Views: 96
New Cartography of the Human Psyche and Role of Spirituality in Human Life: Observations from Modern Consciousness ResearchIn the last four decades, various avenues of modern consciousness research have revealed a rich array of "anomalous phenomena," experiences and observations that have undermined some of the most basic assumptions of modern psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy concerning the nature of consciousness and the workings of human psyche.Many of these findings are so radical that they question the basic philosophical assumptions of materialistic science about the relationship between consciousness and matter. In this slide-illustrated lecture, we will review these remarkable data and explore the most important major revisions that would have to be made in our understanding of consciousness, human psyche, spiritual pursuits and the nature of reality to respond to these conceptual challenges.These radical changes would be comparable in their nature and scope to the revolution that physicists had to face in the first three decades of the twentieth century when they were forced to move from Newtonian to quantum-relativistic physics. In fact, they would represent a logical completion of the radical changes in our understanding of the material world that have already occurred in physics.The study of non-ordinary states of consciousness has also thrown new light on the problem of spirituality and religion. In these states it is possible to encounter a rich array of experiences very similar to those that inspired the great religions of the world -- visions of God and various divine and demonic beings, encounters with discarnate entities, episodes of psychospiritual death and rebirth, visits to Heaven and Hell, past life experiences, and many others.Modern consciousness research has shown beyond any doubt that these experiences are not products of fantasy or pathological processes afflicting the brain, but manifestations of archetypal material from the collective unconscious and thus essential constituents of the human psyche, therefore making the spiritual quest an important and legitimate human activity that can profoundly transform our life. Since this quest is not without dangers of its own, the lecture will also cover the most common pitfalls on this path and how to avoid them.
Comments