Faculty of Health, Community & Life Science
Assessment Brief
Subject Code & Title
CSRP302 Adopting reflective practice
Assessment
2
Individual/Group
BC3
Length
1500 words
Learning Outcomes
A: Analyse own philosophical approach to community services work in the context of main theories and philosophical approaches
B: Plan for implementation, monitoring, evaluation to maximise opportunities for clients
C: Use reflective practice to evaluate and improve own performance to maximise outcomes for clients
D: Analyse the role and identity of the contemporary community service worke
E: Develop new ideologies for community service work
Submission
Week 7
Weighting
30%
Total Marks
30
Criteria:
Literature review on theoretical perspectives of the value of reflection to workplace practice.
Read and reflect on at least 3 of the articles you have been given in class
What are the main points these articles make?
What are the implications of these points for both oneself and one’s role in the community services sector?
Due week 7
Learning outcomes: ACE
Minimum 3 references
Criterion
Expected qualities
HD
DI
CR
PA
NN
Total
Excellent standard
Very good standard
Good standard
Satisfactory standard
Below standard
Knowledge and
Understanding
· Literature review on theoretical perpectives
· Comparative analysis on 3 models/approaches/articles
· Application of concepts on self
· Application of concepts on working in the community services field
23-24
19-22
15-18
12-14
< than 12
/24
Presentation
· Layout and readability — margins; paragraphing, page numbers
· Reasonably within required word limit (1,500 words) 10% each way.
· Well organised piece of writing
2
1.75
1.5
1
<1
/2
Language use
· coherent expression (syntax/sentence structure);
· vocabulary appropriate for situation
2
1.75
1.5
1
<1
/2
Referencing & Research
· Supporting literature cited appropriately
· APA style used co
ectly
2
1.75
1.5
1
<1
/2
Total out of 30
/30
Scanned Document
Scanned Document
Ecopsychology, Transpersonal Psychology, and Nonduality
International Journal of
Transpersonal Studies
Volume 30
Iss XXXXXXXXXXArticle 14
XXXXXXXXXX
Ecopsychology, Transpersonal Psychology, and
Nonduality
John V. Davis
Naropa University
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International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 137Ecopsychology, Transpersonal, and Nonduality
Ecopsychology, Transpersonal Psychology, and Nonduality
Nonduality is at the core of both transpersonal psychology and ecopsychology and provides a
means of finding common ground between these approaches. However, misunderstandings
and the lack of an adequate conceptual language for nonduality have limited the value
of this concept for ecopsychology. Nonduality is presented as a range of experiences and
stages of development in which particulars are perceived and understood as part of an all-
encompassing totality. Specifically, nonduality is understood in terms of a self-identity
in which separating boundaries no longer isolate one from other expressions of Being. A
description of nondual dimensions of Being based on the Diamond Approach of A. H.
Almaas provides ways of articulating the transpersonal dimensions of ecopsychology.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 30(1-2), 2011, pp XXXXXXXXXX
Many have recognized transpersonal experiences in natural settings and found qualities of peace, joy, love, guidance, and inspiration
that are exemplars of the spiritual quest. Similarly, some
people in both the psychological and the environmental
action communities sense that ecopsychology can be
a path to the spiritual as well as a powerful element in
promoting sustainable lifestyles, effective environmental
work, and optimal mental health. Spirituality has been
part of the ecopsychology literature, though not without
ambivalence or disagreement. For the most part, however,
the transpersonal elements of ecopsychology have not
een clearly articulated. In this article, I explore the
connection between ecopsychology and transpersonal
psychology. Since the central issue for this connection is
the notion of nonduality, I offer a discussion of nonduality
and its relation to ecopsychology. I do not intend this to be
a thorough review of either transpersonal psychology or
ecopsychology but rather a contribution to a continuing
dialogue on psyche, nature, and spirit.
Research on Nature-Based
Transpersonal Experiences
A substantial and rapidly-growing body of psychological research points to the mental health
enefits of nature experiences. Research settings include
a
oad range of encounters with nature including
extended wilderness trips, nea
y nature (such as city
parks and gardens), built environments, and immersion
into nature images. Most of the research has focused on
elaxation, a sense of restoration, and cognitive benefits
(Hartig, Mang, & Evans, 1991; Ulrich et al., 1991;
Kaplan, 1995; Chalquist, XXXXXXXXXXMore recently, research
on nature experiences has demonstrated increases in
prosocial behavior (Weinstein, Przybylski, & Ryan,
2009) and a sense of vitality (Ryan et al., 2010).
An important subset of this research identifies
transpersonal aspects of nature experiences. Wuthnow
(1978) used three definitions of peak experiences in a
large representative survey: “feeling that you were in
close contact with something holy or sacred,” “feeling
that you were in harmony with the universe,” and
“experiencing the beauty of nature in a deeply moving
way.” Eighty-two percent of his sample reported being
deeply moved by the beauty of nature, the most common
of the three definitions, and forty-nine percent felt this
experience had a lasting influence. Greeley XXXXXXXXXXand
Keutzer XXXXXXXXXXasked large samples whether they had
had what they called an ecstatic experience or an intense
spiritual experience. Thirty-five percent of the U.S.
population and sixty-five percent of a college population
(respectively) responded affirmatively. In these studies,
the “beauties of nature such as the sunset” was ranked as
the most common trigger by the students and the third
most common trigger by the general population. In a
cross-cultural confirmation of these findings, Hoffman
(2007) found that a sample of Japanese college students
John V. Davis
Naropa University
Boulder, CO, USA
Keywords: ecopsychology, transpersonal psychology, nonduality, spirituality and
nature, Almaas, Diamond Approach
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 138 Davis
eported nature experiences as the first or second most
common trigger for their peak experiences.
Several empirical studies have examined spiritual
experiences in the context of wilderness adventure
activities. Overall, it seems that both the adventure
element and the wilderness setting play a role in evoking
transpersonal experiences and that one of the primary
easons people engage in wilderness experiences is to seek
transpersonal experiences (Brown, XXXXXXXXXXFor instance,
Stringer and McAvoy (1992), using naturalistic inquiry
methods, found that spiritual experiences are common in
wilderness adventure activities. Beck XXXXXXXXXXstudied river
afters and showed that intensive recreational encounters
with wild rivers often led to transpersonal experiences
“expressed in terms of humility and spirituality....[and]
a sense of oneness” (p XXXXXXXXXX; emphasis in original).
Kaplan and Talbot XXXXXXXXXXand Talbot and Kaplan (1986)
eported extensive research on wilderness experiences.
Their Outdoor Challenge Program took inner city
children, teachers, and others on week-long wilderness
trips and analyzed the contents of participants’ journals.
Although this program did not have an explicit
psychological orientation, they found spiritual and
transpersonal qualities to be the strongest theme.
For many participants [during the backpacking trips]
there is eventually a surprising sense of revelation, as
oth the environment and the self are newly perceived
and seem newly wondrous. The wilderness inspires
feelings of awe and wonder, and one’s intimate
contact with this environment leads to thoughts
about spiritual meanings and eternal processes.
Individuals feel better acquainted with their own
thoughts and feelings, and they feel “different” in
some way—calmer, at peace with themselves, “more
eautiful on the inside and unstifled.” . . .
[After the trips] there is a growing sense of wonder
and a complex awareness of spiritual meanings as
individuals feel at one with nature, yet they are aware
of the transience of individual concerns when seen
against the background of enduring natural rhythms.
(Kaplan & Talbot, 1983, p XXXXXXXXXX)
Transpersonal Psychology and Ecopsychology
In transpersonal psychology, as well as many other psychological approaches, the sense of separate self is seen
as a product of one’s personal history and is characterized
y a sense of autonomy, independent agency, and separation
from su
oundings. The transpersonal approach differs
from other approaches, however, by valuing and describing
states in which the self transcends a na
ow identification
(e.g., Wilber, XXXXXXXXXXSelf-transcendence refers to states
of consciousness and stages of development in which the
sense of self is expanded beyond the ordinary boundaries,
identifications, and self-images of the individual personality
and reflects a fundamental connection, harmony, or
unity with others and the world (Caplan, Hartelius, &
Rardin, 2003; Davis, 2003; Friedman, 1983; Walsh &
Vaughan, XXXXXXXXXXBynum (1997), consistent with many
others describing transpersonal psychology, places “unitive
conscious experiences” at the center of the field (p. 301).
Based on a longer list of 202 definitions, Lajoie and Shapiro
(1992) offered this integration:
Transpersonal psychology is concerned with the
study of humanity’s highest potential, and with
the recognition, understanding, and realization
of unitive, spiritual, and transcendent states of
consciousness. (p. 91)
Ecopsychology argues that the deep and