Transpersonal Psychology: Overview

Transpersonal means “beyond the personal.” Transpersonal psychology is the study of experiences that transcend the usual personal limits of space, time, and identity, such as intuitive, psi (including precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis), and mystical (encounter with a nonordinary, seemingly higher reality) experiences; the states of consciousness and levels of development associated with such experiences; and applications of the resulting knowledge in various areas including psychotherapy, education, and business. Although some authors have used the term transpersonal synonymously with spiritual—pertaining to the sacred or divine—transpersonal psychology includes but is not limited to phenomena categorized as spiritual. Similarly, although religion is the social institution pertaining to spirituality, transpersonal psychology includes attention to religious phenomena but is not inherently affiliated with any religious perspective. Because the transpersonal perspective on ...