Psyche Unbound - (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Psyche Unbound is an extraordinary compilation of twenty-two essays that honor the pathbreaking lifework of Stanislav Grof, the world's leading researcher in psychedelic therapy, breathwork, and the exploration of non-ordinary states of consciousness. Over the past half century, Grof has conducted thousands of LSD-assisted psychotherapy sessions, developed unique frameworks for supporting and understanding mental health, and ultimately created a new, expansive cartography of the mind that welcomes spiritual experience with openness, rigor, and reverence. In honor of Grof's 90th birthday, this seminal collection of essays ranges from Joseph Campbell's and Huston Smith's remarkable assessments in the early 1970s as they first encountered and recognized the significance of Grof's discoveries, to current reflections by psychiatrists and researchers participating in today's renaissance of psychedelic therapy. In between are major essays that forward Grof's work on numerous theoretical and therapeutic fronts: implications for social and cultural change, transpersonal sexual experiences, the perinatal dimensions of Jean-Paul Sartre's 1935 mescaline experience, comparative studies with Asian religious systems, and illuminating parallels with the philosophical views of Alfred North Whitehead and William James, as well as discoveries in quantum and relativistic physics. Edited by Richard Tarnas and Sean Kelly, Psyche Unbound is an homage to one of the greatest clinicians in history and his powerful legacy of healing the soul and evolving human consciousness"--

Book Synopsis

Psyche Unbound: Essays in Honor of Stanislav Grof is an extraordinary compilation of 22 essays that honor the path-breaking lifework of Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D., the world's leading researcher in psychedelic-assisted therapy, breathwork, and the exploration of non-ordinary states of consciousness. Psyche Unbound features contributions from thought leaders of the last five decades, including a piece from Joseph Campbell's 1971 lecture in the Great Hall at Cooper Union and Huston Smith's 1976 summary of Grof's work as it relates to the study of religion and mysticism. More recent writing includes reflections by renowned psychiatrists and researchers that discuss the importance of Grof's contributions on the current wave of interest and research into psychedelic-assisted therapies and alternative states of consciousness. Psyche Unbound, considered a festschrift for Stanislav Grof, includes essays that explore Grof's work on numerous fronts including transpersonal sexual experiences, implications for social and cultural change, comparative studies with Asianreligious systems, the perinatal dimensions of Jean-Paul Sartre's transformational 1935 mescaline experience, and parallel findings from quantum and relativistic physics. Edited by Richard Tarnas, Ph.D., and Sean Kelly, Ph.D., Psyche Unbound also features contributions from renowned academics, scientists and researchers including Charles Grob, Michael Mithoefer, Jenny Wade, William Keepin, Thomas Purton, Thomas Riedlinger, Fritjof Capra and more.