Articles
Some short pieces I
wrote for Alternatives:
Anger:
A Force for Change
On
Grief
Spiritual
Practice and the Evening News
Hubris
(May 2004)
A longer piece
detailing my view of Buddhist-oriented psychotherapy:
Wisdom & Compassion: Buddhist Psychotherapy
as Skillful Means
Portland-Area
Buddhist Resources
Click
here for a
listing of local
practice groups and centers.
Recommended
Reading and More
A few of my
all-time favorite titles on the subjects of mind, body, healing, Dharma
and psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy
and
Buddhism
Radical
Acceptance:
Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha – Tara Brach
If you struggle with the deep-seated belief that something
is wrong with you (and who doesn’t?), this is the book for you. Brach,
a Buddhist-oriented
psychotherapist, explores how clarity and compassion can be applied to
self-judgment,
shame, fear, and that negative soundtrack inside your head. This is a
compassionate,
accepting, thoroughly wonderful book.
Chasing
Elephants – Diane
Shainberg
A
small, simple, wise book by a Zen priest/psychotherapist, on the inner
transformation that occurs through the practice of open-hearted
awareness.
Toward a
Psychology of
Awakening – John Welwood
Welwood
is of my favorite East/West synthesisers, and this book, his seventh,
brings
together everything he’s written about in a deep, clear, beautifully
structured
way. A thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between
personal
growth and spiritual development.
Buddhism
The Tibetan
Book of
Living and Dying –
Sogyal Rinpoche
Beautifully
written, and a superb introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. While emphasis
is
placed on working with death and dying, there is plenty of material for
living
as well.
Wake Up to
Your Life – Ken McLeod
(also unfetteredmind.org)
The
book is one of the best practical guides to meditation I’ve found. The
website
offers clear step-by-step guidance through various aspects of Vajrayana
Buddhism, including meditation instructions and a practice matrix
synthesising
study, reflection and meditation on various subjects. Yes, you still
need a
teacher, but this is excellent for work on your own.
Carefree
Dignity and Fearless Simplicity – Tsoknyi
Rinpoche
Articulate, playful, intelligent teachings from this Tibetan lama, a
son of
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.
Psychotherapy
Healing the
Soul in the
Age of the Brain: Becoming Conscious in an Unconscious World – Elio
Frattaroli,
M.D.
Written
by a psychiatrist with enormous intellectual reach, this book takes on
the
Medical Model of the brain as a machine, the delusory hope that
emotional
disturbances can be 'fixed’ by taking pills. Brave for this
psychiatrist! Frattaroli
writes movingly and well of the intimacy of pscychotherapy, and of what
happens
for the doctor as well as the patient. It’s a wake-up call to the
profession to
listen to a lot more than Prozac -- to view symptons like anxiety and
depression
“not merely as a chemical inbalance in the brain, but as a wake-up call
for the
soul.”
Addiction
to Perfection – Marion
Woodman
Profound
wisdom from a Jungian psychotherapist on the roots of addiction in
eating disorders, substance abuse, and compulsive behaviors. She sees
all these as a hunger for spiritual fulfillment, ultimately released by
discovering the wisdom and power of the feminine.
Emotions
Healing Through the Dark
Emotions – Miriam
Greenspan
A
very conscious, alchemical approach to “the art and magic of keeping
your heart
open in the presence of pain” -- trusting the dark emotions of grief,
fear and
despair, and how when fully accepted they transform into gratitude, joy
and
faith in life. It may not sound that attractive, but it works.
Emotional
Genius:
Discovering the Deepest Language of the Soul – Karla
McLaren
This
woman is a genius! She writes in a disarmingly
straightforward way about skilfully working with the emotions – neither
repressing
them nor haphazardly expressing them. Lots of overall practices, and
specific
chapters on anger, fear, grief, shame, depression, hatred, and other
unpopular
states of being.
Healing
into Life and
Death – Stephen
Levine
Levine
has worked with the terminally ill, the dying, and the imprisoned for
more than
20 years. His wise voice is heard in many books -- this is my favorite.
It
eloquently describes the deepest ways to work with pain and grief,
interspersing guided meditations with the experiences of Levine and the
people
he’s worked with.
Life
Everyday Blessings: The
Inner Work of Mindful Parenting – Myla and Jon
Kabat-Zinn
Brilliant,
to-the-point, short chapters -- the kind you can read late at night and
glean inspiration
from even before falling asleep with the book on your chest. This
emotionally
intelligent book talks about parenting as spiritual practice, which it
is – and
how the best gift we can give our children is our own “nonjudgmental,
conscious, fully accepting presence.”
Listening to
Midlife – Mark Gerzon
Turning
the midlife crisis into a midlife quest.
The Healing
Path – Marc Ian
Barasch
Illness
is often a deep catalyst for personal change. This book explores the
body/mind
connection in healing and the spiritual aspects of illness and health.
Barasch
is a great writer, and he speaks from his own experience as well as
that of others.
Free Play:
Improvisation
in Life and Art – Stephen
Nachmanovitch
A
completely unique little book on the mystery of creativity. Read it and
savor.
Soulcraft:
Crossing into
the Mysteries of Nature and the Psyche – Bill
Plotkin
A
‘survival guide for the soul’ by an eco-therapist skilled at combining
the
natural world with soul psychology.
Living Your
Dreams – Gayle
Delaney
A
very practical guide exploring the purpose, message, and
meaning of
dreams. How to interview your dreams to discover what they’re telling
you, how
to interpret them to get immediate feedback on your life, and how to
incubate
dreams to get answers to your questions.
Music
Every list of Buddhist-oriented psychotherapy resources needs a nondual 'punk monk' who sneaks mysticism into mainstream culture via awareness-inducing songs.
Here he is: www.stuartdavis.com
1308 NW
20th, Suite 7