Richard Harvey
connecting psychotherapy and spiritual growth for human awakening
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Forthcoming: Human Awakening
the inner journey to authenticity and spiritual enlightenment
My new book is about how we discover who we truly are through deepening levels of awakening. Although I have written this book from the point of view of the therapeutic encounter, it can be used by people who wish to develop their inner self on their own, with a partner or with a group of friends.
Work on the personality is commonly thought to be what therapy is all about. But personal work is only a part of inner exploration and with serious application it can be completed. Beyond personal change, lie the challenges of authentic transformation and real consciousness. The fulfillment of these three stages of human development is our innate capacity, and it is attained through a single connected process of awakening. The book charts the process of awakening in three stages.
Through this book, I hope to introduce you to the inner journey, to clarify and/or inspire you if you have already begun and present a clear and accessible model of how we can realize human potential. I have tried to present profound ideas in an accessible way without cheapening the subject matter or patronizing you, the reader.
This is also a travelogue of the journey through the inner landscape, a glimpse of experiences, a series of sketches of the inner journey, rather than a manual or a list of techniques (which are plentifully available elsewhere). I hope that it illuminates, inspires and encourages you to awaken to your deeper self.
Download (Word 42kb) the introduction and preface of this book.
The Contents
Preface
The Perennial Problems · The Challenge of Being Human
Introduction
Real Change · A Short History of the Growth Movement
I The Process of Self-Discovery
1 Inner Work
Speaking of “I” · A Crack in the Fabric · Dissatisfaction · Crisis · Appreciating the Gate · Life Changes · Commitment and Intention · The Baggage of Inner Characters · The Lessons of the Father and the Mother · Boundaries Proportion · Personal Empowerment
2 Relationships
Men and Women in Therapy · The Nature of Woman – a Series of Dreams · Relationships and Projection · Ritualizing the End of a Relationship · The Path of Relationship · Acknowledgement and Support
3 Attending to Soul
Going Back to Childhood: Deepening in the Present · Personality and Perspective · Personal Stories · Simplicity · The Essential Practice of Awareness · The Art of Listening · Balancing Acceptance and Challenge · The Most Common Issues · Privacy and Secrecy
4 Stages of Transition
Thresholds of Maturity · Initiatory Experiences · Madness – Illness or Initiation? · The In-Visible Nature of Inner Work · Doing It on Our Own: Ego and Self-Therapy · Alone Together: Shared Reflection · The Path to the Inner World · Assuming, Relying and Idealizing · Giving to Ourselves: Working with Ego · Attitude and Responsibility · Learning from Everything
5 Pointers on The Way
Creative Chaos · The Unconscious and Truth · When Our Angels Become Our Jailers · The Power of Language · The Inverted Relationship of Inner and Outer · Short Cuts and Dead Ends · Therapy Junkies · Complaining Forgiveness
6 Our Greatest Gift
The Thinning of the Veils · The Last Grains of Attachment · Therapy or Spirituality? · The Original Wound · Unconscious Change and Art · Wholeness
II The Threshold of Transformation
7 The Transformation into Authenticity
Alone on the Threshold · Waiting · Doing and Being · Clearing Up Loose Ends · Life Transforms
8 Responding from The Heart
Assumptions: Coping and Transformation · Self-Improvement and Spiritual Awakening · Bodywork, Thought and Silence · A Spiritual Path in the World · Centering in the Heart · The Divine Pervades Each Moment · Being and Purpose · Born Therapists · Inhabiting the Heart: Practicing Compassion
9 Outer Work: Stabilising in Transformation
The Four Stages of Ego · Carrying Fuel · Community · The Enabling Power of Disability · Aging · Death · Love
10 Ways to Realization
Group Practice, Commitment and Letting Go · Spiritual Distance · Any Way, All Ways · Spiritual Questions and Divine Lessons · Changing Biographies Continuing Birth · The Self and the Mystery · Beyond Contradiction and Paradox · Does Therapy End?
III The Source of Consciousness
11 Realizing Our True Nature
Beyond the Shadows of the Divine · Experiences of Transcendence · De-Spelling Illusion · The Divine Nature of Personality · Growing out of the “Me” Concept · The Unattainable Goal · Pitfalls and Cautions · Now: Freedom and Fear
12 Perpetual Illumination
The Impossibility of Seeing Ourselves · No Teacher, No System · The Original “I AM” · Spontaneity and Surrender
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What readers say
Human Awakening is one of the most influential books I've ever read. Richard Harvey's years of being both a therapist and a spiritual guide have given him startling insights into how to make you you again. It has helped me cope with, better understand and more enjoy my life. Read this book, it will change your life.
E.K.
This excellent new book from Richard Harvey illuminates the wonders of being human, and also how we can over-complicate and mess up our lives. The book shows how we can discover our true self and find inner peace, using both Western and Eastern thinking for personal therapy and spiritual awakening respectively.
It is beautifully written, and reads like the work of someone who has a deep experience of their subject matter, a voice of authority and understanding. Illustrated by numerous case studies that bring it to life, plus the author's own journey of discovery, the book presents a powerful argument and route for human awakening. Just brilliant! D.B.
Human Awakening is a magnificent and ambitious work. There is a compassionate honesty about Richard Harvey's writing that is pure and soul-filled.
It comes from a sincere desire to help the aspirant heal themselves.
For those courageous enough to make the journey, Human Awakening can unlock doors of discovery that lead to inner exploration, healing and truth.
Human Awakening is a golden vessel for (re)discovering our consciousness that ultimately can lead to our enlightenment. It is a work that all aspirants—both seeker and therapist-guide—can use as a beacon for the most important journey of our lifetime; the journey of the soul. Rev. Robert Meagher, Inter-Faith/Non-Denominational Minister, Spiritual Guidance