A spiritual journey—both deeply personal and strikingly universal. One of Israel's leading cultural figures, Dov Elbaum grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem family, and was a prodigy who seemed destined for greatness in the world of Talmud study. But in his late teens, he abruptly broke away and set off into secular Israeli society. In this fascinating, courageous and compelling autobiography, Elbaum seeks to understand his decision and its consequences. With the structure of Kabbalah as his road map, Elbaum journeys into the deep recesses of his self and his soul. The ultimate goal of his journey is "the Void," a Kabbalistic space that precedes God's creation of the world, and a psychological state that precedes our formation as individuals. It is a space of great vulnerability but also of hope for rebirth and renewal. This is an intimate, honest, revealing work, both deeply personal and strikingly universal. The Hebrew edition was a bestseller and sold over 50,000 copies.

The Knowledge that Leads to Wholeness is the first book to specifically illustrate how the major Gnostic myths underlie Jungs theory of individuation. It is a compelling and in-depth examination of a life-changing journey that begins with the author discovering the forgotten secrets of the Gnostics. These secrets are gradually unveiled as the author and his loyal dog, Gold, are initiated, each in their own way, to put the ancient knowledge into practice. Dr. Lloyd explores the esoteric side of Carl Jung and reveals the connections between Jungs pivotal theory of individuation, i.e. the journey to wholeness, and the powerful, visionary myths told by the pioneers of the psyche, the Gnostics. He details what happens to a person who is on the road to wholeness, how the person will change, and how a new divine-human identity will be born into the world as a result of undertaking this transformational odyssey. -KIRKUS DISCOVERIES Review - Did Carl Jungs principles of psychology have Gnostic origins? A Marine Corps Ph.D. explores the complex mystical possibilities. Lloyd splits his expansive hypothesis of the souls journey into three vital steps (preparation, undertaking and re-birth) in discovering Jungs path to wholeness. He credits Jung with saving his life by way of unlocking his imagination (the souls voice) and spiritual mindset. The author familiarizes readers with the Gnostic religious movement, practitioners of an intensely spiritual inner exploration, who believed that humans are not bound to experiences solely of the body and mind. His literary gift to Jung is these comparative ruminations, all exuding a great amount of imagination and provocative thought. Running parallel to the authors spiritually progressive interests is his adventuresome interaction with and imaginal dog named Gold, who discovers two seeds of knowledge. The first rediscovers the spark of divine life, whereby humans are one and the same with God, and the second amplifies Jungs individuation theory that the human ego must relate to the unconscious mind to achieve psychological health. Unerringly throughout his narrative, Lloyd grafts Gnostic myths with Jungian wisdom. He focuses on the psychic creator and king of the material world Demiurge in association with second-century Gnostic visionary Valentinus, whose tragic myth of Sophia tells of a restless female deity who travels outside of herself searching for wholeness rather than looking inward, and her ultimate repentance. Comparatively, Jung also writes of humans who restrict themselves to their five senses rather than tapping into the core strength of their imaginative visions where uncanny experiences might spring forth. As Lloyd (and Gold) survey principles of higher consciousness, the self, the transformative life-cycle process, and the concluding Syrian lyrical myth Song of the Pearl as they are juxtaposed against Jungs theories, the author also cites Gnostic challenges to contemporary religious beliefs as in the re-imagined genesis of Jesus of Nazareth. Most interestingly, Lloyd inserts Jung into his narrative to quiz his arbiters as to whether they have the desire to discover the mystery of their existence. Unfiltered hokum for some, but those who are open to it will find much-needed nourishment and direction for their searching souls. --Nielsen Business Media, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 646-654-7277 fax 646-654-4706 [email protected] Visit www.robertcharleslloyd.com

The first volume in an eye-opening series on the Diamond Mind—a deep understanding of human nature—that combines Freudian psychology with Eastern philosophy and spirituality In this book, the founder of the Diamond Approach brings together concepts and experiences drawn from contemporary object relations theory, Freudian-based ego psychology, case studies from his own spiritual practice, and teachings from the highest levels of Buddhist and other Eastern practices. He challenges us to look not only at the personality and the content of the mind, but also at the underlying nature of the mind itself.

Cutting across distinctions of schools and types, the author explains the central feature of Kashmir Saivism: the creative pulse of the all-pervasive Consciousness called Siva. This is also the central theme of the Hindu Tantras, and Dyczkowski provides new insight into the most literate and extensive interpretations of the Tantras. This book is significant from four points of view. First, it breaks new ground in Indian philosophy. According to the Spanda Doctrine, the self is not simply witnessing consciousness as maintained by Sankhya and Vedanta, but is an active force. Second, the ultimate reality is not simply a logical system of abstract categories, but is living, pulsating energy, the source of all manifestation. Third, the work elaborates the dynamic aspect of consciousness. It supplies an excellent introduction to the texts and scriptures of Kashmir Saivism. Fourth, it suggests a Yoga for the realization of self.

In premodern China, painters used imagery not to mirror the world, but to evoke unfathomable experience. Considering this art alongside the philosophical traditions that inform it, this book explores the 'nonobject', a notion exemplified by paintings that do not seek to represent observable surroundings.

In this highly prescient work - which has had a big impact on figures such as Pablo Oglesias of Podemos in Spain - Ernesto Laclau continues the philosophical and political exploration initiated in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy. Here he focuses on the construction of popular identities and how "the people" emerge as a collective actor. Skillfully combining theoretical analysis with a myriad of empirical references from numerous historical and geographical contexts he offers a critical reading of the existing literature on populism, demonstrating its dependency on the theorists of "mass psychology" such as Taine and Freud. He demonstrates the relation of populism to democracy and to the logic of representation, and differentiates his approach from the work of Zizek, Hardt and Negri, and Ranciere. This book is essential reading for all those interested in the question of political identities in a world marked by figures such as Trump, Farage, Le Pen as well as Sanders, Iglesias and Mlenchon.

This book introduces neurourology as an emerging interdisciplinary area that covers the basic and clinical studies of the neural control on the normal lower urinary tract and the lower/upper urinary tract dysfunction due to neuropathy disorders. It systematically describes all aspects of neurourology from the epidemiology of the neurogenic bladder; to the pathology and pathophysiology of the lower urinary tract; to the diagnosis and treatment of the neurogenic bladder by conservative therapies or surgeries. This book provides a useful resource for medical doctors, nurses and students in the field of neurourological conditions. In this 2nd edition, 15 chapters are added, e.g. on urodynamic practice, psychogenic reasons of LUTDs, standard of care, physiotherapy, upper urinary tract rehabilitation to enable self-catheterization, pediatric neurourology, new surgical procedures. The editors have invited an impressive number of renowned contributors, including 98 internationally recognized specialists in this field from 25 countries in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. This handbook provides a useful resource for medical doctors, nurses and students in the field of neurourological conditions.

This is a book about water, about our bodies in water and how, floating and stretching one another to our shared breathing pattern, we achieve new levels of peace and oneness. Many consider Watsu the most significant advance in bodywork in our times. While other forms are based on touch, Watsu creates a more profound connection through the holding and the deep connection with the breath that being in water facilitates. The trust established combines with the relaxing effects of warm water and Watsu's moves and stretches to create a modality of extraordinary depth that has both specific therapeutic results and healing on many levels. Besides having countless applications in therapy, it brings new depths of 'connection' into the lives of the many sharing its simpler moves with family and friends. This third edition completes the first 25-year evolution of what came into being when Harold Dull started floating people at Harbin Hot Springs in Northern California, applying the stretches of the Zen Shiatsu he had studied in Japan. It illustrates, step by step, the major positions and forms of Watsu. It introduces Watsuchanics (the body mechanics of Watsu) and other developments that help students learn Watsu. More than sixteen therapists and practitioners have added contributions detailing the use of Watsu with all ages and the growing number of conditions that Watsu is proving to alleviate in clinics and spas around the world. New chapters feature Watsu with children and a form of Watsu that can be used in home spa/hot tubs. Also illustrated step by step is a complete form of Tantsu which brings Watsu's nurturing power back onto land. More than a thousand images have gone into this book to give as clear an illustration as possible of the movements and forms of Watsu and Tantsu.

Louis Althusser is remembered today as the scourge of humanist Marxism, but that was his later incarnation, an identity formed by years grappling with the intellectual inheritance of Hegel and Catholicism. The Spectre of Hegel collects the writings of the young Althusser, before his final epistemological break with the philosopher's work in 1953. The Spectre of Hegel gives a unique insight into Althusser's engagement with a philosophy he would later renounce.

In "the very best book about Hindu mythology that anyone has ever written" (The New Republic) Calasso plunges Western readers into the mind of ancient India. He begins with a mystery: Why is the most important god in the Rg Veda, the oldest of India's sacred texts, known by a secret name—"Ka," or Who? What ensues is not an explanation, but an unveiling. Here are the stories of the creation of mind and matter; of the origin of Death, of the first sexual union and the first parricide. We learn why Siva must carry his father's skull, why snakes have forked tongues, and why, as part of a certain sacrifice, the king's wife must copulate with a dead horse. A tour de force of scholarship and seduction, Ka is irresistible.