At the Edge of Eternity's Shadows: Scaling the Fractal Continuum from Lower into Higher Space

In this paper, I elaborate the hyperspatial implications of the fractal-scaling scheme that I introduced previously. Four case examples where out-of-body experiencers reported heightened and amplified visual capacities are correlated with this explanatory model. Three of these cases are identified as including an additional hyperspace signifier, the reported capacity to see through solid and opaque physical obstructions. One of these cases included yet another hyperspace signifier, the reported capacity to pass through such obstructions. Additional evidence supportive of this thesis is drawn from the literature on ecstatic experience, including out-of-body, near-death, and other varieties of mystical or visionary experience, and from that on psychedelic experience. Yet other hyperspace signifiers reported by ecstatic voyagers are also considered, including sensations of seeing outward spherically in 360 degrees and of seeing on all sides of three-dimensional solids simultaneously.     

Clinical notes on a case of transvestism in a child

This clinical presentation describes the therapeutic process of a 5-year-old male child presenting as a main symptom quasi-delusional feminine enactments starting at an early age, which persisted for most of his five-year treatment. This symptom was understood in terms of an attempt at restitution, itself the result of being confronted with an autistic structure stemming from a series of traumatic incidents during the oral phase: his mother's pregnancy, abortion, depression and subsequent three-month absence at the end of his first year of life. The clinical material, drawings included, illustrates the interplay of oral, anal and phallic levels, with enactment predominant in sessions. The oral traumatic situation initially led to anal-manic play, then to quasi-delusional female personifications in sessions, later surfacing as an annihilating 'black hole'. All the above issued into a broad enacted phallic-genital unfolding that dramatised an oral-genital primal scene, in the course of which he managed to structure his male identity. Near the end of the analytic process the analysand reworked the 'stages' of the link to the analyst. To end, based on the clinical material, the respective participation of the early and the late Oedipus complex is examined.     

Making the body (w)hole: A semiotic exploration of body modifications

Abstract

Cultural norms of attraction are dynamic and fluid, and are psychologically intertwined with acts of corporeal modification that use the body as signifier. These norms are expressed in various ways by individuals, but can be seen most plainly when they are worn on the body, such as with body piercing and tattooing. An intertextual understanding of how body modifications play a role in the integration of psyche and soma appears to motivate understanding of how individual choices are reflections of cultural mores. Psychodynamic and semiotic processes from case examples are provided to illustrate how individuals may move between affect and expressiveness as well as how reading the body as text can generate new understandings of an individual's decision to modify, thus allowing clinicians to better work with their modified clients.     

The week the couch arrived

Changes in the therapeutic environment can elicit intense and unpredictable responses from patients, who then react to the new elements with their own unique thoughts, fantasies, emotions and behaviours. When the change is very specific, and when it entails implications for the treatment itself, these patient responses can coalesce around more profound experiences of the transference as well as of the countertransference. The author, as a candidate or analyst-in-training, purchased an analytic couch for his office and observed the unfolding of what this new couch meant for existing treatments. Using clinical examples, he describes the three most common patient responses that occurred: rejecting, ambivalent, and embracing. The richly variant ideas and fantasies related to the analytic couch are described, and the couch's history within Freudian and Jungian contexts is reviewed. Personal determinants that could lead to the decision of whether to use a couch as part of analysis are considered from the standpoint of the analyst's preferences and own experience with the couch. The couch is discussed as a signifier of the analytic process with cultural meanings alluding not only to familiar stereotypes, but also to psychological healing and self-development.     

Jung in Africa: the historical record

Blake Burleson's ninety-minute presentation was part one of 'A Passage to Africa' moderated by John Beebe. Eight individual filmed sequences from home movies taken by Helton Godwin Baynes during Jung's 1925 expedition to East Africa were shown. In addition to placing these clips in their historical, geographic, and cultural context, Burleson introduced the following cultural complexes revealed in the film and in travelling companion Ruth Bailey's commentary on the film: romantic primitivism, 'going black', self-conscious élite, 'furor Africanus', the 'black man's burden', racial inferiority, and the 'curse of Ham'.     

Art and architecture as experience: an alternative approach to bridging art history and the neurosciences

In 1972, Michael Baxandal characterizes the processes responsible for the cultural relativism of art experience as highly complex and unknown in their physiological detail. While art history still shows considerable interest in the brain sciences forty years later, most cross-disciplinary studies today are referring to the neurosciences in an attempt to seek scientific legitimization of variations of a generalized and largely deterministic model of perception, reducing interaction between a work of art and its observers to a set of biological automatisms. I will challenge such an approach and take up art theory's interest in the historico-cultural and situational dimensions of art experience. Looking at two examples of large-scale installation and sculptural post-war American art, I will explore instable perceptions of depth and changing experiences of space that indicate complex interactions between perceptual and higher cognitive processes. The argument will draw on recent theories describing neuronal processes underlying multistable phenomena, eye movement, visual attention and decision-making. As I will show a large number of neuroscientific studies provide theoretical models that help us analyse not the anthropological constants but the influence of cultural, individual and situational variables on aesthetic experience.     

Mysterium Tremendum

In recent years, interest in the scientific basis of religious experience has resurged. In particular, research and publications by V. S. Ramachandran and by Eugene d'Aquili and Andrew Newberg have sparked considerable curiosity and debate over the reality and basis of religious experience. This article puts such research into a broader context and examines the extent to which scientific research supports or undermines particular religious and theological claims. I argue that such experiments show that religious experience has some biological basis and is not simply a product of cultural suggestion. At the same time, such experiences are not completely self–interpreting, so that cultural context, including theological claims, are needed to make sense of such experiences. By itself, scientific research does not prove or disprove the reality of religious experiences generally, but it does shape how we think of the possibilities and interpretations of such experiences.     

“To learn healing knowledge”: Philosophy,psychedelic studies and transformation

“Philosophical learning” may be summarised in Sobiecki’s fitting catchphrase “to learn healing knowledge”. This catchphrase is taken from an article on the use of psychoactive plants among southern African diviners. In the spirit of this link, I aim to challenge contemporary negative attitudes to the topic of psychedelics, and argue that there are good reasons for philosophers to pay attention to the role that the psychedelic experience can play in promoting philosophical perception. I argue first that the results of some contemporary studies affirm the benefits of psychedelic use in an “orchestrated guided experience”. Secondly, I argue that the aims of such “orchestrated guided experiences” are consonant with the nature of philosophical learning. Philosophy, understood as a learning practice, has a strong historical precedent and ties to contemporary indigenous cultural practices. Here I cite research into the use of psychedelics and the Eleusinian Mysteries at the origin of Western philosophy. Numerous cultures, ancient and contemporary, venerate psychoactive substances as agents of learning, healing, and transformation. Thus, contemporary mainstream philosophy may have opportunities to learn, or relearn, from southern African indigenous cultural practices. Considering the positive light in which the topic of psychedelics will be painted, I will conclude by suggesting that psychedelics have the potential to play an important role in fostering the deeply transformative “philosophical learning” that is the condition for positive social change. This makes the topic of psychedelics worthy of philosophical reflection.     

隐喻的具身性与文化性

自从Lakoff和Johnson在《Philosophy in the Flesh —The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought》一书中将认知科学划分为第一代认知科学与第二代认知科学以来,隐喻成为了心理学家、语言学家和哲学家研究的热点领域之一。隐喻的构造基于我们的具身体验,基于我们的文化背景。隐喻的具身性与文化性是相互融合、不可分割的。     

What is to be done?

The overriding question in contemporary philosophy is as follows: We now have a reasonably well-established conception of the basic structure of the universe. But it is not at all easy to reconcile the basic facts we have come to know with a certain conception we have of ourselves, derived in part from our cultural inheritance but mostly from our own experience. Various aspects of this question are examined, concerning consciousness, intentionality, language, rationality, free will, society and institutions, politics, and ethics.     

Redefining dementia care barriers for ethnic minorities: the religion–culture distinction

Barriers to healthcare services experienced by black and minority ethnic (BME) persons with dementia are labelled as “cultural” in existing research. This is a promising shift from an ethno-centric approach to dementia care provision, yet very little research is dedicated to specifically how religion – as distinct from culture – influences healthcare practice. Further consideration of the religion–culture distinction is required; religion and culture are two distinct entities, which inevitably interlink. Cultural themes such as “God's will”, “Religious Ritual” and “Religious Duty”, warrant re-categorisation as “religious”. Sensitivity to the nuances between cultural and religious themes will provide clearer knowledge of how and why BME persons with dementia experience barriers to accessing care services. Further research is needed with regard to the role of religion specifically on dementia care access for BME persons to aim to improve care provision for this underrepresented demographic.     

I Don’t See Color,All People Are the Same: Whiteness and Color-Blindness as Training and Supervisory Issues

This article describes cultural responsiveness training, with a particular emphasis to working with white students. Training methods, which have been effective in examining issues of power and privilege, will be described. Excerpts from previous trainees’ correspondences will be shared to demonstrate how they may have been influenced by such exercises. I will share how reflections of this work have helped to shape who I am. Recommendations for others who wish to pursue cultural sensitivity training will be offered.     

The embodied self: thinking psychoanalytically in a time of 'science'

Abstract :  In order to be relevant in our 'scientific' times, it is necessary that we psychoanalysts situate our ideas in thoughtful and respectful relationship to neighbouring disciplines such as genetics, cultural studies, and neuro-anatomy. In this paper I suggest that, although psychoanalysis still continues to have valuable contributions to make to the understanding of human sexual experience and behaviour, in order to make these contributions relevant we must tune in with openness to the challenges posed by the unfolding discoveries in the other disciplines that grapple with the arena of human sexuality.
I will suggest ways in which research on sexual desire and gender identity may be assimilated into psychoanalytic thinking and give some examples of its use in analytic practice.     

Understanding Native American healing practices

Counselor cultural competency with respect to Native Americans requires understanding of common healing practices and ceremonies and of their spiritual significance. Historical trauma serves as a general backdrop for Native America experience and identity. Particular tribal practices and the individual's degree of affiliation with such practices provide a more specific context for client worldview. Knowledge of the symbolic significance of common ceremonies and healing practices will support counseling efforts to be relevant and effective with respect to Native American clients. Direct interaction and involvement with Native American communities facilitate a deeper understanding of Native American cultural identity and healing practices.     

AIDS-related death: A review of how bereaved gay men are affected

This paper reviews the current literature in relation to how gay men are affected by AIDS related bereavement. It seems that bereavement reactions have changed as the epidemic has progressed. Initially, it seemed that gay men were very badly affected by AIDS related bereavements, especially the experience of multiple bereavements. However, while the experience of such bereavement cna be vary stressful it seems that gay men are less afected in the long term than was previously thought. The paper places this change within a cultural and political context and user this context to consider current bereavement reactions.     

Therapeutic Considerations of Wilderness Experiences for Incest and Rape Survivors

The purpose of this article is to examine the relevancy of traditional wilderness programs, such as Outward Bound, to women who have been violated by experiences of childhood incest and/or adult sexual assault. Applications to African-American women, women with physical challenges, and women who are economically disenfranchised will be emphasized. The overview is from a feminist perspective, one that advocates empowerment over struggle and resisting revictimization on any level. The Rape Assistance and Awareness Program (RAAP) is a non-profit agency in Denver, Colorado dedicated to providing low-cost group psychotherapy for women who have been recently sexually assaulted as well as for women with histories of incest. About five years ago, a three-day Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) experience was incorporated into RAAP's treatment program. While the COBS weekend generally has been viewed positively by most of the clients and group facilitators, aspects of this element of the program have become increasingly problematic. Its applicability to women with physical disabilities and women with conflicting social and economic priorities is questioned. When RAAP received a special grant to provide sexual assault services specifically targeting women of color, groups for Latinas and African-American women were established and facilitated by therapists of color. These women of color, both clients and therapists, consistently challenge the relevance and practicality for them of the COBS experience. In this article, we contend that wilderness experiences, in their traditional application, do not support the feminist, woman-centered approach to life which is advocated and nurtured at RAAP, nor does it specifically honor cultural diversity or ethnic multiplicity. Recommendations for wilderness experiences attracting a broader range of the feminine experience are made.     

Cognitive adaptation to the experience of social and cultural diversity

Diversity is a defining characteristic of modern society, yet there remains considerable debate over the benefits that it brings. The authors argue that positive psychological and behavioral outcomes will be observed only when social and cultural diversity is experienced in a way that challenges stereotypical expectations and that when this precondition is met, the experience has cognitive consequences that resonate across multiple domains. A model, rooted in social categorization theory and research, outlines the preconditions and processes through which people cognitively adapt to the experience of social and cultural diversity and the resulting cross-domain benefits that this brings. Evidence is drawn from a range of literatures to support this model, including work on biculturalism, minority influence, cognitive development, stereotype threat, work group productivity, creativity, and political ideology. The authors bring together a range of differing diversity experiences and explicitly draw parallels between programs of research that have focused on both perceiving others who are multicultural and being multicultural oneself. The findings from this integrative review suggest that experiencing diversity that challenges expectations may not only encourage greater tolerance but also have benefits beyond intergroup relations to varied aspects of psychological functioning.     

Four seasons in femininity orfour men in a woman's life

Conclusion The feminine complaint that Alex's passion echoes, raising it to a level rarely attained, is not limited to the pursuit of sexualjouissance. Nor can it be reduced to an aversion on the part of women to a morality of the signifier, as maintained by a certain reading of Freud. Very precisely, the persistent note in feminine restlessness is a certain relationship of the subject to the insufficiency of the signifier, which the quest for love registers. The fact that language lacks the very quality that would make it credible and that would guarantee that discourse corresponds to what desire attests to is what delivers femininity over to the unnameable. In love she requires from the other member of the social bond the signifier that is lacking within the structure of femininity and that causes the call tojouissance in her body that drives her to distraction. Thus, the structure at stake in femininity, to which Alex's hysterical passion bears witness, defines in writing, that is, by a mark left on the body, the limitation of the reality of ajouissance which persists beyond the signifier and the object of the fantasy. When the analyst's desire offers support to this quest for a limit tojouissance on the part of a subject, it is in desire that the reality of sex and the other is linked to the signifier that would testify to the truth of the amorous discourse in the unconscious. Thus from one man to another, from the love of the father to the loss of a son, including the desire of the lover and the law of the husband, a woman finds herself supporting, with the letter of her body, the signifier which in its words testifies tojouissance as a place to lose oneself.     

Empowering the silent ranks: The Southeast Asian experience

Southeast Asians are among the fastest growing immigrant groups in the United States, yet the rich and varied Southeast Asian newcomer experiences remain underrepresented within the community psychology literature Much of this experience raises complex questions about the concept of empowerment. In this paper we summarize recent published work on the Southeast Asian experience. We will show that three themes have dominated extant work: (1) the importance of understanding the cultural dimensions of Southeast Asian experiences, including the ways in which broad differences between American and Southeast Asian culture call into question the suitability of Western approaches to intervention within the Southeast Asian community; (2) the importance of understanding the trauma and hardship of the immigration experience which accompanied the forced migration of many in the Southeast Asian community; and (3) the urgency of adopting effective strategies for addressing the pressing needs with this new immigrant community. Each of these themes potentially lends itself to an empowerment focus, but we will see that much of the work has been pursued in ways that are inconsistent with an empowerment perspective. We end the discussion with a consideration of what community psychology might gain from a deeper understanding of the Southeast Asian immigrant experience and we suggest possible areas for disciplinary involvement in Southeast Asian empowerment efforts.