Richard Atwood

Speaking What Is Not: Finding a Way to Wholeness Richard Atwood

Integrating Eastern and Western Traditions of Healing Insight. . . Human philosophy and thought grapple with theories of mind and the human condition, from what appear to be very different frameworks, resulting in diverse goals and outcomes. The aim of this book is to attempt to integrate these perspectives by comparing and contrasting these ideas and practices. Speaking What Is Not is an integration of Eastern and Western traditions drawing primarily on Zen Buddhism (e.g., Dogen, Shunryu Suzuki, Ikkyu & Snyder), Taoism (e.g., Lao Tzu & Chuang Tzu), the Jungian theory of Self, object relations in psychoanalytic theory (e.g., Winnicott, Ogden & Phillips), contemporary literary criticism (e.g., Perloff & Hirshfield), and existentialism (e.g., Tillich). Various themes are presented through the five chapters of the book such as discovering one's fundamental self, consumer and cultural conformity, existential dilemmas, the delusion of self, the role of teachers, the necessity and impossibility of language, intersubjectivity, and the emptiness of being. This manuscript utilizes a unique format where each page presents a discussion of a theme followed by a "philosophical poem" evoking an alternative metaphorical take on the same theme. Subsequent pieces develop various aspects of each theme in a nonlinear, collaged framework, providing both a context for reader engagement, and inspiration to explore ideas further.