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India - World Conference on Spirituality and Psychology

In January 2008, the first World Congress on Spirituality and Psychology was held - an inaugural event bringing together people worldwide from the fields of Spirituality, Psychology, and Transpersonal Psychology and hosted by Shruti Foundation and Infinity Foundation both of India and the US Association of Transpersonal Psychology. It was held at the Habitat Centre, a conference and meeting place on the southern side of New Delhi. Approximately 400 participants representing six continents and approximately 40 different countries attend.

Keynote speakers included well known Indian public figures, psychologists, and spiritual teachers. Some of the presenters were Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a popular contemporary guru; Dr. Sudhir Kakar, a psychoanalyst; and Dr. Karan Singh, the son of a Maharaja and a politician and humanitarian. The remainder of the Congress features panel sessions with presenters from all over the world, interspersed with a few plenary sessions.

Ray Greenleaf, MA, MFT, Chair of the Department of Counseling Psychology, and Theresa Silow, PhD, Program Director, Somatic Psychology, represented JFK University at the conference. Professor Greenleaf participated on a panel on "Consciousness in Academia", presenting Integral Education. Dr. Silow spoke on Spirituality: A Descent Into the Body on a panel focusing on "Psychology of the Body". Both Professor Greenleaf and Dr. Silow chaired panels on "Transpersonal Theory" and "Clinical Compassion & Trauma Therapies", respectively.

The following are Dr. Silow's and Professor Greenleaf's summaries of the conference.

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Waiting impatiently in line with thousands of people, I wonder if it is worth the wait to see the Taj Mahal again after almost 30 years. I am with my husband Alan and our son Adam. As the queue moves fairly steadily, my impatience lessens and finally we pass through the gate. The Taj Mahal, built between 1632 and 1647 by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan as a royal mausoleum in memory of his beloved wife, stands in all its splendor before us. I look with awe, as if I am seeing this architectural masterpiece for the first time, touched deeply by its beauty and perfection. This memorable three week journey through Rajasthan and parts of Kerala is prompted by the upcoming conferencein New Delhi. Both of my earlier visits to India were spiritual journeys; India is where my spiritual quest began. Returning to India for the purpose of presenting at a world event on spirituality and psychology feels like coming full circle.

The first day consists of plenary sessions, featuring mostly Indian presenters, offered in a large auditorium for all participants to attend. The presentations often highlight aspects of Vedic or Hindu-based philosophy and spirituality, their contributions to the collective knowledge, and their relevance in today's spiritual cultivation practices. The discussions after the individual presentations are deeply engaging and document sincere interest to deepen the integration of spirituality, psychology, the body, our clinical practice, our cultivation practices, and our teaching.

While the title "World Congress" created for me an expectation for global discourse, it is not until the closing session of the conference (which included a heated debate about the Indian-oriented gravity of the keynote presentations) that I have a sense of a hidden agenda of the Indian conference conveners. In their eyes, much of traditional Indian philosophy and values has been abandoned by contemporary Indian viewpoints and lifestyles. They hoped that organizing a worldwide conference of professional attendees from the field of psychology and highlighting the value of Indian systems of spirituality would bring back credence to these somewhat endangered systems of knowledge. Although I can empathize with these underlying intentions, it also saddens me to recognize that these foundational systems require endorsement from foreign professionals. The second tier of the Congress consists of break-out panel sessions.

Topics addressed include Spirituality of Youth; Spirituality of Aging; Education, Consciousness & Psychology; Indic Psychology; Ecology and Consciousness; Transpersonal Theory; and New Paradigms in Spirituality, Science and Medicine, etc. In these panel sessions I feel the global nature of the event. People from all over the planet sit together, presenting, discussing, and dialoguing. The inquiry centers around the "why" and "how" we integrate spiritual and psychological work. Presenters and participants grapple with paradigms and practices seeking to embrace issues of personality and ego within a spiritual context. Ego states are understood here not as the proverbial "grist for the mill," but as necessary material to ground spiritual capacities in healthy functioning. I am moved to experience this collective exchange of ideas.

I am excited that several of the presenters and conference participants look at spiritual practice inclusive of social engagement. Through presentations, and during informal conversations, I come to know about projects that involve social activism in various communities, such as organizing schools, funding boarding schools, supporting formal education for girls in rural areas, and supplying healthy meals for homeless children. We explore an integrally informed vision that sees spirituality as active engagement in the different domains of life for the betterment of the collective.

The presentations implicated the Bodhisattva pursuit of spiritual engagement intended not simply for individual development but in support of "all sentient beings." As Director of the Somatic Psychology program, my particular interest is in presentations and discussions that highlight the role of the body in spiritual endeavors. I seek out panel sessions with body or embodiment as its focus, such as Embodied Spirituality; Clinical Compassion and Trauma Therapies; Yoga, Psychotherapy and Health; Tantra; Trance States and Psychotherapy; and Psychology of the Body. "Body" holds different meanings for different presenters.

There exist several views ranging from the body as a reluctant vehicle for transformation, to the body as a necessary vehicle. The later perspective is more explicitly found in discussions based on Tantra and Yoga. Even though there are ancient traditions with a vast knowledge about the body in spiritual endeavors, it seems that we are just at the beginning of exploring a deeper integration of spirituality, psychology, and physicality.

The World Congress on Psychology and Spirituality brought people from all over the planet together around the discussion of spirituality and psychology. It highlighted the need to develop more global communication and highlighted differences in developmental levels and range of integration. The School of Holistic Studies of JFK University served as an important agent for furthering this kind of a dialog. I found the conference was both educational and inspiring. I was once again touched by the power and depth of "Mother India."

Theresa Silow, PhD
Program Director, Somatic Psychology

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My colleague Theresa Silow has eloquently written about the World Congress on Psychology and Spirituality, and especially about the beauty and intensity of Mother India. I want to add here a few thoughts about my own experience.

With over 400 participants from 30 different countries, I was inspired to see how many people worldwide embrace an integrated and holistic viewpoint, moving more fully into a worldcentric psychospiritual perspective.

For many attendees the conference provided them one of the few opportunities to be inspired through dialog with like-minded people. I had several conversations with participants who spoke of being the only practitioner of a transpersonal or holistic perspective in their home area. I reminded myself that many like minded individuals live in the Bay Area, a virtual hot bed of spiritual and psychological exploration. This is not to say that transpersonal, integral, or somatic psychologists abound in our area; we have a long way to go in that regard. Still, these specializations have gained a strong foothold in the field of psychology, development, and health in the Bay Area. We can now stand on the shoulders of those who came before us without needing to "justify" our professional existence.

Another wonderful consequence of this conference was the deepening of communication with friends and colleagues from the Bay Area. Several alumni from our program, both participants and presenters, attended. The scheduled breaks, as well as the after-conference gatherings, provided opportunities to meet with fellow instructors from CIIS (Brent Cortright, Ian Grand, Alzak Amlani), ITP (Barbara Morrill), and St. Mary's College (Collette Fleuridas). Connecting with our peers established an important avenue to strengthen existing bonds among these schools, the main educational institutions furthering the spiritual, psychological, somatic dialog in the Bay Area.

Ray Greenleaf, MA, MFT
Chair, Department of Counseling Psychology