Body, Spirit and Democracy addresses how can we, of different ethical values, spiritual commitments, and ethnic backgrounds, work together to create a more humane world. The unique perspective on this common concern is from the author's lifetime of work within the family of body-therapies, exercise and movement disciplines that emerged in Northern Europe and the United States during the middle of the 19th Century. In the spirit of 12-step meetings and Native American circles, the author tells a number of stories of his and others' journeys, which illustrate how the most seemingly abstract spiritual notions about life are distilled from dense bodily experience. By connecting the flesh of stories with the abstractions of spiritual and philosophical viewpoints, the author situates himself among the many activists, intellectuals, artists, and religious workers who are working towards accustoming people to embracing spiritual diversity as more healing than the monistic alternatives.
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"Body, Spirit and Democracy is an important step towards our recovery of bodily reality in the life of the human spirit."
- Michael Murphy, founder of Esalen Institute; author,The Future of the Body; Golf in the Kingdom
"No one now exploring the relation of body, spirit and politics in the field of Somatics writes with the depth of experience or clarity that Don Hanlon Johnson has achieved in Body, Spirit, and Democracy."
- Sam Keen, author of Fire in the Belly
- Michael Murphy, founder of Esalen Institute; author,The Future of the Body; Golf in the Kingdom
"No one now exploring the relation of body, spirit and politics in the field of Somatics writes with the depth of experience or clarity that Don Hanlon Johnson has achieved in Body, Spirit, and Democracy."
- Sam Keen, author of Fire in the Belly
About the Author
Don Hanlon Johnson received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Yale University. He is a professor of Somatics at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.
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Exploring embodiment; connecting body and spirit.,
This review is from: Body, Spirit, and Democracy (Paperback)
Dr. Johnson writes that academic, formal, public languages are not conducive to writing about the fleshy territories where he has conducted his expeditions. These expeditions lead us into the realm of the body in an attempt to listen to the stories it has to tell. His own story began at age four when he began having chronic back problems. This early stigma was one of the key events that led him to studying gesture, movement, and posture. His Roman Catholic upbringing encouraged domination of the body to elevate the spirit. His curiosity as to why the two had to be separated led him to the study and practice of Somatics. This book is a chronicle of his journey to reconnect body and spirit. It also gives an interesting look at some of the practitioners who are the roots of the Somatics movement. Unlike some books that address the issues of moving intelligence and embodiment, this one is not heavy-handed in either scientific or religious language and metaphors. Dr. Johnson writes with an honesty that reminds us that this is a personal accounting, not a sales-hype for a lifestyle adjustment. He mixes poetry, reverie, and scholary text into a story that is a pleasure to read. I think that it would appeal to anyone who is interested in the study of language, movement, and the psychology of the body. I also recommend it to educators who need encouragement in their struggles to keep "movement" alive in our school systems for it validates movement as a learning style. Although well footnoted, I would have liked to have a reference section included so that the works cited could be easier to access.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
TWISTS AND TURNS in the route that my life has taken have been mild in comparison to the sharp and tortuous ones that confront a large in comparison to the sharp and tortuous ones that confront a large percentage of human beings. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
anatomical maps, primitive dance Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Ida Rolf, San Francisco, Holy Spirit, Grandpa Jul, Roman Catholic, Father Healy, United States, Charlotte Selver, Emilie Conrad Da'Oud, Grandpa Joe, Saint Francis, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Esalen Institute, Los Angeles, Rolf Institute, Rolf Template, Saint Paul, Santa Cruz, Big Sur, Elsa Gindler, Father Robert, Pope John Paul, Rules of Modesty, Vatican Council New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
TWISTS AND TURNS in the route that my life has taken have been mild in comparison to the sharp and tortuous ones that confront a large in comparison to the sharp and tortuous ones that confront a large percentage of human beings. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
anatomical maps, primitive dance Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Ida Rolf, San Francisco, Holy Spirit, Grandpa Jul, Roman Catholic, Father Healy, United States, Charlotte Selver, Emilie Conrad Da'Oud, Grandpa Joe, Saint Francis, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Esalen Institute, Los Angeles, Rolf Institute, Rolf Template, Saint Paul, Santa Cruz, Big Sur, Elsa Gindler, Father Robert, Pope John Paul, Rules of Modesty, Vatican Council New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 32
books:
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9
books
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- The Spiritual Exercises (Hodder & Stoughton Christian Classics) on page 46, page 47, and Back Matter
- Gestalt Therapy by M.D., Ph.D. Frederick S. Perls on page 86, and page 183
- Western Sexuality: Practice and Precept in Past and Present Times (Family, Sexuality & Social Relations in Past Times) by Philippe Aries in Back Matter
- The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion by Leo Steinberg in Back Matter
- Sensory Awareness: The Rediscovery of Experiencing by Charles V. M. Brooks in Back Matter
See all 32 books this book cites
- The Heart of Listening: A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral Work, Vol. 1: Origins, Destination Points, Unfoldment by Hugh Milne in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Groundworks: Narratives of Embodiment by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen on page 53, and page 79
- The Heart of Listening: A Visionary Approach to Craniosacral Work: Anatomy, Technique, Transcendence, Volume 2 (Heart of Listening Vol. 2) by Hugh Milne in Back Matter
- The Body in Psychotherapy: Inquiries in Somatic Psychology (Body in Psychotherapy, Vol 3) by Don Hanlon Johnson in Back Matter
- Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body--New Paths to Power and Love by Riane Eisler in Back Matter
See all 9 books citing this book
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