1 4 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 2 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 6 time ago by William James (James 1961) and again by Ralph Metzner who discussed the difference between transcendence and transformation (Metzner 1980). While I certainly agree that it is important to distinguish between transient experiences involving various levels of consciousness, on the one hand, and reaching a certain evolutionary level as a stable personality structure, on the other, I have certain reservations concerning Ken’s position and his formulations. Ken’s description of the mechanism through which the regressive process reaches the transpersonal domain via the perinatal process (through the “backdoor”) is far from plausible or satisfactory. As I will show later on, the transpersonal realms that open up when an individual regresses to the prenatal state involve much more than a simple loss of connection with the physical body-mind. Such experiential identification with the fetus appears to be a genuine mystical state of a very specific kind that is often accompanied with rich archetypal imagery and profound insights of cosmic relevance. Episodes of undisturbed intrauterine existence can open up into culture-specific archetypal images of paradises or celestial realms, experiential identification with aquatic animals, or complex astronomical vistas. Experiences of intrauterine disturbances coincide with encounters with insidious demons and authentic identification with aquatic life forms in polluted waters. Moreover, Ken’s argument about entering the transpersonal, supra-individual space by ceasing to identify with the physical body-mind is further weakened by the fact that the encounter with rich archetypal imagery is not limited to the prenatal state, but occurs in connection with all the perinatal matrices, including those that deeply and painfully engage the body. The no-exit stage of birth (BPM II) is often associated with images of hell and archetypal figures representing eternal damnation, such as Sisyphus or Tantalus, as well as identification with victims of various eras drawn from the collective unconscious, and with corresponding past-life experiences. Typical experiential concomitants of the struggle through the birth canal are archetypal images of deities representing death and rebirth and scenes of revolutions appearing as collective or past-life memories. Similarly, the reliving of birth is accompanied by culture-specific images of the Great Mother Goddess and scenes of divine epiphany or sacred marriage (Grof 1975, 1987, 1992). These observations suggest an intimate and organic a priori association between the perinatal and transpersonal levels. I would like to mention in this context the work of Christopher Bache, professor of religion and philosophy at the State University in Youngstown, Ohio, who has very creatively further elaborated and clarified the concept of perinatal dynamics and made an important contribution to the understanding of the relationship between the personal and transpersonal dimensions of this domain (Bache 1995). Having analyzed many accounts of non-ordinary experiences with perinatal features, he concludes that the perinatal matrices, as I have described them, reflect an operational mode of consciousness in which the personal and transpersonal blend, sharing organizational patterns and structures. By identifying with intense experiences of the fetus, the individual connects by resonance to the larger field of species consciousness that can be described in terms of Sheldrake’s morphogenetic fields, of C. G. Jung’s collective unconscious, or of the Oversoul. This involves experiences of wars, revolutions, and atrocities, as well as triumphs of humanity associated with emotions of unimaginable intensity. It is thus conceivable – and subjects frequently report this as their insights – that by experiencing the agonies and ecstasies on a collective scale that represent an integral part of the perinatal process, the individual heals not just himself or herself, but contributes to the healing of humankind itself in the sense of the Buddhist archetype of the Bodhisattva or the Christian archetype of Christ. There are other important observations which support the notion that the perinatal domain represents an important interface with the spiritual domain. The perinatal experiences are a strange amalgam of three aspects of human life – birth, sex, and death – all three of which are known to be potential gateways to transcendence. Birth and death represent the beginning and the end of individual life and are thus natural frontiers with the transpersonal domain not only in experiential work, but also in everyday life. Delivering women and people in near-death situations often have profound transcendental experiences. Meditation with dying individuals and personal confrontation with death in cemeteries and burning grounds have been used in certain forms of spiritual practice as powerful catalysts of mystical opening. The transindividual nature of sex is evident from its critical role in species preservation and its potential as a gateway into the spiritual realm is best illustrated by the practice of maithuna, ritual sexual union used in left-handed Tantra (Vamamarga) (Mookerjee and Khanna 1977). We can now return to the problem of entering the spiritual domain through the “back door” and the “front door”. Many prominent figures in the spiritual history of humanity whom Ken uses as examples for his developmental stages, from shamans to saints, sages, and founders of the great religions, such as the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Ramakrishna, St. An-
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