The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology Vol 29 1 (1997)

Volume 29
Number 1,1997

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

Jeremias Marseille

The role of religion in counseling victims of organized violence

Karl Peltzer

Buddhist teachers' experience with extreme mental states in

Western meditators

Lois VanderKooi

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

Larry G. Peters

Measuring the psychological construct of control: Applications to
transpersonal psychology

John A. Astin & Deane H. Shapiro, Jr.

REVIEW
Psychology of religion: Classic and contemporary, David Wulff

Roger Walsh

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

EDITORIAL
STAFF

FIELD
EDITORS

BOARD OF
EDITORS

Miles A. Vich, editor

James Fadiman, Sonja Margulies,

John Welwood, associate editors

Ken Wilber, consulting editor

Paul M. Clemens, technical editor

Michael S. Flutton, assistant editor

Francis G. Lu, David Lukoff, research review co-editors

Marcie Boucouvalas, Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Jack Engler, Schiff Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Jacques Maquet, University of California, Los Angeles

J. F. Bugental, Santa Rosa, California
James Fadiman, Menlo Park, California

Viktor Frankl, University of Vienna, Austria
Daniel Goleman, New York, New York
Elmer E. Green, Menninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas
Stanislav Grof, Mill Valley, California

Herbert V. Guenther, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Stanley Krippner, San Francisco, California

Lawrence LeShan, New York, New York
John Levy, San Francisco, California

Sonja Margulies, Sunnyvale, California

Michael Murphy, San Rafael, California
Huston Smith, Syracuse University, New York
Charles T. Tart, Berkeley, California
Frances E. Vaughan, Tiburon, California
Miles A. Vich, Palo Alto, California
Thomas N. Weide, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974)
Hubert Bonner (1901-1970)
Medard Boss (1903-1990)
Alister Brass (1937-1987)
Charlotte Buhler (1893-1974)
Alyce M, Green (1907-1994)
Robert Hartman (1910-1973)

Sidney M. Jourard (1926-1974)
Arthur Koestler (1905-1983)
Gabriel Margulies (1931-1981)

Abraham H. Maslow (1908-1970)
Walter N. Pahnke (1931-1971)

Chogyam Trungpa (1939-1987)
Alan Watts (1915-1973)

Anthony J. Sutich (1907-1976), founding editor, 1969-1976

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

MEASURING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT
OF CONTROL: APPLICATIONS TO
TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

John A. Astin
Stanford, California

Deane H. Shapiro, Jr.
Irvine, California

A disturbed mind is forever active, jumping hither and thither, and is hard to control; but a

tranquil mind is peaceful; therefore, it is wise to keep the mind under control. —Buddha

The Master sees things as they are
without trying to control them,

She lets them go their own way
and resides at the center of the circle. —Lao-Tzu, Tao-te-Ching

The most excellent Jihad (Holy War) is the conquest of the self. —Mohammed

Strengthen your will power so that you will not be controlled by circumstances
but will control them.

0 Divine Sculptor, chisel Thou my life according to Thy design.

—Paramahansa Yogananda

But, as often as the heart

Breaks—wild and wavering—from control, so oft
Let him re-curb it, let him reign it back

To the soul's governance; for perfect bliss

Grows only in the bosom tranquilized. —Bhagavad Gita

He who is slow to anger is better than the strong man and a master of his passions is better
than the conqueror of a city. —Rabbi Tarfon (from the Pirke Avot)

No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions: Then your affairs are under control.

You are a free person. —Chuang Tzu

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

can occur in Western meditators were investigated using descriptive and phenomenological
research methods. Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan teachers and meditators were interviewed to
determine possible causes of such phenomena and ways to handle them. Results suggest that
teachers have successfully adapted meditative practices to the psychological needs of Western

students. People who have had prior psychosis can easily become psychotic during the initial
stage of practice but with guidance can benefit from beginning meditation practices. At more

advanced stages, less fragile people can encounter difficulties, which are usually caused by
excess effort and concentration and can be remedied in a variety of ways. Implications for the
clinical use of meditation are also addressed.

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

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

Association for

Transpersonal Psychology

Membership Includes:

Membership Dues:

Further Information:

One-year subscription to

The Journal of Transpersonal

Psychology (two issues)

Subscription to the ATP Newsletter
Reduced rate for the ATP conference

Professional Members Listing
Listing of Schools and Programs

General—$75 per year

Professional—$95 per year

Student—$45 per year

Joint—$50 per year

Supporting—$175 per year

Descriptive brochure and

membership forms available

upon request.

Association for Transpersonal Psychology

P.O. Box 3049

Stanford, California 94309

The Association is a Division of the Transpersonal Institute,

A Non-Profit Tax-Exempt Organization.

1997

Annual Conference

Asilomar Conference Center

Monterey, California

August 1-3, 1997

ISSN: 0022-524X

Wyszukiwarka

Podobne podstrony:
The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology Vol 26 1 (1994)
The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology Vol 27 1 (1995)
Zinc, diarrhea, and pneumonia The Journal of Pediatrics, December 1999, Vol 135
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 1998 2011 Content and Links
The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 2003, Volume 22
Mansour Pasupathi The wisdom of experience Autobiographical narratives International Journal of Beha
Habermas, Jurgen The theory of communicative action Vol 1
Habermas, Jurgen The theory of communicative action Vol 2
Journal of Medieval History Vol XXV Is 1
Journal of Medieval History Vol XXV Is 2
Gem Sivad [Eclipse Hearts 00] The Journal of Lucy Quince (pdf)(1)
S Forgan Building the Museum Knowledge, Conflict and the Power of Place (w) Isis, vol 96, No 4 (XI
Romantic Partners The Journal of Sex Research
Mordwa, Stanisław The potential of transport and communication (2012)
Sex Differences The Journal of Sex Research
A Cebenoyan Risk Management, capital structure and lending at banks Journal of banking & finance v
Robert F Young The Journal of Nathaniel Worth
Robert F Young The Journal of Nathaniel Worth
Habermas, Jurgen The theory of communicative action Vol 2

więcej podobnych podstron