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A bold new view of the human psyche, integrating Eastern and Western approaches.
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Integral Psychology Yoga, Growth, and Opening the Heart Brant Cortright INTEGRAL PSYCHOLOGY SUNY series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology Richard D. Mann, editor Integral Psychology Yoga, Growth, and Opening the Heart Brant Cortright STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2007 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production by Michael Haggett Marketing by Fran Keneston Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Cortright, Brant, 1949– Integral psychology : yoga, growth, and opening the heart / Brant Cortright. p. ; cm. — (SUNY series in transpersonal and humanistic psychology) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-7071-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-7072-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Psychotherapy—Philosophy. 2. Holistic medicine. I. Title. II. Series [DNLM: 1. Psychotherapy. 2. Holistic Health. 3. Mind-Body Relations (Metaphysics) 4. Spirituality. 5. Yoga—psychology. WM 420 C831i 2007] RC437.5.C67 2007 616.89’14—dc22 2006016538 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicated to the Divine Shakti, Mother of the Universe This page intentionally left blank. Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part 1: Integral Psychology Chapter 1. Integrality 9 Chapter 2. Our Psychic Center 29 Chapter 3. The Core Wounding of Our Time 53 Chapter 4. An Evolutionary Vision of Health 71 Part 2: Integral Psychotherapy Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Psychotherapy As Behavior Change: Karma Yoga 89 Psychotherapy As Mindfulness Practice: Jnana Yoga 111 Psychotherapy As Opening the Heart: Bhakti Yoga 125 Designing Psychotherapy for the Right Brain, the Left Brain, and the Soul 149 Appendix A. The Philosophical Foundation of Integral Psychology 165 Appendix B. An Integral Approach to Spiritual Emergency 187 Notes 207 References 223 Index 229 vii This page intentionally left blank. Acknowledgments I would like to thank many helpful friends, colleagues, students, and clients for their impact in shaping this book. Paul Herman first invited me to co-teach a course on Integral Psychology with him some 20 years ago, which eventually evolved into a course I currently teach yearly at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Paul’s support at an early phase of my involvement in integral yoga was important to my continuing to work in this field. I am eternally grateful for this early collaboration. Many colleagues, friends, and former students have read chapters of this manuscript and provided both critical feedback and encouragement. Among these are Michael Kahn, Robert McDermott, Brendan Collins, Bahman Shirazi, Richard Stein, Bryan Wittine, Paul Linn, Olga Louchakova, Matthijs Cornelissen, Neeltje Huppes, Ananda Reddy, Aster Patel, Uma Silbey, Kathleen Wall, and Nicolo Santilli. Mytrae Meliana read the entire manu