construct a house and an automobile with only a wrench ot with only a hammer. ‘The incommensurability of paradigms may be true only ifa researcher luses particular metrics or tries to apply one metric ot framework to both Paradigms, or—even more unwisely—commits the category error of trying to measure or explain one realm solely withthe tools or concepts of another realm. (In addition, commensurability has, literally, to do with measure ment and metrics, and commensurability becomes an issue only if the researcher is interested in measuring or in comparing measurements with ‘one another for a given purpose.) Fit and appropriateness seem, again, to be the watchwords hete—along with mindfulness of the contexts and limita- tions of, reasons for, and assumptions underlying one’s interpretations. NOTES 1. Excerpt from Open Secret (p. 10), by Jelloddin Rumi Joba Moyne and Coleman Darks, Wansatos), 1984, Pats, VI; Threshold Books, Copyright © 1984 by Threshold Books. Repringed by permisin, 2. Excerpt from The Mathnaui (Vo. 3, lines 4393, 4397), by Jelaluddin Rumi, in The Suf Pat of Love The Spiritual Teschinsof Rum (p.209), by Wiliam Chick (Teaslator and Editor), 1983, Albany: State Universe of New York Press. Copyright © 1983 by State Universiy of New York Pres. Used with permission, Fens perroned. Paarl Mithod, fa The Seek Suns edo. W. Bands R Andere CThoracd Cake, Ca” Soge 38) a INTUITIVE INQUIRY A Transpersonal Approach Rosemarie Anderson Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument. Let the beauty we love be what we do. ‘There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the grownd, —Jelaluddin Rumi (1995, p. 36)" ‘Asa field of research, scholarship, and applications, transpersonal psychol- ‘ogy endeavors to understand and value hurman life in its fullest and most transformative expressions. Commonly regarded as the fourth expression ‘of 20th-century psychology, transpersonal psychology seeks to delve deeply into the most profound and inexplicable aspects of human experiences, including mystical and unitive experiences, experiences of transformation, extraordinary insight, meditative awareness, altered states of conscious- ness, and self-actualization. Even in studying commonplace phenomena, transpersonal psychologists tend to explore the dimensions of human nature and experience that ordinarily are thought of as spiritual and ineffable and concerned with ultimate value. Having expanded steadily in the past 25 years or so, this innovative expression of psychology builds on and extends the hallmark eras of behavioral, psychoanalytic, and human- ©7 EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY istic psychologies. The legacy of alittle more than 100 years of psychologi- cal inquiry has been an enormous in-gathering of psychological knowledge, acquired by use of the methods of inquiry in psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology. Much of this knowledge is well known, even taken for granted, in contemporary life. At the same time, rch experiences such as human love, imagination, intuition, and extraordinary experi- ences—such as those occurring in altered states of consciousness and mystical experiences—scem outside the purview of respectable psychologi- cal investigations. Largely abandoned by the psychologies of quantification im particular, vast domains of rich human experiences secm ignored by conventional psychology. Instead, profound experiences seem more the specialty of the poets, novelist, and playwrights who bring meaning and significance to their works through the language tools of metaphor, story, tall tales, legends, and drama, ‘As we turn from the end of the 20th century, a century of enormous change, and toward the beginning of the 2st century withits vast potential, i seems fitting and timely to bring imagination and intuition back into scientific inquiry. Psychology is, afterall the study of human behavior and experience, including their fullest expressions. Methods falling short of including “the farther reaches of human nature” fail to explore the fullness of being alive here and now in this extraordinary experience called daily life ‘To explore the full dimensions of human awareness and experience, today’s epistemologies and methods must be vigorous and dynamic. The ficld of transpersonal psychology has been exploring these rich dimensions of being human for more than 20 years. Regrettably, research in transper- sonal psychology has often seemed stymied by reliance on the experimental methods it inherited from the dominant psychologies of the 1960s and 1970s, the context for its impetus. This chapter will present new ways (oF perhaps nuanced but old ways) of exploring the nature of human awareness and experience. The essential qualities proposed here place attributes such as intuition, compassion, immediate apprehension of meaning, and service to society's disenfranchised persons as central to scientific or empirical inquiry in psychology. It is recommended that investigators-researchers incorporate the fea~ tures, skills, and procedures of intuitive inquiry into other forms of research, including conventional behavioral research. Much of what is proposed here is simply good science (if only we would do it). Doing research while being consciously aware of our intuitive processes is pre- Inuutve inquiry n cisely what is proposed here. Therefore, although intuitive inquiry is a unique approach and can be followed formally, many ofits properties can be readily appropriated into other approaches, The values of the field of ‘transpersonal psychology encourage blending and borrowing between research methods and making choices that best suit the topic of inquiry and not necessarily any isolated research approach, et ‘THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF INTUITIVE INQUIRY ‘The Heart of Compassion as Value and Principle of Validation and Consensus Bringing the compassionate heart to scientific inquiry—to the way we, 4s researchers, ask our questions, set our hypotheses, devise our instru. ‘ments, conduct our investigations, analyze our data, construct our theories, and speak to our readers (our audience}—brings a renewed intentionality ‘0 our sciences. Research informed by compassion is qualitatively different from emotionally detached research because our values and intentions frame the manner of our thinking and actions nonetheless: Better that compassion set our intentions Compassion allows us to ask the most significant questions and guides ‘our hypotheses and speculations toward rich and expansive theories re sarding the nature of the human experience. Compassionate listening allows our research participants to speak to us freely and honestly about the depth and value of their human experiences. Of course, it takes skill to learn to analyze data, yet compassion allows us to see the value and significance of the data as they shape themselves before us. And, finally, as We report our findings, compassionate writing is heartfelt, a vessel for others to hear ideas and theories already formed of compassionate listen- ing, analysis, and synthesis of findings. Examples abound. My students’ and colleagues’ research projects in topics such as reclaiming identity after abuse, the inward movement of beauty, the qualities of serenity and contentment in everyday life, the experience of addiction and its impact on long-term relationships, and ‘mutuality in relationships have all emerged from personal experienee and 4 desire to share and amplify the experience through study of the experi= ences of others. My own research on sacred weeping (Anderson, 1996) wasn EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY bom of a personal experience and desire to give voice toa life experience unexplored by contemporaty science or by investigations into the nature of the mystical experience. My search for relevant descriptions that reso. nated with my own experiences was personal. It was a yearning to seek external validation and amplification of a rather common yet unspoken experience, an experience therefore unknown to consensual reality and consequent scientific discourse, My compassion and resonance with the experience allowed me to lean gently into the experiences of others for deeper understanding, This process was essentially introspective, heuristic, reflective, and enormously demanding in documentation and many cycles of reviewing the data and generalizations to themes. I doubt that I would have been able to see, far less understand and appreciate, the experience in others if had not had the experience myself. Passion and compassion for the subject of inquiry have likely guided researchers throughout history, The principle of compassion as value and principle of validation makes this often implicit process in scientific inquiey more explicit and accessible, From the viewpoint of everyday consensual discourse, validity concerns four capacity to relate accurately the fullness and richness ofa given human experience, To portray something accurately isto relay it thoroughly and comprehensively. The intended listener, readet, or audience shapes the portrayal. Those experiences that seem sufficiently important to relate to others are often vivid personal, and particular. Poetry, prose, and lytics ‘often speak artfully of these rich human experiences. Validity in conven- tional psychological empiricism, typically reduced to tests and measure- ‘ments, often obscures and trivializes a commonsense validity of just telling the whole truth of what occurred in lived experience. Matshaled into ‘operational definitions composed of Likert-scaling and Q-sorts and so on, descriptions of romantic love, grief and pain, or learning to tust again seem confused and constrained. The rich human experience is lost. Too often the richness and fullness of common—not to mention unique and ‘eanscendent—human experiences have disappeared from experimental investigations, As scientists and psychologists, we value rigor, precision, and clarity. Yet anew science of research psychology must also give hope and an expanding awareness of human life lived fully and richly. If compassion guides each step of the research process of asking, analyzing, and telling, the final research findings may be less honed to focused precision. Yet they will be fuller and richer and, from my view, mote valid and generalizable as wel, ey intuitive Inauicy n Enpiccal validation in ini in native inguiy ees on the prince ‘Sympathetic resonance, a articulated below ee ae Sympathetic Resonance as 4 Validation Procedure Zh: principle of sympathetic resonance inthe scien endeavor is best Fchness Ne have known itin the 19th and 20th centuries, Describing the ay require the use of meta directly to the inmost Self. In describing the Poetry of Rilke, Robert Hass, the American Poet laureate, describes the poet 's oF croon “into our inmost ear: poets by to as asin us owed depth in ourselves... fis al rhat makes hi i veh 8 alo what makes him diffe ecl nec 1 Heine ina unc sane see Yes—the spring times needed you. Often a star “eas waiting for you to motice it. A wave rolled toward you1" EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY out ofthe distant past, or as you walked under an open window, a violin yielded itself to your hearing. All this was mission. But could you accomplish it? Weren't you always distracted by expectation, asif every event announced a beloved? (Where can you finda place to keep her, with all the buge strange thoughts inside you going and coming and often staying al the ight.) ‘Look at how he bores into us. That caressing voice seems to be speaking, to the solitary walker in each of us who is moved by springtime, stars, ‘oceans, the sound of music ... It is as if he were pecling off layers of the apparent richness of the self, arguing us back vo the poverty ofa great raw, cobjectless longing. (Mitchell, 1989, pp. xiv-x9) So often the poetry of Rumi, Dickinson, and Rilke points in the direction of immediate knowing. Meaning somehow passes directly from the writer to the reader or listener, seemingly by pointing to an inchoate experience already shared by both. Readers of a poem may recognize theic own txperiences (or similar ones) expressed within it, This recognition is an immediate type of sympathetic resonance. Analogously for the intuitive researcher, research findings may present a pattern of descriptions rather Tike a pattern of harmonics. Although the readers or listeners may not have the exact arrangement of harmonics, the basic pattern is nonetheless immediately apprehended and recognized as like their own. ‘Constructing the Social Context of Knowledge: Building Validity Through Circles of Sympathetic Resonance In scientific validation, the immediate apprehension or recognition of a researcher's insight analyses could be verified using conventional experi ‘mental, quantitative procedures. Validity of findings is thus formed through ‘consensus building, noting consonance, dissonance, or neutrality— subgroup by subgroup—within a culture and across cultures. The importance of defining the social and political context of research findings has been emphasized repeatedly by feminist researchers and epistemologists (e.g, Fonow & Cook, 1991; Nielsen, 1990; Reinharz, 1992a; Riger, 1992; Shepherd, 1993). Through the validation procedures tntuttve Inguly 6 of consonant, dissonant, and neutral sympathetic resonance, subgroup by subgroup, a type of mapping of the validity of a research finding could be done. A modified sociogram could be constructed with concentric circles of resonance designating subgroups wherein the research findings are immediately apprehended and recognized or reacted to with dissonance or neutrality (e.g., an arising yawn). (A larger discussion of validity and of the validation procedures of consonance, dissonance, and neutrality appears in Chapter 11.) ‘The Personal Is Universal (The Heuristic Contribution) Building on heuristic methods advanced by Clark Moustakas (1990), intuitive inquiry positions the experience and interpretation of the re- searcher at the center of the inquiry regardless of whether the data themselves are qualitative or quantitative in nature, ora blend of both. For both the intuitive and the heuristic researcher, expressing a comprehensive understanding of experience seeks to speak directly to the inmost self of another. Itis as if speaking our personal truths—however unique and passionate that may feel—transcends our sense of separateness and brings us suddenly, even joyfully together—at least for an instant. We are at the same threshold: a threshold of appreciating, knowing, and acknowledging an aspect of life we all may share, In this process, it also happens that we see more clearly how we are different, as described above. Some of the synthesized, particular experiences of others will seem vaguely familiar and understandable, yet emote and unknown, as well. Again, the unique and personal expression of the experience or phenomenon allows us to sce another's expression as understandable and valuable, yet sometimes unfa- riliar and unknown in a personal and experiential sense. A similar notion was expressed by the playwright Tennessee Williams: “If I ry to make a universal character, it becomes boring, It doesn't exist. If 1 make the character specific and concrete, it becomes universal” (Roxanne Lanier, personal communication, November 1, 1996). Like heuristic methods, intuitive research methods emphasize the unique and personal voice ofthe individual researcher and depend on the experi- ences and insights of the researcher at every phase ofthe research process. The depth of the researcher's intuitive understanding gives a universal voice and character tothe research findings. Because the unique experience and voice of the researcher are essential to enlivening the research with6 EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY lepth and richness of inquiry and expression, this unique voice gives ete nd meng ht dae ae researcher's personal and permeating analyses of experiences such as ‘oma love lonely, ste, ean al voi pan sek others individually and universally atthe same time. Ie is asif we ate being individually spoken to—from one person's individual knowing to someone tls's knowing ofthe experince; therein, those aspects ofthe phenomena nniversaly shared seem brightly obvious. Although the eaitie met ecorages inton inthe forms of flashes of insight and creative syntheses, intiive inquiry advocates anded states of intuitive awarenes, including but not limited to various here sates of conscioumnes, active dreaming and dream incbaton, mystical vision and audition, intentional imaging kinesthetic and somatic tovareness and stats of consciousness more tpicaly associated with the artistic process than with science, in all phases of the inquiry. Such expanded stateshave the advantage of plumbing the depths of tansforma- tive experiences by being more aligned with them state specifically. Jonas Sak (98, fr example dsc is Seni enor ough subject to scientifi verification, as having an “inverted perspective” (p. of imagining himself avius, a cancer cell, or the immune system. Barbara MeClintock, wel-known corn genetics, describes her insight song nating in having "a feeling forthe organism” that created “the openness to Tecit come to you" (quoted in Keller, 1983, p. 198) Foci eer’ point fiw heer iii “teans into” an experience thats clealy preset, although pethapsnot we articulated, in human experience. Clase Moustakas (1990) describes the process as an unshakable connection exists between what s out there, nits appearance and reality, and what is within me in reflective thought, feeling, and awareness... . Mott (1971, p. 148) captures this kind of seing and knowing in his poem “To Look At Any Thing” To look at any thing Ifyou would know that thing, ‘You must look at it long ‘To look at this green and say “T have seen spring in these: Woods," will not do—you must Intuttve inquiry Be the thing you see You must be the dark snakes of ‘Stems and ferny plumes of leaves, You must enter in ‘othe small silences between The leaves, You must tate your time And touch the very place They issue from. Im Moffit’s sense, asa researcher I am the person who is challenged to Pprchend the meaning of things and to give these meanings ongoine ile {Provide the ight that guides the explication of somthing and knowledge cof it, When | illuminate & question it comes to life. When undersrand ke Sonsdiuents itemergesas something solid and eal. (Moustakas, 1990, p12)? The Personal Is Political (The Feminist Contribution) From the feminist critique of research (e.g. Nielsen, 1990; Reinhare, 1992a; Riger, 1992; Shepherd, 1993) and from other liberation social movements (e., Botf, 1993; Gutierrez, 1990, 1994), we have gained valuable insight into the intricate interconnected. nes ofthe personal and political aspects of everyday life. At minimum, it “fould be intellecully embarrassing, at the end of the 20th century, co disconnect what we doin the research laboratory from the implications of ow methods and findings, to engage in any investigation of human behavior that ddoes not analyze the sociopolitical context in which the behaviors and Phenomena take place, or to contend that how we do what ve do--wvith ‘esearch participants, our analyses, and communications to the wider Ppublic—in the name of research is separate from our behaviors and beliefs in all other aspects of our lives, including our families, friends, communi, ties, and world politics at large, Adrienne Rich, poet, presents this insight eloquently (quoted Fonow & Cook, 1991; a contemporary American in Gelpi & Gelpi, 1993): Pies the Civil Rights movement came along inthe late fies, eal sixties, | began to hear Black voices describing and analysing whet were de concrete issues for Black people, lke segregation, like eaciam, it came to me a8 great relief. It was like finding language for something that I'd needed ”8 XPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY «language forall along... . Ar the same rime, 1 was thinking a lot about something that wasn't being talked about at the time very much. 1 was thinking abour where sexuality belonged in all ofthis. What isthe connec. sion between Vietnam and the lover’s bed? If this insane violence is being waged against a very small country by this large and powerful country in which ive, what does that have to do with sexuality and with what's going ‘on between men and women, which I felt also as a struggle even then? (. 263) For the feminist researcher, all actioneare political and at theis best and Tl add most conscious best—have the power to emancipate, liberate, enliven, and energize human life and possibilities forall people, especially those who are socially and politically disadvantaged. The truly personal and inner are manifested in some way by us in our world—and, if commonly shared, manifested by others. Personal and enlightened intuitive inquiries into the nature of commonly held experiences such as loneliness, oppres- sion by ideologies, reclaiming the self after abuse and rape, the anger of cancer, and so on are important in understanding the inmost dimensions of human experiences as well as their social and political consequences, ‘What is inside is outside in the reflective and expressive sense. Central to the feminist and liberationist critique of political and scien- tific discourse is the absence of the actual voice of poor and disenfranchised persons from research studies and social analysis in general. In writing about Emily Dickinson's life and poetry, Adrienne Rich expresses the liberating power of giving voice to the voiceless in contemporary poetry (quoted in Gelpi & Gelpi, 1993) ‘The poet's relationship to her poetry has it seems to me—and 1 am not speaking only of Emily Dickinson—a twofold nature, Poetic language—the oem on paper—is a concretization of poetry ofthe world a large, the self, and the forces within the self; and those forces are rescued from formless ‘ness, lucdified, and integrated in the act of writing poems. But there is a ‘more ancient concept ofthe poet, which i that she is endowed to speak for ‘those who do not have the gift of [poetic language, or to see for those who—for whatever reasons—are less conscious of what they are living shrough. les as though the risks of the poet's existence can be put to some tse beyond her own survival, (p. 194) How we treat the stranger and what happens between lovers are, in the end, scarcely separate from the happenings between countries in the Intuttve inauiy » wen political arena. Rigid patterns of behavior between people and ideologies saturated within a eulture (4, stereotyped sexeal behaviors) become analogues, or rather holograms of recycled patterns, of eople’s actions in national and international affairs (¢g., Vietnam), a5 well, ‘The Interconnectedness of Scientific Insight Bsinging together the principle of the “personal is universal” from heuristic methods and the “personal is politcal," we come fll cncle the imterconnectedness of what is personal to what is politcal to wha e universal draws a complete circle. At the risk of sounding theologiea, i Ege ahr trnitaran, in the orginal meaning. That is, what is partion lacy sacred in human life is also manifesed in the individual and ooo nity aspects of ous lives and inthe unity that brings us together, Enero in esearch thar delves ino the depts of human sxpeinee ee compassion and understanding for the richuess of human expression andl Possibilities and the interconnectedness ofthe personal politcal univer Girle of our endeavors, especially our escarch endeavors. rom the sna, of personal preferences, the “personal is universal” contribution of heey, jie Methods and the “personal is political” contribution of feminist and Uberation analyses are rather like two sides ofthe same coin In my coat ExPecience in teaching, the “personal is universal” is readily apprecianed by iy introverted colleagues but not by the extravers, On the other hand, Thy ataverted collegues really grok the “personal is poltial” and nor the other ‘Trust the Ritual: ‘The Discipline of Procedures and Protocols Jr seems appropriate to think of research procedutes and protocols a @ ‘tua tha i a careflly designed form intended to reveal many layers of meaning, Once procedures are set in place, they are followed with care andl pictision, Modifications are made cautiously, with the intent to farther a fuller explication of the topic and with an increased sense of urgency t0 document any changes made, Inherenty or through time, good esha logis, like good road maps, generate trust. The methods will pue te Process of revealing the essential nature of an experience that seems to come to life through gentle and intuitive inquiry.80 EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY In trusting the ritual of the protocols, my colleague doctoral students and I have been delighted and surprised at how the procedures have allowed us to move more profoundly into the nature of the experience studied—often with quite unexpected results. An introspective and intui- tive perspective is demanding and rigorous. Nonetheless, this perspective sustains a process that helps to thoroughly permeate the nature of an experience. Seemingly, the sheer intent and concentration converge to crete unified momentum Thre even the see hat allowing he procedures, especially in times of confusion and discouragement, allows the researcher to relax even more completely into the sustaining process of the investigation. ‘The Element of Delight and Surprise in Scientific Inquiry Most research, in my experience, entails delight and surprise. Hunches lead to new insights. Thoughts in the night and intuitions, although not particularly thinking about anything, lead to new ways of looking at old. problems, The nature of intuitive methods sets the methodological stage for new ideas to happen. They often do. The Function of Compassionate Knowing (Soft Wisdoms of the Heart) in Scientific Inquiry For Barbara McClintock, knowing a thing requires loving it, While looking through her microscope during research on corn fungus, she found that her perspective altered dramatically: found that the more | worked with chem [the viruses the bigger and bigger [they] got, and when I was cealy working with them I wasn't outside, L was ddown there. | was part of the system. I was right down there with them, and everything got big. | even was able to sce the internal parts of the chromosomes—actually, everything was theee. It surprised me because I actually fel asi | were right down there and these were my friends. (quoted in Keller, 1983, p. 117) In spiritual traditions throughout the centuries, true and encompassing. intelligence is reported to have these same qualities, To know persons, we Ituttve inguiy 81 ‘must love them first and look at the world from their perspective. To know ‘anything, we must love it and become its friend ‘ompassionate knowing has a softness. It is as if what is observed yields itself to our knowing. There is no intrusion, no object, and no subject Aspects of the experience studied that do not belong to the depth of the experience fall away. Those aspects that give amplitude and fullness to the experience studied begin to cohere in their complexity and interrelatedness {interbeingness). By loving, and through living thoroughly the experience Studied, the researcher looks around from inside the experience and notes whats there, The rescatcher then searches from inside the experience until the essential qualities of the experience come to life as the researcher's own experience. Gradually, the entire panorama of the experience comes more clearly into view. The Human Voice: Unique and Particular For the purposes of research inquiry in psychology, clear and y in psychology, clear and personal language describing human behavior functions in two significant ways, 1. When spoken clearly in words, heretofore unclaimed aspects of our experiences suddenly seem more solid and real. Claiming our memorves and experiences gives our spoken words their emancipating qualities, Energy and tension ae released. Subliminal memories and experiences tip above the threshold of our awareness challenging asimilation and integra. tion in the present. 2. Conversely, as Abraham Maslow (1966) put it, “There is no subst tute for experience, none at all” p. 45). Eloquent metaphors and brillant Psychological conceprualization also can obscure, minimize, and trivialize the experience being examined. There is an inherent quality 10 human experience that is irreducible ro words, descriptions, symbols, metaphors, andsoon. Although symbolsand metaphors, for example, may come closer in aiding a person to understand che experience, they still are not the experience itself, As Maslow emphasized, descriptions, symbols, and meta hors are useful only ifthe individual has had the experience (or one akin {0 i) alteady. A particularly apt example of the irreducibility of human experience is tha of extreme pain. Although some descriptions may come close, none are the pain, nor do they reproduce it. This particular pointa EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY hasbeen emphasized, repeatedly, by liberation theologians who have noted that pain has a shrill honesty that few ean ignore. ‘What are rescarchers to do? We can stay as close as possible tothe voice of the person(s) describing the pain, joy grief, sadness, sorrow, andall other especially rich human experiences. We can be accurate. We can stay close to the behaviors, or to the phenomenon itself, and avoid collapsing categories that reduce complexity and importance. We can use poetic tropes, such as metaphors and symbols, to point to the experience that cludes words while never forgetting that the words, metaphors, and symbols are not the experience. We can keep a beginner's mind, stay humble, and always remember that the inmost capacities of the Self are sss INTUITIVE RESEARCH SKILLS Intuitive inquiry attempts to honor the expansive nature of human expe- rience, particularly as understood in the field of transpersonal psychology. Studying vich human experiences warrants comprehensive methods, that is methods of inquiry that engage logic and analysis as well as ou capacities {or imagination, intuition, and alternative states of consciousness. Borrow ing and expanding on the methods of heuristic research (Moustakas, 1990) and certain aspects of phenomenological inquiry (c.g Valle 8¢ Halling, 1989; Valle & King, 1978), intuitive inquiry a distinct research approach seeks to bring these more comprehensive capacities of human awareness into conscious application in the conduct of research in the socal sciences. Inaddition, in the interests of seeking methods that bes facilitate exploring a particular topic of investigation, itis hoped that intuitive inquiry, or some of its distinctive properties, will be combined with other qualitative and quantitative methods, Although blending methods requires more rigor— especially in documenting procedures and analyses—it may nonetheless best serve a particular investigation. Ultimately, collaborative research using many research approaches, distinctly or in blends, and many sources of data contributes to the best and most thorough understanding of human experience. Tntuitive research skills advance a threefold purpose: (a) to allow the imtersubjectivty of researcher, participants, and anticipated audience to influence the gradual unfolding of the research inquiry, (b) to assist the researcher in exploring thoroughly the landscape of a particular facet of Intuitive inqu tutte mauiny a h wuman experience, and (¢) to impart creatively the characte experience without diminishing it in the teling, ee Reflective Listening In ineuitive inquiry, the researcher listens reflective cxpevne adhe xe ts Having choses ana ‘of human experience as the topic of inquiry, the researcher fist explores and cod the fest of er orb scien een tons for nderakng the pal ty the sty dos ote om autobiographie experience. Second, throughout the invest ‘ sachr esther ne elena nace ee solien tothe expen of thers This imran tempat cange the inguey proceeds, Asa natural consequence ofthis eycle of elective listening, the researcher's understanding expands to include unique as well 48 integrative features of the experience studied. Thied, the researcher's capacity for reflective listening facilitates a similar proces inthe partic ants In esearch design the researcher’ capacity for reflective litening lows her or him to model and support the ype of exploration desired of the participants. Ata theoretical level, the researcher's capacity for reflec- tive listening initiates afield of sympathetic resonance that facilitates the capacity of all participants to listen tothe depths of their experiences. As the research proceeds, the researcher develops a deepening appreciation and understanding ofthe topic of inquiry. As the researcher's awareness of the dimensions, qualities, and wholeness of the topic expands, the field of ‘resonance available to successive participants correspondingly increases chosen a particular facet Indwelling Indwelling is a term borrowed from heuristic res described by Moustakas (1990): earch and is arfuly Indweling fest the hewn proces of tuning inward seca deepe, more extended comprehension ofthe nature of meaing of + quly or eme of human experience Involves wlingne to gare wit anc Sig ates nd cocenraon msn fe faerie ‘en omething fl ove dc ee (el love and een factors to draw fom them ey pose seen4 EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY texture, fact, and meaning. The indwelling process is conscious and delib- erate, yeti is not Lineal ological. I follows clues wherever they appear, fone dwells inside them and expands theie meanings and associations wnt a fundamental insight is achieved, (p. 24) Indwelling on a particular facet of human expetience often becomes a Preoccupying feature of the researcher's daily activities. The researcher becomes the eye of the inquiry. Everything may become raw material for Scrutiny: relationships, dreams, bumper tickers, newspaper articles, chance encounters, casual conversations, and synchronic events such asa drop in visit from a least favorite relative. So compelling isthe process, the Fescarcher constantly looks for information that clarifies, expands, focuses, and rips apart her or his understanding of the topie of inguy. In my fescarch, especially onthe work ofthe nature of symbols, I sometimes fee! asthough Iam continually scanning my lie experience—books, bilboards, newspapers, and word images—to nuance, amplify, and lay waste my understanding. Some of the most productive encounters are the most confusing and bewildering, Compelling and arcestng images may become paths for greater understanding. This research encounter is expanded in the concept of “ricksteting.” Trickstering Inindigenous cultures worldwide, rcksters open gateways ofawareness and insights. Tiicksters are playful, mischievous, and sometimes outrageous, Particular to culture, coyotes, ravens, fairies, leprechauns, and pookas (a very Irish goblin) gift humans with insight, usually in the context of making us feel foolish. Coyotes play tricks. Ravens steal and turn the stolen goods into something els. Facies appear as lovers. Leprechauns give us gold that disappears. Pooks gleefully take us for a riotous ride. An auspicious bewilderment! In research, especially transpersonal research, auspicious bewilderment ‘nay signal the beginning of renewed understanding. Contradictory stories and examples move us deeper into the intricacies of the topic of inquiry, Nuances that do not ft generate reconceptualization. Confusion takes us in an unanticipated direction. Paradox challenges our assumptions, and so ‘on. The research project will take longer, require miore work, and probably cost more money, and it will also be more complete and useful in the end. Weeks, even months, of feeling auspiciously bewildeced-—which, by the Intutive tpquiy 85 way, is different from depression—are fesearcher. Although bewildered, the r. ae : searcher should stay with the Broce ait ile even to exaggerate, dramatize, or w author tbat bewilders, to look deeper: Dresewords deen ‘and other expressions of the Honrational aspects of experience into be too much, the researcher may rest, imagination may bring the creative, synthesized awareness. If it gets to sleep, take a break, or gently put th Project) on the back burner for a while tescarcher can rest and come back when feeling refreshed and unwillin, to spend energy going in the ‘wrong direction, * Varying the Focal Depth cis BO i treo ill serch for ein sree Ae H the dee of detail neces ei rope a aga aM uch detail—or depts of focus be sop topic of inquiry? When should the focal depth be varied? Nay nnd ya mamaria fl dhs fom wk nip 100d then Sreching to an electron microscope-—was an intllee yar setplation! Stl, nearly 30 years later it rings te y ‘eva % ats to my eyes. [was then lam now thailed bythe magnificence, complexity, and integrity of what ‘evsaled self before my eyes, merely by rotating the lone my student86 {xPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY microscope. One lens reveals the cellular level of activity, another the chromosomal, another the molecular, and so on. ‘Analogously, focal depth matters in studying human experience, al- though less obviously so. Changing focal depth makes a tremendous idfference, Principles of organizations may change with different levels of depth, In my own research, and in working with beginning researchers finding the best range of detail co suit a particular study is troubling and copecially perplexing to articulate and teach, Determining focal depth and ‘then to vary it may be one of those skills earned through the vicissitudes ‘oirial and error, as I did. Yet understanding the subtleties of focal depth Seems to distinguish professional researchers from the beginners. Tia transpersonal approach to research, determining and varying focal depth become even more dificult and|ess obvious. Transpersonal phenom tna seem toyield subtle layers and more depth. Atthe same time, an overly Geailed analysis can sometimes lose sight of the larger picture, a has happened in some early phenomenological analyses of transpersonal ex: periences (Miles Vich, personal communication, October 27, 1996). In my esearch on symbology, for example, not only did I access a range of Sources, including archaeology, mythology, andlegendary material but also often garied the focal depth to delve deeply into a micro feature or aspect of a symbol. This thorough immersion in minutiae was sometimes a dead end, but more often it unlocked doots to a more comprehensive under Standing of the larger picture. In the research excursions in minutiae, | Tearmed about the symbol and more. How, the ancient people used and understood a particular symbol also helped me understand how they thought and imagined their world more generally. This movement to follow a trail of detail, rather like 2 detective novel, was an intuitive Imnowing of when to change focal depth, when to close in, and when ro broaden out again, Much of what I appreciate now about these ancient cultures I learned by way ofthese intuitive forays into particularity, rather like moving from 30x magoification to the electron microscope and back again. Ritualizing Intention ‘The escarcher’s intention to seek a comprehensive and compassionate understanding of a particular human experience affects all aspects of the ingiry, Researchers in the field of transpersonal psychology ‘Picaly vFeaalige their intentions to choose topics that serve them and the wider Intutve Inquiry 87 community, ro attractint the stady the best possible participants, ro create procedures that facilitate transformation for : ' everyone involved in the research project, to analyze the data sensitively and fully, and, finally, to ‘communicate findings comprehensively and transformatively to the future audience. Ifa researcher has explicit intentions, she or he may wish to design rituals that dramatize these intentions. intentions are usually written cout and spoken in ritual. A researcher, for example, may wish to set an intention to communicate fully and to facilitate transformation in future readers of audience. Bringing Conscivvoness 40 iatentions gives greater focus, coherence, and discipline to the individual phases of intuitive ing Ano ing feds of mpi sone (Sheldrake, 1988), setting intention creates a movement in consciousness in a particular direction. ue Intersubjectivity of Researcher, Participants, and the Audience tion, The topic chosen for study, how the inquiry is planned, the unfolding work together tog expresion to conpacherseundeanding of sdied. fy Be seniees oS In addition, most researchers they are honest, have an audience in mind searchers aso hope to facitate transformation inthe audience, as wel88 EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY Intuitive inquiry intends to make this reciprocal influence or intersubjec tivity of rescarcher and audience as conscious and explicit as possible. Alternative States of Consciousness, Imagination, and Intuition Intuitive inquiry recommends engaging alternative states of conscious- ness, imagination, and intuition as sources of data in each phase of the inquiry. For the most part, the states of consciousness and expressions have been only the subject of inquiry. Yet skillful use of them can help focus an emerging topic of inquiry, gain perspective in choosing the most suitable procedures for collecting data, assist participants in exploring the topic of inquiry shift the data analysis to subtler aspects of the data facilitate seeing patterns in data as the data analysis proceeds, and communicate artfully the full measure of the results by presenting artwork, music, poetry, symbols, and intuitive interpretations along with the traditional text pres- entation of the results, ‘The use of alternative states of consciousness, imagination, and intuition is essential to intuitive inquiry: The application of these creative processes is, therefore, discussed phase by phase in the following section. PHASES OF INTUITIVE INQUIRY Intuitive inquiry isa disciplined form of inward discovery, Like its forerun- ner, heuristic research, a comprehensive understanding of a particular facet ‘of human experience ideally takes place in the awareness of the researcher as the inquiry proceeds. All the data are collected into the researcher's ‘awareness and synthesized until a comprehensive understanding breaks through, Selecting and Focusing the Topic of Inquiry As is typically the case with all transpersonal approaches to research, intuitive inquiry investigates facets of human experience that are personally ‘compelling to the researcher. Compelled by a topic, the researcher often feels pursued by it in her or his imagination, idle thoughts, and even dreams. In my research, most of my studies began as autobiographical. I Intutive inguiy 89 bad ad the experience. In my ceeach and that of colleague, often seems as though a particular topic is drawing, even compelling, our "a conventional research, the resarcher tpi chooses a top de- pending on hl ee, scion of te ans cae and so some extent persona! interest. In usnportonal oe teach, intion analy guides the “clecon” Ratesheet opie the researcher is selecting one that repeatedly seereg hee atcaton, What often draws the stention and enetgy of geen nace dors not even look ikea research top a least nal shee closely obscrves what draws het or his tenon howeres ond dene this feu though meditation and inner reflection, a monegee eee topic ofen presents iself in awareness may tae ne ee beepexng and fsaing te and inayat nfomeon cs bestent right hemisphere information, including mo; pene OF even vague indications of movement o sien selene ne information mux be joined withthe pragmatic and practical nce "esearch inquiry toda topic suitable oe naar Asitable copie forint ing 9 1+ Manageable, I the researcher i &disseaion student, the topic (in my pinion) should be doable in a year. Ifa researcher has limited tine ‘manageability means tht the research inquiry can be completed within th time allotted, including periods of rest and relaxation, 2 Clear Good research topes can be expressed easily in one sentence. The more @ researcher understands a research topic, the simpler the bese statement of intent becomes. % Some and focused. A simple and focused topic with significa implications ‘or human experience is preferable to large, ambiguously defined topics * Conerte The esearch topic should be dicey related to specific behavior, ‘experiences, or phenomena. fRescrchable Some topics are too grand ot do not yet) lend themselves to scientific inquiry. 6 dative Fora research topic to sustain the researchers interest and energy it should inspire the motivations and intellectual passions of the researcher 7. Buentil, A topic i esental when it signifies an expe fsometi erence of something sell unknown (or secking understanding). While an inguiyisjust beginning ‘researcher can evaluate the potential and importance of0 EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY tn summary, an ideal research topic is akin to a core search for the essence of a concrete, yet significant, human experience. This type of (rejcarch is a penetrating and comprehensive stady ofa clearly defined behavior, experience, or phenomenon that has personal meaning for the nesearchen, Particularty, depth, and involvement give intuitive inquiry (and all research) vigor and authority. Collecting the Data: Setting the Stage for the Experience Under Investigation to Show Up ‘Two basic guidelines of designing a study are essential to intuitive inquiry The fist is general and applics (0 all research, and the second tpplies uniquely to transpersonal approaches, such as intuitive inary First, methods of research should be chosen to accommodate the topic of inquiry, rather than to follow the tradition within a field of study. In Shoosing methods, the essential question is this: Which method (or meth sods) best supports understanding the fact of human experience now being seshied? Often, methods are chosen and imitated because they are readily salable, easier to copy than create, or merely convenient, Irishoped that init inguiry and other transpersonal approaches to research will give veeearehers the confidence and incentive to carefully select research ap proaches and methods, from among the many now available, and then Preatvely blend and synthesize these methods to suit the research project ind the talents, skills, and values of the individual researcher. Second, methods should et the stage fr the phenomena being studied to show up! Creating a research design that closely reenact, simulates, OF generates the experience being studied is not new to psychological nary Sell known procedures including reenactment, role play, psychodsamay andl simulation, as well as newer procedures including creative and reen~ aaenent interviewing, storytelling and narrative procedures, are possbili- vice Challenging in a transpersonal approach, however, are reenact ‘Meulating, and generating transpersonal ot spiritual experiences in che sarvarch participants and pethaps the researcher—while eollecting the det afl examples of using dreams asa source of intuition can be found sn Mellick (1996). I becomes imperative to use intuitive and alternative sence of consciousness as procedures, not merely asthe topics of inquiry (Gee Part Ill of this book for examples) Intutive Inquty it Regardless of the actual methods used, the process of collecting data actively engages the researcher at many levels of awareness. It is quite possible, as Moustakas (1990) puts i, in describing heuristic methods, for the researcher to live “the question in waking, sleeping, and even dream states" (p. 28). All information gathered, formally or procedurally, infor- mally, or intuitively, is considered potential data for analysis. Incubating the Data Incubation invites the creative process to do its work while the re- searcher rests, relaxes, and otherwise removes her or his focus from the research inquiry. The researcher “retreats from the intense, concentrated focus on the question” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 28). Rest and relaxation with ample open time to muse and do nothing are essential for the intuitive process to unfold naturally and spontaneously. So easy sit co minimize the importance of rest and relaxation tha it may be necessary to schedule it. Empty space and time allow nonlinear brain activity to function more openly. Rather like suddenly remembering a childhood friend's name after giving up thinking about it, unexpected insights occur spontancously and during activities unrelated to research, including while bathing, waking in the morning, dreaming, jogging, idling ime away, meditating, and the like. Incubating the data isan essential feature of intuitive inquiry. To proceed directly to data analysis without an incubating downtime for the new information to settle and shift in che awareness of the rescarcher under mines the intuitive process. The researcher may even wish to return £0 periods of incubation throughout the data analysis as well, especially ifthe Analysis is lengthy or if the researcher feels stymied at any point. Analyzing the Data In intuitive inquiry data analysis should accommodate the data that present themselves, rather than being immutably established atthe outset of the study. Ifthe data appear o be organized in key concepts and themes, Qualitative content or thematic analysis applies. If the design allowed for focused descriptions of the constituents of one particular experience, phenomenological analysis applies. Ifthe data are quantitative, various statistical procedures apply If interview data resulted in long narrative or storytelling sessions, narrative and discourse analysis applies. If participants2 EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY for the researcher suspects that thematic analysis would alter the unique voiets) of those in the stud, interviews or narratives can be presented intact to parallel the analysis. If data are deeply personal, reflective, and gathered from many sources, heuristic and hermeneutical analyses may apply. Many researchers blend the analytic procedures with beneficial results, Intuitive inquiry however, encourages inconporating intuitive processes and alternative sates of consciousness as aspects ofthe data analysis ite Examples of using dreamwrork, creative expression, meditation practices, direct knowing, symbolic imagery, and various forms of ntition are found in Parc IL. In my research om sacred weeping, for example, | began using a hermencutial approach to analyze ancient mystical texts on sacred weeping. I ended up using phenomenological content analysis to analyze the behavior descriptions found inthe texts and hermeneutical, heuristic, and intuitive analysis to glean deeper meanings from the ancicnt texts, Specially, I simply could not comprehend and appreciate the meanings of the ancient texts without an inward and heuristic process, including extended meditation and concentration Indeed, coming toa falls appre- ciation ofthis paticulae experience would have been impossible if | had not hadsome ofthese experiences myself several years prior to this analysis Breakthroughs and Synthesizing the Findings ‘The most important feature of synthesizing data is the intuitive break- throughs, those illuminating moments of insight when the data begin to reveal and shape themselves. Although breakthroughs about the topic may ‘occur throughout the study, they often occur during the phases of incuba- tion, analysis, and synthesis. In my experience, insights about particular aspects of the experience studied and about individual participants occur throughout the study, but overall patterns seem to reveal themselves only after individual participants or portions of the data have been analyzed. With all information freshly in mind, themes converge and patterns emerge. I usually work with @ paper and pencil, drawing small and large circles—representing themes or stray ideas—and shifting the relationship and size ofthe circles, rather like a large Venn diagram. This process may 0 on for a few hours or several weeks with rest or incubation periods between work sessions. Other researchers work more verbally—bringing together ideas to form lists of interrelated themes, representative narra- tntutve Inquiry 9 tives, a sequence of developmental changes, or essential and irreducible features of the experience studied, Still other researchers ask the partici. pants themselves to reflect on and synthesize each other's experiences Procedures for synthesizing data will vary with the inquiry and the researcher's skis. For intuitive inquiry, some of the most useful step-by- Step procedures are those recommended for heuristic methods (Moustakas, 1990) and various forms of phenomenological inquiry, for example, Colaizzi (1978), Giorgi (1985), Moustakas (1994), Polkinghorne (1989), van Kaam (1959), and von Eckartsberg (1986), Communicating the Findings Through Sympathetic Resonance Intuitive inquiry is completed in a creative expression ofthe findings, sitherina conventional schaaly report, nerentive sythen, orn eaching ‘The researcher's task isto so richly portray the essence ofthe findings that a significant portion of the audience immediately apprehends and recog. nizes the experience as familiar. This audience response was introduced catlier as the principle of sympathetic resonance. It is expected, for cxample, not that a report on sacred weeping reproduce weeping in the audience but that many of the readers or listeners can immediately appre- hhend and recognize this experience of weeping from their own experiences or experiences they have closely witnessed, Although not everyone is likely to apprehend and recognize the expe- rience(s) portrayed, it is the researcher's responsibility to present the findings in as many forms or genres as necessary to maximize opportunities for sympathetic resonance to occur. With the technologies available now, laser disks, videos, recordings, and color photocopies of artwork can be included in scholarly reports Incorporating these technologies may even be necessary to impart in some measure, the rich and expansive nature of ‘tanspersonal and spiritual experiences. Intuitive inquiry aspires to honor these human experiences and theie dysamic pote in every phase of Honorable Closure The final ask of a research project isto celebrate the experience of the inquiry with honorable closuce. Honorable closure completes the project by acknowledging the contributions that the researcher and others haveo EXPANDED METHODS OF DISCIPLINED INQUIRY made, recognizing without blame the difficulties and incompletions, mak- ing appropriate amends as necessary, expressing gratitude for the gifts of insight and delight, and celebrating the acts of generosity that allowed new understanding to unfold. see NOTES 1. Excerpt kom The Eset R36, laa am (Coleman Bs adobe Moya Sedan 198,30 enc Harpe. Coppi © 1725 Forel hls Pare VE Repel by permison. 2 duc rm Te Sele Pty of Rane Mari Re (p. xiv, by Stephen Mich dor sn amin, 98, New Vag nro Howe ceegh ©1982 by Stephen Mitchell Repned by permision of Random Houten 7k xy Thing om The Lg Se opin © 1961 by Jon Malt and seouned 1989p Hemy Mal repiedby permis of Harcourt Bae Company. oS TRANSPERSONAL AWARENESS IN PHENOMENOLOGICAL INQUIRY Philosophy, Reflections, and Recent Research Ron Valle Mary Mobs ‘More than once when I Sat all alone, revolving in myself ‘The mortal limit ofthe self was loosed, And passed into the nameless, as a cloud ‘Melts into heaven. Itouch’d my limbs, the limbs Were strange, not mine—and yet no shade of doubt But utter clearness, and thro’ loss of self ‘The gain of such large life as matched with ours Were sun to spark—unshadowable in words, ‘Themselves but shadows ofa shadow-world. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1991, p. 328)