Contemplative Psychology

This provocative and highly original work by one of the Netherlands’ leading psychologists provides an introduction to what is perhaps the oldest and most interesting psychology ever developed: the psychology of the contemplative life. As de Wit points out, contemplative psychology has not been developed by practitioners of academic disciplines, but rather by intelligent and sensitive practitioners of the contemplative and spiritual traditions themselves. As such, it has developed its own psychological understanding of contemplative and religious growth, and it has created its own methods of acquiring knowledge and insight into the nature of the human mind and experience. Contemplative psychology therefore addresses the fundamental issue of how our profane mode of experience comes about, what its nature is, why we hold onto it as real, and how it carries over into our words and deeds. Moreover, this psychology examines why and how the profane mode of experience can be transformed into the spiritual or religious experience of reality through the practice of contemplative disciplines. By contrasting it with conventional and scientific psychology and theology, de Wit outlines contemplative psychology as an auxiliary discipline within the contemplative traditions. His very readable overview has been written from an interreligious point of view. De Wit investigates the most important themes and contours that psychologies of different religions have in common. His presentation offers many directions for the development of a genuine contemplative psychology, something that is basically lacking in our present western culture This book will be of great value not only to psychologists of religion and theologians, but also to contemplatives, pastoral caregivers, counselors, and psychotherapists.