Psychedelic Initiation in Postmodern Culture and the Roles of Jung and Grof

A Lecture By Richard Tarnas

The 20th century’s discovery of LSD and the subsequent use of various psychedelic medicines in both psychotherapeutic practice and, more widely, contemporary popular culture has been a deeply transformational event in modern civilization. It has carried the power of a collective initiatory rite of passage, yet often without an adequately containing ritual structure, indigenous wisdom tradition, or clinical knowledge to mediate that transformation. The resulting impact on contemporary society has been complex, ambiguous, and profound. Amid this cultural flux, many therapists and researchers, as well as lay explorers, have found the ideas and life experience of C.G. Jung, as well as the research and therapeutic practice of Stanislav Grof, to have been invaluable in guiding this dramatic journey.

Tonight’s lecture will focus on the larger historical and evolutionary context, including modern psychology and psychiatry and the mainstream modern world view generally, out of which emerged the psychedelic awakening of the 1950s and 1960s and then the current renaissance in psychedelic therapy and research. We will also address the potential larger meaning and impact this development seems to have had and still be having on our civilization in crisis.

Read Richard Tarnas' Blog (in 2 parts):

Richard Tarnas Blog, Part I

Richard Tarnas Blog, Part II

Richard Tarnas is professor emeritus of cultural history and psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he founded the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He has taught courses in the history of ideas, archetypal studies, depth psychology, and religious evolution. He has also frequently lectured on archetypal studies and depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute and was formerly the director of programs and education at Esalen Institute. He is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a history of the Western world view from the ancient Greek to the postmodern widely used in universities. His second book, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, received the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network and is the basis for the just released 10-episode documentary series "The Changing of the Gods". He is a past president of the International Transpersonal Association and long served on the Board of Governors for the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.