Why am I passionate about this?
My research into the overlap between mysticism and schizophrenia has garnered one academic monograph on James Joyce, with another on Charlie Kaufmanās films and fiction due out in 2025 (both from Routledge). For 15 years, Iāve been a writing professor at New York University, and the two things I want to impart to my students are: 1) the courage to pursue a singular question or unique viewpoint and (2) the compassion to write clearly for the reader! All five books on my list donāt shy away from profound questions of what it is to be a complex spiritual being, but they always remain lucid and engaging for a general audience.
Colm's book list on rationally investigating mystical and psychotic experience
Why did Colm love this book?
John Suler is a prodigious writer of academic books, but thatās not what impresses me. Instead, what I love is to read prose that can take dense subject matter and make it accessible to the general reader.
When I was trying to reconcile my own research into Eastern mysticism with Western-oriented approaches to psychology, I found Sulerās work to be the Rosetta Stone I urgently needed to make sense of the impasse.
Itās like having a knowledgeable but personable mentor teaching you how to translate from one ālanguageā about consciousness into another.
1 author picked Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Eastern Thought as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
This book explores the convergence of psychoanalysis and Asian thought. It explores key theoretical issues. What role does paradox play in psychological transformations? How can the oriental emphasis on attaining "no-self" be reconciled with the western emphasis on achieving an integrated self? The book also inquires into pragmatic questions concerning the nature of psychological change and the practice of psychotherapy. The Taoist I Ching is explored as a framework for understanding the therapeutic process. Principles from martial arts philosophy and strategy are applied to clinical work.
Combining theoretical analyses, case studies, empirical data, literary references, and anecdotes, this book isā¦
- Coming soon!