Psychospiritual Death & Rebirth: A Visionary Journey Stanislav Grof, M.D.

 
In this slide-illustrated seminar, we will use the paintings from depth-psychological work with psychedelic substances and Holotropic Breathwork ™ to explore the new extended map of the psyche that has emerged from modern consciousness research. We will put special emphasis on the process of psychospiritual death and rebirth. The understanding of this process throws a new light on emotional and psychosomatic disorders and is essential for any serious approach to the ritual and spiritual history of humanity - shamanism, rites of passage, healing ceremonies of native cultures, ancient mysteries of death and rebirth, the great religions of the world, and the mystical traditions of all times and countries. The insights from this work also offer new insights into two forces that have been driving human history - insatiable greed and unbridled violence - and into sociopolitical psychopathology, such as wars, bloody revolutions, terrorism, suicide bombing, concentration camps, and genocide. In a series of slides, we will demonstrate the remarkable similarities between the symbolism of posters and cartoons from the time of wars or revolutions and the visions accompanying the reliving of birth and the experience of psychospiritual death and rebirth.