Transpersonal psychology has its roots in various schools of psychology such as psychoanalysis, depth psychology, humanistic psychology and many others as well as in philosophical, religious and spiritual views of life. Most transpersonal currents represent an attempt to integrate western and eastern schools of psychology with the exploration of altered states of consciousness and borderline experiences of human consciousness. Such experiences beyond everyday consciousness include states of meditation, deep contemplation, prayer, religious retreat, trance, ecstasy, enlightenment experiences, cosmic consciousness, extraordinary experiences through mind-expanding substances, and many more. With the explicit assumption of a soul that exists materially and temporally independent of the body, transpersonal approaches go beyond their purely psychological roots. The wide range of different representatives of transpersonal psychology predominantly share the premise of the immortality of the soul, its ability to exist in both solid (matter) and subtle (invisible) dimensions. Many representatives, especially influenced by Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism or indigenous cultures, see the human soul as an individual aspect of a larger cosmic whole ("God", "Origin of all Being", Divine Creator Consciousness"), which is itself transpersonal, i.e. far beyond the limited experience of human consciousness. Through corresponding self-exploration by means of various methods (see above), access is sought to the state of oneness with the source of all creation, which is considered natural and original. A common feature is also the assumption of a reincarnation event, which human souls can use for the purpose of their evolution within the framework of certain spiritual laws. Another common background is that the idea and experience of the unawakened human being to be separate from his origin is based on self-forgetfulness (illusion, Maya). It is assumed that especially the process of the soul's descent into a "dense", material world (embodiment, incarnation) contributes to this self-forgetting, together with the immediately beginning programming of the nervous system and brain for the purpose of adapting the organism to the conditions of the material world and the respective social environment. This inevitable process of socialization and identification eventually leads to the complete forgetting of the true self and its origin in most people.


In recent decades, however, the number of people in all cultures and faiths who automatically and unchecked adopt their world view from their parents and maintain it throughout their lives has dropped dramatically. At the same time, more and more people are developing an interest in transpersonal experiences. In the course of the religious-spiritual emancipation of people, which can be observed worldwide, more and more people are developing an interest in embarking on the "adventure of self-discovery" (Stan Grof) and in dealing with their own intrapsychic and spiritual experiences without prejudice. This may be through seeking out spiritually awakened teachers, meditation, retreating into nature, shamanic journeys or a variety of other techniques of consciousness exploration. The longing to reconnect with one's spiritual home, to remember who one really is and where one comes from, and to place the challenges of the current incarnation in a larger context of meaning can be identified as a strong evolutionary trend in the collective consciousness. Many spiritual teachers speak of an almost mass awakening, which has started since about 2012 and has been increasing exponentially since then. What in earlier decades and centuries was only granted to saints, gurus and exceptional spiritual personalities as so-called enlightenment, is considered in the transpersonal as well as the general spiritual community as an evolutionary developmental goal of mankind, which manifests itself in an ever increasing number of individuals. My own observations in my practice are in line with this: More than before, patients told me about extrasensory perceptions, near-death experiences, contact with the deceased, memories of previous or parallel incarnations. The veil of forgetting is becoming thinner and thinner, more transparent.

Should you count yourself among these people or at least feel a certain curiosity to follow a path of self-remembrance and awakening, you are in the right place with me.