Spiritual Transformation in Claimant Mediums / PA Presentation June 2016

Definition of Terms – Spiritually
Transformative Experience (STE)
 Spiritually Transformative Experiences
(STEs) have been described as being a
portion of the transformation and expansion
of consciousness (Kason, 2008). Sometimes
considered a psychic opening or awakening,
these experiences vary in intensity and
duration, with some people having mild
effects, while others have described them as
being startling and even traumatic (S. Grof
& C. Grof, 1989a, 1989b; Kason, 2008).

Definition of Terms – The Claimant
Medium
 Claimant Mediums are individuals who
allegedly experience routine communications
with the deceased (e.g., Beischel, Mosher, &
Boccuzzi, 2014-2015) with the general
purpose of facilitating interactions between
living individuals and discarnate beings (e.g.,
Gauld, 2012, Tart, 2009). Discarnate beings
are described as those who have passed over
through bodily death (Krippner, 1994).

Purpose of the Study
 Establish a better understanding of the
initial and subsequent experiences of the
novice medium.
 Relate these initial and successive
experiences to the spiritual transformation
process.

Five Areas of Background Inquiry
 The Concept and History of Mediumship
 Psycho-spiritual Emergence and
Development
 Spiritual Development from a Child’s
Perspective
 Post-experience Acknowledgement,
Development and Application
 Recent process-oriented phenomenological
studies

The Concept of Mediumship
 Individuals who report communications with
discarnate beings are known as mental
mediums (Gauld, 2012).
 Experiences such as these frequently involve
putative telepathic communications from
deceased relatives and friends.
 Bill and Judy Guggenheim (1996) also found
numerous examples of these alleged contact
experiences within the general population.
Noted them as after-death communications
(ADCs).

Psycho-spiritual Emergence
 A variety of anomalous experiences occur
throughout the spiritual transformation
process and may be placed within a
spectrum of intensity (Kason, 2008).
 One end of the spectrum may consist of
minor annoying, challenging episodes that
periodically occur during the process of
spiritual transformation. However, the
parameter extends from an assortment of
crisis incidents to various types of
psychoses incidents at the opposite end.

 The late 1960s brought on a new surge of
interest in spirituality and consciousness
exploration evolved in numerous ways.
 Manifest as a renewed awareness of ancient
and Eastern spiritual practices, several
experiential psychotherapies began to
unfold via personal meditation and the
informal use of psychedelic drugs (S. Grof,
1983, 1985; S. Grof & C. Grof, 1989a,
1989b; Kason, 2008).

 When these experiences became particularly
unfamiliar, intense, or at odds with one’s
belief system, the individual began to
experience severe distress and was
catapulted into what Stanislav Grof (2000)
called a spiritual emergency.
 Unfortunately, the symptoms are frequently
associated with psychosis, however, and
have often been confused with
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizo-
affective disorder, and others (Bragdon,
2013).

 From a traditional Western medical model
perspective, these extreme experiences
would usually be considered psychotic,
treated with psychotropic medication and
hospitalization. However, the Grofs (S.
Grof, 1983, 2000; C. Grof & S. Grof, 1990)
believed that the medical response to
individuals who are experiencing a
transformative crisis was counterproductive.

 While at Esalen Institute in Big Sur,
California in 1980, Christina Grof established
a “spiritual emergency network” of assistants
to help people who were having these types
of unique experience (Prevatt & Park, 1989).
 Similar services are available through the
IGPP (2007) in Freiburg, Germany and the
American Center for the Integration of
Spiritually Transformative Experiences
(ACISTE, n.d.).

 Commenting on the significant differences
between a spiritual emergency and psychosis,
Kason (2008) said:
If a person can distinguish between outer
and inner experiences, is clearly aware of
which inner experiences do not fit into the
prevailing world view of reality, is able to
function in the world, is able to make
discerning judgments, and has appropriate
control of his or her emotions, he or she is,
by definition, not psychotic. (p. 247)

Spiritual Development in Children
 In a recent qualitative study of parent and
child impressions of ADCs in children aged
4 to 12 years, Jeska (2012) revealed a
variety of experiences that ranged from fear
reactions in perceived monster interactions
to welcomed interactions with deceased
family members and etheric playmates.
 All mothers were in acceptance of the
ADC, both validating it for their child and
advocating a greater public awareness and
acceptance of ADCs.

Acknowledgement, Development,
and Application of Mediumship
 In an effort to reduce the negative stigma
from the confusion and distress of the psychic
opening, Lukoff, Lu, and Turner (1998)
attempted to create a wider recognition of the
spiritual and psychical experiences that might
produce the indicators associated with these
disorders in the fourth edition of the
American Psychiatric Association’s
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric
Association, 1994).

Acknowledgement, Development,
and Application of Mediumship
 Proposed to the American Psychiatric
Association task force on the DSM-IV in
1991 as a V Code category titled
“Psychospiritual Conflict,” it was later
revised to include religious problems and
accepted as “Religious or Spiritual
Problem” in 1993 (Lukoff et al., 1998).
 Authors of the proposal argued that the
published version reduced the clarity of the
new category (Turner, Lukoff, Barnhouse,
& Lu, 1995).

Contemporary Phenomenological
Studies of Mediumship
 Most contemporary mediumship research
(e.g., Beischel, 2013) has been primarily
proof-oriented, demonstrating anomalous
information reception in a laboratory setting,
substantiated by statistical analysis.
 However, quantitative methodologies have
given way for the inclusion of process-
oriented qualitative studies that investigate
the medium’s phenomenology (e.g., Rock,
Beischel, & Schwartz, 2008; Roxburgh &
Roe, 2011, 2013, 2014).

 A particularly pertinent study by Roxburgh
and Roe (2014) examined how mediums
evaluated their experiences and described
their relationship with spirit voices.
 Three themes were identified as: Childhood
anomalous experiences, a search for
meaning through the “normalization” of
mediumship, and relationships with spirit.

 Roxburgh and Roe concluded that the study
demonstrated a need for the development of a
personal experiential framework or
explanatory model that could normalize the
voice hearing experience phenomena.
 Also, validation of the experience by a
sensitive family, society and mental health
community may also facilitate a therapeutic
reconciliation for individuals who have had
similar experiences, but became distressed by
them.

Project Methodology – Participants
 Nineteen Certified Research Mediums from
the Windbridge Institute for Applied Research
in Human Potential in Tucson, Arizona.
 Invited to participate in a research project
devoted to the acknowledgement of the initial
mediumship experience.
 Six of the 19 replied as being interested in the
project. Only five returned their Saybrook
Institutional Review Board (SIRB)
acceptance forms. An additional sixth
participant was recruited from the original
selection.

Project Methodology – Procedure
 Data was collected by way of a pre-arranged,
one-hour phone interview utilizing a semi-
structured questionnaire.
 Interview questions were designed to capture
the psychological impact at the moment of
psychic acknowledgement and establish a
biographical composite of the participants’
family, social, and spiritual influences.
 Supplemental background information was
provided through personal websites.

Project Methodology – Data Analysis
 Interview content was thematically analyzed
(Miles & Huberman, 1994) referencing
circumstances of the initially recalled psychic
experience, as prescribed by the Moustakas
modification of the van Kaam method of
analysis of phenomenological data
(Moustakas, 1994).
 Data analysis reduced interview transcriptions
to a cluster of thematic invariant constituents
that created a composite description of the
meanings and essences of the experience.

Results
 The STE of the claimant medium is not a
single experiential occurrence, but a
sequence of developmental experiences.
 Each experience contained an encounter
with a single or multiple spiritual entities
that may or may not be considered as
guides.
 The encounter was considered either
fearfully traumatic or merely an anomalistic
variation of the individual’s concept of
reality, depending on the age of the
individual and the existing situation in the
experience.

Results
After acknowledging the initial experience
 The level of comfort in the assimilation and
accommodation of this paradigm shift was
greatly dependent upon their social support
system.
 An open-minded, loving support system of
peers and older family members was
considered more beneficial.
 A more rigid and restrictive environment,
with a less receptive acknowledgement of the
experience appeared to foster feelings of
conflict and self-doubt.

Results
From a Spiritual Perspective
 The individual’s concept of organized
religion or personal spirituality often shaped
the parameters of the experience.
 The adjustment level of comfort for the
acceptance of the newly imposed psycho-
spiritual experience in association with the
existing religious influence was dependent
upon the degree of liberal or conservative
control imposed by the religious doctrine.

Results
From a Career Perspective
 Pursuit of a career in mediumship appeared
to be dependent upon the ease of adjustment
to the initial experience and the availability
of a positive fostering influence.
 This influence was observed in the form of
parental acceptance, professional support
personnel, spiritual guides, or available
supportive literature concerning the field of
interest.

Discussion / Commentary
 A review of the results from this study tends
to indicate a wider range of parameters
available for consideration than I had
originally anticipated within the Spectrum of
Spiritual Transformation.
 I speculate that this alternate portion of the
study population may have had a more
supportive social and spiritual environment,
both during and prior to the transformative
experience. This possibility, leads me to a
strong endorsement of social support.

Implications for Future Research
 A larger sampling replication of this study.
 A longitudinal study to explore the early ADC
experiences of children, with a follow-up
study conducted later in the teen years and a
final inquiry during young adulthood.
 A study of the parental and peer support
group systems available to the individual
undergoing a psycho-spiritual transformation.
 A study to assess the significance of spirit
guides.

References
 American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative
Experiences. (n.d.). Program overview. Retrieved from
http://aciste.org/index.php/about-aciste/program-overview
 American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC:
American Psychiatric Association.
 Beischel, J. (2013). Advances in quantitative mediumship
research. In A. Rock (Ed.), The survival hypothesis: Essays on
mediumship (pp. 177-195). Jefferson, NC: McFarland &
Company.
 Beischel, J., Mosher, C., & Boccuzzi, M. (2014-2015). The
possible effects on bereavement of assisted after-death
communication during readings with psychic mediums: A
continuing bonds perspective. Omega: Journal of Death and
Dying,70(2), 169-194. doi:10.2190/OM.70.2.

References
 Bragdon, E. (2013). The call of spiritual emergency: From
personal crisis to personal transformation. San Francisco, CA:
Harper & Row.
 Gauld, A. (2012). Mediumship and survival: A century of
investigations. Retrieved
from http://www.amazon.com/Mediumship-Survival-century-
investigations-ebook/dp/B009LM7W86/
 Grof, C., & Grof, S. (1990). The stormy search for the self. New
York, NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Perigee.
 Grof, S. (1983). East and west: Ancient wisdom and modern
science. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 15, 13-36.

References
 Grof, S. (1985). Beyond the brain: Birth, death and transcendence
in psychotherapy. Albany, NY: State University of New York
Press.
 Grof, S. (2000). Psychology of the future: Lessons from modern
consciousness research. Albany, NY: State University of New
York Press.
 Grof, S., & Grof, C. (1989a). Introduction. In S. Grof & C. Grof
(Eds.), Spiritual emergency: When personal transformation
becomes a crisis (pp. x-xvii). Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher.
 Grof, S., & Grof, C. (1989b). Spiritual emergency: Understanding
evolutionary crisis. In S. Grof & C. Grof (Eds.), Spiritual
emergency: When personal transformation becomes a crisis (pp.
1-26). Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

References
 Guggenheim, B., & Guggenheim, J. (1996). Hello from heaven! A
new field of research—after-death communication—confirms that
life and love are eternal. New York, NY: Bantam.
 Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene.
(IGPP). (2007). Counseling and help for people with unusual
experiences at the outpatient clinic (Ambulanz) of the
psychological institute at the University of Freiburg. Retrieved
from http://www.igpp.de/english/counsel/project.htm
 Jeska, K. (2012). Parents and their children’s meaning-making
and understanding of after-death communication: An intuitive
inquiry (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3541838)
 Kason, Y. (2008) Farther shores: Exploring how near-death,
kundalini and mystical experiences can transform ordinary lives.
New York, NY: Author’s Choice.

References
 Krippner, S. (1994). Cross-cultural treatment perspectives on
dissociative disorders. In S. J. Lynn & J. W. Rhue (Eds.),
Dissociation: Clinical and theoretical perspectives (pp. 338-361).
New York, NY: Guilford.
 Lukoff, D., Lu, F., & Turner, R. (1998). From spiritual emergency
to spiritual problem: The transpersonal roots of the new DSM-IV
category. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 38(2), 21-50.
 Miles, M., & Huberman, M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
 Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

References
 Prevatt, J., & Park, R. (1989). The spiritual emergence network
(SEN). In S. Grof & C. Grof (Eds.) Spiritual emergency: When
personal transformation becomes a crisis (pp. 225-231). Los
Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher.
 Rock, A. J., Beischel, J., & Schwartz, G. E. (2008). Thematic
analysis of research mediums’ experiences of discarnate
communication. Journal of Scientific Exploration, 22(2), 179-192.
 Roxburgh, E. C., & Roe, C. A. (2011). A survey of dissociation,
boundary-thinness, and psychological wellbeing in spiritualist
mental mediumship. Journal of Parapsychology, 75(2), 279-299.
 Roxburgh, E. C., & Roe, C. A. (2013). “Say from whence you owe
this strange intelligence”: Investigating explanatory systems of
spiritualist mental mediumship using interpretative
phenomenological analysis. International Journal of
Transpersonal Studies, 32(1), 27-42.

References
 Roxburgh, E. C., & Roe, C. A. (2014). Reframing voices and
visions using a spiritual model. An interpretative phenomenological
analysis of anomalous experiences in mediumship. Mental Health,
Religion & Culture, 17, 641-653.
doi:10.1080/13674676.2014.894007
 Tart, C. (2009). The end of materialism: How evidence of the
paranormal is bringing science and spirit together. Oakland, CA:
New Harbinger.
 Turner, R. P., Lukoff, D., Barnhouse, R. T., & Lu, F. G. (1995).
Religious or spiritual problem: A culturally sensitive diagnostic
category in the DSM-IV. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease,
183, 435–444.

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Spiritual Transformation in Claimant Mediums / PA Presentation June 2016