Hypnopompic Psychic Mining

The Value of Integral Research

Grof (1998) wrote about a planetary crisis nearly 25 years ago with the unfortunate egoic direction led by human greed and malignant aggression. Imagine what he might say about it now. His optimism, though, was held in the possibility of contributions through consciousness research, transpersonal psychology, and an emerging scientific paradigm that he believed could help the planet’s future. He held a new image of the universe, perhaps one closer to a truer reality, and a more comprehensive understanding of the human psyche.

It is becoming clear that transpersonal research is critical, not radical, but a clear and necessary path for the continuum of our collective psychospiritual evolution and existence. Integral and intuitive research could lead to a greater understanding of self and our unknown potential as humans. Humans are far more capacious than consensual reality would have us believe. Continued evolution is inevitable. Jung (1989) wrote, “There is no linear evolution; there is only circumambulation of the self” (p. 196). Braud and Anderson (1998) reminded us what the word research means: “searching again, anew, back; going about again or going around again; circling around again” (p. 25). This suggests multiple methods and vantage points, being polyocular, so a more complete picture can come into sight—and the researcher not be beguiled by an initial glimpse at its meaning. There exists a new and clear vision only to be seen by setting down the disorienting, antiquated lens and engaging in hermeneutic and ontological inquiry.

Humans are incredibly complex, especially when considering Grof’s (1998) Systems of Condensed Experience, which includes perinatal and prenatal experiences. Birth trauma influences our postnatal experiences. Past and future lives echo into this one. Our ancestral lines hold and pass down unhealed wounds, traumas, and emotions. This underscores the importance of integral research methods that are multi-faceted and pluralistic. With that being said, the researcher must be prepared to be cracked open by the “encounter with the Sacred” (Anderson, 2015b, p. 164); the transpersonal arena of exploration and data excavation.

Knowing through becoming is an extraordinary method for collecting such data, or “what is known directly by the eye of the spirit” (Braud & Anderson, 1998, p. 51). By empathically and psychically becoming what is studied, one knows it as subject rather than object and divine answers can emerge. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, when there is union with the object of inquiry it is described as samyama, or complete absorption (Braud & Anderson, 1998). This unitive terrain can lead to direct knowing through contemplation, absorption, indwelling, and attention during twilight states to name a few (Braud & Anderson, 1998). Through doing this work and experiencing the sacred encounter, it is explicitly transformative by default (Anderson, 2015b). Anderson’s (2015a) metaphor of the labyrinth as the personal journey in doing transpersonal research captures adventure, exploration, and transformation. One cannot take a journey and be unchanged by it. The researcher and what is studied are immutably one when the origin of their work is the very center of their being.

It is the awareness of data and any psychic connections that can augment findings that otherwise would be remiss (Braud & Anderson, 1998). As White shared, researchers through working with exceptional experiences (EEs)

have gained a form of double vision. They can still see the world from the viewpoint of consensus reality, but they also are constantly aware of another seemingly more life-affirming and self-potentiating way . . . this places them in an optimal position to extend consensual reality. (as cited in Braud & Anderson, 1998, p. 135)

This double vision is a real advantage in research and allows one to go beyond filtered knowledge. While there are myriad paths to transcend the limitations of reductive ways of knowing, the remainder of this paper focuses on the rich possibilities of hypnopompic psychic mining.                          

Hypnopompic Psychic Mining

Braud (1992) suggested that mind itself may be nonlocal, that it is

actually already present everywhere in some holographic or implicit form. Like retrieving a memory, the problem then becomes one of accessing rather than creating or transmitting information. If this is so, processes of observation and attention would have prominent places in such models. (p. 17)

The twilight state between sleeping and waking, called hypnopompia (Hurd, 2020), is a threshold to access such transpersonal territory that holds imagery often “associated with new ideas” (Braud & Anderson, 1998, p. 140). The term hypnopompic imagery was coined by Frederic W. H. Myers (2016) circa 1900 and is described as the “persistence of some dream-image into the first moments of waking” (p. 84). Myers further articulated this state as “one of cerebral or ‘mind’s eye’ hyperaethesia—an exalted sensibility of special brain centres in response to those unknown internal stimuli which are always giving rise to similar but fainter inward visions even in broadly waking hours” (p. 84). According to Sherwood (2002), it is not necessarily the result of REM sleep and may be considered precognitive. This liminal state can be likened to the space betwixt and between, or non-ordinary reality (NOR) where shamanic practitioners journey to other realms to ascertain healing information (Harner, 1999). This gives some historical context for the liminal state being useful for humans for thousands of years.

In the hypnopompic state, the ego is in a sense hibernating and the mindstream is quiet. Neither can interfere with this direct connection to source, and censorship is down. This liminal space increases the “thinness or permeability of boundaries” (Anderson & Braud, 2011, p. 139). As a result, transpersonal intelligence can be psychically mined through sensory acuity, hence my term hypnopompic psychic mining. Regarding the liminal, Jung stated, “there are things in the psyche which I do not produce, but which produce themselves and have their own life” (as cited in Anderson & Braud, 2011, p. 139). The hypnopompic state shares features of psi-conducive states such as the reduction of sensory distraction, relaxation, and increased internal attention making it unusually receptive to anomalous experiences (Sherwood, 2002). According to Braud (1992), direct knowing effects increase in these conditions. There is no need to prime the body and mind to employ this skill, it is naturally moving through the alpha-theta progression similar to deep meditation (Sherwood, 2002). It is in this state that empirical evidence for the support of transpersonal research can be collected. “Every extension of knowledge arises from making conscious the unconscious” (Nietzsche as cited in Anderson & Braud, 2011, p. 231).

Experiential Exercise

To practice this as an integral research skill, deeply contemplate your transpersonal inquiry. Empathically become the inquiry. This is a helpful prerequisite as it brings awareness to the insight of oneness so that any thoughts, stories, or biases between you and the inquiry can begin to drop away. “Understanding comes from internalizing knowledge in such a way that one becomes, in Einstein’s words, ‘a little piece of nature,’ reflecting in oneself what is external to oneself” (Root-Bernsteins, 2001, p. 186). Indwelling and incubation are useful skills in this phase, as they both point inward and allow time for absorption (Braud & Anderson, 1998). Bringing the locus of your attention to the inquiry feeds this process and can play a significant role in research (Anderson & Braud, 2011).

Next, before going to sleep, set the intention to receive transpersonal intelligence that is relevant to your inquiry. Cultivate honest curiosity and an open mind. It is helpful to center yourself before slumber. Actively direct your attention 2" below your naval and down to the center of your being (C. Moseley, personal communication, 2018). This immeasurable center is infinite and eternal and is the gateway to what Wilber (1977) called Ultimate Reality. Duality is suspended and freedom from the trappings of the mind is experienced, even if momentarily. With your intention and attention keenly shifted towards your center and your topic of inquiry, drift off to sleep. Hurd (2020) suggested sleeping on your back to access hypnopompia; I have found this to be true through experience.

Allow your body to come to slight wakefulness on its own. This may occur in the night or early hours in the morning. It is important not to be jarred awake by the sound of an alarm clock or other loud noises as this will move you into wakefulness and skip the hypnopompic state. In some cases, sleep paralysis (SP) can occur. The American Psychological Association defined sleep paralysis as the “brief inability to move or speak just before falling asleep or on awakening . . . accompanied by hallucinations” (as cited in Hurd, 2020, p. 13). Hurd (2020) suggested interrupting the fear-cycle and moving into observation and curiosity rather than terror. Personally, I have found this to be incredibly helpful and fruitful in terms of utilizing this expansive space. If you find yourself in SP, first identify what it is. I have successfully broken the paralysis by conjuring up intense feelings of love, saying a prayer or chanting (though sound can be warped in this space), and knowing I actually can physically move. Hurd’s (2020) tactics include surrendering, wiggling a toe, or clenching a fist, and leaning into love (something I naturally discovered as well). Assuming you are not experiencing SP, in the hypnopompic state you can review your dreams, recalling feelings associated with them, so that you still have one foot in the dreamworld. Do not open your eyes to omit any visual stimulation.

Using your transpersonal senses, see, hear, feel what sifts in using sensory acuity. Learning to use sensory stimuli that is normally ignored can result in original insights (Root-Bernsteins, 1999). It is here that one can experience White’s notion of double vision mentioned earlier (in Braud & Anderson, 1998) that extends beyond consensual reality. Have paper and a pen handy or something that can record a voice memo so you can document what you have mined. Allow yourself to shift to full wakefulness and your morning routine. End with gratitude for whatever was channeled, knowing it was for the benefit of your study and the wider audience that will receive the findings.

One final point on this skill. It exists above and below the effort. You cannot try to receive psychic information, that would be doing and not being. Becoming the inquiry, therefore, is essential. Sherwood (2002) deemed the necessary requirements to have hypnopompic anomalous experiences to be a “receptive attitude and passive volition” (p. 131). In this way, you allow the information to arrive.

Personal Experience

A personal example of hypnopompic psychic mining occurred when I was steeped in a short qualitative research study on the perceived benefits of Reiki and Transpersonal Counseling (TC). I realized I was recurrently collecting transpersonal data just before fully waking. I received the word centropic, a word that was foreign to me. Upon looking it up, I had a significant epiphany that Reiki and TC are in fact a centropic healing modality. I could also see a map for this centropic healing path. It was dimensional, included movement, and sound vibrations. This was followed by a series of words and descriptors for the phases on the map. I quickly sketched it out (see Figure 1) and later turned it into a digital map (see Figure 2), one that continues to be fleshed out. This skill was naturally happening for me. Now that I have greater awareness and understanding of it, I pay more attention to hypnopompia and its gifts.

Figure 1

Original sketch

Figure 2

The Reiki Wave r.2

Through hypnopompic psychic mining the study and its findings were richly enhanced, and I, as the researcher, was transformed just as Anderson’s (2015a) symbol of the labyrinth and its adventurous journey implies. Harner (1999) stated regarding shamanic journeying to NOR:

You and your view of reality will never be the same again, for passing through that doorway will be the beginning of a major paradigm shift, not only for you, but eventually for the parameters of science, and science will no longer be truncated by a major ethnocentric and cognicentric a priori assumption of what is impossible. (p.2)

The same is true for this unique integral research method. The paradigm of limited, reductive resources for research is shifting just as Grof (1998) hoped for and projected. With greater awareness and research, the ability to excavate collective intelligence through transpersonal methods such as hypnopompic psychic mining can be strengthened and more widely utilized.

Application to Research Phases

As mentioned earlier integral research skills extend the domain in which a study can be approached and data can be understood and experienced. The word experienced is added here to highlight the benefit of transcending standard analysis and evaluation. One can read all the books in the world and gain knowledge, but to experience the inquiry and move towards embodiment eventuates far more reaching and comprehensive findings. Hypnopompic psychic mining, in conjunction with other skills, can be applied to all three phases of research. This is based on my dissertation topic of exploring psychospiritual and health benefits of Reiki and TC and its healing map. The purpose of this study is to deeply immerse myself in the practice of Reiki and TC and explore all its facets and phases to better understand the healing path (Reiki Wave), augment my own healing work with clients, and share the findings with others that could benefit from it. Receiving and giving Reiki is a transpersonal experience as the origin of this life force energy is a mystery and yet there is something very real and transformative happening on the Reiki table. It is an obvious choice to take an integral, heuristic, and intuitive approach to this primarily qualitative study. Below outlines intentions, attention-focusing skills, and incorporates hypnopompic psychic mining.

Planning the Study and Collecting Data

• I set an intention to have my intentions guide me and weave throughout my research.

• I plan to focus my attention on my felt senses as my topic is refined. Example: are Reiki and TC a single centropic healing art or are they mutually exclusive? Reiki and TC is much different than Reiki alone. A more refined definition of Reiki and TC will help in formulating questions.

• I plan to focus my attention on how my methods (interviews, surveys, questions) will be received by participants and curate them accordingly, by evolving the initial set of questions from my 10-week study. I will consider specific questions that speak to each phase on the Reiki Wave versus the more generalized questions in my shorter study. This will hopefully give more insight and detail into the participants’ experience as well as enhance and inform how I approach client sessions moving forward.

• I plan to use hypnopompic psychic mining to receive any direction that will benefit the participants and the content of the study. I fully recognize this as an intention and practice without expectation, as expectations taint the process.

• I plan to focus my attention on ways to sacralize all phases of my research so that I can be a “good and hollow bone” and receive transpersonal intelligenc

• I plan to focus my attention on all the ways participants communicate: verbally, bodily, energetically, and use my polysensual and intuitive skills during interviews with somatic attention.

• I set an intention to include ritual in the collection of data: sacred hoop and altar, open healing circle before interviews, smudge participants, call upon guides and guardians for assistance and guidance, and include an experiential exercise prior to interviews for centering.

• I plan to use my creative expression certificate from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and have participants create mandala artwork after a Reiki and TC session—which directly relates to the centropic nature of Reiki and TC. With this collection of mandalas, I hope to gain a deeper insight into their experience.

• I plan to develop a questionnaire for clients/participants to use after each of their sessions as a potential quantitative method of collecting data over time and over the course of my study.

Analyzing Data

• I set an intention to be polyocular and to circle data so that many vantage points are experienced, including from within twilight states and the use of direct knowing.

• I plan to use Thematic Content Analysis to parse and code data so that meaningful themes emerge.

• I plan to engage with data using the hermeneutic circle process by studying individual parts in relation to its whole, and the whole in relation to its parts.

• I plan to continue indwelling on the centropic aspect of Reiki and TC so that it permeates the work with a greater understanding of this given word as well as the healing path and all its phases. This will hopefully illuminate key areas that are most potent for clients.

• I plan to be discerning so that the true source of the findings is authentic (i.e., not egoic or bias-based) and allow time for data incubation. With this goal in mind, my aim is to be more connected to self, spirit, and the service of others.

• I plan to use hypnopompic psychic mining to receive any solidifying direction for data and its themes (after thematic content analysis).

Communicating Findings

• I intend to finesse the Reiki Wave map so that it communicates intelligently the centropic healing path (dimension, movement, sound) through 3D animation.

• I plan to use hypnopompic psychic mining to receive any guidance around the Reiki Wave and how to fine-tune it or any other insights that can benefit this study.

• I envision the biofield therapy field, including the Consciousness and Healing Initiative, through intention, finding my study results illuminating and supportive so that the goal of helping to alleviate human suffering through evidence-based healing modalities like biofield therapy is reached.

• I plan to present my findings through the method of embodied writing, so it is fully received by the reader on all transpersonal areas of inquiry: intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical, social, and creative.

• I plan to listen to the visceral cues that let me know when the reporting is sufficient.

As I become more engrossed in my quest for a deeper understanding of Reiki and TC and its centropic healing path, the more information I receive. Employing hypnopompic psychic mining has proven to be productive and has informed, to some extent, all aspects of my recent academic endeavors. It is important to mention the limitation of hypnopompic psychic mining. Because it is experiential, we must rely on our memory of what was experienced and then our interpretation of it. However, the researcher’s greatest instrument is their essential nature, their being (Anderson & Braud, 2011). This insight is paramount in uncovering authentic, rich, comprehensive data and contributing to the critical paradigm shift that includes the transpersonal dimensions of human experience.

References

Anderson, R. (2015a). Professor Rosemarie Anderson (SOFIA-University) at the Transpersonal Research Colloquium 2015 [Video]                     https://sofia.instructure.com/courses/10640/assignments/113954?                         module_item_id=394070/courses/10706/files/497068?no_preview=1

Anderson, R. (2015b). Transpersonal research and scholarship: Reflections on the last twenty  years and forward. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. Vol. 47, No. 2, 163-167

Anderson, R., & Braud, W. (2011). Transforming self and others through research:      Transpersonal research methods and skills for the human sciences and humanities.

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Braud, W., & Anderson, R. (1998). Transpersonal research methods for the social sciences:        Honoring human experience. Sage.

Grof, S. (1998). The transpersonal vision: The healing potential of non-ordinary states of         consciousness. Sounds True.

Harner, M. (1999). Science, spirits, and core shamanism. Shamanism, Spring/Summer. Vol. 12,    No. 1https://www.shamanism.org/articles/article10page2.html

Hurd, R. (2020). Sleep paralysis: A guide to hypnagogic visions and visitors at night.                Enlightened Hyena Press.

Jung, C. (1989). Memories, dreams, reflections. Vintage.

Meyers, F.W.H., (2016). Human personality and its survival of bodily death. CreateSpace         Independent Publishing.

Root-Bernstein, R. & M. (2001). Sparks of genius: The 13 thinking tools of the world's most    creative people. Mariner Books.

Sherwood, S. (2002). Relationship between the hypnagogic/hypnopompic states and reports of    anomalous experiences. The Journal of Parapsychology, Vol. 66, 127-150

Wilber, K. (1977). The spectrum of consciousness. Quest Books.