Meditations on a Blue Vase and the Foundations of Transpersonal Psychology

Meditations on a Blue Vase and the Foundations of Transpersonal Psychology PDF Author: Arthur J. Deikman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780988802445
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
What is the difference between psychosis and mystical states of consciousness? What do the great esoteric traditions have to tell us about the farthest reaches of the human mind? How can we recognize cult behavior, whether it occurs in isolated groups or the culture at large? What are the most sensible and effective approaches to meditation? These questions and many more are answered in this profound and exciting anthology by a founding researcher in the field now known as transpersonal psychology. This is the rare book that provides both an education and a transformative experience for readers interested in the history of open-mindedness. Contents include: Foreword by Charles T. Tart, Ph.D. A Functional Approach to Mysticism The Empathic Ward Psychotherapy of Severe Depression Sufism and Psychiatry Evaluating Spiritual and Utopian Groups The Overestimation of the Mystical Experience Treating Former Members of a Cult The Meaning of Everything Mindfulness, Spiritual Seeking and Psychotherapy Service as a Way of Knowing The State-of-the-Art of Meditation AND ELEVEN MORE TOPICS

Meditations on a Blue Vase and the Foundations of Transpersonal Psychology

Meditations on a Blue Vase and the Foundations of Transpersonal Psychology PDF Author: Arthur J. Deikman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780988802445
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 430

Get Book Here

Book Description
What is the difference between psychosis and mystical states of consciousness? What do the great esoteric traditions have to tell us about the farthest reaches of the human mind? How can we recognize cult behavior, whether it occurs in isolated groups or the culture at large? What are the most sensible and effective approaches to meditation? These questions and many more are answered in this profound and exciting anthology by a founding researcher in the field now known as transpersonal psychology. This is the rare book that provides both an education and a transformative experience for readers interested in the history of open-mindedness. Contents include: Foreword by Charles T. Tart, Ph.D. A Functional Approach to Mysticism The Empathic Ward Psychotherapy of Severe Depression Sufism and Psychiatry Evaluating Spiritual and Utopian Groups The Overestimation of the Mystical Experience Treating Former Members of a Cult The Meaning of Everything Mindfulness, Spiritual Seeking and Psychotherapy Service as a Way of Knowing The State-of-the-Art of Meditation AND ELEVEN MORE TOPICS

Spiritual Activism

Spiritual Activism PDF Author: Alastair McIntosh
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 085784301X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Over the past half century the issues facing activists have changed, as has our understanding and awareness of spirituality. For activists, spiritual philosophy is rising up the agenda because it offers distinct, tried and tested approaches to deep questions: Where did it all go wrong? What does it mean to be human? What is the place of leadership? What is the nature of power? The book begins by defining spirituality for a modern audience of all faiths and beliefs, and goes on to consider the problems and necessities of true leadership. Drawing on a rich history of spirituality and activism, from The Bhagavad Gita, to the Hebrew prophets, to Carl Jung, it is both guide and inspiration for people involved in activism for social or environmental justice. The text is enriched with tales from the authors' own experiences. It contains case studies of inspirational spiritual activists (including Mama Efua, Desmond Tutu, Gerrard Winstanley, Sojourner Truth and Julia Butterfly Hill), which demonstrate the transformative power of spiritual principles in action.

Nondualism

Nondualism PDF Author: Jon Paul Sydnor
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666920525
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
The time has come for nondualism. As a fundamentally unifying concept, nondualism may seem out of place in an age of rising nationalism and bitter deglobalization, but our current debates over tribalism and universalism all grant nondualism an informative relevance. Nondualism rejects both separation and identity, thereby encouraging unity-in-difference. Yet “nondualism” as a word occupies a large semantic field. Nondual theists advocate the unity of humankind and God, while nondual atheists advocate the inseparability of all persons, without reference to a divinity. Ecological nondualism asserts that we are in nature and nature is in us, while monistic nondualists assert that only God exists and all difference is illusion. Edited by Jon Paul Sydnor and Anthony Watson, and guided by scholars from different religions and specializations, Nondualism: An Interreligious Exploration explores the semantic field that nondualism occupies. The collection elicits the expansive potential of the concept, clarifies agreement and disagreement, and considers current applications. In every case, nondualism is universal in its relevance yet always distinctive in its contribution.

Elemental Sensuous

Elemental Sensuous PDF Author: John Murungi
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443899968
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Under the guidance of phenomenological insights, this book presents the sensuous in its elemental sense. The elemental is not to be confused here with the classical notion of the atom, which is viewed as a self-contained entity into which all reality is reducible. Rather, the elemental is a living creative force that resists categorization. This force embodies the principle of openness and opening, a principle celebrated and given expression by numerous artists and other friends of the sensuous. As elemental, the sensuous irreducibly expresses itself in multiple ways. The editors of this volume avoid posting themselves between the sensuous and those to whom it presents itself. Each of the contributors here responds to the call of the elemental, and each finds his or her starting point where everyone else starts and ends. The multiple voices brought together here constitute a concert, with the elemental sensuous as the conductor. In reading this book, the reader will become more aware of himself or herself, and more aware of the world in which he or she lives.

Introduction to Transpersonal Psychology

Introduction to Transpersonal Psychology PDF Author: Paul F. Cunningham, Ph.D.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000530051
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
Introduction to Transpersonal Psychology: Bridging Spirit and Science provides an accessible and engaging introduction to this complex and evolving field. Adopting a modular approach, the book systematically relates key themes of Transpersonal Psychology to three major areas within psychology: general psychology, experimental psychology, and clinical psychology. Covering a wide range of topics including transpersonal states of consciousness, biological foundations, research methods, and cognition, the book also features extensive discussion of transpersonal theorists and the impact of their work on our understanding of psychological concepts. The book also introduces contemporary developments in the field and anticipates future advances such as feminist perspectives and cross-cultural approaches alongside practical experiments designed to give transpersonal theories and concepts psychological roots. A critical evaluation of both mainstream and transpersonal theories and research is applied throughout to foster analytical skills and encourage critical and scientific thinking about humanity’s nature as spiritual creatures and ways to educate for personal and social transformation. Accompanied by an online instructor’s manual, this book will be an essential companion for all students of Transpersonal or Humanistic Psychology, or those interested in applying transpersonal ideas to mainstream psychological research.

Listening to Ayahuasca

Listening to Ayahuasca PDF Author: Rachel Harris
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 1608684024
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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Book Description
When National Geographic Adventure published an article in 2006 about the powerful antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, the piece received a phenomenal reader response. That article struck a chord with psychotherapist Rachel Harris, who had encountered many clients unresponsive to traditional therapy and antidepressant protocols. Used for more than 8,000 years in the Amazon rainforest, ayahuasca is a powerful, and illegal, psychedelic that has distressing gastrointestinal side effects. Yet Harris found many willing to try it, so deep was their suffering. Harris here shares her original research (the largest study of ayahuasca use in North America) into its effects on depression, anxiety, and PTSD, along with her own personal experiences. By detailing ayahuasca's risks and benefits, she aims to help those driven to investigate ayahuasca to do so safely and to give their psychological caregivers a template for transformative caring and healing.

The Observing Self

The Observing Self PDF Author: Arthur J. Deikman
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 9780807029510
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
In The Observing Self, noted psychiatrist Arthur J. Deikman lucidly relates how the mystical tradition can enable Western psychology to come to terms with the essential problems of meaning, self, and human progress.

Man and His Symbols

Man and His Symbols PDF Author: Carl G. Jung
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0307800555
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
The landmark text about the inner workings of the unconscious mind—from the symbolism that unlocks the meaning of our dreams to their effect on our waking lives and artistic impulses—featuring more than a hundred images that break down Carl Jung’s revolutionary ideas “What emerges with great clarity from the book is that Jung has done immense service both to psychology as a science and to our general understanding of man in society.”—The Guardian “Our psyche is part of nature, and its enigma is limitless.” Since our inception, humanity has looked to dreams for guidance. But what are they? How can we understand them? And how can we use them to shape our lives? There is perhaps no one more equipped to answer these questions than the legendary psychologist Carl G. Jung. It is in his life’s work that the unconscious mind comes to be understood as an expansive, rich world just as vital and true a part of the mind as the conscious, and it is in our dreams—those personal, integral expressions of our deepest selves—that it communicates itself to us. A seminal text written explicitly for the general reader, Man and His Symbolsis a guide to understanding the symbols in our dreams and using that knowledge to build fuller, more receptive lives. Full of fascinating case studies and examples pulled from philosophy, history, myth, fairy tales, and more, this groundbreaking work—profusely illustrated with hundreds of visual examples—offers invaluable insight into the symbols we dream that demand understanding, why we seek meaning at all, and how these very symbols affect our lives. By illuminating the means to examine our prejudices, interpret psychological meanings, break free of our influences, and recenter our individuality, Man and His Symbols proves to be—decades after its conception—a revelatory, absorbing, and relevant experience.

The Grace in Dying

The Grace in Dying PDF Author: Kathleen Dowling Singh
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062316311
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
In this brilliantly conceived and beautifully written book, Kathleen Dowling Singh illuminates the profound psychological and spiritual transformations experiences by the dying as the natural process of death reconnects them with the source of their being. Examining the end of life in the light of current psychological understanding, religious wisdom, and compassionate medical science, The Grace of Dying offers a fresh, deeply comforting message of hope and courage as we contemplate the meaning of our mortality. While the prevailing Western medical tradition has seen death as an enemy to be fought and overcome, Singh offers a richer and more rewarding path of understanding. Combining extensive training and education in developmental psychology with profound spiritual insight, she balances expert analysis with moving accounts drawn from her experiences working with hundreds of dying patients at a large hospice. Singh moves beyond the five stages of dying revealed in Kübler-Ross's classic On Death and Dying, and finds in the "nearing death experience" even more significant and forming stages of surrender and transcendence. These stages involve the qualities of grace: letting go, radiance, focusing inward, silence, a sense of the sacred, wisdom, intensity, and, in the end, a merging with Spirit. Through this intense process, we come to experience at last the reality of our true self, which transcends our finite ego and bodily existence, and our merging with the source of being from which we originated. Dying is safe. In clear, nontechnical language, Singh reveals the transformations that come with dying, using the vocabulary of growing Western, as well as Eastern, wisdom. Written for those aware that their life is coming to an end, those who care for the dying, and, ultimately, for all of us who inevitably face our owndeath and the deaths of the people we love, The Grace in Dying reveals that dying is the most transforming, powerful, and spiritually rich of life's experiences.

How to Change Your Mind

How to Change Your Mind PDF Author: Michael Pollan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525558942
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
“Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured.” —New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book A brilliant and brave investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs--and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research. A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's "mental travelogue" is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.