What do you think?
Rate this book
When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Realities
Feelings of oneness with other people, nature, and the universe. Encounters with extraterrestrials, deities, and demons. Out-of-body experiences and past-life memories. Science casts a skeptical eye. But Dr. Stanislav Grof—the psychiatric researcher who cofounded transpersonal psychology—believes otherwise.When the Impossible Happens presents Dr. Grof 's mesmerizing firsthand account of over 50 years of inquiry into waters uncharted by classical psychology, one that will leave readers questioning the very fabric of our existence.From his first LSD session that gave him a glimpse of cosmic consciousness to his latest work with Holotropic Breathwork, When the Impossible Happens will amaze readers with vivid explorations of topics such of a Non-Local Universe—experiments in astral projectionPraying Mantis in Manhattan and other tales of synchronicityTrailing Clouds of Glory—remembering birth and prenatal life Dying and Beyond—survival of consciousness after deathWhen the Impossible Happens is an incredible opportunity to journey beyond ordinary consciousness, guaranteed to shake the foundations of what we assume to be reality, and sure to offer a new vision of our human potential.
402 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2006
88 people are currently reading
1466 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 19, 2011
This is a truly infuriating book – on the one side, there are some serious insights into the therapeutic value of non-rationalist interpretations of the human condition.
On the other, there is the worst sort of gullible and naive wide-eyed New Age nonsense. Patience started to be strained with the cultish adoration of an Indian guru near the beginning.
Patience threatened to run out completely by the time we got to the crystal skulls. This is a shame because what is good is very, very good.
I am glad that I stuck to my rule of finishing a book unless it is truly beyond redemption.
There was wisdom to be had in the final sections even if the book ended with the standard Californian eco-nonsense that Adam Curtis has recently and so effectively undermined in his recent BBC documentaries.
The book is a form of anecdotal biography by a significant figure in the Esalen circle.
Grof uses incidents in his life to ‘demonstrate’ that there are more things in heaven and hell than are dreamt of in our analytical and positivist philosophies.
The problem is that a serious investigation of anomalies is being discredited here by an over-enthusiastic acceptance of what people say and of what is perceived by the author to be true.
For example, the experience of universal consciousness is a widespread one but this merely means that there is widespread experience of a universal consciousness.
It does not mean that there is a universal consciousness at all! This elementary analytical truth gets thrown out with the bath water of positivism.
Grof cannot decide whether he lives in a land of faith - and faith in some pretty daft as well as reasonable things – or in the land of thought.
The latter is not necessarily a land of pure reason or analysis but it is a land of open attitudes to possibilities and of a critical view of the evidence.
He is desperately keen to prove his ideological position but this really comes down to a lazy liberal eco-hippy belief system.
He piles one incident on another without realising that some of the uncritically accepted absurdities are discrediting the very real anomalous phenomena that he identifies elsewhere.
This is why his self-indulgence makes me a little angry.
The self-indulgence of American New Agers creates the conditions for the majority to reject open inquiry on the basis of absurdities and so puts back real enquiry by decades.
Worse, the indulgence of nonsense by figures with undoubted expertise and talent results in a democracy of idiocy, culminating in a world of simplistic ecologism.
There is thus an inability to develop viable alternatives to our current busted system and populist rhetoric. Weak minds are not equal to strong minds and Grof’s tolerance goes too far.
And yet, when he gets off his high New Age high horse, he does have something important to say and no doubt has said these things better in more serious forums.
I am not necessarily persuaded by his interpretations of the perinatal effects on trauma but I do think it is a very fruitful line of inquiry.
While his ‘strong’ transpersonal position seems to be un-evidenced, a ‘weak’ version that takes account of instincts and non verbal signals as well as common unconscious reactions, strikes me as very plausible and worthy of more research.
Similarly, while I disagree profoundly that altered states represent a deeper reality (as opposed to a differently experienced reality), consciousness studies that involve exploration of altered states for therapeutic purposes strikes me as one of the most important research issues of our time.
I also profoundly agree that altered states and shifts of consciousness cannot be seen in analytical or positivist terms.
The role of irrationalism and of performance in permitting individuation is profound and is something that our still rigid social structures and forms have not taken full account of.
Secular rationalists loathe religion while political liberals position myth in the world of Eliade’s radical conservatism.
Yet, moments of madness, of faith and of loss of self in the all can take a person from sclerosis and anxiety into growth and life - and it is not for anyone to define the destiny of another.
Similarly, consciousness-altering drugs and religion as well as such tools as Second Life or ‘safe’ BDSM are almost certainly far more therapeutic than the endless and expensive process of the ‘talking cure’ for most people most of the time.
Alongside CBT as the distillation of behaviourism into decency in dealing pragmatically with acute issues, radical consciousness-altering interventions, such as those experimented with by Grof, strike me as the pathway to dealing with chronic conditions and psychic logjams.
Grof refers to these logjams as ‘spiritual emergencies’ (or we might call them existential crises) but the evidence is growing that, under the protection of those able to look out for the descent into madness or suicide, there are radical, experimental means of transforming one’s relationship to the world.
This repositions the clinician as half-way between scientist (where CBT and pharmaceutical intervention sits) and priest (who seeks to impose social demands on a private crisis).
The nearest analogy is the shaman who also mixes effective intervention with a degree of possibly self-delusion. We need to take the risk of allowing more people like Grof to experiment.
Perhaps there is a way between open acceptance of what individuals say they are and need (even as reincarnated Egyptian princesses) and a cool responsibility for helping those individuals move from one state to another.
Research must continue into the commonalties that Jung interpreted as the collective unconscious.
It is not that we have to accept either a species consciousness or some universal consciousness but that there is a phenomenon here that needs a plausible theory.
What we have to understand is what mechanisms make us believe in these things.
Instead of breeding them out as irrationalism within our species, we must ask how we can accept and come to terms with them as important facets of humanity, alongside psychopathic personalities, radical rationalism and autism.
The outcome of such a programme of research – in which Governments and corporations must have minimal say – should be a population in which persons were no longer required to be rational but could choose the expression of their own inner nature and needs.
The risk, of course, is that individuating loons would take over mighty warrior States and empires and drive them into new structural irrationalities.
These might end up causing serious damage to the human species. The idea of eco-warriors in charge of drones and the US Navy should scare us shitless.
We are already suffering from the idiocy of liberals who think that the military-industrial complex is a toy to be used to restructure the lives of tens of millions of people, along lines developed from their armchairs.
Giving such a toy to New Age eco-populists would be a very, very dumb idea.
Our current structures, as a result, seem designed to impose a cold, detached and deeply anxious elite control over a population that is resentful.
Yet some of us may accept the truth (exemplified by the Nazi experiment) that manipulative control by the relatively benign may be preferable to populist lunacy.
Grof worries me because his book is an unintended argument for continued elite control by the back door.
I would be really scared if nutters who believed in crystal skulls and the existential reality of Gaia and universal consciousness seized control of the massively powerful state systems we have developed.
And yet I would argue against Grof only in order to save his real insights. I suspect Grof is a child of his personal reaction against living under Soviet control until his twenties
Decentralisation of power and a new respect for individuation strategies have a place for irrationalism, altered states of consciousness, madness in the community, deviance, transgression and spiritual crises.
What we need is a structure that recreates society as a network of safe spaces for individuation that is still run rationally and pragmatically by the most qualified to do so.
So, sadly, this is not an important book and yet it bears reading.
Some of the case studies are plausible accounts of the distressed mind that do move beyond materialist interpretations based on the five observable senses.
Things are going on within and between brains that require open minds to investigate further. Transpersonal psychology must be taken seriously as part of that investigation.
Grof’s account of his dealings with Carl Sagan (if reported fairly) shows the degree to which scientific materialism can degenerate into a religion of its own.
It was at this point that I saw that Grof was still capable of thinking like a scientist should think, questioning everything where Sagan could not.
Grof also refers to spiritual intelligence. I think he is on to something here but not what he thinks he is on to. He is taking universal consciousness at face value.
Then he extrapolates anomalous experiences outwards, taking the symptoms (including the world religions) to imply a cause.
What he may really be looking at is brain functioning within a holistic system that includes perceptual capabilities operating at rates far faster than the mind can usually cope with.
Intense physical responsiveness to the environment need not be conscious and internal mental self-organising principles can re-order perception into total realities that appear as real as social reality.
It is perfectly possible for the mind to re-craft reality outside the social.
From there, the error is made by Grof that the construction of individual reality in opposition to social reality MUST be universal simply because it is total.
It is equally (I believe, more) likely that the human mind can totalise reality for itself under certain conditions.
Furthermore, this totalising of perception into a plausible reality includes a belief in its truth that is in-built into the species’ brain as a potentiality.
Brain chemistry can kick start such total perception. It may even be able to link with other minds to do so in certain circumstances.
I would also concede the possibility (no more) that minds, operating at a level of physics beyond our current understanding, might connect with minds in the past or the future (though this is surmise).
The assumption that there is a universal consciousness into which minds tap is simply a bridge too far. The case of synchronicity which plays a major role in the book is a case in point.
‘Official’ science simply refuses to take it seriously as a phenomenon and yet it is demonstrable in many people’s lives and, furthermore, tends to happen at certain key points of receptiveness.
Grof is persuasive that it exists – Jung was equally fascinated by it.
However, Grof leaps to massive universal consciousness conclusions without considering more material explanations.
These would be based on the ability of human minds to process and order more data than we currently think it can and on the operation of unconscious willing and management of perception and action.
Telepathy, OBEs, astral projection, precognition, clairvoyance, psychometry, psychokinesis and even survival of consciousness after death are not to be dismissed.
They can all be conceived of within monist materialist terms if we reasonably see the phenomena as linked to unknown physics without bringing in God or some ordering consciousness.
To be blunt, we can have evolved what Grof has called ‘spiritual intelligence’ as might creatures on other planets.
Such evolution might reach proportions of which we can currently know nothing (as implied in trans-human thought) but there is no justification whatsoever for claiming that this ‘essence’ preceded our existence.
Existentialism and monist materialism thus remain secure even amidst acceptance of anomalies and even if what we include within monist materialism is expanded to include phenomena that are beyond the understanding of the plodding materialist of today.
Grof has to decide whether he is a scientist (in which case there is nothing anomalous that is forbidden to him for study) or a religious thinker (in which case he inhabits an entirely unproven community of belief).
This book demonstrates that he has let his science become infected by belief.
In doing so, he has unthinkingly placed the scientific study of anomalous phenomena and the experimental altered states approach to therapy at threat from mindless materialist reactionaries.
On the other, there is the worst sort of gullible and naive wide-eyed New Age nonsense. Patience started to be strained with the cultish adoration of an Indian guru near the beginning.
Patience threatened to run out completely by the time we got to the crystal skulls. This is a shame because what is good is very, very good.
I am glad that I stuck to my rule of finishing a book unless it is truly beyond redemption.
There was wisdom to be had in the final sections even if the book ended with the standard Californian eco-nonsense that Adam Curtis has recently and so effectively undermined in his recent BBC documentaries.
The book is a form of anecdotal biography by a significant figure in the Esalen circle.
Grof uses incidents in his life to ‘demonstrate’ that there are more things in heaven and hell than are dreamt of in our analytical and positivist philosophies.
The problem is that a serious investigation of anomalies is being discredited here by an over-enthusiastic acceptance of what people say and of what is perceived by the author to be true.
For example, the experience of universal consciousness is a widespread one but this merely means that there is widespread experience of a universal consciousness.
It does not mean that there is a universal consciousness at all! This elementary analytical truth gets thrown out with the bath water of positivism.
Grof cannot decide whether he lives in a land of faith - and faith in some pretty daft as well as reasonable things – or in the land of thought.
The latter is not necessarily a land of pure reason or analysis but it is a land of open attitudes to possibilities and of a critical view of the evidence.
He is desperately keen to prove his ideological position but this really comes down to a lazy liberal eco-hippy belief system.
He piles one incident on another without realising that some of the uncritically accepted absurdities are discrediting the very real anomalous phenomena that he identifies elsewhere.
This is why his self-indulgence makes me a little angry.
The self-indulgence of American New Agers creates the conditions for the majority to reject open inquiry on the basis of absurdities and so puts back real enquiry by decades.
Worse, the indulgence of nonsense by figures with undoubted expertise and talent results in a democracy of idiocy, culminating in a world of simplistic ecologism.
There is thus an inability to develop viable alternatives to our current busted system and populist rhetoric. Weak minds are not equal to strong minds and Grof’s tolerance goes too far.
And yet, when he gets off his high New Age high horse, he does have something important to say and no doubt has said these things better in more serious forums.
I am not necessarily persuaded by his interpretations of the perinatal effects on trauma but I do think it is a very fruitful line of inquiry.
While his ‘strong’ transpersonal position seems to be un-evidenced, a ‘weak’ version that takes account of instincts and non verbal signals as well as common unconscious reactions, strikes me as very plausible and worthy of more research.
Similarly, while I disagree profoundly that altered states represent a deeper reality (as opposed to a differently experienced reality), consciousness studies that involve exploration of altered states for therapeutic purposes strikes me as one of the most important research issues of our time.
I also profoundly agree that altered states and shifts of consciousness cannot be seen in analytical or positivist terms.
The role of irrationalism and of performance in permitting individuation is profound and is something that our still rigid social structures and forms have not taken full account of.
Secular rationalists loathe religion while political liberals position myth in the world of Eliade’s radical conservatism.
Yet, moments of madness, of faith and of loss of self in the all can take a person from sclerosis and anxiety into growth and life - and it is not for anyone to define the destiny of another.
Similarly, consciousness-altering drugs and religion as well as such tools as Second Life or ‘safe’ BDSM are almost certainly far more therapeutic than the endless and expensive process of the ‘talking cure’ for most people most of the time.
Alongside CBT as the distillation of behaviourism into decency in dealing pragmatically with acute issues, radical consciousness-altering interventions, such as those experimented with by Grof, strike me as the pathway to dealing with chronic conditions and psychic logjams.
Grof refers to these logjams as ‘spiritual emergencies’ (or we might call them existential crises) but the evidence is growing that, under the protection of those able to look out for the descent into madness or suicide, there are radical, experimental means of transforming one’s relationship to the world.
This repositions the clinician as half-way between scientist (where CBT and pharmaceutical intervention sits) and priest (who seeks to impose social demands on a private crisis).
The nearest analogy is the shaman who also mixes effective intervention with a degree of possibly self-delusion. We need to take the risk of allowing more people like Grof to experiment.
Perhaps there is a way between open acceptance of what individuals say they are and need (even as reincarnated Egyptian princesses) and a cool responsibility for helping those individuals move from one state to another.
Research must continue into the commonalties that Jung interpreted as the collective unconscious.
It is not that we have to accept either a species consciousness or some universal consciousness but that there is a phenomenon here that needs a plausible theory.
What we have to understand is what mechanisms make us believe in these things.
Instead of breeding them out as irrationalism within our species, we must ask how we can accept and come to terms with them as important facets of humanity, alongside psychopathic personalities, radical rationalism and autism.
The outcome of such a programme of research – in which Governments and corporations must have minimal say – should be a population in which persons were no longer required to be rational but could choose the expression of their own inner nature and needs.
The risk, of course, is that individuating loons would take over mighty warrior States and empires and drive them into new structural irrationalities.
These might end up causing serious damage to the human species. The idea of eco-warriors in charge of drones and the US Navy should scare us shitless.
We are already suffering from the idiocy of liberals who think that the military-industrial complex is a toy to be used to restructure the lives of tens of millions of people, along lines developed from their armchairs.
Giving such a toy to New Age eco-populists would be a very, very dumb idea.
Our current structures, as a result, seem designed to impose a cold, detached and deeply anxious elite control over a population that is resentful.
Yet some of us may accept the truth (exemplified by the Nazi experiment) that manipulative control by the relatively benign may be preferable to populist lunacy.
Grof worries me because his book is an unintended argument for continued elite control by the back door.
I would be really scared if nutters who believed in crystal skulls and the existential reality of Gaia and universal consciousness seized control of the massively powerful state systems we have developed.
And yet I would argue against Grof only in order to save his real insights. I suspect Grof is a child of his personal reaction against living under Soviet control until his twenties
Decentralisation of power and a new respect for individuation strategies have a place for irrationalism, altered states of consciousness, madness in the community, deviance, transgression and spiritual crises.
What we need is a structure that recreates society as a network of safe spaces for individuation that is still run rationally and pragmatically by the most qualified to do so.
So, sadly, this is not an important book and yet it bears reading.
Some of the case studies are plausible accounts of the distressed mind that do move beyond materialist interpretations based on the five observable senses.
Things are going on within and between brains that require open minds to investigate further. Transpersonal psychology must be taken seriously as part of that investigation.
Grof’s account of his dealings with Carl Sagan (if reported fairly) shows the degree to which scientific materialism can degenerate into a religion of its own.
It was at this point that I saw that Grof was still capable of thinking like a scientist should think, questioning everything where Sagan could not.
Grof also refers to spiritual intelligence. I think he is on to something here but not what he thinks he is on to. He is taking universal consciousness at face value.
Then he extrapolates anomalous experiences outwards, taking the symptoms (including the world religions) to imply a cause.
What he may really be looking at is brain functioning within a holistic system that includes perceptual capabilities operating at rates far faster than the mind can usually cope with.
Intense physical responsiveness to the environment need not be conscious and internal mental self-organising principles can re-order perception into total realities that appear as real as social reality.
It is perfectly possible for the mind to re-craft reality outside the social.
From there, the error is made by Grof that the construction of individual reality in opposition to social reality MUST be universal simply because it is total.
It is equally (I believe, more) likely that the human mind can totalise reality for itself under certain conditions.
Furthermore, this totalising of perception into a plausible reality includes a belief in its truth that is in-built into the species’ brain as a potentiality.
Brain chemistry can kick start such total perception. It may even be able to link with other minds to do so in certain circumstances.
I would also concede the possibility (no more) that minds, operating at a level of physics beyond our current understanding, might connect with minds in the past or the future (though this is surmise).
The assumption that there is a universal consciousness into which minds tap is simply a bridge too far. The case of synchronicity which plays a major role in the book is a case in point.
‘Official’ science simply refuses to take it seriously as a phenomenon and yet it is demonstrable in many people’s lives and, furthermore, tends to happen at certain key points of receptiveness.
Grof is persuasive that it exists – Jung was equally fascinated by it.
However, Grof leaps to massive universal consciousness conclusions without considering more material explanations.
These would be based on the ability of human minds to process and order more data than we currently think it can and on the operation of unconscious willing and management of perception and action.
Telepathy, OBEs, astral projection, precognition, clairvoyance, psychometry, psychokinesis and even survival of consciousness after death are not to be dismissed.
They can all be conceived of within monist materialist terms if we reasonably see the phenomena as linked to unknown physics without bringing in God or some ordering consciousness.
To be blunt, we can have evolved what Grof has called ‘spiritual intelligence’ as might creatures on other planets.
Such evolution might reach proportions of which we can currently know nothing (as implied in trans-human thought) but there is no justification whatsoever for claiming that this ‘essence’ preceded our existence.
Existentialism and monist materialism thus remain secure even amidst acceptance of anomalies and even if what we include within monist materialism is expanded to include phenomena that are beyond the understanding of the plodding materialist of today.
Grof has to decide whether he is a scientist (in which case there is nothing anomalous that is forbidden to him for study) or a religious thinker (in which case he inhabits an entirely unproven community of belief).
This book demonstrates that he has let his science become infected by belief.
In doing so, he has unthinkingly placed the scientific study of anomalous phenomena and the experimental altered states approach to therapy at threat from mindless materialist reactionaries.
July 17, 2016
A series of short accounts of events that happened to Grof and/or his patients and friends that point to there being more to consciousness and the universe than materialistic scientism can explain. This is not an analytical book, but one that tries to open minds by presenting a variety of unusual human experiences. While I prefer his early, more academic books, I was glad to read this - I respect Grof's integrity as a scientific investigator and his willingness to leave phenomena unexplained, even when I don't always agree with all the conclusions he does draw.
April 19, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, but one must in my view and in order to get the most out of it, suspend judgement and step outside societal conventions. If you start judging, oh he/she should not have done that, or I don't agree with that, you will miss out on the best the book has to offer. IMHO, that is!
June 16, 2012
For fans of Stanislav Grof this is a very interesting collection of personal experiences, drawing on the author's long carreer in psychiatry, psychology and study of altered states of consciousness and the influence of psychedelic drugs on the mind. Much easier to read than most of Grof's more scientific books, although his later works are much more accessible than his earlier. Expect stories about projections from the collective unconscious, synchronicities, psychological breakthroughs and experiences with alternate realities.
July 13, 2011
So maybe this guy takes drugs and there are lots of other judgmental comments I could make about this book but who am i in The Grand Scheme of Things? Bottom line is i like Stan Grof... I like his outlook, I like his writing, and I like him...
December 7, 2015
Though this book was not what I was expecting (I thought it was about paranormal experiences, in general), I found it difficult to put down, although it took 3 days for me to read it all.
Grof explains his theories and observations about non-ordinary states of consciousness, with many personal experiences, and his experiences with research. Much of this book focuses on what he learned as a psychologist treating patients with psychedelics (LSD and other drugs). It is all quite fascinating and makes for an enthralling read.
While I won't go into great detail and spoil it for anyone, I will say, that as a student of the paranormal, and Fortean phenomena in general, this book makes a good addition to my bookshelf as Grof's observations about consciousness and reality tie in well with what I've been reading in other books.
Grof explains his theories and observations about non-ordinary states of consciousness, with many personal experiences, and his experiences with research. Much of this book focuses on what he learned as a psychologist treating patients with psychedelics (LSD and other drugs). It is all quite fascinating and makes for an enthralling read.
While I won't go into great detail and spoil it for anyone, I will say, that as a student of the paranormal, and Fortean phenomena in general, this book makes a good addition to my bookshelf as Grof's observations about consciousness and reality tie in well with what I've been reading in other books.
May 25, 2021
Направо съм изумен, как е възможно такава тотална безкритичност от страна на дипломирания психиатър Станислав Гроф!
Въобще не се изненадах, че е отделил специално място в "книгата" си (в края, колко удобно), където споделя своето разочарование от Карл Сейгън, защото си е позволил да подложи на съмнение изложенията му. Леко е нагъл, описва този опит като провал, като за пореден път си служи с "доказателства" извън разисквания казус. Всичко се оказва чиста лъжа. Колега на Карл Сейгън от Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committ...), споделя в печатното издание Fate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate_(m...) с профил на нашето "списание 8", че не били подходили коректно с данните по случая "Mars effect", в който се разобличава популярен френски астролог. Оказва се, че самият астролог е манипулирал данните, освен това веднага е имало отговор от CSICOP, но ... не са им дали това право ..., защо ли ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_ef...
Очаквах поне малко зрънце критичност, малко резерви - онази необходима дистанция, чрез която да покажеш и различната гледна точка, или правото на различни научни аргументи! Нищо! Дори на няколко места беше употребил израза "вярвам" по отношение на съмнителни случаи, меко казано. Пълно беше с очевидни противоречия в изложенията му. На няколко места щях да зарежа "книгата". Всъщност въпросната "книга" е сбор от "любопитни" паранормални случаи, голяма част от които в стил "една жена каза" и такива от жълтата преса, останалите бяха от неговата "професионална практика". Всичко лъхаше на автореклама на неговата фондация и дружество за "трансперсонална терапия". Описанията на екпериментите с психотропни в-ва бяха буквално в махленски стил, макар да вмъкваше по някой "нАучен" термин за разкош. Толкова много "фалшиви новини" на едно място не бях срещал. Разбира се, не беше подминат и феноменът "кристалният череп", приписван на маите. За който впрочем се знае, че изработен с бижутерски инструменти. Освен това "кристални черепи от предколумбовата епоха" са били хит на търговци спекуланти, има достатъчно информация в интернет. Уникален момент беше историята на клиентка, която говори за майка си, как като раждала и докторите по време на контракциите ѝ казали да си кръстоса краката и да ги почака да си изядат сандвичите ... Ко?! Та отишли да си ядат сандвичите ..., а майката си ги държала краката кръстосани ... И това Стан Гроф приема за истина ..., явно не е чувал що е то "маточни контракции"! Жалко, че по този начин се дискредитира научния подход спрямо приложението на психотропните вещества в психиатрията.
Постоянно се говореше за пари, за семинари, лекции, участия в ток шоута ... С една дума - ужасно! Оставаш с впечатлението, че има достатъчно психиатри-спекуланти, които се надцакват с егото си, опитвайки се всеки да наложи своя "уникален" подход. Стан Гроф постоянно злоупотребяваше с проучванията на К.Г.Юнг, "синхроничностите" описвани в книгата много напомняха на начина, по който циганка гадае и "открива невероятни свръхестествени съвпадения".
Въобще не се изненадах, че е отделил специално място в "книгата" си (в края, колко удобно), където споделя своето разочарование от Карл Сейгън, защото си е позволил да подложи на съмнение изложенията му. Леко е нагъл, описва този опит като провал, като за пореден път си служи с "доказателства" извън разисквания казус. Всичко се оказва чиста лъжа. Колега на Карл Сейгън от Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committ...), споделя в печатното издание Fate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate_(m...) с профил на нашето "списание 8", че не били подходили коректно с данните по случая "Mars effect", в който се разобличава популярен френски астролог. Оказва се, че самият астролог е манипулирал данните, освен това веднага е имало отговор от CSICOP, но ... не са им дали това право ..., защо ли ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_ef...
Очаквах поне малко зрънце критичност, малко резерви - онази необходима дистанция, чрез която да покажеш и различната гледна точка, или правото на различни научни аргументи! Нищо! Дори на няколко места беше употребил израза "вярвам" по отношение на съмнителни случаи, меко казано. Пълно беше с очевидни противоречия в изложенията му. На няколко места щях да зарежа "книгата". Всъщност въпросната "книга" е сбор от "любопитни" паранормални случаи, голяма част от които в стил "една жена каза" и такива от жълтата преса, останалите бяха от неговата "професионална практика". Всичко лъхаше на автореклама на неговата фондация и дружество за "трансперсонална терапия". Описанията на екпериментите с психотропни в-ва бяха буквално в махленски стил, макар да вмъкваше по някой "нАучен" термин за разкош. Толкова много "фалшиви новини" на едно място не бях срещал. Разбира се, не беше подминат и феноменът "кристалният череп", приписван на маите. За който впрочем се знае, че изработен с бижутерски инструменти. Освен това "кристални черепи от предколумбовата епоха" са били хит на търговци спекуланти, има достатъчно информация в интернет. Уникален момент беше историята на клиентка, която говори за майка си, как като раждала и докторите по време на контракциите ѝ казали да си кръстоса краката и да ги почака да си изядат сандвичите ... Ко?! Та отишли да си ядат сандвичите ..., а майката си ги държала краката кръстосани ... И това Стан Гроф приема за истина ..., явно не е чувал що е то "маточни контракции"! Жалко, че по този начин се дискредитира научния подход спрямо приложението на психотропните вещества в психиатрията.
Постоянно се говореше за пари, за семинари, лекции, участия в ток шоута ... С една дума - ужасно! Оставаш с впечатлението, че има достатъчно психиатри-спекуланти, които се надцакват с егото си, опитвайки се всеки да наложи своя "уникален" подход. Стан Гроф постоянно злоупотребяваше с проучванията на К.Г.Юнг, "синхроничностите" описвани в книгата много напомняха на начина, по който циганка гадае и "открива невероятни свръхестествени съвпадения".
December 4, 2022
Stan Grof is among the earliest pioneers of psychedelic psychotherapy. He is over 90 years old so our time with him is limited. "When the Impossible Happens" is a collection of his experiences over the years working with patients using LSD therapy, having his own experiences with psychedelics and working with a unique collection of spiritually minded individuals at Esalen, in California, and other places around the world. Grof has selected experiences that shifted his own view of what consciousness is and how it operates, revealing some properties of consciousness that our modern world does not accept. He has chosen experiences that include a degree of verifiability, which are often hard to come by, and make the stories more provocative and sometimes difficult to refute. These stories include examples of synchronicities (meaningful coincidences), parapsychology, near death experience, reliving birth or intrauterine experience, communication with the deceased and intergenerational and past life experience. There are stories of immersion in the myth like narratives of other cultures, encounters with the archetypal, the extraterrestrial and the demonic. This is a very courageous publication for someone who considers himself a man of science, and this is likely why he waited until he was in his 70s to publish these stories. Grof is a pioneer in the world of psychedelics and consciousness studies. Consciousness is something we only imagine that we understand, the potential for changes in paradigm are substantial. Grof's experiences as an explorer of this realm are very entertaining, often astounding and will almost certainly stretch your worldview to its breaking point somewhere along the way. Grof is not a crackpot, however, he remains a lucid and reliable elder, who is very much trusted among those engaging in some of the most reliable science being done in the field to this day.
March 12, 2013
Wasn't the greatest book and the author really is proud of his holotropic breath work technique for him to keep name dropping it throughout.
It's written from a restrained, academic perspective but I can't help but feel the restraint comes from not wanting to be thought of as a loon and the academic part seems a little too self-congratulatory to give credit towards.
A lot of the material in this comes from anecdotes which often come from other people which often comes into question once you realize how unsubstantial the premises in this book ends up being.
Just because there's a couple letters added to your name does not mean it garners instant credibility when little evidence supports your assertions.
It's written from a restrained, academic perspective but I can't help but feel the restraint comes from not wanting to be thought of as a loon and the academic part seems a little too self-congratulatory to give credit towards.
A lot of the material in this comes from anecdotes which often come from other people which often comes into question once you realize how unsubstantial the premises in this book ends up being.
Just because there's a couple letters added to your name does not mean it garners instant credibility when little evidence supports your assertions.
August 18, 2021
This collection of stories and personal experiences of Dr Grof had a strong eye-opening (or maybe mind-opening would be a better way to phrase it) effect on me.
It gave me hope that this materialistic world-view the traditional science force us to believe in, might not be all that accurate and everything-explaining. It gave me hope that our world and our miraculous human minds might still hold some secrets that we haven't explained yet.
It didn't make me believe unconditionally in astrology, past lives and paranormal activies, but that was not the point anyway. The point was to make your mind more open to new theories and possibilities... and it certainly did accomplish its task in my case.
I leave this book with a firm belief that walking with my mind and eyes open, without judging and making opinions right away, is the way I should wander through this world.
It gave me hope that this materialistic world-view the traditional science force us to believe in, might not be all that accurate and everything-explaining. It gave me hope that our world and our miraculous human minds might still hold some secrets that we haven't explained yet.
It didn't make me believe unconditionally in astrology, past lives and paranormal activies, but that was not the point anyway. The point was to make your mind more open to new theories and possibilities... and it certainly did accomplish its task in my case.
I leave this book with a firm belief that walking with my mind and eyes open, without judging and making opinions right away, is the way I should wander through this world.
January 6, 2017
I believed only 50% of what came in this book and the rest my mind rejected it. Using hallucination drugs such as LSD in psychological treatment mixes reality with illusion and mythology. The fact that this drug can take a person to experience his birth again is plausible given the huge cited cases and can be attributed to our DNA memory. However, my mind just rejected the idea of experiencing past lives from pharos times or roman era. This is simply hallucination produced by recorded events seen by the eye in TV or any other medium and were stored in the subconscious mind ( this is my opinion backed by rationality).
The Author cites many stories from his own personal life showing strange events from different dimension than our material world we live in. Some of the stories are believable and other are not. In some part, you feel you are reading about a guy who got himself involved with magicians and swindlers and converted their false work to science.
If you read this book, you will get out from it with one point. The world we live in is just one realization , the existence of other worlds hidden from our eyes is a fact which is rejected by many traditional scientist.
The book is interesting and worth the time spent on it.
The Author cites many stories from his own personal life showing strange events from different dimension than our material world we live in. Some of the stories are believable and other are not. In some part, you feel you are reading about a guy who got himself involved with magicians and swindlers and converted their false work to science.
If you read this book, you will get out from it with one point. The world we live in is just one realization , the existence of other worlds hidden from our eyes is a fact which is rejected by many traditional scientist.
The book is interesting and worth the time spent on it.
August 5, 2011
I read this at a time in my life when I needed great big bowls of fruit loopy "out there." While this book does cover "out there" events and subjects, I found Grof's uncritical acceptance of them off-putting.
July 1, 2013
"It seems reasonable to infer that if consciousness can function independently of the body when we are alive, it could be able to do the same after death."
"There would be no hope for the world if we all continued to carry in us hatred for the deeds committed by our ancestors."
"There would be no hope for the world if we all continued to carry in us hatred for the deeds committed by our ancestors."
February 3, 2010
"make the unconscious conscious"... nuff said!
April 8, 2011
we loved this book, being of Czechoslovakia background on mom's side, really made this one special, bob is reading this one over and loves this Dr.'s methodology.
February 16, 2025
non mi è sempre facile sospendere il giudizio logico-scientifico, ma, quando lo sospendo, quanto sono affascinanti e interessanti queste storie! quanta fiducia mi danno.
March 4, 2023
This book was a trip I thoroughly enjoyed. Yes, it deals with psychedelic experiences, so a trip it was - in more ways than one.
You know how sometimes you meet a person who seems to have been through a lot and wish you could pick their brain to gain some insight about life in general? If you're into post-materialism, spirituality, altered states of consciousness (Mr. Grof preferes the term "non-ordinary") and related phenomena - anomalies that do not neatly fit our present understanding of reality - this book is for you. Each one of the stories held within flies in the face of the taboos of our society, paradigm and ontological worldview.
What makes "When the Impossible Happens" even more appealing is Mr. Grof's status as a foundational figure in the scientific investigation of behaviors and phenomena that cannot be phenomenologically accepted, let alone explained, by mainstream science. But this man's experience and prolific work make one trust that "he's not making it up," as Mr. Sagan would have it (and there went my respect for him). This quote is from a debate the two men of science had about these topics and is illustrative of what you can expect to find here.
How Grof introduced LSD to the Soviet Union, the true story of the film Brainstorm, Swami Muktananda, Sai Baba and their life are only some of the stories that stood out to me.
Even fields like astrology (look up Starbaby) have taken on a new light in my eyes after reading Mr. Grof's stories and reports. True paradigm-breaking stuff that should make any truly open, inquisitive mind wonder- and wander.
The mysteries of the Universe are truly deep and invisible to us, with our big science and materialist positivity. But positivism is not our innate modus operandi. I'd much rather challenge myself with inhabiting a world where these mysteries are our heritage and environment than try to explain the unexplainable using bogus methodologies that border on the quaint.
For if you take the much-revered Occam's Razor and use it to make sense of what's described and retold in this book, what would the Razor shave off? After this mountain of anecdotal evidence, which hypothesis is it that requires the fewest assumptions - materialism or post-materialism?
I, for one, welcome our new holotropic consciousness. And as a person who has taken a small peek beyond the Veil, this book is a true treasure. Thank you.
If you're reading this review and you haven't already, I would implore you to try holotropic breathwork and then realize that Mr. Grof and his wife practically founded that technique. Truly fascinating.
You know how sometimes you meet a person who seems to have been through a lot and wish you could pick their brain to gain some insight about life in general? If you're into post-materialism, spirituality, altered states of consciousness (Mr. Grof preferes the term "non-ordinary") and related phenomena - anomalies that do not neatly fit our present understanding of reality - this book is for you. Each one of the stories held within flies in the face of the taboos of our society, paradigm and ontological worldview.
What makes "When the Impossible Happens" even more appealing is Mr. Grof's status as a foundational figure in the scientific investigation of behaviors and phenomena that cannot be phenomenologically accepted, let alone explained, by mainstream science. But this man's experience and prolific work make one trust that "he's not making it up," as Mr. Sagan would have it (and there went my respect for him). This quote is from a debate the two men of science had about these topics and is illustrative of what you can expect to find here.
How Grof introduced LSD to the Soviet Union, the true story of the film Brainstorm, Swami Muktananda, Sai Baba and their life are only some of the stories that stood out to me.
Even fields like astrology (look up Starbaby) have taken on a new light in my eyes after reading Mr. Grof's stories and reports. True paradigm-breaking stuff that should make any truly open, inquisitive mind wonder- and wander.
The mysteries of the Universe are truly deep and invisible to us, with our big science and materialist positivity. But positivism is not our innate modus operandi. I'd much rather challenge myself with inhabiting a world where these mysteries are our heritage and environment than try to explain the unexplainable using bogus methodologies that border on the quaint.
For if you take the much-revered Occam's Razor and use it to make sense of what's described and retold in this book, what would the Razor shave off? After this mountain of anecdotal evidence, which hypothesis is it that requires the fewest assumptions - materialism or post-materialism?
I, for one, welcome our new holotropic consciousness. And as a person who has taken a small peek beyond the Veil, this book is a true treasure. Thank you.
If you're reading this review and you haven't already, I would implore you to try holotropic breathwork and then realize that Mr. Grof and his wife practically founded that technique. Truly fascinating.
August 11, 2024
Ooof... This was a terrible book and it made me angry.
In it Grof spews large quantities of bonkers New Age non-sense, desperately trying to imply that it is somehow scientifically valid and real, while equally desperately avoiding to engage in any scientific reasoning or critical thinking.
If that was the only problem with the book I would have given it 2 stars and assigned it to the wacky early history of psychedelics.
But what truly makes this book terrible is Grof's adulation of Swami Muktananada. This is an Indian guru who has been accused of raping his under-aged devotees. In the book Grof briefly mentions this and says: "We have dissociated ourselves from the movement and its politics, but remain connected to the Siddha movement on another level." That level is one of absolute worship and throughout the book he refers to the guru as a divine messenger, ultimate healer, etc. Has he for a minute stopped to consider, how might the young women that Muktananada raped feel to read such praise of their rapist? I guess not, too busy hanging out in other realities... I found it really vile and disgusting.
And the other thing that was appalling, was the staggering amount of cultural appropriation. Grof really thinks that through taking drugs he truly and completely understands literally every single culture on planet with levels of confidence that I think only an old white male can possess. For example, he goes to Australia, takes LSD before climbing Uluru, then gets upset about about another white woman climbing Uluru, because according to Aboriginal Australian beliefs no-one should be climbing Uluru. Of course, Grof himself is permitted, because via LSD he received a permission... And what happened about respecting the wants of Aboriginal Australians?
In it Grof spews large quantities of bonkers New Age non-sense, desperately trying to imply that it is somehow scientifically valid and real, while equally desperately avoiding to engage in any scientific reasoning or critical thinking.
If that was the only problem with the book I would have given it 2 stars and assigned it to the wacky early history of psychedelics.
But what truly makes this book terrible is Grof's adulation of Swami Muktananada. This is an Indian guru who has been accused of raping his under-aged devotees. In the book Grof briefly mentions this and says: "We have dissociated ourselves from the movement and its politics, but remain connected to the Siddha movement on another level." That level is one of absolute worship and throughout the book he refers to the guru as a divine messenger, ultimate healer, etc. Has he for a minute stopped to consider, how might the young women that Muktananada raped feel to read such praise of their rapist? I guess not, too busy hanging out in other realities... I found it really vile and disgusting.
And the other thing that was appalling, was the staggering amount of cultural appropriation. Grof really thinks that through taking drugs he truly and completely understands literally every single culture on planet with levels of confidence that I think only an old white male can possess. For example, he goes to Australia, takes LSD before climbing Uluru, then gets upset about about another white woman climbing Uluru, because according to Aboriginal Australian beliefs no-one should be climbing Uluru. Of course, Grof himself is permitted, because via LSD he received a permission... And what happened about respecting the wants of Aboriginal Australians?
October 21, 2020
Põnev raamat, väga loetavalt kirjutatud, üldse mitte kuivalt akadeemiline. Avaldab palju rohkem muljet, kui teisenenud teadvusseisunditest ning tavateadvusega hoomamatust räägib maailmas tunnustatud teadlane, mitte eksalteeritud esoteerik või newage'lane. Ehkki kindlasti võib mõjuda vastuolulisena, et oma teadmised on ta saanud sisuliselt narkootikume kasutades, kas siis LSD-d või looduslikke preparaate. Samas on see ju loodusrahvaste iidne praktika (v.a muidugi sünteetiline hape). Paraku ei suuda tavainimene teistmoodi teisenenud teadvusseisundeid saavutada.
Nõustusin vist pea kõikide Grofi seisukohtadega, jagades tema raevukat protesti materialistliku teaduse kivistunud arvamuste ja kitsamalt iganenud psühhoteraapia kitsarinnalisuse ja piiratuse suhtes.
Grofi elu on olnud äärmiselt rikas ja kogemusterohke- see saab osaks väga vähestele. Tekitas täitsa kadedust, miks mõni inimene saab nii paljut kogeda ja teised jälle mitte midagi müstilist või viie meele tajualast väljapoole jäävat.
Paljuski oli see raamat väga isiklik, võiks arvata, et sellise informatsiooniga avalikkuse ette tulemine nõuab teadlaselt suurt julgust, samas ei ole tal muidugi akadeemilistes ringkondades enam midagi kaotada- maskid on ammu langenud. Raamatut võib võtta kui omamoodi missiooni- isiklike kogemuste kaudu selgitustöö tegemist ning lugejate silmaringi avardamist.
Nõustusin vist pea kõikide Grofi seisukohtadega, jagades tema raevukat protesti materialistliku teaduse kivistunud arvamuste ja kitsamalt iganenud psühhoteraapia kitsarinnalisuse ja piiratuse suhtes.
Grofi elu on olnud äärmiselt rikas ja kogemusterohke- see saab osaks väga vähestele. Tekitas täitsa kadedust, miks mõni inimene saab nii paljut kogeda ja teised jälle mitte midagi müstilist või viie meele tajualast väljapoole jäävat.
Paljuski oli see raamat väga isiklik, võiks arvata, et sellise informatsiooniga avalikkuse ette tulemine nõuab teadlaselt suurt julgust, samas ei ole tal muidugi akadeemilistes ringkondades enam midagi kaotada- maskid on ammu langenud. Raamatut võib võtta kui omamoodi missiooni- isiklike kogemuste kaudu selgitustöö tegemist ning lugejate silmaringi avardamist.
August 16, 2023
I’ll shoot you straight, I read this book at the pace of a few chapters every few years for 14 years, so my memory might be fuzzy.
But it’s got like Jung & shamans & crystal skulls for sure.
But overall, I think if anyone reads w/ all due grains of salt (since it’s mostly altered consciousness anecdotes), it’s really compelling stuff. Not because it’s rigorously grounding the anecdotes in scientific literature, but because it demonstrates the following:
1. These oddball parapsychological or transpersonal experiences are prolific.
2. Methods of achieving them are repeatable.
3. They’re unpredictable once achieved.
Truly cool stuff, I enjoyed it. Heck, even if you’re a skeptic, you should enjoy it, and here’s why (I like lists):
1. It doesn’t have to be true in itself to be meaningful and transformative for the experiencer.
2. The monomythic qualities across experiences/ers have unknown implications that are worth exploring.
3. You’re probably a joyless loser anyway, so you should probably be desperately grasping for any hope of meaningful experience at every opportunity.
If you’re not a skeptic, then I apologize for that. Alright, bye.
But it’s got like Jung & shamans & crystal skulls for sure.
But overall, I think if anyone reads w/ all due grains of salt (since it’s mostly altered consciousness anecdotes), it’s really compelling stuff. Not because it’s rigorously grounding the anecdotes in scientific literature, but because it demonstrates the following:
1. These oddball parapsychological or transpersonal experiences are prolific.
2. Methods of achieving them are repeatable.
3. They’re unpredictable once achieved.
Truly cool stuff, I enjoyed it. Heck, even if you’re a skeptic, you should enjoy it, and here’s why (I like lists):
1. It doesn’t have to be true in itself to be meaningful and transformative for the experiencer.
2. The monomythic qualities across experiences/ers have unknown implications that are worth exploring.
3. You’re probably a joyless loser anyway, so you should probably be desperately grasping for any hope of meaningful experience at every opportunity.
If you’re not a skeptic, then I apologize for that. Alright, bye.
April 21, 2020
Grof did something remarkable. All his life, he documented (and experienced himself as well) altered states of human consciousness caused by drugs and other "techniques."
He proved these are not random hallucinations, they rather uncover the vast universe we all live in.
This book allows a reader to see many of these experiences. It challenges the reality you live in.
I was especially amazed how his findings are very similar to the teachings of all original religions. He basically proved all the religions are right... And wrong :)
Fascinating.
He proved these are not random hallucinations, they rather uncover the vast universe we all live in.
This book allows a reader to see many of these experiences. It challenges the reality you live in.
I was especially amazed how his findings are very similar to the teachings of all original religions. He basically proved all the religions are right... And wrong :)
Fascinating.
June 17, 2020
For those who believe in past-life memories, out-of-body experiences and other unscientific stuff.
Sometimes it’s interesting to think what was before we were born or what will be after we will die. There is no clear answer at all.
Author is famous psychotherapist who made a lot of researches about influence of LCD and other drugs to people’s mind.
Sometimes it’s interesting to think what was before we were born or what will be after we will die. There is no clear answer at all.
Author is famous psychotherapist who made a lot of researches about influence of LCD and other drugs to people’s mind.
September 2, 2021
Fascynująca podróż w zakamarki umysłu, narkotyczne wizje, świat jungowskich synchroniczności. Kto chce niech wierzy, kto nie chce niech nie wierzy, ale czyta się ciekawie. Często na obrzeżach głównego nurtu można znaleźć coś naprawdę ciekawego.
January 3, 2020
This was an awesome book. One of the best I have read. Well written and entertaining.
December 29, 2020
Some good stories. Others are questionable e.g. at least one seemed to have been disproven after this book was published. Majority of the best stories are captured in Grof’s other books or podcast interviews.
May 30, 2025
Grof has led an amazing life. This memoir captures some of the weird highlights.
January 7, 2016
This was an enjoyable and intriguing read... It consists of personal anecdotes and those of friends and patients, mostly experiences of altered states of consciousness.
At several points I marvelled and burst out laughing for the faith he puts in these experiences...
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition the masters never tire to advise meditators, "don't take your (special) experiences too seriously", because even having a vision of the Buddha can become an obstacle if you become attached to it (like developing pride because of it).
All in all it was a fun read but not very convincing. He seems to think his anecdotes are but they lack sufficient critical investigation. Probably I would have to read his more academic books. It did made me want to try out Holotropic Breathwork once, if ever the right "synchronicity" presents itself ;-)
At several points I marvelled and burst out laughing for the faith he puts in these experiences...
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition the masters never tire to advise meditators, "don't take your (special) experiences too seriously", because even having a vision of the Buddha can become an obstacle if you become attached to it (like developing pride because of it).
All in all it was a fun read but not very convincing. He seems to think his anecdotes are but they lack sufficient critical investigation. Probably I would have to read his more academic books. It did made me want to try out Holotropic Breathwork once, if ever the right "synchronicity" presents itself ;-)
October 25, 2024
an instant transpersonal classic. The most personable and accessible of his many projects, human consciousness, the study of synchronicities, pre- and perinatal experiences, racial and collective memories, ESP and paranormal abilities, karma and reincarnation, the convergence of science and mysticism, and survival of consciousness after death. In a series of representative experiences of himself, his colleagues, and his patients of powerful journeys in non-ordinary or holotropic ("moving toward wholeness") states of consciousness.
August 10, 2011
More of an autobiography and cataloging of interesting things that happened to the author than an actual documentation of alternate mind states and non-ordinary reality. Full of anecdotes. Felt like I was reading a "Today we went to the park..." kind of journal... except it included acid trips. Not one I would recommend.
January 21, 2021
Davvero illuminante! Una prosa interessantissima su temi in un certo senso considerati ancora tabù e non del tutto comprensibili! Un piccolo spiraglio verso un mondo ancora da esplorare, che forse tutti possiamo raggiungere!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews