Putting the Soul Into Psychology

7/17/2019 Putting the Soul Into Psychology

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Putting the Soul into Psychology:Transpersonal Psychology

A discussion of the value of Transpersonal Psychology in

education: expanding personal awareness and enabling

students to view life challenges as training methods forSelf-realization.nsert subheading !ere

In Education in the New Age by Alice A. Bailey, the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul

inspires us to uplit all o hu!anity through bringing the ageless wisdo! into practical

usage in our classroo! acti"ities and relationships. #e states that teaching o ourtrue inner nature, creating an at!osphere o lo"e, patience, understanding, and co$

operation, and !editating to acilitate soul contact are o the highest i!portancewithin these settings.

The "alue o the indi"idual and the reality o one hu!anity, when ully grasped, will

re"olutioni%e the teaching syste!. #e urther states that in the new age, educationwill utili%e the !ost ad"anced psychological &nowledge on a !uch wider scope than

at present. 'sychology is preparing itsel or that role through the de"elop!ent ande(pansion o the ourth !ajor trend within that ield, Transpersonal 'sychology.

This e(citing di!ension to psychology e!phasi%es the reality o the soul and its di"ineinner potential, the unity o all !an&ind, and the i!portance o lo"e e(tended within

and without. Meditation and selless ser"ice are !ethods o reali%ing and li"ing thesehigher truths. As this inluence gains ground in education, we ind the Master)s

reco!!endations beco!ing concreti%ed in practice. And the classroo! begins to betransor!ed. In !y wor& as a psychology teacher in higher education, I e(perience

the joy o being part o this transor!ati"e !o"e!ent. My classes are at the

undergraduate and graduate le"els with the graduate courses being in the educationalield.

E(panding traditional content in psychology into transpersonal arenas is easily

acco!plished. The ollowing are e(a!ples o initial or!s o higher wisdo! beingintroduced through traditional course !aterial. Most o us are a!iliar with the wor&

o Abraha! Maslow on sel$actuali%ation $ the propensity o each indi"idual to !o"etowards the ulil!ent o their potential. *esearch has identiied personality traits

increasingly e(hibited during this e(panding process.

In our classroo! we e(a!ine these traits, grasp their !eaning and i!portance, and

apply the! to oursel"es. +or e(a!ple, it is said that !ystical or pea& e(periences $eelings o awe, wonder, oneness with the uni"erse, and a loss o sel$concern $ oten

acco!pany the actuali%ing process. tudents search or their own such e(periencesand what they ha"e learned and !ay learn ro! the!. Another trait is that o social

interest $ a eeling o greater unity, concern or, and in"ol"e!ent with hu!anity,indeed with all lie itsel. This oten results in ser"ice, sharing with others what we can

to lit their burdens. -e !ust as& this o oursel"es, that our new understanding ocos!ic truth result in new action in the world. tudents thus e(a!ine how their

understandings inluence their beha"ior. This process introduces an optional project o ser"ing in one o our area)s soup &itchens assisting the ho!eless. Those students



who ha"e participated ha"e written o their eelings about the e(perience, oneaccount o which was published in our local newspaper and brought in !any !ore

"olunteers. Many students continue their in"ol"e!ent long ater the project hasceased.

Another project is an essay consisting o e(a!ining onesel or the presence o eachsel$actuali%ing trait and listing these e(a!ples. The entire topic is introduced as a

balance to the pathological orientation o abnor!al psychology, a way to encourageus to dwell on our growing goodness and wisdo! rather than our li!itations. The

students lo"e doing it and report a rise in their sel$estee!. Another topic lendingitsel to !ore ad"anced studies is Kubler$*oss) wor& on the stages o death and

dying. In te(ts it is so!eti!es acco!panied by !aterial on the )near$death)e(perience o those who ha"e )let their bodies) during surgery, intense illness, pain,

or co!a. pon return, these indi"iduals report "ery si!ilar e(periences, and co!!oneects are a greater awareness o the purposi"eness o lie and the need or !ore

lo"ing, caring beha"ior. I acco!pany the te(t with a "ideo on the topic. All o thisinspires "igorous discussion on the e(istence and nature o the soul, the purpose o

lie, and how to i!bue e"eryday interactions with a higher wisdo! and lo"e.

In the stress !anage!ent seg!ents, we wor& ro! the wholistic paradig!

e!phasi%ing the unity o body, !ind and spirit. Meditation is utili%ed as a practicebeneiting all three di!ensions o our wholistic sel"es and a portion o each session is

spent practicing a or! o )going within). Many students begin to !a&e that acti"ity apart o their daily stress$reduction !enu. The spiritual aspect o oursel"es is

considered as the oundation o our stress !anage!ent syste!, as our philosophicaland spiritual belies dictate through what ra!e o reerence we interpret our lie)s

e(periences. I ha"e de"eloped a )-orld /iew Analysis) 0uestionnaire through whichwe e(a!ine our belies about the nature o 1od and !an, the purpose o suering,

the reality and content o any aterlie, and what eect these belies ha"e on our

reactions to the stresses and strains that co!e our way. I do not suggest what theirbelie syste! should be. #owe"er, I do share !uch o !y own, which is o atranspersonal nature, and illustrate how those belies and subse0uent practices

support and lighten !y challenges in lie. A copy o that 0uestionnaire is a"ailable toanyone upon re0uest or use and duplication. The student response has been

positi"e. The students state that education usually allows little chance or ane(a!ination o this "ery i!portant part o the!sel"es, and they "alue this

opportunity. +ro! here, we oten !o"e into the research on adult and !id$lie growthand the support it oers to the potential "alue o suering.

The research suggests that coping with stress and diicult e"ents can produce

positi"e de"elop!ent in character and wisdo!. It is oten indi"iduals who ha"e

e(perienced loss or hardship, and utili%ed that as a !andate to e(a!ine the!sel"esand their li"es or needed change, who go on to !ore satisying and producti"e years.

-hen we begin to consider the "ast learning potential that diiculties oer us and to judge these as training !ethods or el$reali%ation, we do not necessarily ind

oursel"es welco!ing stressul ti!es. -e do, howe"er, e(perience a sense o purposein the!, rather than utility. It is an initial understanding o a part o the cos!ic plan.

In the graduate courses in education, ele!entary, secondary and higher educationteachers e(a!ine their beha"ior in the classroo! in light o DK)s reco!!endations

on lo"e, patience, understanding and co$operation. -e agree these !ust irst be



taught by pro"iding an at!osphere wherein the traits are genuinely !odeled. Noeasy tas& in today)s oten o"ercrowded conditions. And highly unli&ely unless we ha"e

irst co!e to the reali%ation o the worth o oursel"es and others.

-e ha"e de"eloped centering e(ercises, !ini$!editations utili%ed in classes on a dailybasis as !ethods to increase tension release, concentration and sel$estee!. Theteachers are pleased as the e(ercises !ini!i%e poor beha"ior and insuicient

attention to tas&s. Many students, including special education participants, ha"ere0uested that they be continued. Modeling lo"e and respect and utili%ing centering

techni0ues go beyond the nature o any one discipline being taught2 they can beuni"ersally applied. And so it goes. These are just a ew e(a!ples o wea"ing the

beginning o new realities into the old abric, gentle, initial steps, and apparently!ost welco!ed. The awa&ening will be gradual, building slowly, e(panding as we

continue to wor& on oursel"es and allow our own e(pansion to proceed.

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Putting the Soul Into Psychology