die menschliche Natur.

Ubersetzt, herausgegeben und mit einem Nachwort versehen von Erlert Herms. Olten,

Freiburg i.Br.: Walter-Vlg. (Engl, title: The varieties of religious experience: A study in
human nature.)

elzer

K., G

orringe

, R. & V

aughan

, F. (1980). Viktor Frankl: A precursor for transpersonal

psychotherapy. The Internationa! Forum for Logotherapy, 3, 32-35.

Ko, B. (1980). Zen and the noetic dimension. In Wawrytko, S. A. (Ed.). Analecta Frankliana:

The proceedings of the First World Congress of Logotherapy. Berkeley: Institute of

Logotherapy Press, 295-300.

Lukas, E. (1991). Zur Erfahrung der eigenen Personalitat—Selbsterfahrung auf andere Weise.

Eine Anleitung zur Erstcllung einer logotherapeutisch geführten Autobiographic. In
Lukas. E., Spannendes Leben. In der Spannung zwischen Sein und Sollen—ein Logo-

therapie Buch. Munchen: Quintessenz Vlg., 116-181.

Maslow, A. (1966). Comments on Dr. Frankl's paper. Journal of Humanistic Psychology,

6(2), 107-112.

Maslow, A. (1987). Eine Theorie der Metamotivation. (Engl, title: A meta-motivation: The

biological rooting of the value-life.) In R. Walsh & F. Vaughan (Hrsg.), Psychologie in der

Wende: Grundlagen, Methoden und Ziele der Transpersonalen Psychologie. Eine Ein-

führung in die Psychologie des Neuen Bewußtseins. Hamburg: Rowohlt Vlg. (Engl, title:

Beyond ego: Transpersonal dimensions in psychology.)

utich

, A.J. (1969). Some considerations regarding transpersonal psychology. Journal of

Transpersonal Psychology, /(l), 11-20.

utich

, A.J. (1976). The emergence of the transpersonal orientation: A personal account.

Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 5(1), 5-19.

aughan

, F. (1993). Heilung aus dem Inneren. Leifaden für eine spirituelle Psychotherapie.

Dt. v. Angela Roethe. Hamburg: Rowohlt Vlg. (Engl, title: The inward arc.)

alsh

, R. & V

aughan

. F. (1988). Vergleichende Modelle - Das Verständnis der Person in der

Psychotherapie. In S. Boorstein, Transpersonale Psychotherapie. Neue Wege in der

Psychotherapie - Transpersonale Ansätze, Methoden und Ziele in der therapeutischen
Praxis. Bern, Munchen, Wien: Scherz Vlg., 22-55.

ilber

, K. (1991). Das Spektrum des Bewußtseins. Eine Synthese cristlicher und westlicher

Psychologic. Aus dem Amerikanischen von Jochen Eggert. In der Reihe: rororo transfor
mation, Bd. 8593. Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Vlg. (Engl, title: No boundary.)

Wilson, C. (1972). New pathways in psychology: Maslow and the post-Freudian revolution.

London: Victor Gollancz LTD.

Requests for reprints to: Jeremias Marseille, Abtei Königsmünster, Klosterberg 11, 59872 Meschede.

Germany.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN COUNSELING

VICTIMS OF ORGANIZED VIOLENCE

Karl Peltzer
Sovenga, South Africa

INTRODUCTION

This is a report of the author’s examination of the role of religion in counseling

victims  of  organized  violence,  as  applied  in  three  major  services:  (1)  IRCT  (Interna
tional  Rehabilitation  Council  for  Torture  Victims)  in  Malawi  [Malawi-IRCT],  (2)
IPSER  (International  Psycho-social  and  Socio-Ecological  Research  Institute),  psy

chosocial assistance program for refugees in Uganda [Uganda-IPSER], and (3) DW

(Diakonisches Werk or the Social Service Agency of the Evangelical Church in

Germany with its program of Psychosocial Centres for Refugees) in Germany [Ger-
many-DW] from 1991-1996.

Desjarlais  et  al.  (1995  p.146)  have  described  the  importance  of  social  and  cultural
support  systems  in  trauma  experiences.  That  religious  affiliation  can  serve  as  a
protective  factor  with  regard  to  stressors  is  widely  recognized.  Though  such  affilia
tion  may  be  a  source  of  social  support,  its  primary  effect  may  be  to  serve  as  an
ideological form to structure psychological coping mechanisms.

Based on an anthropological study with refugees on the Thai-Kampuchean border,

Reynell (Desjarlais, 1995) notes that people who had confidence in Prince Sihanouk

of Cambodia and the resistance movement appeared to be more healthy than those
who had not. Regarding her work in the Occupied Territories in Palestine, Punamaki

(1986) reported that the “psychological process of healing . . . drew strength from

political and ideological commitment.”

Langford (1980) describes the positive effects of reintroducing previously repressed
cultural and spiritual practices in the treatment of seriously traumatized Kampucheans

in a Thai border refugee camp. Similarly, Cambodian youths resettled within the
United States and Australia reported that traditional religious beliefs and ritual were

powerful resources in combatting painful memories of the past.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29. No. I

Vesti  and  Kastrup  (1992  p.  360)  report  that  many  torture  survivors  find  solace  in
religious  texts  which  address  general  humanitarian  issues  and  emotions.  Survivors
sometimes  wished  to  discuss  "eternal  questions”  such  as  guilt,  sin,  and  suicide  as  they
relate  to  religion,  or  they  may  search  for  basic  ethical  and  moral  values  in  religious
texts  in  order  to  regain  a  "basic  belief  in  humanity"  or  to  "find  faith  again."  Vesti  et  al.
(1992)  warn  that  any  psychotherapeutic  labeling  of  religious  experiences  arising
during  torture  as  mere  hallucinations  or  wishful  thinking  discloses  an  uninformed
point of view.

Religious  thoughts  and  activities  in  fact  may  be  important  coping  or  defense  mecha
nisms.  In  some  cases,  religion  is  the  prerequisite  for  survival.  The  comfort  provided
by  a  religious  context  may  be  critical  for  survivors  of  torture  who  receive  information
about  the  murder  of  family  or  friends.  Consequently,  disrespect  for  the  spirituality  of
the  survivors  could  seriously  hamper  the  therapeutic  process.  Illustrating  a  supportive
approach,  Cunningham  and  Silove  (1993)  describe  clients  who  are  deeply  religious
people.  One,  a  twenty-nine-year-old  woman  who  was  a  political  activist  from  a
Middle  Eastern  country,  interpreted  most  of  her  torture  experiences  in  terms  of  her
relationship  with  Allah  and  the  idea  of  a  just  Islamic  society.  One  method  she  initiated
to  regain  a  sense  of  empowerment  was  to  meditate  every  night  while  wearing  the
traditional  Muslim  sackcloth  which  is  used  to  purify  oneself.  She  has  also  shown
interest  in  developing  an  active  group  of  compatriots  who  try  to  integrate  within  a
religious framework an understanding of their shared persecution.

Lee and Lu (1989) have described culturally specific coping strategies of Asian
immigrants and refugees as follows:

Functional  coping:  believing  in  “fate”  and  karma:  recreating  a  flexible  family
support  system  and  community  support  network;  focusing  on  new  dreams  and  new
priorities;  regaining  self-worth  through  hard  work;  exercising  self-control  and  self-
discipline.

Dysfunctional coping: somatization; denial and silence; avoidance; projection;

learned helplessness.

Cheung (1994) explains the coping style of “believing in ‘fate’ and karma" as

referring to the Buddhist belief in reincarnation and the meaning of suffering. Those

who had a strong sense of coherence were able to accept their trauma and suffering as
necessary challenges to enable them to attain a higher state of being in the next world,
and were thus protected from the development of PTSD.

Marsella and Dash-Scheuer (1988) described coping beliefs in Asian societies (Phil

ippines, Taiwan, Korea, Hawaiian Americans, Japanese Americans) as follows:

projection; acceptance; religion; optimistic fatalism; self-responsibility; persever
ance; self-action; goal minimization; social support; subtle interpersonal strategies;

value being placed on sociability and affiliation; avoidance; displaying apathy under

stress; inactive, indirect problem solving; external locus of control; emphasizing
group or environmental responsibility for problems and their resolution.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. /

THE RELIGIOUS COPING APPROACH

In  Western  societies,  coping  and  working  through  the  trauma  of  organized  violence  is
often  focused  on  an  intrapsychic  conflict,  a  developmental  disorder  of  personality,
“learned  behavior,”  and  introspection/memorizing  (internal  conflict).  In  non-Western
societies,  however,  there  is  less  focus  on  working  through  the  trauma  because  the
conflict  is  conceptualized  as  in  the  environmental,  situational  aspects  of  conflicts.  The
suffering  is  perceived  as  external  (often  somatic,  separated  from  personality),  with  the
consequent  projection/acting  out  (external  conflict),  and  splitting  off  (cyclical,  trans
forming) of the traumatic experience (Peltzer, 1996: 224ff.) (v. Table 1).

TABLE 1

omparison

Religious H

ealing

and

sychotherapeutic

pproaches

rauma

dapted

from

eltzer

, 1996: 224)

-W

estern

eligious

ealing

odern

estern

sychotherapy

(1)

Extemal/situative conflict;

Intrapsychic conflict;

Projection/acting out

Introspection/memorizing

(2)

Suffering perceived as external.

Developmental disorder of personality;

olten somatic, separated from personality

"learned behavior”

(3)

Splitting off

Becoming integrated

(Cyclical, transforming)

(linear. Id becomes Ego)

(4)

Integration

Individuation

(social harmony)

(subjective harmony)

The Non-Western Religious Healing Model

The application of the religious healing model to coping styles of trauma victims,
further delineated by the strategies recognized by Lee and Lu (1989), Cheung (1994),
and Marsella and Dash-Schere (1988), leads to the following categorizations:

Extemal/situative conflict; Projection/acting out: Focusing on new dreams and
new priorities; displaying apathy under stress; denial and silence; avoidance; projec
tion; inactive, indirect problem solving; self-action.

During  imprisonment  a  Buddhist  dreamed  one  night:  "I  was  walking  on  a  steep  rocky
mountain.  I  found  myself  falling  to  some  level  below.  As  I  was  lying  there,  I  dreamt  His
Holiness  the  Dalai  Lama  was  calling  to  me:  'What  are  you  doing  here?—come  up  I  will

help you. His Holiness pulled me up and as I was pulled up I awoke. And from there I got
the feeling that 1 was certain I would come out alive from my ordeal" (Mathiasen &
Ltitzerm 1993).

Malawian torture survivors use statements such as, "Mavuto anga onse ndichi-fukwa cha
iwo" (All my problems are because of them) or attribute their problems to witchcraft or

hatred. Examples for the latter are: “I have mistrust with the chairman of MCP. who is still
alive, that is why I am still in town," or "I am afraid he might bewitch me for he has failed
to remove my life by creating a story that I had links with rebels.”

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

Suffering perceived as external, often somatic, separated from personality: Soma
tization; optimistic fatalism; external locus of control.

Malawian  torture  survivors  use  metaphors  referring  to  optimistic  fatalism  like  Pukuti  ndi
zinthu  zoyendera  lamulo  (Since  they  are  things  which  move  by/with  the  law.  accept  things
as  they  are);  Ngakhale  zimachitika  ine  sinditaya  mtima  (Although  they  happen,  I  don't  lose
heart).

Splitting off(cyclical, transforming): Believing in “fate” and karma; regaining self-

worth through hard work; acceptance; perseverance; goal minimization.

Mathiasen and Lützer (1993) state that the law of karma implies that what a person
experiences in this life of suffering and happiness is caused by acts done previously
either in this life or an earlier one.

A  Tibetan  torture  survivor  said:  “When  I  was  subjected  to  this  kind  of  suffering,  I  felt  that
some  misdeed  which  1  had  committed  in  my  past  life  had  now  to  be  repaid,  and  I  used  to
wish  that  more  suffering  would  come  so  that  more  misdeeds  would  be  cancelled  away.  So
in  that  way,  I  was  able  to  bear  the  sufferings.  And  then  there  was  no  real  suffering  as  such.
The feeling was that the suffering was going away.”

Malawian  torture  survivors  use  metaphors  like  Ndimayesetsa  kuthamangitsa  rnaganizo  (I
try  to  chase  away  thoughts)  or  Maganizo  onse  amafufutika  (All  thoughts  get  rubbed  off/
erased).  Furthermore,  the  religiously  oriented  Jehovah’s  Witnesses  de-emphasize  the
trauma  by  putting  their  belief  in  God,  a  better  future  in  life  and  after  death  (paradise)  which
is  indicated  in  their  use  of  aphorisms:  Sindidzakusiya  pakuti  ndine  m  ’busa  wabwino  (I  shall
never  leave  you  for  1  am  a  good  shepherd);  Zonse  akudziwa  ndi  mulungu  (All  God  knows);
Ndiinakhulupilira  mulungo  yekha  (I  trust  God  only);  Mulungu  alibe  nazo,  amasamalira

anthu onse (God has nothing, does not care, he cares for all people); Nthawi inapita,

mulungu ndiye amadziwa zonse (time went, God knows all).

Integration (social harmony): Value being placed on sociability and affiliation;
subtle interpersonal strategies; emphasizing group or environmental responsibility
for problems and their resolution.

A twenty-three-year-old Buddhist: When I am subjected to all this kind of suffering, I feel
that I am not suffering for myself, but I am suffering for others too. So in that way even if

I am subjected to all this kind of beating and torture—somehow it's going to help others

(Mathiasen & Lützcr, 1993).

An Ecological View of Trauma Recovery

An ecological view of trauma recovery as proposed by Harvey (1996) also can be

applied usefully to the categorization and interpretation of the recovery from trauma
symptoms in Malawian torture survivors.

Authority over the remembering process

By reading the Bible the thoughts brush off.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

Whenever I remember about the past, I sometimes feel great lor having survived the trials
of Satan. The pain gets lessened. Psalm 55 Vs 22 reads: “Give all your troubles to God and
he will make you happy again.”

Affect tolerance

These people did not know what they were doing, due to evil spirits/Satan.

We always discuss things in a group so the thoughts of the past no longer pain me, for it

only expresses how Jehovah's Witnesses have triumphed over Satan's wish.

With  all  the  pains  that  I  have  had.  I  only  rush  for  the  Bible  since  it  gives  hope  for  the  future
and  it  is  the  source  of  comfort.  There  are  so  many  chapters  that  help  me,  and  one  of  them  is
Rev.  21  Vs  4-5;  it  gives  us  the  hope  that  "God  will  wipe  all  our  tears,"  meaning  that  he  shall

remove all diseases in the body, which really makes me strong.

Symptom mastery

I control by not walking alone for fear that other men would rape me again.

Medication.

Reduce sleeping problem because I read the Bible before sleeping.

Headaches are now decreasing because of the medication and faith in God.

As for my Christianity I quickly rush for the Bible and after reading I feel the thoughts

going down, being forgotten little by little.

Self-esteem and self-cohesion

This is my home country; a non-revenging attitude helps me a lot and I cope with prayers;

also the neighbours here accept us (give even free water).

I do not blame myself for my problems for it was written that because of Jesus’ name people

will suffer in different ways.

Jesus said, "He who will suffer because of my name will have eternal life." Now with that
I don't feel any shame and I don't feel any bad either.

There is nothing I did wrong. Jesus and his Apostles suffered a lot at the hands of others, so

with this experience of mine I feel jovial to have been one of the sufferers on this earth.

Safe attachment

Jesus said, “Forgive your enemies.” I do forgive them, but it’s they who do not have the
spirit of forgiving me.

Integration of memory/affect and “body"

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

Meaning making ("Why me”)

My problems have one meaning that is overcoming the temptations of Satan; that's why I

have solace in God.

As a Jehovah’s Witness I already learnt of this before it happened, so after happening, I

knew that it was its own fulfillment through our scriptures.

I ask myself thal "why did this happen to me?" Then I know that even before some people
had suffered the same, and that Jesus said that in time to come such and such things will
happen, and with me I don’t worry.

RELIGIOUS INTERVENTION

Religious intervention techniques have been used in the treatment of victims of
organized violence. The following examples illustrate their application to those
people who faced disappearance, death, rape, and PTSD.

Disappearance and Death

Mupinda (1995) describes traditional forms of coping in Zimbabwe with disappear

ances  of  people  who  left  the  country  to  join  the  liberation  movements  outside  the
country  and  did  not  return  after  the  war.  In  a  majority  of  cases,  it  is  not  known  whether
these  people  succeeded  in  joining  the  guerilla  movements  and  died  in  combat  or

whether they disappeared on the way to or from their destinations.

It should be noted that as far as the affected families are concerned, how the member

disappeared is of lesser consequence than the fact that they disappeared at all. The
spiritual consequences that emanate from a disappearance and the attendant ramifica

tions (whatever the circumstances of the disappearance) are what the families are

concerned  with  most  of  all.  Nonetheless,  clarification  of  the  fate  of  the  disappeared
member  is  a  vital  prerequisite  for  a  process  of  healing.  Healing  cannot  take  place  until
a  disappearance  has  been  resolved.  Death  must  first  be  established  or  confirmed.
Furthermore,  before  commencing  the  appropriate  rituals  of  bringing  the  spirit  of  the
dead  back  home  from  the  bush,  the  family  first  seeks  confirmation  of  death  through
various  means.  Families  of  the  disappeared  person  thus  frequently  put  forth  enormous
effort  and  expense,  including  consultations  with  traditional  healers,  to  discover  what
has  happened  to  the  missing  family  member.  It  is  believed  that  the  spirit  of  the
disappeared  member  can  possess,  and  speak  through,  a  living  family  member,  making
known  its  demands.  It  is  also  believed  that  the  fate  of  a  disappeared  member  can  be
revealed through dreams and visions of the person’s relatives.

In  Shona  family  life,  for  example,  death  has  very  important  social  and  spiritual
consequences.  All  death  (except  in  the  very  elderly)  is  seen  as  being  caused  by
malevolent  forces,  whether  these  emanate  from  the  family  or  from  outside  (e.g.,
witchcraft)  and  all  death  requires  appeasement  and  ritual  management.  Where  neither
the  body  nor  the  cause  of  the  death  can  be  ascertained,  it  is  expected  that  the  family

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

will experience negative consequences, usually in the form of further sickness, death,

or ill-fortune.

Divination  about  whether  the  person  is  alive  or  dead.  A  Madi  traditional  healer
from  Sudan  may  throw  the  cowrie  shells  six  to  eight  times  and  also  consult  the
ancestral  spirits.  As  a  result,  it  will  be  confirmed  whether  the  person  who  had
disappeared  is  alive  or  dead.  When  it  is  confirmed  that  the  person  is  alive,  then  the
patient  will  be  reassured  by  the  spirits  not  to  worry  and  that  their  person  will

eventually come. If the person is dead, three stages may be followed. Stage one: the
patient is prepared for the bad news: he or she is told that there is another problem

which is coming soon, observing the patient's reaction, and then the patient may be

told to come back another time so that one can communicate with the (dead) person.

During the second stage, the patient is told about the death of their relative. Some

times  the  patient  comes  back  and  finds  out  that  his  or  her  relative  must  have  died.
Then  the  cowrie  shells  are  thrown  to  confirm  that  the  person  has  died  and  consoling
words  are  uttered  to  the  patient  (money  given  previously  as  a  deposit  is  returned).  On
returning  home  the  patient  is  told  to  write  a  message  for  the  deceased  and  bum  it
together  with  some  herbs.  At  the  third  stage,  the  relatives  of  the  buried  person  consult
the  traditional  healer  in  order  to  find  out  the  cause  of  the  death  (e.g.,  curse  from  elders,

disagreements/envy, spirits were not brought home by ciders).

A  man  and  a  woman  consulted  a  Madi  healer  in  May  1995  about  their  son  who  had
disappeared  two  years  earlier.  He  was  heard  to  have  returned  to  Sudan  in  1992.  The
ancestral  spirits  of  the  healer  advised  them  not  to  go  to  Sudan  since  there  was  a  letter

coming to them. After a month they reported to the healer that they had received a letter

telling them that their son had died four days ago. Now they wanted to go and see the grave

of their son in Sudan. The ancestral spirits confirmed that they would go and come back

safely.

An example of a disappearance reported by a traditional healer in Malawi:

In 1971, people were taken by soldiers from Mozambique and disappeared completely.

Their relatives came to me and I did the following:

I collected some herbs composed of an old straw of sweet potato, and some top secret roots,

and  mixed.  In  the  mixture  was  also  a  tail  of  a  house  lizard  so  that  those  people  should
remember  home.  They  came  with  me  to  a  road  junction  in  the  evening  and  I  told  them  to
kneel  down  facing  the  direction  where  the  soldiers  passed.  While  in  that  position  I
instructed  them  to  wash  their  heads  while  simultaneously  saying:  “Sympathize  with  us  and

come back home.” After saying this they all came home with me leaving the container
upside down at the junction. They were told not to look back.

I gave them some medicine, called “Chimdima” (the darkness) in Chewa, to be put in the

porridge and each of them had to drink the stuff. They eventually reported that the people
were released by soldiers and that they were in the village now, except one woman who

became a wife of the gang leader. I called for them and the victims. I gave them some

"medicine to settle the mind” to drink, and they went back home.

Divination of family member(s) afflicted by spirits of disappeared/dead relative.

Family members may suffer from various mental and functional symptoms like

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

fainting, body weakness, feeling of running away, jerking body, headache, heart

palpitation, or being confronted with a lot of misfortunes.

Madi divination, Sudan:

Family  members  are  invited  to  sit  on  a  goat's  skin  on  the  floor.  Then  the  cowrie  shells  are
thrown  on  the  goat's  skin  about  six  times.  If  the  story  told  by  the  ancestral  spirits  is  about  a
family  member  who  was  not  buried  it  will  be  diagnosed  as  "Oritilindi  dri,"  which  means  a
spirit  of  a  deceased  family  member  who  died  away  from  home  is  seeking  to  reunite  with  the
family members.

A case from the Shona is described by Mupinda (1995):

Mr.  M.  has  a  “standard  two”  education  and  was  employed  as  a  dental  therapist  assistant
before  being  laid  off  during  the  war.  He  earns  his  livelihood  from  subsistence  farming.  He
was  informed  of  the  death  of  his  two  children,  soon  after  independence,  by  former  guerillas
from  his  village  who  had  witnessed  the  death  of  his  son  in  a  security  forces  ambush  on  the
border  with  Mozambique.  Some  comrades  had  also  witnessed  the  death  of  his  daughter  at
Chimoio,  Mozambique,  during  a  security  forces  raid.  After  receiving  the  news  and  being
overcome by grief Mr. M. did not consider that he needed to do anything about it.

He  had  not  experienced  any  unusual  problems  till  about  two  years  ago.  His  two  grandchil
dren  began  to  suffer  from  a  mysterious  illness.  They  had  nightmares  and  spoke  in  their
sleep.  They  also  reported  various  symptoms  but  no  disease  was  diagnosed  at  the  hospital.
Mr.  M.  also  reported  that  they  behaved  oddly.  These  occurrences  propelled  him  to  consult
traditional  healers  who  informed  him  that  these  problems  were  being  caused  by  spirits  of
his  two  children  which  sought  to  be  brought  back  home.  For  Mr.  M.  it  was  not  possible  to
find  the  dead  bodies  of  both  of  his  children.  His  daughter  had  been  buried  in  a  mass  grave
in Mozambique and his son's body had been ferried away by security forces.

Mr.  M.  reported  that  the  mysterious  illness  affecting  his  grandchildren  stopped  after  the
burial  rites  were  performed.  The  [grand-]children  were  also  no  longer  manifesting  strange
behaviors,  he  said,  while  pointing  to  the  two  graves  which  lay  side  by  side  on  an  anthill  in
a  field  to  the  west  of  the  homestead.  For  Mr.  M.  his  family  can  expect  to  enjoy  the  eternal
protection from his kin who have gone before him.

A case from the Madi:

A  woman  consulted  the  traditional  healer  with  her  thirty-year-old  son.  She  complained  that
her  grandchildren  were  always  sick  and  that  her  son  had  lots  of  misfortunes  especially  with
his  business.  The  ancestral  spirits  divined  that  all  these  things  happened  because  of  the
husband,  the  son's  father  who  was  killed  in  the  war.  He  had  been  shot  dead  and  thrown  into
a  river.  Therefore  the  father’s  spirit  were  bringing  all  the  misfortunes  to  her  son.  They  were
advised to perform the last funeral rite for the father.

Rituals to bring the spirit of the dead, home.

Shona culture:

Villages  are  invited  to  witness  the  symbolic  burial  of  a  goat's  head  wrapped  in  a  piece  of
white  cloth.  Together  with  items  of  clothing  belonging  to  the  disappeared,  the  goat’s  head
is  buried  in  a  proper  grave  with  the  respect  accorded  to  the  dead.  All  other  procedures  that

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

are normally conducted at the burial are followed including a cleansing ceremony where it
is believed that the spirits of the disappeared person will rise with the power of the spirit to
take their eternal place in the spirit world (Nyakadzimu) (Mupinda, 1995).

Madi culture:

A  Madi  healer  from  Sudan  reports:  First  a  tukul  has  to  be  erected  for  the  deceased.  Then
both  the  paternal  and  maternal  relatives  have  to  be  there,  including  the  uncle  of  the
deceased.  A  male  goat  has  to  be  slaughtered  and  part  of  the  meat  (hind  legs)  are  kept
overnight  hanging  in  the  tukul  meant  for  the  deceased....  Finally,  the  maternal  uncles  of
the deceased have to say a word of curse to avoid such happening.

In  the  absence  of  the  corpse  and  if  no  bones  of  the  deceased  can  be  discovered,  a  traditional
burial  with  a  fruit  called  "Nyumburi"  is  conducted.  The  Nyumburi  fruit  symbolizes  the
bones  or  corpse  of  the  deceased  closing  the  gate  of  death.  It  is  just  like  a  lock  ending  the
whole  thing  about  death  and  bringing  a  blessing  to  the  well-being  of  the  family  members.
During  the  funeral  rite  day  the  Nyumburi  fruit  is  buried  in  the  traditional  manner  corpses  are
buried  including  a  fireplace  set,  uncles  are  given  their  cigarettes,  and  the  previous  ash  of  the
fireplace collected and thrown off.

The family consultation may go as follows: The people related to the unburied person come

to  consult  to  find  out  if  there  are  any  problems  with  the  deceased  person,  e.g.,  incomplete
marriage  (agreed  bride  price  not  yet  paid)  or  problems  with  ancestors  sometime  back.  After
these  consultations  agreements  are  made  about  shortfalls  to  be  addressed,  a  prayer  is  held,
and a burial of the Nyumburi fruit is conducted.

A case in the Madi society:

A female refugee of forty years was brought to the traditional healer with mental confusion.
She liked to run away, and her body had been jerking during the past seven days. It was

divined  that  she  was  suffering  from  spirits  of  the  deceased  who  disappeared  during  the  war
called  "Ori  tilindri  dri.  ”  She  was  given  some  herbs  and  she  started  drinking  fluids  again.  A
ritual  was  performed  for  her  in  the  presence  of  the  relatives.  She  had  to  sit  down  on  a  chair
and  when  the  drum  was  beaten  she  jumped  up  to  dance.  A  male  goat  was  slaughtered  and
cooked.  Beer  was  brewed  and  a  pot  placed  in  the  mother's  home  to  represent  the  deceased
person. A small part of the food had to be put in that pot before anyone began to eat.

Westermeyer (1989) describes how grieving death at a distance presents special

problems.  Around  the  world,  funeral  practices  serve  a  mental  health  function  by
demonstrating  the  finality  of  the  event  (through  showing,  cremating,  or  burying  the
body),  through  mutual  support,  via  renegotiating  kith  and  kin  ties  to  replace  obliga
tions  to  and  support  from  the  deceased,  and  by  initiating  the  period  of  grief  work.  The
absence  of  a  corpse  and  a  funeral  ritual  undermines  this  culturally  supported  healing
process.  Grief  therapy  may  be  indicated  in  cases  of  missed,  complicated,  or  delayed
grief  reactions.  Patients  can  be  guided  in  the  process  of  grieving  by  urging  they  follow
these steps:

(1) Undertake an appropriate ritual despite the absence of a corpse (e.g., a Catholic

mass,  sitting  Jewish  shiva,  Theravada  Buddhist  ceremony  with  prayers  and  “cutting
strings"  for  the  deceased);  (2)  establish  a  symbolic  presence  of  the  deceased  for  a  year
or  longer  (e.g.,  an  Asian  ancestor  altar,  with  a  photograph  of  the  deceased,  his  or  her

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

favorite flowers, foods, or other objects); (3) discuss the deceased person with friends
and family, reviewing the person’s life, recalling happy as well as problematic events
in the person’s life.

Rape

Rape  victims  typically  complained  about  bodily  pains,  fear  of  having  contracted  a
venereal  disease,  fear  of  pregnancy,  and  PTSD  symptoms.  Herbal  treatments  were
given  for  bodily  pains,  treatment  or  preventions  of  a  venereal  disease,  and  PTSD
symptoms.

Rituals and prayers of cleansing are used for rape victims in Sudan and Malawi in
order to reduce bodily pains and PTSD symptoms. Cleansing rituals by a Madi
traditional healer are as follows:

If it happened in the bush: The father of the raped girl is to bring a goat to the stream with
the maternal uncle there. Call the name of the stream, pierce the goat to death in the bush,
and leave it to rot; take the intestines of the goat, tell the spirits of the river to go back.

If  it  happened  at  home:  The  girl  sits  on  a  special  stool,  drums  are  beaten  for  the  spirits  of  the
river  to  come  and  possess  the  girl  and  tell  the  audience  what  they  want  to  eat  like  greens,
peas,  chicken,  drinks.  When  this  happens,  they  bring  a  chicken  and  a  goat.  They  start
drumming  and  the  girl  goes  round  with  the  goat.  The  goat  is  killed  and  the  evil  spirits
transferred  to  the  goat  are  chased  away.  The  head  and  legs  of  the  goat  are  left  under  a  tree;

good spirits are called. The girl eats some of the goat and spits some out; the rest is eaten by

the community.

The  traditional  healer  goes  to  the  bush  where  everyone  can  see  and  shakes  a  rattle  called
tewe;  the  spirits  talk  loud  in  the  bush,  the  healer  will  ask,  "Are  you  all  here?  You  talk,  we
have  remained.  Thank  you,  go  home  in  peace."  In  the  process  the  husband  is  not  told  that
his  wife  has  been  raped.  If  she  became  pregnant  by  the  rapist,  the  child  is  believed  to
become a dead child.

A case in the Apostolic healing church, Malawi:

In  1975,  a  certain  woman  was  raped  by  an  MCP  Chairman  in  the  area  of  Mchesi  in
Lilongwe.  The  woman  did  not  hide  this  from  her  husband  who  openly  brought  the  case  to
us  (church  members).  Due  to  the  raping  she  believed  she  had  an  unknown  disease  causing
pain  in  the  genitals.  She  said  that  after  the  rape  she  immediately  had  bad  dreams  about  the

stressor, and sometimes had persecutory experiences. Even when she made love with her

husband, she sometimes remembered the pains of that traumatic experience.

The party chairman said that if this woman really respected the president and the party, she
had no chance of refusing the sexual intercourse because "A-Malawi sitisankhana

mlundu” (Malawians do not select each other’s tribe). Therefore love must not be refused

(in a bushy area). The church members called for the woman to conduct prayers together,
the reverend prayed: "Nothing is difficult before God and the Lord; we ask you to remove

all the bad things from this woman. We recall that Jesus, your son was tempted but he

succeeded. We also ask your Holy powers to descend and cleanse the woman. Almighty

God, remove the evil powers of the party leaders so that our woman must eventually be free

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

as every human being. May this party chairman be removed from the chair, almighty God.
But most of all, bring good health to this woman, bring good spirit on to her so that she must

realize your powers and never be tempted again.”

We prayed together for seven days, and every day the woman reported some good changes

until the pains stopped. She never remembered the rapist nor the incident. She became a

dedicated member of our church but later started going for party meetings again and the
marriage was broken.

PTSD (Treatments by Traditional Healers)

Ritual treatments: An example from the former Yugoslavia:

Loncarevic  (1995:  141  ff.)  describes  a  Bosnian  healer  who  uses  instrumental  medium
divination  which  leads  to  identifying  the  type,  origin,  and  symptoms  of  the  trauma  of
the  patient,  such  as  sleeping  problems,  nervousness,  anxiety,  and  similar  traumatic
symptoms.  Thereafter  with  the  help  of  Muslim  prayers,  rituals  are  performed  involv
ing  four  different  body  parts  (head,  chest,  knees,  and  feet).  For  each  body  part  a
particular  Koran  verse  is  recited  in  order  to  remove  the  fear  from  the  patient  starting
from  the  head,  and  moving  through  chest,  knees,  and  then  finally  exorcised  through
the  feet.  At  the  end  of  the  ritual  the  trauma  is  symbolically  extinguished  by  dipping

burning coal into a water bowl. The remaining ritual water will be given to the patient

for daily use, namely to wash the body reenacting the original exorcising ritual.

A case in Mozambique:

Junior Efraime (1993: 41) reports about a traditional healer who was consulted by a boy

who had killed people as a Ranamo soldier and now felt persecuted by the people he had

killed.  He  also  suffered  from  headache,  loss  of  appetite,  and  body  fatigue.  The  healer  told
the  boy  that  he  could  only  help  him  as  a  medium  between  the  killed  people  and  him.  Thus,
the  deceased  spoke  to  the  boy.  The  boy  apologized  for  what  he  had  done  and  added  that  he
had  been  forced  to  do  so.  The  deceased  demanded  material  compensation  from  the  boy;  he
should  go  and  see  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  and  look  after  them.  The  carthartic  effect
was  tremendous  for  the  boy  and  his  parents  who  also  attended.  They  followed  the  advicc  of
the  killed  persons.  Since  then  he  no  longer  suffered  from  nightmares  and  feelings  of  guilt.

He also found a meaning and something to do in his life.

COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO TRAUMA

Religious Counseling (Uganda-IPSER)

Following  the  assessment  of  spiritual  orientation  and  spiritual  practice  described  by
Hutton  (1994),  sixteen  counselors  in  Uganda-IPSER  were  surveyed  for  their  orienta
tions  and  practices.  Most  counselors  performed  or  attended  a  particular  spiritual
practice,  such  as  attending  services,  praying,  attending  a  spiritual  group,  reading
spiritual  material,  etc.  Most  felt  that  they  had  had  the  feeling  of  being  close  to  a
powerful  spiritual  force,  that  their  spiritual/religious  orientation  affected  their  coun
seling  practice,  and  that  it  was  important  for  the  counselor  to  have  a  regular  spiritual

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

or  religious  practice  (e.g.,  prayer,  fellowship).  The  commonly  applied  spiritual
counseling  techniques  were:  prayer,  discussions  of  spiritual/religious  issues,  recom
mending  specific  spiritual/religious  practice,  recommending  spiritual/religious  books
(The  Bible),  recommending  spiritual  (traditional  or  Christian)  rituals.  Two  counselors
described their approaches:

I use stories, cases, Bible quotations, proverbs, sayings, metaphors, etc., e.g., "Life is both

a  mixture  of  joy  and  sorrow”  or  “A  twelve-year-old  boy  lost  his  father;  he  was  shot  by
soldiers.  He  feels  he  is  ready  to  join  the  military  and  take  revenge.  He  suffers  from  sleepless
nights,  nightmares,  loss  of  appetite.  But  he  is  a  religious  boy  and  according  to  the  Bible,

‘one should not pay back evil with evil.' By joining the military and seeking revenge—the
father can't come back to life.”

I told her that I understood her problems, first that she had no children. Secondly, she was

a  devoted  Christian  but  then  she  lost  the  things  [her  possessions]  in  the  church.  Thirdly,  that
the  brothers  of  the  husband  somehow  persecuted  her.  So,  regarding  the  loss  of  utensils  in
ihe  church  I  told  her  that  it  was  nothing,  God  even  doesn’t  think  of  those  things—those

utensils don’t serve God, they actually serve us human beings, maybe those who go there to

serve Him. So many people have lost millions of things, talk of the priests themselves or the

Bishops, talk of Y. diocese, how many vehicles did they lose? how many houses, how much

property  did  they  leave?  Do  you  think  God  will  break  on  you  harder  than  breaking  on
those?  So  you  don’t  have  to  worry.  If  God  can  forgive  sinners,  people  who  are  killers,  and
this  and  that,  why  not  you?  It  was  not  your  mistake.  And  about  children,  don't  worry
because  there  are  many  people  also  barren.  It  may  not  be  your  problem,  maybe  it  could
have  been  that  because  of  the  confusion  there  was  no  time  to  follow,  to  take  you  to  a
hospital  (to  follow  up  what  was  wrong),  but  that  should  not  have  worried  you  because  your

husband loved you and you are able to raise children, whom if it were not because of death
would still point back and say that: “this is our stepmother," so you should have been happy
about that.

Regarding persecution, okay, your brothers-in-law are human beings who can have

reactions  like  any  other  person.  Of  course  the  brother  was  staying  with  you  in  Sudan,  and
they  themselves  were  safe  in  Zaire;  they  think  that  maybe  it  is  you  who  is  making  the
brother  not  come.  But  they  could  have  blamed  the  brother  instead  because  it  is  the  brother
who  should  have  told  you  where  to  go.  You  follow  the  man.  So  don't  take  these  things  so
seriously  because  they  will  break  you  down  more.  There  are  many  people  living  in  refugee
camps  but  if  all  of  them  were  seated  near  you  and  if  each  one  was  asked,  “what  is  your
problem?  what  is  your  problem?”  perhaps  you  would  come  to  find  that  there  is  somebody
who  is  carrying  a  more  weighty  problem.  We  are  not  trying  to  say  that  your  problem  is
little—your  problem  is  heavy.  It  needs  cooperation,  but  it  is  you  in  the  end  who  will
improve  your  problem.  I  may  talk,  but  if  you  don’t  take  the  words  I  tell  you  seriously,  then
it will not help.

ross-cultural Religious Counseling (Uganda-IPSER)

Since  he  is  a  believer  in  the  traditional  rites,  it  will  be  better  to  approach  the  elders  who
would  perform  rituals  so  that  he  gets  psychologically  free  because  his  two  brothers  were
killed  (which  he  witnessed)  unmarried,  such  that  their  spirit  will  not  allow  him  to  marry  or
have feelings for women.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

A fourtcen-year-old depressive girl: Some of her traumatic events were: when the SPLA

destroyed their home and chased them away, and then the loss of their elder sister, the

forced isolation from their grandfather when he left them, the death of their mother, the

death of her grandfather, and then dropping out of school.

The traumatic symptoms were: screaming and becoming unconscious, convulsions, head

aches, terrible nightmares about the grandfather, and not able to sleep in one house for

several days.

Then I went with the client to a traditional healer who divined that the girl had strong spirits

and that she was to become a diviner. The girl’s grandfather was a strong diviner, so the

grandfather  died  and  his  spirit  was  just  moving;  it  had  not  found  a  real  person  to  stay  with,
so  the  spirit  had  come  to  this  girl  and  did  not  go  back.  Normally,  rituals  had  to  be  done  so
that  she  can  become  a  traditional  healer,  but  since  the  girl  refused  as  she  was  still  young  and
going  to  school,  the  diviner  suggested  to  “detain”  the  spirits  to  heal  her  quickly.  Then  the
healer  organized  a  sacrificial  ritual  for  her  with  meat  of  a  cow  and  goat.  Some  people  were

there  drumming  and  then  she  was  given  a  spear  with  two  arrows.  They  drummed  for  a  short
time  and  she  became  possessed,  then  she  was  pushed  where  the  diviner’s  spirits  stayed.  She
was  told  to  kneel  while  facing  the  diviner's  spirit  place.  So  from  there  she  said  they  started
rolling  something  on  her,  starting  from  her  buttocks  towards  the  head  facing  the  diviner's
spirit  place.  They  did  that  four  times  until  she  fell  down  unconscious.  So  after  some  time
she  became  conscious—the  spirits  were  removed  from  her  and  transferred  to  the  diviner’s

place.

Since  then  she  only  had  one  nightmare  with  someone  talking  to  her  saying,  “If  you  don’t
accept  us,  you  are  not  going  anywhere."  The  healer  advised  her  that  if  you  have  such  a
dream  you  also  talk,  saying,  "I  am  young  and  I  don't  have  anybody  to  assist  me.  So  there  is

no place for you.”

So  when  the  client  came  to  me  1  also  advised  her  that  since  now  she  was  a  bit  okay,  she  was
able  to  go  to  school,  and  that  she  should  put  much  emphasis  on  the  studies  because  she  had
gone  back  to  class  seven  and  she  had  to  work  harder  in  order  to  pass.  After  one  year  follow-
up she was still doing fine in school.

Supervision (Uganda-IPSER)

A nineteen-year-old female pastoral worker complains of headaches, sleeping problems;
when she is alone she starts thinking too much and becomes sad. Now she cannot even go

to  school.  She  has  one  brother  who  is  older  than  her  and  three  older  sisters.  For  four  years
her  brother  used  to  send  her  school  fees,  but  this  year  he  stopped  and  instead  he  sent  her  a
dress.  She  feels  useless  and  believes  her  brother  hates  her.  Her  father  died  and  she  stays
with  her  mother  here.  Her  other  three  sisters  are  all  married  and  have  children.  She  tried  the
health centre several times and they gave her some aspirins, but there was no improvement.

Christian approach: Advise her to pay a visit and invite her brother so that she can forgive
him. In a Christian family, brother and sister assist each other and they care for each other's

burden.  However,  her  brother  may  have  just  migrated  to  town  and  she  could  see  that  he  was
still  helping  her  by  sending  clothes.  The  Bible  is  quoted  on  learning  how  to  forgive  each
other.  She  needs  to  forgive  w  ithout  anger  or  hatred.  She  should  accept  his  dress  and  put  her
brother  in  her  prayers  so  that  he  would  begin  to  pay  her  school  fees  again.  There  could  also

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

be “demons" of her dead grandfather troubling her and she would have to get the clergy

man to have them chased away.

Elders: Tell the family elders about the problem with her brother so that a message could be

sent to him.

Traditional healer: The spirit of her father was disturbing her, so beer needs to be brewed
for him. Her brother's wife was against her but she is assured that she will be protected from

these evil influences.

Social work: She should try to get involved in some income generating activities.

Later, upon evaluation she found the Christian approach most helpful for her.

Working Relationship with Traditional Healers

Counselor:

I have to see the healer, get the reports from their patients in order to know how those
healers work. Some healers do something good.

Mr. S. is a specialist in fractures, even doctors refer people to be taken to him.

I became an escort of a friend consulting an Islamic traditional healer, observed him to be
cured, participated even in a healing ritual without any negative effect on me.

I took my brother to an Islamic traditional healer, against the will of my father, to be healed.

Born-again Counselor A:

1 can escort a client on his own desire to the diviner.

Even if the healers do something good they still use evil powers, they themselves can inflict
illness on the client.

Our faith cannot prohibit us from seeing a herbalist, but a diviner |we cannot see] since he
uses spiritual powers which are against the Holy Spirit.

Born-again Counselor B:

As a young woman I found myself with a diviner, divining a lot of true things about me and

wanting to give me protective medicine. I became frightened when he showed me a snake.

I refused the medicine, since 1 was saved and not believing them.

I do not want to escort a patient to a traditional healer for fear of becoming enticed to
become a healer myself. Being involved in this is accepting satanic power and sinning
against the Lord.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

CONCLUSION

Traditional  and  spiritual  healers  use  ritual  therapies  that  help  victims  of  organized
violence  to  "regain  power,”  “cleanse  themselves,”  “decrease  shame,  guilt,  and  rage,"
and  use  purification  and  flashback/nightmare-reducing  herbal  treatments.  Rituals
allow the transformation of identity and the dissolution of undesired symptoms.

The different basic construction principles of the rituals used here, according to Kruse
and Dreesen (1995), can be described as:

A search for symbols, such as using a lizard; or the raped girl sits on a special stool; or
taking a herb called "wash your back” to cleanse the client; or a traditional drink
called “Chirova, ” to overcome war experiences.

Using all senses, e.g., prayers are spoken; a black chicken is hit on the person’s head

until it dies; burning a stone and putting the burnt stone into a mixture and as it

produces a hissing sound the client must drink so that as the stone cools, his heart must
be cooled again in order to remove the fear from him.

Involvement and choreography, such as the client is given some herbs to bathe at the

rubbish heap while saying, “Everybody crosses the path and also eats leaves, there
fore all the bad thoughts should be eaten up completely and forgotten.”

Instruction for and evaluation of group- and self-experience, such as burning coal into
a water bowl, drinking medicine with burnt stone, or the remaining ritual water being
be given to the patient for daily use.

Through ritual behavior, predictability, continuity, and control are sought. Many
different forms of ritual exist including healing, purification, reconciliation, mourn
ing/bereavement.

In  view  of  the  self-organization  theory  of  cognition,  rituals  are  of  central  importance
for  the  construction  of  individual  and  social  reality.  Psychologically,  rituals  produce
a  stable  basis  of  action  in  the  uncertainty  of  situational  change  and  in  the  complexity
of  social  events  (Kruse  &  Dreesen,  1995).  Gilligan  (1995)  explores  how  the  tradition

of healing rituals may be used in psychotherapy by proposing a four-step model: (1)

suggesting a ritual as a possible solution, (2) planning the ritual, (3) enacting the

ritual, and (4) post-ritual activities. In this way rituals allow the transformation of
identity and the dissolution of undesired symptoms.

Severe  psychological  trauma  can  dampen  or  destroy  interest  in  religion,  poetry,
philosophy,  history,  music,  or  other  subjects  in  which  the  survivor  formerly  found
comfort  and  meaning.  Restoring  pre-trauma  interests  or  developing  new  ones  in
artistic  or  spiritual  realms  can  help  survivors  put  their  experiences  into  perspective
and  reintegrate  themselves  into  the  larger  universe.  Doing  so  can  help  survivors
strengthen  coping  mechanisms  and  decrease  the  emotional  numbing  associated  with

trauma, as shown by Langford (1980).

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

Religion  offers  many  persons  comfort  and  strength  to  endure  pain.  Survivors  who
were  or  are  religious  may  find  that  their  religious  beliefs  can  help  them  cope  with  their
traumatic  experience  and  its  aftermath  and  may  even  give  new  significance  to  their
ordeal.  Clergy  or  therapists  of  the  same  religion  can  help  survivors  examine  their
experience  from  a  religious  perspective  and  come  to  terms  with  the  impact  their
experience  has  had  on  their  faith.  They  can  also  help  them  search  for  answers  to

questions  about  how  human  beings  can  do  such  terrible  things  to  each  other,  their  own
behavior  and  relationships  with  others  under  stress,  their  relationship  to  God,  God’s
role  in  their  ordeal,  and  death  and  immortality.  Such  guidance  may  be  especially
important for those who were persecuted because of their religion.

REFERENCES

zhar

, M.Z. & V

arma

, S.L. (1994). Religious psychotherapy in anxiety disorder patients.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 90: 1-3.

zhar

, M.Z. & V

arma

, S.L. (1995). Religious psychotherapy as management of bereavement.

Ada Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 91: 233-235.

okan

, J.A. & C

ampbell

, W. (1984). Indigenous psychotherapy in the treatment of a Laotian

refugee. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 35:281 -282.

heung

, P. (1994). Post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodian refugees in New Zealand.

The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 40: 17-26.

unningham

. M. & S

ilove

, D. (1993). Principles of treatment and service development for

torture and trauma survivors. In J.P. Wilson & B. Raphael (Eds.), International handbook
of traumatic stress syndromes (pp. 751-762). New York: Plenum Press.

esiarlais

, R., E

isenberg

, L. G

ood

, B. & K

einman

, A. (1995). World mental health: Prob

lems and priorities in low-income countries. New York: Oxford University Press.

illigan

, S.G. (1995). Rituelle Übergänge in neue Identitäten. Hypnose und Kognition, 12:

25-39.

arvey

, M.R. (1996). An ecological view of psychological trauma and trauma recovery.

Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9: 3-24.

utton

, M.S. (1994). How transpersonal psychotherapists differ from other practitioners: An

empirical study. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 26(2), 139-174.

ohnson

, D.R., F

eldman

, S.C. & S

outhwick

, S.M. (1995). The therapeutic use of ritual and

ceremony in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 8:
282-298.

unior

fraime

, B. (1993). Erlebcn und Verarbeiten von Kriegsereignissen bei mosambika-

nischen Kindern. Berlin, Humbolt Universitat: Diplomarbeit.

ruse

, P. & D

ressen

, H.N. (1995). Zur psychologischen und sozialen Funktion des Rituals.

Hypnose und Kognition, 12: 2-10.

angford

, A. (1980). Working with Cambodian refugees: Observations on the Family Prac

tice Ward at Khao I Dang. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 12(2), 117-126

Lee, E. & Lu, F. (1989). Assessment and treatment of Asian-American survivors of mass

violence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2: 93-120.

oncarevic

, M. (1995). “MIR” (sebokratisch "Frieden” und “innere Ruhe”): Soziokulturelles

Integrationsprojekt für bosnische Flüchtlinge im Kanton Aargau (Schweiz). In G. Perren-

Klingler (Ed.), Human reaction to trauma: From therapy to the mobilization of resources

(pp. 121-152). Bern: Haupt.

arsella

, A.J. & D

ash

-S

cheuer

, A. (1988). Coping, culture, and healthy human develop

ment: A research and conceptual overview. In P.R. Dasen, J.W. Berry & N. Sartorius

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

(Eds.), Health and cross-cultural psychology: Towards applications (pp. 162-178). Lon
don: Sage.

arsella

, A.J., F

riedman

, M.J. G

errity

, E.T. & S

curfield

, R.M. (Eds.). (1996). Ethno

cultural aspects of post-traumatic stress disorders: Issues, research and clinical applica
tions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

athiasen

, S.S. & L

utzer

, S. (1993). Violations of human rights in Tibet: Healing in the

Tibetan exile community. In S.B. Jensen & P. Christensen (Eds.), Trauma, transformation
and healing (pp. 77-84). Aalborg: Center for Psychosocial and Traumatic Stress.

eichenbaum

, D. (1994). A clinical handbook/practical therapist manual for assessing and

treating adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Waterloo, Ontario: Institute

Press.

upinda

, M. (1995). Loss and grief among the Shona: The meaning of disappearances. Paper

presented at the "Vllth International Symposium on Torture as a challenge to the medical
profession,” Cape Town, November.

Peltzer, K. (1996). Counselling and psychotherapy of victims of organised violence in

sociocultural context. Frankfurt/M.: IKO Verlag.

unamaki

, R-L. (1986). Stress among Palestinian women under military occupation: Women's

appraisal of stressors, their coping modes, and their mental health. International Journal of

Psychology, 21: 445-462.

esti

, P. & K

astrup

, M. (1992). Psychotherapy for torture survivors. In M. Basoglu (Ed..),

(pp. 348-362).

esti

, P., S

omnier

, F. & K

astrup

, M. (1992). Psychotherapy with torture survivors: A report

of practice from the rehabilitation and research center for torture victims (RCT),
Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen: IRCT.

estermeyer

, J. (1989). Psychiatric care of migrants: A clinical guide. Washington, DC:

illiams

, C.L. (1991). Toward the development of preventive interventions for youth trauma

tized by war and refugee flight. In F.L. Ahcarn & H.L Athey (Eds.), Refugee children:

Theory, research, and services (pp. 201-217). Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University

Press.

Requests for reprints to: Prof. Dr. Karl Peltzer, University of the North, Dept, of Psychology Private Bag

XI106, Sovenga 0727 South Africa.

The Role of Religion in Counseling Victims of Organized Violence

BUDDHIST TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCE
WITH EXTREME MENTAL STATES

IN WESTERN MEDITATORS

Lois VanderKooi
Boulder, Colorado

In  the  past  thirty-five  years,  Buddhism  and  its  sophisticated  meditation  practices  have
attracted  a  large  number  of  Western  students,  especially  those  in  search  of  a  psycho
logically  oriented  spirituality.  Based  on  descriptive  and  qualitative  research,  this
paper  focuses  on  extreme  mental  states  that  can  occur  in  emotionally  fragile  Western
students  undergoing  intensive  meditation  and  the  adaptations  that  teachers  have  made
to  deal  with  these  difficulties.  Implications  for  the  clinical  use  of  meditation  will  also
be addressed.

BUDDHIST BASICS

Goals and Methods of Practice

Freud  approached  Eastern  practices  with  misgiving,  equating  mystical  states  with
“oceanic  feelings”  and  a  search  for  “restoration  of  limitless  narcissism”  and  the
“resurrection  of  infantile  helplessness”  (Freud,  1961,  p.  72).  As  Epstein  (1986,  1988,

1995) points out, Freud was unaware of Buddhist methods and goals which involve

the dismantling of narcissism and the notion of inherent selfhood. The process of
reaching nirvana or the “Absolute” (italicized terms are defined in the glossary) is far
from blissful, and nirvana is far from narcissistic grandiosity and self-absorption.

Buddhist  training  involves  moral  discipline  (shila)  to  increase  wholesome  states  of
mind,  training  in  concentration  and  mindfulness  (samadhi),  and  training  in  wisdom  or
insight  into  the  true  nature  of  phenomena  (prajna)  (Brown,  1986;  Goleman,  1988).

The ultimate fruit of training is to end suffering by realizing the Four Noble Truths:
that life is basically unsatisfying, that suffering is caused by attachment arising from

ignorance about the nature of reality, that suffering can cease with release from
clinging, and that freedom is realized by living the Noble Eightfold Path: right

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concen

tration. The three major defilements conditioning worldly existence, namely attach

ment  (lust,  desire,  greed),  aversion  (hatred,  anger,  and  aggression),  and  ignorance  are
overcome  with  realization  of  shunyata.  Shunyata  or  “emptiness”  is  difficult  to
describe  and  explain,  and  there  are  doctrinal  differences  as  to  its  meaning  (Hopkins,

1983). It involves the “middle way” in that both inherent or independent existence and

total non-existence are refuted. Through insight into the components of experience,

one realizes that there is no “inherently existing I” and appreciates the representa

tional and relative nature of reality (Epstein, 1989, 1990). One adopts neither an

absolutistic  stance  involving  belief  in  an  eternal  principle  (godhead,  self,  eternal
beyond)  nor  a  nihilistic  stance  involving  belief  in  voidness.  One  realizes  that  phenom
ena  are  interdependent  and  mutually  condition  each  other.  Realizing  shunyata  and
interdependence,  one  lives  with  equanimity,  wisdom,  and  compassion,  fearless  and
awake  to  each  moment  of  life.  “In  its  true  state,  mind  is  naked,  immaculate  ...  not
realizable  as  a  separate  thing,  but  as  the  unity  of  all  things,  yet  not  composed  of  them;
of  one  taste,  and  transcendent  over  differentiation"  (Evans-Wentz,  1969,  p.  211).  It

should  be  noted  that  there  are  degrees  of  enlightenment,  and  full  enlightenment  is
more  an  ideal  than  an  attainable  reality.  Brown  and  Engler  (1986)  found  it  extremely
difficult  to  find  people  who  had  attained  the  last  two  paths  of  enlightenment  (Non-
returner and Arhat) as outlined in early (Theravadan) traditional literature.

Buddhist meditation can be divided into two major branches, samatha, which stabi

lizes the mind, and vipassana, which is uniquely Buddhist and the basis of insight

(Goleman, 1972a, 1972b; Gunaratana, 1985/1992; Lodro, 1992; Sole-Leris, 1986).

Samatha  practices  involve  concentrating  on  a  prescribed  object  to  attain  tranquility
and  absorption.  The  mind  gradually  withdraws  from  all  physical  and  mental  stimuli
except  the  object,  and  the  usual  conceptual  mode  of  thinking  is  suspended.  Mindful
ness  is  used  to  guard  against  active  senses  and  thoughts,  which,  on  the  one  hand,

scatter  the  mind,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  lend  to  a  passive  dullness  which  prevents
clarity  and  focus.  Body  and  mind  become  pliable  as  one  progresses,  and,  in  the  end,
one  experiences  samadhi  or  dwelling  effortlessly,  mind  unified  with  object.  In  the

Theravadan tradition, once adequate mindfulness and concentration are achieved,

vipassana  meditation  begins.  This  involves  paying  “bare  attention”  to  the  rising  and
passing  away  of  phenomena.  One  fully  and  precisely  examines  sensory  and  mental
processes,  moment  by  moment,  to  realize  the  nature  of  phenomena—impermanent
(anicca),  unsatisfactory  (dukkha),  and  lacking  inherent  essence  or  self  (anatta).  It  is
said  that  one  of  these  marks  of  existence  can  serve  as  the  gateway  to  nirvana  and
liberation from suffering.

As  outlined  by  the  Visuddhimagga  (a  fifth-century  work  that  supposedly  collects  the
Buddha’s  teachings  on  meditative  states),  the  process  of  realizing  nirvana  is  fraught
with  troubling  and  sometimes  excruciating  states  (Brown  &  Engler,  1986;  Namto,

1989; Nyanamoli, 1976). Initially, confusion, hallucinations, disturbing feelings, and

involuntary movements can occur as one gains knowledge of mental and physical

states through increasing concentration and mindfulness. As samadhi is achieved,
“pseudo-nirvana” experiences of rapture, tranquility, and bliss can be accompanied

by frightening images, uncomfortable body sensations such as itching, heat, and

stiffness, and gastrointestinal problems of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Then,

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

sadness, irritability, extreme fear, and a deep sense of the insipid nature of life may
manifest as one becomes more and more aware of the arising and passing away of

phenomena.  A  desire  for  deliverance  can  emerge,  and  one  may  wish  to  discontinue
practice.  For  example,  the  body  may  itch  as  though  being  bitten  by  ants.  Later,  when
deciding  to  practice  to  completion,  one  may  feel  odd  sensations  such  as  being  slashed

by a knife. Finally, as equanimity is achieved and mindfulness and concentration

become balanced and natural, practice becomes smooth and one may be able to
meditate for hours.

There are many types of meditative practices, and even within the major divisions of
Theravada (Southeast Asia), Zen (China and Japan), and Tibetan (Himalaya region)

traditions, practices vary. Theravada practices (see e.g., Goldstein, 1987; Goldstein &
Kornfield, 1987; Komfield, 1977; Namto, 1989; Nhat Hanh, 1987) usually involve

detailed mindfulness of the aggregates which constitute personality, namely those of

form (body senses, postures, and movement) and mind (feelings of pleasantness,
unpleasantness, or neutrality, perception, mental states and contents, and conscious

ness  itself).  Initial  practice  involves  developing  concentration  and  mindfulness  by
alternating  periods  of  sitting  and  walking  meditation.  The  meditator  focuses  on  the
breath,  then  other  sensations  while  sitting,  and  on  the  components  of  movement  while
walking  slowly.  When  the  mind  wanders,  mental  noting  is  used  to  return  to  mindful

ness. For example, when distracted by sound, the meditator notes “hearing” versus
becoming lost in thoughts about the sound. Gradually, as skill develops, other objects

are the focus, and the meditator develops “bare attention” or an awareness of

phenomena without the usual self-consciousness and conceptual-perceptual elabora
tions. For example, in seeing or hearing something, one may see only color or hear
vibrations.

Zen practices tend to focus more on concentration than detailed mindfulness, at least

initially.  Meditators  are  usually  instructed  to  focus  on  the  breath,  first  counting  it  and
later  just  being  aware  of  it  without  letting  the  mind  wander.  In  the  Rinzai  tradition,
once  sufficient  concentration  is  achieved,  a  koan,  or  question  impervious  to  solution

by logic, may be assigned. Some well-known initial koans are Chao-Chou’s dog

(Mu), the sound of one hand clapping, and your original face before your parents were

born.  The  meditator  becomes  absorbed  in  the  koan  and  eventually  experiences  kensho
or  breakthrough  to  an  intuitive,  nonconceptual  experience.  After  that,  other  koans  arc
assigned  to  deepen  and  extend  the  enlightenment  experience  (Loori,  1992).  Shikan-
taza  or  “just  sitting”  is  an  alternative  route  and  involves  mindfulness  as  well  as
concentration  by  simply  watching  thoughts  and  sensations  come  and  go  (Goleman,

1972b). Rather than striving for kensho, proper posture and breathing are stressed,

both to unify body-mind and to cut through attachment to the thinking mind. In both

koan and shikantaza practices, attachment to thoughts lessens and then stops, and then

the thinker too may disappear. Eventually, after years of practice, shunyata may be
realized, and this realization penetrates daily life.

Tibetans utilize initial practices similar to those of Theravada and Zen except that they
do not use koans (Gen Lamrimpa, 1992; Gyatso, 1991; Lodro, 1992; McDonald,

1984; Wangchen, 1987). Some schools emphasize philosophical analysis and study of

texts, considering these as meditation because they help create wholesome states of

Buddhist Teachers ’ Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators

mind  and  lay  a  foundation  for  later  realization.  Mandalas,  visualizations,  mantras,
polytone  chanting,  and  complicated  rituals  are  also  used,  which  in  conjunction  with
Tibetan  cosmology  and  understanding  of  mind,  can  make  practice  complex  indeed

(Goleman, 1972b). At advanced stages, more esoteric Tantric practices may be

undertaken. Involving primal energy and emotion, these supposedly are quick paths

to  enlightenment  (i.e.,  they  take  only  one  lifetime)  and  provoke  a  wakefulness  that  is
sharp  in  its  ability  to  cut  through  habitual  mind  and  pride.  Because  they  can  be
dangerous  and  involve  psychotic-like  experiences,  these  practices  require  the  guid
ance  of  a  qualified  teacher,  and  adequate  ego  strength  and  foundation  in  philosophy
and meditation on the part of the practitioner.

STUDY RESULTS

Western psychology has usually focused on the short-term physiological and psycho

logical benefits of meditation outside of a Buddhist context (see e.g., Carrington,

1977; Shapiro, 1982; West, 1987). As mentioned above, this study focuses on the

experience of Buddhist teachers in dealing with problematic states that occur in some

students during intensive meditation, some examples of which are described. Tradi

tionally, although dealing with nonordinary states of consciousness (NSC) that occur

during  meditation,  Buddhists  did  not  deal  much  with  extreme  mental  states,  such  as
psychosis,  because  very  troubled  people  were  restricted  from  entering  practice.  With
a  focus  on  how  prana  or  energy  moves  through  channels  in  the  body,  Tibetan  teachers
probably  have  the  most  complex  understanding  of  how  extreme  mental  states  can
occur  during  meditation  which  is  improperly  done  or  excessive  (Epstein  &  Rapgay,

1989). Buddhists also have not traditionally focused on dealing with students'

personal  history,  emotions,  and  relationship  problems.  These  have  become  more
pertinent  in  the  practice  of  Western  students  who  often  turn  to  meditation  for
psychological  relief  and  help  with  problems  in  these  areas.  Brown  and  Engler  (1986)
note  that  unlike  people  in  the  East,  many  Westerners  practice  a  form  of  self-
exploratory  therapy  while  meditating  and  consequently  fail  to  develop  the  concentra
tion and mindfulness which is necessary for formal meditation.

Descriptive  and  phenomenological  research  methods  were  used  in  this  study  because
of  1)  the  historical  and  cognitive-subjective  nature  of  the  data,  2)  difficulties  in
measuring  such  data  “objectively”  and  in  using  a  rigorous  research  design,  and  3)  the

study’s exploratory nature (Polkinghome, 1989). Semi-structured interviews were

conducted with a total of twelve experienced and sanctioned teachers, four each from
Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan traditions, and four college-educated meditators who

had major difficulties with meditation and volunteered to talk about their experience.
Subjects were recruited through therapist and Buddhist contacts in Colorado. The

teachers  were  asked  about  their  meditation  techniques  and  process  and  their  experi
ence  with  handling  both  vulnerable  meditators  and  extreme  mental  states.  The
meditators  were  asked  about  their  spiritual  and  psychological  history  and  about  the
difficulties  they  encountered.  Besides  interviewing  these  subjects,  the  author  attended
nine  meditation  retreats  led  by  various  Theravada,  Zen,  and  Tibetan  teachers  to  gain
personal experience with the meditation retreat milieu.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

Three vignettes are presented to illustrate the range of motivations, personality

structure, and experiences that meditators may have, and then teacher experiences are
summarized to illustrate how they have adapted meditation practices to deal with

meditator difficulties. Identifying information has been changed to protect confiden
tiality.

Meditator Experience (Three Vignettes)

Cracking the shell: Quest of unraveling. Sara comes from an upperclass, ambitious

family,  which  has  no  history  of  major  mental  illness.  Her  father,  a  successful
businessman,  wanted  Sara  to  follow  in  his  steps.  She  accordingly  began  work  on  a
MBA,  which  was  antithetical  to  her  true  desire  to  be  an  artist.  In  college,  she  generally
felt  depressed,  saw  a  therapist  a  few  times,  and  frequently  turned  to  alcohol.  She  had
an  experience,  however,  while  writing  a  paper  about  Blake,  that  everything  was  in  her

mind. This was freeing, and she felt that she had glimpsed a higher state of conscious
ness. After a year of misery in graduate school, she dropped out and turned to Zen,

which was attractive because its simplicity and meditation practice promised freedom

of mind despite life circumstances. Also, the Zen meditators seemed to constitute a
more like-minded, understanding family than her family of origin.

Sara  began  working  odd  jobs  and  participating  in  all  the  activities  of  her  Zen  center.
She  attended  morning,  evening,  and  all-night  sittings  and  seven-day  retreats.  The
center  was  large,  and  she  was  “just  a  beginner,”  which  meant  that  she  did  not  have  a

position or duties. The center had a hierarchy of students with senior students playing

major roles. Those who had “broken through” wore a special cloth, setting them apart.

An “all or nothing” attitude pervaded the atmosphere, and people were encouraged to

go to the extreme of practice. It was believed that the harder one worked, the longer
and more one-pointedly one focused in meditation, the more likely one would

experience kensho. The teacher, an American trained in Japan, was generally distant

and formal. Sara admired him from afar, and they did not know each other well. She
only talked with him during retreat interviews in which the teacher guides and tests

each student’s progress in meditation.

Sara does not remember whether students were screened in terms of their ability to

handle  meditation  (this  was  in  the  mid-1970s).  She  said  that  one  “had  to  be  a  good  and
devoted  sitter”  to  attend  a  retreat.  She  never  felt  at  risk  in  sitting  strenuously  and  sat  at
least  two  hours  a  day  when  not  in  retreat.  She  had  no  problems  until  the  retreat  that
preceded  her  psychotic  break.  That  retreat  occurred  after  she  had  seriously  meditated
for  a  year  and  a  half.  It  was  a  seven-day  retreat  following  another  seven-day  retreat
that had ended a week before.

The  retreat  was  intense.  Sara  meditated  day  and  night  with  breaks  for  meals,  chanting,
work,  and  rest  during  the  day  and  breaks  for  juice  at  night.  She  said  that,  fiercely
intent  on  going  deeper,  she  was  able  to  sit  full-lotus  and  did  not  experience  pain.  She
had  intense  makyo  (nonordinary  sensations,  perceptions,  and  emotions)  but  did  not
fear  going  crazy.  The  makyo  involved  mostly  positive  imagery  except  near  the  end,

Buddhist Teachers’ Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators

when there were demon-like faces. She also experienced going down a shaft, opening
doors to different realities. At the end, she experienced an overwhelming sense of

holiness and felt she had tapped into universal mind. She was able to let the makyo go

and was sure she had broken through, as she could answer most of the teacher’s
questions, and he hugged her and seemed to appreciate her experience.

Following the retreat, Sara told others that she had broken through. Word got back to

her  teacher,  and  he  told  her  otherwise.  She  thought  that  he  just  wanted  her  to  go
deeper,  so  meditated  more.  She  experienced  being  like  a  bird  in  an  egg,  tapping  to  get
out.  and  suddenly  she  heard  tapping  from  the  other  side.  She  felt  that  God  was

revealing Himself and tapping to free her, and she was ready to "throw herself into the

fire  of  consciousness  to  break  through  to  His  love.”  That  was  when  she  consciously
decided  to  let  her  mind  go.  After  that,  everything  seemed  symbolic  and  had  cosmo
logical  dimensions.  She  found  her  mind  racing  as  she  tried  to  figure  everything  out.
She  thought  and  thought  and  wandered  around  looking  for  her  teacher,  who  she
believed  was  God.  Finally,  she  was  hospitalized  and  received  antipsychotic  medica
tion.

In the next few years, Sara went on and off medication and required further hospital

ization. She returned to the Zen Center, but did not heed advice to take her medication,
and eventually was not allowed to be there. She thought that she was going through an

enlightening experience and did not understand people’s concern. She felt hurt that

they pushed her away.

Sara’s  experience  in  the  mental  health  system  was  taxing.  Few  understood  her
experience  and  most  were  condescending.  She  felt  that  her  mind  was  “unraveling,”
with  all  the  major  fears,  desires,  and  “skeletons  from  the  past”  emerging  into
consciousness.  She  was  helped  most  by  a  Buddhist  psychiatrist  who  acknowledged
the  value  and  spiritual  dimension  of  her  experience  and  helped  her  remain  grounded
with medication and questions about mundane things.

Sara  received  a  diagnosis  of  schizophrenia.  In  trying  to  understand  her  experience,
she  assumes  that  she  has  some  genetic,  biochemical  proclivity  for  psychosis  and  that
her  lack  of  control  over  the  unraveling  resembled  schizophrenia.  At  the  same  time,  the
spiritual  quest  and  her  sense  of  release  from  past  karma  seemed  different.  Once  the
“unraveling”  was  complete,  she  felt  more  stable  and  peaceful  than  ever  before  and
was able to discontinue medication.

Currently  Sara  meditates  an  hour  a  day.  She  follows  her  breath,  thinks  about  things
(though  not  in  the  prior  searching  way),  and  listens  to  her  inner  life.  She  lives  alone
and  tries  to  live  according  to  her  ideas  of  simplicity  and  mindfulness.  She  believes  that
more  intense  meditation  would  be  harmful.  She  also  feels  her  spirituality  is  closer  to
Christianity  at  this  point,  in  part  because  of  her  experience  of  God  tapping  at  her  shell.
She  says  that  she  does  not  often  share  her  unique,  personal,  and  somewhat  mystical
spiritual beliefs with others.

Terror alone: Snapping and song yet unsung. Ada grew up in a “workaholic” home
with parents too busy and striving to pay attention to a little girl. Sweets were

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

soothers, and “happy and good” were the ways to be. As an infant, she was left to cry

for hours, and she remembers three times of terror as a young child when she did not
know where she was while in a familiar place. As a teenager, she experienced ecstasy
while intensely writing poetry, which she felt was an avenue to a different type of
consciousness.

Ada’s  involvement  in  meditation  began  in  1967  with  TM  (Transcendental  Medita
tion),  which  helped  calm  her  after  a  breakup  with  the  “love  of  her  life,”  Paul.  Nine
months  later  she  entered  a  year-and-a-half  practice  of  Vedanta,  a  form  of  Hindu
mysticism,  which  involved  meditating  on  a  spiritual  passage.  Ada  “upped  the  ante”
after  reading  books  by  Watts  (1957)  and  Kapleau  (1965/1989)  which  describe  Zen
enlightenment  experiences.  She  began  practicing  in  earnest  after  meeting  a  Japanese

Zen master in 1970 who was “dear and warm.” Paul, also excited about Zen, came

back into her life, and they sat and studied regularly with a group. It was a “high” time.

Ada was attracted to the “intensity, high drama, and do or die effort” of Rinzai Zen. It

felt  good  to  “bust  her  butt”  and  survive  the  pain  of  extended  sitting.  She  does  not
remember  which  practice  her  teacher  taught,  but  knows  that  she  pushed  herself  to  the
limit.  She  took  his  words  “just  sit”  to  heart  after  seeking  his  help  regarding  a  career  in
opera  and  a  failed  relationship  with  Paul.  Thinking  that  her  problems  would  be  solved
if  she  became  enlightened,  she  meditated  as  much  as  possible.  She  attended  at  least
one  extended  retreat  a  month  with  various  teachers.  When  not  in  retreat,  she  sat  for  at
least  four  hours  a  day  and  otherwise  tried  to  remain  in  the  moment.  She  felt  peaceful
and  loving,  more  like  herself  than  ever  before.  Veils  fell  from  her  eyes,  and  she
experienced  “everything  just  as  it  is.”  Yet,  she  still  was  unsure  about  her  career.
Conversations  with  others  seemed  trivial,  and  she  cut  off  relationships  and  discontin
ued  therapy.  In  retrospect,  she  thinks  that  her  practice  was  an  evasion  of  painful
feelings, which would make themselves known at some point.

After six months of such practice, Ada attended a ten-day Theravada retreat involving

concentration and mindfulness practices done alone in one’s room. The teacher
checked on each person daily and gave group talks. Ada had intense makyo during the

retreat:  crackling  electricity  traveled  up  and  down  her  spine,  and  she  felt  profoundly
relaxed  as  she  recalled  early  memories  of  sounds  and  sights.  Near  the  end  of  the
retreat,  she  woke  to  an  “absolute  state”  that  she  believed  was  kensho.  First  came
cosmic  pulsation  with  things  flowing  towards  a  single  point  and  erupting  back
through  it.  Then  appeared  a  sheet-like  image  with  elements  of  reality  floating.  As  she

looked at them, she realized that they were her and that there was nothing in the
universe except her. Rather than joy, she felt extreme fear and loneliness. The next

morning, when she yearned for affirmation and advice, her teacher responded, “Now
you know that you’re afraid of being alone.”

After  the  retreat  and  during  the  month  prior  to  her  “breakdown,”  Ada  had  another
unbearable  experience  of  loneliness.  She  also  took  LSD  for  the  third  time  in  her  life
and  had  a  “terrifying  trip”  that  involved  disintegrating  into  bones.  She  willed  herself
out  of  that  by  refusing  to  accept  it.  She  also  was  deeply  “grabbed”  (influenced)  by

Janov’s “Primal Scream,” and thought that if she reached and released her primal

energy, she would be free. Then something “snapped,” and she felt tremendous grief,

Buddhist Teachers' Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators

then rage and terror. Only months later did she connect this experience to her grief
about losing Paul.

The  next  few  years  were  like  “heavy  labor  with  no  rest”  and  “being  in  a  tunnel  without
light.”  Ada  could  not  talk  about  her  pain  and  felt  that  people  would  lock  her  up  if  she
did.  She  reentered  therapy  and  tried  other  things  as  well:  encounter  and  therapy
groups,  energy  and  body  work,  and  Arica  training,  which  involves  meditation,  yoga,

body work, and psychological processing. The therapies never quite enabled her to

reach and release her core problem. She also meditated and attended retreats, but
found that her energies were too high to feel safe with meditation. She did not know

how  to  transition  back  into  the  world  of  ordinary  experience.  She  met  with  a  Zen
teacher  who  was  also  a  psychoanalyst,  but  was  not  able  to  heed  her  advice  because  she
(Ada)  was  too  “freaked  out”  and  emotionally  disconnected.  This  teacher  affirmed  her

kensho and “ripe” concentration practice, but advised that she needed more balance—

work, singing, and a light meditation practice. Throughout this difficult period, she
experienced one sign of hope: a dream of herself holding a tennis racket that
resembled an Ankh, Egyptian sign of life.

Twenty years later and after even more therapy, Ada still struggles. She believes that

she  has  a  borderline  personality  disorder  and  agrees  with  Engler’s  (1986)  idea  that
you  cannot  go  beyond  yourself  until  you  have  a  self.  She  does  not  meditate  much  for
fear  of  what  might  come  up  but  has  worked  with  a  Theravada-Zen  teacher  who
meditated  with  her,  demystified  “enlightenment,”  and  gave  her  feedback  about  her

meditation. The technique of noticing what is prominent in the body and being with it
helped her with pain a few times and offers hope. Ada says that when she first

practiced, teachers were not psychologically sophisticated enough to ask about

students’ lives or to process emotional issues. She believes that she could have

benefited from a moderate, gentle practice and advice to work, sing, and learn to relate

better. “I needed someone to investigate my big hurry and terrible race toward

enlightenment, and to say that I was running from something.”

Lost in thought: Twenty-four-hour practice. Rose’s family history involves mental

illness: two siblings suffered psychosis or suicidal impulses, and her father, a physi

cian and researcher, is riddled with phobias and compulsions. Rose’s first psychotic

episode occurred when she was nineteen and her second a year later. They were

triggered by relationship stresses involving family and two gestalt therapists who she

experienced as using her to work on their marital problems. The third occurred at age

thirty-seven and the fourth at age thirty-nine. These related to not knowing her limits

and becoming overextended and “lost” without realizing it. The last involved medita
tion, a “twenty-four-hour practice” as Rose calls it.

Rose first read a Buddhist book in her mid-twenties. She likes philosophy, thinking
about mind and spirituality, and is interested in other cultures, and found Buddhism

intellectually stimulating. Also, she felt frustrated with her psychosis and disliked the

“deadening”  effects  of  medication.  She  saw  that  TM  helped  a  friend  become  less
flighty  and  more  able  to  be  alone,  and  she  hoped  that  meditation  would  help  her  gain
control  of  her  mind  and  be  more  content  with  herself.  She  did  not  begin  meditating

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

until her mid-thirties, however. At that time, stress over having a boyfriend in prison

and exposure to Trungpa Rinpoche’s (1969) Meditation in Action prompted her to
seek instruction. She was told to follow her breath while sitting comfortably and to
label any thoughts that arose as “thinking” and return to her breath.

Rose had two consecutive meditation instructors; she did not feel comfortable with
either. She thought one was too strict and pushy about a particular type of training

She felt too intensely about the other and also worried that she was insensitive to him.

Generally, she feels hemmed in and controlled by others’ instructions. She ended up
meditating on her own with little instruction and no supervision. She practiced at most
three hours a week and generally did not meditate daily or at the same time every day.

Five  years  later,  Rose  met  a  Tibetan  teacher  who  seemed  to  her  to  know  what  he  was
doing.  He  was  not  pushy  about  the  practice,  was  careful  about  the  effect  of  his  words,
and  would  stop  if  someone  said  he  was  going  too  far.  He  also  tolerated  doubt  and
skepticism  and  wanted  people  to  think  for  themselves.  She  went  to  a  weekend  retreat

that  he  led  and  was  interviewed.  Her  only  strange  experience  came  before  the
interview.  She  felt  driven  to  get  up  enough  nerve  to  even  have  the  interview  and  then
experienced  seeing  a  series  of  faces  as  she  looked  in  a  mirror.  She  had  an  “ordinary,
down-to-earth conversation” with the teacher but did not mention the faces.

Rose did not tell her teachers about her prior psychotic episodes. They may have
known about them through her therapist, but, if so, did not mention them to her. Her
goal to overcome psychosis through meditation was never clarified.

The Tibetan teacher emphasized a “twenty-four-hour” practice of mindfulness as well

as  sitting  meditation.  This  appealed  to  Rose  and  she  began  sitting  for  hours,  letting  her
mind  wander  while  half  noticing  her  breath  and  other  things.  She  discontinued  her
antipsychotic  medication  on  her  own  a  few  months  after  the  retreat.  She  also  was
working  less,  so  she  had  less  structure  and  contact  with  people.  Moreover,  the  Los

Angeles  riots  occurring  after  the  Rodney  King  verdict  of  1994  upset  her  greatly.  Due
to  a  foot  injury,  she  then  lost  her  usual  way  of  stabilizing  her  mind,  which  was
running.  Running  relaxed  her  and  slowed  her  mind  so  that  thoughts  came  more
gradually  and  were  more  to  the  point.  Around  the  same  time,  she  saw  another  face  in
the  mirror  and  began  having  intense  fantasies  involving  reincarnation  and  Christian
symbols.  These  experiences  became  more  important  than  details  of  her  everyday  life,
and  she  lacked  her  usual  awareness  and  her  usual  fear  that  she  was  going  too  far.  Her
psychotic break occurred six months after the retreat.

Rose  was  hospitalized  and  she  resumed  medication.  Her  diagnosis  has  been  paranoid
schizophrenia.  She  finds  the  diagnosis  hurtful  and  limiting,  a  label  of  being  different
and  “all  washed  up.”  It  also  pressures  her  to  become  well  and  “enlightened.”  “Psycho
sis  does  not  mean  you’re  better  or  worse  than  others;  it’s  just  what  has  happened  to  a

person in her life.”

For her practice Rose now uses a Yoga tape that helps induce sleep through relaxation
of different parts of the body. She thinks about seeing the Tibetan teacher again but

Buddhist Teachers' Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators

does not feel ready to face questions about why she wants to meditate and see him. Her
spirituality is private. She is trying to regain a sense of wonder and to accept her life,
freed from the compulsion to be like everyone else.

Teacher Experience

Understanding of nonordinary states of consciousness (NSC). The Buddhist teach

ers  interviewed  in  this  study  (four  Zen,  four  Theravadan,  four  Tibetan,  all  teaching  in
the  U.S.)  understand  NSC  as  phenomena  that  often  emerge  as  practice  progresses.
Similar  to  the  “unstressing”  cited  in  TM  literature  (Carrington,  1977;  Goleman,

1971), NSC common in early phases of Buddhist meditation include disturbing

emotions and fantasies, perceptual aberrations and hallucinations, memories, and

proprioceptive sensations and movements (see also, Epstein & Lieff, 1986; Kornfield,

1979). A Zen teacher noted that NSC at a later “preawakening” phase are different

from  earlier  NSC.  They  tend  to  be  either  very  alluring,  often  involving  religious
symbols  and  blissful  feelings,  or  very  frightening  and  evocative  of  doubt.  Two
Tibetan  teachers  noted  that  in  advanced  Tantric  practices,  visions  of  deified  aspects  of
mind  (yidams)  can  resemble  psychosis  in  that  they  are  both  real  and  imaginary,
external and internal.

The teachers defined psychosis as a problem of overidentifying with NSC and being
unable to disidentify and let go. Also, several teachers said that psychosis involves an

inability to function and respond in normal ways. Some Zen teachers noted that

samadhi and kensho can involve a loss of functioning that can last from minutes to
hours, however.

The  teachers  posited  various  reasons  for  NSC,  some  related  to  meditation  and  others
not.  All  correlated  NSC  with  deepening  concentration,  which  seems  to  settle  the  usual
discursive  mind  and  allow  other  layers  of  mind  to  emerge,  layers  seen  as  tainted  by  the
defilements  of  existence.  The  Theravadans  especially  emphasized  that  NSC  emerge

and become problematic when concentration is not balanced with adequate mindful

ness,  which  can  cleanse  the  mind  of  these  defilements.  Zen  teachers  suggested  that
incorrect  posture  and  breathing  also  contribute.  Tibetan  teachers  spoke  of  how  an
improper  use  of  certain  advanced  meditation  practices  leads  to  an  incorrect  flow  of
energy  in  the  body.  All  of  the  teachers  noted  that  excessive  effort  and  striving  creates
problems  with  NSC;  the  Asian  teachers  said  that  perhaps  this  was  a  bigger  problem

for meditators in the East because they have been culturally conditioned to seek

enlightenment. Factors not related to meditation include health imbalances arising
from lack of sleep, poor diet, and stress.

Dealing  with  NSC.  NSC  are  relatively  common  during  intensive,  prolonged  medita
tion,  and  teachers  are  accustomed  to  dealing  with  them.  Some  Theravadans  estimated
that  during  a  three-month  retreat,  about  half  of  the  students  experience  NSC.  In
dealing  with  these,  teachers  generally  assure  students  that  such  phenomena  occur  with
deepening  practice  but  will  pass.  They  try  to  help  the  student  just  observe  the
experience  without  denying,  rejecting,  or  indulging  it.  They  may  supportively  listen,

such as when memories of trauma emerge, or on the other hand, they may make light

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

of  NSC  that  the  student  mistakes  for  enlightenment.  Theravadans  tend  to  focus  on
“mindfulness  in  the  present  moment”  and  may  have  the  student  “mentally  note”  the
experience  without  getting  caught  up  in  its  content.  Zen  teachers  may  correct  the
student’s  posture  and  breathing.  A  Tibetan  teacher  noted  that  he  circumvents  prob
lems  with  NSC  by  checking  for  health  imbalances  that  cause  difficulties  and  has
students  start  with  a  short  practice  and  gradually  increase  time  meditating  as  they  gain
insight.

When  NSC  is  more  extreme,  a  student  may  become  paralyzed  and  unable  to  follow
meditation  instruction.  At  this  point,  most  teachers  advocate  decreasing  concentration
on  the  meditative  object,  such  as  a  koan  or  the  breath;  instead  they  ask  the  student  to
develop  a  more  panoramic  mindfulness  of  internal  and  external  stimuli.  This  can
mean  “lightening  up”  and  just  watching  the  mind  without  judgment  and  effort  to

practice.  Theravadans  may  have  the  student  focus  mindfully  on  the  body  or  what  is
happening  presently  in  the  mind.  Zen  teachers  may  switch  a  student  from  a  more
concentrative  koan  practice,  which  tends  to  suppress  unconscious  material,  to
shikantaza  or  breath  practice,  which  allows  material  to  emerge  more  naturally  and
slowly.  Teachers  may  also  have  more  frequent  interviews  with  the  student,  decrease
the  student’s  sitting  time,  and  involve  the  student  in  “grounding”  physical  activities.
A  Tibetan  and  Theravadan  commented  that  they  sometimes  confront  a  student’s  NSC
as  being  “crazy.”  Some  Theravadans  have  found  that  acupuncture  treatment  and

heavier meals of meat and pasta can be helpful as well.

The  teachers  identified  a  number  of  signs  that  these  extreme  NSC  could  foreshadow  a
psychotic  break.  These  include  obsession  with  the  NSC,  more  negative,  fearful,  and
bizarre  NSC,  fear  of  going  crazy,  aberrant  behavior,  and  emotionally  disconnected
“schizoid”  states.  One  teacher  thought  that  people  prone  to  psychosis  have  more  rage
and  self-pity  and  fewer  moments  of  sadness  and  clarity  than  those  who  are  not  prone.
Another  teacher  said  that  lack  of  humility  is  a  sign  of  difficulty.  These  warning  signs
generally signal a need to discontinue or lighten up in practice.

The teachers found that psychosis, estimated to occur in far less that one percent of

meditators, can develop at either initial or advanced stages of practice. During initial
stages, it can rather easily occur in people with a history of psychosis; it relates to the

student’s  inability  to  use  meditation  practices  to  stabilize  the  mind  as  defenses  are
relaxed.  A  Zen  teacher  said  that  he  knows  of  a  few  cases  where  psychosis  occurred
after  a  retreat.  He  finds  that  stripped  of  their  usual  defenses,  students  can  become
depressed  and  overstimulated  when  they  reenter  ordinary  life.  In  more  advanced
stages,  psychosis  is  very  rare  because  meditators  have  developed  more  equanimity  or
ability  to  observe  and  let  go  of  mental  content.  Psychosis  at  advanced  states  usually

relates to excess concentration and overexertion. The Tibetans called this a “sok-

rlung” disorder, which involves energy moving improperly in the body. Several
teachers noted that Western meditators tend to give up meditation when they encoun

ter difficulty. Few reach advanced stages of practice where meditation-related psy
chosis can occur.

If psychosis occurs in initial phases of practice, the student is asked to discontinue
meditation and may be asked to leave the retreat or be hospitalized if they cannot

Buddhist Teachers' Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators

return to ordinary functioning. A Theravadan said that, for more advanced meditators

who  develop  true  meditation-related  psychosis,  he  may  ask  the  student  to  focus  on  the
state  of  mind  as  an  object  of  mindfulness.  If  that  fails,  he  may  try  to  get  at  the  deeper
meaning  of  the  problem  or  change  the  object  of  mindfulness.  A  Tibetan  advised  that
advanced  meditators  need  a  qualified  teacher  to  help  with  the  practice  used  and  to
differentiate  between  psychotic  states  and  true  spiritual  visions.  Another  Tibetan
noted  that  advanced  practices  are  meant  to  provoke  confusion  and  extreme  states.  He
tries  to  help  people  find  balance  between  withstanding  discomfort  and  knowing  their
limits so that they do not damage themselves.

Adapting to Western students. The teachers reported that they have learned more

about  psychology  in  working  with  Western  students,  some  with  major  mental  illness
and  many  with  motivation  to  deal  with  psychological  problems.  Several  teachers
noted  that  they  consult  with  mental  health  professionals  regarding  severe  psychologi
cal  problems  in  their  students.  Teachers  who  were  demanding  of  students  twenty
years  ago  have  become  more  moderate  and  gentle.  They  now  believe  that  vigorous
approaches  help  some  students,  but  that  in  general,  pushing  students  to  “break
through”  does  not  facilitate  integration  of  enlightenment  experience  and  can  damage

students who are psychologically fragile. They emphasized knowing students so that

practice can be tailor-made for each student’s temperament and needs. Teachers with

students who have a major mental illness said that they advocate moderation, teach

initial mindfulness-breath practices, and increase their monitoring of the student’s
practice. Two said that metta or loving-kindness meditation can help as well, because

such  students  often  suffer  from  poor  self-esteem.  Many  also  encourage  utilization  of
Western  medication  and  therapy  and  restrict  such  students  from  attending  retreats  that
last  more  than  two  days.  Teachers  also  have  instituted  screening  questionnaires  and

interviews to assess students’ ability to handle meditation, asking about things such as

prior  history  of  psychosis  and  health  status.  Such  screening  has  virtually  eliminated
problems  with  students  becoming  psychotic  during  initial  practice,  even  though  some
students  lied  about  their  history.  Teachers  still  have  difficulty  assessing  students  who

do not have a history of psychosis. One noted that he knows of several high-
functioning, articulate, and humorous people who had brief psychotic episodes during

advanced Tibetan practices. Generally, teachers reported that too much effort and too
much or too little anxiety can signal difficulties and that high-strung, emotionally

volatile  people  have  more  intense  and  frequent  NSC.  The  teachers  tend  to  deal  with
these  people  by  supportively  listening  and  guiding,  paying  more  attention  than  before
to  psychological  issues.  The  Zen  teacher  who  noted  students’  vulnerability  after
retreats has also started checking on fragile students a few days after a retreat.

DISCUSSION

It is apparent that Buddhist teachers have become more psychologically sophisticated

in  working  with  Western  students  over  the  past  thirty-five  years  and  have  adapted
traditional  meditation  practices  to  deal  with  extreme  mental  states  that  may  arise
during  intensive  meditation.  The  meditator  vignettes  illustrate  some  of  the  difficulties
that  can  occur  when  a  student’s  life,  motivations,  and  vulnerabilities  are  not  well
understood,  and  when  a  student  leaves  the  monitored  and  protected  retreat  milieu.  The

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

experiences  of  Sara  and  Ada  suggest  that  narcissistic  issues  around  grandiosity  and
borderline  issues  around  abandonment  can  be  activated  in  more  advanced  stages  of
meditation.  They  also  illustrate  how  extreme  effort  to  attain  enlightenment  can  itself
be  a  symptom  and  can  create  harmful  imbalance  in  the  mind  and  daily  life.  With  such
students,  teachers  may  need  to  emphasize  other  aspects  of  Buddhist  training  besides

meditation,  e.g.,  relationships  in  the  community  (sangha)  and  moral  precepts  (shila).
Rose’s  experience  suggests  that  it  may  be  difficult  for  students  with  a  major  mental
illness  to  openly  discuss  their  concerns  with  a  teacher.  Teachers  may  need  to  be  more
active  with  such  students  in  discussing  mental  illness  and  being  clear  and  supportive
in  their  suggestions  for  practice.  They  can  also  foster  community  understanding  and
support.

Implications for the Clinical Use of Meditation

Meditation  can  enhance  self-awareness  and  self-regulation,  goals  of  most  psycho
therapies  in  working  with  a  broad  range  of  patients.  Similar  to  expressive  psycho
therapies  that  aim  at  uncovering  the  unconscious,  meditation  has  “derepressive”  and
destabilizing  effects  (Wilber,  1986).  In  both  meditation  and  psychotherapy,  one  must
deal  with  issues  of  personality  structure,  motivation,  resistance,  and  relationship  as
the mind opens up to itself and becomes more integrated and stable.

This study has a number of implications for therapists who “prescribe” meditation or

work  with  patients  who  meditate  as  a  spiritual  practice:  1)  Most  people  will  not  have
difficulties  with  meditation  unless  they  meditate  intensively.  This  is  consistent  with
Glueck  and  Stroebel’s  (1975)  findings  that  psychiatric  patients  benefited  from  TM  at

prescribed twenty-minute periods twice a day, but were prone to psychosis when

meditating more. 2) Some meditative practices are more appropriate than others,

depending  on  a  patient’s  needs.  Initial  concentrative  practices  that  focus  on  the  breath
can  help  patients  calm  themselves  but,  if  engaged  in  over  an  extensive  period  of  time,
may  result  in  NSC  that  are  experienced  as  troublesome.  Initial  mindfulness  practices
involving  breathing,  mental  noting,  and  awareness  of  body  sensations  may  help
patients  become  more  grounded  in  the  present.  Metta  meditation  (Salzberg,  1995)  can
help  develop  a  sense  of  kindness  towards  oneself  and  others.  Any  physical  activity,
including  martial  arts  and  yoga,  can  be  an  antidote  for  overwhelming  thoughts  and
emotions.  3)  Most  meditators  will  discontinue  meditation  when  frustrated  or  remain
beginners  because  of  the  dedication,  perseverance,  and  time  it  takes  to  develop
meditation  skills.  As  Allen  (1995)  points  out,  meditation  and  other  self-regulation
techniques  are  simple  but  require  motivation  and  practice.  Because  of  self-hatred,

patients often fail to do things to care for themselves. Thus, resistance to self-care

must be explored and encouragement to begin and maintain practice must be given. 4)
Although Westerners tend to focus on Buddhist meditation, other aspects of Buddhist

training, such as being a member of a community and practicing moral precepts, may

be equally or more helpful for psychological and spiritual development.

In  sum,  Buddhist  practices,  as  being  adapted  by  teachers  in  the  West,  seem  to  offer  a
promising  avenue  of  psychological  and  spiritual  development.  Possibilities  for  fur
ther  study  of  the  interface  between  Buddhist  practice  and  Western  psychology

Buddhist Teachers ’ Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators

abound.  For  example,  one  could  focus  on  the  nature  and  use  of  transference  in
student-teacher  relationships.  A  teacher  in  this  study  noted  that  he  treats  students
differently  at  different  stages  of  their  practice:  he  is  a  parent  in  initial  phases,  a  guide
as  the  student  becomes  more  independent,  a  spiritual  friend  who  can  also  learn  from
the  student,  and  finally  not  a  teacher  at  all.  Sexual  relationships  and  the  power
differential  between  teachers  and  students  have  been  topics  of  animated  discussion
and could be studied as well.

GLOSSARY

kensho—Zen expression for the experience of awakening or breaking through normal consciousness to

realize one’s true nature and the nonduality of the “Absolute” (nirvana) and “Relative” (samsara).

jhana (Pali) (dhyana, Skt.)—a degree of absorption on a continuum (eight jhanas altogether), beginning

with a full break with normal consciousness that is characterized by absorption in the meditative object to

the exclusion of other thoughts and sensory awareness.

koan—Zen teaching phrase or story that presents a paradox unsolvable through logic or reason. In

concentrating on a koan and attempting to solve it, one is forced to transcend discursive thinking and

realize a world beyond dualism. It is used to promote initial kensho and subsequently, to deepen

realization.

makyo—Zen term for the deceptive, illusory sensations and feelings that arise in meditation.

nirvana (nihhana, Pali)—the "absolute” or unconditioned, uncreated, unformed realm beyond and under

lying consensual, phenomenal reality (samsara). Awakening to nirvana and realizing it in samsara is the

goal of meditation.

prajna (panna. Pali)—“insight wisdom." The definitive moment of prajna is insight into emptiness

(shunyata), which is the true nature of reality.

prana—life force, "wind,” or energy that in Eastern thought circulates through channels in the body and

supports life processes.

Rinzai—one of the two major schools of Japanese Zen. Koans are an integral part of its practices.

samadhi—nondualistic state of consciousness reached when the mind becomes absorbed in an object

through focus on the object and calming the mind.

samatha (Pali) (shamatha, Skt.)—“calm abiding” or “dwelling in tranquility.” One of the two major

branches of meditative practices in Buddhism. Samatha calms She mind and culminates in samadhi and

jhana levels of absorption.

samsara—the “relative” or conventional, phenomenal reality conditioned by the three “unwholesome"

roots (attachment, aversion, ignorance) that tie beings to worldly existence, which involves birth, sickness,

old age, and death.

shikantaza—“just sitting.” A form of Zen practice that involves a neutral, mindful observation of thoughts

and sensations as they come and go.

shila (sila, Pali)—precepts or ethical guidelines for those on the Buddhist path. More broadly speaking, it

refers to morality based on insight-wisdom.

shunyata (sunnata, Pali)—“emptiness." Central notion of Buddhism that phenomena, including “self,”

have no inherent or independent existence.

vipassana (Pali) (vipashyana, Skt.)—“special insight" or “clear seeing.” One of the two major branches of

Buddhist meditation practices. Vipassana develops prajna or insight-wisdom. It is sometimes used to

describe Theravada meditation practices, which involve careful cultivation of mindfulness in early stages

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. /

of practice. Technically, true vipassana does not begin until mindfulness and concentration are well-

developed and balanced.

yidam—“deity" that practitioners visualize in advanced Vajrayana practices. Yidams involve primal

energy and emotions.

REFERENCES

llen

, J. (1995). Coping with trauma: A guide to self-understanding. Washington, DC:

American Psychiatric Press.

rown

, D.P. (1986). The stages of meditation in cross-cultural perspective. In K. Wilber, J.

Engler & D. P. Brown (Eds.), Transformations of consciousness: Conventional and
contemplative perspectives on development (pp. 219-283). Boston: Shambhala.

rown

, D.P. & Engler, J. (1986). The stages of mindfulness meditation: A validation study. In

K. Wilber, J. Engler & D. P. Brown (Eds.), Transformations of consciousness: Conven

tional and contemplative perspectives on development (pp. 161-217). Boston: Shambhala.

arrington

, P. (1977). Freedom in meditation. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press.

ngler

, J. (1986). Therapeutic aims in psychotherapy and meditation: Developmental stages

in the representation of self. In K. Wilber, J. Engler & D.P. Brown (Eds.), Transformations

of consciousness: Conventional and contemplative perspectives on development (pp. 17-

51). Boston: Shambhala.

pstein

, M. (1986). Meditative transformations of narcissism. Journal of Transpersonal

Psychology, 18(2), 143-158.

pstein

, M. (1988). The deconstruction of the self: Ego and “egolessness” in Buddhist insight

meditation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 20(1), 61-69.

pstein

, M. (1989). Forms of emptiness: Psychodynamic, meditative, and clinical perspec

tives. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2/(1), 61-71.

pstein

, M. (1990). Psychodynamics of meditation: Pitfalls on the spiritual path. Journal of

Transpersonal Psychology, 22(1), 17-34.

pstein

, M. (1995). Thoughts without a thinker. New York: Basic.

pstein

, M. & L

ieff

, J. (1986). Psychiatric complications of meditation practice. In K. Wilber.

J. Engler & D.P. Brown (Eds.), Transformations of consciousness: Conventional and
contemplative perspectives on development (pp. 53-63). Boston: Shambhala.

pstein

, M. & R

apgay

, L. (1989). Mind, disease, and health in Tibetan medicine. In A.A.

Sheikh & K.S. Sheikh (Eds.), Eastern and Western approaches to healing: Ancient wisdom
and modem knowledge. New York: Wiley.

vans

-W

entz

, W.Y.'(1969). The Tibetan book of the great liberation. London: Oxford.

reud

, S. (1961). Civilization and its discontents. In J. Strachey (Trans. & Ed.), Standard

edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, 21, 57-145. London:

Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1930).

amrimpa

. (1992). Samatha meditation: Tibetan Buddhist teachings on cultivating medi

tative quiescence (B.A. Wallace, Trans.). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion.

lueck

, B.C. & S

troebel

, C.F. (1975). Biofeedback and meditation in the treatment of

psychiatric illnesses. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 16, 303-321.

oldstein

, J. (1987). The experience of insight. Boston: Shambhala.

oldstein

, J. & K

ornfield

, J. (1987). Seeking the heart of wisdom. Boston: Shambhala.

oleman

, D. (1972a). The Buddha on meditation and states of consciousness. Part I: The

teachings. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 4(1), 1-44.

oleman

, D. (1972b). The Buddha on meditation and states of consciousness. Part II: A

typology of meditation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 4(2), 151-210.

oleman

, D. (1988). The meditative mind: The varieties of meditative experience. Los

Angeles: J.P. Tarcher.

Buddhist Teachers' Experience with Extreme Mental States in Western Meditators

unaratana

, H. (1992). The path of serenity and insight. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass.

(Original work published 1985).

Gyatso, T. (1991) Path to bliss: A practical guide to stages of meditation. Ithaca, NY: Snow

Lion.

opkins

, J. (1983). Meditation on emptiness. London: Wisdom.

abat

-Z

inn

, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to

face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Bantam Doubleday.

abat

-Z

inn

, J., M

assion

, A.O., K

risteller

, J., P

eterson

, L.G., F

letcher

, K.E., P

bert

, L.,

enderring

, W.R. & S

antorelu

, S.F. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress

reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry,

149, 936-943.

Kapleau, P. (1989). The three pillars of Zen. New York: Anchor Books. (Original work

published 1965).

Kornheld, J. (1977). Living Buddhist masters. Santa Cruz, CA: Unity Press.

Kornfield, J. (1979). Intensive insight meditation: A phenomenological study. Journal of

Transpersonal Psychology, 11(1), 41-58.

Lodro, G. (1992). Walking through walls: A presentation of Tibetan meditation. (J. Hopkins,

Trans. & Ed.). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion.

Loori, J.D. (1992). The eight gates of Zen. Mt. Tremper, NY: Dharma Communications.
McDonald, K. (1984). How to meditate. London: Wisdom.
Namto, S.S. (1989). Insight meditation: Practical steps to ultimate truth. Bangkok, Thailand:

Amarin Printing.

Nhat Hanh, T. (1987). The miracle of mindfulness (Rev. ed.). Boston: Beacon Press.
Nyanamoli, B. (Trans.) (1976). Visuddhimagga: The path of purification by Buddhaghosha.

Boulder, CO: Shambhala.

Polkinchorne, D.E. (1989). Phenomenological research methods. In R. S. Valle & S. Hailing

(Eds.), Existential-phenomenological perspectives in psychology: Exploring the breadth of
human experience (pp. 41-60). New York: Plenum Press.

Salzberg, S. (1995). Lovingkindness: The revolutionary art of happiness. Boston: Shambhala.
Shambhala dictionary of Buddhism and Zen. (1991). (M.H. Kohn, Trans.) Boston: Shambhala.
Shapiro, D.H. (1982). Overview: Clinical and physiological comparison of meditation with

other self-control strategies. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 267-274.

Sole-Laris, A. (1986). Tranquility and insight. Boston: Shambhala.

Trungpa, C. (1969). Meditation in action. Berkeley: Shambhala.
Wancchen, G.N. (1987). Awakening the mind of enlightenment. London: Wisdom.
Watts, A.W. (1957). The way of Zen. New York: Random House.
West, M.A. (Ed.). (1987). The psychology of meditation. New York: Oxford.
Wilber, K. (1986). The spectrum of development; The spectrum of psychopathology; Treat

ment modalities. In K. Wilber, J. Engler & D.P. Brown (Eds.), Transformations of

consciousness: Conventional and contemplative perspectives on development (pp. 65-

159). Boston: Shambhala.

Requests for reprints to: Lois VanderKooi, Psy.D., 1028 Tumberry Circle, Louisville, CO 80027.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

THE “CALLING,” THE YETI, AND THE BAN JHAKRI

(“FOREST SHAMAN”) IN NEPALESE SHAMANISM*

Larry G. Peters

Westwood, California

The ban jhakri (jungle/forest shaman) of the Himalayas is a spirit, a god of the
shamans, and a creature said to be partially human. They are sort of gnome, yoda-type

figures, tricksters, and shamanic teacher/initiators. The ban jhakri is the Nepali name

given to the small yeti (three to five feet tall) whose red or golden hair covers his entire

body except for face and hands. According to legend, ban jhakri live in forests and

caves  and  kidnap  young  candidates,  typically  between  seven  and  twenty  years  of  age,
to  initiate  into  shamanism.  Only  those  youths  who  are  chokho  (pure)  in  body  and  heart
are  retained  for  teaching,  ideally  for  thirty  days,  before  being  returned  to  the  place

from which they were initially abducted. Candidates with physical scars or impure

hearts are released quickly, often violently “thrown” from the ban jhakri'a cave, or
worse, captured by his big and ferocious wife, the ban jhakrini, who desires to
cannibalize the young initiate.

The focus of this paper is the intimate connection between the shaman’s “calling” in

Nepal and those liminal figures of the ancient forests, jungles, mountains, and caves

known as the yeti and the ban jhakri. These anomalous characters have an overlapping
cultural mythology: they are indigenously believed to be spirits but also current-

living vestiges of the ancient past, with a physical appearance and presence, who also

manifest in dream and trance states. Thus they coexist in two realities which interpen
etrate and are not separated in Nepali consciousness.

Like  the  yeti,  there  is  extensive  oral  mythology  on  the  ban  jhakri,  but  there  is  not  the
same  level  of  public  interest  and  therefore  no  literature  of  which  I  am  aware  devoted
exclusively  to  the  ban  jhakri.  However,  a  few  very  interesting  descriptions  of  ban

jhakri initiatory encounters are given in Hitchcock and Jones (1976): from the Limbu

(Sagant, 1976), from shamans living in the Kalimpong area near the Nepal-Indian

border (Macdonald, 1976), and the Solokumbu Sherpa (Paul, 1976). The Thami and

Tamang ban jhakri from the Dolakha district arc discussed by Miller (1997), from

*Foreign terms arc in Nepali unless indicated otherwise.

Adapted from a paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association for Transpersonal Psychol

ogy. August 3, 1997. Pacific Grove. California.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

Tamang residing in Kathmandu by Skafte (1992), and in Boudha (just a few miles

from Kathmandu) by Peters (1978, 1981).

The yeti is not a missing link, as some early anthropologically minded persons
believed, but the primary character in a vast oral tradition about becoming a shaman,

something I have encountered repeatedly over twenty years of investigating shaman

ism in Nepal. My dissertation (Peters, 1978) and subsequent book (Peters, 1981)

studies Gajendra, a Tamang shaman, who was considered a ban jhakri initiate due to
his “calling” at the age of thirteen. Since that time, I have heard many other stories

about  the  initiatory  encounters  of  future  shamans  with  ban  jhakri.  These  personal
accounts  come  from  individuals  from  various  Nepali  ethnic  groups  including
Tamang,  Helembu  Sherpa,  Magar,  Gurung  (all  bhutiya,  i.e.,  of  Tibetan  ethnicity),  as

well as from Hindu sweeper and tailoring castes. Despite cultural differences and

personal  embellishments,  their  stories  are  virtually  the  same.  This  article  is  an  attempt
to  integrate  this  ethnographic  material  on  the  ban  jhakri  with  previously  published
accounts  and  discuss  the  relevance  of  the  yeti  to  this  pan-Nepali  paradigmatic  mylhos
of the shamanic “calling.”

THE YETI

The  yeti  is  very  popular  in  Nepal.  Royal  Nepal  Airways  boasts  of  its  “yeti  service,”
and  its  main  office  features  a  yeti  statue.  One  of  Nepal’s  few  five-star  hotels  is  the  Yak
and  Yeti.  The  yeti  has  been  the  topic  of  much  discussion,  and  numerous  expeditions
have  been  launched  to  discover  one,  including  one  by  Sir  Edmund  Hillary  (Hillary  &
Doug,  1962).  Many  sightings  have  been  reported,  yet  no  photographs  exist,  only
highly  suspect  artifacts  and  footprints.  A  plethora  of  literature  both  supports  and

debunks these finds. Most lay Nepalese believe in yeti but say they are rare, almost
extinct nowadays as a result of human aggression (Lall, 1988a).

The  term  yeti  is  attributed  to  diverse  linguistic  sources.  In  Tibetan,  yeti  or  ne-te  is  a
bear  that  stands  erect.  The  Tibetans  also  call  it  mete  which  means  bear-man.  It  may
also  be  derived  from  the  Tibetan  yeh-teh  meaning  man  of  the  high  snow  mountains
(Majupuria  &  Kumar,  1993).  The  Tibetans  sometimes  call  it  metoh  (unwashed)
kangini  (snowman),  translated  by  Newman  in  1921  as  “abominable  snowman”
(Majupuria  &  Kumar,  1993).  According  to  the  Sherpa,  the  term  comes  from  yah
(rock)  and  teh  (man),  thus  “rockman”  or  “cliff  dweller”  (Pandcy,  1994).  However,
Norbu  (in  Norbu  &  Tumbill,  1972)  says  that  yeti  is  not  originally  a  Tibetan  word.
Some  believe  it  derives  from  the  Sanskrit  yaksha,  a  being  of  superhuman  strength
with  thick  hair  covering  their  bodies.  It  is  half-human  and  half-beast,  with  both  a  wild
nature  and  intelligence  (Gupta  &  Nath,  1994).  Another  view  is  that  yeti  is  derived
from  yati,  a  Hindu  hermit  who  retreats  from  the  world  and  into  the  forests  and  caves,
living  without  fire,  protection,  or  human  comforts  in  pursuit  of  emancipation  from

worldly bondage (Lall, 1988a).

There is also a long list of appellations for the yeti. In Nepal, he is sometimes known
as mahalongoor or "great monkey," and one of the important traditional abodes of the

yeti in Nepal is Mahalongoor Himal. This aligns the yeti with the revered Monkey

God and King of the Monkeys, Hanuman, who, like many descriptions of the yeti, is

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997. Vol. 29, No. I

also  represented  as  half-human  and  half-monkey.  Hanuman  is  endowed  with  magical
powers,  can  change  his  shape,  and  fly  like  the  shaman.  The  Lepchas  of  Sikkim  call
them  chu  mung  (spirit  of  the  glacier)  or  lo  mung  (mountain  spirit).  To  them,  thcyeti  is
the  lord  of  all  mountain  and  forest  animals,  especially  the  deer,  and  is  thought  to  be  a
god  of  the  hunt.  In  India,  he  is  called  van  manus,  in  Nepal,  ban  manche,  both  of  which
mean  forest  man  and  carry  the  connotation  of  wild  man.  He  is  known  in  Tibet  as  rime
(forest  dweller),  me  shorn  po  (strong  man),  me  chen  po  (great  man),  or  megod  (wild
man,  untamed)  and  is  therefore  an  apt  symbol,  according  to  Samuels  (1993),  for  the
shamanistic  aspects  of  Tibetan  culture  and  religion  which  he  sharply  contrasts  to  the

“tame” clerical monastic ethos.

The smallest and fastest yeti is named rang shin bombo (lit.: “self-generated shaman”)

by Tibetan tribal groups like the Sherpa and Tamang, and in Nepali he is called ban

jhakri. The term bombo means shaman, as does jhakri in Nepali, and these yeti are

often thought to have mystical powers (Gupta & Nath, 1994; Pandey, 1994).

The origins of the yeti are told in various legends. In one Sherpa legend, they arc the

offspring of a Tibetan girl and a large ape, thereby hovering, so to speak, between

human and animal worlds. They are spirits that magically materialize from a fragment

of bone (Lall, 1988b). In another legend, they arc living forms taken by the souls of

the dead—the living dead. Hindu sources identify them as “spirits” or “descendants

from the sun.” The sun is one symbol for the highest realized consciousness in

Hinduism  (Schuhmacher  &  Woerner,  1989).  They  are  thought  to  be  the  loyal  follow
ers  of  Shiva  (Mahadev),  the  Lord  of  Yogins,  Lord  of  Animals,  Bestower  of  Wisdom,
World  Creator  and  Destroyer,  and  major  divinity  of  Nepalese  Hindus  and  many  lay
Buddhists.  In  Tibetan  Buddhist  lore,  yeti  are  sometimes  seen  as  guardian  spirits,
protectors  of  the  dharma,  and  associated  with  Chen-ri-zi,  the  God  of  mercy  and
compassion  (Saunders,  1995).  Yeti  are  said  to  venerate  Shiva’s  yellow-clothed  sadhu
mendicant  renunciates  (Lall,  1988a).  Thus  the  yeti  is  both  creature  and  spirit,  Bud
dhist and Hindu, and is believed in by various ethnic groups in Nepal.

There are three types of yeti identified. The first is called nyalmo. It is huge (fifteen

feet tall), dangerous, and carnivorous. It is bearlike and preys on yak and other large
homed animals by catching them by the horns and twisting their necks. They are said

to be maneaters and will kill in order to eat human brains. The females are biggest and

lead  the  group.  They  are  reported  to  capture  humans  and  mate  with  them  (Gupta  &
Nath,  1994;  Majupuria  &  Kumar,  1993).  Nyal  arc  listed  by  Nebesky-Wojkowitz
(1993)  as  originally  mountain  divinities  of  the  old  Bon  shamanistic  religion;  mo  is  a
female suffix in Tibetan (Jaschke, 1972), i.e., female mountain divinity.

The second type of yeti is the chuti, standing about eight feet tall, and both vegetarian

and carnivorous. The chuti live at altitudes between 8-10,000 feet, below that of the

nyalmo. Like the nyalmo, their hands are larger than their feet, and they are black and

hairy with short necks.

Rang shin bombo (Tamang/Tibetan) or ban jhakri are the third type and, as noted

earlier,  stand  only  three  to  five  feet  tall.  They  have  red  or  golden  hair  covering  their
bodies.  Some  believe  these  yeti  live  in  the  forests  at  the  lowest  altitudes  and  arc
typically  vegetarians.  They  are  sometimes  reported  coming  into  villages  to  take  grain,

The "Calling," the Yeti, and the Ban Jhakri ("Forest Shuman ") in Nepalese Shamanism

flour,  and  milk.  Rang  shin  bombo  walk  upright  and  are  only  infrequently  quadrupe
dal.  They  can  be  dangerous  but  will  only  attack  if  provoked.  The  discrepancies  in
height  reported  may  be  because  the  different  types  of  yeti  live  at  different  altitudes

(Gupta & Nath, 1994; Majupuria & Kuma, 1993), although others suggest that all

types live at higher altitudes in summer and lower ones in winter when food resources
diminish in the high Himalayas (Pandey. 1994).

Aside  from  differences  in  height,  most  observers  are  in  general  agreement  about  what
the  yeti  looks  like.  Its  head  is  conical  or  egg-shaped,  eyes  deeply  sunken,  with  red
wrinkled  flat  faces  like  an  orangutan,  although  the  nyalmo,  as  mentioned  earlier,  are
said  to  be  black  and  bearlike.  The  hair  of  the  males  is  long  and  covers  the  eyes;  a  full
beard  covers  the  rest  of  the  face.  All  yeti  have  long  arms,  thick  shoulders,  and  short

legs.  They  have  no  tail.  The  Sherpa  consider  them  dangerous,  believing  that  even
looking  at  them  can  bring  bad  luck,  illness,  coma,  or  even  death.  They  are  nocturnal
and  can  see  perfectly  at  night.  They  also  have  long  ears  and  correspondingly  acute

hearing.  Feet  turn  inwards;  toes  point  backwards.  It  is  said  they  are  considered  less
than  human  but  more  than  ape,  and  live  in  Himalayan  caves  and  in  the  jungles.  They
do  not  wear  clothing,  have  neither  tools  nor  weapons,  do  not  use  fire,  eat  their  food
cold  and  raw,  and  are  afraid  of  lire  and  the  smell  of  gun  powder.  They  roar  like  a  tiger,
produce  a  bark  resembling  a  cough,  and  a  softer  koo  koo  koo.  Except  for  the  larger
nyalmo,  who  are  matriarchal,  yeti  live  in  patriarchal  families  (Gupta  &  Nath,  1994).
One  report  suggests  they  have  two  eyes  in  back  as  well  as  two  eyes  in  front  of  their
heads, and a small horn in the middle of their forehead (Ashkinazi & Gongi, 1979).

Female  yeti  have  large  breasts  hanging  down  below  their  abdomens,  which  they  will
sling  over  their  nape  when  they  rest  and  carry  in  their  hands  when  they  run.  Lore
suggests  that  the  best  way  to  escape  from  a  yeti  is  to  run  downhill.  The  hair  of  the  male

yeti blocks his vision; the female will lose her balance running downhill holding her

large breasts in front of her. Their lair stinks, and their bodies reek heavily of garlic.

Yet they are amorous and there are numerous reports of matings between humans and

yeti, even mixed yeti and human families. The female is dangerous, and there are

myths of her rage. In one, a female yeti bears a child fathered by a captured human.

When he escapes, she kills the child and eats its brain, which bigger yeti are said to

desire. Their intelligence is thought to be less than human, yet yeti seem capable of

experiencing the full range of human emotions including love for a human spouse,

human  friend,  and  their  own  children.  They  cry  when  their  feelings  are  hurt,  and  there
is  one  legend  about  a  yeti  suicide  due  to  loss  of  family,  another  about  a  yeti  suicide  in
anticipation  of  being  killed  by  a  human  hunter.  Another  tells  a  story  about  a  yeti  who

saves  a  human  life.  They  have  a  taste  for  alcohol  which,  according  to  myth,  has
contributed  to  their  demise.  In  relation  to  humans,  their  behavior  is  imitative  of  what
they  see,  and  men  have  used  this  tendency  against  the  yeti,  again  contributing  to  their
near-extinction (Gupta & Nath. 1994; Lall, 1988b).

In addition to the larger animals they hunt, yeti eat a frog-like creature known as

muphala that grows very large in the Himalayas. The local population also eats this
animal, and there are stories of frequent encounters at the rocky places where these

frogs are abundant. They also eat a salty moss growing on rocks in the moraine fields.

Yeti are also said to raid granaries and gardens, eating potatoes and vegetables fresh

from the earth. Further, they will sometimes eat with the backs of their hands (Lall,

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

1988a). The yeti's meat is considered to be a cure for gallstones, jaundice, and mental

illness,  according  to  an  eighteenth-century  Tibetan  medical  text.  They  have  a  life  span
of  more  than  three  hundred  years  (Majupuria  &  Kumar,  1993).  Bon  shamans  believe
their  blood  to  be  highly  efficacious  in  pacifying  or  engaging  the  help  of  aggressive
spirits (Nebesky-Wojkowitz, 1993).

Yeti are thought to have spiritual abilities like ESP and can see and hear at long

distances.  They  do  divination  by  inspecting  the  heart  of  a  recently  killed  animal,  just
as  human  shamans  do.  They  have  been  sighted  doing  community  rituals  after  a
hunting  kill  and  during  the  full  moon.  They  shape-shift  at  will,  assuming  guises
ranging  from  the  big  and  monstrous  to  smaller  than  the  human  hand.  They  can  also
become  invisible.  One  tale  says  their  size  increases  as  the  day  gets  later,  until  they  are
huge  at  night.  They  are  believed  to  follow  the  hidden  course  of  the  earth’s  magnetic

fields or "leylines,” a practice which may be cross-cultural among tribal hunter and
gathering peoples, found in animals and, albeit much less frequently, among urban
dwellers (Gupta & Nath, 1994; Michell, 1983).

Yeti are sacrcd beings. Still they are feared and dangerous. Children arc especially

afraid as the yeti is a sort of bogeyman utilized by parents as a threat. “Don’t do this

...  or  the  yeti  will  take  you  . . . ( P a n d e y ,   1994).  The  children  hear  stories  about
victims  who  never  return,  while  others  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  escape  return
unkempt,  unclothed,  walking  on  all  fours,  have  forgotten  language,  behave  insanely

or like an animal, or tell harrowing stories of their capture, imprisonment, sexual
seduction, and escape.

T H E B A N J H A K R I

The ban jhakri who kidnaps young people in order to initiate them into shamanism is
not generally considered a yeti in either the literature on the yeti or on that about ban

jhakri initiation. However, as has already been established, they have the same name,

as does the shaman who is so initiated. Thus, there is some inevitable semantic
confusion, and when necessary for clarification. I’m going to call them ban jhakri

yeti, ban jhakri teacher, and ban jhakri shaman. I believe that the first two are the

same. They are spirit and prototype master shaman. The third is obviously the human
shaman.

The  semantic  difficulty  is  further  complicated  by  physical  and  mental  similarities.  I
recorded  stories  in  which  the  small  ban  jhakri  yeti  and  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  were  so
close  in  the  minds  of  the  storytellers  that  they  were  easily  interchanged.  In  one
account,  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  was  the  protagonist;  in  another  telling  of  the  exact
same  story  by  another  person,  it  was  the  ban  jhakri  yeti  that  assumed  the  central
character role.

The  ban  jhakri  teacher,  like  the  ban  jhakri  yeti,  is  a  forest  and  cave  dweller.  Both  are
considered  ban  manche,  or  wild  men,  and  also  spirits  and  deities.  Both  have  conical
heads  and  hair  covering  every  part  of  their  bodies  except  hands  and  face.  Both  are
unclad  and  demand  their  abductees  be  naked  (Dhakal,  1996).  Ban  jhakri  teachers  are
small  (three  to  five  feet  tall),  always  male,  and  have  big  ears.  When  seated,  their

The "Calling, ” the Yeti, and the Ban Jhakri ("Forest Shaman ") in Nepalese Shamanism

tangled  hair  completely  covers  their  bodies.  Extraordinarily  long  hair  is  also  a  feature
of  the  ancient  Tibetan  Black  Bon  shamans  (Ekvall,  1964).  Wives  of  the  ban  jhakri
teachers,  the  ban  jhakrini,  are  ferocious,  bigger  than  the  males,  with  long  breasts
slung  over  their  napes,  like  the  female  nyalmo  yeti,  the  big  matriarchal  yeti.  Further,
the ban jhakrini is often called nyalmo (Peters, 1981, 1990).

Ban jhakri teachers arc further similar to yeti in that their feet turn inwards and
backwards (see Miller, 1997), and they sometimes eat with the backs of their hands.

Also they are nocturnal, see well at night, have the ability to shape-shift into anything,
can make themselves invisible, and always capture their candidates or victims after

sundown. Like the yeti, they are not human but possess many human attributes, live

for  more  than  three  hundred  years,  are  loyal  servants  of  Shiva,  and  have  amorous
propensities  toward  humans.  Ban  jhakri  teachers  are  said  to  have  taken  female
humans  as  mates  and  have  half-human  offspring,  some  of  whom  become  shamans
with  psychic  abilities.  I  have  not  found  this  to  be  true  of  the  female  nyalmo  and  the
children  of  her  captive  husbands.  The  ban  jhakri  teachers  dress  in  white  frocks  with
peacock  feather  headdresses  when  on  pilgrimage,  as  shamans  do  on  pilgrimage,  and
beat  small  golden  shaman  drums  or  golden  plates,  which  they  teach  to  their  initiates  so

they may invoke them in the future. These latter features are not mentioned for the ban

jhakri yeti.

The  nyalmo  yeti  physically  cares  for  her  captives  if  they  are  submissive,  turning  them  into
dependent  reproductive  prisoners,  but,  as  mentioned  earlier,  if  they  don’t  accept  their
fate,  they  are  killed  or  must  risk  a  dangerous  escape.  However,  the  ban  jhakri  teacher

instructs the youths they abduct, returning them unscathed if they are deemed worthy.

Those whom the ban jhakri teacher considers imperfect suffer a different fate, as in
the case of Giri, a forty-year-old Tamang female I met in Boudha. She relates that one

evening when she was seven years old, she was walking in the forest with her father at
dusk. When he wasn’t looking, a ban jhakri grabbed her from behind some trees and

thickets. She was taken through the forest to his cave where he took her clothes from

her  and  had  sex  with  her.  Afterwards,  when  inspecting  her  body,  he  discovered  she
had  a  slight  scar  on  her  face—an  imperfection—and  immediately  "threw”  her  out  of
the  cave.  However,  because  they  were  “married,”  he  has  not  left  her  spiritually  and
has  caused  her  to  shake  uncontrollably  since  she  was  a  child.  During  the  one  day  she
spent  with  the  ban  jhakri  teacher,  she  learned  some  healing  mantra  but  she  does  not
know  how  to  keep  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  in  its  “proper  place,”  to  “tame”  it  so  that  it

does  not  come  to  her  involuntarily  and  make  her  shake  out  of  control  which  causes  her
distress.  Thus  she  has  not  been  able  to  become  a  shaman.  Many  years  ago,  she  found
a  guru,  but  this  guru  could  not  help  her,  for  he  himself  did  not  know  how  to  please  the
ban  jhakri  and  make  offerings  to  it  of  flour  and  grain.  The  ban  jhakri  teachers  never
take  a  sacrifice  of  living  things,  which  is  true  of  all  deities.  Only  the  lower  spirits  are
fed  blood,  according  to  Aama  Bombo  (“Mother  Shaman”),  a  master  Tamang  shaman.
Giri  has  now  become  a  disciple  shaman  to  Aama  Bombo,  who  will  teach  her  how  to
please  the  ban  jhakri  to  stop  him  from  attacking  her,  and  give  her  the  proper  mantra  to
invoke the ban jhakri when she needs him.

Giri is a very interesting example as there are only a few accounts of girls being taken
by the ban jhakri in order to be taught (for another example, see Skafte, 1992). In fact,

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

nearly  all  shamans  deny  that  it  happens.  Aama  Bombo,  Giri’s  guru,  told  me  only  three
months  before  she  met  Giri,  that  girls  were  never  taken  by  the  ban  jhakri  and  taught  to
be  jhankri.  It  seems  to  be  that  belief  is  changing  to  keep  pace  with  social  change  for
women in Nepal.

Baktabahadur, a Tamang man of thirty years from a small village near Boudha, was
also taken as a seven-year-old child and kept for one day. The ban jhakri tried to teach

him mantra, but he could not focus and memorize them. Thus the ban jhakri got angry

and threw him out. Baktabahadur literally Hew out of the cave and hit a huge rock

which  seriously  slashed  his  lip.  He  had  to  spend  days  in  the  hospital  and  still  wears  the
scar,  not  only  of  the  physical  wound  but  of  the  traumatic  encounter  with  the  ban  jhakri
teacher  who  possesses  him  to  this  day  and  makes  him  shake.  Because  Baktabahadur  is
not  a  healer,  most  people,  including  his  wife,  believe  that  he  is  crazy.  Currently  he  is
being  initiated  and  treated  for  this  ban  jhakri  illness  by  Aama  Bombo,  who  has  been
embodied  by  this  particular  ban  jhakri  teacher  in  ritual,  who  told  Baktabahadur  and
others  present  that  Aama  Bombo  was  to  teach  him  those  very  mantra  he  did  not  learn
as  a  child  and  train  him  to  become  a  shaman,  which  he  is  capable  of  becoming  since  he
has a “ pure heart.’’

I spoke to other shamans who were “thrown” by the ban jhakri after only one day
because of some defect, one because he passed gas, another because he became ill and

fainted  at  the  time  of  their  kidnappings.  Currently  these  men,  one  of  tailor  caste  and
the  other  a  Tamang,  function  as  shamans  in  their  communities.  The  ban  jhakri  teacher
still  embodies  these  shamans,  but  in  a  more  controlled  trance-possession  state  than
Baktabahadur  and  Giri,  who  are  still  initiates.  And,  while  it  is  true  that  these
practicing  shamans  call  themselves  ban  jhakri  shamans,  none  of  them  are  initiates  of
the  ban  jhakri.  They  say  the  ban  jhakri  did  not  “complete”  them.  They  were  thrown
before finishing the entire experiential process as told in the mythos.

Most  agree  that  the  ideal  length  of  time  to  stay  with  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  is  thirty
days,  also  the  maximum  time  to  learn  what  is  being  taught.  Any  more  time  risks
inevitable  capture  by  the  ban  jhakrini  and  is  superfluous,  according  to  Aama
Bombo.  Reports  in  the  literature  vary;  some  shamans  speak  of  three-,  five-,  seven-
,  or  nine-day  ordeals.  Others  speak  in  terms  of  years  (Macdonald,  1976).  Gajendra,
a  Tamang  shaman,  spent  seven  days  with  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  who  abducted  him

when he was thirteen. The ban jhakri made him "crazy” and shake, possessed him,

and called him to the forest where he lived with him for a week, naked, and was

instructed  by  the  ban  jhakri  to  eat  red  earthworms  off  the  backs  of  his  hands,  under
threat  of  decapitation  by  the  ban  jhakrini,  a  tall,  fat,  black,  furry  beast  who  whipped
his  hands  and  threatened  him  with  a  curved  sword  (kukri)  of  gold  if  he  did  not  do
precisely  what  he  was  taught  by  the  ban  jhakri.  The  ban  jhakri,  who  was  small  with
a  golden  conical  head  and  pointed  cap,  gave  him  special  initiations  and  mantra  that
enabled  him  to  master  fire  and  heat,  passing  tests  of  placing  his  hands  in  boiling  oil
or  sitting  in  a  bed  of  live  coals.  When  he  was  released  into  the  forest  at  night,  he  was
chased  by  the  ban  jhakrini  and  narrowly  won  the  foot  race  by  descending  a  hill,  as
the  ban  jhakri  had  warned  he  might  need  to  do  so  in  order  to  escape.  Still  the  ban

jhakrini chased him into a cemetery where he was attacked by evil ghosts (lagu) of

various types and was finally saved by the clear light of a divinity (Peters, 1981,

1989, 1990).

The "Calling," the Yeti, and the Ban Jhakri (“Forest Shaman”) in Nepalese Shamanism

Ram  Ali,  a  young  man  in  his  twenties,  a  Magar  ban  jhakri  shaman  from  the  Pokhara
area  of  Nepal,  was  taken  when  he  was  nine  years  old.  Prior  to  this,  he  had  dreams,  and
the  ban  jhakri  teacher  came  to  him  and  said,  “I  will  take  you  some  day  and  teach  and
make  you  a  shaman.”  Still,  when  he  was  finally  taken,  it  was  by  surprise.  He  was
picking  some  fruit  when  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  came  and  said,  “So  you’ve  come  to
eat,”  giving  Ram  a  few  fruits  to  eat  which  instantly  put  Ram  into  a  “dream”  or  non
ordinary reality, although Ram says the fruit was not a psychedelic.

Ram relates that the wind began to blow like tornado, and there was a big storm
accompanied by an earthquake. The ban jhakri teacher took him to his cave. Ram says

he spent four years with the ban jhakri and his wife, whom Ram called “bear woman.”

Other  shamans  deny  that  four  years  is  true,  but  Ram  says  he  never  wanted  to  leave.  It
was  a  fabulous  and  golden  cave.  He  could  see  everything  and  wanted  for  nothing,  but
he  says  it  is  “imagination”  and  like  a  dream.  While  there,  he  ate  red  worms  with  the
backs  of  his  hands,  under  the  threat  of  being  killed  and  cannibalized  by  the  golden

kukri-wielding ban jhakrini. Ram describes the ban jhakri teacher as five feet tall,

golden, hairy, looking like a monkey, but able to shape-shift at will. He has long white

hair with a pointed cap made of gold and diamonds. The ban jhakri teacher taught

Ram  many  shamanic  techniques  and  then  returned  him  as  he  had  found  him,
unscarred,  to  the  place  where  he  had  first  abducted  him.  The  ban  jhakri  still  appears  to
him  in  his  dreams  and  instructs  him.  Before  conducting  shamanic  healings.  Ram
invokes the ban jhakri who is his chief teaching spirit.

Unlike the yeti who does not have a spoken language, the ban jhakri teacher

communicates telepathically as well as through a secret language. Kailash Surendra,

a Magar shaman, was eight years old and tending his family’s cows when he was
unexpectedly taken from behind the animals’ shed by a sunna jhankri (a golden ban

jhakri) and taken to his temple in the forest. He was kept by the ban jhakri for four

weeks but returned once each week to the place from which he had originally been
kidnapped and then taken again on the next evening. However, when Kailash was at

home, he was invisible, and the villagers could not see him. He saw them but was

unable to speak to them. Kailash communicated with the ban jhakri in their secret
language, which he could understand, he says, due to becoming embodied by

Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom, while he was with the ban jhakri teacher.

Bel Bahadur, Kailash’s brother and also a shaman, described the ban jhakri teacher as

having  power  objects.  He  had  “thundcr-stones”  and  golden  drums  with  which  he
taught  Bel  to  play.  He  keeps  a  porcupine  as  a  pet  who  shoots  his  quills  at  him  so  that
he  might  practice  blocking  the  “arrows”  sent  by  evil  sorcerers  and  spirits,  something
he  also  teaches  to  his  candidates.  Other  ban  jhakri  shamans  showed  me  a  thunderbolt
hurling  slingshot,  a  small  bow  that  sends  fire  arrows  which  can  destroy  an  enemy’s
brain,  and  a  ball  of  string  with  which  they  ensnare  enemies.  Kailash  did  not  discuss  his
abduction  in  depth  in  our  single  interview  but  mentioned  that  the  ban  jhakri's  wife
was  a  dangerous  ban  devi  or  forest  goddess  who  hunts  animals,  devours  human  flesh,
and causes all sorts of problems for hunters.

After the abduction and teachings, the candidates typically take the ban jhakri as their

mukhiya guru or chief tutelary spirit. The ban jhakri continues to teach them in

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

dreams and to embody and instruct them during ritual. The candidates, when they
become shamans, light a special candle for the ban jhakri before doing ritual, burn
coals for him with incense, and invoke his spirit with the drum beat he taught them.

Those ban jhakri shamans who are taught by the ban jhakri teachers are considered to

be rang shin lugba. As already mentioned, rang shin means “self-generated” in

Tibetan, i.e., arising on its own accord from its very nature, of itself, by itself, and
involuntarily. Rang shin is the Tibetan name for the third type of yeti, the ban jhakri

yeti. Tugpa means tutelary or teaching spirit, so that the phrase can be literally

translated as “spontaneously arising tutelary spirit” (Jaschke, 1972; Peters, 1978) and
is a good description of the ban jhakri teacher.

What  this  means  is  that  a  rang  shin  is  a  category  of  yeti,  a  category  of  shaman,  the
small  ban  jhakri  teacher,  as  well  as  a  chief  shamanic  teaching  spirit,  an  “inner  guru”
said  to  appear  spontaneously  or,  as  the  Nepalese  say,  aph  se  aph  (“automatically”).

Thus all ban jhakri shamans are aph se aph shamans, i.e., spontaneously arising

shamans,  “called”  or  chosen  by  the  ban  jhakri.  But  all  rang  shin  bombo  or  aph  se  aph
shamans  are  not  ban  jhakri.  Aama  Bombo  was  chosen,  “attacked”  as  they  say,  by  her
father’s  spirit  aph  se  aph  and  not  by  a  ban  jhakri.  Thus  she  does  not  claim  to  be  a  ban

jhakri. Still, because she is embodied by her father who was a ban jhakri, she knows

his memories and experiences aph se aph. All her teaching occurred in dreams and
visions direct from the spirits aph se aph. She had no human guru. Aph se aph also has

the connotation of not being learned or produced through human intention or effort.

Aama  Bombo  says  that,  during  the  Golden  Age,  all  shamans  were  aph  se  aph  or  rang
shin.  Nowadays,  however,  during  this  Kaliyuga  or  Dark  Age,  the  connection  to
heaven  is  veiled,  and  most  shamans  have  to  learn  from  each  other.  Aama  Bombo
believes,  as  do  most  Nepalese  shamans,  that  mantra  or  teachings  that  arise  spontane
ously,  i.e.,  given  in  a  dream—aph  se  aph—are  much  more  powerful  than  those
learned  from  other  shamans.  I  believe  that  totally  aph  se  aph  shamans  who  have  no

guru, like Aama Bombo, are very rare, but this requires more study and is not the

major topic of this paper (cf Hitchcock, 1976). Aama Bombo says that the scarcity of

aph se aph shamans indicates that shamans are becoming less powerful.

There  are  some  very  powerful  “calling”  experiences  that  do  not  involve  the  ban  jhakri
teacher.  Still,  the  ban  jhakri  shaman—those  abducted  and  taught—are  typically
considered  to  be  the  most  powerful  type  of  shamans.  They  are  prototypical  models  for

becoming a shaman in Nepal and, so to speak, a mark of distinction and an epithet of
supernatural potency and unofficial status.

It is in the dangerous passage aspect of this initiatory scenario with the ban jhakri

teacher  that  the  figure  of  the  yeti  wife  clearly  emerges.  Both  Gajendra,  my  Tamang
teacher,  and  Ram  Ali,  a  ban  jhakri  shaman  mentioned  earlier,  knew  that  to  escape  her
threats  to  devour  them,  they  needed  to  run  downhill.  In  the  minds  of  these  shamans,
there  was  little  difference  between  the  ban  jhakrini  and  the  large  female  nyalmo  yeti.

She is more of a dark figure with black hair; he with a golden aura. She is violent and

rageful; he is a teacher of shamanic rituals. Yet without her, the passage would be less
dangerous and therefore less profound. She is said to leave the cave every evening and

The "Calling, " the Yeti, and the Ban Jhakri ("Forest Shaman ”) in Nepalese Shamanism

return  in  the  morning,  and  if  she  smells  one  of  her  husband’s  “pure”  disciples,  she
demands  a  slice  of  his  flesh.  In  many  accounts,  she  carries  a  golden  kukri  and  threatens
to  cut  off  the  disciple’s  head,  fingers,  and  toes,  i.e.,  cannibalize  him.  However,  the  ban

jhakri refuses the wife’s demand for meat and protects the candidate by hiding him or

teaching  him  to  become  invisible.  In  one  account,  the  ban  jhakri  is  said  to  teach  his
abductees  in  a  separate  room  where  his  wife  is  not  allowed  in  order  that  she  not
overhear  the  mantra  and  wreak  havoc  on  the  world  (Skafte,  1992).  Thus  the  ban

jhakrini is also connected with being a bokshi, usually translated as a female witch.

They  are  sorcerers,  human  or  spirit.  Bokshi  always  use  their  powers  and  mantra  for
nefarious  purposes.  The  ban  jhakrini,  according  to  all  my  informants,  never  teach.
However,  among  the  Muglin,  it  is  reported  that  the  ban  jhakrini  infrequently  take
women  and  teach  them.  But  one  wonders  if  she  teaches  them  to  be  shamans  because,
in  the  same  group,  she  is  identified  with  spirits  that  are  the  cause  of  illness  and

therefore bokshi themselves (Macdonald, 1976).

As mentioned above, some yeti trace their origin to the sun, descendants or spirits

from the sun. So are the Tamang bombo (shamans), who trace their heritage to the
first shaman, Sele Hezar Bön, or shaman of the “rays” or “light beams of the sun”

whose  golden  healing  sakti  (powers)  are  passed  on  to  generations  of  future  shamans
who  receive  them  aph  se  aph.  The  rays  of  the  sun  are  also  said  to  be  symbolized  in
the  peacock  feathered  headdress  worn  by  a  preponderance  of  Nepalese  shamans

during pilgrimage. The sunbeam, it is believed, forms a cord which connects the

shaman’s feathered crown to the heavenly regions, as it was during the “Golden

Age”  before  the  Fall  (ct  Stein,  1972;  see  also  Peters,  1990,  1997).  Ban  jhakri  teachers
have  golden  heads  pointing  skywards,  red  or  golden  hair  covering  their  bodies,  and
play  or  fly  on  golden  drums.  Their  wives,  the  ban  jhakrini,  have  golden  blades.  Gold
may  be  a  symbolic  bridge  with  that  pristine  Golden  Age—in  the  beginning—when
mankind  and  deities  knew  each  other  and  the  pattern  of  Nepalese  shamanism  was
being forged.

THE SHAMAN, THE CHODA, AND THE BOKSHI

The  caverns  of  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  are  only  reachable  by  crawling  through  small
holes  until  they  open  into  golden  palatial  settings  where  he  lives  with  his  family.  The
ban  jhakri  teacher  has  fire  and  an  array  of  shamanic  tools,  neither  of  which  are

possessed  by  any  of  the  yeti.  The  ban  jhakri  teacher  also  has  language.  His  wife,  on
the  other  hand,  is  violent  and  much  more  like  the  big  dark  nyalmo  yeti.  They  hardly
seem  a  well-matched  couple,  yet  since  the  Golden  Age  they  have  lived  and  worked
together  for  common  purpose.  They  are  partners,  and  she  is  an  equally  potent  and
necessary part of the process of becoming a shaman.

There  are  many  probable  perspectives  in  which  to  view  this  myth.  Miller  (1997)  sees
it  as  an  attempt  to  break  free  of  the  possessing  and  consuming  mother,  which  is  a
possibility  in  a  patrilocal  society  like  Nepal  where  polygyny  was  the  typical  practice

until  a  few  decades  ago  and  where  mothering  a  son  is  a  primary  means  by  which  to
attain  social  status.  However,  this  myth  is  not  about  a  separation-individuation
process  or  Oedipal  resolution,  but  thematically  deals  with  becoming  a  shaman—the
acquiring of a mystical vocation and not a puberty rite (Eliade, 1958).

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

From  another  perspective,  this  sacred  mythology  expresses  a  system  of  morals  which
are  mapped  onto  ideas  of  gender  identity  in  Nepal.  The  ban  jhakri  teacher  imparts
healing  methods.  The  ban  jhakrini,  on  the  other  hand,  is  dark,  dangerous,  and
associated  with  illness-causing  spirits  and  witchcraft.  Most  of  my  informants,  even

the  women,  believe  that  women  are  spiritually  more  prone  to  be  evil  than  men.  A  male
witch,  or  chorda,  is  believed  to  do  evil  out  of  anger,  toward  someone  specific.  But
women  do  it  to  anyone.  Bokshi,  it  is  believed,  acquire  the  most  power  by  killing  their
husbands  and  secondly  by  killing  their  first-born  sons  and  offering  him  as  a  sacrifice
to  the  evil  spirits.  These  are  the  worst  things  a  person  can  do,  and  why  they  imbue  so
much  power.  The  ban  jhakri  teacher,  deity  of  shamans,  is  male  and  his  initiates
traditionally  and,  for  the  most  part  currently,  are  men.  One  of  the  major  ritual
functions  of  the  shaman  is  the  sacrificing  of  animals.  In  most  Nepali  ethnicities,
women  are  not  permitted  to  perform  ritual  sacrifices  or  to  kill  or  “cut"  animals
because  it  is  spiritually  dangerous.  Thus  female  shamans  must  have  male  helpers.

This cultural value does not stop the bokshi who, like the ban jhakrini, wants to kill
male children.

Choda are not as evil as bokshi because they will try to save their children. But if they

need to kill them to save themselves, they will do so. Choda do not usually spoil their

loved ones (family) as bokshi do—they have no conscience and love no one. In fact,

if  a  bokshi  loves  someone,  or  feels  any  shame  or  guilt,  she  will  go  crazy.  Aama  Bombo
spoke  of  a  bokshi  who  plotted  to  kill  her  husband  but  loved  him  too,  so  couldn’t  do  it.
She  felt  guilty  and  confused  and  went  crazy.  Choda  are  more  powerful  than  bokshi

because  they  have  the  more  powerful  mantra  from  the  deities,  but  they  will  use  them
for  bad  purposes.  However,  bokshi  do  not  have  these  powerful  mantra,  and  their
power  over  others  is  usually  restricted  to  village  and  kin.  Unlike  choda,  they  cannot
become  shamans  because  choda  “play”  deities,  that  is,  they  have  relationships  with
them  and  are  able  to  be  influenced  by  them,  whereas  bokshi  only  play  bad  spirits.  It  is
said that choda are half jhankri, half bokshi.

Without  bokshi,  one  shaman  said,  there  would  be  no  shamans.  There  is  a  necessary
interdependence  between  them,  and  they  are  cultural  complements.  They  work
together  by  working  against  each  other.  I  saw  Aama  Bombo,  an  energetic  and
dedicated  healer,  only  refuse  to  treat  two  patients.  Both  of  these  women,  she  heard

aph se aph from her tutelary spirits, were bokshi and feigning illness in order to steal
her mantra.

The illness that the shamans treat—i.e., those caused by evil spirits—are typically the

work of bokshi. Even in the world of deities, the shaman identifies certain ones who

arc bokshi. Generally speaking, those who are female and do harm intentionally to
others, deities or human, are considered to be bokshi. Thus the work of shamans par
excellence is the combatting of bokshi and their evil spirit allies (lagu).

Lagu  are  the  souls  of  those  who  have  died  due  to  unnatural  causes—murder,  suicide,
accident—and  have  not  had  appropriate  funerals  to  take  them  out  of  this  world.
Instead,  these  are  “played”  and  “fed”  and  “kept”  by  bokshi  and  used  to  cause
problems.  Bokshi  and  choda  need  these  lagu  to  cause  spirit  problems.  Like  the
shamans,  it  is  not  them  that  do  their  respective  work  but  the  spirits  they  send  and  the
ones that work through them.

The "Calling," the Yeti, and the Ban Jhakri ("Forest Shaman") in Nepalese Shamanism

Unlike  deities,  lagu  are  fed  on  blood.  Chickens  and  goats  are  fine,  but  the  powerful
bokshi  need  to  offer  them  human  blood  and  are  thus  killers.  The  choda,  on  the  other
hand,  feeds  these  spirits  blood  taken  from  his  fingers  when  he  plays  them.  The  choda,
by  disposition,  is  not  a  murderer.  Thus  the  battle  of  good  vs.  evil  has  been  projected
onto the plane of the War of the Sexes.

The ban jhakri teacher is the god of shamans. Numerous informants attest that the ban

jhakrini is the goddess of the bokshi. Her nyalmo yeti origin connects her with the

man-eating  bogeyman  stories  told  to  children.  She  is  a  beast—a  bear—and  provokes
fear,  demanding  pieces  of  the  flesh  and  the  lives  of  the  “pure”  child  disciples  her
husband  abducts.  In  her  and  her  husband’s  golden  cave,  her  husband  teaches  future

shamans  the  techniques  to  combat  her,  how  to  become  invisible,  chase  bad  spirits
away  by  mastering  fire,  to  invoke  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  (i.e.,  himself)  and  other
spirits  for  protection,  to  shape-shift  and  fly,  and  to  utilize  some  of  the  ban  jhakri’a
arsenal  of  spiritual  weapons.  She  is  the  driving  force  behind  all  this  learning  and
teaching,  the  dark  background.  He  is  a  spirit  descended  from  the  sun.  Without  her,  he
would be without either definition or purpose.

THE “CALLING” AND THE TRAINING

The  initial  process  of  being  kidnapped  or  taken  is  said  to  be  the  same  thing  as  a
“possession”  (chaadhnu:  to  climb  upon)  by  the  ban  jhakri  teacher  who  thereby
"attacks”  the  candidate.  This  is  the  calling,  and  it  is  a  “spontaneous  election”  (Eliade,

1964), an aph se aph experience. But it is often difficult to tell the difference between

this "creative illness” and a pathological experience (Ellenberger, 1970). In this

context, it is much more difficult for a woman. Her "symptoms” arc often recognized
as a spirit illness and not as a calling.

It took Aama Bombo (“mother shaman”) nine years of experiencing the shaking
which is the sign of possession to finally begin developing a relationship with her

mukhiya  guru  (her  deceased  father)  and  practice  shamanism.  The  doctors  thought  she
was  crazy.  Everyone  in  her  family,  lamas,  and  other  shamans  thought  she  was  beset  by
evil  spirits.  Basically  because  she  is  a  lady,  they  did  not  believe  that  her  father,  a  once
famous  and  powerful  shaman,  would  come  to  her.  Thus  she  had  to  master  herself
without  the  aid  of  a  shaman  guru.  All  of  her  training,  both  didactic  and  ecstatic,  came,
as indicated earlier, “automatically’Y rang shin or aph se aph).

But, as stated above, this is rare, for nearly all who are “chosen” aph se aph—ban

jhakri or not—must find a shaman guru. Gajendra served an apprenticeship for nine

years  in  which,  as  he  explained  it,  he  enhanced  his  relationship  with  all  his  spirits
through  a  sort  of  on-the-job-training  at  healing  rituals,  guru  puja,  which  are  rituals
involving  drumming  and  calling  one’s  mukhiya  guru  to  possess  them  and  speak

through them, through a series of pilgrimage-initiations in order to acquire sakti

(power) from Shiva.

When  the  shaman  guru  takes  his  disciples  on  pilgrimages  to  Shiva  shrines  in  the
forests  and  mountains  on  important  full-moon  festivals,  they  are  on  a  quest  to  receive
Shiva’s  sakti.  They  are  repeating  a  Hinduized  version  of  the  ban  jhakri  origin  myth

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

which relates how Shiva endowed his sakti on the first shaman in the Golden Age, the
ban jhakri, so that he could bring candidates to the forest, and there teach them to be
healers (see Macdonald, 1976).

During these pilgrimage initiations, guru puja, and on-the-job training, the ban jhakri
neophyte improves on his initial initiatory experience. By playing the drum, first

taught  by  the  ban  jhakri  teacher,  he  becomes  proficient  at  invoking  the  ban  jhakri  to
be  of  aid  in  the  context  of  a  healing  ritual,  the  performance  of  which  is  the  shaman’s
major  social  function.  Healing  rituals  are  themselves  endeavors  to  defeat  the  lagu  and
bokshi  who  are  attacking  and  possessing  the  patients  and  thereby  making  them  ill.  It  is
believed  that  the  symptoms  and  illnesses  suffered  by  patients  are  the  result  of  being
“consumed"  by  bokshi  and  lagu  which  is  what  the  ban  jhakri  threaten  to  do  to  the
young initiants (Peters, 1995).

The healing rituals the shamans perform communicate cultural values, for it is said

that  bokshi  attack  through  conniving  to  “trick”  and  thereby  “spoil”  others.  The
shamans  conquer  evil  by  naming  it.  The  cause  of  trouble,  a  sorcery  based  on
malevolent  intent,  is  revealed  for  all  to  see  and  then  sent  away  to  its  "proper  place,”

ritually blocked from returning to the patient to cause more damage.

In the reports described above, and numerous others I collected of those ban jhakri
shamans who were kept for a day or less, the ban jhakrini did not appear. In our

examples,  those  who  were  kept  for  a  longer  period  had  the  full  experience  and  learned
how  to  combat  her,  becoming  apprentice  shamans  or  shamans  soon  afterwards.  Most
of  the  others  battled  with  the  ban  jhakri  illness  of  shaking  and/or  accusations  of  being
insane  until  they  found  a  guru  to  teach  them.  Some  are  only  beginning  to  learn  the
trade  now,  decades  later.  It  is  the  complete  mythos  that  is  experienced  by  the  young
candidate  that  makes  ban  jhakri  shamans.  Without  the  ban  jhakrini,  the  ban  jhakri
initiatory  encounter  is  one  that  has  been  aborted  because  of  some  impurity  or
impropriety  of  the  candidates.  As  noted  above,  the  shamans  themselves  recognize
these  brief  encounters  as  being  “incomplete.”  Those  kept  for  only  a  day  are  "thrown”;
the  others  are  taught  to  master  the  Queen  of  the  Bokshi  by  the  God  of  the  Shamans  and

then typically returned.

The defining characteristics of the bokshi is that she goes against the socially-

appropriate, abrogating fundamental values. For the bokshi, as we have seen, there are
no rules, no love. The most powerful commit the worst crimes in order to acquire that

power. They are antagonistic to the good and to life. This spiritual evil is often

symbolized in the mythopoetic imagination of Nepal as characters who have their feet

turned  backwards.  For  example,  the  kicakanni,  a  lagu-type  spirit  and  bokshi,  is
described  as  hideously  ugly  with  feet  that  are  turned  backward,  but  able  to  shape-shift
into  a  beautiful  phantom  who  seduces  and  eventually  kills  her  male  victims  by
draining  their  energy  during  intercourse.  Kicakanni  walk  backwards  to  hide  their

identifying characteristic. Each night, she appears to the unsuspecting man until he

finally wastes away.

When the ban jhakrini discovers her husband's candidate is their cave, she wants to

cut him and attempts to give the hungry youth food. However, if he takes it with the
palms of his hands, and not the backs, she has tricked him and will cut him. The ban

The "Calling," the Yeti, and the Ban Jhakri (“Forest Shaman") in Nepalese Shamanism

jhakri teacher teaches his candidates to eat with the backs of their hands in order to

dispel the attack of the ban jhakrini.

When  shamans  do  healings  for  disorders  in  which  bokshi  are  implicated,  their  patients
are  advised  to  bring  in  food  which  the  shaman  first  blows  healing  mantra  into  before
he  has  them  eat  from  both  the  front  and  back  of  their  hands.  This  ritual  act  is  called
ulto  (right  way)  when  the  right  palm  is  facing  up  and  sulto  (wrong,  opposite,  or
contrary  way)  when  the  right  palm  is  facing  down.  These  simple  ritual  gestures  are
culturally  believed  to  have  far-reaching  cosmic  implications,  as  the  two  sides  of  the
hands,  by  analogy,  are  recognized  to  be  the  same  as  positive/negative  poles,  day/
night,  visible/invisible,  good/evil,  male/female,  etc.  When  shamans  do  ulto-sulto,

they direct their patients first to do ulto to counteract the "poison" that the victims of
the bokshi attack (the patient) unwittingly ate with no evil intent, in the proper manner

(i.e., palm up). Then, with the back of their hand, they eat to get rid of the lagu who

have  attacked  them  from  the  hidden  backside,  imbued  with  a  more  powerful  shamanic
mantra  than  the  one  given  by  the  bokshi  to  the  lagu  that  caused  the  patient’s  illness.  In
a  certain  sense,  the  ulto  part  of  the  rite  treats  the  effects  (symptoms);  the  sulto  part
treats  the  cause  of  the  patient’s  problems,  i.e.,  the  agents  of  affliction:  bokshi  and  lagu.
According  to  Aama  Bombo,  the  mantra  she  puts  into  the  food  is  one  of  fire  that  bums,
poisons,  and  frightens  the  lagu,  causing  them  to  flee  for  their  lives  and  consequently
staving  off  the  bokshi  attack.  If  patients  do  not  eat  with  the  backsides,  the  bokshi  and
lagu  that  attack  from  this  clandestine  and  unseen  side  cannot  be  dispelled,  and  the
patient slowly dies.

As  mentioned  earlier,  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  backwards  or  inwards  pointed  feet
is  also  attributed  to  the  nyalmo  (or  ban  jhakrini)  yeti  as  well  as  the  ban  jhakri  teacher.
The  former,  as  we  have  seen,  is  large,  dark,  female,  carnivorous,  man-eating;  the  latter
small,  golden,  male,  vegetarian.  One  is  highly  dangerous,  the  other  a  teacher.  One  is  a
spirit  associated  with  illness  and  the  other  a  tutelary  healing  spirit.  One  closely
resembles  a  bear;  the  other  is  apelike.  Yet  they  both  kidnap  their  victims  and  take
them  away  from  society  and  family.  They  are  naked  and  sometimes  eat  uncooked  food
with  the  backs  of  their  hands.  They  both  have  something  golden  too:  he  a  golden
nimbus-like conehead, and she a golden kukri.

They  are  clearly  distinct.  Yet  the  same.  Both  are  ulto-sulto.  Both  embody  a  trait  of  the
other,  and  share  in  the  other's  darkness  and  light,  like  the  yin-yang  Tao.  One  is
reminded  of  the  universal  theme  of  the  mystical  union,  the  sacred  marriage  of
opposites.  They  are  two,  but  in  essence  one.  An  apparent  paradox,  but  at  a  deep  level,
two  necessary  parts  of  the  same  process,  the  process  of  initiation.  The  ban  jhakri  myth
tells  of  a  confrontation  with  the  unconscious  which,  as  Jung  (1966)  said,  is  where  the
gold  of  the  psyche  is  mixed  with  shadow,  where  the  best  and  worst  is  seen  to  somehow
live  together  for  better  or  worse  and  work  together  as  necessary  complements.  In

Jungian psychology, it is this confrontation with the shadow that is the necessary
beginning of the individuation process.

At  bottom,  the  process  of  initiation  is  a  process  of  transformation.  It  requires  a  death
and  a  rebirth,  and  it  is  a  dangerous  passage.  A  powerful  shamanic  initiation  is  akin  to
a  “spiritual  emergency”  which  is  a  critical  event  and  is  painful.  However,  the  crisis  is
necessary;  without  it  there  is  not  opportunity  for  change  and  growth  (Grof  &  Grof,

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

1989). Rites of passage, by definition, are “life-crisis” rituals (Turner, 1967; van

Gennep, 1960).

The shamanic initiation embodied in the tales of ban jhakri shamans require an

encounter with evil, for that is what the heroic shaman must combat. If he does not

experience it, overcome his fear, he will not be able to help others who are victimized
by it. In it, there must be a confrontation with the ban jhakrini, the prototype
bogeyman, bokshi, and a dominant symbol of evil.

This confrontation typically occurs in a cave. Caves (gufa) are the traditional places

where Tibetan and Indian yogins and shamans retreat. Gufa currently can be any

structure  that  is  enclosed  and  used  for  an  initiation.  Numerous  types  of  Nepalese
initiations  occur  in  a  gufa,  or  such  enclosed  structure  known  as  gufa.  Like  all  places  of
retreat,  they  are  spaces  of  the"  betwixt”  and  "between”  or  "liminal”  condition  of  the
initiation  process—separated/isolated  but  yet  to  be  returned.  It  is  the  period  of  a
"compressed  learning"  where  the  sacra  are  revealed.  To  the  Nepalese  shaman,  these
are  the  mantra  and  the  shamanic  tools  and  paraphernalia  of  the  ban  jhakri.  But  the

liminal is a time of paradox and the coexistence of opposites. Self-generated transfor

mation—"spiritual emergence”—occurs in times of danger and crisis. Thus the ban

jhakrini, her cannibalistic threats and bestial nature, resonate from childhood night

mares of being kidnapped by yeti and other bogeymen. The shaman needs to master
those very same demons and bokshi to heal his patients— to awaken from their
nightmares—by using what the ban jhakri taught him to do.

The  ban  jhakri  arc  the  masters  of  liminality.  They  stand  at  the  juncture  of  two  realities,
in  between  categories  and  boundaries.  They  are  physical  and  spiritual,  human  and
animal,  beings  of  dream  and  of  reality.  They  are  the  masters  in  a  numinous  unbounded
space  where  everything  is  backwards,  opposite,  and  dangerous.  They  are  the  neo
phytes’ guides through the dark night before initiatory rebirth.

There  are  hints  that,  at  one  point  in  the  ancient  past,  this  mythic  scenario  may  have
reflected  or  been  part  of  a  profound  shamanic  rite  of  passage.  Be  this  as  it  may,  today
it  is,  as  the  shamans  say,  an  aph  se  aph  experience,  that  is,  it  arises  on  its  own,
unbidden  and  automatically,  to  those  chosen  to  be  shamans  by  the  spirits.  It  is  a
spontaneous rite of passage.

Indeed the yeti and ban jhakri are real. They are not just characters in a story told, but
realities lived in the soul of the Nepalese shaman.

REFERENCES

Ashkinazi. B. & Gongi, S.N. (1979). The yeti. Times of India, March 6.
Dhakal. S. (1996). Folk tales of Sherpa and Yeti. New Delhi: Nirala.
Ekvall, R.B. (1964). Religious observances in Tibet. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Eliade. M. (1958). Rite and symbols of initiation. New York: Harper & Row.
Eliade, M. (1964). Shamanism: Archaic techniques of ecstasy. Princeton: Princeton Univer

sity Press.

Ellenberger, H. (1970). The discovery of the unconscious. New York: Basic Books.

The "Calling, " the Yeti, and the Ban Jhakri ("Forest Shaman") in Nepalese Shamanism

ennep

, A.

van

. (1960). The riles of passage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Grof, S. & G

rof

, C. (Eds.). (1989). Spiritual emergency. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher.

upta

, M.M. & N

ath

, T. (1994). On the yeti trail: The search for the ellusive snowman. New

Delhi: UBS Publishers' Distributors Ltd.

illary

, E. & Doig, D. (1962). High in the thin cold air. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

itchcock

, J. (1976). Aspects of Bhujel shamanism. In J. Hitchcock & R. Jones (Ed.), Spirit

possession in the Nepal Himalayas. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, pp. 165-196.

itchcock

, J. & J

onhs

, R. (Eds.). (1976). Spirit possession in the Nepal Himalayas. New

Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.

aschke

, H.A. (1972). A Tibetan-English dictionary. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.

ung

, C. (1966). Two essays on analytical psychology. In G. Adler, M. Fordham. W. McGuire

& H. Reed (Eds.), The collected works ofC.G. Jung, vol. 7. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.

all

, K. (1988a). Lore and legend of the yeti. Kathmandu, Nepal: Pilgrims Book House.

all

, K. (1988b). Tales of the yeti. Kathmandu, Nepal: Pilgrims Book House.

acdonald

, A.W. (1976). Preliminary notes on some jhakri of the Muglan. In J. Hitchcock &

R. Jones (Eds.), Spirit possession in the Nepal Himalayas. New Delhi: Vikas Publsihing
House Pvt. Ltd.

ajupuria

, T.C. & K

umar

, R. (1993). Yeti (the abominable snowman of the silent snows of the

Himalaya): Fact or fiction. Lashkar, India. Smt. M.D. Gupta.

ichell

, J. (1983). The new view over Atlantis. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Miller. C. (1997). Faith-healers in the Himalaya. Delhi: Book Faith India.

ebesky

-W

ojkowitz

, R.

. (1993). Oracles and demons of Tibet. Kathmandu, Nepal:

Tiwari's Pilgrims Book House.

orbu

, T.J. & T

urnbull

, C. (1972). Tibet, its history, religion and people. Middlesex: Penguin

Books.

andey

, R. (1993). Yeti accounts. Kathmandu. Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.

aul

, R. (1976). Some observations on Sherpa shamanism. In J. Hitchcock & R. Jones (Eds.),

Spirit possession in the Nepal Himalayas. New Delhi: Vikas Publsihing House Pvt. Ltd.

141-151.

eters

, L. (1978). Shamanism among the Tamang of Nepal: Folk curing & psychotherapy.

Dissertation. Los Angeles: University of California Department of Anthropology.

eters

, L. (1981). Ecstasy and healing in Nepal Malibu, CA: Undena Publications.

eters

, L. (1989). Shamanism: Phenomenology of a spiritual discipline. Journal of Transper

sonal Psychology, 21(2), 115-37.

eters

. L. (1990). Mystical experience in Tamang shamanism. Revision: The Journal of

Consciousness and Change, 13(2), 71-85.

eters

, L. (1995). Karga Puja: A transpersonal ritual of healing in Tamang shamanism.

Alternative Therapies, 1 ( 5 ) , 53-61.

eters

, L. (1997). A promise to the goddess Kali. Shaman’s Drum, 44, 35-41.

agant

, P. (1976). Becoming a Limbu priest, In J. Hitchcock & R. Jones (Eds.), Spirit

possession in the Nepal Himalayas. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 56-99.

amuels

, G. (1993). Civilized shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan societieis. Washington:

Smithsonian Institution Press.

aunders

, N.J. (1995). Animal spirits. Boston: Little. Brown and Company.

chuhmacher

, S. & W

oerner

, G. (Eds.). (1989). The encyclopedia of Eastern philosophy and

religion. Boston: Shambhala.

kafte

, P. (1992). Three accounts of shamanic initiation from Nepal. Shaman's Drum, 27, 46-

52.

tein

, R.A. (1972). Tibetan civilization. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

urner

, V. (1967). The forest symbols. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Requests for reprints to: Larry Peters. Ph.D.. California Graduate Institute. 1100 Glendon. Westwood, CA

90024. e-mail: lpshaman@aol.com

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

The  above  quotes  represent  two  common,  yet  seemingly  paradoxical  themes  found  in
many  of  the  world’s  great  spiritual  traditions:  1)  the  importance  of  gaining  greater
personal  mastery  and  control  over  oneself  and  one’s  experience,  and  2)  the  need  to  let
go,  relinquish  active  control,  and  surrender  oneself  to  the  Universe,  God,  the  spiritual
Master.  It  is  our  belief  that  such  themes  as  will,  letting  go  and  letting  God.  surrender,
and  mastery,  all  center  around  a  construct  which  has  received  a  great  deal  of  attention
in  Western,  scientific  psychology:  control.  As  it  is  used  throughout  this  paper,  we
define  “control”  as  the  “ability  to  cause  an  influence  in  the  intended  direction"

(Rodin, 1986; Rothbaum & Weis/, 1989). Control has primarily been used in

Western psychology to denote an assertive change mode. However, we believe the
construct of control can also be applied to the skills of letting go and accepting

(whether to the natural way or to God).

We  applaud  the  excellent  and  timely  review  of  psychometric  measures  and  their
potential  relevance  for  transpersonal  psychological  research  which  appeared  in  a
recent  JTP  issue  (MacDonald  et  al.,  1995).  However,  based  on  years  of  extensive
research  on  the  psychological  construct  of  control  (cf.  Shapiro,  Schwartz  &  Astin,

1996), it is our conclusion that how individuals relate to, desire, and exercise control

in  their  lives  would  be  an  important  addition  to  this  summary  of  transpersonal
constructs.  The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  briefly  introduce  the  topic  of  control  as
discussed  in  Western  psychological  theory  and  research,  introduce  readers  to  the

Shapiro Control Inventory (SCI), a multidimensional measure of this construct, and

highlight the ways in which control may be relevant to transpersonal psychology.

THE CONSTRUCT OF CONTROL: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

It  was  only  in  the  late  1950s  and  early  1960s  that  psychology  began  to  seriously  re
examine  issues  of  personal  control.  Prior  to  that  time,  in  an  effort  to  break  away  from
its  philosophical  roots,  psychology  relegated  concepts  such  as  self-control,  will,  and

voluntary control of “consciousness” to the graveyard of epiphenomena (e.g., Skin

ner,  1953,  1971).  The  elimination  of  these  terms,  with  their  introspective  (and
sometimes  teleological)  philosophical  assumptions,  was  seen  as  critical  for  psy
chology’s  scientific  development.  Resurgence  of  interest  came  from  multiple  sources
(cf.  Klausner,  1965),  including  neo-analytic  views  of  competence  and  dyscontrol
(White,  1959;  Menninger,  Mayman  &  Pruyser,  1963),  early  social  learning  theory
(Rotter,  1966),  and  behaviorists’  excursions  into  the  “lions  den"  of  self-control  and
cognitive processes (e.g., Thoresen & Mahoney, 1974; Meichenbaum, 1977).

In  addition,  reports  appeared  from  Asia  detailing  extraordinary  achievements  of
behavioral  and  cognitive  control  by  Zen  meditators  and  yogi  masters  (e.g.,  Kasamatsu
&  Hirai,  1966;  Anand,  Chinna  &  Singh,  1961).  With  the  development  of  increased
technological  sophistication  (e.g.,  Green,  Green  &  Walters,  1970),  Western  scientists
began  examining  the  possibility  of  increased  human  control  over  what  heretofore  had

been considered autonomic aspects of human functioning (e.g., Kamiya et al., 1971;
Pelletier & Peper. 1977).

During the past three decades, psychologists have made significant contributions to
our understanding of how individuals gain and maintain a sense of control in their

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

lives (for overviews see Skinner, 1996; Shapiro et al., 1996; Shapiro & Astin, in

press). Several control-related constructs have been developed and explored, and

investigations have refined non-pharmacological self-regulation strategies to provide

individuals  increased  control  over  their  affect,  behavior,  and  cognitions.  Hundreds  of
studies  and  dozens  of  books  have  been  devoted  to  the  theory,  research,  and  applica
tions  of  a  variety  of  personal  control  strategies  to  numerous  health  care  and  psycho
therapeutic  concerns.  This  body  of  work  has  demonstrated  that  our  ability  to  gain  and
maintain  a  sense  of  control  is  essential  for  our  evolutionary  survival  (Averill,  1973;
White,  1959),  a  central  element  in  psychotherapy  and  mental  health  (cf.  Frank,  1982;

Bandura, 1989; Seligman, 1991), and important for our physical health (cf. Syme,

1989; Rodin, 1986). Further, the benefits of having control on health and mood have

been demonstrated across the human life-span, from childhood (cf. Rothbaum &
Weisz, 1989) through middle adulthood (cf. Averill, 1973) and among the elderly (cf.
Rodin, 1986; Shapiro, Sandman, Grossman & Grossman, 1995a).

MEASURING CONTROL

The  belief  that  one  has  control  can  often  be  as  important  as  actually  having  control  (cf.
Taylor  &  Brown,  1988).  Therefore,  it  is  critical  to  investigate  a  person’s  self
perceptions  regarding  control.  Over  the  past  three  decades,  the  measurement  of
perceived  human  control  has  moved  from:  1)  general  domain  to  specific  domains;  2)

from human control as a unitary construct to human control as a multifaceted molar

construct  (Rotter,  1966;  Wallston,  Wallston,  Smith  &  Dobbins,  1978;  Shapiro,  1994).
The  first  generation  measurement  of  control  was  Rotter’s  Internal-External  Locus  of
Control  Scale.  Questions  assessed  in  a  forced  choice  manner  whether  individuals
believed  that  an  area  was  under  their  internal  control  or  whether  control  came  from
external  circumstances.  For  example,  a  person  would  need  to  choose  between  the
following statements:

a) The idea that teachers are unfair to students is nonsense.
b) Most students don’t realize the extent to which their grades are influenced by
accidental happenings.

Choosing “a” would be a point for internal locus of control. The test provided one
with a general domain, unidimensional score reflecting whether a person had a more
internal or external control orientation

A second generation test was developed in the 1970s by the Wallstons (Wallston et
al., 1978). In contrast to Rotter’s, their test was domain specific—related to health.

Further,  based  on  research  of  Levenson  and  others  (1974),  their  test  did  not  make
internal/external  an  either/or  proposition  but  allowed  for  scores  reflecting  three
different  agents  or  sources  of  control:  internal,  external  powerful  other,  and  external
chance:

internal locus of control—“If I take care of myself, I can avoid illness.”

external powerful other control—“Having regular contact with my physician is the best

way for me to avoid illness.”

chance—“Most things that affect my health happen to me by accident.”

Measuring the Psychological Construct of Control

The locus of control inventories developed by Rotter and Wallston have made

significant contributions to our understanding of control. However there are three

major limitations to these scales: 1) neither instrument measures a person's “sense of
control" in both overall (general domain) and across multiple domains; 2) neither

scale assesses "desire for control” (whether over oneself or the external environment)
which has been shown to be an important component of control, distinct from locus of

control (cf. Burger & Cooper, 1979); and 3) consistent with most Western psycho

logical research and theory, these inventories conceptualize control primarily as
active and instrumental and fail to distinguish between negative yielding (too little

control) and positive yielding (accepting) "modes of control.” Psychological theory,

research, and practice is beginning to recognize the importance of an accepting mode
of control as a complimentary balance to active change strategies (cf. Linehan, 1993;
Weisz, Rothbaum & Blackburn, 1984).

THE SHAPIRO CONTROL INVENTORY (SCI)

Over the past two decades, we have developed and tested the SCI, a third-generation

control inventory that attempts to address the above limitations. The SCI is a paper-

and-pencil self-assessment inventory consisting of 187 items and involving nine
scales. Its intent is to serve as a reliable and valid control inventory for clinicians and

researchers to utilize in both clinical and health care settings. Despite its conceptual
complexity, the SCI has a simple format which facilitates self-administration (taking

approximately 20 minutes to complete) by the client or research subject. Further, it is
available on scannable forms which can be computer scored, providing the health care

professional or researcher a printout showing a patient’s control profile.

Several approaches to reliability and validity were used in developing the SCI, and

these studies are detailed in a 200-page manual for the inventory (Shapiro, 1994). For
the nine SCT scales, alpha reliability coefficients range from .70 to .89 and test-retest
reliability from .67 to .93.

The development of the SCI involved several thousand individuals ranging in age

from 13 to 91 throughout all regions of the U.S. Comparisons have been undertaken

with  both  standard  psychiatric  tests  such  as  the  MMPI  and  control  tests  such  as
Rotter's  and  Wallston’s.  The  SCI  showed  discriminant,  divergent,  and  incremental
validity  over  the  MMPI  and  Rotter’s  and  Wallstons’  locus  of  control  scales  (cf.
Shapiro,  Potkin,  Jin,  Brown  &  Carreon,  1993),  divergent  and  convergent  validity  with
the  Eysenck  personality  questionnaire  (Santibanez,  1992),  and  discriminant  validity
through  contrasted  groups  of  meditators  and  Type  A  individuals  (Shapiro,  1994).
Research  has  also  sought  to  link  control  constructs  with  brain  regions—functional
neuroanatomy—through  positron  emission  tomography  (Shapiro  et  al.,  1995b).  Hav
ing  control  was  positively  associated  with  activation  of  frontal  cortex  components  and

negatively correlated with limbic system activation, particularly the amygdala.

Below, we summarize the main aspects of the SCI control profile:

1) Sense of Control. What we define as “a person’s perception s/he has control, or

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

the belief that s/he can gain such control if desired," measured in both general and
specific domains.

2)  Modes  of  Control.  The  characteristic  cognitive  and  behavioral  styles  for  obtain
ing  and  maintaining  control,  reflecting  coping  styles  of  positive  assertive,  positive
yielding,  negative  assertive,  and  negative  yielding.  As  we  discuss  in  the  next  section,
these  two  positive  modes  of  control,  assertive  and  yielding,  represent  in  many  ways
the  two  approaches  to  spiritual/transpersonal  growth  and  development  we  identified
at the outset of this paper.

3) Motivation for Control. Whether a person has a low or high desire for control, the
areas where s/he wants to gain more control and where s/he fears losing control.

4) Agency of Control. The source of a person’s sense of control (similar to locus of
control). Does the client gain a sense of control from self-efforts, the efforts of others,
or from both?

APPLICATIONS TO TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

In this final section, we outline several areas where we feel the construct of control is

relevant to transpersonal issues: 1) contemplative practices and their effect on posi

tive yielding control; 2) the cultivation of the transpersonal "Witness” and its relation

to  control;  3)  control  by  a  benevolent  Other  (God,  the  Divine);  4)  spiritual  pursuits
and  their  relationship  to  negative  control  efforts;  and  5)  the  ability  to  balance  assertive
and  yielding  modes  of  control  as  a  hallmark  of  spiritual  growth  and  development.  We
end  this  section  by  discussing  a  number  of  challenging  and  provocative  questions  that
control raises with respect to transpersonal psychology.

Spiritual Practices: Effects on Yielding Mode of Control

Findings  from  several  studies  suggest  a  relationship  between  practicing  meditation
and  being  able  to  gain  a  positive  sense  of  control  through  the  previously  identified
“accepting/yielding  mode."  For  example,  Easterline  (1992)  and  Shapiro  (1992)  both
found  a  relationship  between  length  of  time  practicing  meditation  and  one’s  perceived

ability  to  utilize  this  yielding  mode  of  control.  Astin  (1997)  found  that  college
students  trained  in  mindfulness  meditation  showed  significantly  higher  scores  on  the
SCI's  accepting  mode  of  control  as  well  as  the  Kass,  Friedman,  Lesserman,
Zuttermeister  and  Benson’s  (1991)  Index  of  Core  Spiritual  Experiences  (INSPIRIT).
The  above  findings  seem  consistent  with  the  emphasis  that  many  contemplative
traditions  place  on  cultivating  acceptance  of  what  is  (i.e.,  surrendering  the  desire  to
have experience match the incessant likes and dislikes of the mind).

One  could  argue  that  to  call  letting  go  of  or  surrendering  control  (i.e.,  positive
yielding)  a  form  of  “control”  is  somehow  contradictory.  We  believe,  however,  that
this  seeming  paradox  can  be  resolved  or  better  understood  if  one  realizes  that  the
ability  to  let  go  of  control,  to  yield  and  accept,  is  a  skill.  We  are  reminded  of  a  woman

Measuring the Psychological Construct of Control

who was being taught in meditation to "let her breathing go," to simply "let it be

easy.” She commented (to one of us) that she was afraid of losing control, saying that

“I don't think I have the self-control to let go of control. . . .” Similarly, we believe

that the ability to let the Divine or spiritual teacher, shaman, etc. guide or control one
represents a skill. Further we would argue that it is important in the transpersonal field

to distinguish negative yielding to another's control (such as one might observe
within a cult) from positive yielding in which one consciously and skillfully surren

ders control from a position of ego strength (cf. Wilber's [1995] discussion of the pre/
trans fallacy).

Sense of Control and "The Witness”

The  cultivation  of  the  “Transpersonal  Witness,”  a  focus  of  many  spiritual  traditions
(cf.  Wilber,  1995),  has  a  number  of  implications  related  to  control:  a)  As  one  watches
(witnesses)  the  oftentimes  incessant  chatter  and  clamor  of  the  mind,  one  comes  to
realize  what  little  control  he  or  she  actually  has  over  these  processes;  b)  As  one  learns
to  rest  more  in  the  Witness,  one  begins  lo  notice  his  or  her  characteristic  ways  of
reacting  cognitively,  emotionally,  and  behaviorally  to  life’s  myriad  circumstances.

This type of awareness enables one to be less controlled and dominated by such
reflexive reactions and instead provides the spaciousness to choose (i.e., control) how

he  or  she  will  respond;  c)  Development  of  the  Witness  can  also  serve  to  increase
awareness  of  our  neurotic/dysfunctional  efforts  to  control  our  experience  while  also
helping  us  to  realize  the  limits  of  personal  control  (i.e.,  despite  our  best  efforts  to

master  ourselves  and  direct  the  course  of  our  lives,  there  will  always  be  variables  that
are  uncontrollable).  Consistent  with  the  above  points,  Easterline  (1992)  found  that  a
greater  overall  sense  of  control  as  well  as  a  decreased  desire  for  control  (as  measured
by the SCI) were associated with length of time practicing meditation.

Nature of the Universe: Control by a Benevolent Other

Several  lines  of  research  (cf.  Taylor,  1983;  McIntosh,  Silver  &  Wortman,  1993;
Shapiro  et  al.,  1996)  suggest  that  some  individuals  derive  their  sense  of  control  from
a  "benevolent  other,”  oftentimes  spiritual  in  nature  (e.g.,  the  12-step  programs’

emphasis  on  regaining  behavioral  control  through  acknowledging  the  support  and
spiritual  guidance  of  a  “Higher  Power”).  For  example,  in  our  research  on  breast
cancer  patients  (Shapiro  et  al.,  under  review),  we  found  a  significant  number  of
women who reported gaining a positive sense of control from their faith in God.

As  discussed,  the  SCI  assesses  individuals’  agency  or  source  of  control  (i.e.,  the
degree  to  which  people  gain  their  sense  of  control  from  self  and/or  other/Other)  and
can  be  used  to  examine  the  effects  that  gaining  a  sense  of  control  from  a  spiritual
source  may  have  on  mental  and  physical  health  outcomes.  Also  it  would  be  interesting
for  transpersonal  researchers  to  examine  the  ways  in  which  disciples’  relationships  to
spiritual  figures  (e.g.,  such  as  gurus)  may  impact  upon  their  sense  of  control  and  the
ways in which they derive such control.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

The  two  positive  modes  of  control  (assertive  and  yielding)  also  have  their  negative  or
shadow  counterparts,  negative  assertive  (overcontrolling)  and  negative  yielding  (be
ing  overly  passive  and  acquiescent)  (Shapiro  &  Astin,  in  press).  These  negative
modes  of  control  may  have  relevance  to  transpersonal  issues  and  pursuits  in  several
ways.  For  example,  efforts  to  rise  above  the  desires  and  attachments  of  the  ego,  a

common  theme  in  many  contemplative  disciplines  and  paths,  can  become  a  kind  of
rigid,  repressive,  overcontrol  of  one’s  self  and  emotions  (a  denial  rather  than  tran
scendence  of  one’s  human  limitations).  Conversely,  individuals  involved  in  trans
personal/esoteric  disciplines  which  emphasize  such  things  as  devotional  surrender  to
God  and  guru,  and  unconditional  obedience  and  loyalty  to  the  spiritual  Master,  may
become  too  passive,  nonassertive,  and  overly  dependent,  letting  go  of  control  in  a
maladaptive  (“negative  yielding”)  way.  Examining  these  negative  aspects  of  seeking
and  gaining  a  sense  of  control,  as  the  SCI  does,  may  shed  light  on  some  of  the  potential

consequences or pitfalls associated with the pursuit of transpersonal experience.

Balancing Assertive and Yielding Modes of Control

The two modes of control we have outlined thus far have their corollary in the Taoist
concepts of yin and yang, the universal forces of receptivity and activation. As can be

seen in the yin-yang symbol, there are elements of each of these qualities contained

within  the  other.  For  example,  in  terms  of  control,  one  could  say  that  it  requires  great
discipline,  will,  and  self-control  to  let  go  and  relinquish  one’s  efforts  to  always  be  in
control.  Similarly,  acceptance  of  ourselves  as  we  are  can  often  be  the  soil  for
subsequent  change  or  transformation.  These  ideas  are  captured  in  these  lines  from  the

Bhagavad-Gita: "Who sees inaction in action and action in inaction—He is enlight

ened  among  men—He  does  all  actions,  disciplined."  We  also  find  a  similar  message
expressed  in  Krishna’s  words  to  “act,  but  be  not  attached  to  the  fruits  of  your
labors....”  The  above  concepts  point  to  both  the  paradoxical  nature  of  control  (e.g.,
we  often  realize  greater  sense  of  control  by  letting  go  of  active  control)  and  the
importance  of  living  one’s  life  in  balance.  The  harmonious  integration  of  these  two
modes  of  control  (two  modes  of  being)  is  beautifully  expressed  in  the  Alcoholics
Anonymous  Prayer  (adapted  from  Reinhold  Niebuhr):  "God,  grant  me  the  courage  to

change  what  I  can  [assertive  control  or  the  qualities  of  yang],  the  serenity  to  accept
what  I  cannot  change  [yielding  control—the  qualities  of  yin],  and  the  wisdom  to  know
the  difference.”  Along  these  lines,  our  research  on  how  people  realize  a  sense  of
control  in  their  lives  also  suggests  that  optimal  psychological  health  is  characterized
by  a  balanced  and  flexible  use  of  the  two  positive  modes  of  assertive  and  yielding
control, as well as their integration.

Further Questions and Considerations

1) An important question concerns the extent to which there are limits on humans'

ability to control attentional processes, bodily processes, subtle energies, and envi

Dangers of Overcontrol and Too Little Control in Spiritual Pursuits

Measuring the Psychological Construct of Control

ronmental circumstances. For example, when is the popular concept that "we create

[control] our own reality”: 1) a healthy expression of positive assertive control; 2) a

dysfunctional desire to control that which is uncontrollable; 3) a magical (i.e.. pre-

rather  than  trans-personal)  belief  in  the  power  to  affcct/control  outcomes  in  life;  and/
or  4)  a  statement  grounded  in  a  truly  transpersonal  state  of  conscious  awareness,  one
which  recognizes  the  primacy  of  consciousness?  These  questions  point  to  the  impor
tance  of  examining  contextual  factors  related  to  the  experience  and  exercise  of

control.

2)  Though  beyond  the  scope  of  the  SCI,  we  feel  it  is  important  to  consider  larger
philosophical  issues  and  transpersonal  concepts  such  as  the  Buddhist  doctrine  of  “no
self”  (and  the  Veda's  "God  is  the  Doer"),  which  raise  ontological  issues  related  to

control such as what or who (e.g., ego, self, the Divine) is doing the controlling,

feeling out of control, desiring to be in control.

3) A related question of interest to transpersonal psychologists is what is the nature of

control in altered states such as dreams, shamanic trance, and other nonordinary states
of consciousness. For example, Walsh (1990) has noted that there can be, even in

trance states, voluntary control of consciousness. On the other hand, in his study of
Balinese religious rituals, Shapiro (1989) has observed that when individuals enter

trance, there is a point at which they relinquish or surrender personal control to the
context (e.g., the priest). Finally, some have suggested that individuals resist learning

about spiritual and transcendental experiences, or repress and misinterpret them, due

to the desire for control, the fear of loss of control, and/or a low tolerance for
ambiguity. Along these lines, Ayya Khema (1996) notes:

People fear absorption in the Jhanas because they think they are losing control.... I tell

them  when  you  are  swept  away  by  feelings  of  ordinary  unhappiness,  you  obviously  have  no
control  over  yourself.  A  person  who  is  in  control  would  never  voluntarily  be  unhappy.  So
in  your  ordinary  life  you  must  be  lost  or  out  of  control.  By  contrast,  in  absorption,  we  no
longer  project  our  ego  onto  reality.  We  are  experiencing  a  taste  of  the  emptiness  of  self,  and
while it may feel as if we are losing control, we are actually at last arriving at truth.

S U M M A R Y

To  summarize,  we  believe  that  the  construct  of  control  has  important  applications  to
transpersonal  psychology  for  a  number  of  reasons:  1)  self-control  (of  cognitions,
emotions,  and  behavior)  is  a  central  feature  of  many  transpersonal/contemplative
disciplines  and  may  be  enhanced  as  a  result  of  cultivating  states  of  awareness  such  as
the  “transpersonal  witness”;  2)  research  suggests  a  relationship  between  practice  of
meditation  and  the  ability  to  gain  a  sense  of  control  through  an  accepting/yielding
mode;  3)  the  ability  to  utilize  both  assertive  and  accepting  modes  of  control  may  be  a
correlate  of  both  optimal  psychological  health  and  spiritual  development/maturity;  4)

research suggests that some individuals gain a sense of control in their lives through

their relationship with some Spiritual Presence or Power; and 5) the pursuit of

transpersonal goals may be associated with negative/maladaptive aspects of gaining

and seeking control (e.g., overcontrol, passive acquiescence).

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

REFERENCES

nand

, B., C

hinna

, G. & S

ingh

, B. (1961). Some aspects of electroencephalographic studies of

yogis. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 13, 452-456.

stin

, J. (1997). Stress-reduction through mindfulness meditation: Effects on psychological

symptomatology, sense of control, and spiritual experiences. Psychotherapy and Psycho-

somatics, 66, 97-106.

verill

, J. R. (1973). Personal control over aversive stimuli and its relationship to stress.

Psychological Bulletin, 80, 286-303.

andura

, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44.

1175-1184,

urger

, J. M. & C

ooper

, H. M. (1979). The desirability of control. Motivation and Emotion, 3,

381-393.

asterune

, B. (1992). Measuring stress and control in meditators through trait, state, and in

vivo experience sampling. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. California Institute of

Integral Studies.

rank

, J. D. (1982). Therapeutic components shared by all psychotherapies. In J.H. Harvey &

M.M. Parks (Eds.), Psychotherapy research and behavior change (Master lecture series.
Vol. 1, pp. 9-37). Washington, D.C.: APA.

reen

, E., G

reen

, A. & W

alters

, E. (1970). Voluntary control of internal states: Psychologi

cal and physiological. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2,(1) 1-26.

amiya

, J.. B

arber

, T., D

ara

. L. V.. M

iller

, N. E., S

hapiro

, D. & S

toyva

, J. (Eds). (1971).

Biofeedback and self-control. Chicago: Aldine.

asamatsu

, A. & H

irai

, T. (1966). An electroencephalographic study of Zen meditation

(Zazen). Folia Psychiataria et Neurologica Japonica, 20, 315-336.

ass

, J. D.. F

riedman

, R„ L

esserman

, J.. Z

uttermeister

, P. C. & B

enson

, H. (1991). Health

outcomes and a new index of spiritual experience. Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion, 30, 203-211.

hema

, A. (1996). Biting into the mango: Doing jhana practice. Inquiring Mind, 7J(1), 8.

lausner

, S. Z. (1965). A collocation of concepts of self-control. In S.Z. Klausner (Ed.), The

quest for self-control: Classical philosophies and scientific research (pp. 9-45). New York:
Free Press.

evenson

, H. (1974). Activism and powerful others: Distinctions within the concept of

internal-external control. Journal of Personality Assessment, 38, 1097-1110.

inehan

, M. M. (1993). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder.

New York: Guilford Press.

eichenbaum

, D. (1977). Cognitive behavior modification: An integrative approach. New

York: Plenum.

ntosh

, D.N., S

ilver

, R.C. & W

ortman

, C.B. (1993). Religion's role in adjustment to a

negative life event: Coping with the loss of a child. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology. 65, 812-821.

onald

, D.A., L

lair

, L.. H

olland

, C.J., A

lter

, A. & F

riedman

, H.L. (1995). A survey

of measures of transpersonal constructs. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 27. 171-
235.

enningf

, K„ M

ayman

. M. & P

ruyser

. P. (1963). The vital balance: The life process in

mental health and illness. New York: Viking Press.

elletier

, K. & P

eper

, E. (1977). The chutzpah factor in altered states of consciousness.

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 17, 63-73.

odin

. J. (1986). Aging and health: Effects of sense of control. Science, 233, 1271-1276.

othbaum

, F. M. & W

eisz

, J. R. (1989). Child pathology and the quest for control. Newbury

Park, CA: Sage.

Measuring the Psychological Construct of Control

otter

, J. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforce

ment. Psychological Monographs, 80, Whole No. 609.

antibanez

, R. (1992). A study of self-control in prisoners. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.

Universidad de Deusto: Bilboa, Spain.

eugman

, M. E. P. (1991). Learned optimism. New York: Knopf.

hapiro

, D. H. (1989). Self-control and other control in cross-cultural perspective: Balinese

trance and religious beliefs. Revision, 12(3), 33-46.

hapiro

, D.H. (1992). A mode of control and self-control profile for long-term meditators.

Psychologia, 35, 1-11.

hapiro

, D.H. (1994). Manual for the Shapiro Control Inventory (SCI). Palo Alto: Behavior-

dyne.

hapiro

, D.H. (in press). The human quest for control. New York: Tarcher/Putnam.

hapiro

, D.H., P

otkin

, S., J

, Y., B

rown

, B. & C

arreon

, D. (1993). Measuring the psycho

logical construct of control: Discriminant, divergent, and incremental validity of the
Shapiro Control Inventory and Rotter’s and Wallston’s Locus of Control Scales. Interna
tional Journal of Psychosomatics, 40, 35-46.

hapiro

, D. H., S

andman

, C., G

rossman

, M. & G

rossman

, B. (1995a). Aging and sense of

control. Psychological Reports, 76, 1-3.

hapiro

, D. H. W

, J„ B

uchsbaum

, M., H

ong

, C., E

derkin

-T

hompson

, V. & H

illard

, D.

(1995b). Exploring the relationship between having control and losing control to functional
neuroanatomy within the sleeping state. Psychologia, 38, 113-145.

hapiro

, D.H., S

chwartz

, C.E. & A

stin

, J.A. (1996). Controlling ourselves, controlling our

world: Psychology’s role in understanding positive and negative consequences of seeking
and gaining control. American Psychologist, 51, 1213-1230.

hapiro

, D.H & A

stin

, J.A. (in press). The role of control and self-control in psychotherapy

and health care. New York: John Wiley.

hapiro

, D. H., A

nton

-C

ulver

, H., S

chwartz

, C. E., M

uade

, J., B

reur

, A. M., T

aylor

, T.,

, H., A

stin

, J. A. & K

urosaki

, T. (under editorial review) A longitudinal study of sense

of control and quality of life among women with breast cancer.

kinner

, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: Macmillan.

kinner

, B. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Knopf.

kinner

, E. A. (1996). A guide to constructs of control. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology, 71, 549-570.

yme

, S. L. (1989). Control and health: A personal perspective. In A. Steptoe & A. Appels

(Eds). Stress, personal control, and health (pp. 3-19). New York: Wiley.

aylor

, S.E. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation.

American Psychologist, 38, 1161-1173.

aylor

, S. E. & B

rown

, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological

perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193-210.

horesen

, C. & M

ahoney

, M. (1974). Behavioral self-control. New York: Holt, Rinehart &

Winston.

allston

, K. A., W

allston

, B. S., Smith, S. & D

obbins

, C. J. (1978). Development of the

Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales. Health Education Monographs, 6(2),

160-170.

Walsh, R. W. (1990). The spirit of shamanism. Los Angeles: Tarcher.
W

eisz

, J. R„ R

othbaum

, F. M. & B

lackburn

, T. C. (1984). Standing out and standing in: The

psychology of control in America and Japan. American Psychologist, 39, 955-969.

hite

, R. W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological

Review, 66, 297-331.

ilber

, K. (1995). Sex, ecology, and spirituality. Berkeley: Shambhala.

Requests for reprints to: John A. Astin, Ph.D., P.O. Box 426, Santa Cruz, CA 95061.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997. Vol. 29, No. /

BOOK REVIEW

ulff

, D

avid

. Psychology of religion: Classic and contemporary, 2nd cd. New

York: John Wiley, 1997. $65.50, 760 pp.

The psychology of religion is obviously a close cousin to transpersonal psychology
and hence of significant interest. For those wanting an introduction and comprehen
sive overview, there is probably no better book than that of David Wulff.

In its first edition this text was widely acknowledged as the best overview. The

literature on the psychology of religion is a vast one, and several decades ago
individuals despaired of covering it. Wulff probably comes as close as any one has in

many years to mastering this voluminous topic. Twenty years in the making, the
book shows evidence of wide-ranging, careful, and precise scholarship. Yet at the
same time it is remarkably clear, easy, and enjoyable to read.

Wulff  recognizes  transpersonal  psychology  as  an  integrative  effort  attempting  to
synthesize  contemplative  wisdom  and  psychological  knowledge.  His  general  tone
towards  the  transpersonal  movement  is  appreciative,  but  he  does  make  the  unfortu
nate  choice  of  including  parapsychology  as  a  major  subsection  of  the  transpersonal.
In point of fact there has been no formal relationship between the two.

At times the strain of the gargantuan effort of covering the entire psychology of

religion shows. Experts in some subareas will find that the references and discus

sions  are  somewhat  dated.  Thus,  for  example,  the  most  recent  reference  in  the
parapsychology  section  is  1980,  almost  two  decades  ago.  Therefore  the  discussion
lacks  any  reference  to  the  new  statistical  technique  of  meta-analyses,  which,  by
combining  and  analyzing  many  individual  studies  at  the  same  time,  yields  a  vastly
more  powerful  and  sensitive  analysis.  Meta-analyses  have  transformed  the  field  of

parapsychology, which has long been plagued by small experimental effect sizes.

However, when many individual studies are combined and subject to meta-analysis,
the results are highly significant and represent probably the single greatest advance in
this field in decades.

Yet The Psychology of Religion remains an important text. While it provides an
excellent overview, it is rewarding simply to dip into topics and chapters. Although
designed as a college text, it offers a fine education to anyone who reads it.

Roger Walsh

Book Review

BOOKS OUR EDITORS ARE READING

illman

, J. The soul's code: In search of character and calling. New York: Random

House, 1996.

oward

, G.S. Understanding human nature: An owner’s manual. Notre Dame, IN:

Academic Publications, 1996.

... James F.T. Bugental

aura

, E. The one-minute healing experience. Nevada City, CA: Blue Dolphin, 1997.

indgren

, C.E. & B

altz

, J. (Eds.). Aura awareness: What your aura says about you.

Redwood City, CA: Aura Imaging—Progen Co., 1997.

eider

, M. Return to Millboro: The reincarnation drama continues. Nevada City,

CA: Blue Dolphin Publishing, 1996.

... Paul M. Clemens

oidla

, T.R. & S

hapiro

, S. Everything is according to the way: Voices of Russian

transpersonalism. Stafford Heights, Australia: Bolda-Lok Publishing (Bolda-Lok

Series in Transpersonal Studies), 1997.

... James Fadiman

ooling

, D.M. & J

ourdan

-S

mith

, P. I become part of it: Sacred dimensions in Native

American life. New York: Parabola Books, 1989.

iev

, A. (Ed.). Magic, faith and healing. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1996.

... Michael S. Hutton

eckler

, R. Holding the center: Sanctuary in a time of confusion. Berkeley, CA:

North Atlantic Books, 1997.

lliot

, W. Tying rocks to clouds: Meetings and conversations with wise and spiritual

people. New York: Doubleday, 1995.

.. . David Lukoff

atchelor

, S. Alone with others. New York: Grove Press, 1983.

atchelor

, S. The faith to doubt. Berkeley ,CA: Parallax Press, 1990.

atchelor

, S. Buddhism without beliefs. New York: Riverhead Books. 1997.

... Jacques Maquet

evine

, S. A year to live. New York: Bell Tower, 1997.

rungpa

, C

hogyam

. The path is the goal. Boston: Shambhala, 1996.

alker

, A. Anything that can be loved can be saved. New York: Random House,

1997.

... Sonja Margulies

ombs

, A. The radiance of being: Complexity, chaos and the evolution of conscious

ness.. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1996.

... Charles T. Tart

ortrigiit

, B. Psychotherapy and spirit: Theory and practice in transpersonal

psychotherapy. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1997.

... Miles A. Vich

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. I

BOOKS NOTED

Barron, F., Alfonso, M. & Barron, A. Creators on creating: Awakening and

cultivating the imaginative mind. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1997.

Blake, A.G.E. The intelligent enneagram. Boston: Shambhala, 1996.
Boorstein, S. Clinical studies in transpersonal psychotherapy. Albany, NY: SUNY

Press, 1997.

Broomfield, J. Other ways of knowing: Recharting our future with ageless wisdom.

Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International, 1997.

Caldwell, C. Getting in touch: The guide for new body-centered therapies.

Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1997.

Cortright, B. Psychotherapy and spirit: Theory and practice in transpersonal

psychotherapy. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1997.

Di Nicola, V. A stranger in the family: Culture, families, and therapy. New York:

Norton, 1997.

Early, J. Transforming human culture: Social evolution and the planetary crisis.

Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1977.

Fenwick, P. The truth in the light: An investigation of over 300 near-death experi

ences. New York: Berkeley Books, 1995.

Firman, J. & Gila, A. The primal wound: A transpersonal view of trauma, addiction

and growth. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1997.

Forte, R. (Ed.). Entheogens and the future of religion. San Francisco: Council on

Spiritual Practices, 1997.

Frazer, J.S. The illustrated golden bough: A study in magic and religion. New York:

Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Gilligan, S. The courage to love: Principles and practices of self-relations psycho

therapy. New York: Norton, 1997.

Gustafson, F.R. Dancing between two worlds: Jung and the Native American soul.

New York: Paulist Press, 1997.

Lair, G.S. Counseling the terminally ill: Sharing the journey. Washington, DC:

Taylor & Francis, 1996.

Murphy, M. & Donovan, S. The physical and psychological effects of meditation: A

review of contemporary research with a comprehensive bibliography 1931-1996.
Sausalito, CA: Institute of Noetic Sciences, 1997.

Newman, J.W. Disciplines of attention: Buddhist insight meditation, the Ignatian

spiritual exercises, and classical psychoanalysis. New York: Peter Lang Publish
ing, 1996.

Riker, J.H. Ethics and the discovery of the unconscious. Albany, NY: SUNY Press,

1997.

Rowan, J. Healing the male psyche: Therapy as initiation. London: Routledge,

1997.

Rubin, J.B. Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an integration. New York:

Plenum Press, 1996.

Sandner, D.F. & Wong, S.H. (Eds.). The sacred heritage: The influence of shaman

ism on analytical psychology. New York: Routledge, 1997.

Waites, E.A. Memory quest: Trauma and the search for personal history. New

York: Norton, 1997.

Wrycza, P. Living awareness: Awakening to the roots of learning and perception.

Bath, UK: Gateway Books, 1997.

Books Noted 75

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

John A. Astin, Ph.D., received his doctorate in Health Psychology from the University of

California at Irvine. Currently he is a post-doctoral research fellow in complementary and
alternative medicine at Stanford University.

Jeremias Marseille is an ordained Roman Catholic priest and member of the Benedictine Order

at  Abbey  Königsmünster,  Meschede,  Germany.  He  became  interested  in  logotherapy  in  1991
at  the  same  time  he  came  into  contact  with  transpersonal  psychology.  He  attended  the
Association  for  Transpersonal  Psychology  Annual  Conference  in  Pacific  Grove,  California,  in

1996 where he presented a workshop. More recently he has lived for an “external year” in a

retreat house for Christian contemplation and traveled to Israel.

Karl Peltzer. Ph.D.. is a professor in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, at the

University of the North, Sovenga, South Africa. In 1996 he published Counselling and
Psychotherapy of Victims of Organized Violence in Sociocultural Context (IKO Verlag,

Frankfurt, Germany).

Larry  G.  Peters.  Ph.D..  is  an  anthropologist  and  a  California  licensed  Marriage,  Family,  and
Child  Counselor.  He  teaches  at  the  California  Graduate  Institute,  Westwood.  California  and  is
on  the  Board  of  Editors  of  the  periodical.  Anthropology  of  Consciousness.  He  has  traveled
widely,  conducting  field  research  primarily  in  Nepal,  and  also  in  Mongolia,  Siberia,  China,  and
Tuva.  His  prior  JTP  publications  include:  “An  experiential  study  of  Nepalese  shamanism”
(1981)  and  “Shamanism:  Phenomenology  of  a  spiritual  discipline"  (1989).  His  “Letter  from
Katmandu"  appeared  in  the  newsletter  of  the  Association  for  Transpersonal  Psychology,  Fall,

1996, and he serves on the Board of ATP and the Transpersonal Institute.

Dean H. Shapiro, Ph.D., is on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior,
College  of  Medicine,  University  of  California  at  Irvine.  He  is  the  author/editor  of  Meditation:
Self-Regulation  Strategy  and  Altered  States  of  Consciousness  and  co-editor  (with  Roger  Walsh)
of  Meditation:  Contemporary  and  Classic  Perspectives.  His  prior  JTP  publications  include:
“Meditation  as  an  altered  state  of  consciousness:  Contributions  of  Western  behavioral  science”
(1983);  “Judaism  as  a  journey  of  transformation:  Consciousness,  behavior,  and  society”  (1989);
“A  preliminary  study  of  long-term  meditators:  Goals,  effects,  religious  orientation,  cognitions"
(1992).

Lois  VanderKooi,  Psy.D.,  is  a  clinical  psychologist  and  psychotherapist  in  Boulder,  Colorado.
She  works  for  an  innovative,  early  intervention  program  that  provides  intensive  long-term
treatment  to  “at-risk”  parents  and  infants.  Prior  research  and  publications  involved  law  school
achievement,  divorce  mediation,  and  integration  of  Jungian  and  Bowenian  perspectives  on
psychotherapy.

REVIEWER

Roger Walsh. M.D.. Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Philosophy, and Anthropology at the

University of California at Irvine. He has published extensively on psychiatry, meditation,

shamanism, and transpersonal psychology and psychiatry. His articles in JTP appeared in 1976
(1 & 2), 1977. 1978 (1 & 2), 1979. 1982. 1989, 1992, 1993 (1 & 2), and 1995.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol. 29, No. 1

ABSTRACTS

stin

, J.A. & S

hapiro

, Jr., D.H. Measuring the psychological construct of control: Applications

to transpersonal psychology.—This article briefly overviews the theory and research regarding
the construct of control in Western psychology, discusses the ways in which the construct of

control  may  be  relevant  to  transpersonal  psychology,  and  introduces  readers  to  the  Shapiro
Control  Inventory  (SCI),  a  multidimensional  measure  of  this  construct.  The  authors  point  to  two
common  themes  found  in  many  of  the  world's  spiritual  traditions:  1)  the  importance  of  gaining
greater  personal  control  and  mastery  over  oneself  and  one’s  experience,  and  2)  the  need  to  let
go,  relinquish  active  control,  and  surrender  oneself  to  the  Universe,  God.  Finally,  they  suggest
that  control  has  potential  relevance  to  transpersonal  psychology  in  a  number  of  specific  areas:

1) contemplative practices and their effect on positive yielding control; 2) the cultivation of the

transpersonal  “Witness"  and  its  relation  to  control;  3)  control  by  a  benevolent  Other  (God,  the
Divine);  4)  spiritual  pursuits  and  their  relationship  to  negative  control  efforts;  5)  the  ability  to
balance  assertive  and  yielding  models  of  control  as  a  hallmark  of  spiritual  growth  and
development.  The  concluding  discussion  includes  limits  on  human  control,  larger  philosophical
issues, and control in nonordinary states.

arseille

, J. The spiritual dimension in logotherapy: Viktor Frankl’s contribution to

transpersonal psychology.—As a psychiatrist who survived the Nazi death camps of World War
II and went on to develop and teach logotherapy—an internationally practiced “therapy of
meaning”—Viktor Frankl is recognized for his contributions to psychotherapy and to

transpersonal  psychology.  A  biographical  timeline  traces  the  formation  of  his  ideas  from  early
adolescent  years,  through  medical  training  during  Europe's  economic  depression  of  the  1930s,
through  the  horrors  of  four  concentration  camps,  to  the  appearance  of  his  theories  and
therapeutic  methods  in  Europe  and  America.  In  the  field  of  transpersonal  psychology  specifi
cally,  his  terminology  and  conceptualization  of  transpersonal  experience  was  influential.
Frankl’s  writings  are  compared  with  those  of  theorists  Abraham  Maslow  and  Ken  Wilber,  and
other  sources  of  transpersonal  literature,  in  what  Frankl  acknowledges  as  an  endless  art  of
understanding.

eltzer

, K. The role of religion in counseling of victims of organized violence.—The author

researched  the  role  of  religion  in  counseling  of  victims  of  organized  violence  in  three  major
service approaches: 1) a rehabilitation service for torture survivors in Malawi [Malawi-IRCT],
2)  a  psychosocial  assistance  program  for  refugees  in  Uganda,  and  3)  a  Psychosocial  Centre  for
Refugees  in  Germany  from  1991-1996.  It  was  found  that  victims  of  organized  violence  in  non-
Westem  societies  often  used  religious  coping  styles  and  religious  intervention  techniques,
especially  for  disappearance,  death,  rape,  and  PTSD.  The  efficacy  of  religious  coping  and
intervention  is  demonstrated  in  case  examples  and  follow-up  studies,  and  discussed  with  other
findings.

Peters, L. G. The “calling,” the yeti, and the ban jhakri (“forest shaman”) in Nepalese
shamanism.—This account of original field research and its relation to prior anthropological

reports  focuses  on  the  oral  mythology  of  shamanism  and  the  likely  role  of  the  legendary  yeti  of
the  Himlayas  in  the  transmission  of  shamanic  culture.  It  draws  on  prior  reports  of  encounters
with  “forest  shaman"  and  recent  interviews  conducted  by  the  author  during  several  intensive
visits  with  indigenous  Nepalese.  Detailed  descriptions  of  the  teaching  methods  of  shamans,  who
select  Nepalese  children  and  youth,  indicate  that  the  awesome  and  terrifying  character  of  the  yeti
may  be  a  central  element  in  Nepalese  shamanic  training  and  an  important  component  of  a
spontaneous rite of passage for the initiate.

ander

ooi

, L. Buddhist teachers’ experience with extreme mental states in Western medita

tors.—Buddhist experience with nonordinary states of consciousness (NSC) and psychosis that

Abstracts 77

BACK ISSUES OF THE JOURNAL OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

1969

Vol. 1
No. 1

No. 2

1970
Vol. 2

No. 1

No. 2

1971

Vol. 3
No. 1

No. 2

1972

Vol. 4

No. 1

No. 2

1973

Vol. 5
No. 1

rmor

, T. A note on the peak experience and a transpersonal psychology. • Assagiou, R.

Symbols of transpersonal experiences. • M

aslow

, A. The farther reaches of human nature.

• M

aslow

, A.H. Various meanings of transcendence. • M

aven

, A. The mystic union: A

suggested biological interpretation. • M

urphy

, M.H. Education for transcendence. •

utich

, A.J. Some considerations regarding Transpersonal Psychology.

arman

, W. The new Copemican revolution. • L

han

, L. Physicists and mystics:

Similarities in world view. • M

aslow

, A.H. Theory Z. • P

ahnke

, N. & R

ichards

, W.A.

Implications of LSD and experimental mysticism. • Sutich, A.J. The American Transper

sonal Association. • W

apnick

, K. Mysticism and schizophrenia.

Blair, M.A. Meditation in the San Francisco Bay Area: An introductory survey. •
Criswell, E. Experimental yoga psychology course for college students: A progress

report. • Green, E., Green, A.M. & Walters, E.D. Voluntary control of internal states:

Psychological and physiological. • Tart, C.T. Transpersonal potentialities of deep hypno

sis. • Timmons, B. & Kamiya, J. The psychology and physiology of meditation and related
phenomena: A bibliography.

adiman

, J. The second Council Grove conference on altered states of consciousness. •

art

, J.T. The Zen of Hubert Benoit. • M

aslow

, A.H. New introduction: Religions,

values, and peak experiences. • R

ass

. Lecture at the Menninger Foundation: Part I.

Goleman  D.  Meditation  as  meta-therapy:  Hypotheses  toward  a  proposed  fifth  state  of
consciousness.  •  Green,  E.E.  &  Green,  A.M.  On  the  meaning  of  transpersonal:  Some
metaphysical  perspectives.  •  Ram  Dass.  Lecture  at  the  Menninger  Foundation:  Part  II.  •
S

utich

, A.J. Transpersonal notes.

endrick

, N. A program in the psychology of human consciousness. • T

art

, C.T. A

psychologist’s experience with Transcendental Meditation. • T

art

, C.T. Scientific founda

tions for the study of altered states of consciousness. • V

uys

, D. A novel technique for

studying attention during meditation. • W

eide

, T.N. Council Grove III: The third annual

interdisciplinary conference on the voluntary control of internal states.

oleman

, D. The Buddha on meditation and states of consciousness, Part I: The teachings.

• G

rof

, S. Varieties of transpersonal experiences: Observations from LSD psychotherapy.

• S

herman

, S.E. Brief report: Continuing research on “very deep hypnosis.” • S

utich

, A.J.

Association for Transpersonal Psychology. • W

eide

, T.N. Council Grove IV: Toward a

science of ultimates.

Goleman,  D.  The  Buddha  on  meditation  and  states  of  consciousness.  Part  II:  A  typology  of
meditation  techniques.  •  Krippner,  S.  (ed.).  The  plateau  experience:  A.H.  Maslow  and
others.  •  Richards,  W.,  Grof,  S.,  Goodman,  L.  &  Klrland,  A.  LSD-assisted  psycho
therapy and the human encounter with death.

rof

, S. Theoretical and empirical basis of transpersonal psychology and psychotherapy:

Observations from LSD research. • R

ass

. Lecture at the Maryland Psychiatric

Research Center: Part I. • S

utich

, A J. Transpersonal therapy. • T

rungpa

, C. An approach

to meditation. • V

ilhjalmsson

, G.V. & W

eide

, T.N. The first international transpersonal

conference. • W

eide

, T.N. Varieties of transpersonal therapy.

Back Issues

No. 2

1974

Vol. 6
No. 1

No. 2

1975

Vol. 7
No. 1

No. 2

1976

Vol. 8
No. 1

No. 2

1977

Vol. 9

No. 1

ark

, F.V. Exploring intuition: Prospects and possibilities. • K

atz

, R. Education for

transcendence: Lessons from the !Kung Zhu/twasi. • N

itya

, S

wami

. Excerpts from a

discussion. • Osis, K., B

okert

, E. & C

arlson

, M.L. Dimensions of the meditative

experience. • R

ass

. Lecture at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center: Part II. •

eide

, T.N. Vallombrosa: A major transpersonal event.

ampbell

, P.A. & M

ahon

, E.M. Religious-type experience in the context of humanis

tic and transpersonal psychology. • C

asper

, M. Space therapy and the Maitri project. •

lark

, F.V. Rediscovering transpersonal education. • C

rampton

, M. Psychological en

ergy transformations: Developing positive polarization. • G

oleman

, D. Perspectives on

psychology, reality, and the study of consciousness. • K

ennett

, J. Translating the precepts.

• R

edmond

, H. A pioneer program in transpersonal education. • T

immons

, B. &

anellakos

, D.P. The psychology and physiology of meditation and related phenomena:

Bibliography II. • W

atts

, A. Psychotherapy and Eastern religion: Metaphysical bases of

psychiatry.

ernbaum

, E. The way of symbols: The use of symbols in Tibetan mysticism. • F

rager

, R.

A proposed model for a graduate program in Transpersonal Psychology. • J

ain

, M. & J

ain

K.M. The samadhist: A description. • K

ennett

, J. On meditation. • R

ing

, K. A transper

sonal view of consciousness: A mapping of farther regions of inner space. • S

tat

, D.

Double chambered whistling bottles: A unique Peruvian pottery form. • T

arthang

ulku

The self-image.

ugustine

, M.J. & K

alish

, R.A. Religion, transcendence, and appropriate death. •

rager

, R. & F

adiman

, J. Personal growth in Yoga and Sufism. • K

ennett

, J„ R

adha

wami

& F

rager

, R. H

to be a transpersonal teacher without becoming a guru. • R

ass

. Advice to a psychotherapist. • S

hultz

, J.V. Stages on the spiritual path: A Buddhist

perspective. • S

imonton

, O.C. & S

imonton

, S.S. Belief systems and management of the

emotional aspects of malignancy. • T

rungpa

, C. Transpersonal cooperation at Naropa.

eatherage

, G. The clinical use of “mindfulness” meditation techniques in short-term

psychotherapy. • G

arfield

, C.A. Consciousness alteration and fear of death. • G

oleman

D. Mental health in classical Buddhist psychology. • H

endricks

, C.G. Meditation as

discrimination training: A theoretical note. • M

aquet

, J. Meditation in contemporary Sri

Lanka: Idea and practice. • W

ilber

, K. Psychologia perennis: The spectrum of conscious

ness.

apra

, F. Modem physics and Eastern mysticism. • S

utich

, A.J. The emergence of the

transpersonal orientation: A personal account. • T

art

, C.T. The basic nature of altered

states of consciousness: A systems approach. • T

arthang

ulku

. A view of mind. • V

ich

M.A. Anthony J. Sutich: An appreciation.

eslie

, J

., R.C. Yoga and the fear of death. • R

ass

. Freeing the mind. • R

ing

, K.

Mapping the regions of consciousness: A conceptual reformulation. • S

inger

, J.A. Jungian

view of biofeedback training. • W

alsh

, R.N. Reflections on psychotherapy. • W

elwood

J. Exploring mind: Form, emptiness, and beyond. • W

illiams

, R.R. Biofeedback: A

technology for self-transaction.

rhard

, W. & F

adiman

, J. Some aspects of est training and transpersonal psychology: A

conversation. • K

eller

, M. Henry David Thoreau: A transpersonal view, illuminations,

dark night, Thoreau's spiritual development. • W

elwood

, J. Meditation and the uncon

scious: A new perspective.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol 29, No. I

No. 2

1978

Vol. 10
No. 1

No. 2

1979

Vol. 11
No.l

No. 2

1980
Vol. 12

No.l

No. 2

1981

Vol. 13
No. 1

nderson

, J

., R.M. A holographic model of transpersonal consciousness. • K

ohr

, R.L.

Dimensionality in meditative experience: A replication. • R

ass

& S

teindl

-R

ast

, B.D.

On lay monasticism. • W

alsh

, R.N. Initial meditative experiences: Part I. • W

elwood

, J.

On psychological space.

urdock

, M.H. Meditation with young children. • T

aylor

, E.I. Psychology of religion

and Asian studies: The William James legacy. • W

alsh

, R.N. Initial meditative experi

ences: Part II. • W

ashburn

, M.C. Observations relevant to a unified theory of meditation.

oals

, G.F. Toward a cognitive reconceptualization of meditation. • G

reen

, A.M. &

reen

, E.E. Some problems in biofeedback research. • W

alsh

, R.N., G

oleman

, D.,

ornfield

, J., P

ensa

, C. & S

hapiro

, D. Meditation: Aspects of research and practice. •

elwood

, J., C

apra

, F., F

rguson

, M., N

eedleman

, J., P

ribram

, K., S

mith

, H.,

aughan

, F. & W

alsh

, R.N. Psychology, science, and spiritual paths: Contemporary

issues.

ornfield

, J. Intensive insight meditation: A phenomenological study. • M

eadow

, M.J.,

jaya

, S

wami

, B

gman

, L., C

lark

, W.H., G

reen

, G., K

rippner

, S., R

ambo

, L.R., R

ing

K., T

art

, C.T. & W

ilber

, K. Spiritual and transpersonal aspects of altered states of

consciousness: A symposium report. • S

tensrud

, R. & S

tensrud

, K. The Tao of human

relations. • W

elwood

, J. Self-knowledge as the basis for an integrative psychology. •

ilber

, K. A developmental view of consciousness.

oorstein

, S. Troubled relationships: Transpersonal and psychoanalytic approaches. •

rungpa

, C. Intrinsic health: A conversation with health professionals. • V

aughan

, F.

Transpersonal psychotherapy: Context, content, and process. • W

alsh

, R.N. Emerging

cross-disciplinary parallels: Suggestions from the neurosciences. • W

alsh

, R.N. Medita

tion research: An introduction and review. • W

elwood

, J. Befriending emotion: Self-

knowledge and transformation. • W

hite

, L.W. Recovery from alcoholism: Transpersonal

dimensions.

ohm

, D. & W

wood

, J. Issues in physics, psychology, and metaphysics: A conversation.

• B

oucouvalas

, M. Transpersonal psychology: A working outline of the field. • B

urns

, D.

& O

hayv

, R. Psychological changes in meditating Western monks in Thailand. •

rengson

, A.R. Social and psychological implications of human attitudes toward animals.

• J

amnien

, A

jahn

& O

hayv

, R. Field interview with a Theravada teaching master. •

etzner

, R. Ten classical metaphors of self-transformation. • T

homas

, L.E. & C

ooper

P.E. Incidence and psychological correlates of intense spiritual experiences.

oorstein

, S. Lightheartedness in psychotherapy. • B

rown

, D.P. & E

ngler

, J. Stages of

mindfulness meditation: A validation study. • L

angford

, A. Working with Cambodian

refugees: Observations on the Family Practice Ward at Khao I Dang. • M

urphy

, M. The

Esalen Institute Transformation Project: A preliminary report. • W

elwood

, J. Reflections

on psychotherapy, focusing, and meditation.

ldas

, A. Psychotherapy and surrender: A psychospiritual perspective. • P

eters

, L.G. An

experiential study of Nepalese shamanism. • S

mith

, K. Observations on Morita therapy

and culture-specific interpretations. • W

ilber

, K. Ontogenetic development: Two funda

mental patterns.

Back Issues

No. 2

1982

Vol. 14

No. 1

No. 2

1983

Vol. 15

No. 1

No. 2

1984

Vol. 16
No. 1

No. 2

1985

Vol. 17

No. 1

Amodeo, J. Focusing applied to a case of disorientation in meditation. • A

mundson

, J. Will

in the psychology of Otto Rank. • E

arle

, J.B.B. Cerebral laterality and meditation: A

review. • E

pstein

, M.D. & L

ieff

, J.D. Psychiatric complications of meditation practice. •

oleman

, D. Buddhist and Western psychology: Some commonalities and differences. •

O’H

anlon

, D.J., S.J. Integration of spiritual practiccs: A Western Christian looks East.

nthony

, D. The outer master as inner guide: Autonomy and authority in the process of

transformation. • L

, J. Eight reasons why doctors fear the elderly, chronic illness, and

death. • V

aughan

, F. The transpersonal perspective: A personal overview. • W

alsh

, R. A

model for viewing meditation research. • W

ortz

, E. Application of awareness methods in

psychotherapy.

itken

, R. Zen practice and psychotherapy. • A

lpert

, R./R

ass

. A ten-year perspec

tive. • R

eidlinger

, T.J. Sartre's rite of passage. • S

peeth

, K. R. On psychotherapeutic

attention. • W

elwood

, J. Vulnerability and power in the therapeutic process: Existential

and Buddhist perspectives.

riedman

, H.L. The Self-Expansive Level Form: A conceptualization and measurement of

a transpersonal construct. • G

rof

, S. East and West: Ancient wisdom and modern science.

• K

omito

, D.R. Tibetan Buddhism and psychotherapy: A conversation with the Dalai

Lama. • L

ane

, D.C. The hierarchical structure of religious visions. • S

hapiro

, J

., D.H.

Meditation as an altered state of consciousness: Contributions of Western behavioral
science.

oorstein

, S. The use of bibliotherapy and mindfulness meditation in a psychiatric setting.

• G

allegos

, E.S. Animal imagery, the chakra system, and psychotherapy. • H

astings

, A.

A counseling approach to parapsychological experience. • H

enderson

, B. Self-help books

emphasizing transpersonal psychology: Are they ethical? • H

enkin

, W. Two non-ordinary

experiences of reality and their integration. • K

alff

, M. The negation of ego in Tibetan

Buddhism and Jungian psychology. • M

urphy

, M. & D

onovan

, S. A bibliography of

meditation theory and research: 1931-1983. • V

ich

, M.A. Announcement regarding the

Journal's statement of purpose.

ngler

, J. Therapeutic aims in psychotherapy and meditation: Developmental stages in the

representation of self. • K

omito

, D.R. Tibetan Buddhism and psychotherapy: Further

conversations with the Dalai Lama. • W

elwood

, J. Principles of inner work: Psychological

and spiritual. • W

ilber

, K. The developmental spectrum and psychopathology: Part I.

States and types of pathology.

rmstrong

, T. Transpersonal experience in childhood. • A

sante

, M.K. The African

American mode of transcendence. • E

pstein

, M.D. On the neglect of evenly suspended

attention. • G

ross

, R.M. The feminine principle in Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism: Reflec

tions of a Buddhist feminist. • S

hafranske

, E.P. & G

orsuch

, R.L. Factors associated with

the perception of spirituality in psychotherapy. • W

ilber

, K. The developmental spectrum

and psychopathology: Part II, Treatment modalities.

oorstein

, S. Notes on right speech as a psychotherapeutic technique. • M

etzner

, R.

Knots, ties, nets, and bonds in relationships. • S

cotton

, B.W. Observations on the teaching

and supervision of transpersonal psychotherapy. • S

ovatsky

, S. Eros as mystery: Toward a

transpersonal sexology and procreativity. • T

hapa

, K. & M

urthy

, V.N. Experiential

characteristics of certain altered states of consciousness. • W

elwood

, J. On love: Condi

tional and unconditional.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol 29, No. 1

No. 2

1986

Vol. 18
No. 1

No. 2

1987

Vol. 19
No. 1

No. 2

1988

Vol. 20
No. 1

No. 2

1989

Vol. 21
No. 1

hinen

, A.B. Fairy tales and transpersonal development in later life. • G

oleman

, D.,

mith

, H. & R

ass

. Truth and transformation in psychological and spiritual paths. •

ukoff

, D. The diagnosis of mystical experiences with psychotic features. • L

ukoff

, D. &

verest

, H.C. The myths in mental illness.

utcher

, P. The phenomenological psychology of J. Krishnamurti. • K

noblauch

, D.L. &

conf

, J.A. The relationship of a measured Taoist orientation to Western personality

dimensions. • R

othberg

, D. Philosophical foundations of transpersonal psychology: An

introduction to some basic issues. • R

ussell

, E.W. Consciousness and the unconscious:

Eastern meditative and Western psychotherapeutic approaches.

oorstein

, S. Transpersonal context, interpretation, and psychotherapeutic technique. •

hinen

, A.B. Elder tales revisited: Forms of transcendence in later life. • E

pstein

, M.

Meditative transformations of narcissism. • F

leischman

, P.R. Release: A religious and

psychotherapeutic issue. • T

art

, C.T. Consciousness, altered states, and worlds of experi

ence. • W

elwood

, J. Personality structure: Path or pathology?

ubs

, G. Psycho-spiritual development in Zen Buddhism: A study of resistance in medita

tion. • T

eixeira

, B. Comments on Ahimsa (nonviolence).

hinen

, A.B. Middle tales: Fairy tales and transpersonal development at mid-life. • D

avis

J. & W

right

, C. Content of undergraduate transpersonal psychology courses. • E

chen

hofer

, F.G. & C

oombs

, M.M. A brief review of research and controversies in EEG

biofeedback and meditation. • Lu, F.G. & H

eming

, G. The effect of the film Ikiru on death

anxiety and attitudes toward death. • M

eadow

, M.J. & C

ulligan

, K. Congruent spiritual

paths: Christian Carmelite and Theravadan Buddhist Vipassana. • W

imer

, S.R. & Lu,

F.G. Personal transformation through an encounter with death: Cinematic and psycho
therapy case studies.

hinen

, A.B., F

oote

, W., J

, R.W., L

ukoff

, D. & S

pielvogel

, A. Clinical symposium:

Challenging cases in transpersonal psychotherapy. • E

pstein

, M. The deconslruction of the

self: Ego and "egolessness" in Buddhist insight meditation. • H

iltunen

, S.S. Initial

therapeutic applications of Noh Theatre in drama therapy. • P

endzik

, S. Drama therapy as

a form of modern shamanism. • W

ilber

, T.K. Attitudes and cancer: What kind of help

really helps?

umulative

ndex

: T

ournal

ranspersonal

sychology

, V

olumes

1-20,1969-

1988. Contents listed by volume year. Alphabetical list of authors. • L

ukoff

, D. Transper

sonal perspectives on manic psychosis: Creative, visionary, and mystical states. • L

ukoff

D. & Lu, F. Transpersonal psychology research review: Topic: Mystical experience. •
V

ich

, M.A. Some historical sources of the term "transpersonal." • W

ilber

, K. On being a

support person.

pstf

, M. Forms of emptiness: Psychodynamic, meditative, and clinical perspectives. •

eery

, M.W. Inner voice experiences: An exploratory study of thirty cases. • R

oberts

T.B. Multistate education: Metacognitive implications of the mindbody psychotech
nologies. • S

rvpiro

, D. Judaism as a journey of transformation: Consciousness, behavior,

and society. • W

alsh

, R. What is a shaman? Definition, origin, and distribution.

Back Issues

No. 2

1990

Vol. 22
No. 1

No. 2

1991
Vol. 23

No. 1

No. 2

1992

Vol. 24
No. 1

No. 2

1993
Vol. 25
No. 1

arlat

, D.J. Psychological motivation and the choice of spiritual symbols: A case study. •

ukoff

, D. & Lu, F.G. Transpersonal psychology research review: Topic: Computerized

databases, specialized collections, and archives. • N

elson

, P.L. Personality factors in the

frequency of reported spontaneous praetematural experiences. • P

eters

, L.G. Shamanism:

Phenomenology of a spiritual discipline. • S

chavrien

, J.E. The rage, healing, and

daemonic death of Oedipus: A self-in-relation theory. • S

erlin

, I. A psycho-spiritual-body

therapy approach to residential treatment of Catholic religious.

pstein

, M. Psychodynamics of meditation: Pitfalls on the spiritual path. • Fox, W.

Transpersonal ecology: “Psychologizing" ecophilosophy. • H

olden

, J.M. & G

uest

, C.

Life review in a non-near-death episode: A comparison with near-death experiences. •

elson

, P. The technology of the praetematural: An empirically based model of

transpersonal experience. • W

elwood

, J. Intimate relationship as path.

ughes

, D.J. & M

elville

, N.T. Changes in brainwave activity during trance channeling:

A pilot study. • L

ukoff

, D., Z

anger

, R. & Lu, F. Transpersonal psychology research

review: Psychoactive substances and transpersonal states. • T

art

, C. Adapting Eastern

spiritual teachings to Western culture: A discussion with Shinzen Young. • W

aldman

, M.

Reflections on death and reconciliation.

obi

, R. Pahnke’s “Good Friday experiment”: A long-term follow-up and methodologi

cal critique. • D

ubin

, W. The use of meditative techniques in psychotherapy supervision. •

ansfield

, V. Looking into mind: An undergraduate course. • T

art

, C.T. & D

eikman

A.J. Mindfulness, spiritual seeking, and psychotherapy.

ajoie

, D. H., S

hapiro

, S.I. & R

oberts

, T.B. A historical analysis of the statement of

purpose in The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. • M

ontgomery

, C.L. The care

giving relationship: Paradoxical and transcendent aspects. • T

art

, C.T. Influences of

previous psychedelic drug experiences on students of Tibetan Buddhism: A preliminary
exploration. • V

aughan

, F. Spiritual issues in psychotherapy. • V

igne

, J. Gum and

psychotherapist: Comparisons from the Hindu tradition.

ogart

, G.C. Separating from a spiritual teacher. • L

ajoie

, D.H. & S

hapiro

, S.I.

Definitions of transpersonal psychology: The first twenty-three years. • L

ukoff

, D.,

urner

, R. & Lu, F. Transpersonal psychology research review: Psychoreligious dimen

sions of healing. • M

amara

, P. A transpersonal approach to memory. • S

hapiro

, D.H.,

. A preliminary study of long-term meditators: Goals, effects, religious orientation,

cognitions. • V

ich

, M.A. Changing definitions of transpersonal psychology.

ughes

, D..J. Differences between trance channeling and multiple personality disorder on

structured interview. • L

, D. Avoiding the void: The lack of self in psychotherapy and

Buddhism. • S

tavely

, H. & M

amara

, P. Warwick Fox’s “transpersonal ecology”: A

critique and alternative approach. • W

aldman

, M., L

annert

, J., B

oorstein

, S., S

cotton

B., S

altzman

, L. & J

, R.W. The therapeutic alliance, kundalini, and spiritual/religious

issues in counseling: The case of Julia. • W

alsh

, R.N. & V

aughan

, F. Lucid dreaming:

Some transpersonal implications.

arr

, C. Death and near-death: A comparison of Tibetan and Euro-American experiences.

• G

reyson

, B. The physio-kundalini syndrome and mental illness. • L

ukoff

, D., T

urner

R. & Lu, F. G. Transpersonal psychology research review: Psychospiritual dimensions of
healing. • O

ssoff

, J. Reflections of shaktipat: Psychosis or the rise of kundalini? A case

study. • W

alsh

, R. & V

aughan

, F. The art of transcendence: An introduction to common

elements of transpersonal practices.

The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1997, Vol 29, No. 1