Spiritual development: Han F. de Wit's and Stanislav Grof's differing approaches

For both Han F. de Wit and Stanislav Grof, spirituality constitutes an esse ntial part of humaneness; a life built on materialism is deemed an impoveri shed life. For de Wit, spirituality yields courage, compassion joy, clarity of mind, and consequently wisdom. For Grof, personal spiritual experiences gained during altered states of consciousness are of central interest. Aft er defining spirituality, these views, built on long-term personal experien ces of the authors and those of others, are explicated in detail. Both auth ors describe their respective approaches to spiritual development. In eithe r approach, third-person knowledge and judgments (e.g., on humanness) have to be supplemented by first-person knowledge and judgments arrived at appro priately (e.g., on humaneness).