Spirituality and Science Come Together
Professors Present Research Findings on the Science of Consciousness
April 27, 2006
Palo Alto, CA The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP) announced today that five of its professors recently presented their research findings to a widely receptive audience at the worldwide conference on the science of consciousness. The conference, entitled “Toward a Science of Consciousness 2006” is held biannually by the Center of Consciousness Studies in Tucson, Arizona.
The ITP professors who presented at the conference are both educators at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and researchers of human consciousness. In addition to bringing science and spirituality together, the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, “…enhances the education of future psychologists,” says ITP President, Robert Schmitt, “…by bringing together science, research in human potential, spirituality and traditional psychological training. This synthesis meets the needs of our changing society, where future professional psychologists will have to meet the challenges of working in a rapidly changing, multicultural world.”
Charles Tart, nationally known researcher of human consciousness for more than 30 years, spoke on his philosophical approaches to the study of human consciousness. His work supports the view that mind is of a different nature but just as real as matter. Dr. Tart explains, “Mind does things that matter alone cannot account for, thus mind should be studied on its own terms, not just ignored until the neurophysiologists have explained it all away. Some of what we study in transpersonal psychology may be partly explainable in materialistic terms, but there is a core of phenomena and experiences that demonstrate the reality and importance of spirit.”
Arthur Hastings showed the results of his groundbreaking research on a meditation process for the healing of bereavement where 90% of study participants reduced their sadness, loss, grief, and unresolved feelings about the loss of a loved one. “Bereavement can be long-lasting and intense,” says Dr. Hastings. “This process was helpful even with grief for deaths that occurred decades in the past. This process offers hope for people who have unresolved feelings and continued sadness for the death of a loved one.”
Olga Louchakova, a spiritual teacher in the tradition of Christian “Prayer of the Heart”, showed how much this traditional Christian practice can contribute to psychology. Judith Blackstone and Roulette Smith both addressed the evolution of human consciousness.
