New Thinking • May 23, 2025 This video is a special release from the original Thinking Allowed series that ran on public television from 1986 until 2002. It was recorded in about 1992. It will remain public for only one week.  What is the origin of individual behavior and personality? Stanislav Grof proposes that individuals have systems of condensed experience (COEX systems) which become anchored to aspects of the birth trauma. He describes four different basic stages of the birth process and shows how they relate to attitudes developed later in life. Stanislav Grof is author of LSD Psychotherapy, Beyond the Brain, and The Adventure of Self-Discovery and co-author of The Human Encounter with Death. A former professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, he was scholar in residence for fourteen years at the Esalen Institute. With his late wife, Christina Grof, he has developed a psychotherapeutic approach known as Holotropic Therapy. Now you can watch all of the programs from the original Thinking Allowed Video Collection, hosted by Jeffrey Mishlove. Subscribe to the new Streaming Channel (https://thinkingallowed.vhx.tv/) and watch more than 350 programs now, with more, previously unreleased titles added weekly. Free month of the classic Thinking Allowed streaming channel for New Thinking Allowed subscribers only. Use code THINKFREELY.

Google AI Overview

Stanislav Grof identified four Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPMs), which correspond to the four stages of biological birth: BPM I (pre-birth in the womb), BPM II (the start of labor, cervix not yet dilated), BPM III (the baby moving through the birth canal), and BPM IV (birth and being outside the womb). These matrices also have corresponding spiritual and psychological counterparts, and Grof believed they play a significant role in shaping our lives and experiences. 

Here’s a more detailed breakdown: 

• BPM I (Pre-birth in the Womb):.Opens in new tabThis stage is characterized by a sense of cosmic unity and peace, or a “good womb” experience.
• BPM II (Start of Labor, Cervix Not Yet Dilated):.Opens in new tabThis stage is associated with feelings of being pushed against a closed, unyielding barrier, potentially leading to experiences of fear, claustrophobia, or existential angst.
• BPM III (Baby Moving Through the Birth Canal):.Opens in new tabThis stage is characterized by a struggle or a “death-rebirth” experience, as the baby moves through the birth canal.
• BPM IV (Birth and Being Outside the Womb):.Opens in new tabThis stage represents the emergence into the world, often associated with a sense of ego death and rebirth.

AI responses may include mistakes.