Advice Not Given by Mark Epstein M.D. Recommendation by Robert AF Thurman
In this short video Tibet House US President Robert AF Thurman gives a book review of Mark Epstein M.D.’s book “Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself.”
Our ego, and its accompanying sense of nagging self-doubt as we work to be bigger, better, smarter, and more in control, is one affliction we all share. And, while our ego claims to have our best interests at heart, in its never-ending pursuit of attention and power, it sabotages the very goals it sets to achieve.
In Advice Not Given, Dr. Mark Epstein reveals how Buddhism and Western psychotherapy, two traditions that developed in entirely different times and places and, until recently, had nothing to do with each other, both identify the ego as the limiting factor in our well-being, and both come to the same conclusion: When we give the ego free reign, we suffer; but when it learns to let go, we are free.
With great insight, and in a deeply personal style, Epstein offers readers a how-to guide that refuses a quick fix, grounded in two traditions devoted to maximizing the human potential for living a better life. Using the Eight fold Path, eight areas of self-reflection that Buddhists believe necessary for enlightenment, as his scaffolding, Epstein looks back productively on his own experience and that of his patients.
While the ideas of the Eightfold Path are as old as Buddhism itself, when informed by the sensibility of Western psychotherapy, they become something more: a road map for spiritual and psychological growth, a way of dealing with the intractable problem of the ego. Breaking down the wall between East and West, Epstein brings a Buddhist sensibility to therapy and a therapist’s practicality to Buddhism. Speaking clearly and directly, he offers a rethinking of mindfulness that encourages people to be more watchful of their ego, an idea with a strong foothold in Buddhism but now for the first time applied in the context of psychotherapy.
To watch videos from past teachings with Mark Epstein M.D. + Robert AF Thurman at Menla in Phoenicia, NY please visit www.tibethouse.us.
Available Tibet House US Digital Archive videos include:
The Four Noble Truths with Mark Epstein M.D. + Bob Thurman at Menla
Addiction, Depression & Recovery 2016 First Session with Bob Thurman + Mark Epstein M.D.
Addiction, Depression & Recovery 2016 Second Session with Bob Thurman + Mark Epstein M.D.
Additional previews are available on the Tibet House US YouTube Channel + Full Archive Recordings in the THUS Member Archives. Access starts at $2 a Month.
To learn more about upcoming programs in the heart of the Catskills with Bob Thurman & Mark Epstein M.D. please visit: www.menla.us.
Photo of Mark Epstein M.D. + Robert AF Thurman by Justin Stone-Diaz
About Mark Epstein, M.D
Mark Epstein, M.D. is a psychiatrist in New York City and the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism & psychotherapy, including Thoughts without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, Going on Being, Open to Desire, Psychotherapy without the Self, The Trauma of Everyday Life. & Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and is currently Clinical Assistant Professor in the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University.
Connect with Mark Epstein M.D.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
About Robert AF Thurman
Suggested Books & Audio by Robert AF Thurman:
Man of Peace: Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama (Book), Infinite Life: Awakening to Bliss Within (Book), Anger: The Seven Deadly Sins (Book), Inner Revolution (Book), Circling the Sacred Mountain : A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas (Book), Essential Tibetan Buddhism (Book), The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between (Book) The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Book), The Central Philosophy of Tibet (Book), The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture (Book), Life & Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Book), Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World (Book) & Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between: Living with the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Audio).
