Going to Pieces without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness

This book of Epstein's seemed a lot more helpful and useful than his more theoretical "Thoughts Without a Thinker." I felt her recast many of the old Buddhist stories in a very new light that make them sparkle again. His intertwining of psychoanalysis with meditation was brilliant especially his demonstration that both are complementary and that one can get stuck in either mode. Finally, his analysis of how our selves resist disintegration even in sexuality and interpersonal intimacy rings so true! Epstein comes across as so human, so struggling and yet so wise. I felt the gentle touch of a caring counselor throughout the book.

The idea's expressed in this book are not at all incompatible with those of Alcoholics Anonymous. In fact, the idea's in this book dovetail nicely with the AA philosophy of finding oneself through self-forgetting, or getting out of oneself, rather than the usual psychotherpy method of just building up oneself through endless analaysis. After 10 minutes of meditation, really just doing nothng, which I found to be quite difficult, I discovered just how wild my mind really is. This is a great book for those of us in AA who are just now discovering that getting to know ones own mind is the ulitimate altered state of conciousness. Oh no, Mark, I best not get attached to that thought!

Mark Epstein is remarkable in that his writing has a distinctly spiritual note, even while he is talking in scientific terms and refraining from engaging in a discourse of religion. "Going to pieces without falling apart" is an apt name for this book because it talks about the paradoxical nature of Buddhist meditation i.e. through the disintegration of the self and the ego you integrate yourself with all that is living. There is a simple poem that is quoted in this book that describes this process of falling apart and then coming together through an analogy about how a meditator sees mountains and rivers before nirvana and then all is changed during nirvana and then he sees mountains and rivers again. Epstein writes about how Buddhist meditation principles can be used in psychotherapy. In fact many principles are already being used, but without acknowledgement of the resemblance. He describes how Freud instructs therapists to listen to the patient in a careful non- judgmental way, very much like what Buddhist meditation ideally is - i.e. non-judgmental observation of all your thoughts and actions. Buddhism, however, goes beyond traditional therapy by working with the feeling of isolation we all have to actually finding a more satisfying answer than merely learning to cope. In conclusion, highly recommended for its focus on Buddhist meditation practices and links to psychology but if you are looking for the religious aspects of Buddhism this is not for you.

I read "thoughts without a thinker" as well. Both are enlightening and very helpful. This book blends buddhist teachings with emotional healing and provides a map of sorts for this process drawing on both disciplines (buddhism and psychotherapy). Drawing from his extensive work professionally and personally, this book is full of poignant stories and examples that demonstrate how buddhism and psychotherapy taken together works to heal and blossom spiritually and mentally.

I have finally found a way, through this book, to stop negative thoughts from constantly bombarding my mind. This book is invaluable to those of us who suffer from "excessive thinking" as the author would put it. If you suffer from depression and negative thinking (depressive thoughts, angry thoughts, constant obsessive thinking about bad people and unpleasant situations), then try this book. Its techniques, if followed, will be a great relief. I cried when I read certain sections, because I finally understood the root of my negative thoughts and how to deal with them. Thank you, Dr. Epstein.