When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-ordinary Realities by Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph. D.

When the Impossible Happens is a fascinating, extraordinary book filled with eye-opening accounts of alternative states of consciousness. Stan Grof, one of the foremost explorers and authorities on consciousness, has written a memoir that is warm, personal and detailed. His insights into these non-ordinary realities and the potential they hold for transformation are incredible — and the stories are captivating.

Readers may be familiar with Dr. Grof from his many prior books, which follow his career through early clinical experiments with LSD, to the founding of Transpersonal Psychology, and to his development of Holotropic Breathwork as a new method to reach these alternative states of consciousness. When the Impossible Happens ties it all together for the first time in the most fascinating way — we get a true sense of the author’s journey into consciousness and the passions that drove him to continue despite ridicule and reluctance from the mainstream community to accept his findings.

The stories tell it all — these non-ordinary states of reality illuminate a different Cosmos and a cosmic consciousness that is way beyond mainstream science and psychology. Reported first by Dr. Grof’s patients and later from his own experiments and workshops, these stories encompass synchronicities, in-utero and birth memories, past-life events, ESP, and cellular or DNA memories of our ancestors. They include forays into the cosmos, other possible dimensions, and experiences as animals, trees and inanimate objects.

What they all have in common is that they are “holotropic” experiences, a phrase that Grof coined, meaning “moving toward wholeness.” The idea is that each event, or experience in a non-ordinary reality carries with it the potential to transform the person and move them toward wholeness. Grof’s own story of how he was initially shocked and skeptical of these experiences and how they slowly transformed his life, his worldview and his patient’s lives explains his growing passion to continue working with these states. The author is quite honest in his admission that he hopes that When the Impossible Happens will inspire others to continue this work.

Throughout Grof’s extraordinary journey, he has met, befriended or worked with some phenomenal people — the stories read like a Who’s Who of leaders in consciousness, mysticism, religion, science and psychology — Joseph Campbell, Sai Baba, Michael Harner,Rupert Sheldrake, and Karl Pribram, among others — virtually everyone who came through the Esalen Institute, as well as encounters with Vaclev Havel and Carl Sagan. The connections and interactions between all these great minds make for added interest in a story that is already pretty wild and mind-blowing.

Dr. Grof’s passion for his work may be exceeded only by his conviction that these non-ordinary states of consciousness are a part of all of us — that the potential for a mystical experience is our human birthright, and that new models of the human psyche must begin to incorporate these transformative experiences. As the author illustrates, people have reached these states in a variety of ways for thousands of years — through drumming, chanting, breathwork, occasionally through plants or mushrooms, but even accidentally from great emotional or physical shock.

Therefore, these case-reports cannot be dismissed as “drug-induced” fantasies. They must be a natural part of the human psyche. It is Grof’s belief that mainstream psychiatry and psychology are too dismissive, not only of the phenomena itself, but of the enormous healing and transformative potential these states offer. The author feels that if psychology as a field is to grow and remain meaningful in the future, then they must begin to incorporate this expanded view of consciousness. With more than fifty years of experience to back him, Stan Grof’s When the Impossible Happens is certainly going to be hard to ignore.

Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Stanislav Grof is a psychiatrist with more than 40 years of experience researching nonordinary states of consciousness. His books include The Holotropic Mind; The Human Encounter With Death (written with Joan Halifax); The Stormy Search for the Self (written with Christina Grof); and The Cosmic Mind: Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness. For more information visit Dr. Stan Grof’s website at www.holotropic.com


School Gives Students Meditation, Not Detention

| by Cheryl Shainmark

Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore has a new routine: instead of using more traditional methods disciplining students, it’s assigning them meditation. It’s part of a growing trend among educators, advocates for prison reform, and staff at crisis centers teaching kids mindfulness and meditation techniques. The Maryland school joins the a list that includes Minnesota, California, New York, other states and the United Kingdom.

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What do Lions Represent? From “Whispers from the Wild” by Amelia Kinkade

A sense of belonging. They belong to this earth and they know it. They came to reign supreme, and they do so with an uncompromising sense of clarity. What if you could be the king or queen of your own life and rule with absolute authority? Wouldn’t you, as the alpha lion or lioness, bring a sense of being alpha — calm, confident, and in charge — not only to yourself but to the world around you? Excerpt from the book Whispers from the Wild: Listening to Voices from the Animal Kingdom.

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The Story That Made Ho’Oponopono Famous by Veerle Wauters

| by Veerle Wauters

From 1984 to 1987 Dr. Hew Len worked as a psychologist at Hawaii State Hospital in the psychiatric ward where heavily disturbed, criminal patients were living (serious crimes committed by psychopaths, schizophrenics, psychotics). When Dr. Hew Len began working there, the atmosphere was anything but pleasant. The patients were very aggressive (daily attacks between patients). Most patients were therefore put in seclusion. Many others were shackled….In short: it was a place of hell on earth…he talked to people in his own easygoing way and enjoyed his time there. And all that time he practiced the ancient Hawaiian healing method of Ho’oponopono in the back of his head…. When Dr. Hew Len in 1987 left, the department was closed due to so few patients…Most appeared to be cured and retook their place in society…”

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Cat Tales for Mariette by Michael Brown

| review by Cheryl Shainmark

Cat Tales for Mariette: An Unexpected Friendship on the Camdeboo Plains of South Africa Cat Tales for Mariette: An Unexpected Friendship on the Camdeboo Plains of South Africa is a remarkable story of love and friendship: for people, for pets, for the wild and nature. Michael Brown, author of The Presence Process and Alchemy of the Heart has written a charming tale (or many tales) of love and loss, joy and death, and the foibles of humans and animals. He narrates the story of how he is coerced by a well-meaning local to visit one of the town’s residents who is dying of cancer in the local hospital. Michael reluctantly agrees to a one-time visit, which becomes daily.

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The Coming of the Cosmic Age: Michael Mannion on Wilhelm Reich

The trial of Wilhelm Reich is an unknown, untold story. The US Federal Court-ordered banning and burning of his medical and scientific writings is not taught in American schools. It is not even known to the legal profession. It has long been ignored by those who fight for First Amendment rights in the US. And you will never see Reich’s writings included in any of the thousands of annual “Banned Books” displays around the country each year.

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The 7 Rays of Energy by Klaire D. Roy

To understand the energy of the 7 rays and their influence on each human being, we must first be aware that we are spiritual beings incarnating on earth in order to evolve. Each of our lives compels us to experiment with various situations that will allow for a greater comprehension of our divine nature. At the turn of the 20th century, Alice A. Bailey and H.P. Blavatsky were the first to speak of the 7 rays of energy and their impact. They are simply 7 distinct energies that qualify all life forms on earth, including the human race.

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Ages in Chaos by Tim Walter

“Ages in Chaos” was the title of a factual book from 1952 by author, scholar and philosopher, Immanuel Velikovsky. It’s a phrase that could be said to apply to our collective existence today, as well as to each of our lives day to day as we struggle with red tape administration or twist a process at work to make things happen faster or cheaper. Or perhaps your individual world is your struggle as a manager in which you spend your time fire-fighting and watching as the team you thought were all pulling together in fact seem to be pulling themselves apart…

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Here There Be Dragons & the Riddle of the Sphinx

Welcome to the end of the tunnel! The light ahead is not a mirage. We are emerging from the shadows of uncertainly into a new cycle that will have more clarity and direction. We aren’t quite there yet, but September 2016 is the start of the turning point. Things are changing, or being birthed. And, as weary as we may be from the intensity of the experience on both the micro and macro levels, we can have confidence that like a graduation this is a time of commencement.

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Nettles! by Patricia Neill

| by Patricia Neill

“Wood nettles like to grow by forest streams or rivers. Stinging nettles prefer sunny areas. If you have a creek or stream or river near you, look along the banks for nettles. If you get stung by the nettles, jewelweed is usually growing nearby. Cut the stem of the jewelweed and it will ease the nettles sting. So do dock and plantain leaves. Stick some plantain in your pocket before heading out to gather nettles. “

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