Transcendence

Transcendence is an emergent quality that can become stabilized in mature spirituality as self-actualization. Self-transcendence has been hypothesized as a critical component of wisdom (Curnow, 1999) and adaptation in later life (Tornstam, 1994). It reflects a decreasing reliance on externals for definition of the self, increasing interiority and spirituality, and a greater sense of connectedness with past and future generations. The relationships between self-transcendence and neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion, and agreeableness are significant. Self-transcendence cannot be accounted for in terms of positive personality traits alone. Self-transcendence is negatively related to neuroticism and positively related to meditation practice.

Where are the boundaries of conscious experience and self, and why do these boundaries exist? What is beyond this mystic veil? How do boundaries, roles and pathology develop in interaction with parents, caregivers and others? In what ways are they conditioned by prevailing systems of belief, philosophy, sociocultural history, and environment? Blind control of social and cultural beliefs is tyrannical and has led to polarization and global culture clash.

How is adult experience and sense of self altered by physical, psychological, social or spiritual development? How does subjective experience relate to intersubjectivity? How do changes in conscious experience affect one's sense of self, for example through meditation, mysticism, or in pathological states? Wonder, novelty, surprise, awe, and transcendence are boundary breaking allowing us to move beyond ignorance, fear and prejudice. As Einstein said in a famous exchange with Werner Heisenberg, Its the theory that determines what we can observe.

In The Biology of Transcendence, Pearce uses the term acculturation for the process of conditioning by which we are recruited into the consensus reality characteristic of the culture to which we belong. He is crystal clear on the way acculturation blinds us to the controls it imposes: That we are shaped by the culture we create makes it difficult to see that our culture is what must be transcended, which means that we rise above our notions and techniques of survival itself, if we are to survive. (p. 3)

In this book he proposes that the opposition of culture to survival is absolute: Our culture is what is to be transcended. Pearce shows that in nature versus nurture our biological potential has lost out to a culture that not only does not nurture us, it actually threatens to destroy us as a species. The conflict we now face is our culture against our biology. Global society is actively degrading the global environment at an alarming rate and rapidly breeding toward extinction. In short, the correction that turns us back to the true trajectory of transcendence is a full-body knowledge centered in the neural functions of the heart. This is the fantastic but wholly feasible prospect set out in The Biology of Transcendence.We can save ourselves from terminal deviation, Pearce argues, because biology provides us with the capacity for a radical course correction

Biology and culture influence each other, usually to the detriment of the former. He warns that culture absorbs and transforms any content into its own formative structure. (p. 119) In short, it co-opts everything to its own self-serving, preprogrammed ends: Culture is based on fear and loves its own. (p. 160) Also, culture protects and preserves itself against the transcendent functions inherent to our biology by its reliance on the older and earlier systems of cerebral adaptation that we have outgrown.

Pearce introduces the emergent science of neurocardiology, the new medical field exploring the brain in the heart. He cites specialists in this field who have determined that half or more of the cells of the heart are neural cells like those making up our brain. Some reports claim that 60 to 65 percent of heart cells are neurons, all of which cluster in ganglia, small neural groupings connected through the same type of axon-dendrites forming the neural fields of our brain. (p. 64).  Deep breathing, calm heartbeat, vagus nerve regulation, creative visualization and meditation are all forms of regulating the state of the body, of recalibrating it.

We can reclaim our biology and some moments of quiet sanity through self-regulation and meditative technology, with or without any attached spiritual doctrine. It is easy to meditate effectively, even as a beginner, by using brain synchronization CDs which automatically drive the brain into large synchronous discharges of alpha and theta waves. You don't have to worry if you are doing it right, or can do it, or just forgot to do it - it is simply Being There.

If we care for our bodies and minds, they care for us in return. Meditation helps us recalibrate our entire system by taking a time out from the daily grind to refresh ourselves with the blessings of Source, our sacred treasure.  Poetry, prayer and meditation open new realms of genuine giving and receiving. This creative power feeds, sustains and revitalizes our special qualities of spirituality; Love, Communion, Vision, Freedom, Expression, Humility, Integrity, Honour and Peace.

1. The first step is relaxation or surrendering of the body and mind so that the mind is uncluttered by unrelated and disturbing thoughts. If thoughts come let them float away like clouds without attaching to them. Let go of disturbances and psychophysical stress. Notice the vibrancy of silence.

2. The second is concentration on a limited area of mental focus to control and direct the mind towards the chosen "object" of concentration. You can focus on a figure, an object, the concept of love or the energy in your heart center, mindfulness, compassion, emptiness or whatever you like. Hold your mind to thatpoint of focus, bringing it back if it wanders to various other unrelated thoughts like daily life, needs, desires, the future and the past. Empty your mind and pass through the Mystic Veil.

3. The third stage transcends all symbols. There is eventual transcendence of the mind, thoughts and all identification with the body and personality. We pass through the Mystic Veil, entering into a state of super-mental union with infinite Oneness. Relax into that receptive mode of being. This is our source of energy, security, self-worth, freedom, strength and peace that helps us cope and deal with our daily lives. We have so much to gain by dedicating at least 20 minutes a day.  We obtain greater clarity, health, harmony, happiness, intuition, understanding, creativity and problem solving ability.

These three aspects, RELAXATION, CONCENTRATION and TRANSCENDENCE are the basis of most meditation techniques.

TART ON TRANSCENDENCE

Why call any human experience 'transcendent'?

and

Can we develop an evolutionary perspective to explain transpersonal experiences?

As to why to call a particular experience "transcendent," that is a term of convenience, although it points at an important reality. My Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "transcendent" as:

1 a: exceeding usual limits : SURPASSING
b: extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience
c: in Kantian philosophy: being beyond the limits of all possible
experience and knowledge
2 : being beyond comprehension
3 : transcending the universe or material existence

Our usual (99+++% of the time) experience is of being an embodied, clearly bounded, biological organism, a physical person, sensing the physical world around us via the classical, known senses. People will usually call an experience transcendent or transpersonal when they feel identified with or deeply in touch with some "thing" or process clearly beyond (trans) their personal, biological self and physical world, particularly if the experience seems beyond comprehension by the understandings (scientific theories) we currently have of how the physical world works.

[There are also more casual and sloppy usages of "transcendent," of course, but those, and Kant's limits to knowledge - I'm all for trying, not giving ourselves
a priori limits which keep us from trying to understand things - need not concern us here.]

For examples of transcendent experiences considered as such by the scientists reporting them, the interested reading can see my The Archives of Scientists'
Transcendent Experiences (TASTE) www.issc-taste.org website.

As to an evolutionary perspective on transcendent and transpersonal phenomena, I see two major lines of investigation possible, given our knowledge at this time.



A Priori Totality of Materialistic Monism Line of Inquiry:

There is what we might call the "A Priori Totality of Materialistic Monism" line. I label it "a priori" because for many people it has become an implicit, unquestioned belief system used to filter information input, rather than a testable scientific theory. To greatly oversimplify, Materialistic Monism generally assumes that

(1) we basically know everything important about the basic
structure of the universe,

(2) everything ultimately real and basic consists of the
interplay of (known forms of) matter and energy,

(3) consciousness is nothing but an epiphenomenon of
material processes, and

(4) the content of almost all transcendent experiences, such as being out-of-body, contact with higher intelligences, new kinds of knowledge, universal love and purpose in the universe, etc., is inherently delusional.

Within this line of inquiry, conventional evolutionary theory tries to explain transcendent/transpersonal experiences as either pathology that will disappear as we continue to evolve, or perhaps as having some social utility, such as envisioned in a memetic approach like that mentioned by Sebastian. While I have no doubt that some useful understanding can be gleaned from this line of approach, as an empiricist I don't like the way too much of the central data of transcendent/transpersonal experiences is basically ignored rather than explained.


Evolution of Consciousness Line of Inquiry:

If one stays closer to the data, people's actual reports of their transcendent experiences, the concept of evolution is quite common in them, but it is a wider view of evolution than the conventional one, for it sees the evolution of consciousness per se as the most important aspect of evolution, with physical evolution being just part of the total picture.

To give just one example of evolutionary thinking in the data of transcendent experiences, in near-death experiences (NDEs) it is common for the person to undergo a comprehensive and thorough review of their life and come to the conclusion that there were important lessons in life that they had not yet learned - how to love being a common one - and so they could not go on into the transcendent bliss that complete death appeared to be from "inside" the NDE, but had to come back to physical life, usually a very painful prospect, in order to continue their personal evolution and learning.

As in my previous post on the current status of transpersonal psychology, I remind readers that this field of scholarship is very young and very small, so we have only the crudest theories at present. It would not be reasonable to compare it to the detailed sophistication of physical evolution theories which have been developed and polished for more than a century.

I am giving a poster presentation at the Tucson VII conference next week about the data that I believe calls for an empirical dualism approach in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of consciousness, rather than an exclusively monistic materialist one. A preprint of that poster is available under Articles Online, second article down, in the listing at www.paradigm-sys.com/cttart/ .

I don't have any particular ideas as to what an adequate evolutionary theory of transcendent experiences, one that handles *all* of the data rather than throwing out what doesn't fit, would be like, but I want to thank Anthony
Sebastian for raising this important issue and hope it will inspire others to think about these issues.

Charley Tart

In Jungian Psychology, this symbol-forming power of the psyche is called the transcendent function. Before the transforming power of the higher Self is perceived in imagination (personified through one's Angel, Guide, or Guru), it is known as a symbol-forming function.

Its purpose is to mediate between that which is unknown and that which is manifest. It performs its function by creat­ing unifying symbols from pairs of opposites. In this manner, it gradually unites the fragments of psychic life. It creates a series of symbols which transfer consciousness to a higher perspective or awareness by reconciling opposites.

By synthesizing pairs of opposites into a symbol, the transcendent mode creates a method of transition from one set of attitudes to the next. An individual ego may work more effectively with subconscious processes by consciously attach­ing value to these symbols presented by the transcendent function.

Our task is to discover these transpersonal meanings, whether they are presented to us through dreams, at­titudes, or behavior patterns. If the meaning were consciously understood, it would not be presented as a symbol. Therefore, once its meaning is realized over a period of time, another symbol appears to take its place, reflecting the new situation.

The transcendent function (seen as one's Inner Guide, Angel, or Guru), embodies the transmuting power of the symbol. The personification of the higher Self allows us to take up a relationship with the inner Self, and encourages dialogue and the development of feelings of loving devotion for this inner friend.

All the symbols and archetypal figures in which the transformative process is embodied are vehicles of the tran­scendent function. It is the union of different pairs of psychological opposites (like male/female, good/evil, Sol/Luna) in a synthesis which transcends them both.

The uniting symbol only appears when the inner psychic life is experienced as just as valid, effective, and psychologically "real" as the world of daily life. Fantasy animates both our inner and outer "realities." This is why mystics call time, space, and the ego three great illusions.

The transcendent function, or Inner Guide, restores the balance between the ego and the unconscious. It belongs to neither, yet possesses access to each. It forms a bridge for the soul to ascend, by lying in-between and participating in both inner and outer life. By relating to each independently, it unites ego and the unconscious.

The first glimmerings of "Knowledge and Conversation" with one's Angel are very similar to the descriptions of "peak experience" developed by Abraham Maslow. A peak experience is the result of the drive of the spirit in search of itself. The experience is self-validating, self-justified and has intrinsic value of a unique nature for each individual.

There is an intense experience of the nearness of God, or divinity. This is the first state of grace, or mind-expansion. It is a response experience where one feels a sense of Pres­ence. The true mystic takes this experience as his point-of-departure, and grows in grace from it. The poet or artist uses this recurrent experience as a basis for artistic production (or inspiration) and personal euphoria.

When the contact is stabilized, the Guide can take the Soul up to the heights of mystic rapture. A by-product of this contact is that the adept may consult at will with his guide for directions in any matter. This contact is known in Eastern systems as "getting the radiant form of the Master." It occurs only after one penetrates the lower Astral Plane through meditation.

Images of the Self appear spontaneously throughout the entire transformative process. It appears in all symbols from the highest to the lowest. At the beginning of the great work it appears in animal forms such as snakes, birds, fish, horses, or beetles. It shows through the plant forms of flowers and tree symbolism. The symbols of the Self in human forms may be contaminated with other archetypes, since pure forms are rarely seen outside of mystical meditation.

For example, if one's image of the Self were contaminated with the anima/animus, the vision would be of a vibrant solar woman whose aura radiates like the sun. Contaminated by the shadow, one might experience a magical creature like Faust's Mephistopheles. When one is able to perceive the radiant form, one sees the archetype of the Self in its pure form, uncontaminated by the personal complexes which denigrate its refulgence.

You may be asking by now where alchemy comes into this pro­cess, and what the value of harking back to a seemingly medieval system of psychology may be. Alchemy, as a transcenden­tal search or quest, sought the redemption of the soul of matter, and its subsequent reunification with spirit. Alchemy sought to redeem the corruptness of the physical body by finding divinity within it. Alchemists projected their own individual process of psychic transformation into a pseudo-chemical process in their retort vessel.

Alchemy actually sought to establish harmony between the vol­untary action of man with the involuntary action of nature. In other words, alchemists sought unification of conscious and subconscious processes, through a spiritual redemption of the physical body. This is especially true of Christian alchemists, since the body was considered inherently evil. One solution is to visualize the physical as a metaphor for psychic transformation.

The imagery of alchemy is valuable since it concretizes and characterizes any personal experience of the unconscious. In other words, any process of psychic transformation, whether through psychotherapy or natural transformation, may be described through the metaphors of alchemical process which relate to specific stages of development.

The operations of alchemy describe induction into conscious­ness from the original undifferentiated state, termed the prima materia. Rigid aspects of the ego or personality are broken down and remolded in the image of the Philosopher's Stone through such operations as calcinatio, solutio, sublimatio, coagulatio, circulatio, and coniunctio. The num­ber and order of these operations may vary, but the gist of the process is consistent among people.

There is a generic process in nature and consciousness which dissolves and regenerates all forms.  The essence of this transformative, morphological process is chaotic--purposeful yet inherently unpredictable holistic repatterning. 

The Great Work of the art of alchemy is the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, a symbol of wholeness and integration.  The liquid form of the Stone, called the Universal Solvent, dissolves all old forms like a rushing stream, and is the self-organizing matrix for the rebirth of new forms.  It is thus a metaphor or model for the dynamic process of transformation, ego death and re-creation.