The Humanistic Psychologist, Vol 52(4), Dec 2024, 325-340; doi:10.1037/hum0000337
This article examines, intellectually and experientially, the nature of a class of processes that have had a profound effect on human evolution, though their importance has largely been taken for granted by psychology and is only beginning to be recognized. The relevant process can be called conscious phenomenological transformation (CPT). A CPT is a consciously-willed transformation of phenomenal experience. It is performed for its immediate and long-term effects on both mind and body. CPT techniques and practices are grounded in biologically-based processes, here termed systemic phenomenological operators. These include breathing, body awareness, movement, cognition, and attention. These systemic processes are organized into practices which are given sense and value through their embedding within a conceptual context. The article examines the structure and dynamics of this class of processes. Across a range of specific disciplines, CPT techniques have found applications as religious, spiritual, philosophical, and psychological tools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)