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Ways of the Heart: Essays Toward an Imaginal Psychology

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Dr. Romanyshyn is a senior core faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and one of the original founders of its Ph.D. program in Depth Psychology. In this collection of essays written in the last ten years, he draws upon philosophy, history, literature, the arts, and poetry in creative and original ways to develop a psychology that emphasizes a metaphoric style of consciousness attuned to the imaginal landscapes of the soul and its poetic sensibility. This collection is a real treat, from the brilliant mind that brought us such classic texts in phenomenological psychology as "Technology as Symptom and Dream," "Mirror and Metaphor: Images and Stories of Psychological Life," and "The Soul in Grief." Perhaps no one says it better than Robert Sardello in the introduction to the book: "Each of the essays of this book explores the intricacies of the current of the heart, developing the vocabulary for soul's own voice rather than the speaking for soul that characterizes most psychology. The life of the soul in this book shines through the intersecting labyrinths of phenomenology, depth psychology and poetry. Perhaps the most important of disciplines for this work is phenomenology because it assures that our author never falls into theorizing about the soul but is committed to letting the inner qualities of the things of the world speak for themselves. The fundamental tenant of this book is that we are here to learn how to listen."

An excellent collection of essays showing a progression of Romanyshyn's thought - the deepening of themes that work there way through all his work. A fascinating synthesis of VandenBerg's metabletic approach to understanding the changing nature of human consciousness, Jungian psychology, Bachelard's work on reverie, and a poetic sensibility that leaves us open to being deeply affected by the world in which we live. Having studied with Romanyshyn, I can heartily recommend this as a primer to his work that will stir your imagination.