International Transpersonal Association 2004

"MYTHIC IMAGINATION AND MODERN SOCIETY:
THE RE-ENCHANTMENT OF THE WORLD"
Presented by the International Transpersonal Association
June 11 - 20, 2004 * Palm Springs, California

COMPLETE SET OF AUDIOTAPES FOR $700

CONFERENCE CODE: ITA24

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS:

#082 The Adventure of Self-Discovery: A Holotropic Breathwork Experience - Stanislav Grof, Tav Sparks (3 Audiotapes for $25)

Holotropic Breathwork is a powerful method of self-exploration, personal transformation, and healing. It is based on, and combines insights from, modern consciousness research, depth psychology, and various spiritual practices. Through breathing, evocative music and focused release work, non-ordinary states of consciousness are induced, allowing mobilization of the spontaneous healing potential of the psyche. Mandala drawing and group processing of the experiences are additional important elements used in the holotropic process. Holotropic means "moving toward wholeness." Holotropic Breathwork mediates access to all levels of the human psyche including unfinished issues from postnatal biography, sequences of psychospiritual death and rebirth, and the entire spectrum of transpersonal experiences.

#083 The Tao of Movement and the Rhythm of Life - Chungliang Al Huang (6 Audiotapes for $40)

Philosopher/Tai Ji master Chungliang Al Huang will focus on the CORE curriculum of his Living Tao Foundation's ongoing study programs. He will instill for beginners, as well as longtime students of life, the transcendent wisdom of Taoism, the ethical and humane pragmatism of Confucianism, and the rightful ways of being, as experienced in Zen Buddhism. He will combine the most essentials in the Tai Ji cultivation, in the flow of movement, the power of healing music, the joy of tears and laughter, and in the deep and heartful contemplation of the blessed gift of everyday living.



#084 Hypotheses, Designs, Observations from FDA-approved Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research: Psilocybin and MDMA Studies - Charles Grob, Francisco Moreno, Michael Mithoefer, John Halpern, Rick Doblin (5 Audiotapes for $45)
This workshop is intended for people either interested in conducting their own clinical research with psychedelics or in learning about ongoing research currently underway. The field of psychedelic psychotherapy research is undergoing the early hints of a renaissance, and there is a lot to discuss. We'll report on current projects with the discussion focusing on lessons from earlier research, choices in protocol design, the conduct of the psychedelic sessions themselves, and directions for future research.

#086 The Well of Memory and the Tree of Visions: Divining Our Origin and Our Destiny - Ralph Metzner (1 Audiotape for $12)

In this workshop we will use the Janus Model of consciousness transformation and the Nordic-Germanic mythic image of Mimir's Well (or the Well of Urd), to practice divination to our personal, ancestral, and collective past, for healing and liberation from karmic entanglements and deeper understanding of our evolutionary origin on planet Earth; and, using the mythic image of the World Tree, practice divination along the probability lines of our personal, Collective, and planetary futures. The methods used will be directed light-fire meditations, amplified by toning and breathing; expressive arts will be used for integration and communication (bring art materials).

#085 Portals of the Imagination: Myths, Symbols, and Archetypes - Angeles Arrien (4 Audiotapes for $40)

This workshop will look at how cross-cultural myths, use of symbols, and connection with our own creativity can be ways to remember, revision and re-dream our lives. Archetypal images will be used to reconnect with our own spiritual resources and inherent guidance. Each participant will apply the information and guidance given in dreams and creative processes in practical ways. Emphasis will be placed upon the healing images that can be used for creative problem-solving in both personal and professional areas of our lives. Angeles will give tools used cross-culturally to support sorting out what is important, how to renew oneself, and use the creative energy to maximize reciprocity. She will also assist participants in re-igniting that creative fire to follow what has heart and meaning, rekindle the soul, and re-dream our lives.

POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

#091 The Deep Mythological Roots of Creativity - Stephen and Robin Larsen (1 Audiotape for $12)

Drawing upon their long internship with Joseph Campbell, but also experiences accumulated among shamans and a variety of other wizards, Stephen and Robin Larsen have long searched for ways to re-enchant the world. In this two-day workshop they call upon their rich and varied experiences to draw the participant-explorer ever-deeper into the roots of the creativity that lies at the heart of the self. The mythologies of "the Wasteland" only emerge when the wellsprings of creativity fail to be tapped. The Larsens use dreamwork, consciousness exercises, poetry and the expressive arts to lead participants into an encounter with their own creativity. This workshop is suitable for (but not restricted to) writers, performing and expressive artists, and spiritual seekers looking for new ways of breathing life into their creative journeys. (Suggestion: Bring journals, comfortable clothing and an openness to wonder.)

#090 Psyche and Cosmos: Transpersonal Psychology and Archetypal Astrology - Stanislav Grof, Richard Tarnas (9 Audiotapes for $70/ 6 Videotapes for $150)

As Jung was the first modern psychologist to suggest, astrology possesses an extraordinary capacity to illuminate the archetypal dynamics of the human psyche. During the past thirty years of their collaboration, Richard Tarnas and Stanislav Grof repeatedly encountered a surprisingly rich and consistent correlation between specific planetary positions and a wide range of psychological states. These correlations suggest that the relationship between the cosmos and the human psyche is very different from that assumed in the conventional disenchanted world view of modernity. This two-day workshop will present both the practical applications of this research and its larger implications, beginning with the vastly extended map of the human psyche suggested by modern consciousness research and experiential therapies. Topics will include precise descriptions of the correlations observed, the phenomenon of synchronicity, the importance of transits, a look at major past and current planetary alignments, and coinciding archetypal patterns in history and culture. We will address the relevance of this work to the larger depth psychology tradition initiated by Freud and Jung, and present an overview of the evolution of the Western mind as illuminated by this recovery of the intimate relationship between the human being and the cosmos.

MAIN CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

#002 Leaping Between the Horns: Modern Dilemmas and Ancient Imagination - Michael Meade (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

In times of unprecedented spiritual confusion, amidst the "crisis of imagination" and the radical disorientation of mass culture, myth intones its age-old speech to the inner reaches of the human soul. There, the Old Mind offers inspiration to those willing to tap again the evocative, oracular, compelling voice of Mythos, which echoes in the psychic depths, ever capable of revival and potent with hidden resources. The exact medicines for the dissociation characteristic of Western culture lie in finding again the archaic continuity and hidden unity of human imagination. Ancient footprints mark the paths of art and practice that lead to the fording place where a leap between the old and new, the concrete and spiritual, the time-bound and the timeless is required again. On this pathless path, artists, spiritual seekers, philosophers, and lovers find the betwixt and between ways which thread the past into the shape of the future. At this conference, Michael Meade will tell mythic tales that weave together the psychological with the mythological, the visible with the invisible, the immediate with the ancient.

#003 The Archetypal Drama of the Western Self - Richard Tarnas (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

"We are living in what the Greeks called the kairos - the right moment - for a 'metamorphosis of the gods,' of the fundamental principles and symbols. . . . So much is at stake and so much depends on the psychological constitution of the modern human."- C. G. Jung In the history of Western thought, the mythic and archetypal understanding of reality has undergone a series of dramatic shifts - from its luminous origins in the ancient mythological imagination and the Platonic tradition, through its eclipse by the modern mind, to its recovery by Jung and depth psychology in the twentieth century. The narrative of that evolution not only illuminates the developing character of the Western self, it holds great significance for the future of our planet. We are only beginning to recognize how much depends on the fate of myth in Western civilization, and on making conscious the powerful archetypal forces that impel the modern self in its activities on the world stage.

#004 Hitchcock’s Pure Cinema - John Beebe (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

Movies invite us to contemplate images that move over time. But what is the effect on the image of such concentrated scrutiny? Surface yields to uncertainty, and uncertainty to the mystery of story. In his late masterpieces “Psycho” and “Marnie,” Alfred Hitchcock sought to create the effect of a pure cinema, in which the film image would be freed from the constraints of conventional narrative to deliver to a mass audience the emotional force of an archetypal experience. This lecture will focus on the filmmaker’s interrogation of the image, as he coaxes it to unfold its mythic secret.

#005 Spiritual Emergence and Spiritual Problems - David Lukoff, Francis Lu (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

As the use of tools and wisdom from spiritual traditions in the culture and in psychotherapy has been increasing, spiritual problems that are triggered by, or exacerbated by, spiritual practices have also become an area of clinical concern. Spontaneous spiritual experiences can also trigger distress. This presentation will update the developments in the transpersonally-inspired diagnostic category Religious or Spiritual Problem since it was adopted in the DSM-IV in 1994. It will present a typology of religious and spiritual problems and an overview of training curriculums developed for psychiatry and psychology.

#006 The Myth of Enlightenment - Frances Vaughan (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

Cross-cultural stories of the journey of the soul through time are informed by myths of enlightenment. The eye of the heart, which sees both the visible and the invisible world, is also the eye of the soul that seeks enlightenment. Choosing a path with heart that draws the seeker deeper into the mystery of enlightenment implies a new perception of reality and new ways relating to oneself, to others and the world.

#007 Coming Home: Revisioning the Monomyth for the Planetary Era - Sean Kelly (Audiotape for $12)

Much of Joseph Campbell's work was devoted to exploring the worldwide permutations of the hero's journey, which he considered to be humanity's most primordial mythic theme - hence the term "Monomyth." This talk will explore the triadic deep structure of the Monomyth as it has played itself out in the evolution of western consciousness, focusing on the transition to the third moment of "return" or new identity. Drawing not only from Campbell, but also from the thought of Hegel, Jung, and Edgar Morin, we will consider the question of what it might mean for us, at this critical phase of the Planetary Era, really to "come home."

#008 From Middle Earth to a Galaxy Far Far Away -- Death and Rebirth in Modern Popular Film - Tav Sparks (Audiotape for $12)

The death/rebirth metaphor is embodied in most of the great myths of transformation, and nowhere is the theme playing itself out more vividly than in cinema. Join us for a death/rebirth journey through highlights of popular films, based upon the holotropic perspective.

#009 Hallucinogens and Transpersonal Medicine - Charles Grob (Audiotape for $12)

This talk will examine the continued relevance of hallucinogens to the transpersonal fields, and will pose the question of whether the long discarded psychedelic research model can be revived within contemporary mainstream psychiatry and medicine. The shamanic role of plant hallucinogens as The Great Medicine in indigenous people will be discussed, as will their subsequent invalidation and oppression at the hands of dominant Euro-American culture. The modern history of hallucinogen use will also be examined, particularly with regards to the early progress and subsequent undermining of formal psychiatric research with these compounds. If we are ready to re-examine the inherent potentials the hallucinogens hold for healing, then we may truly begin to develop a field of Transpersonal Medicine.

#070 Myth and Madness - Robert Walter (Audiotape for $12)
Mr. Walker is President of the Joseph Campbell Foundation.

#010 Panel on The New American Myth - Bokara Legendre, Angeles Arrien, Charlene Spretnak, Susan Griffin, Nina Simons (2 Audiotapes for $20)

What new philosophy is replacing our old myths of power, money, celebrity, and convenience? How does a new myth rise and take hold in a culture? How is it identified, defined, and propagated? Representatives from the fields of science, politics, economy, religion, philosophy, ecology, etc., will address these questions and accept previously written suggestions from the participants, to help in our attempt to identify The New American Myth.

#011 Cross of Femininity: Vesta, Juno, Ceres, Pallas Athena -- Balancing Self, Partnering, Parenting, and Creative Expression - Bret Stephenson (Audiotape for $12)

The mythology of Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas Athena give meaning to some of the central feminine roles that both men and women play. This presentation focuses on archetypal meanings of these goddesses as a four-part cross that offers clues to balancing self-identity and inner focus; partnering and relationship; parenting and nourishing; and creative self-expression.

#012 Ibogaine-Assisted Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Chemical Dependence: The Iboga Therapy House (Vancouver) and Ibogaine Association Clinic (Mexico) Outcome Study - Sandra Karpetas, Randolph Hencken, Rocky Caravelli, Valerie Mojeiko (Audiotape for $12)

Ibogaine is a psychedelic compound found in the iboga root from Western Africa. Ibogaine's use as a tool to ease the process of withdrawal from heroin, cocaine and other drugs, to reduce craving, and to promote long-term recovery was serendipitously discovered in the mid-1960s by an addict, Howard Lotsof. Initially developed by addict self-help groups, ibogaine-assisted psychotherapy is now offered in legal treatment centers around the world (though not the US). Staff from the Iboga Therapy House in Vancouver and the Ibogaine Association Clinic in Mexico will discuss their therapeutic approaches and researcher Valerie Mojeiko will discuss the outcome study

#013 The Myth of Nature and the Nature of Myth: Becoming Transparent to Transcendence -- Joseph Campbell's Legacy - Dennis Slattery (Audiotape for $12)

"Nature", Joseph Campbell writes in Flight of the Wild Gander, "is prime.... Nature is as deep and, finally, inscrutable as Being itself." He sliced into any field that attracted his interest: Eastern and Western mystical traditions, world literature, poetry and mythologies, local and regional rites of initiation, philosophy, psychology, the body's phenomenology, painting, music, architecture -- always with a keen eye and a sustaining wit to navigating through that landscape to see how its laws and expressions could aid one in re-entering the mystery. We will explore what Joseph reveals to us of the dis-enchanted world that cries for a renewal both of a shared vision and of an experience of meaning that encourages a sense of being transparent to transcendence. How does his comparative method allow us to find new languages of enchantment that can shared with the popular mind so as to allow us today exposed to a parade of crises once again find our bearings?

#014 The Mything of the World: The Social Artist as Transcultural and Transpersonal Agent of Change - Jean Houston (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

#092 Ram Dass in Conversation with Stan Grof (Audiotape for $12)

#017 Bringing Meaning, Magic, and Majesty into the World - Angeles Arrien (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

The Universe conspires to support the imagination. Creation myths tell us about how we build new worlds internally and externally. Occurring cross-culturally, these myths provide doorways to envision, revision, and re-dream aspects of our own lives. Using the universal ways of seeing-intuition, perception, insight, and vision-each person can explore their own psycho-mythology and mythic imagination. Angeles Arrien will explore cross-cultural symbols, myths, and creative visualization as ways to follow what has heart and meaning, rekindle the soul, and to remember our life's Dream.

#018 Reflections on Enlightenment and Spiritual Growth - Charles Tart (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

Archetypes, myths, the imaginal realm, etc. - all are fascinating and wonderful. But do they necessarily lead to the end of suffering? After many years of looking at exotic experiences like altered states of consciousness, Charles Tart will share some of his current thinking and ideas for research on what enlightenment might mean in practice. What sort of path is the best way, or even a good way, for particular people to move toward enlightenment? Do we all end up in the same enlightened place or are there many desirable end points we might call growth or enlightenment? Can this search for enlightenment actually be an avoidance of real growth? How might your personal and your cultures' world view affect what is possible? When are we really growing and when are we fooling ourselves? Can unenlightened people like us have any useful understandings about enlightenment?

#019 Sacred Ceremony of Taki Samy - Shairy Jose Quimbo (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

In this conference, Shairy will share the sacred ceremony of Taki Samy. Taki means vibration, harmonic sounds, melody, and music. Samy means energy, strength, impulse, and life essence. Taki Samy is the spiritual renovation for a new energetic life and a new consciousness and awareness for all beings. Shairy will share the messages of the prophecies, the need to unite the Eagle and the Condor, to unite all people as one, as we enter the New Time. The purpose of sharing the prophecies is to recollect, return, and reorient ourselves to the sacred as a way of healing Mother Earth, lighting the path, and setting the foundation for the next five hundred years. May every step, every breath, every word, every thought, every heartbeat bring unification and healing to our planet. May the myths, prophecies, and ancestral ways help us to walk forward in a good way, for this generation and for all those to come

#021 Mary, Modernity, and the Mythic Imagination - Charlene Spretnak (Audiotape for $12)

The traditional complex of associations and symbolism surrounding the Virgin Mary was largely disallowed within Catholicism when the Church modernized itself at Vatican II (1962-65). As part of the streamlining, Mary was dethroned as Queen of Heaven, reduced solely to being the Nazarene village woman in the gospels for almost an entire generation of Catholics under 45 (except for those in ethnic parishes). Drawing from her new book, Missing Mary, Spretnak will analyze the dynamics of this clash between modernity and the Catholic imagination. She will also present a framework with which to appreciate the grassroots renewal of Marian spirituality, including parallels between the premodern Marian imagination and the post-mechanistic discoveries of scientific cosmology. Spretnak makes the case for the mythic understanding of Mary’s cosmological dimension as a unique female embodiment of grace, humility, and powerful compassion. She became the Great Mother of the West – and now “Big Mary” is back.

#022 Psychedelic Research Panel: A Vision for the 21st Century - Rick Doblin, Michael Mithoefer, John Halpern, Charles Grob, Francisco Moreno, Valerie Mojeiko, Rocky Caravelli, Randolph Hencken, Sandra Karpetas (2 Audiotapes for $20)

As psychedelic researchers are slowly reentering their laboratories, it is an opportune time to ponder how Western culture could move beyond its obsession with the Drug War to the integration of psychedelic medicine into psychiatry and psychology. The ever-evolving strategy for obtaining FDA approval for psychedelic psychotherapy will be discussed, and a vision will be elaborated for the establishment and regulation of psychedelic clinics, first to treat "patients" and gradually expanding to include "normals" seeking personal growth, spiritual/mystical experiences, and eventually even simple pleasure and recreation.

#024 Re-Visioning the Myths of Human Origins and Destiny: The Work of Marija Gimbutas and Zachariah Sitchin - Ralph Metzner (Audiotape for $12)

This presentation focuses on archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas and how she used the findings of archaeology and myth to develop a profound new understanding of the peaceful neolithic Goddess-centered cultures of Old Europe, the imposition of patriarchy and warfare through the invasions of Kurgan pastoralists, and the conflict-ridden Bronze and Iron Age cultures that resulted. It will also highlight the work of Sumerologist Zachariah Sitchin, who, through meticulous analyses of Mesopotamian inscriptions, including the Hebrew Bible, has developed a stunningly provocative reading of the origins of humanity in the colonization of Earth by highly advanced, long-living beings, or gods, from an as yet unconfirmed planet of our solar system. It will explore their genetic engineering of hybrid primates to serve as slave-workers; and the eventual discovery of sexual reproduction by the latter (the Biblical Eden story) resulting in a long, laborious, and still unfolding, escape of humans from the inbred thralldom of dominator deities.

#025 Romantic Love: Comparative Mythology Western and Eastern Paradigms:Tristan & Iseult; Radha & Krishna - Rashna Imhasly (Audiotape for $12)

Myths are woven out of a history, religious ritual, psychology, and the social structure of a culture. They evolve as a symbolic record in the growing stages of a people's life. This presentation will explore how comparative paradigms focus on the archetype of illicit love, a powerful force of the collective unconscious showing how composite cultures seek to integrate this force as a tool for transformation.

#026 The Joy of Astrology: Living the Life Archetypal - Matthew Stelzner (Audiotape for $12)

Astrology is so much more than sun-sign newspaper columns. It has the potential to be a way of life in which every moment is filled with divine meaning, and every moment is a participation in the cycles of the gods. In this lecture we will explore how astrology can be practiced as a spiritual discipline. Through a deep understanding of the natal chart and an awareness of both personal and collective transits, the disenchanted life is transformed into a life populated with gods and goddesses. Through the touch of a lover we feel the hand of Venus; in a moment of laughter we feel the presence of Jupiter; in our grief we perceive the movement of Saturn; and through the comfort of a friend we feel the great mother Moon.

#028 Transcendent Mentoring of the Next and Future Generations: The Spiritual Practice of Parenting, Coaching, and Mentoring in the Zone - Michael Mendizza (Audiotape for $12)

For centuries elite athletes and other performance specialists have known that learning and performance are "state specific." Optimum states lead to optimum learning and performance. This program helps adults to optimize the "state" of the adult-child relationship and therefore to create a new culture for human development. We will explore and apply research on the psychology of optimum states (what athletes call the Zone, what researchers call Flow and what children call Play), to parenting and to education. A major theme will be the way that Play, Flow, the Zone, and even mystical perceptions of Insight-Intelligence, as defined by David Bohm, J. Krishnamurti and Joseph Chilton Pearce, emanate from the same innate structures which are woven throughout the human body and all of nature. Optimum, we will discover, is nature's baseline, her expectation for human development life long. Optimum Learning Relationships are by their nature transpersonal.

#029 Feeling the Universe: Myth and Reenchantment in Whitehead's Cosmology - John Buchanan (Audiotape for $12)

In his presentation, John Buchanan will look at two major conference themes from the perspective of Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy. First, he will explore the sources of the modern "disenchantment" of the world, and then illustrate how a Whiteheadian corrective can point the way towards a postmodern reenchantment - one that is experiential in nature, yet formulated on rationally comprehensible premises. Second, the notion of an empowering "Myth" for "Our Times" is raised. After considering what might constitute some of the critical dimensions of such a Myth, he will play with some cosmological themes from Whitehead's philosophy to see if it might have any significant contributions to make in this regard.

#037 The Shamanis and Metabolism of the Spirit - Juan Ruiz Naupari (Audiotape for $12)
The sacred journey that leads us into our inner worlds gives us a deep comprehension of our inner architecture. This certainty magnifies our thirst for completeness, which leads us into a process of intensification of the spirit in our daily lives. Using the essential approaches of Shamanism, it is possible to metabolize the great experience of our Spiritual heritage, to achieve what some societies call illumination or self-realization.

#030 Insolvency of Symptom-Oriented Diagnoses and Classifications in Psychiatry - Paul Grof, Dorian Deshauer (Audiotape for $12)

For more than a century psychiatry has been developing numerous classifications of disorders conceived primarily of symptoms, and assuming localized culprits. In this presentation, we will show data from longitudinal, prospective, blindly performed observations of offspring of patients with bipolar disorder. Of all psychiatric conditions, bipolar disorder has the strongest genetic contribution and, if the assumptions were correct, affected children should present with symptoms similar to their parents. Yet the symptoms and presentations in children are often markedly different. We will also look at how newer models that take into account a multiplicity of genetic and environmental causes more closely explain our daily observations in clinical psychiatry. The complexity revealed in modern family studies demands that psychiatrists recognize the tendency of each individual to go beyond classification systems.

#032 SoulCollage^TM: A Process to Honor and Use the Power of Mythic Image in Our Lives - Seena Frost (Audiotape for $12)

SoulCollage^TM is a creative process in which participants construct, over time, a deck of unique cards, collaging them with 'found' images. After creating the cards, the images can be consulted intuitively much as one might consult a Tarot deck. Showing examples of many SoulCollage cards, Seena Frost will illustrate how people are using this process to understand and celebrate the dance of their inner selves and the power and presence of their guiding archetypes. SoulCollage is a process that can be adapted and used in various therapies, and as a creative adjunct to many spiritual paths.

#033 The Power of the Womb: Archetypal, Mythic, Embodied - Terra Wise (Audiotape for $12)

This presentation will explore the mysterious primal, mythic and energetic meaning of the womb, a deep well of archetypal significance. The womb of possibilities: an alchemical vessel of creativity and eros, change and growth, physical birth and spiritual rebirth, the container of light forces. And the womb of darkness: a portal of initiation through death, sorrow, transition, crisis, underworld descent, loss of the womb, losses from the womb, miscarriage, abortion, stillbirth, letting go of our children, and the important life threshold of menopause. Attending consciously to the womb in an integral way (including the spirit womb, both for men and for women who have lost their wombs to surgery) allows us to connect with this most essential expression of the Goddess, and with our own wholeness.

#034 Conference Weaving and Mythic Tales with Michael Meade (three days) (2 Audiotapes for $20)

#035 From the Dark Wood to the Music of the Spheres: The Artists's Hero's Journey of Creativity and Madness - Lorin Hollander (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

#036 The Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom: A Comic Monologue with Original Songs - Wes "Scoop" Nisker (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

#038 Open Mic Poetry hosted by Drew Dellinger (2 Audiotapes for $15)

#039 Animism, Shamanism and Ethnobotony: Ecopsychology's Link with the Transpersonal - Mark Schroll, Charles Tart, Peter Russell, Ralph Metzner, John Mack (2 Audiotapes for $20/ 2 CDs for $20 / Videotape for $40)

Myth, metaphor, and story are the soul of science and are the threads that weave the myriad bits of experimental data into a meaningful and coherent whole. Science without story, without myth, and without metaphor fails to have any means of expressing ethics because the very fabric of its existence lacks the means to guide its actions. Gaia, as a living, self-organizing, organic system, is the most ecologically oriented cosmology available to envision and create a coherent, co-evolutionary, sustainable culture. The essential point is Gaia is not a puzzle to be figured out and analyzed; it is an experience that needs to be felt. But, without transpersonal experience, animism too becomes only organized religion. Helping others experience and make sense of this remembrance of our original ecological wholeness is the shaman’s role as cosmic web-weaver and inner-galactic emissary. This panel will explore this emerging perspective as ecopsychology’s link with the transpersonal.

#040 Dreaming for the Collective - Marilyn Schlitz (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

In our modern, post Freudian culture, dreaming is essentially personal. In our search for individuation, we have grown disconnected from our deeper selves, our community, our environment, and our sense of the sacred. We struggle to make sense of the subtleties of inner experience in a culture where reality is defined by that which can be physically measured. Could a fundamental source of our current cultural malaise be that we do not dream collectively? Based on a series of research studies sponsored by the Institute of Noetic Sciences, I will explore the ways in which dreams can be used to connect us to a larger whole, both locally and transpersonally.

#041 The Grail Legend and Its Interpreters: Joseph Campbell, C. G. and Emma Jung, E. A. Waite, and Rudolf Steiner - Robert McDermott (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

This talk will have two parts: first, it will outline the main events, themes, and symbols of the Grail Legend, from the early history of Parzifal by Chretien de Troyes to the death of Merlin. It will use the Grail Legend as a way of emphasizing four different approaches to its significance: the mythological interpretation of Joseph Campbell; the psychological interpretation of C. G. and Emma Jung; the Christian interpretation of E.A. Waite; and the spiritual-esoteric interpretation of Rudolf Steiner and Walter Johannes Stein.

#042 Health Effects of Shamanic Journeying - Sandra Harner

Is shamanic healing a myth? Stories of profound healing powers of outstanding shamans have passed by oral tradition from generation to generation throughout the world. Travelers and ethnographers in exotic lands have recorded similar reports. Still other shamanic healings are witnessed today in the West. These narratives spark hope among those afflicted and seeking cures for their ailments. In a series of systematic experiments Sandra has examined the effects of shamanic journeying on some aspects of health. She will share the psychological changes and immune response results she obtained. Attendees may have an opportunity to contribute anonymously to the ongoing research at this presentation if they wish to do so.

#043 Spirituality, Religion, and the God-view - Brother David Steindl-Rast (Audiotape for $12)

"Spirituality" is aliveness on all levels. "Religion" is the reestablishing and strengthening of our deepest bonds. What "God" can possibly mean to us today is more difficult to say. Starting with spirituality and religion, Brother David will try to explore the possible meaning of the term "God" for our times and the importance of a God-view that is compatible with our contemporary world-view.

#045 Not One Death But Many - Chris Bache (Audiotape for $12)

This talk will explore a broader hermeneutic for the death-rebirth experience beyond the usual focus on ego-death. What dies when dying is present but ego is not? How many times can the wheel of death-rebirth turn?

#046 The Mystery of Money - Bernard Lietaer (Audiotape for $12)

Why has money become such an influential force in the world today? Why does it generate such powerful and polarized emotions in most individuals? Why is it that money is the most frequent reason for conflicts -- from family breakdowns to wars? The veil over this topic will be lifted during a discovery journey through the collective and personal psyche, weaving transpersonal psychology, mythology, sociopolitical theory, history, and economics. The resulting synthesis provides a key to becoming aware of the way whereby money systems shape our collective emotions - or better still, how collective emotions shape our choice in money systems. It will also explain how the three main taboos of Western society - sex, death, and money - are related to each other. The ultimate reward pursued here is to bring to light our wounding about money, collective or individual, and thereby make money our servant instead of our master.

#047 Effects of Psilocybin in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Francisco Moreno (Audiotape for $12)

Anecdotal reports suggest that the psychedelic substance psilocybine helps to relieve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder during and after the acute psychedelic experience. Psilocybine is a potent 5-HT-2A antagonist, which resembles the pharmacological mechanism for antiobsessional drug response. The purpose of this study is to: 1) Establish safety and tolerability of psilocybine in human subjects; 2) Collect preliminary data regarding efficacy of psilocybine treatment in OCD; 3) Explore the dose-response relationship; and 4) Explore the relationship between degree of psychedelic response and antiobsessional effects. Early review of data collected thus far suggests that psilocybine may be safe and well tolerated in subjects with treatment-refractory OCD and may offer at least temporary relief of OCD symptoms. Subjective experiences will be discussed in the context of the subjects psychological, spiritual, and transcendental experiences.

#048 Family Constellations: Failure, Evil, and Guilt as Sources for Loving Dedication and Compassionate Strength - Albrecht Mahr (Audiotape for $12)

Family constellation work as developed by the German family therapist and philosopher Bert Hellinger has proved to be particularly effective in conditions of long term suffering caused by transgenerational entanglement resistant to intense therapeutic effort. Family constellations are one of the most powerful transpersonal approaches including issues such as guilt, violence in group conflict, the connection between victim and perpetrator, seemingly inaccessible states of fear and depression, and psychosomatic and physical suffering. Family constellations urge us to radically include literally everyone and everything into our awareness, which is as challenging as it is rewarding when it comes to the inclusion of those whom we instinctively want to condemn and to exclude. Our darkest sides hold the potential for the most powerful unfolding of our caring and loving compassion. Examples from family and other constellations work will provide vivid illustrations.

#049 Film and Healing: East and West - Brother David Steindl-Rast, Francis Lu (Audiotape for $12)

Since 1987, Francis has co-led 17 film seminars at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, on the use of film in healing. Twelve of these 5-day seminars have been co-led by Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk. Topics have included the following: Contemplation, Wholeness, Inner Child, Humor, Nirvana/Salvation, Remembering of Love, Serenity, Spiritual Allies, Courage and Compassion, Hope Arising from Despair, Joy of the Arts, Transformation of Consciousness, Faith/Resilience, Gratefulness, and Forgiveness. During these residential seminars, 8 films on one of these topics would be watched and discussed from the participant's perspective. The goal has been to evoke these qualities for personal growth and development through not only experiencing the film but also group discussion and individual processing. Featured films from all over the world have been used, including, Ikiru, The Harp of Burma, Tokyo Story, The Joy Luck Club, Babette's Feast, Bagdad Café, and City Lights. In this presentation, we will review key films for the seminar topics and describe the process of the seminars. This work is applicable to teaching of students as well as potentially in work with patients.

#050 Goddess Warrior, A New Myth to Live By: Balancing Love with Presence and Compassion with Accountability - Karen LaPuma (Audiotape for $12)

Blending the archetypal meanings of the Goddess and the Warrior shows us how to integrate the masculine and feminine within our lives. The synthesis of these transpersonal life energies can catalyze and foster renewed heartful awareness and intentional creativity, which can provide a practical model for the our times.

#051 The Reified Self as Destructive Myth: Theory and Research on Self-Expansiveness - Harris Friedman (Audiotape for $12)

In Western individualistic cultures, the self is usually seen as separate from its naturalistic and social context. Even in cultures that are collectivistic, a narrow sense of self is also common, though more often rooted in others than in the isolated sense of individuality. Many spiritual traditions see this reification of the self as the root of all suffering, the most destructive myth of all. A transpersonal theoretical model of the expansive potential of the self-concept is presented as one method for understanding and overcoming this limited view. The implications of recent empirical research findings (such as from cross-cultural data collected using various transpersonal measures in India, Japan, North America, and Uganda) will be discussed in light of this model.

#055 Coming Home - A Holotropic Adventure From the Stolen Generations - Marianne Wobcke (Audiotape for $12)

Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families throughout Australia until 1970. Today many of these Aboriginal people continue to suffer from this destruction of identity, family life, and culture. We call them the Stolen Generations. This presentation will take you on an adventure incorporating film and music where you will experience Marianne's remarkable Holotropic and dream experiences that turned out to portray correctly events from her ancestral heritage as a member of the Stolen Generations.

#052 Otto Rank's Art: Where the Human Meets the Spiritual - Robert Kramer (Audiotape for $12)

Author of Myth of the Birth of the Hero, Otto Rank was perhaps the most brilliant explorer of the mythic imagination in Freud's inner circle. Few know, however, of Rank's life and work after he broke with Freud in the mid-Twenties in the wake of The Trauma of Birth. This session traces Rank's impact on humanistic and existential psychologists like Carl Rogers and Rollo May and shows how Rank's post-Freudian writings on art, creativity, and the soul reach beyond the personal and interpersonal into the re-enchanting but elusive realm of the transpersonal.

#053 The Mythic Power of Film - Melody Jackson (Audiotape for $12)

Although story is an important source, it is but one of four dimensions which are the source of film's mythic impact, the other three being the moving photographs narrative form, the cinematic form, and intrinsic influences. In exploring film as a major cultural force, Dr. Jackson expounds on these dimensions, each of which hosts specific elements that compound film's mythic power and strike chords of resonance in the deep realms of the psyche. Whereas the impact of story takes into account Campbell's hero's journey, the impact of the moving photographs narrative form derives from elements such as camera angles, montage, and ideologies inherent in the film apparatus. The cinematic form accounts for the impact of the quieted, communal setting of the darkened theatre and the projection of an image of reality onto a giant screen. And the fourth dimension, extrinsic influences, accounts for the impact of movie stars, technology, and distribution strategies. Understanding these four dimensions will help to broaden one's insight into film's role in the culture.

#054 Transpersonal Psychopharmacology: The Re-Emergence of Sacred Sacraments as Modern Medicines - John Halpern (Audiotape for $12)

Psychedelic substances can be used as tools of self-discovery, sacred sacraments, and/or recreational drugs. Though dangers from abuse are ever publicized, less known is that results from clinical research never supported banning further investigation. In the decades since the last LSD studies with the terminally ill and with drug abusers, quality of life for these suffering individuals and their families has not dramatically improved. Yet tantalizing evidence of the benefits of psychedelic therapy continues unreported in the scientific literature, and so it is essential for research to resume. If successful, allopathic medicine will finally be reconnected to its shamanic roots through the modern dispensing of transpersonal medications. This talk details intended investigations with MDMA for the terminally ill and with peyote for Native American substance abuse.

#055 Coming Home: A Holotropic Adventure from the Stolen Generations - Marianne Wobcke (Audiotape for $12)

#056 The Journey of Divine Beings: From Inner Sanctum to the Outer World - Vishnu Tattva Das and Barbara Framm (Videotape for $40)
(Indian dance performance)

#057 Joseph Campbell and the Cauldron of Inspiration - Stephen and Robin Larsen (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

#058 Enchanted: An Improvised Performance - Nina Wise (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

#059 Cosmic Connectivity: Toward a Natural Scientific Foundation for the Transpersonal Perspective - Ervin Laszlo (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

In postulating a universal information-transmitting and conserving field associated with the scalar potentials of the quantum vacuum, the author's Connectivity Hypothesis provides a foundation for an integral science of quantum, cosmos, life, and consciousness. In particular, the connectivity of seemingly discrete entities, including bodies and minds, becomes comprehensible as a subtle yet constant and effective interaction between the body and brain of individuals and the consciousness associated with them, and the pervasive virtual-energy sea that author named "psi-fied." This talk attempts to undergird the remarkable phenomena unearthed in transpersonal consciousness research with a bona fide scientific explanation, thereby contributing to the credibility and legitimacy of research in the transpersonal domain.

#060 Forgiveness, Fearlessness, and a Wise Heart: Finding Your Heart's Way - Jack Kornfield (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

"Sometimes you climb to the top of the ladder only to discover it was against the wrong wall." Joseph Campbell
In fast paced modern consumer society we can easily lose ourselves, lose our heart. Together we will explore an ancient Indian myth that carries courage and compassion, the essence of the spiritual journey as loving reminders for anyone who has ever lost their way. We will explore these understandings together. Our time will include storytelling, inner inquiry, meditations, chanting, and the awakening of the wise and compassionate heart.

#061 The Ancient Mysteries and the Transformation of Consciousness - David Ulansey (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

The ancient Mystery Religions - such as the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Mithraic Mysteries, and the Mysteries of Isis - constitute a great riddle at the heart of Western culture. These religions centered around a secret revealed in rites of initiation reflecting the archetypal pattern of death and rebirth. The Mysteries served as vehicles of profound psychological and cultural transformation. Suppressed by Christianity, they have nevertheless continued as a subterranean current in the culture and psyche of the West. This talk will explore the ways in which rediscovering the secrets of these traditions can help us more effectively confront the current planetary crisis, in which the Earth is moving with perilous speed towards a death experience from which rebirth is by no means assured.

#062 Rhythm and Music: Food for the Soul - Geoffrey Gordon (Audiotape for $12)

The knowledge of the basic principles of sound and rhythm sets one on the road to transformational healing through music. Music and rhythm are used in many forms of therapy today while trance music, drumming, and sacred music have been used as therapy for thousands of years. The form of the Goddess is said to be revealed through music. We will experience rhythm and music through vocal exercises which open up the voice and body, through clapping, body sounds, movement, breathing and more. We will observe rhythm and music in nature and in our body movements as well as in the sound qualities around us every moment. We will explore music in mythology and how the human condition is communicated through storytelling, poetry, the chanting of mantras and formulas, singing, drumming, dancing and more.

#063 The Art and Science of Meditation - Roger Walsh (Audiotape for $12)

Within the last forty years meditation has gone from an esoteric Eastern curiosity to a remarkably widely used spiritual practice, psychological therapy, medical technique, and research subject. Several hundred research studies now demonstrate numerous psychological, physiological, and transpersonal effects, including psychological changes in personality, perception, and performance, physiological changes in cardiovascular and cerebral function, and transpersonal shifts in lucidity and consciousness. This talk will provide an overview of these research findings, examine classic claims about the nature and goals of meditation, and explore the implications for our understanding of human nature, development, pathology, and potentials.

#064 Shamanism, Myth, and Reality - Michael Harner (Audiotape for $12)

Shamans have long penetrated realms about which others have only heard. In many cases, myths are what are left of the shamans' tales of their adventures after the shamans have died. Some elements of traditional myths, such as the existence of dragons, winged horses, gods and goddesses, the "hero's journey," and other miraculous feats, are not just possible, but probable, when one is in the shamanic state of consciousness (SSC) and journeying to other worlds in nonordinary reality (NOR). The retelling of shamans' stories, however, rarely makes clear this dichotomy of consciousness and realities, with the result that the routine experiences of shamans become transmuted into "impossible" wondrous tales. Only when one becomes aware of the shaman's two states of consciousness and the corresponding dual realities do many myths emerge as retellings of perfectly rational adventures. An experiential exercise is planned as part of the presentation.

#065 Considering the Current Crisis: Adding Our Voices to the Awakening of Consciousness - John Mack (Audiotape for $12)

These are not ordinary times. Each of us feels impelled to contribute constructively what we can to the changes that are occurring in our world. Transpersonal psychology may be unique in its understanding of the connection between individual and collective psychological forces. This talk will examine these forces, especially the ways that unscrupulous leaders are able to manipulate our minds through the calculated use of threat and fear. Greater awareness of this process may enable us to add our voices more effectively to the awakening of consciousness and the possibilities of transformation that are gaining momentum in our world.

#066 Transcendent Sex: Research into the Bodymind's Innate Capacity for Creating Mythic Experience - Jenny Wade (Audiotape for $12)

Sex and spiritual experiences have been linked from the earliest times in history, though what sacred sex has meant and what it feels like has been obscured, distorted, or channeled into fixed ideas about certain archetypal images. Research into the spontaneously occurring transcendent experiences of ordinary people shows that sex can unintentionally trigger an extremely wide range of visionary and other altered states unconfined by sexual or gendered imagery or particular belief systems. Such experiences are so profound that they transform people in positive and negative ways. They have the power to destabilize as well as to heal. This presentation explores research presented in Jenny's new book, Transcendent Sex: When Lovemaking Opens the Veil.

#067 A Loving Homage to the Hero's and Heroine's Journey Imbedded Within and Shining Through Great Works of Music - Lorin Hollander, Tara Tupper (Audiotape for $12)

This concert/presentation, with Lorin Hollander and Tara Tupper, will continue the exploration of the Hero's Journey theme found in classical music. The Hero's Journey in music is often less readily recognized than in other art forms, as music is often perceived as more abstract. One of the crowning glories in all music that manifests the Hero's Journey, but in a more transcendent form, is the Fantasie in F Minor for Four Hands, by Franz Schubert. Hollander and Tupper will perform a complete performance of the Fantasie. In addition, works of other composers will be explored and performed, including Brahms, Bach, and Schumann. We will discover a deeper level from which to listen and to understand these ineffably beautiful masterpieces of music.

#068 Chasing the Black Horse: How Ancient Equine Archetypes Act through Living Horses and Lead Us to the Lost Keys of Paradise - Linda Kohanov (2 Audiotapes for $20)

The horse is usually associated with the explosive power of the instincts and the ability to travel back and forth between the world of the living and the dead. Yet there seems to be a connection between these animals and aspects of feminine knowledge that were rountinely suppressed or demonized in patriarchal societies. Carl Jung recognized images of black mares as manifestations of feminine wisdom rising from the collective unconscious. Certain archetypal themes are actively resurrecting themselves in modern horse-human relationships, themes that were originally expressed millennia ago. When treated as sentient beings, rather than as slaves or beasts of burden, living horses can lead people to other worlds of creativity and insight. They facilitate dramatic shifts in consciousness that lead us to an expanded vision of our own potential as human beings. In this presentation, Linda will explore the magic that horses bring into people's lives and how they help us reconnect to nature, to the authentic self, to ancestral and feminine wisdom, to the herd, and to the community.

#069 Protection, Permission, and Connection: Allies on the Hero's Journey of Trauma Recovery - Kylea Taylor (Audiotape for $12)

When certain essential elements of recovery work are fully available and in balance, they act as allies for someone on the heroic journey of recovery from trauma and dissociation, and help create an environment conducive to healing experiences. In this presentation, we will explore how Holotropic Breathwork provides such a therapeutic container for corrective experiences in non-ordinary states of consciousness, and gives us a model for deep work of various kinds.

#016 The Art of Dialogic Myth-Making - Duncan Campbell (Audiotape for $12)

From time immemorial, from indigenous councils, congregation of Indian rishis in Vedic times, and bardic storytelling and storymaking gatherings around the fire through Plato to quantum physicist David Bohm, it has been understood that in dialogue - by creating a flow ("dia") of wisdom from the universe ("logos") - the deep truths of the cosmos can be accessed and revealed beyond what any individual can do alone in "observation" or "discussion". Along with the particular form and discoveries of modern science, we have become largely estranged from this mythic consciousness and the knowledge and practice of true dialogue. Through our own practice of a new and renewed understanding of dialogue, we can reactivate these capacities from our ancient heritage, and bring them forward through those aspects of the modern mind which are beneficent, integrating them into the next "supramental" stage of our being. In so doing, we can re-empower ourselves to each participate in co-creating together the new myths of a planetary and living awareness called for by consciousness itself in its ongoing complex evolution.

#071 The Seven Roots of Russian Transpersonalism: Slavic Teachings on Transcendence and Ecstacy - Vladimir Maykov (Audiotape for $12)

Russia holds a unique position in history, geography, and culture: eleven time zones, a cultural universe bordering on the west with Catholic and Protestant Europe, on the northeast with vast Siberian region populated by ethnicities still practicing shamanism, on the south with Muslim countries, the area of Islamic culture and Sufism. Throughout the centuries, the influence of shamanism and Sufism was quite significant. Via Russia, Gurdjieff brought to Europe the ideas of harmonious development of man. The anthroposophic views of Rudolf Steiner had an enormous influence on the Russian minds and souls of the Silver Age. Looking at the map, we will explore the ways various spiritual practices, knowledge, meaning, and experience of transformation and transcendence entered the spiritual life of Russia.

#072 Feeling of Shame: Obstacles on the Spiritual Path: Clinical Experiences with Conflicts of Shame and Their Meaning for Transpersonal Psychology - Wolfram Koelling (Audiotape for $12)

Shame is an existential feeling that is, to a certain degree, human and natural. It is part of the identity of self. Within the current period of "shamelessness," conflicts of shame increasingly hide behind so-called masks of shame. Especially, intense painful experiences like traumatization, on the one hand, and isolation or lack of approval, on the other, may lead to the unconscious development of shame. Since feelings of shame tend to lead to regression, rather than to progression, of the self (to the loss of self versus the transformation of self) such feelings may lead to pre-and trans-confusions. This lecture is intended to serve an orientation for transpersonal psychology and psychotherapy on the nature of shame.

#073 Good and Evil Matter: Clearing the Global Soul - Ingo Jahrsetz, Judith Miller (Audiotape for $12)

During WW II citizens in Nazi Germany were encouraged to identify with Nordic mythology and with the magic of spiritual symbols, such as the swastika. Thus, they bypassed their own ego deaths, perceived themselves to be gods, and projected their own personal and collective shadows onto millions of people, who were considered subhuman. Ingo Jahrsetz, a German who was a child during WW II, and Judith Miller, an American Jew, have been working with second and third generation children and grandchildren of Nazis in Germany over the last four years. This presentation discusses how through meditation, Holotropic Breathwork, and deep inner processing, German participants dissolve much of their shame and self-hatred and begin to experience for the first time forgiveness and compassion for self, others, family, and country.

#074 Holotropic Breathwork and Mainstream Psychiatry: Present Realities and Possibilities for Integration - Michael Mithoefer, Annie Mithoefer (Audiotape for $12)

Michael Mithoefer, M.D., and Annie Mithoefer, B.S.N, will discuss their "real world" experiences with combining the practice of Holotropic Breathwork and other related transpersonal approaches with the practice of psychiatry. They will present some clinical vignettes and discuss the possible pitfalls and potential rewards of dealing with challenges in areas such as nonordinary states (NOS) healing work and prescription medications; interaction with other professionals who are not familiar with NOS work; and interaction with families of clients doing NOS healing work. Questions and informal group discussion will be encouraged.

#093 Conversation with Shairy Jose Quimbo (Audiotape for $12)

#076 Modern Consciousness Research, Archetypal Psychology, and Re-Enchantment of the World - Stanislav Grof (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

In the juvenile hubris of the Industrial and Scientific Revolution, Western technological civilization glorified reason and radically redefined the term "enlightenment". The rejection of everything that was not rational included not only the irrational, but also the transrational. This unfortunate strategy led to disenchantment of the world and contributed significantly to the global crisis we are currently facing. In this lecture we will explore the findings of modern consciousness research and archetypal psychology that have brought convincing evidence that spirituality is a vital and legitimate dimension of the human psyche. We will discuss the consequences of these discoveries for psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, anthropology, politics, religion, and other disciplines. We will pay special attention to the importance of these findings for alleviation of the alienation and crisis in modern society.

#077 Re-Enchantment: Its Time Has Finally Arrived - Huston Smith (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

Re-enchantment is about to become a reality, for the world has had enough of the meaninglessness that came with modernity. Modernity's basic mistake was to think that the empirical world that our physical senses report, along with science's extrapolations from them - is the only world there. Transpersonal psychology was created to nail this mistake and elaborate its alternative. Reasons will be given for thinking that its message is about to receive mainline hearing (or go mainline).

#078 The Mystery of Consciousness - Peter Russell (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

The one thing of which we are certain is the fact that we are conscious. But what is consciousness? Modern science, which has enjoyed such success in furthering our understanding of the material world, has failed to account for the existence of subjective experience. As far as the contemporary scientific worldview is concerned, consciousness is one big anomaly. From a personal perspective, consciousness is equally mysterious. We experience our perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. But what is this "I," the seeming subject of experience, that seems so obvious, yet it is so hard to define or grasp? Peter Russell proposes a new worldview in which consciousness is as fundamental as space, time, and matter - perhaps even more so. This leads to a radical new understanding of our essential nature, and to a new worldview in which science and spirituality are no longer in conflict.

#079 Conference Summary Panel - Robert McDermott (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

During the last panel of the conference several distinguished teachers of transpersonal worldviews and practices will summarize major themes that emerged during five full days of words, music, movement, and community life. These transpersonal practitioners will remind conference participants of the range of ordinary and non-ordinary experiences on display throughout the conference. They will also emphasize the significance of these transpersonal experiences for the renewal of culture in this challenging time. The panel will be moderated by Robert McDermott.

#080 Concluding Message with Ram Dass (Audiotape for $12/ CD for $12 / Videotape for $40)

#081 Closing Ceremony with Christina & Stan Grof, Jack Kornfield, et. al. (Audiotape for $12)