Author: Stanislav Grof

Stanislav Grof was born in 1931 in Prague, where he studied medicine and the philosophy of medicine. He began his research with psychedelic substances (including LSD) initially at the local university. In 1967, he received a research fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and remained in the USA. From 1973, he worked at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, and later at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, where he developed the technique of holotropic breathing. He later taught as a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in Mill Valley, California. Stanislav Grof is a founding member of the International Transpersonal Association and the author of numerous professional publications. In 2007, he received the Vision 97 Award from the Dagmar and Vaclav Havel Foundation for his lifetime achievements.

Translation: Wolfgang Krege

Wolfgang Krege (1939-2005) was born in Berlin, grew up there, and later studied philosophy at the Free University. He worked as an encyclopedia editor, copywriter, and publishing editor. From 1970, he also worked as a translator (for Anthony Burgess, Annie Proulx, Amélie Nothomb, and many others). He gained significant recognition, particularly for his translations of texts by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit), especially for the new translation of The Lord of the Rings.