Transpersonal Psychology Review
January 1, 2021
Steve Taylor
131 citations
Transpersonal psychology cannot avoid metaphysics, so it should explicitly adopt a post-materialist orientation. This article critiques Michael Daniels's skeptical stance toward metaphysics in his book *Shadow, Self, Spirit* and defends a 'soft perennialist' model against his criticisms. Four reasons support embracing post-materialism: metaphysical orientation is unavoidable; the field has traditionally held such a stance; evidence for post-materialism is compelling; and committing to it can help shift culture away from materialism's destructive effects. A pluralistic approach remains possible given the variety of post-materialist perspectives.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
January 1, 2005
Steve Taylor
18 citations
Higher states of consciousness, or mystical experiences, arise from two distinct sources: disruption of the body's normal homeostasis (HD states) and intensification of the consciousness-energy that constitutes human being (ICE states). The author examines examples of both types, comparing and contrasting their characteristics. Only ICE states are concluded to be truly positive and capable of becoming fully integrated, permanent higher states of consciousness.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
September 1, 2017
Steve Taylor
16 citations
Perennialist perspectives remain relevant in transpersonal psychology. Metaphysical issues can be addressed as long as they are secondary to phenomenological issues and grounded in evidence rather than speculation. Attempts to exclude non-scientific phenomena from the field rely on invalid arguments, including an outdated emphasis on falsifiability. Explanations for commonalities in spiritual or mystical experiences across traditions—such as radical diffusionism, contextualism, or neuroscientific reductionism—are inadequate. These commonalities also appear in near-death experiences and accounts of intense post-traumatic growth. Historical cases of natural wakefulness in individuals unfamiliar with spiritual traditions further support this view. Pluralism is important for recent debates in transpersonal psychology.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
May 15, 2020
Steve Taylor
11 citations
Time Expansion Experiences (TEEs) are episodes where the normal sense of time slows or expands dramatically. Analyzing 74 reports, the most common triggers were accidents (40 cases), followed by spiritual states (12), psychedelic experiences (7), and sports or games (7). Participants described heightened calmness, alertness, and rapid cognition that allowed preventative action, often in quiet settings. The authors argue TEEs are not an illusion created by recollection but a genuine feature of altered states of consciousness, arising when the normal self-system dissolves. Normal time experience is a psychological construct produced by the self-system.
Progress in brain research
January 1, 2024
Christine Flatten, Damisela Linares Gutiérrez, Sebastian L Kübel et al.
1 citation
A newly developed German questionnaire called the Inventory of Secular/Spiritual Wakefulness (WAKE-16) was tested in 36 expert meditators who primarily meditate in silence and 36 demographically matched non-meditators. Meditators scored significantly higher on the WAKE-16, indicating the instrument can distinguish between groups and thus has construct validity. Meditators also scored higher on mindfulness subscales of presence and acceptance, as well as on emotion regulation and body-related symbolization of emotions. Among meditators, wakefulness correlated with mindfulness, accepting one's own emotions, and experiencing overwhelming emotions; among non-meditators, only the correlation with accepting one's own emotions was significant. The findings support the WAKE-16 as a valid measure of wakefulness, defined as an expansive, stable state involving transformed vision, identity, and relationship to the world.