Mindfulness and Transpersonal Psychology: Two Trends Between Psychotherapy and Spirituality
IV Global Transpersonal Symposium. Bucharest, February 23, 2019
Abstract: With the rise and proliferation of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the last forty years, the formerly disputed practice of meditation has today reached the mainstream of society and healthcare. Based on evidence to support its efficacy as well as standardized course formats, mindfulness is now taught and practiced in medicine, education, business and even politics. While both MBIs and Transpersonal Psychology (TP) have a shared origin in the meeting of Western sciences and traditional contemplative traditions, and while both partake in the same contemporary cultural context of the twenty-first century, these two trends have been developed and positioned differently, with TP continuing to struggle for mainstream recognition. This talk will address the curious relationship between MBIs and TP in the greater context of cultural history, mental health and modern spirituality, with respect to both their differences and similarities. From a cultural perspective, it will address what both TP and MBIs teach us about the role of spirituality and healing in contemporary society as well as how they may learn from each other by considering their individual specificities; and from an experiential perspective, it will address how transpersonal approaches are implicated in the practice of MBIs as well as how MBIs may support the development and integration of transpersonal states. In conclusion, recent research will be presented to support the hypothesis that mindfulness and TP may have more in common than what would seem at first sight.