Ecstasy [Paperback]

Michael Eigen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Disseminations: Psychoanalysis in Contexts | Publication Date: November 15, 2001

In this provocative and insightful new book, psychologist Michael Eigen presents a phenomenology of ecstatic states. Ecstasy is a force to be reckoned with -- sometimes creative, sometimes destructive. Eigen argues that there is an ecstasy that comes through the ever-necessary confrontation of our psychic cores with suffering and degradation, and he shows that when we can learn to be present with these feelings, they add to the tone and texture of our lives, and help us to feel real.

The author draws heavily on autobiographical material, psychotherapy sessions, case studies and psychoanalytic thinking, along with literary and biblical sources, demonstrating his reputation as one of the leading creative thinkers among psychotherapists in America. The result is an extremely intelligent, lyrical work, which succeeds in being theoretically well-informed without being pedantic. Written as a subjective first-hand account, Ecstasy will appeal to psychotherapists as well as to readers and students interested in spirituality and philosophy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Eigen (Toxic Nourishment) a psychoanalyst, psychologist and associate clinical professor of psychology at New York University offers an account of the role of ecstasy (the emotion, not the drug) in psychoanalytic treatment from the standpoint of both the patient and the therapist. According to the author, the psychoanalytic process of re-experiencing past emotions in the presence of another person facilitates consciousness of an ecstasy that pervades life experiences, from the most mundane day-to-day activities to matters of faith. Unfortunately, the specific relationship between ecstasy as distinct from joy, delight or mere pleasure and psychoanalytic introspection and analysis remains far from clear. Meandering through literary sources ranging from Plotinus and the Bible to Freud, Eigen gives examples of such ecstatic moments as the "ecstasy-agony" of a patient during the inception and collapse of repeated romantic relationships. The use of literary sources as a backdrop to the portrayal of ecstasy in psychoanalytic treatment, while providing the text with an air of profundity, only serves to conceal the trite message that ecstasy is central to psychoanalytic self-discovery because it lies at the heart of what it means to be human: "I avow the ecstasy of being alive is the core of our existence, and... we do best when we... work to make it something... that brightens the day." Written for a general audience in a quasiliterary, stream-of-consciousness style, this book may be enjoyed by those who favor a spiritual approach to psychoanalysis. For readers who prefer sound evidence or cogent thinking, this treatise on ecstasy will disappoint.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

" . . . an ecstatic prose poem. . . Eigen convinces us that ecstasy transcends sex and potentially occupies all aspects of our being." -- James S. Grotstein

"An incredible book, thoroughly significant, and marvelously readable." -- Mark Epstein

"There is no one writing in psychoanalysis today who can catch the vagrant intensities of our lives like Eigen." -- Adam Phillips --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Wesleyan; 1st edition (November 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819565318
• ISBN-13: 978-0819565310
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #775,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!, December 4, 2001

By 

Joseph Scalia (Bozeman, Montana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ecstasy (Paperback)

Eigen's "Ecstasy" is a profound book that moves spirituality and psychoanalysis into a dialogue in which neither loses and both are enriched. The struggles of a day and of a lifetime are given conceptualization here in the author's seemingly stream-of-consciousness style that rests on a disciplined study of literary, biblical, and psychoanalytic wisdoms. The reader feels a sense of discovery, of self and other, as deeply personal battles are rendered by Eigen in ways that leave one thinking, and feeling, long after putting the book down. And this book is hard to put down! An intellectual and spiritual work that reads like a fine poem, "Ecstasy" is a cogent antidote to society's de-ontologizing tendencies.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eigen's most personal book, November 26, 2001

By 

Harvey Shepard (Exeter, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ecstasy (Paperback)

Michael Eigen is a wonderful writer and psychoanalytic thinker. I have
greatly enjoyed several of his previous books: "The Electrified
Tightrope," "The Psychotic Core," and "Toxic Nourishment." They combine
fascinating case histories from his practice, stories from his own
life, with Eigen's unique contributions to analytic thinking -- often
stimulated by the writings of Winnicott, Bion, Lacan, as well as sources
as diverse as Shakespeare, Greek philosophy, and the bible.

His books strike a resonant chord in me, emphasizing the range and
intensity of human emotions and the power of empathic therapeutic
listening. Reading Eigen makes one more accepting of the variability of
experience and more open to the mystery and paradoxes of life.

Eigen's newest book, "Ecstasy," is his most personal book to date.
Written in a free-flowing poetic style based on association and metaphor,
it is almost like a collection of journal entries and thus difficult to summarize.
As in his previous books, there are wonderful stories from his and his patient's lives.
The theme of "ecstasy" leads him to write about his deepest spiritual and religious beliefs.
Although I do not share his vision, I admire his
willingness to speak so passionately and openly.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Experience of Ecstacy, November 25, 2001

By 

Terese Witman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ecstasy (Paperback)

I found myself moved by the many feelings and moods evoked by the mostly short, seemingly unrelated passages separated by spaces on the pages of Ecstacy by Dr. Michael Eigen. Some of these passages describe clinical episodes, living interactions between the author and his patients. Some express thoughts and truths which the author seems to have had percolating within him for ages. Ideas and images seem to burst forth unpredictably yet subtly connected to each other and to everything else on the pages.
Reading this flow seems to release my own thoughts and images. I have the feeling of participating in an open and ongoing creative process that does not end with the actual reading but continues into my work, thoughts of my life-all suffused with a powerful uplifting feeling; A kind of ecstacy.