Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Spinoza's philosophy constitutes a system of spiritual psychotherapy which is as elegant as it is profound. From metaphysical first principles, Spinoza derives a practical therapy which is surprisingly consonant with modern psychotherapies. Yet, until now, his wisdom has been largely inaccessible, partly because most professional philosophers are not sympathetic to spirituality, and hence they fail to understand the depth of Spinoza's teachings, and partly because those who would be interested in spiritual psychotherapy cannot penetrate the cumbersome seventeenth-century philosophical jargon. Healing the Mind is largely free from technical jargon, and, for the first time, makes Spinoza's unique philosophy accessible to anyone interested in spirituality and psychotherapy; a series of "exercises, " embedded in the text, invites the reader to apply Spinoza's philosophy to his or her personal life.
Table of Contents
Pt. 1. Metaphysics. First principles ; The existence of God ; A practical application ; The wholeness of creation ; The causality of God ; Mind and body ; Space, time, and eternity -- Pt. 2. The mind. The general nature of sense experience ; Relationships among minds -- Pt. 3. Desire and emotion. The nature of desire and intent ; The definition of emotions ; Self-knowledge and the emotions -- Pt. 4. Freedom from bondage. Emotions and the process of imagining ; Second-order awareness ; Resisting our own happiness ; Programmed patterns of feeling and behavior -- Pt. 5. Transcendence. Sexuality: transcendence of the body ; Blessedness: transcendence of the mind.