Grof is known for his “cartography” of the deep human psyche and for breathing techniques for exploring non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Grof distinguishes between two modes of consciousness: the hylotropic and the holotropic. The hylotropic mode relates to “the normal, everyday experience of consensus reality.” The holotropic mode has to do with states that aim toward wholeness and the totality of existence; it is characteristic of non-ordinary states of consciousness, such as meditative and mystical states. According to Grof, contemporary psychiatry often categorizes these non-ordinary states as psychotic. Grof connects the hylotropic to the Buddhist concept of namarupa (“name and form”), the separate, individual, illusory self. He connects the holotropic to the Hindu concept of Atman-Brahman, the divine, true nature of the self.

He is a professor of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, in the Department of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness; he has also taught at Wisdom University in Oakland, California, and at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara.

His publications include more than 160 articles in professional journals and the books Beyond the Brain; The Cosmic Game; Psychology of the Future; The Ultimate Journey; When the Impossible Happens; Books of the Dead; Healing Our Deepest Wounds; Modern Consciousness Research and the Understanding of Art; Beyond Death; The Stormy Search for the Self; Spiritual Emergency; and Holotropic Breathwork (the last four with Christina Grof), as well as the two-volume The Way of the Psychonaut (2019).