The Psychology of Yoga: Integrating Eastern and Western Approaches for Understanding the Mind (SHAMBHALA)

"Psychoanalysis itself and the lines of thought to which it gives rise," said C.G. Jung, "are only a beginner's attempt compared to what is an immemorial art in the East"-by which he was referring to the millennia-old study of the mind found in Yoga. That tradition was hardly known in the West when the discipline of psychology arose in the nineteenth century, but with the passing of time the common ground between Yoga and psychology has become ever more apparent. Georg Feuerstein here uses a modern psychological perspective to explore the ways Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina yogas have traditionally regarded the mind and how it works-and shows how that understanding can enhance modern psychology in both theory and practice. Read more... Abstract: "Psychoanalysis itself and the lines of thought to which it gives rise," said C.G. Jung, "are only a beginner's attempt compared to what is an immemorial art in the East"-by which he was referring to the millennia-old study of the mind found in Yoga. That tradition was hardly known in the West when the discipline of psychology arose in the nineteenth century, but with the passing of time the common ground between Yoga and psychology has become ever more apparent. Georg Feuerstein here uses a modern psychological perspective to explore the ways Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina yogas have traditionally regarded the mind and how it works-and shows how that understanding can enhance modern psychology in both theory and practice Georg Feuerstein Begins The Book By Establishing The Historical Context Of Modern Western Psychology And Its Gradual Encounter With Indian Thought, Then Follows This Introduction With Twenty-three Chapters, Each Of Which Presents A Topic--generally A Point Of Correspondence Or Distinction--between Western And Eastern Paradigms. These Are Grouped Into Three General Sections: Foundations, Mind And Beyond, And Mind In Transition. The Book Concludes With A Brief Epilogue As Well As Three Appendices, Adding Depth To The Discussion Of The Ancient Yoga Traditions As Well As An Informative Survey Of Yoga Psychology Literature. The Psychology Of Yoga Is A Feast Of Wisdom And Lore, Assembled From A Perspective Possible Only For One Whose Monumental Scholarship Has Been Tempered And Leavened By Practice. Yoga Psychology And Modern Psychology : Orientation And Goals -- The Reality Of Suffering : Existentialism In Practice -- Psychocosmological Matters -- Of Paradigms, Models, And Participatory Reality -- Mind And Its Layes, States, Structures, And Functions -- Minid And Brain -- The Sensory Apparatus -- The Unconscious And Its Mechanisms -- The Emotive Side Of Yoga -- The Subtle Body : Its Structures And Functions -- The Serpent Power : The Goddess In The Body -- Knowledge, Wisdom, Gnosis -- Pure Awareness -- The Invariable Witness And The Variable Self -- The Transformative Path -- The Yoga Of Sound And Dance -- Authority And Discipleship -- The Phenomenon Of Meditation -- The Ladder Of Ecstasy -- Paranormal Abilities, Psychotropic Drugs, And Yogic Discipline -- Death And The Art Of Dying -- Postmortem Freedom And Living Liberation -- Epilogue : Toward A Western Yoga -- Appendix 1. Hindu, Buddhist, And Jaina Yoga -- Appendix 2. A Survey Of The Literature On Yoga Psychology -- Appendix 3. East And West In Antiquity. Georg Feuerstein. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 266-281) And Index. How the mind works according to the ancient yogic traditions, compared and contrasted to the approaches of Western psychologyby one of the greatest yoga scholars of our time. Georg Feuerstein begins the book by establishing the historical context of modern Western psychology and its gradual encounter with Indian thought, then follows this introduction with twenty-three chapters, each of which presents a topic--generally a point of correspondence or distinction--between Western and Eastern paradigms. These are grouped into three general Foundations, Mind and Beyond, and Mind In Transition. The book concludes with a brief epilogue as well as three appendices, adding depth to the discussion of the ancient yoga traditions as well as an informative survey of yoga psychology literature. The Psychology of Yoga is a feast of wisdom and lore, assembled from a perspective possible only for one whose monumental scholarship has been tempered and leavened by practice.