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Stanislav Grof

When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Realities Paperback – April 1, 2006

by Stanislav Grof Ph.D. (Author)

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Feelings of oneness with other people, nature, and the universe. Encounters with extraterrestrials, deities, and demons. Out-of-body experiences and past-life memories. Science casts a skeptical eye. But Dr. Stanislav Grof―the psychiatric researcher who cofounded transpersonal psychology―believes otherwise.

When the Impossible Happens presents Dr. Grof 's mesmerizing firsthand account of over 50 years of inquiry into waters uncharted by classical psychology, one that will leave readers questioning the very fabric of our existence.

From his first LSD session that gave him a glimpse of cosmic consciousness to his latest work with Holotropic Breathwork, When the Impossible Happens will amaze readers with vivid explorations of topics such as: Temptations of a Non-Local Universe―experiments in astral projection
• Praying Mantis in Manhattan and other tales of synchronicity
• Trailing Clouds of Glory―remembering birth and prenatal life
• Dying and Beyond―survival of consciousness after death
When the Impossible Happens is an incredible opportunity to journey beyond ordinary consciousness, guaranteed to shake the foundations of what we assume to be reality, and sure to offer a new vision of our human potential.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Sounds True
Publication date

April 1, 2006
Dimensions

5.92 x 1.09 x 9.03 inches
ISBN-10

159179420X
ISBN-13

978-1591794202
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stanislav Grof, MD, received his doctorate in medicine from the Charles University School of Medicine in Prague and his doctorate in the philosophy of medicine from the Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Grof has served as a research fellow at John Hopkins University and chief of psychiatric research at the Maryland Psychiatric Center. He currently teaches psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Stanislav Grof is the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association. He is the author of 11 books, including Realms of the Human Unconscious; Beyond the Brain; The Holographic Mind; and The Stormy Search for the Self (with Christina Grof).

Product details

Publisher : Sounds True; 1st edition (April 1, 2006)
Language : English
Paperback : 400 pages
ISBN-10 : 159179420X
ISBN-13 : 978-1591794202
Item Weight : 1.02 pounds
Dimensions : 5.92 x 1.09 x 9.03 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #647,556 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #93 in Transpersonal Psychology (Books)
- #344 in Near-Death Experiences (Books)
- #692 in ESP (Books)

Customer Reviews:
77 ratings

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5 star		67%
4 star		12%
3 star		13%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

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ladyjean

As much as I like the subject matter of this book

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2014

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As much as I like the subject matter of this book, I was not able to finish it. I even read a few chapters in the back part of the book to see if got better but I still didn't enjoy it.

A lot of the sychronicities/co-incidences Grof talks about here do not seem so fantastic to me or seem like evidence for the non-ordinary reality he speaks of. After reading one after the other of these accounts, it seemed that for some of them it was his mind drawing connections and making inferences where there were none. I preferred when he shared his own personal accounts rather than those of others because, even though interesting, they are still second hand accounts whose veracity we can't determine.

I did enjoy reading about some of his mind altering experiences and the anecdotes about his life. I will read another of Grofs books as some reviewers have suggested to see the more scientific side of him not evident in this book.

9 people found this helpful

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Samuel S. Simmons

Adventures in Non-Ordinary Realities...

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2015

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Though this book was not what I was expecting (I thought it was about paranormal experiences, in general), I found it difficult to put down, although it took 3 days for me to read it all.

Grof explains his theories and observations about non-ordinary states of consciousness, with many personal experiences, and his experiences with research. Much of this book focuses on what he learned as a psychologist treating patients with psychedelics (LSD and other drugs). It is all quite fascinating and makes for an enthralling read.

While I won't go into great detail and spoil it for anyone, I will say, that as a student of the paranormal, and Fortean phenomena in general, this book makes a good addition to my bookshelf as Grof's observations about consciousness and reality tie in well with what I've been reading in other books.

10 people found this helpful

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Gilligan

Singular experiences, told by an incredible man.

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2016

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This man has had absolutely incredible experiences in his life. Any exposure you can get to this amazing man and his life and insights are worth your time and dollars. I'd give it one more star if he was a better writer or had gotten a good co- or ghost writer, but I still treasure the experience of reading this book. Probably will re-read.

4 people found this helpful

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Mgidd

A wild trip into the great unknown!

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2014

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This book was truly fascinating. While some of the stories stretch the realms of possibility, I think that is the point that Grof is trying to make, especially given his choice of title. He takes you on a riveting journey of all things and substances of altered reality. In the end, I think these psychedelics have incredible potential to help us as human beings spiritually and mentally as well.

5 people found this helpful

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Mike Glenn

Loved this book

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2015

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Loved this book, it helped me tie up a lot of loose ends. Stan Grof is a bold and relentless psychonaut explorer who has blazed a trail for the rest of us and written a data log so we know what to expect. I really enjoyed the personal stories of his experiences.

4 people found this helpful

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Kevin Bohacz - bestselling author and dreamer

A book that can open your mind

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2013

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The author takes us on a journey through a lifetime of experiences of things that transformed his original more materialistic world view into something more transpersonal. Books like this that challenge your worldview are valuable treasures. They coax you into opening your eyes and trying to see what is really there instead of falling into the normal easy safe pattern of quick preconceptions. This book has the power to raise your awareness just little and not by performing some technique but by simply reading it with an open mind.

7 people found this helpful

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J. Buss

History of the 2nd Half of the 20th Century

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2013

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Well-told stories about important events. If you weren't connected in some way to this branch of late 20th-Century history, you could think Stan was just name-dropping in some of his stories. But then you realize that this is the way it was. Fabulous book for reviewing all of the important recent trends in Consciousness Growth. Seems like Stan was in the middle or the edge of most of them, and he probably was.

3 people found this helpful

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Michael

Space is NOT the final frontier!

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2008

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Sorry Captain Kirk.

Space is limited to the known universe which, vast as it is, pales in comparison to the unknown universes that exist just behind the shadows of our consciousness.

Like millions, I too have enjoyed the fabulous imaginary worlds, incredible futures and technological wizardry that bubble up from the minds of great science fiction writers.

Then I began to read about a part of each of us that we know relatively little about: our consciousness. What we know about consciousness comes from the very limited vantage point of our waking state, and a bit more from our dreams. This experience fools us into believing that this reality is all there is.

Western Science reinforces this idea since it is grounded in a philosophical worldview spread by a distinctly un-spiritual Christian mindset that sees true mystical experiences as the domain of only saints and psychotics.

But in 1943, a Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann gave to the world a molecule that could allow anyone to experience conscious states far beyond our survival-mode highly-filtered reality.

This molecule, of course, was LSD and before the United States government rushed to judgement and declared all psychedelic substances as wholly unbeneficial for human research, amazing results were being published in the literature about the effectiveness of psychedelics in psychotherapy, in drug and alcohol addiction, in easing the fear of death in terminal patients and in non medical areas as creativity, problem solving and other intellectual and artistic endeavors.

One of the original researchers in the area of psychedelics was psychiatrist Stanislav Grof who added enormously to our knowledge of the mind and expanded greatly on both Freud and Jung in their understanding of how the mind works.

Realizing that much of what was being discovered regarding the psychedelic states of consciousness had been explored for thousands of years in Eastern philosophies as well as indigenous shamanism, he developed his Holotropic Breathwork technique to achieve these same states of consciousness after psychedelics were banned around the world in 1970.

His astounding findings over the past fifty years using both psychedelics and Holotropic Breathwork is the subject of this book and for me goes far beyond the imaginary worlds of science fiction into realms of reality that offer glimpses of not only our consciousness before and after our material deaths, but even the ability to experience the consciousness of any material entity; organic or inorganic.

Dr. Grof's work has given Western man something those in the East have known for millennia; that this span of time we call "our life" is simply a tiny momentary escape from the unlimited pool of consciousness that makes up the ALL of a Creative Consciousness.

The only downside to reading this book is that I fear I can never read science fiction again without feeling that no matter how creative and exciting the book is, it can't begin to compare with what exists just beyond the limits of our physical universe through our own consciousness.

19 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

David W.

Yet another excellent and profound book by a living legend...😉

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2020

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Yet another excellent, profound and illuminating book by Stanislav Grof that I'm proud to add to my library. Like all the best books I've read over the years it's one I found hard to put down once I'd started to read it and devoured its contents in a couple of days and am left thirsting for more holotropic knowledge from this living legend in modern consciousness research and have decided on the cosmic game as my next purchase. Obviously this book is more a collection of amazing stories and experiences from his many years of research , many of which I'd read of before from his other works but it's still a worthy purchase and would be a good if not fantastical introduction to his work and thought as some of his other books can seem a bit too deep and academic such as beyond the brain which was the first book of his that I read several decades ago. One thing I learned from this volume though which surprised me was how many psychedelic plants, substances and experiences he has had himself, not that I've anything against that just that I'd always presumed his research and thought was based more on the observations of his patients and clients experiences when psychedelics were legal, not surprising then that they had to develop holotropic breathwork as an alternative way of exploration to remain within the law! Just say know!... ******

Graham Mummery

The impossible happening here

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 11, 2012

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In many ways this is Stanislav Grof's most personal book. At its start he states that he wrote this book for people who have had similar experiences to his own exploring various states of consciousness. This in itself may make this book a help.

In my experience, in personal development workshops I've met people sometimes described as psychics, by others described less charitably as deluded, who go through experiences like those chronicled here. To my mind they are not deluded. They are aware of their experiences in both the material and psychic world. They know what comes from from where. Even if I don't see spirits, the emotional and psychological effects they have on such people are real enough. Medical interventions harm rather than improve their quality of life.

The experiences described here include those of synchronicities, meetings with yogis, psychologists experimenting with drugs like LSD, as well as those of past lives and meeting with mythological gods. Yet there are also reminders of the need to keep one's feet on the ground as Grof suggests from his own life, including the circumstances of his first marriage. Even if once accepts the experiences described here are real, it is possible to be mistaken- some thing Grof's critics do not always apply to themselves.

This memoir is not a systematic autobiography. Parallels cab be made between this and Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Flamingo) though this does not go into Grof's childhood memories. It could be seen as an example of various memoirs of people who have undergone shamanic initiations such as those of Casteneda, or more recently Anna Hunt in The Shaman in Stilettos . Whatever one's opinion, it is the a series of experiences of someone who is a deep and disciplined thinker who has experienced some of realities that are denied by the common consensus of reality.

At the end of these memoirs Grof describes reactions to his findings from people well versed in the current scientific consensus. In short they deny even that such experiences exist, and will call anyone who disagrees a liar. Those who share their view will continue to do so. But for those who do know these kind of experiences, this book will provide an invaluable source of orientation and help. For those of us who don't have such experiences, yet cannot dismiss them either, Grof remains a invaluable guide: some one who has the courage to report what he sees.

8 people found this helpful

Annette

Stoner drivel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2020

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A very disappointing book and undermining in my view his own integrity as a psychiatrist.

Viktoria G Duda

Very interesting read. It is all very entertaining to ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2018

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Very interesting read. It is all very entertaining to read, while something serious is going on here: a genuine paradigm shift, which will allow us in the future to understand the mind and consciousness without limitations.

One person found this helpful

silvia

Definitely recommended

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2018

Verified Purchase

Amazing book. I couldn’t put it down

One person found this helpful

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