CONSCIOUSNESS

192 5. Experiential Approaches
coauthor replications, comparative studies and meta-analyses, could address these concerns
directly. Until they are addressed however, meditation-related research and methodologies
cannot be expected to live up to their promise. P11
288 Purification of Consciousness through the Exercise of Will Power in Pranahuti
Aided Meditation: A Phenomenological Study of its Effectiveness Wandan (Wendy)
Zeng, Dr. Sastry Bhamidipati (East West Psychology, California
Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA)
When we apply our intellect and involve our heart’s feelings in thinking processes or
actions, we form impressions in our consciousness. An impression, by the Random House
dictionary’s definition, is the first and immediate effect of an experience or perception upon
the mind, or the strong effect produced on the intellect, feelings, conscience, etc. In reality,
the term ‘impression’ could have a broader meaning and reside in a deeper level of our consciousness.
According to Sri Ramchandra, the founder of the system of Natural Path, there are
three categories of impressions. These are: 1) Mala, nascent impressions we form in our dayto-day
activities, caused by a lack of control over the senses that manifests itself as laziness,
sloth, attraction to trivia and other impulsive tendencies to sensory pleasure; 2) Vikshepa,
unreal projections of desires for enjoyment, such as greed, avarice, jealousy and so forth [1];
3) Avaranas, layers of grossness due to past deeply rooted impressions that affect different
sheaths of our being and lead to the formation of habits. Consequently, we experience positive
or negative resulting effects of the impressions and that is the fruition process. The resulting
effects could be enjoyment, pleasure, stress, tension, restlessness of the mind, dullness or lack
of clarity in thoughts, emotions associated with unreal projections, and unwanted habits from
which we seem to have little power to extricate ourselves. Cleaning or purifying ourselves
in the realm of the mind ‘is more important than the physical cleaning which is necessary
of good health’ [2]. The fact that purification of our consciousness is possible has been little
known to most people. This paper is a qualitative phenomenological study of the effectiveness
of certain techniques, such as ‘Ocean of bliss’ discovered by Sri Ramchandra, that enable
people to purify their own consciousness through the exercise of their will power. We interviewed
eleven individuals about their personal experiences of this daily half-hour practice.
The study found that the immediate effects include the feelings of lightness, freshness and
calmness. Over a period of practice, it led to several improvements, such as the calming of
restless tendencies, the reduction of ego, stress relief or de-tensioning, an increase in clarity of
thought, and the reduction of unreal projections. The study found that this practice is a significant
help in removing certain mental, emotional and psychological obstacles in the evolution
of an individual’s consciousness towards union with their inner highest spirit. Bibliography:
[1] K.C. Narayana. Bodhayanti Parasparam (Mutual Learning and Teaching). 3rd ed. Vol.
1. Secunderabad: Sri Ramchandra Publishers, 2003. Print. [2] K.C. Narayana. Bodhayanti
Parasparam (Mutual Learning and Teaching). 3rd ed. Vol. 2. Secunderabad: Sri Ramchandra
Publishers, 2003. Print. P5
5.3 Hypnosis
5.4 Other altered states of consciousness
289 Shamanic States of Consciousness Compliment Transpersonal Psychology On
Spiritual Emergency and Avoid Hospitalization Samuel Breidenbach
(Tucson Scientific Shamanism Center, Tucson, AZ)
It is possible that many ‘Clinically Diagnosed’ cases of aberrant behavior may fit the
model believed by transpersonal psychologists and accepted under DSM-IV as ‘Spiritual
Emergency’ that can be treated equally well, and often with longer lasting positive results
with Western version techniques of successful indigenous shamanism. This approach is called
‘Scientific Shamanism.’ In fact we will show that many cases could well fall under the heading
of spiritual emergence rather than spiritual emergency. No clinic treatment is needed for a
Spiritual Emergence, though the symptoms are very close to clinical schizophrenia. A ‘spiri-