The Pearl Beyond Price: Integration of Personality Into Being: An Object Relations Approach

by A.H. Almaas

Book Overview

In this book Almaas demonstrates that healthy ego development is part of the continuum of spiritual development. He also establishes the possibility of attaining inner realization and developing our... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 093671302X
• ISBN13: 9780936713021
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

this world and truth are not two

This book attempts to show how the very human desire of flourishing in this world and the equally though rarer desire of transcending the limitations of this world are reconcilable. I've been intrigued by therapeutic psychology for a while (at present I'm getting my Ph.D. in clinical psychology) and meditative/contemplative spiritual approaches as well. It became apparent how both were beneficial but also how different were their aims and purposes. In this book Almaas shows how western psychological understating of how our personalities are formed can be used to experience ourselves more directly and breakthrough into spiritual domains of exploration. For almaas our personality is the false pear that can lead us to the pear beyond price (our "personalized" spiritual nature). We have a desire to be loved (false pearl) because spiritually we are love. Thus the defensive/compensatory nature of the personality also reflects intuitions of the truth. By carefully studying the personality we can potentially move beyond it if we have proper understanding and guidance. Whenever a certain part of our personality is challenged there is an opportunity to see through it and enter into a deeper and wider experience. Excerpt from the text of a person working with almass: "I experienced feelings of being scared and alive. I felt a sense of strength and identity of my own and a closeness and love towards my girlfriend. As a result I feel a fullness and warmth that is expensive, through my belly and chest. My feeling of loosing her does not seem to overwhelm me as before..." For almaas it is not enough to transcend limitations but we must bring realization down into every part of our being so it transforms us, thus personality is integrated with being, to make us more humanly present and alive.

A truely personal touch

If you have enough appreciation of Almaas' work, you will sail through this one with a deep undestanding of how to actualize our full human potential in this lifetime. What makes this particular book stand out most, is how the personal aspect of our soul, or our "Pearl" draws one into realizing and actualizing that we CAN live a life of spiritual integrety and still function more optimally in our society, here and now. Albeit with much devotion, hard work, and pschological/emotional pain (and eventual healing toward wholeness), as Almaas points out numerous times throughout most of his books. Like most worthwhile undertakings in life, this takes hard work and requires much more than just reading and achieving an intellectual understanding, although this is the way for most of us, and is of much value, it is only the tip of the inner journey iceburg. An inportant element to be aware of regarding this is what he calls an "embodiment" of understanding where the very fabric of our soul is impressed with the truth of this teaching. When this begins to happen to us, the potential to "integrate our personality with Being" can become actualized over time. If one is willing to do the difficult Work required to become a truely mature human being, this book and all other Almaas works will undoubtedly steer you in the direction of truth. The truth of our Real identity.

Must read for therapists and spritual seekers

The founders of NLP, following Korzybski, reminded us that "the map is not the territory." Almaas speaks of the territory - the vastness and profundity of out Being - as one who lives there. He also has produced yet another superb map, with very precise descriptions of the challenges, the obtacles, the meaning of the signs along the way, and a more workable way than we have ever had of actually geting there.

An integration of personal and transpersonal development

Almaas has succeded in explicating and integrating contemporary object relations theory with transpersonal development. He has articulated the development of the ego and then its transcendence in a compelling, coherent discourse. This book is of tremendous value for anyone interested in a serious inquiry into the development/realization of the Self that does not ignore the important contribution of object-relations theory to self development.