From the author: Notes from a transpersonal psychologist On the benefits of altered states of consciousness in holotropic breathing and therapeutic sessions: my experience. My introduction to conscious immersion in altered states of consciousness began with holotropic breathing. And my interest in holotropic breathing began with Stanislav Grof’s book “Holotropic Breathing,” which I found by chance in a bookstore. Already in the process of reading, I began to look for when the next training would be. Let's go. And I didn’t regret it. I breathed for 5 days in a row at a corresponding seminar in the Moscow region. An important point. Before starting breathing sessions, you fill out a questionnaire in which you indicate whether you have any previous diseases or operations. If you are not offered to fill out such a questionnaire, then you should think about the qualifications of such trainers. After all, this kind of breathing practice is very intense, you need to understand this. No, no emergency situations occurred during the entire time I breathed in such formats (but I also breathed with professionals in their field), and I still breathe periodically. In addition to holotropic breathing, I managed to get acquainted with rebirthing (including in water), and the vibration technique. 5 days is quite a lot of workload for beginners, but I am very glad that I got to such a seminar, because I could allow myself to “breathe” only for 2-3 days. I let go of a lot of pain, sadness, resentment and suppressed anger. For the first time at a conscious age, I cried, as they say, “in public.” Holotropic breathing involves working with the body and emotions. In a trance state, the internal controller, which is with us all the time, temporarily loosens its grip, the unconscious material reaches the level of consciousness and is “relived.” Seminar participants are divided into pairs. One is breathing, and the other “sitter” protects and takes care of him - he will bring napkins, some water, cover him with a blanket, and protect him from injury (in a trance state, a person may not be very well oriented in space). Watching a dozen people in a trance for the first couple of times was an incomprehensible, somewhat frightening and mystical sight for me. It remains mystical for me even now, but I have developed some tolerance for various emotional manifestations of others. In individual sessions with clients or at seminars (on process therapy, holotropic breathing, etc.) it is no longer scary for me to watch a person begin to growl, scream, laugh furiously or cry. On the contrary, I am surprised how in psychological work one can talk about pain, talk about fear and not live through them... “Talking” as such brings little. It is important to talk after living some experience, for integration. Holotropic breathing is an excellent method of personality transformation, which allows you to pull out a huge amount of suppressed aggression and mental blocks. The therapeutic effect of altered states of consciousness is difficult to overestimate. Several breathing sessions can replace months and even years of psychoanalysis! Conclusions: In altered states of consciousness (ASC), therapeutic work is faster and more effective than analytical methods. In ASC, the therapist is only a guide who has knowledge and experience of psychotechniques, but he does not analyze or interpret. You are helped by your “inner healer,” who is much wiser than a psychologist who has scientific degrees and works in his arsenal. Sign up for a consultation: [email protected]Watch the video on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuFALXLKOSXl9pbspZq4avg