Embodied Spirituality in a Sacred World (Suny Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology) [Paperback]

Michael Washburn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Suny Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology | Publication Date: October 30, 2003

Presents an account of human development from a depth-psychological, transpersonal perspective.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of human spirituality will find something of value in Michael Washburn's new book. Drawing on a rich variety of psychoanalytic, Jungian, and existential-phenomenological sources and on both Western and Asian spiritual texts, Embodied Spirituality in a Sacred World provides a theoretical foundation for the idea that human development follows a spiral path. Washburn shows that ego development early in life requires us to turn our backs on original sources of our existence and, therefore, that spiritual development later in life requires us to spiral back to these sources on the way to whole-psyche integration. He elucidates the underlying causes and pivotal events that set development on its spiral course and traces six major dimensions of experience as they unfold along the spiral path: the unconscious, the energy system, the ego system, the perceived other, the experiential body, and the life-world. In providing a theoretical foundation for the idea of the spiral path, Washburn defends the idea against its critics and helps explain why the idea has been compelling to so many people in diverse traditions.

About the Author

Michael Washburn is Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University South Bend. He is the author of The Ego and the Dynamic Ground: A Transpersonal Theory of Human Development, Second Edition and Transpersonal Psychology in Psychoanalytic Perspective, both published by SUNY Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (October 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791458482
• ISBN-13: 978-0791458488
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,201,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, December 15, 2003

By 

Daryl Paulson (Bozeman, Montana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Embodied Spirituality in a Sacred World (Suny Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology) (Paperback)

This is Washburn's third transpersonal book and it is good.
It integrates much of what he has discussed in his previous work but takes it to the next step. Washburn's main opponent in transpersonal theory is Ken Wilber. But Washburn is second to no one in terms of a logical, honest presentation of his view of transpersonal developement. Perhaps his and Wilber's view of transpersonal growth are both true, like an electron is a wave and particle. Great book and a must have.