The most fundamental questions of human existence are explored in what is regarded as the transpersonal perspective. Such questions include: What is the relationship of the personal to the transpersonal? What is the relationship of self to spirit? And, what is the nature of this relationship? As a result, the transpersonal perspective has become a fusion of wisdom collected from spiritual-world traditions with some of the philosophical and psychological schools of the West.
The transpersonal perspective, simply put, explores “beyond the person.” It suggests that there is much about human beings that goes far beyond our five physical senses and that our soul, or consciousness, is much bigger than we realize. This new perspective is a way of organizing our experience of reality—it is not that reality itself.
Human consciousness is the term used to embody this synthesis of spiritual wisdom, philosophy, and psychology and moves beyond the confines of the self or soul. In moving beyond the confines of self, consciousness is seen to open up into ranges of human experience that go far beyond Freud’s earlier formulations of id, ego, and superego. Consciousness becomes an expression for a vast multi-dimensional existence wherein new aspects of being are discovered.
Law enforcement officers often experience both ordinary and extraordinary situations that require or encourage a stretch in their personal decision-making and practices. Officers are called upon to protect, defend, support, manage, and save lives—including their own. They are expected to accomplish impossible feats and are criticized when they fail. Many would agree that such heavy responsibilities enhance policemen’s awareness and senses, even when they don’t realize it. Because of this heightened awareness, police build emotional armor to desensitize and numb themselves. It is a defense mechanism that manifests in their experiences so they don’t have to feel so much. This may be why officers sometimes appear callous, frozen, and unwavering.
The “CSI Effect” is an interesting concept to explore. It is in reference to the phenomenon of popular television police shows that tend to raise the real-world expectations of forensic science and police work. From a transpersonal and psychological point of view, the “CSI Effect” encourages people into believing that only science will solve a serious offense. Thus, prosecutors are pressured to deliver more and more forensic scientific evidence in court, often inapplicable to the case, and less weight is given to anything else considered relevant or important for a jury to hear.
Most police experts would agree that good detectives solve crimes by looking at all of the angles in a case. Hence, television shows like CSI often narrow, if not outright abolish, people’s ideas that there could be any methods of proof other than scientific—such as observation, intuition, right listening, or cognitive interviewing.
Solving a crime is both an art and a science, combined to produce a fuller and more accurate picture of an alleged occurrence. Investigative work isn’t “just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” I have heard officers say time and time again, “Thank God for gut instinct!”
The majority of committed, dedicated, and devoted police officers—regardless of their public image—will do whatever it takes to assist and resolve a traumatic or threatening situation, to the point that they go beyond self. They will go beyond their five physical senses—even if it entails a near-death experience. Psychic ability, intuition, and gut-instinct are not unique gifts or paranormal capacities but rather abilities and skills that anyone can develop with practice. Everyone can discover and develop his or her transpersonal talents and inner wisdom using intuition, logic, and common sense in order to make the best choices.
By and by, police officers are honest, decent, dignified folks who want nothing more than to do noble things for people. They seldom run out and capitalize on the good things they do because then their motives for sharing are challenged. Ultimately, police officers are no different than anyone else. Everyone likes to receive some occasional validation. In my opinion, however, police officers do not get much validation because people forget they are human.
The public gets caught up in the stereotypical image of what a policeman should be, based on what is depicted and expressed on television. The public only sees cops in dramatic Hollywood stories and gets an inaccurate perception of who the human being is behind the badge. Thus, we have done nothing more than build stereotypes that have become part of our collective consciousness of a public who wants to see through the cops’ eyes but gets little exposure to the reality and truth of their humaneness.
The first two decades of the transpersonal field largely focused on the high end of human experience. In the formative years, the transpersonal perspective was often thought of, exclusively, as anything beyond normal human comprehension, such as altered states of consciousness, extrasensory perception, near-death experiences, astral vision, and other intuitive states. These examples do shape a significant part of the transpersonal perspective; however, such incidents are becoming less of a focus now as the transpersonal perspective expands and advances towards a more complete and all-inclusive view of the human heart and experience.
This book is a reflective and unusual examination of unexplainable situations and phenomena. The stories imply a greater force or intelligence within and beyond ourselves, which we have, perhaps, not explored enough. Additionally, many stories show good quality police work that is a result of highly developed skills in awareness, attention to detail, and in noticing things out of place or “not right.”
Interestingly, the officers who submitted their stories were perfectionists to a fault. Like a police report, their stories had to be accurate and were corrected if only one word was off. I consider all these police extremely credible and am honored that they shared their experiences with me.
I ask you, the reader, to consider the possibility that we are all experiencing a shift in paradigm, not only in law enforcement, but in other professions and within our own collective consciousness. Consequently, more and more reliable and believable professionals are starting to acknowledge extraordinary experiences that imply a compassionate interconnectedness among people.
Lastly, it is my hope and prayer that readers will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects of police officers. I believe that police officers, their departments, and society in general are entering into a new era for the criminal justice system. The new era not only includes cutting-edge technologies and practical, client-based, problem-solving approaches to law enforcement, but also includes a developing appreciation and respect for the more receptive, intuitive, and creative aspects of police officers who have to deal directly with the human condition. Police work does go beyond “just the facts, ma’am.”
This book will demonstrate that reality.