Vaclav Havel (left) presents Vision 97 award, a St. Adalbert staff (a symbol associated with the Czech holy patron) and a diploma, to Dr. Stanislav Grof.

On October 5, CIIS Professor Stanislav Grof, MD, a pioneer in the development of transpersonal psychology, received the prestigious “Vision 97” award from the Foundation of Dagmar and Václav Havel. The annual award, presented in a public ceremony in Prague, is given, in the words of former Czech president Václav Havel, “to thinkers, whose scientific work returns science into the framework of general culture, transcends the dominant concepts of knowledge and being, reveals unknown, surprising or overlooked connections, and touches in a new way the mysteries of the universe and of life.” Former recipients of the award include author Umberto Eco, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, neurosurgeon Karl H. Pribram, and psychologist Phillip G. Zimbardo.

In his acceptance speech, Professor Grof noted that the Vision prize held significant meaning to him because of his “deep admiration and respect for President Havel, as an artist, philosopher, statesman with an extensive spiritual vision, and a man of exceptional personal values.” He also acknowledged his pleasure at returning to Prague, where he was born, spent his childhood, and began his “unconventional scientific career” in the 1960s when, among other work, he was the principal investigator in a psychedelic research program at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague.  “My destiny seems to be to engage in researching areas that spark significant controversy in science and society,” he said.

Professor Grof, MD, PhD, is a professor of psychology in CIIS’s Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness (PCC) program. A psychiatrist with more than 50 years of experience researching the healing and transformative potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness, he is one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology. Professor Grof founded the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) and is its past and current president. He has also organized large international conferences throughout the world and continues to lecture and teach professional training programs in holotropic breathwork and transpersonal psychology. Among his publications are more than 150 papers in professional journals and many books, including Beyond the Brain, Psychology of the Future, The Cosmic Game, and the When the Impossible Happens. Professor Grof received an M.D. from Charles University and a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy in Medicine) from the Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences.

The Vision 97 award extends beyond the actual ceremony, and is accompanied by other events, including interviews with the media and informal meetings with students and professors during discussions with the laureate and invited guests. The foundation’s philanthropic mission supports cultural and social projects and groundbreaking prototypes with the potential to bring meaningful change to the future.

Read more about the foundation and the award.