Transpersonal Experience and the Arts: From the Chauvet Cave to Occupy Wall Street

Songwriting and Transformation: The Subjective Experience of Sharing Self Through Song

“…They spoke excitedly of experiencing reciprocity and mutual building of energy among themselves and their audience while performing, with some describing this as a spiritual experience. Such experiences lend credence to the function of communitas (Turner, 1969) in ritual or performance (Herman, 2013;Schechner, 2003) and the capacity it offers to transform all who participate. "Art is communion of one soul to another, offered through the symbolic language of form and content" (Grey, 1998, p. 19).…”

“…They may wish to inspire, nourish, and uplift their audiences, or to help them to grow and transform. Herman (2013) explained how artists function as agents of change: "Art-makers and their works challenge established notions of what is possible to be and do, and inspire us to increase our capacities, embrace more inclusive paradigms, and invent new ways of living" (p. 652). One participant considered Making A Difference equivalent to ministering to others.…”