The Stormy Search for the Self - Hardcover

Christina Grof; Stanislav Grof

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874775531 ISBN 13: 9780874775532

Publisher: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1990

Synopsis

Argues that so-called psychiatric emergencies are actually opportunities for spiritual healing, and offers practical advice for individuals in crisis

About this title

About the Author:

Christina Grof was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Her original career as a teacher of art was interrupted when a powerful spiritual experience during childbirth launched her into many years of emotional turmoil, later identified as the manifestations of Kundalini awakening. She taught Hatha-Yoga and was deeply influenced by Swami Muktananda Paramahansa, head of the Siddha-Yoga lineage; she was his student until his death in 1982.

Her own unusual experiences generated in her deep interest in nonordinary states of consciousness and transpersonal psychology. Together with her husband, Stanislav Grof, she has developed Holotropic Breathwork, an experimental technique of psychotherapy that combines controlled breathing, evocative music, and bodywork. She and her husband have also organized international transpersonal conferences in Boston, Melbourne, Bombay, and Santa Rosa, California.

Christina's particular area of interest is the relationship between mysticism and psychosis. In 1980 she founded the spiritual emergence network, an international organization providing support for individuals undergoing transformative crises. More recently, her interest has extended into the area of the spiritual aspects of alcoholism and addiction. In the last decade she has conducted lectures and workshops in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. She is also co-author of the book Beyond Death.

From Library Journal:

This work presents a persuasive case for the existence of "spiritual emergencies"--extreme mental states experienced by some individuals in the process of personal metamorphosis. The Grofs (editors of Spiritual Emergency, Tarcher, 1989) denounce Western psychiatric practices that label persons in such states as mentally ill. They instead distinguish between psychiatric disorders and spiritual emergency, offering alternative modes of therapy for the latter. As the Grofs aim to show, the cycle of inner death and rebirth that typifies spiritual emergency ultimately leads to personal transformation and healing through a connection to a transcendent Higher Power or Higher Self. The last section offers self-help strategies, plus guidelines for family, friends, and mental health professionals. A bibliography is included. This radical treatise is recommended for large public and academic libraries.
- Amy A. Canadee, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Cleveland
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jeremy P. Tarcher
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0874775531
• ISBN 13: 9780874775532
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288