Robert Frager is an American social psychologist responsible for establishing America's first educational institution dedicated to transpersonal psychology. Frager is known for founding the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, now called Sofia University, in Palo Alto, California, where he currently holds the position of director of the low residency Master of Arts in Spiritual Guidance program and professor of psychology.[1] Frager has previously acted as president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology as well as a consultant, educator and a spiritual teacher in the Sufi tradition.

Early life and education edit

Frager was born in June 20th, 1940 in California to a Jewish family.[2][3] He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon from 1957 to 1961. He graduated with a B.A. in psychology. He earned a PhD in social psychology from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which he attended from 1961 to 1967. From 1963 to 1965, he was a fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. From 1967 to 1968, he was a research fellow at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.

Career edit

Frager studies transpersonal psychology and he established the country's first educational institution dedicated to it. He also teaches courses in spiritual psychology and "The Wisdom of Islam" at the online University of Philosophical Research and also in the online MA program of the Holmes Institute Graduate School of Consciousness Studies.[citation needed]

Selected bibliography edit

  • Motivation and Personality (1986, supervising editor)
  • Love Is the Wine: Talks of a Sufi Master in America (1987, editor)
  • Personality and Personal Growth (1993 onwards)
  • Who Am I?: Personality Types for Self-Discovery (1994)
  • Essential Sufism, an anthology of Sufi teaching materials (1997)
  • Heart, Self and Soul: The Sufi Psychology of Growth, Balance, and Harmony (1999)
  • The Wisdom of Islam: A Practical Guide to the Wisdom of Islamic Belief (2002)
  • Sharing Sacred Stories: Current Approaches to Spiritual Direction and Guidance (2007, editor)
  • Sufi Talks: Teachings of an American Sufi Sheihk (2012)

Personal life edit

Frager embraced Islam in 1981.[4] He is also a Sufi teacher, or sheikh, in the Halveti-Jerrahi order,[5] in which he was initiated by Muzaffer Ozak and goes by the name of Sheikh Ragip al-Jerrahi, leading a dergah (Sufi community) in Redwood City, California.[5] Sensei Frager practices Aikido, a spiritual Japanese martial art, and he holds the highest rank now issued by the International Aikido Federation, 8th Dan.[6][7][8]

References edit

  1. ^ Staff. "Who is Robert Frager?". Integral Institute. Archived from the original on 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  2. ^ "COMMON THREADS IN MYSTICISM with ROBERT FRAGER, Ph.D." The Intuition Network. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ^ Wulandari, Asti (2017). "Nafs in Sufism Psychology: Robert Frager's Perspective". Khazanah: Jurnal Studi Islam dan Humaniora. 15 (1): 23–34. doi:10.18592/khazanah.v15i1.1155. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. ^ "The Wisdom of Islam by Robert Frager | Review | Spirituality & Practice".
  5. ^ a b Hamilton, Craig (September 2006). "The Man with Two Heads". EnlightenNext Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2009-06-02. A reprint from Issue 34, September to December 2006.
  6. ^ "Our Sensei". 5 April 2010.
  7. ^ "Instructors — Bridgetown Aikido :: Portland Oregon". www.bridgetownaikido.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20.
  8. ^ "Robert Frager - Aikido Master".

External links edit