Day 1 Recap
The conference began with keynote speeches and panels on participatory spirituality, immersive mental health technologies, and interventions for children with attention challenges, bridging ancient wisdom and modern psychology.
On the first day, the conference was inaugurated by Dr. Dorote Lucci, the Academic Chair of the conference, who shared a message from Dr. Carol Humphreys, President of Sofia University. The Mayor of Irvine, California, Ms. Farrah N. Khan, addressed the conference as a community representative. Dr. Robert Frager, Honorary Founder of Sofia University, offered his blessings for the event. Ms. Yali Wang, the Executive Chair of the conference, welcomed guests from various countries and across the United States. Special guest Dr. Pierre Morin shared his unique insights into holistic mental health and healthcare, inspired by his lifelong mentor and friend, Arnold Mindell (founder of Process-Oriented Psychology).
Dr. Jorge Ferrer, in his keynote speech, emphasized how participatory spirituality fosters the development of a diverse world. He led participants in exploring multiple dimensions of participatory spirituality co-creation, including relational, embodied, and pluralistic aspects, and their relevance to transpersonal psychology, interreligious relations, and holistic development and transformation.
Dr. Marilyn Schlitz, Dr. Dorote Lucci, Dr. James Thompson, and creative psychotherapist Jaspr Chang discussed the topic of immersive experiences—digital and non-digital mental health—focusing on the transformative potential of psychomanteum in grief, sacred geometry VR and AR technologies in personal growth and healing, immersive learning, and medical training from a transpersonal psychology perspective.
Dr. Harris Friedman and Dr. Glen Hartelius presented a systematic discussion on the evolution and development history of transpersonal psychology as a scientific discipline, the academic publishing process, and collaborative research efforts in an interactive dialogue format.
During the lunch break, Ms. Penny Li, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Strategy, International and Alumni Affairs at Sofia University, and Dr. Patty Hlava, a core faculty member of transpersonal psychology at the university, engaged with participants in a lively discussion about their conference experiences, insights, and deep connections with Sofia.
Dr. Robert Wood invited Dr. Cai Fang Zhu, Dr. Anne Hsu, and Candida Crasto, a clinical counselor focused on the concept of "archetype," to join a discussion on the vibrant "archetypes" across time and culture. Mental health issues are not exclusive to modern society but reside in the unconscious of the human body, where "archetypes" and myths often offer clues to address these challenges. "Archetypes" help us understand the mental health challenges others might face and how they draw strength from "archetypes" like the warrior and hero to overcome problems. Furthermore, by understanding "archetypes," we connect our intuition and inner sense to experience and access divine power.
Dr. Tanya Luhrmann, a professor from Stanford University, introduced the concept of "absorption," a cutting-edge field in consciousness research. "Absorption" is a psychological state of complete attention and immersion in mental imagery. Dr. Luhrmann explored how "absorption" relates to different mental states, its application in healing practices, and its relevance to understanding human cognition. She emphasized the role of "absorption" in spiritual and religious experiences from cultural and anthropological perspectives. Dr. Luhrmann suggested that people develop their "absorption" abilities through belief and practice, which can enhance their vivid psychological experiences. Her research proposes that "absorption" can help individuals engage deeply in psychological and creative practices and may influence specific psychological symptoms or altered states of consciousness.
Dr. Dan Cai, a child developmental psychology expert from Shanghai Normal University, vividly illustrated how to help elementary school students with low attention spans through cognitive and math-enhancement courses by showcasing research practices. Since elementary school students' cognitive abilities are rapidly developing, teachers and parents are often troubled by behavior problems caused by low control abilities. This research proposed a comprehensive intervention design for students with attention deficits, including creating a positive school and home learning environment, encouraging warm, supportive teacher-student/parent-child interactions, and scaffolding methods. It also promoted cognitive and math training courses based on the PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive processing) cognitive process model to improve children's cognitive abilities. In a fireside chat, Dr. Cai and Dr. Carol Humphreys, President of Sofia University, further explored the impact of society, school, and family on the academic performance of students with low attention spans, comparing and integrating the strengths of educational resources from both China and the United States to foster better intervention for these students' academic performance. They aimed to create a more comprehensive and harmonious supportive educational environment in future research and practice collaborations, laying a solid foundation for holistic education for future generations.
