Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions [Hardcover]

Frances Vaughan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 1995

A psychotherapist maps the pitfalls of the spiritual path.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Vaughan calls on a trove of sources, including ancient myths, mystical teachings, world religions, and the work of eminent psychologists, to point the way toward spirituality as a path to wholeness. A transpersonal psychologist herself, Vaughan utilizes case studies to show instances in which clients who integrated a spiritual awareness with the driving force of the ego were able to resolve inner conflicts and attain a more peaceful life. Vaughan also reflects on deeply enmeshed attitudes toward sex and death, the ability to love, and the meaning of soul and its relation to gender. A concerned voice and contemplative demeanor distinguish the author's compassionate guidance. Whether characterizing a healthy spiritual freedom or illuminating the practice of spirituality in daily life, the writing is always engaging and lucid. Alice Joyce

About the Author

Frances Vaughan, Ph.D., a psychologist in Mill Valley, California, is the author of Awakening Intuition, The Inward Arc: Healing in psychotherapy and spirituality, and co-editor of Paths Beyond Ego, and Gifts from A Course in Miracles. She has served as president of the association for the transpersonal and humanistic psychology and as a trustee of the Fetzer Institute. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Quest Books; 1st edition (October 25, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0835607232
• ISBN-13: 978-0835607230
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Belongs Right Next to "The Road Less Travelled", February 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions (Hardcover)

At least once a month a psychotherapy client or a student in a clinical psychology graduate program asks me what to read for a psychologically sophisticated approach to spirituality. Without hesitation I always tell them about Frances Vaughan's "Shadows of the Sacred," a work of such wisdom, warmth, and practicality that, after they read it, they'll probably want to see her for therapy. Vaughan's knowledge of both depth psychology and spiritual traditions is breathtaking. There's no wholly-headed New Age thinking here. This work belongs right next to Scott Peck's "The Road Less Travelled." It will be meaningful to men and women in all walks of life who are searching for the greater life they sense is possible.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guidebook that points out the potholes in the road !!, August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions (Hardcover)

I think that religion is an attempt to explain why the world is the way it is in an oversimplified fashion, inherent with limitations. For a critical thinker, this oversimplified version is simply not satisfactory, so we search for universal truths to satisfy our need for greater understanding, but unfortunately there are many pitfalls possible on that search, and this book does a great job of pointing many of them out............a must read for anyone on such a path.....for me it was a great book to read after book I Conversations with God...by Walsch.......

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Guide to Practical Spirituality, May 11, 2007

By 

Dr. Richard G. Petty (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions (Paperback)

I have read three other books by Frances Vaughan, but I might have missed this extremely interesting study if it hadn't been for Ken Wilber's laudatory forward.

For more than three decades Dr. Vaughan has been at the forefront of efforts to integrate psychology and spiritual growth. Not only is she a practicing psychologist, but also she has been trained in several contemplative traditions: Christian, Sufi, Zen and at least one Hindu school.

I would like to quote from Ken Wilber's forward, "In the West, where psychology (and psychiatry) have completely replaced religion as the dominant sciences of the soul, it is the school of transpersonal psychology that carries most clearly the banner of genuine contemplative spirituality."

Frances Vaughan's view - and I am sure that she is correct - is that most of psychology and academia, particularly in the United States, has ignored, or become insensible to most people's need for a rich and healthy spiritual life. Many believe that the ever-increasing rates of substance abuse and extreme behaviors are a reflection of that unquenched spiritual thirst. As she says, "We live in two worlds: the outer world of ego and the inner world of soul. Many people suffer from being out of touch with the inner world of soul. Others suffer because they have tried to explore the world of soul without having come to terms with the world of ego. Freedom depends on acknowledging both worlds, harmonizing them and bringing them into balance."

The book breaks new ground, providing us with accounts of spiritual awakenings that she has seen in her practice, placed in the context of the many spiritual traditions that she has studied. Dr. Vaughan dispels the myth that spirituality is something that can only be experienced by a select few who have the time and the means to withdraw from the world.

Many authors tell us only about the pleasures and promises of the spiritual journey, without also warning us about some of the pitfalls. This book does both, and is an outstanding book for anyone interested in consciousness, spirituality and the future health of humanity.

Highly recommended.