"The Unfolding Self is a classic in the field of psychedelic experiences and personal growth. It was published the same year MAPS was founded and has become increasingly relevant over time." -- Rick Doblin, PhD, Founder and Executive Director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies "Drawing on decades of study and practice, Ralph Metzner explores powerful metaphors for transformation and awakening. The Unfolding Self is a timeless and essential volume for the libraries of modern day mystics and everyday seekers alike!" -- Tara Brach, PhD, Author of Trusting the Gold "Poring over The Unfolding Self: Varieties of Transformative Experience a quarter century after it first appeared, I am thrilled to find in its pages more relevance and significance than ever. Given the unprecedented challenges confronting humanity at this historical moment, we owe a debt of gratitude for the choice that was made to republish the book and put it freshly in our hands now. Ralph Metzner has an unparalleled capacity to evoke the wonders of human consciousness, when it is nourished, trusted, and unleashed." -- Joanna Macy, Author of World As Lover, World As Self "Welcome to the mind of Ralph Metzner: scholarly, curious, informed by personal exploration of many different states of human consciousness and a desire to meaningfully integrate their contents into everyday existence." -- William A.

Richards, Ph.D., Author of Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences "Transformational experiences are as unique as they are profound, yet each portrays universal truths of human nature. In The Unfolding Self, Ralph Metzner uses a tapestry of myth, allegory, and historical context to fathom this neglected aspect of human behavior--one that is vital to science''s understanding of humanity and where it might be heading." -- Stanley Krippner, PhD, Affiliated Distinguished Faculty, California Institute of Integral Studies; Co-editor, Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examining the Scientific Evidence "In The Unfolding Self, Ralph Metzer brings together discoveries shared between himself and his colleagues--some of the great pioneers of mystical transformation of our times--and extensive studies and research into the great psychological and spiritual traditions of the world. He brilliantly integrates them into a highly accessible and digestible model of transformation of human consciousness, available to all of us. This book remains one of his major masterpieces and a gift to humanity." -- Mariana Caplan, MFT, PhD, author of Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path "The Unfolding Self is required reading for those interested in transformation--for themselves or for their work with others.

If you are anything like me, this book will be one of those on your shelf that is dog-eared, highlighted, and underlined. I''m thrilled to replace my well-worn copy with this new edition--more relevant today than ever." -- Cassandra Vieten, PhD, Director of Research, Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, University of California, and co-author of Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life "Ralph Metzner''s finely-woven narrative is as relevant today as it was decades ago, a tribute and beacon illuminating the search for something deep and substantive that permeates the fabric of daily life. summit." -- Glenn Hartelius, PhD, co-author of The Ketamine Papers: Science, Therapy, and Transformation "The extraordinary range of Ralph Metzner''s scholarship and practice has allowed him to identify recurring milestones of psychospiritual transformation and navigate a cartography of evolutionary growth charted in story, scripture, psychology, and poetry by a multitude of ages and peoples. Through The Unfolding Self, a life in the foothills can be transformed by what has been seen at the summit." -- Mariavittoria Mangini, PhD FNP "This book is a guide between the visible and the invisible, from the symbolic to the real, in both a collective and individual pilgrimage.

The Unfolding Self is a bridge between the awakening of consciousness in California during the 1960s and the timeless awakening--the sacred legacy of planet earth--that has been waiting since the beginning of time." -- Manuel Almendro, clinical psychologist and Director of Oxigeme, Center for a Psychology of Consciousness.