Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD
Explore some of the most advanced insights into the nature of reality, synthesized by Dr. Stanislav Grof — including their implications for spiritual practice, breathwork, psychedelic healing, archetypal astrology, and the deeper patterns shaping human experience.
Experience an exploration of a seminal Spirit Rock workshop with one of the most beloved leaders in the consciousness movement — where each module, leading thinkers and transpersonal pioneers revisit Stan's key discoveries and illuminate their relevance for our lives and world today.
Why are we ultimately here on Earth?
What is the nature of the Universe?
What is the nature of our soul’s journey over lifetimes?
Can the insights of leading-edge science come into deep alignment with the wisdom of history’s most influential mystics?
These are the kinds of questions that can drive a lifetime of deep spiritual inquiry. The answers are often elusive.
Yet, what if we were able to conduct thousands of experiments that took people into the most beautiful, profound, and mystical experiences of their lives — and from them, uncover threads of truth, meaning, and wisdom that weave into a larger tapestry?
Such a multi-decade exploration of humanity's most extraordinary states of consciousness might actually unlock some of the deepest mysteries of the Universe in a way that’s both scientifically grounded and spiritually meaningful.
Stanislav Grof’s life work offers such a unique window into the nature of consciousness, reality, and our place in the cosmos. His synthesis of thousands of psychedelic and non-ordinary state experiences represents a treasure trove of unparalleled experiential data, offering remarkable answers to humanity’s most enduring metaphysical questions. After decades of exploration, research, and careful study, Stan shared this synthesis at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. The workshop, titled Frontiers of The Cosmic Game, served as a benefit for a local institution, while bringing together decades of inquiry into consciousness, transformation, and the deeper dimensions of human experience.
Now, this groundbreaking seminar is available to be viewed, discussed, and explored in a unique online format, with each portion illuminated by some of the foremost visionary thinkers and pioneers of our time.
Frontiers of The Cosmic Game delivers timeless truths and specific metaphysical medicine for our current cultural moment, when the world is experiencing historic levels of polarization.
If you choose to embark on this adventure, you’ll dive deep into the nature of reality, how birth experiences inform our experience of life, and how transpersonal experiences — where an individual's sense of self and identity expands beyond traditional ego boundaries to encompass wider aspects of humanity, nature, or the cosmos — can help us rewrite our paradigm of reality.
But first, a bit more about Dr. Stanislav Grof.
History produces few figures who mold the future in fundamental ways. Stan has been one of those figures. His groundbreaking research and theories helped lay the foundation of transpersonal psychology, often described as the fourth force in psychology.
Over a career spanning 70 years, Stan has inspired generations of practitioners of psychedelic medicine, non-ordinary state healing, archetypal astrology, mysticism, and more. In the aftermath of his 95th birthday celebration on July 1, some of his most eminent collaborators, allies, and friends are coming together to explore some of the most groundbreaking insights into the nature of reality, personal evolution, and the deep structure of the Universe that Stan has created.
Stan’s discoveries into how foundational birth patterns shape the psyche, how non-ordinary states of consciousness can catalyze profound transformation, and how psychology must evolve beyond a brain-only model of reality remain essential for addressing and healing the collective dysfunctions that jeopardize our future. Born in Czechoslovakia, Stan first experienced LSD as a promising therapeutic tool while working in the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague. That experience launched him on a lifelong journey as a pioneer of psychedelic research and explorer of the realms and frontiers of human consciousness.
Throughout his long career, Stan has inspired generations of explorers across science, psychedelics, and psychiatry to expand their cosmology, open themselves to transformative experiences, heal traumas beyond personal biography, and reimagine the human story itself.
In this unique course, you’ll:
- Have the opportunity to learn from many other experts in the field who’ve worked with Stan for many years
- See your own life and soul’s journey from a wider cosmological perspective — and explore how consciousness creates the very fabric of your experience.
- Understand how your birth experience sculpted the beliefs that underpin your worldview — and how transpersonal experiences can rewrite deeply rooted patterns of your mind
- See today’s Psychedelic Renaissance from the wider perspective of the field’s foundation, the extraordinary discoveries that emerged from the earliest scientific research, and their game-changing implications for the future of psychiatry
- Explore how the insights that emerge from archetypal astrology opened a new understanding of the deeper patterns influencing the psyche and society — and what it means to live in a participatory cosmos
- Glimpse the core metaphysical concepts that emerged through thousands of psychedelic and breathwork sessions, pointing toward a sacred, ensouled vision of the cosmos
- Discover how non-ordinary breathwork states empower a more experiential, somatic approach to clearing traumas and healing childhood wounds, while accessing transpersonal dimensions of consciousness
- Witness spontaneous stories from beloved teachers and pioneers whose lives and work were profoundly impacted by Stan’s legacy
- Explore how perinatal and transpersonal perspectives provide a powerful interpretative lens for understanding the dynamics operating in our culture today
- And much more…
Participants in this course will have a unique opportunity to engage with some of Stan’s most important cosmological insights and research — and explore their implications for your future. You’ll also see how key, foundational ideas have shaped a next generation of exploration, healing, and impact.
What You’ll Discover in These 7 Modules
In this 7-module transformational course, you’ll delve into the frontiers of consciousness, spirituality, and human potential.
The Beauty of On-Demand
This course features pre-recorded teachings with Stan guest presenters who are leading figures of the consciousness movement in their own right. Your purchase includes 24/7 ongoing access to your course content, allowing you time to review the materials at your own pace and integration.
Module 1 Expand Your Understanding of Consciousness, Healing & Human Potential With Guest Jack Kornfield
In this opening session, Stan introduces the foundational discoveries that transformed his life's work and challenged conventional assumptions about consciousness, mental health, and human potential. You'll explore holotropic states of consciousness and discover how experiences often viewed as unusual, mystical, or irrational may hold profound potential for healing, self-discovery, and transformation. Drawing on pioneering research into psychedelics, breathwork, and spiritual emergencies, you'll begin exploring a broader map of the human psyche and its capacity for growth.
During this first module, you'll:
- Explore the difference between ordinary and holotropic states of consciousness and their role in healing and transformation
- Understand why many mystical and spiritual experiences have been misunderstood or pathologized by conventional psychology
- Discover Stan's concept of holotropic states and how they can support greater wholeness and self-discovery
- Examine the limitations of materialistic views of consciousness while exploring a broader understanding of human experience
- Hear the story of the discoveries that launched Stan's pioneering research into consciousness and human potential
Module 1 Special Guest Commentary: Jack Kornfield
Following Stan's opening session, renowned meditation teacher Jack Kornfield reflects on the transformative potential of expanded states of consciousness and the role they can play in healing, awakening, and personal growth. Drawing on decades of experience in meditation and Buddhist psychology, he explores how these states can deepen self-understanding and support a more awakened way of living.
Module 2 Explore the Deeper Patterns Connecting Consciousness, Spiritual Experience & Reality With Guest Chris Bache
Stan explores one of the central questions to emerge from decades of consciousness research: What do transformative spiritual experiences reveal about the nature of reality? Drawing on psychedelic research, wisdom traditions, and scientific inquiry, you'll examine why similar insights have appeared across cultures and spiritual paths throughout history. Through the lens of The Cosmic Game, you'll explore a view of reality that challenges conventional assumptions and offers a broader understanding of consciousness and our place in the cosmos.
In this session, you'll:
- Explore what mystical experiences and expanded states of consciousness may reveal about the nature of reality
- Discover the core principles of The Cosmic Game and the wisdom traditions that have explored humanity's place in the cosmos
- Examine parallels between ancient spiritual teachings, consciousness research, and scientific perspectives that challenge materialistic views of reality
- Understand why context, intention, and integration are essential for transforming profound experiences into lasting growth
- Consider new possibilities for understanding consciousness, human identity, and our connection to a larger field of existence
Module 2 Special Guest Commentary: Chris Bache
After the teaching, philosopher, psychonaut, and consciousness researcher Chris Bache explores the deeper implications of Stan's vision of reality and humanity's place within it. Known for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of philosophy, spirituality, and expanded states of consciousness, Chris brings a thoughtful and experiential perspective to some of the most profound questions raised in The Cosmic Game.
Module 3 Discover Your Deeper Identity Beyond the Limits of the Personal Self With Guests Paul Grof & Becca Tarnas
Stan explores how expanded states of consciousness can transform your understanding of who you are. Drawing on decades of research into non-ordinary states, you'll discover how the journey of healing often opens into a deeper exploration of identity, revealing dimensions of experience that extend beyond personal history and biography. Along the way, you'll examine experiences of interconnectedness, archetypal realms, and spiritual awakening that point toward a broader understanding of consciousness and the nature of self.
In this session, you'll:
- Discover how emotional healing can become a gateway to spiritual awakening and deeper self-discovery
- Explore expanded states of consciousness that reveal dimensions of identity beyond your personal history
- Examine experiences of unity with humanity, nature, and the living world, and what they suggest about the interconnected nature of reality
- Understand the role of archetypes, mythological realms, and spiritual symbols as gateways to deeper dimensions of consciousness
- Investigate experiences of the cosmic void and the luminous source of creation and what they may reveal about the foundations of existence
Module 3 Special Guest Commentary: Paul Grof & Becca Tarnas
Following this session, psychiatrist Paul Grof and Becca Tarnas, scholar of depth psychology and archetypal studies and Grof's biographer, share reflections on Stan's work from both a professional and deeply personal perspective.
As Stan’s brother and a pioneering researcher in his own right, Paul brings unique insight into the experiences, discoveries, and spirit of inquiry that shaped Stan’s extraordinary contributions. Stan and Paul began from opposing frameworks — psychoanalytic and psychopharmacological — and yet, while working independently along different paths, their findings converged on the same understanding of the nature of human consciousness.
Module 4 Transform Your Understanding of Karma, Healing & Spiritual Awakening With Guests Will Keepin & Cynthia Brix
In this session, Stan explores some of the most compelling topics in consciousness research, including past-life experiences, karma, spiritual emergence, synchronicity, and mystical awakening. Drawing on decades of clinical observation and work with individuals in holotropic states, you'll examine how these experiences can challenge conventional assumptions about identity, memory, healing, and consciousness. You'll also discover how direct experience can offer new perspectives on personal challenges and spiritual transformation.
In this session, you'll:
- Explore the characteristics of past-life experiences, karmic patterns, and transpersonal states of consciousness
- Discover how unresolved emotional, psychological, and spiritual imprints may influence present-day relationships and life challenges
- Understand how holotropic states can support healing by bringing hidden material into awareness for integration
- Examine the relationship between mystical experience, spiritual emergence, synchronicity, and awakening
- Learn why some of life's deepest questions may be illuminated through direct experience rather than intellectual understanding
Module 4 Special Guest Commentary: Will Keepin & Cynthia Brix
Following the session, Satyana Institute co-directors Will Keepin and Cynthia Brix explore how the insights of spiritual awakening can be embodied in our relationships, communities, and daily lives. Drawing on decades of work in spiritual practice, sacred partnership, and interfaith wisdom, they offer a grounded perspective on living these insights in service to a more compassionate world.
Module 5 Discover Your Divine Nature & Place in The Cosmic Game With Guest Rick Doblin
Stan explores a revelation shared across mystical traditions and non-ordinary states of consciousness: that our deepest identity is not separate from the creative intelligence that gives rise to the universe. Drawing on wisdom traditions and decades of consciousness research, you'll examine how expanded states of awareness can transform our understanding of self, reality, and the spiritual journey. As Stan brings together the core themes of The Cosmic Game, you'll explore what these insights suggest about humanity's place in a living, interconnected cosmos.
In this session, you'll:
- Explore the insight that our deepest nature is inseparable from the creative source of existence
- Examine how mystical traditions describe humanity's relationship with consciousness, divinity, and reality
- Discover why many consciousness explorers view the physical world as a meaningful experiential reality
- Understand the processes of separation, forgetting, and remembrance that shape spiritual awakening
- Investigate why self-discovery, creativity, love, and conscious evolution may play a central role in The Cosmic Game
Module 5 Special Guest Commentary: Rick Doblin
After Stan's exploration of humanity's place in The Cosmic Game, Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), reflect on the growing role of expanded states of consciousness in healing, personal transformation, and cultural evolution. Having spent decades helping bring serious scientific attention to experiences once considered beyond the boundaries of conventional research, Rick offers a unique perspective on their potential to shape the future of healing and human development.
Module 6 Integrate Spiritual Wisdom Into Everyday Life With Guest Diane Haug
Stan explores a central question of the spiritual journey: If our deepest nature is connected to a greater reality, why is it so easy to forget who we are? Drawing on transpersonal psychology, mystical traditions, and decades of consciousness research, you'll examine the forces that create a sense of separation and the challenges that often accompany spiritual awakening. You'll discover how expanded awareness can bring greater meaning, resilience, and perspective to everyday life.
In this session, you'll:
- Explore the forces that create the illusion of separation and disconnect us from our deeper nature
- Examine why suffering, darkness, and evil have played a central role in spiritual inquiry across traditions
- Understand the challenges and transformative potential that often accompany profound spiritual experiences
- Discover the distinction between direct spiritual experience and belief systems rooted in doctrine or authority
- Learn how to embrace both the human and transcendent dimensions of life while cultivating greater meaning and connection
Module 6 Special Guest Commentary: Diane Haug
Following the teaching, Diane Haug offers reflections on the challenges and opportunities of integrating profound spiritual experiences into everyday life. As a senior holotropic breathwork teacher and longtime leader in the Grof tradition, Diane brings decades of experience supporting healing, transformation, and spiritual emergence.
Module 7 Integrate Expanded Consciousness Into a Meaningful Life With Stan Grof and Guests Brigitte Grof, Rick Tarnas & Becca Tarnas
In this closing session, Stan brings together key insights from The Cosmic Game and a lifetime of exploring consciousness. You'll examine what happens after profound spiritual and transpersonal experiences occur, and discover how to integrate them into everyday life with greater grounding, discernment, and balance. Drawing on decades of work with holotropic states, breathwork, psychedelic research, and spiritual emergence, Stan offers practical wisdom for living with both expanded awareness and the realities of ordinary life.
During this final session, you'll:
- Discover practical approaches for integrating spiritual, mystical, and transpersonal experiences into everyday life
- Explore the role of preparation, guidance, trust, and discernment in navigating transformative states of consciousness
- Understand the difference between spiritual emergence, spiritual emergency, and experiences often misunderstood as mental illness
- Examine how rites of passage and encounters with the sacred have traditionally supported personal growth and wellbeing
- Learn how to cultivate a balanced relationship between expanded awareness and the responsibilities of everyday life
Module 7 Special Guest Commentary: Brigitte Grof, Rick Tarnas & Becca Tarnas
To conclude the journey, Stan Grof himself, along with Brigitte Grof, psychotherapist and longtime collaborator in Stan's work... Richard Tarnas, professor emeritus of cultural history and archetypal cosmology who taught with Stan for forty years... and Becca Tarnas, scholar of depth psychology and archetypal studies and Grof's biographer, join together for a special conversation honoring Stan's legacy and exploring the enduring significance of his work. Bringing perspectives from psychology, philosophy, cultural history, and their own close personal connections with Stan, they reflect on how his discoveries continue to shape our understanding of consciousness, spirituality, and human potential.
SPECIAL BONUS OFFER
In addition to Stanislav’s transformative 7-module course, you’ll receive this special bonus offering to complement the course and take your understanding and practice to an even deeper level.
Celestial Integration: Psychedelics and Archetypal Astrology
PDF Essay by Becca Tarnas
Unlock a deeper dimension of your journey with this compelling exploration of psychedelic integration through the lens of archetypal astrology. Drawing on transpersonal research, author and researcher Becca Tarnas offers a powerful framework for understanding and making meaning of expanded states of consciousness. You'll gain insight into how cosmic patterns can illuminate personal transformation and help translate profound experiences into lasting growth. Whether you're new to this perspective or looking to deepen your understanding, this thought-provoking essay offers a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between psyche, cosmos, and healing.
Excerpts From "Holotropic Art: Images From Hidden Worlds"
PDF Book Excerpts by Brigitte Grof
What if some of your greatest creative breakthroughs were waiting within you? Psychologist and lifelong artist Brigitte Grof takes you on a stunning visual and personal journey, revealing how deep inner experiences - accessed through expanded states of consciousness - can unlock profound creativity, healing, and self-discovery. Drawing on her transformative work alongside her husband Stan Grof, Brigitte introduces the concept of "holotropic art," and traces its roots through human history - from ancient cave paintings and sacred indigenous traditions to contemporary visionary masterpieces. You'll receive several sample chapters as well as a rich collection of artwork and images that bring holotropic art to life, offering a genuine taste of the beauty, depth, and personal transformation explored throughout the book.
What People Are Saying About Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD…
Queensland, Australia
Arcata, California
Pembroke Pines, Florida
Warsaw, Poland
Kent, United Kingdom
Author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Here’s What You’ll Receive
Seven Pre-Recorded 90-Minute Modules
Experience a unique opportunity to learn from Stanislav Grof, one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology — from the comfort of your own home. Each session includes a streaming video and will guide you to understand Stan’s groundbreaking insights into consciousness, spirituality, and human potential.
Seven Transcripts of Sessions
You’ll also receive the entire class transcription after each session is completed. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Exercises and Questions for Each Lesson
Between class sessions, you’ll have the option of completing related exercises, practicing new tools, and answering questions to accelerate your learning and integrate each week’s lesson.
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join the Online Course, Frontiers of The Cosmic Game
We feel honored that Stanislav Grof has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive online course. This is a unique opportunity to learn from one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and awaken ourselves and our world.
If you’re serious about revisiting Stan Grof's pioneering discoveries and their relevance for our lives today, then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, and our world to take this one-of-a-kind program.
Your Satisfaction Is 100% Guaranteed!
If you don’t absolutely LOVE Frontiers of The Cosmic Game — or don’t feel that it meets your needs — please submit your refund request form 14 days from your date of purchase and we’ll happily issue qualifying customers a refund.
More Praise for Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD
Psychologist, spiritual teacher, and author of the spiritual classic, Be Here Now
Author of The World’s Religions and Beyond the Postmodern Mind
Author of Resurgence
Norway
Santiago, Chile
Minnesota
About Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD
Stanislav Grof, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist with more than 60 years of experience in research of holotropic states of consciousness — a large and important subgroup of non-ordinary states that have healing, transformative, heuristic, and evolutionary potential.
He has been Principal Investigator in a psychedelic research program at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and Scholar-in-Residence at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
As a Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, he conducted professional training programs in holotropic breathwork and transpersonal psychology, and gave lectures and seminars worldwide.
Stan is one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology and the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA). In 2007, he was granted the prestigious VIZE 97 Prize from the Václav and Dagmar Havel Foundation in Prague, and in 2010 he received the Thomas R. Verny Award from the Association for Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health (APPPAH) for his pivotal contributions to this field. He received an honorary PhD degree from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP), and in 2018 an honorary degree for Psychedelic Therapy and Healing Arts from the Institute of Integral Studies.
Among his publications are over 150 articles in professional journals and the books Beyond the Brain... LSD Psychotherapy... The Cosmic Game... Psychology of the Future... The Ultimate Journey... When the Impossible Happens... Healing Our Deepest Wounds... Modern Consciousness Research and the Understanding of Art...The Stormy Search for the Self... Spiritual Emergency... and Holotropic Breathwork (the last four with Christina Grof, who passed away in June 2014.)
He was also invited as consultant for special effects in the Metro Goldwyn Meyer science fiction movie Brainstorm and the 20th Century Fox science fiction movie Millennium.
Since April 2016, Stan has been happily married to Brigitte Grof. They live together in Germany and travel the inner and outer worlds in tandem, conducting seminars, trainings, and holotropic breathwork workshops worldwide.
In August 2019, the encyclopedia of his life’s work, The Way of the Psychonaut, was published, and the documentary film about his life and work was released: The Way of the Psychonaut: Stanislav Grof’s Journey of Consciousness.
In May 2020, Stan and Brigitte launched their new training in working with Holotropic States of Consciousness: the international Grof® Legacy Training. In 2026, they published their book, Stan Grof’s Quotes for Psychonauts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there scholarships available for this training?
Unfortunately, all scholarship awards for this course have been fully allocated, and we are no longer accepting scholarship applications.
What is your refund policy?
The refund deadline for this course is two weeks from the date of purchase. Refund requests are not accepted after the deadline or for courses purchased with scholarship awards. We’d also love the opportunity to address and resolve your concerns directly. If we can assist with anything, please contact us at [email protected] — we’re here to help!
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Please visit our Customer Support Center, where you should be able to find the answer to your question or the solution to your problem. And if you can’t, you can submit an online request form and we’ll get right back to you.
This course was pre-recorded. Is the content still relevant?
While this is a pre-recorded course, the teachings remain as relevant and impactful today as when they were first offered. We’ve selected these programs because their wisdom, tools, and practices continue to resonate deeply with our global community.
How long will I have access to my Course Homepage and materials?
Your purchase includes 24/7 ongoing access to your course content — online via your Homepage — unless refunded or otherwise specified. We currently don’t have an expiration date for our online materials. This will allow you time to review the materials at your own pace and integration.