 |
Can a meditative practice assist and promote the healing relationship between psychotherapist and patient? The notable contributors to this practical book draw on a wide range of Eastern and Western disciplines- psychoanalysis, Gestalt, Aikido, and various Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist contemplative traditions-to show that it can. What they propose is a meeting between the Western psychotherapeutic approach-grounded in working with the personal problems and the need to carve out a strong awareness of self-and Eastern tradition,which emphasizes a larger kind of awareness and equanimity as a continuously available source of clarity and health for those who know how to find it. They show that joining psychotherapy with meditation can mutually awaken the hearts of both therapist and client, sparking them both to open more fully.-
Jacob Needleman, Erich Fromm, Robin Skynner, Ram Dass, Karl Sperber, Roger Walsh, Chogyam Trungpa, and Thomas Hora are among the contributors. In the first section of the book, they address the question, How far can psychotherapy go in awakening the heart and liberating oneself from the distortions of the confused mind? In the next section, they explore working with oneself as the ground for working with others. The third part of the book is a discussion of how the openness of heart that arises out of meditation practice can influence working with others.
John Welwood is a writer, teacher, and psychotherapist in private practice. He is also the editor of Ordinary Magic: Everyday Life as Spiritual Path and Challenge of the Heart: Love, Sex, and Intimacy in Changing Times.
Awakening the Heart, John Welwood, Shambhala Publications, 240 Pages, $16.00
|
|
|
