The Presence of Other Worlds: The Psychological/Spiritual Findings of Emanuel Swedenborg [Paperback]

Wilson Van Dusen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1974

“Here is an account of a scientific genius, dead two centuries, who having mastered all that science knew of the external world, went on to a daring, often frightening, exploration of the inner world. Van Dusen, having traveled some of the same distance himself, presents Swedenborg sympathetically in the man's own terms. An excitingly thoughtful book.” — Carl R. Rogers

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Wilson Van Dusen, born in 1923, had an ecstatic experience of God while still in a crib, an experience he remembers even today. Other mystical experiences in his youth led him to begin a path to understand such experience and how he could return to it at will. After serving in the military during World War II, he became a Clinical Psychologist. In his later years he studied the mysticism of Emanuel Swedenborg. Van Dusen is also the author of The Natural Depth in Man, The Presence of Other Worlds, and The Country of Spirit.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Swedenborg Foundation (November 1, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877852472
• ISBN-13: 978-0877852476
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,115,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Psychology
  • #62 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Social Psychology & Interactions

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A psychologist looks at Emanuel Swedenborg., April 9, 1999

By 

Jon G. Jackson "j_dog_jackson" (Santa Rosa, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Presence of Other Worlds: The Psychological/Spiritual Findings of Emanuel Swedenborg (Paperback)

Several years ago, I was involved transiently with an English woman who's mother was schizophrenic. Odd as this woman was, or perhaps *because* she was so odd, I was intrigued by her view of the world, and of reality. We had many endless discussions, our views being divergent, yet somehow complimentary. One day, she came home with a book she'd taken from the university library. "Read this," she said, offering no further explanation. It was THE PRESENCE OF OTHER WORLDS by Wilson van Dusen. I, of course, read it. Is it too much to say things have never been the same since? I'd never before heard of Emanuel Swedenborg, and I found this psychological exploration of his findings more than intriguing. As a psychiatrist, I was particularly intrigued by Chapter 6, "The Presence of Spirits in Madness." Van Dusen here describes in own work as a clinical psychologist in a California State Hospital in the 1960's. I have to admit, the idea of interviewing *the voices* of my schizophrenic patients had never before occured to me. This is, by far, one of the most fascinating bits of writing I have ever come across. And, though hardly mentioned in this book, I then found my way to the works of Carl Jung (who was mysteriously omitted from my psychiatry residency training), another reader of Swedenborg. My encounters with psychiatric patients, and with my own inner world, were thus redirected permanently. I *highly* recommend this book to anyone with similar interests.

Jon Jackson, M.D.