Upon its first publication, this pathbreaking book launched an explosion of interest in how Eastern spirituality can enhance Western psychology. Since then, the worlds of Buddhism and psychotherapy have been forged into a revolutionary new understanding of what constitutes a healthy emotional life. In his insightful introduction, Mark Epstein reflects on this revolution and considers how it is likely to evolve in the future.
“Mark Epstein’s book is inspired in its lucidity…After Thoughts Without a Thinker, psychotherapy without a Buddhist perspective looks like a diminished thing.” —Adam Phillips, author of On Kissing, Tickling, and Being Bored
“A groundbreaking work…The book will take its place among the classics of the literature of meditation.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are
“A marvelous book that is at once scholarly and fresh, informative and personal.” —Stephen A. Mitchell, author of Freud and Beyond
“A most lucid and expert account of the wedding of psychotherapy and meditation. And Eastern-Western psychology that truly speaks from the inside of both worlds.” —Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart
“I loved Thoughts Without a Thinker. Mark Epstein has given us a brilliant account of how an ancient science of mind, based on a rich meditative tradition, can complement therapy and lead to new dimensions of wisdom and wholeness.” —Joan Borysenko, author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind
“Instructive and impressive.” —Robert Coles, author of The Mind’s Fate
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"Wow. It definitely is a scientific read, but that parallels between science and spirituality in this are astounding! So enlightening! From the details of observation, mindfulness, meditation, and simply breathing out and in, all the way through the significance -- religiously, personally, scientifically, mentally, and physically -- of confronting your past, your demons, your memories, your hatreds, your insecurities, and your hearts TRUE desires, I was blown away with mind-opening insights are so easy to see every day. Experiencing terror without fear and delight without attachment; working to make the ego developed and simultaneously non-existent; refusing to allow yourself to fall into the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts; awareness, healing, ignorance, narcissism, emptiness, and bare attention -- what a study, what a pursuit of "discovering things as they truly are" with a cleansed eye, ready to see and accept humanity, yourself, others without the distorted perceptions that we all suffer but must work toward removing. Purely fascinating."
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Ryan (5 out of 5 stars)