| Title | : | The Cosmic Game: Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0791438767 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780791438763 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1997 |
The Cosmic Game discusses the broadest philosophical, metaphysical and spiritual insights gleaned in Grof's research concerning human nature and reality, addressing the most fundamental questions human beings have asked about the nature of existence since time immemorial.
Insights from research into nonordinary states of consciousness portray existence as an astonishing play of the cosmic creative principle that transcends time, space, linear causality, and polarities of every kind and suggest an identity of the individual psyche in its furthest reaches with the universal creative principle and the totality of existence. This identity of the human being with the Divine is the ultimate secret that lies at the core of all great spiritual traditions.
What moves this book into the status of a classic is that it is in substantial agreement with the world's great wisdom and spiritual traditions. This modern corroboration of the perennial philosophy is a stunning achievement and deserves publication to the widest audiences. -- Ken Wilber, author of Up from Eden: A Transpersonal View of Human Evoution and The Atman Project: A Transpersonal View of Human Development
The Cosmic Game is the latest and best of Stanislav Grof's extraordinary contributions to our understanding of human consciousness. This book provides a coherent picture of how individual experience fits into universal patterns of consciousness -- Frances Vaughan, author of Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing through Spiritual Illusions
Perhaps the most important of all his works, representing as it does an integration of the most profound of his clients' experiences and demonstrating a remarkable convergence with the deepest spiritual experiences reported across centuries and cultures. This convergence is a finding of the greatest significance. -- Roger Walsh, author of The Spirit of Shamanism
Grof is the world's leading authority on the deep exploration of the mind and soul... This is a wonderful gift! -- Charles Tart, author of States of Consciousness and Psi: Scientific Studies of the Psychic Realm
Stanislav Grof, MD, is a psychiatrist with more than fifty years of experience in research of nonordinary states of consciousness. He has been Principal Investigator in a psychedelic research program at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, Czechoslovakia; Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University; and Scholar-in-Residence at the Esalen Institute. He is currently Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, conducts professional training programs in holotropic breathwork, and gives lectures and seminars worldwide. He is one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology and the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA). In 2007, he was granted the prestigious Vision 97 award from the Vaclav and Dagmar Havel Foundation in Prague. He is the author and editor of many books, including The Adventure of Self-Discovery: Dimensions of Consciousness and New Perspectives in Psychotherapy and Inner Exploration; Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science; Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy; Human Survival and Consciousness Evolution; and Psychology of the Future: Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research; all published by SUNY Press.
The Cosmic Game: Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness Reviews
-
A bit frustrating at the beginning of this book with some of the generic spirituality ideas, I guess, as I have seem them stated so many times, but it does in time get into specifics and connects it more with the transpersonal psychology, which is what I was reading this book for. And in these areas I found it a very valuable and interesting read.
A sober criticism of "materialistic science" as he calls it, from a person who wants to keep open our eyes to individual, independent experiences of transpersonal domains beyond the level of basic material reality as being potentially insightful in to a real domain of experience, and not just as no more than pathological delusions of one kind or another. He makes a good case for it. The flattened out secular world is taking meaning away from everything by reducing us to meat suits with an ever more restricted mental domain of freedom isolated inside our own heads, not always based on good scientific understanding of the specific real experiences, but based on a presumptive theoretical and metaphysical framework, that could easily be wrong in some areas. -
While I generally like Grof's work, I'm starting to notice a distinct lack of variety from book to book as I read more of his writing. I still do like most of the theories presented in his work, but I feel as if this book was far more an opinion and speculation piece than I have come to expect out of some of the rest of his writings.
In this book, Grof goes over his theory of psychology that extends psychotherapy from the biographical level to the perinatal and transpersonal levels using a variety of "technologies of the sacred" that can include psychoactive substances, breathing techniques, and shamanic techniques that induce expanded states of consciousness that Grof refers to as Holotropic. This is all very exciting, but I've read it before, even down to most of the anecdotes. There is very little new material in this book that hasn't shown up in some of his other work.
Another thing that highly disappointed me was Grof's attack on the idea of evolution during his argument against materialistic monism as being the only valid reality. While I agree with his argument about materialistic monism, I think that the attack on the evolutionary process was unwarranted, unnecessary to support his argument, and gave a very clear picture of Grof's lack of understanding of the biological and evolutionary process. An infinite creator such as he posits could have created an infinite number of different realities that all exist simultaneously. In one of those, no matter how seemingly unlikely, there has to be one like ours where things just worked out the way they did. I think that this section of the book shows a serious lapse in judgment on Grof's part and I hope that he will correct the mistake in the future.
While I agree that there are certain things that science has become dogmatic about, I don't think evolution is one of them, nor does it need to be one of them for the idea of the type of divinity that Grof posits to exist to be present. Evolution is a beautiful process and I don't think anyone needs to scoff at it and go "scientists think that is ALL it was." ALL it was? It was amazing, and there is nothing small about the evolutionary process. I also think that these statements, without proper evaluation, may serve to alienate scientists who might otherwise be open to some of Grof's theories. The tone of the passage drips with the same arrogant ignorance that I have heard many fundamentalist religious people use, and I think that is a dangerous game to play. If you disagree with evolution, that is fine, but you had better be willing to back it up against the mountains of supporting evidence that it has gathered, and please don't use the no transitional specimens argument. It is one of the oldest and most ill informed arguments out there.
Altogether, this book left a bad taste in my mouth compared to some of the rest of Grof's work. I'm starting to sense a bit of personal stake at battling materialistic monism that is perhaps clouding his ability to realize that he is tipping too far one way in searching for the balance between science and spirituality. I don't think they need to be at odds, and Grof says as much himself, but then he goes and includes such a poorly thought out argument against evolution when it isn't necessary within the context of the rest of the book. I still like the book, because most of it is sound, but I would steer any curious minds to any book other than this one if they would like to read Grof. -
La mejor obra de Stanislav Grof. Imprescindible. Quien quiera dar un paseo por las maravillas que nos ofrece adentrarnos en las más modernas descripciones y acercamientos al mundo de la conciencia, la mente y el es espíritu... Éste es le libro. Si la neurosis a la que te lleva el materialismo científico y los ingenieros sociales comienza a embotar tu mente y ánimo.... No lo dudes. Léelo ya.
-
This book is a brilliant summary of where modern spirituality has evolved from a theoretical spirituality that was controlled by a priest class to an experiential spirituality of the individual. The author essentially argues that direct experiences are not only available to everyone but can be easily documented and proven.
-
It’s the kind of thing you’ll get into only when there’s a full moon
-
Great read and research by Stanislav Grof on psychedelics and holotropic states of consciousness. [reading time: 12h49m]
-
The Cosmic Game is likely the book most aligned with my own thinking about the cosmos and consciousness. The similarities between my thinking and Grof's don't suggest that we're necessarily right in our thinking; however, the resonance is profound. At times, it felt like the author was inside my own mind and soul. I found The Cosmic Game incredibly thorough, insightful, enjoyable and uplifting. Perhaps my favourite read ever :)
-
pretty deep account on what god is. I find it interesting that Grof states "in the end there is only 1 actor in the universe - God". God plays role of gorilla, Einstein, stars, planets, and all other objects, creatures.
The universal mind started it all as a game, cuz god needs to express himself - thru all creatures, objects, processes. This belief helps me thinking that there is no judgment of people!
Evil exists to make good, kind feel more intense. God is omnipresent, all encompassing, powerful being and it is in eternal state of 'boredom' and can't do anything but to entertain itself, know itself deeper.
Very deep book , but has lots of details about his personal life in US and Prague. -
The Divine Drama of life is about the quest to rediscover and connect with the divine source. According to Grof, this is the both the source of creation and The Void. Creation out of nothing and nothing out of creation.
Our longings to be accepted, being with family, success, fame, and any other desire is all an illusion, and all of these longings are an attempt to return to unity with the source of creation.
Consciousness is not an epiphenomenon of the brain, the brain is more like a television set, and consciousness is the signal.
An incredible book summarizing the career of one of the pioneers of psychedelic research. -
Highly speculative, strongly based on anecdotes, sometimes on factually wrong accounts (like the story of Mr. Gorsky) used to construct a manifesto for a psychedelic belief system. Can be a bit or miss, some parts spoke strongly to me, some left me very cold. I am a believer that reality is so fluid that we can only talk about it in terms of analogies and metaphors, and I found that this book tries to pin down reality to defined and confined descriptions.
Like all of grof's books tends to ramble on and on on the same topic.
Don't go into this book without experiencing altered states of consciousness or it would seem like pure fancy of the imagination. -
I was a bit disappointed. While I must appreciate the writing style and the thoughts the author entertains, I've had increasing difficulty with his concepts being given out as proofs. Sorry to say, but number of people experiencing something beautiful, extraordinary and seemingly out of this world does not make it a proof of higher existence. It is our belief, not proof.
Furthermore, the few "proofs" in the book have been attacked as inaccurate and wishful thinking of the researchers tasked with the evidence gathering. More research needs to be done. -
Solid introductory book. Provides a complete overview to altered states of consciousness questions such as “what is darkness/evil and why does it exist?” or “what does the science tell us about consciousness and what are its limits?” etc. Some parts (especially stories & examples) are redundant with other books by Stanislav Grof.
-
One of Stanislav Grof's best books. This one is excellent if you're looking for a high-level ontological investigation. I recommend the 'Realms of the Human Unconscious' for his more empirical dissection of the human mind.
-
Musím prostudovat víc k tématu, abych mohla hodnotit. Každopádně je téma hodně zajímavé a zaujalo mě.
-
If you didn't read it, read it!
-
Pretty interesting little book wandering around the borders of philosophy, sociology, psychiatry and psychology.
-
4.5
-
one day, we will look at holotropic research and its pioneers the same way we now look at top-tier physicists. Grof is one them and this book is one of his best works.
-
A wonderful overview of Grof's works with non-ordinary states of being. His life's work has centered around the use of psychedelics and other forms of altered states for healing through going deep into our psyches to encounter the source of the wounds and engage them by reliving the past, or expanding our awareness to the non-material plane of existence.
Grof is very personal in his writing because he writes as one who has been on the journey and touched in his life through the exploration of altered states. -
Un libro que recomiendo a quienes buscan un sentido a su espiritualidad, sin los límites de una cultura y religión... porque al final, la razón no es suficiente para simplificar aquello que va más allá de la existencia de todo lo que hay en el universo.
-
Excellent view of the possibilities of the mind.
