Robert Ornstein, on Human Capacities, excerpt 1

from "An Extended Conception of Human Capacities", a lecture delivered in 1976 at an ISHK symposium in San Francisco. See http://ishkbooks.com/ishk_history_east_west_10.html

A description of the symposium from the ISHK:

PSYCHOLOGIES: EAST AND WEST

There is a growing realization that contemporary Western approaches to the mind leave fallow the capacities for a more comprehensive perception of ourselves. That we have left undeveloped an holistic consciousness has influenced our conception of our capacities, our approach to health and disease and our understanding of the nature of education.

Many people have sensed this lack and have turned their interest to the esoteric traditions of the East, often without understanding the bases and the relevance of many of these traditions. Although the interest itself may be genuine, many of the specific doctrines and practices are suited only to the static societies of the East, or are suited to an earlier historical era, and are not relevant to the needs of contemporary people.

We will attempt to peel away some of the local coloration and obsolete or inappropriate doctrine from these traditions. We will present both appropriate historical and sociological information as well as contemporary examples of formulations of Eastern spiritual thought suited to current problems in psychology, education and medicine.

This symposium will bring together speakers who represent Eastern spiritual traditions and those who have traveled extensively in the East, with psychologists concerned with the integration of these ideas into the Western context.

FACULTY

Peter Brent resides in England and has made several extensive visits to India, concentrating on the role of spirituality in general and of the guru in particular in the culture of India. He is the author of Godmen of India and Healers of India.

Robert Ornstein is a research psychologist at the Langley-Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California School of Medicine. He is the author of several books on psychology, the brain and the Eastern traditions, the best known of which is The Psychology of Consciousness. His most recent book is The Mind Field.

Idries Shah is the leading exponent of Sufism and of a contemporary approach to mysticism in the world today. He currently resides in England where he is Director of Studies at the Institute for Cultural Research, and has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and Africa relating traditional thought to the modern world. He is the author of seventeen books on Sufi thought and action, travel, magic and the use of literature in spiritual schools. His books are used in university departments throughout the world.

Charles T. Tart is an Associate Professor of Psychology University of California, Davis. He is a regular research contributor to a wide variety of fields, among them hypnosis, sleep and dreams, drug effects on consciousness, and the scientific study of "paranormal" phenomena. He is the editor of Altered States of Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychologies, and author of States of Consciousness.

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