Kylea Taylor

Kylea Taylor, M.S., (senior teacher; advisor) is a California licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT# 34901). She has been a part of Grof Transpersonal Training since 1993. She served on the Board of the Association for Holotropic Breathwork and edited its newsletter for 16 years.

Kylea says, “I have been studying with the Grofs since 1984. That was the beginning of a period of intense personal spiritual emergence which lasted for the next five years, during which I completed the Grof’s first three-year training program. For me, the most important thing about the GTT training was (and is) that it contains an international community of people who are undergoing deep personal change, and who can understand and support one another.”

Kylea is the author of The Ethics of Caring: Finding Right Relationship with Clients (2017, 1995), The Breathwork Experience: Exploration and Healing in Nonordinary States of Consciousness (1994), and The Holotropic Breathwork Facilitators’ Manual (2007). She is the editor of Exploring Holotropic Breathwork (2003).

Kylea lives in central California, where she has a private ethics consulting practice and manages Hanford Mead Publishers, Inc. and SoulCollage Inc.

www.kyleataylor.com

Kate Silver

Kate Silver (advisor) is an artist and author. She is the co-creator of The New Earth Tarot Deck and author of The New Earth Tarot Handbook.  Kate has been a certified Holotropic Breathwork™ facilitator since 1998.

Jack Silver

Jack Silver (advisor) has been a certified Holotropic Breathwork™ facilitator since 1998. Jack is an attorney who specializes in environmental law.

Silvia Chiemi Yamamoto

Silvia Chiemi Yamamoto (organizer GTT Mexico; module facilitator) lives in Mexico City.  Chiemi is a psychologist who has been certified as a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator since 2005. Her degrees and studies are: humanistic psychology MA, MBA, studies in thanatology, NLP and EMDR. Chiemi has worked with HIV organizations, Diversity & Inclusion, Gender and Organizational Culture for 10 years.

Geoff Fitzpatrick

Geoff Fitzpatrick B.A. (guest teacher) is a certified Holotropic Breathwork practitioner, who has studied psychology in Trinity College Dublin, and is a Graduate of the Milltown Institute of Theology where he studied spiritual enrichment. He has an active interest in modern consciousness research. He has been constructing mandalas for 10 years and is driven to promote the transformative potential of these sacred circles.

“I have two great passions, one is the exploration of consciousness the other is the construction of mandalas. In effect these are two sides of the same coin. The first time I saw a mandala was about 25 years ago. A group of Tibetan Monks came to Trinity College Dublin. They spent a week creating a magnificent Kalachakra sand mandala. I was mesmerised by the experience, the colours, the shapes and the sound of the chak purs are as vivid in my memory today as they were all that time ago. It was eight years later in that very same university whilst studying psychology I came across mandalas for a second time. I studied the work of Carl Jung and Stanislav Grof both of whom saw the mandala as a powerful psychotherapeutic tool. The depths of the psyche that I touch when constructing mandalas are similar in tonality to those from breathwork. I have borrowed heavily from the map of consciousness drafted by Stan Grof to navigate my way through the experiences activated whilst constructing mandalas.

But the greatest teachers for me have been the shapes themselves – The geometric symbols that date back into our prehistory and their origins dwell in the very fabric of what creates the universe itself. Nothing has exposed me to more mystery or opened me to greater depths of inner experience than working with these symbols. The sum total of my seeking, the knowledge gleaned from the courses, workshops of all kinds, powerful peak experiences and exposure to enlightened teachers can be distilled down to one very simple thing…….I believe there is a greater wisdom available to us at all times. The thing is, this higher wisdom is easier to experience than it is to explain.”

Jai Uttal

Jai Uttal, Grammy nominated sacred music composer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist, combines influences from India with influences from American rock and jazz, creating a stimulating and exotic multi-cultural fusion that is truly world spirit music.

Having travelled extensively in India, where he met many great saints and singers, Bhakti Yoga became his personal path. Jai has been leading, teaching and performing kirtan around the world for close to 50 years, creating a safe environment for people to open their hearts and voices.

Psychology of the Future Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research

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345 pages

Summarizes Grof’s experiences and observations from more than forty years of research into non-ordinary states of consciousness.

This accessible and comprehensive overview of the work of Stanislav Grof, one of the founders of transpersonal psychology, was specifically written to acquaint newcomers with his work. Serving as a summation of his career and previous works, this entirely new book is the source to introduce Grof’s enormous contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychology, especially his central concept of holotropic experience, where holotropic signifies “moving toward wholeness.” Grof maintains that the current basic assumptions and concepts of psychology and psychiatry require a radical revision based on the intensive and systematic research of holotropic experience. He suggests that a radical inner transformation of humanity and a rise to a higher level of consciousness might be humankind’s only real hope for the future.

This book is the source to introduce Grof’s enormous contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychology, especially his central concept of holotropic experience, where holotropic signifies “moving toward wholeness.” This book presents the core material of the Holotropic BreathworkTM  Training program.

“It’s rare to find a textbook that is both extremely informative and enjoyable to read. Psychology of the Future has to be one of the first ones I’ve ever come across … Each chapter brought an entirely new concept, theory, or method that was just as engaging as the previous one.” — Dr. Tami Brady, TCM Reviews

“This book is by a pioneering genius in consciousness research. It presents the full spectrum of Grof’s ideas, from his earliest mappings of using LSD psychotherapy, to his clinical work with people facing death, to his more recent work with holotropic breathing, to his latest thoughts about the cosmological implications of consciousness research and the prospects for dealing with an emerging planetary crisis. Grof has always been one of the most original thinkers in the transpersonal field, and his creativity has kept pace with the maturity of his overall vision.” — Michael Washburn, author of Transpersonal Psychology in Psychoanalytic Perspective

“Grof offers an outstanding contribution to the ever-growing debate about the nature of human consciousness and about the place of humankind in the cosmos. If more psychiatrists could be persuaded that human consciousness transcends the limitations of the physical brain, and instead is but an aspect of what may best be described as ‘cosmic consciousness,’ we could not only expect treatment modalities to change, but we could also anticipate the possibility of culture-wide rethinking of the basic presuppositions of modern cosmology, the cosmology that grounds Western institutions, ideologies, and beliefs about the nature of personhood.” — Michael E. Zimmerman, author of Contesting Earth’s Future: Radical Ecology and Postmodernity

Cary Sparks

Cary Sparks (director, teacher) For nearly forty years, Cary has supported people on their inner journeys, holding compassionate space for personal growth and transformation.

Cary and Tav Sparks co-directed Grof Transpersonal Training until Tav’s death in August, 2020.  For two years prior to that time, Cary and a circle of advisors had already begun shepherding GTT and Holotropic Breathwork® forward following Tav’s retirement.

Cary began administrating GTT in 1990, working at that time with Stanislav and Christina Grof. In 1998, the Grofs sold the training organization to Tav and Cary. Over the decades, she has organized and facilitated countless Holotropic Breathwork® workshops and transpersonal trainings worldwide.

Cary began facilitating seekers on their inner journeys in 1986.  She was certified in Holotropic Breathwork® in 1988, and has worked as a facilitator, workshop leader, and at training events. In 2019, Cary trained to be a SoulCollage® facilitator, a practice for accessing one’s intuition and creating a deeply meaningful personal deck of cards. Both practices rest upon and uphold the healing impulse and empowerment of the individual.

Cary’s book Incensed: The Novel, is a humorous take on the world of transformational workshops. Her passions include birding, horses, music, nature, writing, and time with her family and cats.

In 1988, Cary founded the Association for Holotropic Breathwork International (with support from Carlin Scherer and John Scherer). She founded and edited its newsletter, The Inner Door, later joined by Tav, for the first few years of its publication. More recently, Cary and Tav founded The Institute for Holotropics, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with the mission of education and promotion of Holotropic Breathwork® and the holotropic perspective. In addition to the Institute for Holotropics, she serves on the Board of Directors for California River Watch, the Marin Audubon Society, and the SoulCollage Institute.

Cary was Co-Program Director (with Tav Sparks) for the 1995 International Transpersonal Association (ITA) conference in Santa Clara, California (US), Spirit in Action: Awakening to the Sacred in Everyday Life. She was Co-Assistant Program Coordinator, working closely with Stan and Christina Grof, for ITA conferences in Eugene, Oregon (US) in 1991; Atlanta, Georgia (US) in 1992; Prague, Czech Republic in 1998; and Palm Springs, California (US) in 2004. She also has served on the ITA Board of Directors.

Cary is passionate about sharing the “experience, strength, and hope” she gained in supporting her beloved husband through his memory loss and his end-of-life journey. She welcomes the opportunity to connect with anyone facing their own or loved ones’ illness or dementia, and to share her experience with a partner who courageously chose a death with dignity.

Schedule a personal consultation with Cary Sparks here.

Tav Sparks, 1949-2020

Former Director Tav Sparks (deceased) was co-director of Grof Transpersonal Training (GTT) until his death on August 9, 2020. Tav was a gifted and inspirational teacher, consultant, and writer who worked therapeutically with people in non-ordinary states of consciousness for 34 years.

A tribute to Tav’s life can be found here.

From 1986 until close to his death, Tav conducted hundreds of trainings and workshops and supported thousands of individuals in their deep inner work. In 1990, he became the primary faculty member of GTT, working alongside Stanislav Grof, M.D. (co-creator, with Christina Grof, of Holotropic Breathwork®, and author of Psychology of the Future, The Cosmic Game, and When the Impossible Happens). In 1998, Tav, along with Cary Sparks, took over GTT from the Grofs, and he led and oversaw a network of seminars and events all over Europe; North and South America; and Australia.

Tav was the author of four books, a training manual, and five professionally produced CDs. In his most recent book, The Power Within: Becoming, Being, and the Holotropic Paradigm published in 2016, Tav shares a wealth of wisdom from his deep understanding of Holotropic Breathwork®. He shows how a holotropic paradigm can inform all sorts of settings, from the therapeutic to the personal and interpersonal, and more.

His previous book, Movie Yoga: How Every Film Can Change Your Life, demonstrates how movie watching can be a deep spiritual practice. Stanislav Grof said Movie Yoga “is a unique instrument that could transform one of the most popular mass entertainments into an adventure of self-discovery, self-healing, and inner transformation.” Tav’s CD series covers four topics as they relate to Holotropic Breathwork®: Getting Started on Your Inner Journey; Addiction, Recovery, and the Spiritual Path; A Modern Spiritual Method with Lessons for Practical Life; and Healing Stories from Holotropic Breathwork®.

His work for four years in a traditional recovery environment, and his experience of the limitations of the current treatment model, were the inspiration for Tav’s first book, The Wide Open Door: The 12 Steps, Spiritual Tradition, and the New Psychology. In this groundbreaking text, he pioneered the wellness approach to addiction and recovery. International lecturer and author Rokelle Lerner calls the book a “stunning synthesis of psychology, spirituality, and Twelve Step traditions” and “an important contribution to the addictions field.”

His 1987 article in Revision Journal, “Transpersonal Treatment of Addictions: Radical Return to Roots” was the forerunner of currently accepted trends in treatment.

Tav is also author of the training manual Doing Not Doing: A Facilitators Guide to Holotropic Breathwork. His poetry book Through Thunder: A Death Rebirth Journey, received much praise, and he has also completed seven screenplays.

He was program coordinator for three conferences of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and served as a member of the ITA Board of Directors.

Tav lived in Northern California and was the father of two sons, Ason and Bryn, and the grandfather of four boys.

Watch Tav’s video on the inner healer in Holotropic Breathwork
Tav’s Movie yoga website
Movie Yoga video 1
Movie Yoga video 2
Movie Yoga video 3
Movie Yoga video 4