Processing Reality
Finding Meaning in Death, Psychedelics, and Sobriety
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
In this book, John Buchanan takes us on a journey through the early death of a parent, the ups and downs of addiction, the extraordinary revelations of psychedelic experiences, and the rewards of a sober and meaningful life. Reflecting on these experiences, the author identifies five pivotal events that drove him to seek a deeper understanding of the significance of extraordinary experiences, the nature of mind and the universe, the meaning of life, and most generally to ask: What is Reality? Drawing on his wide-ranging studies and explorations, Buchanan discusses the ideas that most influenced his search and led him to conclude that transpersonal psychology and process philosophy, especially as developed by Stanislav Grof and Alfred North Whitehead, offer the most satisfying answers. He presents in some detail the essence of Grof's and Whitehead's thought as it pertains to these basic questions about life and reality so that readers can appreciate these ideas for themselves. Buchanan argues that taken together process thought and transpersonal theory offer the kind of enspirited worldview capable of providing both the necessary inspiration and the intellectual understanding for confronting the great challenges facing our world.
Endorsements (2)
“John Buchanan has searched the relevant literature with peculiar thoroughness in quest of a developed vision that does justice to both the objective and the subjective worlds. . . . For one who has been testing Whitehead in similar ways in other fields for fifty years, Buchanan’s enthusiasm is profoundly gratifying. It is hard to see what more can be asked of Whitehead before his thought will be recognized as having solved the need for a unified cosmology.”
“Ever found process thought—with the whole universe pulsing and sparkling in every quantum—a bit of a trip? John Buchanan confirms your suspicion! This irresistibly readable narrative of psychedelic exploration, of a long path ultimately sober and all the more visionary, opens a stunning new portal into our shared reality. We discover not just a remarkably lucid introduction to Whiteheadian theo-cosmology, but—aimed right at our self-destructive civilization—the chance of a spiritual awakening.”
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