Women's journeys of transformation through self-other relationships : a phenomenological-hermeneutics investigation

ix, 218 leaves ; 29 cmIn contemporary transpersonal theory, women‟s experiences of transformation have largely been overlooked. This study seeks to answer the question, what are women‟s lived experiences of the path of transformation through self-other relationships? In setting the stage for the study, the researcher identifies two transpersonal theorists, Wilber and Almaas, and describes their models of consciousness development. She then outlines the feminist critique of existing psychological literature and the need for exclusively female research. Following is an inclusion of themes that have been extracted from the existing literature, themes which represent the biases of the researcher in what she expected to encounter in the current research. Further is a description of existentialism and the role it plays in inviting women to embark on a journey of transformation. The methods employed by the researcher were qualitative phenomenological-hermeneutics. Seven females participated in a three-stage interview process, whereby information was gathered via interviews, then further transcribed and interpreted. This information was then synthesized and presented in a thematic analysis where women‟s experiences were categorized into four separate stages. Finally, the sub-themes of each stage were compared to the stages of development as illustrated by Wilber and Almaas. Ultimately it is concluded that women‟s experiences are highlighted by the relational nature of self-development, and the cyclical process of the journey itself