1. Mysticism as regressive infantile “oceanic feelings”
According to Epstein (1996), one of Freud’s contributions to transpersonality theory is his characterization of mystical experience in terms of “oceanic feelings.” These oceanic feelings originate in infancy out of early experiences of profound intimacy with the mother while feeding at her breast. When these profoundly intimate moments occur, the boundaries separating the ego-self both from the external world and from its inner subconscious depths dissolve. The momentary dissolution of these boundaries is said to evoke primitive and expansive “narcissistic cravings” of omnipotent unity with the mother (Epstein, 1996, pp. 30-33). “[Freud’s] equation of this oceanic feeling with the bliss of primary narcissism, the unambivalent union of infant and mother at the breast, has served as the gold standard for psychological explanations of meditative or mystical experiences” (Epstein, 1996, p. 30).
2. Evenly suspended attention as a therapeutic tool
A second contribution Freud made to transpersonality theory is his “discovery” of evenly suspended attention as a necessary precondition for the practice of effective psychoanalysis. During the practice of “evenly suspended attention,” the therapist’s critical thinking is “bracketed” and the ego’s preconceptions, categorical judgments, and expectations are momentarily held in abeyance. In their place, nonjudgmental awareness of the here-and-now is cultivated in order to better listen to what the patient is saying and more efficiently “tune into” the patience’s nonverbal, subconscious communications (Epstein, 1996, pp. 33-35). “Freud’s efforts were pioneering from a transpersonal perspective in that they opened up awareness as a therapeutic tool” (Epstein, 1996, p. 30).
|
3. Pleasure principle as underlying cause of suffering
A third contribution to transpersonality theory is Freud’s “elucidation of the pleasure principle, the cause, in his view, of much of our self-imposed misery” (Epstein, 1996, p. 35). The pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain that Freud saw as the basic motivating impulse guiding all behavior and as the source of much of our private emotional turmoil was the same source of suffering that the Buddha attributed as the primary reason for suffering in the world (Buddhism’s second Noble Truth of Tanka (Craving)). Only by renouncing exclusive reliance on the pleasure principle and transmuting or sublimating our persistent cravings, attachments, identifications and desires could psychological health and spiritual experiences, such as liberation and enlightenment, be achieved.
Three additional Freudian contributions to transpersonal psychology include: (4) popularizing the notion of the personal subconscious in American culture, (5) championing the importance of the concept of the ego, and (6) the idea that the psyche has structure consisting of many different areas beneath conscious awareness.
4. The popularization of notion of the personal subconscious in American culture
The terms “unconscious” and “subconscious” are important hypothetical constructs in many theories of the transpersonal self. Freud did not discover the unconscious (Ellenberger, 1970; Whyte, 1960), but he was familiar with Eduard von Hartmann’s 1869 classic The Philosophy of the Unconscious, which served as source material for some of his formulations about the nature of unconscious motivation (Hartmann, 1869). What is notable for transpersonal psychology is Freud’s popularization of the notion of the personal subconscious in American culture.
|
