Abraxas Female, 38, Engaged. Novara, Italy

Il libro è molto utile per chi vuole cercare le radici filosofiche del pensiero junghiano. L'autrice, Marilyn Nagy ha lavorato 10 anni a questo libro e ha crato un libro molto belne organizzato e sistematico con molti spunti per approffondimento.
Nella prima parte fa una rasegna storica dell'epistemiologia di Jung. Jung fu molto influenzato dai dubbi religiosi del suo padre. Le prime conferenze pubbliche, le conferenze di Zoofingia mostrano un Jung occupato molto dalla filosofoia e vitalismo e materialismo della sua epoca. Lui sottolinea per l'autonomia dell'anima e secondo Nagy, Jung è inflòuenzato di Kant quando sottolinea l'importanza del Se la liberta interiore dell'uomo. Io mi chiedo comunque ... questo è dunque un scritto pubblicato prima che lui avesse scelto la psichiatria. Io vorrei sapere se là dentro la situazione schizofrenica, nevrotica cosa rimane dalla librtà del questo Se (la legge morale da dentro di me)
Nel secondo sottocapitolo si analizza Le transfomazioni dei simboli e i tipi psicologici, i riferimenti alla discesa e resurezione, all'infantilismo di una religione paternalita e la disperazione in mancanza di questa.
Bello il sttocapitolo dedicato a Paracelso."The Lumen Naturae of Paracelsus as the Paradigm of True Knowledge"
Segue...

Questo libro promette l'analisi dei rapporti erotici tra l'Occidente e Oriente. La sua parte buona il fatto che passa in rassegna molti eventi storici, scontri, guerre ma anche incontri riusciti di esploratori tra Occidente e Oriete, dove sempre l'Occidente rappresenta la parte attiva del conquistatore e l'Oriente quello del conquistato. I esploratori Occidentali provenineti da una cultura cristiana rigid ache metteva al bando ogni piacere sno stati impressionati dalla cultura di piacere trovata per esempio in Cina, e sopratutto della cultura di Harem.
Un'ideea interessante di Bernstein è quella che dopo il grande incontro storico tra Occidente e Oriente nell'Impero in particolare le due parti del mondo scambiano i ruoli e l'Oriente diventa quello più puritano e l'Occidente quello più libero in quanto riguarda i piaceri. Vorei sottolineare ciò che Bernstein non sottolinea che si tratta solo di cambiamenti dei pregiudizzi. L'ammirazione per la cultura del Harem è interessante e bella per discuterei pregiudizzi occidentali, ma sarebba ancor più interessante chiederci perchè i occidentli si identificavano con il possessore del Harem e mai con i eunuchi che tanto eran più numerosi, mentre le donne malgrado erano più protette in Harem che in molte altre culture, che eventualmente le obbliga a vendersi per sopravivenza, in ogni caso si trovavano nel ruolo del puro oggetto del desiderio e non in quello del soggetto del piacere.
Le teorie culturali sono interrotte di interludi che vogliono essere letterali, presentano scene di vita, rapporti di amore tra oriente e occidente. Ma la morale di Bernstein è di per se doppia, e non riesce andare oltre questi pregiudizzi. Per esempio rimpiange varie volte la sorte di Ciociosan per il fatto di essr stata illusa del suo amore che la lascio per un'altra ragazza e lei si suicidò, ma nello stesso tempo considera che il fatto che i uomini occidentali lasciano moglie occidentali per andare in Oriente è colpa delle donne occidentali. Ma secondo me si tratta dello stesso processo. In seguito condanna certo per cortesia i abusi dell'imperialismo sulle donne abusate dell'Oriente che li hanno ridotte ai oggetti sessuali ma la ridicola conclusione dei suoi ultimi capitoli è che "cosa c'è di male ne vendersi per soldi?". Male non è, in nesusn caso da parte della donna, che spesso lo fa per sopravivenza e perchè non dovrebbe approfitarne, ma da una ricerca sociologica, culturale io mi sarei aspettatto di più. Invece rimane una giustificazione culturale, storica, erudita del turismo sessuale.

This is a book that on one side ultimately overthrows the prejudices about the impossibility of a real communication between religions by presenting us a new way of understanding the relationship between them, in this case between Judaism and the practice of Zen; on the other side it is a practical guide of the serenity of soul, giving useful pieces of advice for a serene and rich spiritual life. Thus it is a book both for the mind and for the soul, and I recommend that you read it slowly as a practical guide, the value of which will reveal itself completely only if it is followed as a spiritual exercise.

The author, Brenda Shoshanna makes a parallel analysis of the spiritual practices of Judaism and Zen, both of which she performed, so the book is the testimony of an experience, of a journey on a spiritual path. Even if we don't consider the book as a spiritual journey, it is interesting to discover how two religions, two spiritual paths which we considered so distant from each other can complete each other so wonderfully. Because we talk about completion, rather than resemblance. For example, in the Jewish tradition the emphasis is on sanctifying our daily life, on being together, on daily giving our attention, support etc. to others, while in the practice of Zen the emphasis is on finding a refuge to quiet our minds. If Judaism insists on the value of the words which can build a reality and which we have to use carefully because with their aid we can destroy a person or we can elevate their self-confidence, the Zen practice of silence reveals that the real meaning of things is beyond words, that often words, concepts are only the cause of misunderstandings and of many prejudices and that we shouldn't mix words with reality. Thus results a surprising complementarily of the Judaic and Zen practices, both of which, separately and together inside a Jewish dharma, lead to the same serenity of the soul, to finding our light, compassionate side, to being responsible for others.

As I mentioned before, beyond this aspect -- the practical demonstration of the fact that the two religions not only support each other or diplomatically sympathize with each other, but enrich and complete each other -- the book is in fact a guide of practical and spiritual exercises, a spiritual pathway. We can analyze more deeply and compare the Jewish prayer on one side and the practice of Zazen on the other side, the study of the Torah and the practice of the Koan. It is interesting to see how relevant for today's man are the practices of calming the mind and the thoughts in order to remove the dependencies and automatism, the false attachments, by which we risk to reduce our mental outlook, for example by locking ourselves into the virtual world or into our work. Calming the mind is made in the two traditions either by emptying the mind (restless mind) or by keeping the Sabbath. Of course as a spiritual guide the book must contain exercises in order to live the clarity, by removing the defenses or by controlling our language, by blessing, marriage as compared to the way of living of the Zen monks, forgiveness, family peace, healing the pain, total acceptance, understanding the meaning of life and rediscovering the light, our internal serenity.

© 2009 Lucia Teszler

It's hard to believe that humans appeared on earth hundreds of thousands of years ago, and since then have progressed in the knowledge of the world, has landed on the moon, haven discovered nuclear fusion and the secrets of genetics, but still have not been able to find out the meaning of life, of death, and especially of premature or sudden death. We tend to treat death and mourning as taboos. But Elisabeth Kubler Ross has changed the world, more exactly, has changed the way humans understand themselves from the perspective of death.

We can admire the courage with which this author dedicated her life to understanding this taboo subject: the psychology of the dying, thus, she reverses a prejudice largely spread in the consumer and 'be happy' world, that of denying the existence of death, of considering it a mistake made by others instead of confronting it and preferring to reduce it to silence instead of listening to the confessions of the dying. However, there is no better teacher than a dying person. (p. 21)

Elisabeth Kubler Ross became famous because of her book Death and Dying where, as a result of her clinical observations, establishes stages in the elaboration of our own death, stages which we can find in any trauma. There in a time of denying, when we continue to plan our lives as if we hadn't heard the diagnosis, or when, after the funeral of our beloved, we are waiting for them to come home, there is a time of rage, a time of negotiations, there is a time of sadness and resignation, and still, there is a time of acquiescence, especially if there is help in the elaboration of these stages.

We can sometimes talk about death without any fear even in front of children, for example when a mother knows that she is dying, she will tell her children, so that they can say goodbye, the mourners must be able to share their pain. Nothing is as painful as silent suffering and the lies with which one tries to hide a grievous event. That is what the fourth chapter of the book deals with.

The book is a collection of four essays on the theme of life after death. It stresses the conclusions the writer has reached in her career, sitting near the dying.

There is no death, says the author. Death is similar to the moment when a butterfly comes out of its cocoon, just like when the soul leaves the body that it gave birth to. Thus, death is the beginning of eternal life, a kind of birth to a higher self conscience.

The arguments she brings in favor of her plausible hypothesis about immortality are the results of the testimony of 20,000 people all over the world, of all cultures, religions and ages who have gone through clinical death.

According to the testimonies in the first moments of death there is an extra sensorial perception, that of leaving the body accompanied by an awareness of body completeness. For example blind people are able to see people around the operation room, and can give details regarding colors, deeds, but when they return to their bodies, they become blind again. So all our senses are entire, we are in a perfect shape.

It is important to know that nobody dies alone because in the moment of our death we are welcomed by those who have died previously, those who preceded us in death even if by little time. Interestingly, the dying often didn't even know about the death of that relative. How is that possible if not through the existence of our soul even after death?

All the patients speak of serenity, of equanimity, of being welcomed by more love on the other side. Then comes the experience of passing through a tunnel or over a bridge, the experience of a place dedicated to passage, accompanied by the recollection of everything we had done, said or thought during our life. And we see things both from our point of view and from those who are around us: how much joy and consolation and how much suffering we have caused. It is important that there is no other judge than ourselves, we are the ones who blame ourselves for not giving the joy when we had the chance to do it. At the other end of the passage a bright, dazzling light is waiting for us and it is perceived as the unconditioned love that created us and to which we return after learning the lesson of life. Those who were in clinical death did not go further this light, but they felt the unpleasant feeling of being put back to their bodies.

What can we learn from these testimonies for our life? The meaning of death as an experience is serenity, peace, trust in an experience of unconditioned love which is waiting for us as a fulfillment on the other side; and probably that's why many readers who were mourning expressed their relief and equanimity after reading it. Man has a choice to become a Nazi monster if he wants, or a comforting soul as Mother Theresa from Calcutta. The way we live our life, the degree in which we give unconditioned love and consolation will be remembered in the moment of our death, where we will be our own judges.

Another conclusion of the book is that we must not fear death because fear hinders us from loving unconditionally, from learning everything we need to understand this life. When death comes by itself it is a passage to a higher state of conscience where there is perception, smile, love, happiness. And our sufferings are meant to help us grow.

And, above all, the meaning these experiences have for life is that one should not be afraid to love, to love unconditionally, without expecting anything in return, one should try to bring as much love and consolation to those around one as possible. Do not postpone it, do not be afraid, love!

© 2008 Lucia Teszler

Lucia Teszler is a PhD Student in Philosophical Hermeneutics at University of Turin

Ammiro tanto il coraggio dell'autrice. Penso devi affrontare molti pregiudizzi propri e non solo per dedicarti la vità ai moribondi e ascoltargli senza sentimenti di difessa. Il risultato della sua vita è appunto il fatto che ci descrive le fasi di incontro con la propria morte e con il lutto.
Ho letto questo libo dopo che ho finito l'Università, era un po pesante ma un libro che affascina appunto con il fatto che rovescia pregiudizzi e naviga su mari temuti e poco conosciuti.