CONTEMPORARY VIEWPOINTS ON TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

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14. Laura Boggio Gilot (Italy)
Born as a general field of inquiry on the farther reaches of human nature,
transpersonal psychology is now developing as an integral psychology addressing
psychopathological, existential, and spiritual issues in a developmental framework.
The most influential research refers to consciousness transformation
through applied spirituality. This requires a deep involvement in a meditative
path, which acts as a Platonic metanoia, leading to an expanded view of mind,
the self and life.
Central among meditative methods is the practice of awareness, which pushes
perception into the unconscious structures, revealing the deep mental functioning
and processes connected to the perception of reality and to individual choices. The
meditative experience, combined with psychotherapy, allows a wider vision of
mental suffering, revealing the role of egoism and non-ethical attitudes, not only in
ordinary psychopathology but also in spiritual suffering, expressed in the lack of
awareness, creativity and love, and in the prevalence of fear, solitude and
destructiveness.
Aiming to contribute to healing the pervasive disease affecting the life of the planet,
from the more advanced lines of transpersonal psychology are growing people of
wisdom and maturity, capable of acting with altruistic purposes, not only to relieve
suffering, but also to awaken consciousness to the universal meanings of life, which
can only lead to lasting peace and unity.