Customer Reviews

Transpersonal Psychology in Psychoanalytic Perspective (Suny Series in the Philosophy of Psychology) (Suny Series, Philosophy of Psychology)

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Michael Washburn's approach to transpersonal psychology is excellent in many ways. His synthesis of Freudian, Jungian and Wilberian theories, along with Christian and eastern mysticism draws an incredibly rich spectrum of human evolution. Although it seems to be based just on theoretical knowledge and not on empirical one, his ideas are so intelligent and have such precission that I wonder if the books mentions on the bibliography are his only sources. In fact, I think the last chapters lack some refereces to the source where his theory is based upon. However, it's a great contribution to transpersonal psychology and I would say a must read for those interested in it.

P.S: If you read Wilber's opinion about this author, naming him as "romantic", you should know it's absolutely unfair. It seems he hasn't read this book when he says that it's about the regaining of the lost paradise of childhood. Washburn never says that childhood is a paradise, nor he says that transcendence is a return to this pre-egoic ideal state. He just points out some good and bad characteristics of non-egoic potentials, and then the same with the egoic ones. Transcendence happens when you get to integrate these two spheres succesfully. Just the same, ironically, as Wilber says about premodern times and modern (and posmodern) times, and I'm sure he wouldn't like someone to say that he's proposing a regression to the eden of premodern times. I appreciate Wilber's work, but his model, being attractive and interesting, does not match reality of human development half as good as Washburn's model does (even if Washburn himself doesn't get to explain certain things in the best possible way). Just to warn to those who got here after reading Wilber's critique of this author and are sceptic about his value.

This book is a gold mine for anyone experiencing "Kundalini Awakening" or simply Awakening or rebirth. Being "born again" is not something that happens in a Christian church. Rebirth is an excruciating process that takes years and years of suffering and hard work. This is why the spiritual path is always portrayed as climbing a mountain or as an uphill struggle. Hercules must first clean the Aegean stables and the Buddha goes in search of enlightenment but first wanders and seeks for years. Jesus suffers horrible agony before he is raised into heaven. All of these myths are about the entirely natural evolutionary process of Awakening....called Kundalini by some and Enlightenment by others.It is also known by other names. Washburn himself experienced the process and is himself Enlightened. He also has a profound knowledge of human psychology and is one of the greatest philosophers of all time. Michael Washburn is highly under rated as a teacher. In this volume, Washburn uses more clinical language and describes spiritual awakening within a scientific, empirical framework. In doing so he avoids most of the cultural accretions, interpolations, and false teachings that corrupt spirituality and its body of human teachings and "knowledge". For all of the world's "holy books" have been corrupted by men and only partially represent the truth. Most of them contain outright lies that have their origin in Bronze Age and first Millenium politics. Washburn avoids superstition and mythical language like "Kundalini", and in doing so brings lucidity and great clarity to this confusing subject. This is especially valuable to a person like me. I have been in the Awakening process for 12 years now and know firsthand what it is like. A major benefit of this book is that it dispels wrong teachings on the nature of Humanity and the nature of the Cosmos and how we as evolving individuals are related to the Oneness...the Source of All. Many teachings falsely teach to "get rid of the ego" and "destroy the ego" and etc. This is a false teaching born of ignorance. It is true that the process at first strips the ego or Outer identity. We are brainwashed from birth to believe that our worth and value and Being is based in our socio-economic status, our money, our house, the car we drive etc. This false "self" must be broken. It is more of an "adapted" self. Jung called it the persona or mask. It is a self that is formed largely by the world, our parents and upbringing, and our culture. The problem is that our culture is full of false teachings and memes and produces a false self concept and identity in us. This must be broken and it is extremely painful. Next, because we are evolving beings that reincarnate (yes...reincarnation is absolutely True and there is much evidence to support it) we are all carrying baggage. Old grudges, emotions, shame, guilt, fear, terror, agony, despair, doubt, and every other conceivable darkness. We carry this "karma" in our subtle body. The subtle body is wrongly called the "soul" by religion. Our baggage and karma must be cleansed. It creates blocks in our body(s) that separate us from our own Higher Self, which is located behind the heart. Most of us have unresolved grief and do not know how to process our emotions. Anger, a protective instinctual energy, is taught to be a "bad" emotion. Our emotions and feeling center are largely shamed by our culture...especially in men. We learn to repress and stuff our emotions. These all get stored inside us as energy can never be destroyed. Neither can our emotions and feelings simply be ignored. The process purges us of all this. This takes years and years. The process integrates our ego with our Higher Self. The process also reconnects us to a consciousness of the Source...the One. Washburn rightfully points out the false teachings about "destroying the ego" and such that come from some of the "non-dual" schools that emphasize the One over the Many. One must in actuality come to Realize both the One and the Many. Never listen to anyone that tells you to "get rid of your ego." Sure, the ego experiences a temporary "death" but this death is only so that the person can break outer identifications and re-establish identity and direct connection with their own Higher Nature. The object is to cleanse and heal your suffering and to re-unite you with your own Divine Center and also with the Divine Oneness and Source of All. Washburn is brilliant in explaining all of this in easy to understand language. Michael Washburn is vastly under rated and is perhaps the greatest philosopher and teacher of all time.