Chris Bache Youngstown, Ohio, USA email

What is an underlying question that gives form to your work or interest in this field?

How can I most effectively support the collective spiritual awakening that is taking place in history today? How can one integrate the extraordinary experiences that emerge in sacred medicine work with daily spiritual practices to accelerate and deepen one's transformation?

What is your personal experience of collective wisdom in groups?

As a university professor, I have been personally and professionally involved in spirituality and exploring the deep psyche all my adult life. I have been a meditator for 30 years, worked with sacred medicines for 20 years, and been practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism for 7 years. The unbounded nature of consciousness and the subtle, complex tapestry of collective mind arise in all these contexts and in the university classroom.

What is it about the work in this field that excites you and connects you to your own deepest self?

As an educator I have found my own way to work with the collective mental fields created by group endeavors. I have incorporated numerous spiritual practices into the art of teaching, both directly in the classroom and indirectly behind the scenes.

Please provide a brief storyline or snapshot of what brought you to this work.

I am a university professor teaching in the fields of comparative spirituality and consciousness research. I am also the author of Lifecycles (Paragon House) and Dark Night, Early Dawn (SUNY). The former is a book on reincarnation and the latter explores the field-dynamics of consciousness. For 2 years I was the Director of Transformative Learning at the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

In sacred medicine work and holotropic breathwork, I use the methods pioneered by Stanislav Grof. I have practiced many forms of meditation through the years, more recently the practices of Vajrayana Buddhism including dzogchen.

How would you like to be available to others in this field?

I am available to do workshops or give talks on the dynamics of group consciousness, especially as these surface in the classroom and in small groups.