Psyche and the Sacred: Spirituality Beyond Religion

By Lionel Corbett

Book Overview

Lionel Corbett describes an approach to spirituality based on personal experience of the sacred rather than on pre-existing religious dogmas. Using many examples from Corbett's psychotherapy practice and other personal accounts, the book describes various portals through which the sacred may appear: in dreams, visions, the natural world, through the body, in relationships, in our psychopathology, and in our creative work. Using the language and insights of depth psychology, he describes the intimate relationship between spiritual experience and the psychology of the individual, revealing the seamless continuity and intermingling of the personal and transpersonal dimensions of the psyche. Corbett also discusses the problems of evil and suffering from a psychological rather than theological perspective, and suggests some of the reasons that traditional religious institutions fail to address adequately these problems. Based largely on Jung's writing on religion, b ut also drawing from contemporary psychoanalyticheory, Corbett describes an approach to spirituality that is gradually emerging alongside the western monotheistic tradition. For those seeking alternative forms of spirituality beyond the Judeo-Christian tradition, this volume will be a useful guide on the journey.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1882670345
• ISBN13: 9781882670345
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Spring Journal
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

not just for psychologically minded

Lionel corbett is a leading voice in the field. acknowledging that our psychology is a totality of all that influences the human experience. consciously addresses the numinous, which has been the focus of man's experience, yet rarely acknowledged in our "scientifically minded" culture.

Spirituality without institutions/places/dogma

I reviewed Dr Corbett's other book, "The Religious Functions of the Psyche" and also gave it 5 stars. Both books will appeal to those who have a sense of the sacred but have not found it in ready-made religions. He covers all the psychological areas of life which are defined as "spiritual" in organized religions, virtually all of it. Familiarity with Jungian concepts, Jungian writers such as Edinger, Hollis etc. and a basic feeling of the rightness of depth psychology would almost be a necessity in order to use these books. At least, that's my opinion...might be I haven't looked at the issue from every angle yet! He explains very carefully that "Our form of access to the transpersonal has therefore changed; we now experience it through the immediacy of the psyche rather than by means of a tradional religious container." In a sentence, that's it. For those whose religious containers have cracked and broken and yet still FEEL the sacred, he's presented a huge amount of information from many sources regarding how to relate to "spiritual" themes. Two of my favorite chapters are "The Reality of the Psyche" and "The Dark Side of the Self and the Trials of Job". If you've read Jung's "Answer to Job" and Edinger's commentary and still want more elucidation, this chapter has it. The last chapter, "A Sense of the Sacred" give 14 suggestions that are..."useful because they require no predetermined theology, no congregation and no specific prayers, priests, robes or special buildings. They are not based on the tenets of any particular creed or religious system and they are the work of this world, not directed towards gaining some future heavenly extistence." For anyone who's begun to sense what Jung said, that the psyche is REAL and who's hungry to relate to wholeness...I'd say read this book. I hope this and his other book gain wide readership. I'm a very interested layman!

A Guide to Discoveirng a Spiritiualtiy that Work for YOU!

Corbet teaches at Pacifica and is a great teacher and a great interpreter of Jungian thought. This is a terrific book about the need for developing a personal spirituality