Product Description
This book shows why the discovery of the unconscious by Nietzsche and Freud requires a reconception of the concepts of moral agency and responsibility and even of morality itself. It explicates how contemporary psychology has taken over the traditional task of ethics in elucidating a theory of human well-being, but criticizes this psychology for being unable to generate adequate notions of either responsibility or moral agency. Riker develops a new moral psychology in which the reality of unconscious functioning is included within a theory of responsibility, and the agent's primary ethic concern becomes knowing what her unconscious motivations are and integrating them into a morally and psychologically mature self. ... Read more

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CHAPTER 1. THE HARMAS.

This is what I wished for, hoc erat in votis: a bit of land, oh, not so very large, but fenced in, to avoid the drawbacks of a public way; an abandoned, barren,

sun-scorched bit of land, favoured by thistles and by Wasps and Bees. Here, without fear of being troubled by the passers-by, I could consult the Ammophila and

the Sphex (two species of Digger-or Hunting-wasps.--Translator's Note.) and engage in that difficult conversation whose questions and answers have

experiment for their language; here, without distant expeditions that take up my time, without tiring rambles that strain my nerves, I could contrive my plans of

attack, lay my ambushes and watch their effects at every hour of the day. Hoc erat in votis. Yes, this was my wish, my dream, always cherished, always

vanishing into the mists of the future.

And it is no easy matter to acquire a laboratory in the open fields, when harassed by a terrible anxiety about one's daily bread. For forty years have I fought, with

steadfast courage, against the paltry plagues of life; and the long-wished-for laboratory has come at last. What it has cost me in perseverance and relentless

work I will not try to say. It has come; and, with it--a more serious condition--perhaps a little leisure. I say perhaps, for my leg is still hampered with a few links of

the convict's chain.

The wish is realized. It is a little late, O! my pretty insects! I greatly fear that the peach is offered to me when I am beginning to have no teeth wherewith to eat it.

Download The Wonders Of Instinct Chapters In The Psychology Of Insects Now! ... Read more

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Product Description
Intrapsychic Humanism is a new, comprehensive generalpsychology and philosophy of mind that provides scientifically groundedand humanistic understandings of our human natures and our problems, aswell as realistic ideas about how to bring about positive, lastingchanges in ourselves and those for whom we care. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Dangerous book
Intrapsychic humanism is a theory that promotes many basic social work ideals. Children are born with the belief that their parents are providing them with optimal care. Children are born without psychopathology. Therapy can help to change the way that one functions in the world. However, Intrapsychic humanism has at its core a way of viewing the world and oneself that is dangerous. According to IH, everyone who is not raised by a practicing intrapsychic humanist has psychopathology. The only way to ameliorate psychopathology is to receive therapy from an IH therapist. In other words, a therapist who receives IH treatment and consultation. This ridiculous view seems to do little but feed the egos of the authors. They have created the perfect solution, and everyone who has not experienced it (i.e., the rest of the world) has psychopathology. If the Piepers have the perfect solution for depression, self-sabotage, rage, schizophrenia, etc., where did it come from? Let's pretend, for a moment, that a perfect way of addressing the problems of society exists. How was it created in this imperfect world? If the Piepers created and practice a theory that is wholly experiential, (treatment or parenting creates mental health) where did their experience of IH come from? Was it divine inspiration? Piepers, let us in on your secret.

Intrapsychic humanism creates in the believer a lofty but ultimately lonely view of humankind. There are those who believe and practice IH, and then there is the rest of the world. This creates division between people, such as parents and partners of person in IH treatment. In many psychodynamic treatments, there is a period of time in which the client mourns the sub-optimal caregiving that they received. In intrapsychic humanism, this process is continually encouraged by the therapist. The client revisits their dissatisfaction with their parents because this relationship is the root of all psychopathology. Again, this process is often addressed in most psychodynamic theories, but then there is usually movement forward. In IH, the IH therapist will continually and subtly bring the client back to this mourning process by the identification of aversive reactions. Aversive reactions are self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors created by non-IH caregiving in childhood. So, if you miss a deadline at work after you have received a promotion, you have had an aversive reaction. You are told that a part of your mind did not feel that you deserved something positive due to your maladaptive upbringing that you idealized in youth. Thus, you are a victim. A victim of yourself, your parents and the psychopathology of others. How do you move beyond aversive reactions? You keep a watchful eye out for your own motivations and the motivations of others. This way of dealing with the world does not inspire trust in relationships with others or confidence in oneself.

The main healing agent in intrapsychic humanism is the relationship with the IH therapist or parent, the optimal caregiver. Mental health is judged by the degree of closeness that one has in the relationship with the caregiver. Again, the relationship with the therapist is a source of healing in most psychodynamic theories. If the client can build a relationship with the therapist, she can learn trust others as well. However, due to the negative worldview that is inherent in IH, the motives of others are called into question in comparison with the optimal caregiving motives of the therapist. Since psychopathology is defined so broadly in IH, the words and actions of others are under scrutiny. If a partner is not receiving IH therapy, or is unwilling to receive it, can their motives be trusted?

IH therapists also do not encourage communication with others to ultimately resolve misunderstandings. Intrapsychic humanists believe that conflicts in relationships are due to personal psychopathology. Natural and normal occurrences such as harsh words, raised voices etc. towards others is a manifestation of psychopathological motives. (Although the Piepers do make allowances for anger born of hunger or tiredness.) IH therapists do not believe that conflicts can be satisfactorily resolved when the other person is not in IH treatment, as their motives are influenced by psychopathology. Of course it is not at all productive or healthy to perpetrate or receive abuse, and no one should be encouraged to build a relationship with an abusive person. But, IH therapists do not see this distinction. So, instead of addressing an issue with your partner first, talk to your therapist. Communication, which I believe is the impetus for all personal growth is not encouraged. As a result, conflicts are not addressed and relationships can wither. Conflicts are borne of and create more psychopathology, according to IH. Growth, which I believe often comes as a result of the experience of conflicts and contrasts as an adult in chosen relationships, is not encouraged. It is regarded that if you choose sub-optimal relationships in adulthood, this is an outgrowth of your psychopathology. Since everyone has psychopathology, according to IH, who is one expected to befriend? Who is one expected to fall in love with? Partner with? And is that person in IH-therapy? Growth which comes as a result of releasing psychopathology through IH therapy IN SPITE OF sub-optimal caregiving recieved when young is recognized in this book as a unique and satisfying experience, in it's own particular way. However, it is not an optimal way to go through life, and for IH adherents, the goal is to provide a life for the next generation that is free of psychopathology. Of course, we all want our children to be happy, confident and to make positive choices in their lives. But often this confidence is due to observable, human mistakes made by one's non-abusive, loving parent.

I know of Intrapsychic humanist therapists whose relationships have deteriorated due to their beliefs. IH therapists must receive IH therapy and consultation. These requirements are costly, and create a financial burden upon the therapist and their partner. If the partner balks at the finances required to support an IH practice, they are viewed as not being supportive of their partner's career.

I speak from experience. I have studied this book in intrapsychic humanism study groups. I have received IH therapy. I have known IH therapists and people who have received this therapy. I do not think that intrapsychic humanism is harmful if practiced along with other theories. This belief, like anything, becomes detrimental if it is all that one believes, or if it is the only basis for clinical and personal decision-making. Through studying this book and others by the Piepers, they posit that their theory is THE WAY to free onself from unhappiness. I am careful now of any theory, point-of-view, religion that states that it is the only way.

Absolutely life changing.....
IH provides the most solid answer to the question of the regulation of desire...Have you ever done something you had not intended....or Have you ever not done something you really did intend?Yeah, most people have.The optomistic ideals set forth in this text provide the blueprint for the next level of the evolution of humankind.One that will allow every human being to be able, some day, to answer "NO" to those two questions above.

Personally, my quest has taken me to the extents of modern religion, philosophy and psychology.To date, IH still provides a deeper insight and aswers questions that none have been able to ask heretofore.It is truly an elevation of Mind.

Extremely sophisticated explanation of consciousness and min
This book is challenging to read because it provides a full explanation for the development of conscious experience and sets that explanation within the context of the history of philosophy and psychology. It alsoexplains how psychopathology develops and how psychotherapeutic treatmentworks under this model. It is deeply rewarding to read and its model of themind is logical and compelling. I found it best to read it once straightthrough and then read it slowly again. It continues to provide insight anda thought provoking perspective. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Dark Night Early Dawn
I knew this book was going to be interesting and deep. Robert Monroe, Stan Grof, reincarnation and near-death experiences all in one book, how could it not be? But I was not expecting it to be so dark.

In Dark Night Early Dawn, Cristopher Bache explores with clarity the dynamics of the collective mind or species mind and how it interacts with the individual. A central notion is that we as a species are evolving culturally and that we are at a point in our evolution where we are facing a collective death-rebirth experience in the not so distant future. This would possibly according to Bache be triggered by suffering (as in the concept of "dark night of the soul") followed by species-wide psycho-spiritual rebirth. Death of the old matter oriented way and the birth of a new spirit-infused way. Bache feels that the coming future ecological crisis followed by social and economic collapse as a form of cathartic release of accumulated species-karma will be the trigger that launches species-wide ego death resulting in collective spiritual opening. From it will be reborn the Godess on Earth.

It is not hard to imagine that there may indeed be some form of great suffering ahead. I don't think that there necessarily *has to be* great collective suffering in order for the human species to be transformed (and it seems Bache doesn't either), although if we do experience great suffering this may very well trigger an enormous transformation especially if western society collapses in the process. A more hopeful view is that the transformation can be made slowly and gently. In practical terms, perhaps in the form of a psychedelic renaissance or archaic revival where modern man is integrated into the ancient shamanic worldview. It may be a race againt time. Will our society fuse with the archaic world of shamanism in time before we face total social, economic and ecological collapse followed by some sort of post-apocalyptic scenario where we kill one another for resources on a mass scale? That seems to be one of the most important questions explored in the book. If we do come to face this doomsday scenario then this book attempts to explore the causes and what might happen to us as a result.

Transpersonal states of consciousness as a means of healing humanity has been mentioned by Terence McKenna among others. Bache takes this one step further in a deeper exploration into the dynamics of individual/collective death-rebirth. The result of his probing contributes to an understanding of how psychedelic states can heal us as a species in a way that goes beyond simply "one person at a time". Grof has written about healing group-karma in a family or group of people, something that connects to this and to my mind remains one of the most intriguing phenomena in transpersonal psychology.

I would like to quote from the book something interesting that has to do with the powerful effect non-ordinary states can have on individuals: (p. 58) "Grof has found that every single person who reaches this level [full psychospiritual death and rebirth] in their work adopts a spirtual interpretation of existance, regardless of their prior psychosocial conditioning." This really says a lot about the benefit of introducing practices based on shamanism to our western culture. Writer Graham Hancock said recently in an interview that it should be required of individuals seeking to gain positions of power to have at the very least ten Ayahuasca sessions before they are considered as candidates. Grof has written about something like this aswell. I agree with this completely.

Before reading Dark Night Early Dawn it is helpful if the reader has some familiarity with the following individuals and their work (although the book contains summaries of some of these things):
- Stanislav Grof (Particularly "Realms of the human unconscious") and his cartography of the deep psyche.
- Ian Stevenson and his work on reincarnation
- Ken Wilber
- Robert Monroe and his work on out-of-body experiences
- NDE Research in general
- Rupert Sheldrake and his morphic fields

Selected points of particular interest:

- One of the most valuable things about this book is that it begins to connect the work of Stanislav Grof with Robert Monroe (Out-of-body experiences) and with Near-death experiences (NDEs). Bache argues that NDEs and OBEs can be understood as part of a death rebirth dynamic, this may be a step towards increased understanding of these phenomena.

- Bache discusses the limtations of a philosophical quest based exclusively on observations from ordinary states of consciousness, such as in our western society. He proposes that in order to explore the totality of human existence, both from a philosophical and psychological perspective, one must have personal experience of non-ordinary states, it is not enough to simply read about them. I think this is a very important point. This is something our culture is really missing out on. How can we as a culture call ourselves the peak of civilization and humanity when we deny ourselves one of the most fundamental of human needs; direct authentic experience of the divine?

- Bache's speculation that individual psychedelic experience are influenced by the collective state of humanity as a whole is interesting and can be connected to something I have heard Grofmention; that archetypal transit astrology (as in Richard Tarnas) can influence individual psychedelic states. It makes one wonder how for example ancient cultures like pharaonic egypt experienced non-ordinary states compared to modern man.

I really enjoyed reading Dark Night Early Dawn even though its really dark sometimes. The format is one of synthesis of different types of non-ordinary states, making connections where connections need to be made. As such this book is important. The fact that a lot of the content is grounded in the authors long experience of non-ordinary states (there are sessions described throughout) adds a lot to its authenticity. One criticism I have is that I think Bache should have written more about how all those years exploring non-ordinary states has changed his personal baseline consciousness other than in the classroom.

Revolution in consciousness
To begin with a disclaimer, I am biased by previous inclination towards the perspective evinced in this book.I attend a school where the author obtained a degree and sometimes teaches.While not everyone there holds the same worldview as the author and I, many do.I would say there are three major aspects of the book; they are 1)the exposition of a new paradigm of human evolution;2)an expanded and more subtle cosmology, and 3)a proposal that the results of a careful use of psychedelics as agents of exploration, therapeutic healing, and personal transformation be considered valid and meaningful, and allowed (with supervision and support) for those who choose to follow that path.This is my current assessment of the book; I am still reading it.I find his observations and insights are congruent with other, related reports from psychonauts, meditators, and the epistemological and ontological schemas proposed by the various esoteric systems and Vedanta that I have read (and myself experienced to a modest degree).The subject matter of the book is, I believe, best considered within a transpersonal psychological perspective.

Disappointed
As Christopher M. Bache explains in the introduction, this book is his "talking himself in from spirit", an attempt to comprehend two decades of experiences in nonordinary states of consciousness, primarily evoked using experimental psychotherapeutic methods such as Holotropic Breathwork and the supervised use of psychedelics.

Unfortunately for his readers, Bache failed to provide us with either a detailed biography and "travelogue" as for example Tom Pinkson did in his book Flowers of Wiricuta or to provide us with a grounded analysis of transpersonal states like Stanislav Grof did in any of his numerous books. What Bache ultimately delivered is just another mix of already seen ideas, personal speculations, ideas on the supposedly upcoming "end of the world", mixed with a few "trip reports" which represent the best parts of the book.

The general idea of the book is that humanity is on the verge of tremendous cataclysmic events, which will cause a species ego-death and its subsequent spiritual rebirth.

Bache fails to take into the account that traumatic events by itself are rarely spiritual liberating, but are more often that not extremely damaging to the psyche which rarely recovers to its previous level of functioning. A short analysis of post-traumatic stress literature would show that.

Instead of merely speculating on potential rebirth humanity may experience after it faces the upcoming cataclysm, Bach could analyze previous global traumatic events humanity as a whole experienced so far and look if any kind of positive spiritual liberations came out of them. If Bache hypothesis would be correct, we would definitely witness an "awakening" of some kind already at the end of World War II. Or were the suffering of millions on the battlefields and concentration camps not enough of a stimuli for the species-mind to awaken - at least even a bit?

In my view, Bache got caught up in the same loop as Terence McKenna did with his I-ching hypothesis (see The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching) and Daniel Pinchbeck did with his Quetzalcoatl hypothesis (see 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl). All three failed to seriously analyze the knowledge they received in non-ordinary states of consciousness and instead took it for granted. They also failed to realize that some things couldn't be understood rationally no matter how hard we try. To paraphrase Carlos Castaneda's mythic character Don Juan - the Abstract by its very nature cannot be understood rationally. Trying to do so only brings out confusing ideas of no real value or use.

The other mistake Bache got caught in was the fact that he failed to keep his process fully internalized. Instead it seems he started to project his inner experience to the outer world. I'm sure the cataclysm Bache saw coming is true, but not outside his own mind. The ego death is not of the specie, but of his own self (identified as the species mind). In starting to project that inner reality Bache ultimately created an amalgam of inner and outer experiences, which he tries to convince us as truth. During my own personal spiritual crisis I did the same, so I can understand his mistake.

In the end, I would like to say that I had great hopes for this book, but after reading it I'm left disappointed.I truly hope Bache will have the grace to write another book, this time with more personal tone, with less speculations on the nature of reality and the future of mankind and more of what got him interested in the psychedelic research in the first place and what were those two decades like for him. That would be something I would love to read.

Dark Night, Early Dawn
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!I helped me to understand better the therapeutic use of psychedelics and made me want to learn more about holotropic breathing.I did skip over the parts that emphasized that self-transformation must have a "dark night" before an "early dawn" is reached.I know well the challenges that face a person truly devoted to self-transformation, but I don't think that is something that should be expected.I do agree that a person has to be called to inner work and ready to face whatever emerges as a result of that inner work, but "hell" is a self-fulfilling prophecy I suspect.

'Dark Night' adds light to spiritual journey
For anyone interested in stretching the bounds of spirituality and exploring the limits of consciousness--and the unconscious--this is a must-read. Author Chris Basche is both courageous and humble in this undertaking, and the ideas he puts forth add much to the discourse on transpersonal communication and spirituality. ... Read more

Product Description
Practicing psychologists explore the mutual impact of Buddhistteachings and psychology in their lives and practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Complementary POV with considerable profundity
This book has 9 essays (3 by Segall) comparing Western Psychology with Buddhism-mostly Theravada, some Zen, & allusions to Mahayana/Vajrayana.While the authors discuss similarities & differences between these 2, the main thrust is complementary nature so that they can be mutually supportive.
A.BUDDHIST MEDITATION CAN HELP BOTH THERAPIST & CLIENT:
p. 175: Segall, "Psychotherapy Practice as Buddhist Practice": "Buddhist practice may be an important vehicle for developing emotional skills that are vital for the practice of psychotherapy, but are harder to teach...In the last half-century there has been a growing appreciation for the relevance of many of Buddhism's core concepts and practices to the practice of psychotherapy."
B.BUDDHIST APPROACHES CAN HELP FILL IN GAPS INHERENT IN PSYCHOTHERAPY:
p. 49: Jeffery Rubin, "Close Encounters of a New Kind" "The trace of the tragic psychology of illness in psychoanalysis emerges implicitly in its neglect of such topics as creativity, spirituality, and optimal mental and physical health.The psychoanalytic view of health is, according to Buddhism, a suboptimal state of being; an arrested state of development.Buddhism can challenge the limitations of a psychoanalytic view of self that is excessively self-centered and restrictive."
C.CORRESPONDINGLY, PSYCHOANALYSIS CAN HELP WESTERNERS PRACTICING BUDDHISM:
p. 48: Rubin, "Psychoanalysis can help Buddhists detect where they neglect unconsciousness and are being self-deceptive-where, for example, self-abasement in a Buddhist meditator can masquerade as spiritual asceticism."
D.BALANCED VIEW: BUDDHIST MIDDLE WAY/ARISTOTLE'S GOLDEN MEAN vs. EXTREMISM:
p. 35: Rubin-"Eurocentrism refers to the intellectually imperialistic tendency in much Western scholarship to assume that European and North American standards and values are the center of the moral and intellectual universe."& p. 39: "Orientocentrism...the mirror opposite danger to Eurocentrism: the idealizing and privileging of Asian thought-treating it as sacred-and the neglect if not dismissal of the value of Western psychological perspectives."
E.DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EASTERN & WESTERN MENTALITIES MUST BE CONSIDERED:
p. 58 note 4: Rubin: "The Dalai Lama was shocked to hear that Americans suffered from "self-directed contempt" (p. 196). He told a group of American scientists and mental health professionals that this experience was absent from Tibetan culture"
p. 152: Robert Rosenbaum, Reflections on Mirroring"--"As the bumper sticker on my daughter's car says, "Always remember you're unique, just like everybody else." Buddhism does not deny the existence of a personal, relativistic ego, but it does deny it any permanent, static qualities."
F.THERE ARE ALSO SOME PROFOUND OBSERVATIONS & VALUABLE METAPHORS:
p. 83: Segall, "On Being a Non-Buddhist Buddhist"--"I think we are very much like a whirlpool (Beck, 1993) in the ocean. We can identify and point to the whirlpool as a "separate" entity that we can observe.It is a pattern of energy and matter that emerges for a time, persists for a time, and then dissolves, much like ourselves. But the water of the whirlpool is not separate from the sea. The water in the whirlpool at one point in time is not the same water that is in the whirlpool at another point in time."
p. 155-6: Rosenbaum: "We are all constantly breaking into 100's of 1000's of pieces.Studying the pieces of the mirror is the mirror.When we study ourselves, we become the mirror facing the mirror.When we study ourselves in the presence of another person, two mirrors face themselves & face each other: we meet in mirroring.Each fragment of our experience is a clear mirror, is our entire life.Each piece is a whole; that whole is no different, in its wholeness, from this whole.This is complete realization... Enlightenment is simply an unburdening of all the accretions of thought, of preconceptions, of sense distortions, of preferential feelings that obscure reality; enlightenment is simply the manifestation of that which is."
G.SUMMARY--This is a very fine book.It would be interesting to see how they would react to Mahamudra or Dzogchen.Also, while I like their whirlpool and mirror analogies, they might also consider bar magnets or holograms in which the parts include the whole & the whole includes the parts. ... Read more

Product Description
Stress may cause highly activated mythic images to erupt from the psyche's deepest levels in the form of turbulent visionary experience. Depending on whether the interactions between the individual and the immediate surroundings lean toward affirmation or invalidation, comprehension of these visions can turn the visionary experience into a step in growth or into a disorder, as an acute psychosis. Based on his clinical and scholarly investigations, John Weir Perry has found and formulated a mental syndrome which, though customarily regarded as acute psychosis, is in actuality a more natural effort of the psyche to mend its imbalances. If the upset is received in the spirit of empathy and understanding, and allowed to run its course, an acute episode can be found to reveal a self-organizing process that has self-healing potential.

This book examines what the acute "psychotic" experience stirs up in the psyche and how to empathetically respond. Understanding the function of mythic themes is reached through the author's investigation into myth and ritual of antiquity and also the visionary experience undergone by prophets and social reformers in various ages and parts of the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Important Book!
The fact that Stanislav Grof, author of Spiritual Emergency, endorses this book, is enough for me to want to read it.If I were on an island and could choose only one book on Spiritual Emergency, it would be this one, by the Grofs.Based on a look I had from Amazon's Look Inside feature, this is an important contribution to the field of Spiritual Emergency.

In 1991 I did my Clinical Psychology Masters Thesis at Cal State University Hayward on The Forms of Spiritual Emergency, and the Diagnsis and Treatment of Spiritual Emergency. Found 19 Forms. Went through several forms myself back in 1988-1991. The maps provided by Spiritual Emergency literature (particularly Grofs, and Bragdon), I believe kept me from completely losing it. I was close, and agree with Bragdon, that the purpose of Spiritual Emergency is to get us to return to God (Divine).For me what stopped the overwhelming kundalini symptoms was a prayer to God,at that point in my life, closer to an intellectual construct.Nothing like some direct positive and powerful results with prayer to God. At the same time I went through the Dark Night of the Soul, where the best I could experience was that another dear to me was holding my hand; that was wonderful, and not enough to heal me at the time.Site under construction: Sacred Heart Sacred Spirit. You will find more about Spiritual Emergence and Emergency on that site in about six weeks. Regards, Sakanta Running Wolf, Walks in Freedom. Peru,Brazil,USA,Mexico

Redeeming those you can't redeem themselves
According to John Weir Perry, 'when a true spiritual awakening or transformation is underway, one usually encounters the emotional experiences and accompanying images of death and the annihilation of the world itself'.(127)

Therefore, it would seem to me, an experience involving such encounters is probably the inevitable and ulitmate path towards spiritual enlightenment, and one who has not traveled along it is still awaiting a transformation.

Mr. Perry, however, would disagree. According to him, one undergoes such a process, which he calls the 'renewal process' and associates with brief psychotic episodes, only when there is an imperative need for the individual to break free from old value systems, emotional patterns, assumptions about the nature of the world or cultural forms etc, and this need is being resisted.(128-129)

Perry argues that when this process of breaking free is not undertaken 'voluntarily' by the individual, 'with knowledge of the goal and considerable effort', the conscious personality is overwhelmed by the psyche and its own powerful processes.(129)

In response to this rather undynamic view of the dynamics of the psyche and soma, I would like to point out what a shame it is indeed for those who lack the 'trials' or other fiendish elements which may be resisted, surrendered to and ultimately used to demonstrate grace, the grace, perhaps, in following what necessity dictates, for it is surely those 'lacking' individuals who are submerged in unconsciousness.

I would agree with Perry's view that the treatment received by an individual in a state of 'psychosis' or altered state of consciousness has a profound effect on them, such that, like a magic mirror, if the experience is treated as a disease, it appears as one.

However, I believe that his argument for the individual's role (or lack thereof) in the origin of their own experience is flawed. This is because what he is essentially arguing is that, on the one hand, through hard, conscious struggle (and presumably objectivity) a person may actually anticipate the 'renewal process' and therefore avoid it altogether, and that on the other hand, and by the same argument, it is a lack of vision which leads one to be overwhelmed by unconscious forces (exactly where a 'visionary mind' comes from and what it may have to do with personal volition seems to be a mystery to Perry).

Overall, this rather transcendentalist and ascetic argument seems to be at odds with his view that death, disorder and destruction must be embraced on a journey of self-transformation, but it does tie in well with his abhorrently patriachal, elitist and Western-centric view of mythology which, for me, was the biggest disappointment of all in reading this book.
I would not recommend it to anyone.

A powerful critique of modern psychiatry
If a visionary like Jesus Christ were admitted to a modern psychiatric hospital, he'd be diagnosed as "mentally imbalanced" and injected with anti-psychotic medication. If his delusional symptoms continued for more than a few days, the drug dosage would be increased. Eventually the patient's condition would be stabilized, allowing a transfer from the locked ward to a halfway house, thence to a board-and-care home, with biweekly visits to an outpatient clinic. No longer a threat to himself and others, Jesus would begin his career as a permanent client of the mental health system.

"Trials of the Visionary Mind" is a powerful critique of modern psychiatry, but even more importantly, this book offers an alternative vision of how the natural healing process can be encouraged with compassionate therapy instead of being suppressed with coercive "treatment."

In the 1970's John Weir Perry founded Diabasis, a safe haven in San Francisco where individuals experiencing an acute first episode of psychosis ("spiritual emergency") were allowed to let their psychic upheaval run its course in a caring environment without medication. Perry discusses the philosophy behind Diabasis, and he shares some of the lessons learned and insights gained from a lifetime of study and practice.

The book includes an appendix with suggestions on how to set up a residence facility like Diabasis, but it's unlikely that Perry's ideas will be embraced by the psychiatric profession. Most psychiatrists today are psychopharmacologists who simply manage symptoms by dispensing pills, and they're wedded to the "chemical imbalance" theory of mental illness that's so widely promoted by the pharmaceutical industry.

This book should be read by anyone who's appalled by a mental health system that labels every condition a "disorder" and limits treatment to prescribing a pill. John Weir Perry points to a better way. ... Read more

Product Description
This classic readings text is comprised of over six dozen articles, drawings, and photo-essays selected to apply psychology to your development. These selections explore six themes: identity, human communication, growth dynamics, feelings and emotions, human relationships, and a quality life. The readings present personal growth concepts in a highly personalized and lively manner. More than two-thirds of the readings are new. Each reading encourages personal reflection and/or discussion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Psychology book
This book was in amazing shape, shipped fast, was the last book i ordered out of 4 and was the first to arrive.

Good book, horrible binding
Some of the articles are damn good, but the version of the book i have has a very annoying binding, that if you crease the pages start to fall out. I wish the author would have quality checked the publishers work, but i didlearn alot from this book. There are alot of good articles that give you anew insight on life. Its definately worth reading even if you aren't apsych major. (I'm not) ... Read more

Product Description
A participating alternative to the experimentalism and perennialism dominant in transpersonal psychology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

What's going on here?
My readings in Transpersonal Psych seem really flat so far, even though I thought I was the target audience. This book appears to be an attempt to grab the helm of discourse and steer away from totalizing visions such as I found in my previous toe-dip into the field, Wilber's Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, Second Edition. But it makes very little headway for my money.

Amongst Ferrer's biggest bogeymen, which he sees as leading T_Psych astray, are 'experientialism' (the idea of spirituality as experience which he wants to replace with the idea of 'participation'), and 'perennialism' (the idea that all religions worldwide are in some way examples of a common underlying truth.) I agree these valuable ideas have been overdone, but Ferrer offers little to replace them.

On 'experientialism', not only are we not about to lose it, we most certainly should not. I happened to open Greer's Monsters: An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings today and was hit by: "Magical practitioners will not need convincing that supernatural forces and entities exist -- anyone who has done six months or more of systematic training with traditional magical disciplines knows that already, from direct personal experience...", which is right. There's nothing wrong with such a viewpoint. What is 'non-participatory' about encountering entities, working with energies, healing, shamanic journeying, visions of gaia or the cosmos as unified, etc.? Or the huge numbers of interesting states studied by Grof? Nothing is what. I hope and believe 'spiritual experience' is here to stay.

Ferrer seems to be saying 'experientialism' is an isolated and non-participatory viewpoint. Rubbish. Of course, he may well be correct within the field that 'inner experience' has been made to bear an empirical weight to which it's unsuited, and his remarks on the overuse of a scientific paradigm are good, but experientialism itself is hardly to blame. If it is the new idea he seems to think, it's one of the best ideas we've had as a species. (Most of what he says is, I think, aimed at defusing some of Wilber's egotistical theoretical dominance of the field -- fine, but trying to fight bad theory with more bad theory is hardly the answer.)

On 'perennialism', again, whilst Ferrer is certainly right that it has been taken way too far by authors like Wilber, not everyone overdoes similarities between paths that way. Procedural and technical similarities, in terms of meditation and energy techniques, underlying mystical _methods_, not just scholastic theories, interest every psychologist with transpersonal leanings. What about theories like Assagioli's which are so easy to fit into any tradition because they see something that usefully underlies human experience? This is not 'perennialism' as Ferrer argues against it; it ought to be part of the solution, but instead we go too far the other direction, into a relativism which strikes me as more or less a copout.

He is great at analyzing different types of perennialism (pp. 76-80); why make it into the bad guy? Surely the actual problem is simply that people are treating perennialism as an established fact rather than an interesting idea? As the latter, it has really been useful in Grof's work. Some like to jump from similarities amongst religions and spiritualities, noticing a trope here and a technique there, to suddenly making 'complete' models which already claim to know everything about all spiritual paths (!), when the actual work of real comparison has not even vaguely begun to be done, and I agree, that's silly. It is merely what happens when you lean on a hard, absolutist perennialism as an a priori theoretical fact, rather than investigating it (yes, empirically) as a theory.

What we need is a 'soft perennialism', less concerned with 'ultimate realities' and with endlessly ranking religions according to achievement ladders like some hopeless new labour league table (which Wilber does, I admit) and more concerned with _actually_ comparing paths and results, to one another and to our understandings of psychology. In other words, doing the actual practical work rather than endlessly making mental models from reading. I thought that was what T_Psych was supposed to be about! Ferrer's woolly notions of 'participatory spirituality' don't go much of the way towards it. He wants to make T_Psych into a kind of interfaith religious discussion manqué! I can imagine nothing less useful.

Yet again, as with other documents of the school, there's no understanding of Taoism (which appears only as a bit-part) and no mention of Hermetics, let alone something like Wicca. All the documents adduced are in Hindu, Buddhist and Christian traditions. There's a depressing sense of returning to these religious texts as paradigmatic, rather than foregrounding spiritual and psychological techniques, theories and experiences, thus ending the useful addressing of spontaneous spiritual phenomena that had been so welcome in the field.

I can't understand what has happened to the T_Psych school. Where's the discovering enterprise of a Grof, the universal depth of an Assagioli, the energetic genius of a Reich, the erudition of a Jung? Where is the psychology that can understand spiritual experiences, have techniques to generate them (without 'ranking' everything), making the transpersonal an intriguing option for the unreligious but also interfacing with and informing religion (without trying to one-up it) etc.? I really am so disappointed with what is being done. If this school needs to write such books as this in order to reject Wilber, well fine I guess, but could you wake me up when it's over? This is such dull stuff! It's a sort of tractatus philosophico-politicus whose job is more ecumenical than theoretical, let alone actually psychological. I plan to read more in Psychosynthesis, and more Grof for certain, but other than that, will hesitate at T-Psych from now on.

quesionning your quest
this book is verry helpful to help you to ask yourself some good questions regarding your inner journey. It hilights many potential pittfals encountered in the transpersonal practices and anchor them in a tentative new encompassing approach.

The most important point for me, after two years of practice of holotropic breathwork, was the dangers of an approach too exclusively experiential, which is common in the transpersonal field. That is the belief that experiences in themselves contain healing potential and spriritual progress. the emphasis on experience was necessary for a time for the transpersonal field to be accepted by the scientific community as the study of non ordinary state of consciousness. but the quest for experience can easily turn into an addiction to temporary high spiritual states without being intergrated into the daily life, but not without inflation of the ego... as in the case of many psychonautes exclusively using psychedelic substance. traditionnaly, experiences are only one of the many ingredients nessary for a fruitful spiritual practice, which come along with intelectual studies, respect of ethic principles, relationships in a shangha or group of practicionner and with a teacher of master.

another interesting point is the new and refreshing ways to account for the diversity of spiritual systems. contrary to Wilber who is caught in an objectivist view where he posit a hierarchy between the different system, and hence a definit objective abolute truth about the ultimate, Ferrer argue for a diversity of ways of unfolding the truth of the universe, which are neither hierarchically organised, neither reductible to each other. This is a very healthy view that gives theorical grounding to a real respect but also curiosity as a basic attitude for the relationships between poeple beloging to different spiritual schools.

This is a book to read for anybody involved in the modern sprititual quest where one often mixes many different practices : a lot of buddhist meditation, a good deal of hata yoga, some christian devotion, without forgetting the nessesary participation to shamanic entheogenic rituals... it is a very useful tools to clarify one's own goals in the practice.

but it is definitely a scholar book which speaks of philosophical controverseries and need some efforts to be read.

A Different Approach
This was a difficult book for the first reading because I was not familiar with much of the information cited by Ferrer.It is not because the book is poorly written, just because it was new.There are many things to think about while reading the book.This is not a Washburn or Wilber spin off but something entirely different.Ferrer does a great job in presenting an original perspective in transpersonal theory.A must have book for the transpersonal theorist.

Ponder on This
When I first read this book I hated it, but I have read and studied it for 2 years and find it one of the best books ever written on transpersonal psychology.Be sure that you get the reference book Ferrer references because his thesis will make much more sense.You may not agree with everything he states, but is a very significant book for those who question their own beliefs.A must read. ... Read more

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