Stanislav Grof, MD, is a clinical psychiatrist with over 60 years of experience in researching non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by psychedelic substances and by experiential psychotherapy. He’s one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology, and the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA).

He was formerly Principal Investigator in a psychedelic research program at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Scholar-In-Residence at the Esalen Institute.

Stan currently teaches at the Department of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), and through Grof Transpersonal Training (GTT). He writes and gives lectures, seminars, and workshops worldwide.

He is the author of the books, Psychology of the Future, LSD Psychotherapy, Beyond the Brain, The Cosmic Game, When the Impossible Happens, The Ultimate Journey, Modern Consciousness Research and the Understanding of Art, and co-author with Christina Grof of Holotropic Breathwork, Stormy Search for the Self, Spiritual Emergency, Beyond Death, and over 150 scholarly articles.

Richard Tarnas, PhD is the founding director of the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He teaches courses in archetypal studies, depth psychology, philosophy, cultural history, and religious evolution. Formerly the director of programs and education at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, he is a graduate of Harvard University (AB, 1972) and Saybrook Institute (PhD, 1976).

He is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a history of the Western world view from the ancient Greek to the postmodern that is widely used in universities. His second book, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, received the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network and is the basis for the upcoming documentary film, Changing of the Gods. He is a past president of the International Transpersonal Association and served for many years on the Board of Governors for the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco.