Going to Pieces without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness by M.D., Mark Epstein - 1999

US: Harmony, 1999. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. An intimate guide to self-acceptance and discovery that offers a Buddhist p erspective on wholeness within the framework of a Western understanding of self. For decades, Western psychology has promised fulfillment through building a nd strengthening the ego. We are taught that the ideal is a strong, individ uated self, constructed and reinforced over a lifetime. But Buddhist psychi atrist Mark Epstein has found a different way. Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart shows us that happiness doesn't come from any kind of acquisitiveness, be it material or psychological. Happines s comes from letting go. Weaving together the accumulated wisdom of his two worlds--Buddhism and Western psychotherapy--Epstein shows how "the happine ss that we seek depends on our ability to balance the ego's need to do with our inherent capacity to be." He encourages us to relax the ever-vigilant mind in order to experience the freedom that comes only from relinquishing control. Drawing on events in his own life and stories from his patients, Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart teaches us that only by letting go can we start on the path to a more peaceful and spiritually satisfying life.