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Authors: Stanislav Grof

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For information on Holotropic Breathwork workshops and facilitator training, please contact:

Grof Transpersonal Training
38 Miller Ave, PMB 516
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Web site: www.holotropic.com
E-mail address: [email protected]
Phone: 415-383-8779
Fax: 415-383-0965

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy in Medicine), is a psychiatrist with over fifty years experience of research into non-ordinary states of consciousness and one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology. He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, where he also received his scientific training—an M.D. degree from the Charles University School of Medicine and a Ph.D. from the Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences.

Dr. 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 systematically exploring the heuristic and therapeutic potential of LSD and other psychedelic substances. In 1967, he was invited as Clinical and Research Fellow to the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

After completion of this two-year fellowship, he stayed in the United States and continued his research as chief of psychiatric research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center and as assistant professor of psychiatry at the Henry Phipps Clinic of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Doctor of Medicine. In 1973, Dr. Grof was invited to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he lived until 1987 as Scholar-in-Residence writing, giving seminars, lecturing, and developing Holotropic Breathwork with his wife, Christina Grof. He also served on the board of trustees of the Esalen Institute.

He is the founder of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and is its past and current president. In this role, he, along with Christina, has organized large international conferences in the United States, the former Czechoslovakia, India, Australia, and Brazil. At present, he lives in Mill Valley, California, conducts training seminars for professionals in Holotropic Breath work, transpersonal psychology, and writing books. He is also professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco and at the Pacifica Graduate School in Santa Barbara and gives lectures and seminars worldwide.

In 1993, he received an Honorary Award from the Association for Transpersonal Psychology (ATP) for major contributions to and development of the field of transpersonal psychology given at the occasion of the 25th Anniversary Convocation held at Asilomar, California.

He has published over 140 articles in professional journals, as well as numerous books, which have been translated into sixteen languages.

ABOUT SOUNDS TRUE

Sounds True was founded in 1985 with a clear vision: to disseminate spiritual wisdom. Located in Boulder, Colorado, Sounds True publishes teaching programs that are designed to educate, uplift, and inspire. With more than six hundred titles available, we work with many of the leading spiritual teachers, thinkers, healers, and visionary artists of our time.

To receive a free catalog of wisdom teachings for the inner life, please visit www.soundstrue.com, call toll-free 800-333-9185, or write: The Sounds True Catalog, P.O. Box 8010, Boulder, CO 80306.

BACK COVER MATERIAL

“This book is extremely intriguing in that it shows how a strong scientific mind confronts things which science cannot explain.”

—RAM DASS, author of
Be Here Now

“I love Stan Grof’s wild and true stories. An amazing scientist, he offers a vast, mysterious perspective that opens our minds like a huge starry sky.”

—JACK KORNFIELD, PH.D., Buddhist teacher and author of
A Path with Heart

“A fascinating account of extraordinary experiences in the life of a world famous pioneer in consciousness studies. Filled with personal stories, this book reveals Grof as and intrepid explorer on the frontiers of human possibilities.”

—FRANCES VAUGHAN, PH.D., author of
Shadows of the Sacred.

“Reading Stanislav Grof’s latest book is to enter an enchanted universe. At first surprising then as the ‘A-ha experience’ repeats, ever-more enlightening and natural, this is a book that everyone needs, and will be able, to read ease and with pleasure.”

—ERVIN LASZLO, PH.D., philosopher and author of
Science and the Akashic Field

“Freud illuminated a few rooms of consciousness, as did Jung; Grof tours the entire house.”

—JAMES FADIMAN, PH.D.,
Institute for Transpersonal Psychology

Feelings of oneness with others, nature, and the universe. Encounters with extraterrestrials, deities, and demons. Out-of-body experiences and past-life memories. Science casts a skeptical eye. But Dr. Stanislav Grof—the psychiatric researcher who co-founded transpersonal psychology—believes otherwise.
When the Impossible Happens
presents Dr. Grof’s mesmerizing firsthand account of his fifty-year inquiry into waters uncharted by conventional psychology, an odyssey that will leave you questioning the very fabric of your existence.

From the first LSD session that gave Dr. Grof a glimpse of cosmic consciousness to his latest work with Holotropic Breathwork™,
When the Impossible Happens
explores fascinating experiments in astral projection; remarkable tales of synchronicity; memories of birth and prenatal life; the survival of consciousness after death, and much more. Here is an incredible opportunity to journey beyond ordinary consciousness—guaranteed to shake the foundations of what we assume to be reality—and sure to offer a new vision of our human potential, as we contemplate
When the Impossible Happens.

STANISLAV GROF, M.D., PH.D.

One of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology, Dr. Grof is the president of the International Transpersonal Association, and a professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies and the Pacifica Graduate Institute. His numerous books include
Beyond the Brain
and Psychology of the Future.

Table of Contents

PRAISE FOR WHEN THE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENS

ALSO BY STANISLAV GROF

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PROLOGUE: Discovering Cosmic Consciousness My First LSD Session

PART 1:THE MYSTERY OF SYNCHRONICITY: Twilight of the Clockwork Universe

THE WAY OF THE ANIMAL POWERS: Praying Mantis in Manhattan

THE DYING QUEEN: When Dreams Foretell What Comes by Day

THE RAINBOW BRIDGE OF THE GODS: In the Realm of the Nordic Sagas

THE PLAY OF CONSCIOUSNESS: Swami Muktananda and Siddha Yoga

THE GURU IN THE LIFE OF HIS DEVOTEES: Is the Siddha Yogi a Cosmic Puppeteer?

DANCE OF THE WHITE SWAN: Underworld Journey in the Salish Spirit Canoe

THE MAKING OF RAINSTORM: Our Hollywood Adventure

THE WATERCOURSE WAY: Meetings with President Václav Havel

UNDER THE SPELL OF SATURN: The Death of My Mother

BLESSING OF THE GODS: Don José Matsuwa and the Huichol Rain Ceremony

SRI YANTRA IN THE OREGON DESERT: UFO Visit or a Spectacular Hoax?

A LESSON IN FORGIVENESS: Peyote Ceremony with Potawatomi Indians

PART 2:TRAILING CLOUDS OF GLORY: Remembering Birth and Prenatal Life

THE CHALLENGES OF NOON DELIVERY: The Story of Leni

THE SCENT OF FRESH LEATHER: The Story of Kurt

THE VISION OF THE OLD OAK TREE: The Story of Anne-Marie

PRENATAL VISIT TO THE ANNUAL VILLAGE MART: The Story of Richard

WINNING THE SPERM RACE: Experiencing the Cellular Level of Consciousness

PART 3:REVISITING HISTORY: Farther Reaches of Human Memory

EPISODE FROM THE RUSSO-FINNISH WAR: The Story of Inga

THE LITTLE GIRL WITH WHITE PINAFORES: The Story of Nadja

RETRIEVING MEMORIES OF THE STOLEN GENERATIONS: The Story of Marianne

ANCESTRAL MEMORY OR PAST-LIFE EXPERIENCE? The Story of Renata

PART 4:HAVE WE LIVED BEFORE? Reincarnation and the Akashic Record

THE SIEGE OF DÚN AN ÓIR: The Story of Karl

THE KARMIC TRIANGLE: Time Travel to Ancient Egypt

IN THE CATACOMBS OF PECHORSKAYA LAVRA: Past Life in Czarist Russia

WHEN SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES CAN BE DANGEROUS: Revisiting the Salem Witch-Hunt

PART 5:ESP AND BEYOND: Exploring the World of the Paranormal

SEEING WITHOUT THE EYES (MINDSIGHT): The Story of Ted

MESSAGES FROM THE ASTRAL REALM: The Story of Richard

PROOF FOR THE EXISTENCE OF THE BEYOND? The Story of Walter

CUT ROSES IN AUNT ANNE’S ROSE GARDEN: The Story of Kurt

LUIZ GASPARETTO: Painters and Paintings from the Beyond

A PARTY FOR EXU: Interview with the Orixás

THE TABOO AGAINST KNOWING THAT WE ARE CLAIRVOYANT: Sessions with Ann Armstrong

ANTS OF THE GREAT MOTHER GODDESS: A Visit to Palenque

ULURU AND ALCHERINGA: An Adventure in Dreamtime

TEMPTATIONS OF A NON-LOCAL UNIVERSE: Failed Experiment in Astral Projection

CHANNELING THE AVATAR: My Mother, Sai Baba, and Holotropic Breathwork

WHEN ALL IS ONE, THERE IS NO PROBLEM: Feats of the Korean Sword Master

STRANGE LEGACY OF THE ANCIENT MAYA: Mystery of the Crystal Skull

THE WONDERS OF SYNESTHESIA: Hugo Zucarelli and the Holophonic Sound

GATEWAY TO THE ABSOLUTE: The Secret of the Toad of Light

MATTER AND CONSCIOUSNESS: Ketamine and the Reenchantment of the World

ON THE INCA TRAIL: Discovering the Secret of Trephination

UFOS IN THE AMAZON: Alien Encounter of the Third Kind

PART 6:UNORTHODOX PSYCHIATRY: Surprising Alternatives to Traditional Treatment

THE PAIN THAT SURVIVED THREE CENTURIES: The Story of Norbert

THE MALEKULAN PIG GODDESS: The Story of Otto

INTERVIEW WITH THE DEVIL: The Story of Flora

EMBODYING THE DAPHNE ARCHETYPE: The Story of Martha

HEALING DEPRESSION BY A SEPHARDIC PRAYER: The Story of Gladys

THE STORMY SEARCH FOR THE SELF: The Story of Karen

WHEN HEARING VOICES Is NOT SCHIZOPHRENIA: The Story of Eva

PSYCHIATRIC HERESY THAT BROUGHT FRUIT: The Story of Milada

THE MAGIC OF SANDPLAY: When a Kitten Can Be Therapist

PART 7:TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MAINSTREAM SCIENCE

WHEN SCIENCE BECOMES SCIENTISM: Carl Sagan and His Demon-Haunted World

JOURNEY TO THE EAST: Bringing LSD to the Soviet Union

PSYCHE AND COSMOS: What the Planets Can Reveal about Consciousness

EPILOGUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT SOUNDS TRUE

BACK COVER MATERIAL

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