Stanislav Grof (born July 1, 1931) is a Czech-born American
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their ...
. Grof is one of the principal developers of
transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is a sub-field or school of psychology that integrates the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human experience with the framework of modern psychology. The '' transpersonal'' is defined ...
and research into the use of
non-ordinary states of consciousness for purposes of psychological healing, deep self-exploration, and obtaining growth and insights into the human
psyche
Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή).
Psyche may also refer to:
Psychology
* Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious
* ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...
.
Early life and education
Stanislav Grof was born July 1, 1931 in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
,
Czechoslovak Republic
Czechoslovak Republic ( Czech and Slovak: ''Československá republika, ČSR''), was the official name of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1960. See:
*First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)
*Second Czechoslovak Republi ...
. Grof received his M.D. from
Charles University
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in Prague in 1957 and then completed his Ph.D. in medicine at the
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences ( Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Scienc ...
in 1965, training as a
Freudian psychoanalyst at this time.
Career
Czechoslovakia was the centre of psychedelic research behind the Iron Curtain during the 1950s and 1960s. Grof’s early research in the clinical uses of psychedelic substances was conducted at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, where he was principal investigator of a program that systematically explored the heuristic and therapeutic potential of LSD and other psychedelic substances.
In 1967, he received a scholarship from the Foundations Fund for Research in Psychiatry in New Haven, Connecticut, and was invited by
Joel Elkes
Joel Elkes (pronounced el' kez) (12 November 1913, Königsberg – 30 October 2015, Sarasota) was a leading medical researcher specialising in the chemistry of the brain. He qualified as a physician in London and later became a medical researcher w ...
to be a Clinical and Research Fellow at
Henry Phipps Clinic, a part of
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hos ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, United States. In 1969, he went on to become Chief of Psychiatric Research for the
Spring Grove Experiment The Spring Grove Experiment is a series of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) studies performed from 1963 to 1976 on patients with psychotic illnesses at the Spring Grove Clinic in Catonsville, Maryland. These patients were sponsored by a federal agen ...
at the Research Unit of
Spring Grove State Hospital
Spring Grove Hospital Center, formerly known as Spring Grove State Hospital, is a psychiatric hospital located in the Baltimore, Maryland, suburb of Catonsville.
Founded in 1797 as a general medical and psychiatric retreat, Spring Grove Mental ...
(later part of the
Maryland Psychiatric Research Center
The University of Maryland School of Medicine (abbreviated UMSOM), located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S., is the medical school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Me ...
where he worked with
Walter Pahnke
Walter Norman Pahnke (Jan 18, 1931 – July 10, 1971) was a minister, physician, and psychiatrist most famous for the "Good Friday Experiment", also referred to as the Marsh Chapel Experiment or the "Miracle of Marsh Chapel".
Pahnke attended Harv ...
. In 1969, Grof also became Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University.
In 1973 he was invited to the
Esalen Institute
The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Potential ...
in
Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big S ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, and lived there until 1987 as a Scholar-in-Residence, developing his ideas and conducting month-long workshops. In 1977, Grof was the founding president of the
International Transpersonal Association The International Transpersonal Association (ITA) is membership organization in the field of Transpersonal studies.
History
The organization was founded in 1978 by Stanislav Grof, Michael Murphy and Richard PriceBook review: Holotropic breathw ...
, serving as president for several subsequent decades. He went on to become distinguished adjunct faculty member of the Department of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the
California Institute of Integral Studies
California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a private university in San Francisco, California.Otterman, Sharon. "Merging Spirituality and Clinical Psychology at Columbia". ''New York Times'', Aug. 9, 2012Aanstoos, C. Serlin, I., & Greenin ...
, a position he remained in until 2018.
In May 2020, he launched, with his wife Brigitte Grof, a new training in working with holotropic states of consciousness, the international Grof Legacy Training.
Thought
Psychedelics and breathwork
Grof's early studies were of
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
and its effects on the
psyche
Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή).
Psyche may also refer to:
Psychology
* Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious
* ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...
—the field of
psychedelic therapy
Psychedelic therapy (or psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ayahuasca, to treat mental disorders. As of 2021, psychedelic drugs are controlled substances in most countri ...
. Building on his observations while conducting LSD research and on
Otto Rank
Otto Rank (; ; né Rosenfeld; 22 April 1884 – 31 October 1939) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, and philosopher. Born in Vienna, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, ...
's
theory of birth trauma, Grof constructed a theoretical framework regarding
prenatal and perinatal psychology
Prenatal psychology can be seen as a part of developmental psychology, although historically it was developed in the heterogenous field of psychoanalysis. Its scope is the description and explanation of experience and behaviour of the individual ...
and
transpersonal psychology
Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is a sub-field or school of psychology that integrates the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human experience with the framework of modern psychology. The '' transpersonal'' is defined ...
. In Grof's view, LSD sessions reveal the
psychopathology
Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era.
Biological psychopathol ...
of an individual to reflect their experience of the stages of birth. He describes four stages: (1) embryonic peace and transpersonal connection, (2) inundation with bodily matter during fetal growth, (3) the stress of the prenatal period, and (4) the release of birth. Various neuroses are mapped to traumas at particular stages, e.g.
ennui
In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occup ...
could be caused by
Caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or ...
, resulting in an individual feeling like they have little reason to exert effort.
Suicidal ideation
Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, means having thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending one's own life.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal ideatio ...
is explained by the deep memory of prenatal suffering being terminated by release from the
womb
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...
(transposed to an escape from life itself). Chemical
addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...
could stem from the use of
anesthesia
Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), a ...
during birth. Religious belief (e.g. identification with the
crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and conside ...
) is also linked to birth, with
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...
explaining transpersonal experiences.
Grof called a developed form of his theory an "expanded cartography of the human psyche". Following the suppression of legal LSD use in the early 1970s, Grof pursued this therapeutic direction without drugs, by codeveloping with his wife, Christina Grof, a combination of deep and rapid breathing, evocative music, focused bodywork, and mandala drawing. Originally termed "
Holotropic Breathwork
Breathwork is a New Age term for various breathing practices in which the conscious control of breathing is said to influence a person's mental, emotional or physical state, with a claimed therapeutic effect. There is limited evidence that breathw ...
", he now uses the trademark Grof Breathwork to describe this technique.
Interplay of hylotropic and holotropic impulses in the psyche
Grof distinguishes between two modes of consciousness: the ''hylotropic'' and the ''holotropic''. The hylotropic mode relates to "the normal, everyday experience of
consensus reality
Consensus reality is that which is generally agreed to be reality, based on a consensus view.
The appeal to consensus arises from the idea that humans do not fully understand or agree upon the nature of knowledge or ontology, often making it unce ...
". In contrast, holotropic is characteristic of non-ordinary states of consciousness such as meditative, mystical, or psychedelic experiences. According to Grof, contemporary psychiatry often categorizes these non-ordinary states as pathological. Grof connects the hylotropic to the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
conception of
namarupa
Nāmarūpa ( sa, नामरूप) is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: ''nāma'' is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while ''rūpa'' refers to the physical.
''Nāmarūpa'' is ...
("name and form"), the separate, individual, illusory lower self. He connects the holotropic to the Hindu conception of
Atman-Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
.
Hypothesis on near-death experiences
In the late 1970s Grof proposed a psychological hypothesis to explain the
near-death experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...
(NDE). According to Grof the NDE reflects memories of the birth process with the tunnel representing the
birth canal
In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen. ...
.
Susan Blackmore
Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known ...
wrote that the hypothesis is "pitifully inadequate to explain the NDE. For a start the newborn infant would not see anything like a tunnel as it was being born." The psychologist
Chris French
Christopher Charles French (born 1956) is a British psychologist specialising in the psychology of paranormal beliefs and experiences, cognition and emotion. He is the head of the University of London's anomalistic Psychology Research Unit and ...
has written "the experience of being born is only very superficially similar to the NDE" and the hypothesis has been refuted as it is common for those born by
caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or ...
to experience a tunnel during the NDE.
Michael Shermer
Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of '' Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientif ...
also criticized the hypothesis "there is no evidence for infantile memories of any kind. Furthermore, the birth canal does not look like a tunnel and besides the infant's head is normally down and its eyes are closed." An article in the peer-reviewed APA journal ''Psychology of Consciousness'' suggested that Grof's patients may have experienced
false memories
In psychology, a false memory is a phenomenon where someone recalls something that did not happen or recalls it differently from the way it actually happened. Suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinforma ...
of birth and before birth.
Influence on other researchers
Grof's collaboration with
Richard Tarnas
Richard Theodore Tarnas is a cultural historian and astrologer known for his books '' The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View'' and '' Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View''. Tarnas i ...
began in the early 1970s, when Tarnas moved to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur to write his dissertation on psychedelic therapy under the auspices of Grof. They would eventually research a new way of understanding the timing and content of experiences encountered in holotropic states of consciousness, which Tarnas refers to as "archetypal cosmology".
Accolades
In 1993, Grof received an Honorary Award from the
Association for Transpersonal Psychology
The ''Journal of Transpersonal Psychology'' (JTP) is a semi-annual, peer-reviewed academic journal which is published by the Association for Transpersonal Psychology (ATP). The journal is a seminal publication in the field of transpersonal psycholo ...
for major contributions to and development of the field of transpersonal psychology, given at the occasion of the 25th Anniversary Convocation held in Asilomar, California. He also received the VISION 97 award granted by the Foundation of Dagmar and
Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and the ...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
on October 5, 2007. In 2010, he received the Thomas R. Verny Award from the Association for
Pre- and Perinatal Psychology
Prenatal psychology can be seen as a part of developmental psychology, although historically it was developed in the heterogenous field of psychoanalysis. Its scope is the description and explanation of experience and behaviour of the individual ...
and Health.
Documentaries
In 1962, Grof was in a short documentary about LSD called ''
Looking for Toxin X
''Looking for Toxin X'' (Czech: ''Hledá se Toxin X'') is a short Czechoslovakian popular science documentary about LSD.
Plot
A dose of LSD is given to a DAMU theatre student, Petr Oliva, by the Czech psychiatrist Stanislav Grof. Special effec ...
''.
Grof was featured in the film ''Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within'', a 2006 documentary about rediscovering an
enchanted cosmos in the modern world.
The 2018 documentary ''Bufo Alvarius: The Underground Secret'' features Grof talking in detail about the effects of
5-MeO-DMT
5-MeO-DMT (5-methoxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine) or O-methyl-bufotenin is a psychedelic of the tryptamine class. It is found in a wide variety of plant species, and also is secreted by the glands of at least one toad species, the Colorado R ...
on the brain and consciousness.
In 2020, the documentary ''The Way of the Psychonaut'' was released, which explores Grof's lifework and contributions to transpersonal psychology.
Works
* ''Realms of the Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research''. New York: The Viking Press (1975).
* ''The Human Encounter with Death''. New York: E. P. Dutton (1977).
* ''Dimensions of Dying and Rebirth''. (1977).
* ''LSD Psychotherapy''. Hunter House (1980).
* ''Beyond Death: The Gates Of Consciousness'' with Christina Grof. (1981).
* ''East & West: Ancient Wisdom And Modern Science''. (1985).
* ''Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death And Transcendence In Psychotherapy''. (1985).
* ''Human Survival And Consciousness Evolution'', edited with Marjorie L. Valier. (1988).
''The Adventure of Self-Discovery: Dimensions of Consciousness and New Perspectives in Psychotherapy and Inner Exploration'' Albany: SUNY Press (1988). .
* ''Spiritual Emergency: When Personal Transformation Becomes A Crisis'', with Christina Grof. (1989).
* ''The Stormy Search For The Self: A Guide To Personal Growth Through Transformative Crisis'', with Christina Grof. (1990).
* ''The Holotropic Mind: The Three levels Of Human Consciousness And How They Shape Our Lives'', with Hal Zina Bennet. New York: Harper Collins (1993).
* ''Books Of The Dead: Manuals For Living And Dying''. (1994).
* ''The Cosmic Game: Explorations Of The Frontiers Of Human Consciousness''. (1998).
* ''The Consciousness Revolution: A Transatlantic Dialogue'', with Peter Russell and Ervin Laszlo. (1999).
* ''Psychology Of The Future: Lessons From Modern Consciousness Research''. (2000).
* ''The Call of the Jaguar''. (2002).
* ''Caterpillar Dreams'', with Melody Sullivan. (2004).
* ''When The Impossible Happens: Adventures In Non-Ordinary Reality''. (2006).
* ''The Ultimate Journey: Consciousness And The Mystery Of Death''. (2006).
* ''LSD: Doorway to the Numinous: The Groundbreaking Psychedelic Research into Realms of the Human Unconscious''. (2009).
* ''Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy. (2010).
* ''Healing Our Deepest Wounds: The Holotropic Paradigm Shift''. (2012).
* ''Modern Consciousness Research and the Understanding of Art: Including the Visionary World of H. R. Giger''. Santa Cruz: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (2015). .
* ''The Way of the Psychonaut: Encyclopedia for Inner Journeys (Volume One)''. Santa Cruz; Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (2019). .
* ''The Way of the Psychonaut: Encyclopedia for Inner Journeys (Volume Two)''. Santa Cruz: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (2019). .
*
The Experience of Death and Dying: Psychological, Philosophical, and Spiritual Aspects'.
Spirituality Studies' 1 (2): 3-31 (2015).
*
Ken Wilber’s Spectrum Psychology: Observations from Clinical Research'.
Spirituality Studies' 2 (2): 2-19 (2016).
*
Psychology for the Future: Lessons form Modern Consciousness Research'.
Spirituality Studies' 2 (1): 3-36 (2016).
Notes
References
Works cited
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Further reading
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External links
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Archives and Special Collectionsat
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Grof, Stanislav
1931 births
Living people
American parapsychologists
American psychedelic drug advocates
Breathwork practitioners
Charles University alumni
Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States
Johns Hopkins University faculty
Physicians from Prague
Psychedelic drug researchers
Psychonautics researchers
Transpersonal psychologists
University of Maryland, Baltimore faculty