The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life

The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-11-25 20:21:05
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mark Epstein
  • ISBN：0593296613
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Summary

A remarkable exploration of the therapeutic relationship， Dr。 Mark Epstein reflects on one year's worth of therapy sessions with his patients to observe how his training in Western psychotherapy and his equally long investigation into Buddhism， in tandem， led to greater awareness--for his patients， and for himself


For years， Dr。 Mark Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist。 Content to use his training in mindfulness as a private resource， he trusted that the Buddhist influence could， and should， remain invisible。 But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his personal spiritual leanings， he was surprised to learn how many were eager to learn more。 The divisions between the psychological， emotional， and the spiritual， he soon realized， were not as distinct as one might think。

In The Zen of Therapy， Dr。 Epstein reflects on a year's worth of selected sessions with his patients and observes how， in the incidental details of a given hour， his Buddhist background influences the way he works。 Meditation and psychotherapy each encourage a willingness to face life's difficulties with courage that can be hard to otherwise muster， and in this cross-section of life in his office， he emphasizes how therapy， an element of Western medicine， can in fact be considered a two-person meditation。 Mindfulness， too， much like a good therapist， can "hold" our awareness for us--and allow us to come to our senses and find inner peace。

Throughout this deeply personal inquiry， one which weaves together the wisdom of two worlds， Dr。 Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as spiritual friendship， and reveals how a therapist can help patients cultivate the sense that there is something magical， something wonderful， and something to trust running through our lives， no matter how fraught they have been or might become。 For when we realize how readily we have misinterpreted our selves， when we stop clinging to our falsely conceived constructs， when we touch the ground of being， we come home。

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Reviews

Lorraine ，

All Exists WithinThank you Penguin Press for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication。 I did enjoy the first part of the book - mindfulness is definitely my bag。 Unfortunately I didn't get to finish it before access was removed。I highlighted lots of passages and will sing row， row， row your boat toward my inner peace。 Life is but a dream！ All Exists WithinThank you Penguin Press for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication。 I did enjoy the first part of the book - mindfulness is definitely my bag。 Unfortunately I didn't get to finish it before access was removed。I highlighted lots of passages and will sing row， row， row your boat toward my inner peace。 Life is but a dream！ 。。。more

Toni ，

This book is about the combination of using Spiritual， Emotional and Buddhist practices in psychotherapy sessions。 I liked the authors background history of bringing Transcendental Meditation （TM） from the Beatles and a Guru into medical practice。Examples of using Buddhist philosophy within counseling were very well done and therapists will like being able to go back and look in this book for references。I am grateful to NetGalley， the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and revi This book is about the combination of using Spiritual， Emotional and Buddhist practices in psychotherapy sessions。 I liked the authors background history of bringing Transcendental Meditation （TM） from the Beatles and a Guru into medical practice。Examples of using Buddhist philosophy within counseling were very well done and therapists will like being able to go back and look in this book for references。I am grateful to NetGalley， the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book。 It will be one that becomes well used。 It published on 1/11/2022 。。。more

Annie McDonnell ，

It’s nice to read a new book on how to be present， I was so impressed when he spoke with Ram Dass， enlightened people have so much to share with us。 I was moved。I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review。

Bharath ，

I came across Dr Mark Epstein’s name in the book ‘10% Happier’ by Dan Harris on how he uses aspects of mindfulness as part of his medical practice as a psychotherapist。 Dr Epstein has authored several books， and I had the fear that reading his most recent book might be a little out of turn。 That turned out to be an unfounded fear， as this book is self-contained and entirely cohesive by itself。 The book is beautiful and is strongly recommended if you have an interest in mindfulness – though it sh I came across Dr Mark Epstein’s name in the book ‘10% Happier’ by Dan Harris on how he uses aspects of mindfulness as part of his medical practice as a psychotherapist。 Dr Epstein has authored several books， and I had the fear that reading his most recent book might be a little out of turn。 That turned out to be an unfounded fear， as this book is self-contained and entirely cohesive by itself。 The book is beautiful and is strongly recommended if you have an interest in mindfulness – though it should probably not be the first book you read in the genre。 The book starts with Dr Epstein working with Dr Herbert Benson in exploring the impact of meditation on wellness。 It was risky， as it was many years before， when the scientific community looked on meditation with disdain。 Transcendental Meditation pioneered by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was gaining popularity among the general public though （later popularized further by the Beatles）， and there was also interest in Buddhist meditation practices。 Dr Benson decided to put meditation to a scientific test and suggested this to the Dalai Lama on one of his visits。 After momentary hesitation， the Dalai Lama agreed， and a team including Dr Benson and Dr Epstein takes off to India。 The approach here between the two of them gets divergent， and in some form， ruptures their partnership in future。 Dr Benson’s view was that as part of the scientific community they should stick to measuring body parameters such as temperature， pressure etc while Dr Epstein was keen to speak to the monks and understand the underlying spiritual underpinnings of their practice。 This initial section is extremely well written and raises many important questions。 Dr Epstein’s view is that while it is ok to modify & package practices for broader appeal – they still need to stay connected to the underlying broad principles & ethos。 If you break the linkage， meditation ends up as a relaxation technique rather than the holistic lifestyle & behaviour change mechanism that it can be （my view as well）。 After a beautiful introductory section， the subsequent material has notes of Dr Epstein’s sessions with his patients （names changed） and how his understanding of mindfulness， meditation & Buddhism helps in his practice。 There are beautiful mentally simulating koans （eg: “What is the sound of one hand？”）， myths， stories & experiences all of which make for delightful reading。 The last section covers his meeting with Ram Dass at his home， and has some concluding summary。 Ram Dass has been an iconic figure in mindfulness circles since many years till his recent passing。 I have not read his books but his presence is overpowering in forums & discussions。 And， he has given us the most memorable & oft repeated phrases ‘Be Here Now’ and ‘We are all just walking each other home’。 The meeting of minds between Dr Epstein and Ram Dass also illustrates how mature （enlightened） people interact with each other – though they follow different traditions （Buddhist vs Advaita Vedanta）。In recent times， I have been interested at reading what neuroscience is telling us about our brains & behaviours。 The search for peace I feel has to traverse mindfulness， mythology & neuroscience。 I recommend Robert Sapolsky’s exceptional book ‘Behave’ foremost， and also ‘How Emotions are made’ and ‘The Ape that understood the universe’。 Neuroscience is now very near explaining how meditation rewires the brain and why it is the best-known method for behaviour change。 For the large part there is convergence， but a few divergences are also very thought provoking。 This is a beautiful book， though the mid-section has too many session details – though they do cover very different scenarios and learnings。My rating: 4。5 / 5。tThanks to Netgalley， the publisher & author for an advanced electronic review copy。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0