Joy, Inspiration, and Hope: 1 (Carolyn & Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology) - Softcover

"Psychotherapists spend most of their time treating people who are notably lacking in joy, inspiration, and hope; and so have little to say about these vital aspects of existence. Dr. Kast has performed a valuable service by making them the subjects of her lectures. I particularly appreciated her technique of encouraging patients to recapture moments of joy by writing autobiography. Even the most depressed person must have had some experiences of joy; and reliving these through writing about then makes it more likely that they will reappear. This is an unusual and valuable book."--Anthony Storr--Anthony Storr, F.R.C. Psych., F.R.C.P. "Author of Solitude: A Return to Self " "A practical work about ethereal emotions, this book offers a taxonomy of positive emotional states. Psychotherapists, educators, writers of fiction, and poets will discover meaning and metaphor in descriptions and examples of those emotions that motivate and carry us into creative activity. Dr. Kast's clear, crisp style and her rich clinical examples invite her reader to enjoy an engagement with unusually inspiring material. Here is the 'heart mind' of our emotional life."--Polly Young-Eisendrath--Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. "Coauthor of Female Authority: Empowering Women through Psychotherapy "Verena Kast's rescue of joy, inspiration and hope from the grey margins to which psychology has banished them could well mark a turning-point for the field. For, in this most Dionysian of books, she challenges and overturns many of the assumptions and clich s which bedevil us: That childhood is always a horrid period, dominated by defective and abusing parents; that elation and ecstasy are somehow immature and suspicious; that healing exclusively involves suffering; that hope is delusive and hostile to so-called reality."--;/div> --Andrew Samuels "Author of Jung and the Post-Jungians " " . . . simple, straightforward and written in an easy style for readers who have had no exposure to analytical psychology. The book has a glossary of terms and the language is relaxes and conversational. . . a curious book which reveals how difficult it is to stay pop in a field which forces us to become serious and introspective."--Journal of Analytical Psychology -- (04/01/2010) "Verena Kast, a professor of psychology at the University of Zurich, has written an engaging and thought-provoking book on the neglected emotions of elation. This paperback is brimming over with insights into the emotions of joy, inspiration, and hope." --Spirituality & Health--Spirituality & Health " . . . brims with insights."--Choice--Choice "Dr. Kast's simplicity of language is deceptively `pop'; she shows both a grasp of the area and a capacity for original thinking which can be valuable, indeed . . . . I can definitely recommend it to those who are, like me, tired of the endless `wounded healer' imagery and convinced, as is Professor Kast, of the tremendous value of joy, inspiration, and hope."--Psychological Perspectives--Psychological Perspectives " . . . Kast presents a Jungian existential analysis of joy. While much has been written about the dark emotions of depression and anxiety, joy and hope are often ignored . . . . Certain that civilization today contains a lack of ecstasy and a loss of inspiration, Kast also discusses the relevance of the mythology of Dionysus, mysticism, and religious ecstasy. She follows with a documentation of the existential existence of hope from Sartre and Camus. Her work could be considered the academic counterpart to Norman Cousins (Head First: The Biology of Hope), who endorses Kast's theories."--Library Journal--Library Journal "The book combines superb content with literary quality. In fact, just in the act of reading the book you experience the very emotions identified in the title. . . . Kast [contributes] so handsomely to the means by which human beings can profit from important aspects of their uniqueness."--Norman Cousins, author of Head First: The Biology of Hope--Norman Cousins, author of Head First: The Biology of Hope

Emotion is an expression of the self, Verena Kast writes in this study of the neglected emotions of joy, inspiration, and hope. ""If we decide we no longer want to hide behind empty shells, then we will have to allow certain emotions more room. We will have to let ourselves laugh louder, cry louder, and shout for joy."" Kast makes the case that not only therapists and analysts but also individuals seeking growth in their own lives should give more attention to the elated emotions. Fear of excess (mania) and analytic preoccupation with grief, anxiety, and depression have together caused joy and hope to be shunned as a focus in individuation (the process toward wholeness). Joy answers the human need for elated feeling and meaning in our lives, a need that is often filled in modern society by secularized parodies of religious ecstasy, such as addiction and compulsiveness. Kast suggests simple techniques for recapturing our joy through development of an autobiography of joy. Using this approach, we can discover what gives us joy personally, how we can best experience joy, and how and why we choke off our joy. By viewing joy, inspiration, and hope as core emotions in our being, we open