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johanmirfin's review against another edition
Encouraged me to be overly introspective
kovyrin's review against another edition
3.0
Loved about 60% of the book: a lot of Buddhist and Western psychotherapy ideas made perfect sense, the description of meditation effects matched my experience perfectly, but then he went way too deep and lost me.
jasonlesher's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
kwheeles's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting intersection of therapy and buddhism. Thought provoking.
andreashappe's review against another edition
4.0
What are the parallels and interactions between Psychology and Buddhism?
Buddhism sees life as suffering (or rather repeated non-satisfaction), the root of suffering are cravings, i.e., the mismatch between reality and one’s wishes. The wish for instant gratification, the pursuit of transient pleasures that keep oneself craving for something different (or more) as soon as the transient pleasure is achieved. Here meditation might help with its focus upon concentration, mindfulness and bare-attachment. Through its practise, the reactivity of one’s mind can be calmed (which would be the impact upon long-term meditation upon the brain’s default-mode network’s activity in newer neuro-science). Not ignoring feelings, but acknowledging their presence and, through non-judgement, removing some of their hold upon oneself.
The book contrasts this with the Freudian “unbridgeable gap between desire and satisfaction”. Freud’s Repeating (recognizing one’s repeating actions/patterns and trying to find the reason behind them) and Working-Through (living with one’s feelings to allow for analysis and improvement) can both be aided through meditation. Aided, not replaced --- there seems to be a symbiosis. The Buddhist “in bits and pieces without falling apart” is eerily fitting.
Another theme in the book is that we cannot sustain the illusion of self-sufficiency --- sooner or later we will be dependent upon others.. Age or life will finally lead to humiliation. Buddhism accepts this. Still thinking about that.
Buddhism does not deny pleasures, only attachment to them as a source of ultimate satisfaction; Indirectly, attachment to the two non-achievable extremes of self-sufficiency and emptiness. Hopefully it’s Middle Path leads down a road between false idealization and denial.
One cannot grow without pain. One seldom improves without it. Still not loving it.
Buddhism sees life as suffering (or rather repeated non-satisfaction), the root of suffering are cravings, i.e., the mismatch between reality and one’s wishes. The wish for instant gratification, the pursuit of transient pleasures that keep oneself craving for something different (or more) as soon as the transient pleasure is achieved. Here meditation might help with its focus upon concentration, mindfulness and bare-attachment. Through its practise, the reactivity of one’s mind can be calmed (which would be the impact upon long-term meditation upon the brain’s default-mode network’s activity in newer neuro-science). Not ignoring feelings, but acknowledging their presence and, through non-judgement, removing some of their hold upon oneself.
The book contrasts this with the Freudian “unbridgeable gap between desire and satisfaction”. Freud’s Repeating (recognizing one’s repeating actions/patterns and trying to find the reason behind them) and Working-Through (living with one’s feelings to allow for analysis and improvement) can both be aided through meditation. Aided, not replaced --- there seems to be a symbiosis. The Buddhist “in bits and pieces without falling apart” is eerily fitting.
Another theme in the book is that we cannot sustain the illusion of self-sufficiency --- sooner or later we will be dependent upon others.. Age or life will finally lead to humiliation. Buddhism accepts this. Still thinking about that.
Buddhism does not deny pleasures, only attachment to them as a source of ultimate satisfaction; Indirectly, attachment to the two non-achievable extremes of self-sufficiency and emptiness. Hopefully it’s Middle Path leads down a road between false idealization and denial.
One cannot grow without pain. One seldom improves without it. Still not loving it.
librarylapin's review against another edition
1.0
I really disliked this book. It was way too steeped in Freudianism and although well researched, the parallels between the two ideologies seemed forced.
rebeccazh's review against another edition
A very interesting book that looks at psychotherapy through a Buddhist lens and vice versa.
heidi_'s review against another edition
5.0
This knocked my socks off. I will be returning to it after first annoying each and every person in my social circle by bargaining with asking them to read it.
The book is divided into three topical sections: Buddhist psychology, meditation, and therapy. Epstein, a long-time meditator and psychiatrist, masterfully weaves insights from his understandings of both Eastern spirituality and Western psychotherapy. The arguments are developed gradually, the prose is clear, and the organization made sense. Nothing felt gratuitous.
Buddhist psychology centers on cultivating one's mental agency: "instead of letting our misconceptions about our feelings influence our understanding, we must let our understanding change the way we experience our emotions." This is largely accomplished through meditation.
"As meditation unfolds, the coarser aspects of the self, as personified by emotional upheaval or by the chattering mind, tend to become quieter, but more subtle attachments or identifications become visible in their stead. In this sense, meditation becomes rather like a labyrinth, with each new opening and each new perception about the self revealing yet another opportunity for attachment and release."
After flushing out this concept, Epstein suggests that meditation serves as a perfect accompaniment to psychotherapy. While therapy allows us to understand where our emotional patterns stem from, meditation provides a framework to work through these emotions to eventually be released from their grip.
"By offering the tools of how to stay in the present, meditation aids both therapist and patient; by teaching people how to identify and contain past material, therapy can free a meditation of emotional travail. Both work toward a greater ability to face life as it is; both begin, often enough, in silence."
Psychology and spirituality work in tandem to heighten senses of awareness and compassion, for ourselves and others. In a nutshell:
"If aspects of the person remain undigested—cut off, denied, projected, rejected, indulges, or otherwise unassimilated—they become the points around which the core forces of greed, hatred, and delusion attach themselves. They are the black holes that absorb fear and create the defensive posture of the isolated self, unable to make satisfying contact with others or with the world... When those aspects that have been unconsciously refused are returned, when they are made conscious, accepted, tolerated, or integrated, the self can then be at one, the need to maintain the self-conscious edifice disappears, and the force of compassion is automatically unleashed."
I can't recommend this highly enough.
The book is divided into three topical sections: Buddhist psychology, meditation, and therapy. Epstein, a long-time meditator and psychiatrist, masterfully weaves insights from his understandings of both Eastern spirituality and Western psychotherapy. The arguments are developed gradually, the prose is clear, and the organization made sense. Nothing felt gratuitous.
Buddhist psychology centers on cultivating one's mental agency: "instead of letting our misconceptions about our feelings influence our understanding, we must let our understanding change the way we experience our emotions." This is largely accomplished through meditation.
"As meditation unfolds, the coarser aspects of the self, as personified by emotional upheaval or by the chattering mind, tend to become quieter, but more subtle attachments or identifications become visible in their stead. In this sense, meditation becomes rather like a labyrinth, with each new opening and each new perception about the self revealing yet another opportunity for attachment and release."
After flushing out this concept, Epstein suggests that meditation serves as a perfect accompaniment to psychotherapy. While therapy allows us to understand where our emotional patterns stem from, meditation provides a framework to work through these emotions to eventually be released from their grip.
"By offering the tools of how to stay in the present, meditation aids both therapist and patient; by teaching people how to identify and contain past material, therapy can free a meditation of emotional travail. Both work toward a greater ability to face life as it is; both begin, often enough, in silence."
Psychology and spirituality work in tandem to heighten senses of awareness and compassion, for ourselves and others. In a nutshell:
"If aspects of the person remain undigested—cut off, denied, projected, rejected, indulges, or otherwise unassimilated—they become the points around which the core forces of greed, hatred, and delusion attach themselves. They are the black holes that absorb fear and create the defensive posture of the isolated self, unable to make satisfying contact with others or with the world... When those aspects that have been unconsciously refused are returned, when they are made conscious, accepted, tolerated, or integrated, the self can then be at one, the need to maintain the self-conscious edifice disappears, and the force of compassion is automatically unleashed."
I can't recommend this highly enough.
elusivity's review against another edition
5.0
Lucidly weds Buddhist philosophy with in-depth understanding of psychoanalytic theory and practice. The impersonal stance of psychoanalytic mind very similar to the impersonal "beginner's mind" of meditation. Therapy and meditation therefore very good fit -- therapy revealing one's underlying pain and meditation opening the door towards acceptance and perhaps transcendence.
Very highly recommend.
Very highly recommend.
sadie_scout's review against another edition
4.0
lots of great ideas, but i had to force myself through it.