We will now discuss some of the key concepts or elements that are used in TP. Keep in mind that these are simply labels or mind constructs that help us explain experiences. It is essential that the counselor has a working familiarity with these concepts, because they help to create the framework for working with others. They label certain experiences that psychologists have observed in themselves and others. Some of the key TP concepts include:

1. Peak Experiences – a term coined by Maslow to indicate a feeling of ecstasy, tranquility, oneness with the universe, or profound understanding. These are often described in mystical terms and may include non-ordinary states of consciousness (Davis, 2000).

2. Self-Transcendence – a state of consciousness where the sense of self is expanded beyond the ego or personality and the person opens to his deeper nature. This feeling has the characteristics of a mystical experience (Davis, 2000).

3. Optimal Mental Health – a state beyond coping, that includes expanded awareness and freedom from internal conflict (Davis, 2000).

4. Spiritual Emergency – healthy awakening can produce states that feel bizarre or uncomfortable, such as the movement of Kundalini energy. It may even resemble pathological states fraught with hallucinations, psychosis, and mania. Using the term spiritual emergency removes such normal states of awakening from pathological labels (Davis, 2000).

5. Developmental Spectrum – there are levels of reality, and each successive level incorporates properties of previous levels, much like the developmental models discussed. The transpersonal model builds on the developmental theories that we have discussed in our earlier section of human development (Davis 2000)

6. Higher Power – the impersonal and formless energy source (Small, 1991).

7. Higher Self – also called Soul, this is the organizing principle, which draws its energy from the Higher Power. It is "our core nature, or root-consciousness from whence we’ve sprung. It is the Ideal of each completed human being" (Small, 1991, p. 18). This is the archetype that Jung calls the God image in the psyche (Wellings and McCormick, 2000). Generally, though not always, it is equated with the Observer Self, the knower or Witness. It is a felt awareness and inner knowing, not an intellectual function. It makes us fully conscious of what we are doing.

8. Ego – it executes our identity. It is our personality and individuality, and it decides our boundaries and our reality. The ego usually splits into the mask or persona and the shadow (Small, 1991). It contains all the identity qualities of the I. When we say I am X, it contains the X functions.

9. Persona – this represents the mask we create to deal with the outer world. It fits itself to society but conceals the genuine person underneath. It is our created identity, and it hides the shadow (Singer, 1998).

10. Shadow – this contains all the disowned, despised, and repressed traits that we fail to acknowledge about ourselves. It is our dark side and our emotional unfinished business (Small, 1991). It is often referred to as the personal unconscious.

11. The Positive Self – also known as the integrated or individuated self. It is the healthy ego that has integrated the shadow and become conscious (Small, 1991). The healthy ego is able to establish appropriate boundaries and expand and contract those boundaries in a deliberate manner, as needed.

12. Individuation – this is Jung’s process of bringing the shadow aspects together with the persona aspects and working through these opposite aspects to achieve wholeness and integration. The result of individuation is the Positive Self (Small, 1991.).

13. Archetypes – these are our biological and social functions and patterns that live in cellular memory. They tell us about the functions and roles of humanity. Some archetypes include Mother, Father, Hero, Villain, Goddess, God, etc. According to Jung, the archetype exists in the collective unconscious of humanity, but we each have our own personal image as well. For example, Mother is an archetypal figure that gives birth and nurtures her young. However, my personal vision of Mother will be affected by my experiences with my own Mother. The archetype represents the symbol of Mother and Motherhood. Archetypes are important because, through our process of individuation, we consciously become aware of the archetypes that influence us. We are then able to make conscious choices about whether we will allow them to be a part of our own consciousness. We also free ourselves from their detrimental affects. Wilber refers to archetypes as original patterns or primary molds (Wellings and McCormick, 2000).