{"product_id":"open-to-desire-the-truth-about-what-the-buddha-taught-9781592401857","title":"Open to Desire: The Truth about What the Buddha Taught","description":"\"A masterpiece. . . . It teaches us how not to fear and repress, but to rechannel and harness the most powerful energies of life toward freedom and bliss.\" --ROBERT THURMAN \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt is common in both Buddhism and Freudian psychoanalysis to treat desire as if it is the root of all suffering and problems, but psychiatrist Mark Epstein believes this to be a grave misunderstanding.In his controversial defense of desire, he makes clear that it is the key to deepening intimacy with ourselves, each other, and our world.\u003cp\u003eProposing that spiritual attainment does not have to be detached from intimacy or eroticism, \u003ci\u003eOpen to Desire\u003c\/i\u003e begins with an exploration of the state of dissatisfaction that causes us to cling to irrational habits. Dr. Epstein helps readers overcome their own fears of desire so that they can more readily bridge the gap between self and other, cope with feelings of incompletion, and get past the perception of others as objects. Freed from clinging and shame, desire's spiritual potential can then be opened up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMark Epstein, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City who lectures frequently about the value of Buddhist meditation for psychotherapy. His previous books include \u003cb\u003eThoughts Without a Thinker\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eGoing to Pieces Without Falling Apart\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eGoing on Being\u003c\/b\u003e. He is a contributing editor to \u003cb\u003eTricycle: The Buddhist Review\u003c\/b\u003e and has written many articles for \u003cb\u003eYoga Journal\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eO: The Oprah Magazine\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Avery Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50505342812434,"sku":"9781592401857","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_14a6cde6-4748-4747-80f3-38a9153604b4.jpg?v=1730838199","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/open-to-desire-the-truth-about-what-the-buddha-taught-9781592401857","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}