In psychoanalysis, enlivenment is seen as residing in a sense of self, and this sense of self is drawn from and shaped by lived experience. Enlivening the Self: The First Year, Clinical Enrichment, and the Wandering Mind describes the vitalizing and enrichment of self-experience throughout the life cycle and shows how active experience draws on many fundamental functional capacities, and these capacities come together in support of systems of motivation; that is, organized dynamic grouping of affects, intentions, and goals. The book is divided into three essays: Infancy – Joseph Lichtenberg presents extensive reviews of observation and research on the first year of life. Based on these reviews, he delineates twelve foundational qualities and capacities of the self as a doer doing, initiating and responding, activating and taking in. Exploratory therapy – James L. Fosshage looks where therapeutic change is entwined with development. There are many sources illustrated for enhancing the sense of self, and Frank M. Lachmann pays particular attention to humor and to the role that the twelve qualities and capacities play in the therapeutic process. The wandering mind – Frank M. Lachmann covers the neuroscience and observation that "mind wandering" is related to the immediacy of the sense of self linking now with past and future. Throughout the book the authors’ arguments are illustrated with rich clinical vignettes and suggestions for clinical practice. This title will be a must for psychoanalysts, including trainees in psychoanalysis, psychiatry residents and candidates at psychoanalytic institutes and also graduate students in clinical and counselling psychology programs.

This book brings together a team of international scholars to attempt to understand David Hume’s conception of the self. The standard interpretation is that he holds a no-self view: we are just bundles of conscious experiences, thoughts and emotions. There is nothing deeper to us, no core, no essence, no soul. In the Appendix to A Treatise of Human Nature, though, Hume admits to being dissatisfied with such an account and Part One of this book explores why this might be so. Part Two turns to Books 2 and 3 of the Treatise, where Hume moves away from the ‘fiction’ of a simple self, to the complex idea we have of our flesh and blood selves, those with emotional lives, practical goals, and social relations with others. In Part Three connections are traced between Hume and Madhyamaka Buddhism, Husserl and the phenomenological tradition, and contemporary cognitive science.

From Stress to Sanity presents the essence of the Mind Fitness program for peak performance through mental and emotional balance. Mind Fitness, like physical fitness, is a lifestyle that leads to better health and greater fulfillment. Instead of barbells and running shoes, Mind Fitness applies the tools of relaxation, proactive reflection, and whole-brain learning to create a mental and emotional fitness that promotes full potential and well-being. With this program, you can move from feeling like a victim of your own circumstances and emotional states to feeling that you are actually creating your own life-- the way you want it. The book includes specific exercises, principles, and cognitive strategies to transform the quality of your relationships, career, health, and most importantly, your sense of yourself. The author writes, “What this little book endeavors to do is to present simple learning skills that help you develop a sense of renewed personal control and health, both mentally and physically. I invite you to experiment freely with the tools presented in the pages ahead. Developing your own health and potential goes hand in hand with expanding and clarifying your life values and purposes. Over the last 15 years, I have worked with this material in a variety of forms, ranging from the intimacy of personal healing sessions to the formality of corporate settings. The overwhelming opinion is that Mind Fitness with its techniques for proactive reflection succeeds in producing positive personal and group change.” From Stress to Sanity reveals how to unleash the power of your mind and create the life you really want. Using this highly accessable program, you will learn how to feel fully alive, to radiate self-confidence, to discard negative habits and build positive new ones. You will enhance your creativity, imagination and intuition, maximize your energy and enthusiasm, transform stress into success, and live your dreams. From Stress to Sanity ... It’s about your thinking...

Self-examination in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy provides open and intimate accounts of the experience of being in psychotherapy. The internal life of the therapist is as much at the heart of the stories told as those of the clients. William F. Cornell here writes in a more personal and literary voice, avoiding as much as possible, the dense theoretical language that often typifies analytic writing. Central to the thesis elaborated in this book is that of how the therapist’s own personal history and unconscious motivations can deepen or distort the therapist’s understanding of the client. One chapter is devoted to the frank discussion of the author’s work with a client that was not only unhelpful but in fact harmful. Cornell emphasizes the capacity to call one’s self into question as a fundamental outcome of psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Attention is paid to the conscious and unconscious forces that create profound dynamic tensions between the enlivening desire for a fuller life and the defenses that deaden one’s capacity to think and to engage more fully in one’s life and relationships. The dynamics of transgenerational transmission of grief, loss, and trauma are also examined closely. The psychotherapist as person and professional, rather than the clients, is at the heart of this book. Self-examination in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy will appeal to all psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists who will find an exceptionally open discussion of the challenges, learning, and meanings of being a psychotherapist.

Introduced in Psychoanalysis and Motivation (1989) and further developed in Self and Motivational Systems (1992), The Clinical Exchange (1996), and A Spirit of Inquiry (2002), motivational systems theory aims to identify the components and organization of mental states and the process by which affects, intentions, and goals unfold. Motivation is described as a complex intersubjective process that is cocreated in the developing individual embedded in a matrix of relationships with others. Opening by placing motivational systems theory within a contemporary dynamic systems theory, Lichtenberg, Lachmann, and Fosshage then respond to critics of motivational systems theory. The authors present revisions to their approach to the original five motivational systems, adding two more: an affiliative and a caregiving motivational system. The authors go on to suggest, using ideas garnered from complexity theory and fractals, that motivational systems theory can help us understand how a continuity of self can be maintained despite near-constant fluctuations in interpersonal relations. They then consider how the making of inferences, explicitly and implicitly, is shaped by motivation, before applying their theory to an actual human experience - love - to demonstrate the interplay of multiple shifting motivations within an individual. Last, they present new looks at the clinical applicability of their research. Grounded in observational research of infants but relevant to psychoanalysis at any stage of life, motivational systems theory has evolved via the combined experiences of these three analysts for more than 20 years, and remains an important contribution to our understanding of the driving forces behind human experience.

This is a book on spirituality. It attempts to present to readers the purpose of life and enables them to look at life in a much broader perspective. It is written in a lucid and simple style which helps make the concepts easy to understand. Everybody looks to gain permanent happiness, but search in the wrong place. They search in the world full of bright objects hoping that by acquiring the next shining article, their life will be full of happiness and are dismayed when they do not find it. This book removes many misconceptions and presents to readers the source of immortal bliss. Readers will be exposed to the fact that the source of eternal bliss is internal and the book provides basic information about the route to eternal bliss. The book also explores concepts of God, birth, death and reincarnation in a clear manner. I hope readers find it thought provoking and enables them to take the first step on their spiritual journey.

A notable contribution to our understanding of ourselves. This book explores the realm of human behavior in social situations and the way that we appear to others. Dr. Goffman uses the metaphor of theatrical performance as a framework. Each person in everyday social intercourse presents himself and his activity to others, attempts to guide and cotnrol the impressions they form of him, and employs certain techniques in order to sustain his performance, just as an actor presents a character to an audience. The discussions of these social techniques offered here are based upon detailed research and observation of social customs in many regions.

At the foundation of Western esoteric studies is an understanding of the evolution of consciousness. Anthroposophically based esoteric training focuses on strengthening the human soul. Ancient and modern practices are reenlivened to meet humanity’s evolving needs and to fulfill our present task of cultivating freedom and love to its highest degree. Individual efforts toward developing the higher self is essential for genuine progress on the inner work path. The clear insights and exercises outlined in this book reveal the meaning and necessity of this essential effort in the present age of the consciousness soul, contributing to simultaneously enlivening both our inner and outer work. The path of developing the self and our work in the world are not separated but united through our practices and their results.

BLACK-AND-WHITE EDITION Human civilization is at a crossroads. Challenges of immense volatility and uncertainty press us to evolve our ourselves at a greater pace than we have ever done. We need to heal and revitalize the inner terrain of the psyche so our consciousness can respond creatively to the complexity that surrounds and challenges us. The Resonance Code is born of a marriage between ancient and modern, East and West. Its ancient and Eastern sources are Taoist Philosophy and the I Ching, one of Earth's most ancient complexity theories. Its modern and Western sources are contemporary theories of human development and practices of leadership coaching. According to the Taoist framework, the human psyche functions as an organic "resonator," directly exchanging and amplifying resonance - known as qi - with its social and natural environment. Qi carries information essential for our growth and thriving as individuals and as a species. However, on our modern, materialistic path of development, our cognitive minds struggle to process this subtle exchange between ourselves and our environment. This disconnection leads to much of the grief, loneliness, and pervasive distress we experience today. The Resonance Code presents a knowledge system developed through a leadership training curriculum at Resonance Path Institute. This system aims at awakening the psyche to resonance. It enables the rational mind to evolve beyond current limitations so we can dance with complexity and embrace uncertainty as the fertile ground of creativity. The Resonance Code is calling forth a new generation of resonance leaders. These are people who may or may not hold conventional leadership titles, but who love the Earth, feel compassion for all its inhabitants, and are committed to participate in humanity's evolutionary journey.