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Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective
Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective
Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective
Audiobook7 hours

Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective

Written by Mark Epstein, M.D.

Narrated by Mark Epstein, M.D.

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Upon its first publication, this pathbreaking book launched an explosion of interest in how Eastern spirituality can enhance Western psychology. Since then, the worlds of Buddhism and psychotherapy have been forged into a revolutionary new understanding of what constitutes a healthy emotional life. In his insightful introduction, Mark Epstein reflects on this revolution and considers how it is likely to evolve in the future.

"Mark Epstein's book is inspired in its lucidity…After Thoughts Without a Thinker, psychotherapy without a Buddhist perspective looks like a diminished thing." -Adam Phillips, author of On Kissing, Tickling, and Being Bored

"A groundbreaking work…The book will take its place among the classics of the literature of meditation." -Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are

"A marvelous book that is at once scholarly and fresh, informative and personal." -Stephen A. Mitchell, author of Freud and Beyond

"A most lucid and expert account of the wedding of psychotherapy and meditation. And Eastern-Western psychology that truly speaks from the inside of both worlds." -Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

"I loved Thoughts Without a Thinker. Mark Epstein has given us a brilliant account of how an ancient science of mind, based on a rich meditative tradition, can complement therapy and lead to new dimensions of wisdom and wholeness." -Joan Borysenko, author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind

"Instructive and impressive." -Robert Coles, author of The Mind's Fate

LanguageEnglish
PublisherBrilliance Audio
Release dateAug 7, 2012
ISBN9781469203775
Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective

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Reviews for Thoughts Without a Thinker

3.5/5

122 ratings7 reviews

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  • 4/5
    Epstein is a meditation teacher as well as a psychotherapist, and he draws on both traditions to help explain how we get ourselves so stuck in suffering, and then how we can find a way out. Insightful and engaging.
  • 5/5
    Excellent. Helpful, compassionate understanding of the best use blending of western psychotherapy and Buddhist mindfulness.
  • 5/5
    Loved the book...great viewpoint for understanding conection between benefits of meditation and its aplication in solving psychological issues...
  • 4/5
    Good complementing between Buddhism and therapy. I recommend this book for people who want to link both items.
  • 5/5
    Is good. Read it. I need to write 6 more words.

    2 people found this helpful

  • 4/5
    The blurb inside the dust jacket describes Thoughts Without a Thinker as “…a major contribution to the exploration of discussion about how Eastern spirituality can enhance Western psychology” and indeed it is. This book was probably a mind-blowing breakthrough when it was originally published…and it still has value more than ten years later. I have no idea how this book wound up in my TBR pile, but I’m glad it did. Epstein, a psychotherapist by trade (and mediatator and Buddhist practitioner as well) draws from his own personal experience, the experiences of his patients, and his experience as an accomplished psychotherapist to illustrate how Eastern spiritual practices can enhance the therapeutic process for Westerners. Readers may want to have some familiarity with psychological terms (particularly those related to psychotherapy) and a bit of knowledge about Freud and his contemporaries wouldn’t hurt. The book is accessible even if a reader isn’t already familiar with these terms, concepts and people (especially with the computer and internet available to Google while reading). This isn’t really an introduction to meditation, mindfulness, or any tangible Buddhist practices, it does give an overview of the basics (enough so that the reader can understand it in the broader context of the book). For those people seeking an introduction to actual Buddhist practices and in depth discussion of the ideas behind it, one would definitely not want this to be the starting point. Thoughts Without a Thinker is more geared toward enlightening people about how these esoteric practices can be beneficial to and integrated in modern (Western) therapeutic practice. It was an interesting and thought provoking read that I would definitely recommend. I give it 4 stars.

    2 people found this helpful