This book presents rich source material; it makes no claim to being academic, though referring whenever possible to works available to the authors (the bibliography more or less stops with Ian Gordon-Brown's death in 1996). However, those interested in Transpersonal Psychology as an academic discipline will be able to avail themselves of the wealth of original material here and take it into the world of comparative study. Its origins could be traced back way beyond Jung, Frankl, Maslow and Assagioli to Far Eastern and Aboriginal sources, to Greek and later Western teaching, to other great transpersonal pioneers of the twentieth century and forward into the twenty-first.

Barbara Somers leads us into this world with a sure touch. Those among us who were fortunate enough to hear her in person remember the ease, elegance and wisdom with which she handled the weightiest subjects. Here, too, she guides us into the very centre of the symbolic Alchemist's den and through the phases, trials and tribulations of the inner process that helps us to become what we truly are. It's not an easy journey, it has its risks and dangers, but also its moments of joy and glory. And the gold that eventually manifests in the flask of the psyche is an indestructible treasure. Let Transpersonal Alchemy do its work through this book and spread its message far and wide. The world is in dire need of the gold that is, paradoxically, not of this world.