RELS 108 1nd Edition Lecture 18 Outline of Last Lecture II Spirituality and Science in the Modern World III Modern Forms of Spirituality Outline of Current Lecture IV On the Nature of Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology Current Lecture On the Nature of Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology What is consciousness The quality or state of being aware of an external object or something within oneself Central issue with consciousness studies is The Mind Body Problem o Descartes answer to the Mind Body Problem is Cartesian Dualism Consciousness resides in an immaterial realm which he calls res cogitans Descartes contrasts this with res extensa realm of matter extension 2 Views Concerning Consciousness o Substance Dualism o Monism There are not 2 realities extension thought but one fundamental reality One reality within the realm of being in which consciousness and matter are both concerned What is real is distinguished from that which is not Awareness Consciousness is the fundamental ground for all things 2 Spiritual Approaches to Consciousness o Richard Maurice Bucke Cosmic Consciousness 3 types of consciousness 1 Simple Consciousness awareness of one s own body possessed by animals being aware of body physical surroundings life events etc 2 Self Consciousness awareness of awareness or the consciousness of consciousness the awareness of being aware possessed only by humans These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o o o o o o o o o o 1 2 3 Cosmic Consciousness only been known to be possessed by several individuals throughout human course of history awareness of the life and order of the universe possessed only by the enlightened few think of the founders of religion Transpersonal Psychology Video Charles T Tart Part 6 Transpersonal Psychology Experiences and ideal beyond our personal biological self only branch of western psych that takes our spiritual nature seriously Using our intelligence to come up with a spiritual approach to life 4th Force of Psychology School of psychology that studies the transpersonal self transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience Avoids reductionism reducing all these experiences to mere pathology Experiences in which the sense of personal identity ego falls away go beyond sense of self ego Spiritual Crises Deals with a personal relationship to existential spiritual meaning EX Kundalini Awakening energetic presence at the base of one s spine Mystical Experiences Shamanic Illness Psychic Opening when someone has psychic powers such as telepathy can lead to spiritual crises etc The term Spiritual Emergency was coined by one of the fathers of the transpersonal movement Stanislav Grof Says that spiritual emergence emergency is a gradual unfoldment of spiritual potential Spiritual Emergence vs Spiritual Emergency Emergence refers to the gradual unfoldment of spiritual potential without disturbance of social etc functioning Emergency refers to intensified beyond the capabilities of the individual where personal social affected Video Stan Grof CRAZYWISE Interview