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.
itsgg's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great read for those who are unsure about the purpose/goals of meditation or otherwise find it challenging, while at the same time it avoids reading as too "new age-y." As a whole, the book seeks to harmonize Buddhist teachings with philosophies of western psychotherapy, and I found the whole thing interesting and valuable, but I would particularly recommend section II on meditation. Modern meditation apps like Buddhify lead many people to treat meditation as one more daily health practice to check off the to-do list, which often limits its effectiveness, in my opinion. This author articulates a different way to think about meditation that helped me explore the practice in a new way. Obviously, the subject matter will be interesting to a limited audience, but if this review piques your curiosity, I would recommend 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.
winstonholyfield's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.25
miklosha's review
4.0
As a novice meditator and clinician, I found this book to be an intriguing primer on integrating psychotherapy and Buddhist practice. The author speaks from a primarily psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approach, which is great for those who are inclined towards Freud, Jung, Fromm, and more, but can be foreign and less impactful for those who aren't. A modern approach integrating both in the cognitive tradition might be ACT, DBT, and MBCT.
Overall, a very good read for those interested in how to think about their thoughts in the context of therapy and meditative practice.
Overall, a very good read for those interested in how to think about their thoughts in the context of therapy and meditative practice.
mr_harrow's review against another edition
4.0
If you have a regular meditation practice - read this.
If you do any type of psychotherapy - read this.
If you do neither, start sitting.
A book where you'll get different amounts of value depending on where you're at in your journey.
As for myself, the last 2 chapters were the most useful.
If you do any type of psychotherapy - read this.
If you do neither, start sitting.
A book where you'll get different amounts of value depending on where you're at in your journey.
As for myself, the last 2 chapters were the most useful.