A commonly encountered experience of both analyst and analysand is
that of the void. It is spoken about at different stages of therapy
and refers to experiences that have different origins. Sometimes
the experience of the void is around a relatively limited aspect of
the psyche but at other times the void seems much more global and
threatens to engulf the entire personality; the whole individual
psyche then seems threatened by the possibility of dissolution into
nothingness. By drawing on the writings of both Jungian and
psychoanalytic thinkers as well as on poetry, mythology and art,
and by illustrating these ideas with dreams and other material from
his analysands, Paul Ashton attempts to illuminate some of the
compartments of this immense space. Because the experience of the
void is so unsettling we attempt to defend ourselves against it.
The author's thesis is that the void, frightening as it is, is not
something that can or should be obliterated, as that would lead to
stagnation. Rather, that hidden behind the "clouds of unknowing"
that surround the void, lie endless possibilities for growth and
transformation and an increasingly strong connection with the
objective other; whether we see that "other" as God or the Self or
as previously unexperienced parts of ourselves.
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Review This Product
Mon, 19 May 2008 | Review
by: Michelle B.
This is an incredibly daring endevour to map the place that engenders so much fear - the void. The book encourages us to open our eyes in that empty darkness, instead of retreating to the place where with closed eyes we wish away that overwhelming night, for it seems to be that it is this courageous awareness that will allow us to exit that dark place, filled with more - more of ourselves, more than we entered with. Read this book - and then read it again.
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