PROFESSOR BRUNNGUBER ON TRANSPERSONALISM: mysticism is contraindicated for those who haven’t resolved their personal issues!
Photo source: b3biennale.de
Professor Stefan Brunnhuber, in his medical and scientific work, refutes Rudyard Kipling’s common thesis that «East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet».
For him, transpersonal psychology is the point where scientific, philosophical, and mystical traditions from different cultures converge. He sees personal evolution as a sequential change of developmental stages, leading to the highest — transpersonal — level.
What new insights can such an approach bring to modern education, our perception of the world, and ourselves?
Stefan Brunnhuber is a highly versatile person; one might even say of a Renaissance type. His field of interest is extraordinarily broad. He is an economist, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Vice Chairman of the European Institute of Health (EiH), Professor of Medicine in Saxony, Professor in the Department of Psychology and Sustainable Development at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, a member of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA), a full member of the Club of Rome, etc.
Listing all his positions and titles would take up quite a bit of space, as Stefan not only treats people and conducts scientific research but also dedicates himself to active socio-political activities.
Currently, Brunnhuber is the author of more than 500 publications in various fields, including alternative financial engineering, risk analysis, social transformation, resilience psychology, human resource management, and others.
In several of these areas, he consults for international corporations and associations. As a recognized specialist in psychiatry and psychosomatics, Brunnhuber is an advocate of an integral and evolutionary approach, which he applies not only to medicine but also to economics, management, and education.
Paradoxically, the scientist and Catholic in Brunnhuber coexists with a follower of Buddhist practices. In his professional activity, he relies not only on the Western tradition but also on the practices of Eastern philosophical and mystical schools.
For the readers of our almanac, the professor spoke about his understanding of transpersonal psychology, which works with altered states of consciousness and religious experience, as well as about new approaches to the public education system.
WHAT IS TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY?
If you can imagine the boundaries of your inner world, you can also identify aspects that extend beyond the personal, beyond the individual dimension of consciousness.
For example, emotional states such as humility, forgiveness, and gratitude are embedded in something much greater than your personal «self». This is precisely what transpersonal psychology explores.
According to scientific research, our consciousness develops in stages: from the pre-personal to the personal and then to the transpersonal level. Over the past 100 years, Western psychology has accumulated extensive knowledge about the pre-personal and personal stages.
However, the wisdom of transpersonal states has received significantly less attention. Unlike modern Western science, Buddhism and Hinduism are inherently transpersonal in their orientation.
These religious-philosophical systems also contain knowledge about a child’s psychological development at the pre-personal stage — yet they do not place excessive focus on psychopathology.
I see great potential in integrating Eastern and Western experiences within the transpersonal approach. The synthesis of these perspectives can provide us with an excellent «roadmap» to better understand the world.
MENTOR, METHOD, AND PRACTICE
Each stage — from the pre-personal to the transpersonal — has its potential that we can realize. To do so, specific practices are required at each level.
For example, if you want to earn a PhD in mathematics, you’ll need four or five years to master your field of study. Let’s say you dedicate around 8,000 hours to this pursuit. Something similar is required at the transpersonal level.
To succeed at this stage, you need a mentor, a structured methodology, and thousands of hours of practice. To explore transpersonal states, you must engage in meditation, mantras, fasting, or silence. If these methods are applied correctly, there is a high probability that your state of consciousness will change.
However, these processes must be safe, controlled, and guided by an experienced mentor with the necessary knowledge in this field. The importance of spiritual continuity and lineage is recognized even in traditional and humanistic psychology.
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT: THEY CAN BE ACCELERATED BUT NOT SKIPPED
There are laws of spiritual evolution. When we are born, we do not immediately become mystics or monks. Our development begins at the pre-personal level, where we learn to walk, speak, and so on. It is impossible to skip this stage entirely. However, the question can be reframed: «Why not progress through this level as quickly as possible?»
The answer depends on your goal. For instance, if you want to be actively involved in everyday social life — building a family or a business — such aspirations may not align well with spending entire days repeating mantras.
If you’re married with two children who want to play LEGO with you, mysticism is probably not a priority! However, if you choose to become a monk or a hermit, you will certainly have more opportunities to advance to the next level more quickly.
FIRST, RESOLVE THE «PERSONAL»
This is not about prioritizing or asserting the superiority of one level over another. We must respectfully acknowledge the necessity of each stage — pre-personal, personal, and transpersonal — and the process of moving through them.
Moreover, as a psychiatrist, I must emphasize that most people need to address many personal issues before engaging in the transpersonal realm.
For such individuals, meditation may not be the most beneficial practice. Instead, working with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist can be more effective in dealing with childhood trauma, neglect, poor upbringing, and other unresolved issues. I speak from experience. In 2006, I spent a year as a member of the North African community «Desert Fathers».
When I left that place, I realized that I was not yet psychologically prepared for monastic life. I was unable to handle the challenges of the desert. Yet, the experience provided me with invaluable existential insight.
THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND EXTRACURRICULAR INFLUENCES
There is a concept known as the input-output error. Modern society invests enormous sums into the education system in an attempt to improve it. However, real data indicate no correlation between the amount of money spent and the results achieved.
In the end, the education system does not produce well-rounded individuals who are truly free, creative, and spiritually enriched. Even if you employ a large number of teachers and purchase countless books and computers, it does not necessarily lead to better outcomes.
The factor of interpersonal communication between mentor and student outweighs any institutional advantages. Such communication is always highly effective. But how often and in what form do students in an average school receive meaningful feedback from their teachers? Moreover, there is the concept of «creative response».
This includes various extracurricular influences such as mindfulness practices, healthy nutrition, adequate sleep, and so on. Unfortunately, all of these aspects are currently entirely overlooked in mainstream education.
If we effectively integrate these strategies into our educational system, we can achieve much greater results at significantly lower costs. Children will grow up more creative and curious, and their physical, psychological, and intellectual capacities will develop much better.
UNIVERSAL SKILLS MATTER MORE THAN A SPECIFIC PROFESSION
I am satisfied with education as long as it feels natural and organic for my children. My daughter is 19 years old, and the average projected life expectancy for German women is 92 years. She will have plenty of time for self-fulfillment. Why should she, at the age of 19, focus on earning a PhD or a Nobel Prize in astrophysics?
Social skills are the building blocks from which we gradually construct our lives. They enable us to develop various cognitive abilities, as well as discipline, tolerance, resilience, and more.
I would like to pass on universal skills to my children — skills that will help them succeed in whatever field they choose to pursue. Whether they become chefs, priests, or physicists does not matter to me because a career can always be changed.
Interview by Leonid Shokh
