Beyond the Brain seriously challenges the existing neurophysiological models of the brain. After three decades of extensive research on those non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by psychedelic drugs and by other means, Grof concludes that our present scientific world view is as inadequate as many of its historical predecessors. In this pioneering work, he proposes a new model of the human psyche that takes account of his findings.
Philosophy of Science and the Role of Paradigms
The Newtonian-Cartesian Spell of Mechanistic Science
Conceptual Challenges from Modern Consciousness Research
New Understanding of Reality, Existence and Human Nature
The Holonomic Approach: New Principles and New Perspectives
The Sensory Barrier and the Individual Unconscious
Encounter with Birth and Death: The Dynamics of Perinatal Matrices
Beyond the Brain: Realms of Transpersonal Experiences
Sigmund Freud and Classical Psychoanalysis
The Famous Renegades: Alfred Adler, Wilhelm Reich, and Otto Rank
Existential and Humanistic Psychotherapies
Psychotherapies with Transpersonal Orientation
Varieties of Sexual Experience: Dysfunctions, Deviations, and Transpersonal Forms of Eros
Roots of Violence: Biographical, Perinatal, and Transpersonal Sources of Aggression
Dynamics of Depressions, Neuroses, and Psychosomatic Disorders
The Psychotic Experience: Disease or Transpersonal Crisis?
The Medical Model in Psychiatry: Pros and Cons
Disagreements about Theory and Therapeutic Measures
Criteria of Mental Health and Therapeutic Results
Psychiatry and Religion: Role of Spirituality in Human Life
The Nature of Psychogenic Symptoms
Effective Mechanisms of Psychotherapy and Personality Transformation
Spontaneity and Autonomy of Healing
Psychotherapy and Spiritual Development
Principles of Psychotherapeutic Assistance
Techniques of Psychotherapy and Self-Exploration
Goals and Results of Psychotherapy
Chapter Eight: Epilogue. The Current Global Crisis and the Future of Consciousness Evolution