The Spiritual Gift of Madness

by Farber, Seth; Millett, Kate

• ISBN13: 9781594774485
• ISBN10: 159477448X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-17
• Publisher: Inner Traditions

Summary

Many of the great prophets of the past experienced madness a breakdown followed by a breakthrough, spiritual death followed by rebirth. With the advent of modern psychiatry, the budding prophets of today are captured and transformed into chronic mental patients before they can flower into the visionaries and mystics they were intended to become. As we approach the tipping point between extinction and global spiritual awakening, there is a deep need for these prophets to be free to embrace their spiritual gifts. To make this happen, we must learn to respect the sanctity of madness. We need to cultivate Mad Pride.

Author Biography

Seth Farber, Ph.D., is a psychologist, public speaker, and a founder of the Network against Coercive Psychiatry. The author of several books, including Unholy Madness, and an editor of The Journal of Mind and Behavior, he lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xxi
Acknowledgments	p. xxv
Introduction Discovering the Higher Sanity within Madness	p. 1
The Failure of the Psychiatric System and the Biomedical Myth
Interview with Peter Stastny, M.D.: The Psychiatric-Pharmaceutical Complex and Its Critics	p. 36
The Mind Freedom Hunger Strike	p. 57
Interview with David Oaks: From Harvard to the Psychiatric Survivors' Movement	p. 86
The Intellectual Background of Mad Pride
Mental Patients' Liberation	p. 118
R. D. Laing, John Weir Perry, and the Sanctuary for Visionaries	p. 125
Interview with Chaya Grossberg: Spiritually Informed Social Activism	p. 131
Interview with Caty Simon: The Communitarian Vision	p. 167
Dangerous Gifts
The Roots of The Icarus Project	p. 200
Interview with Sascha DuBrul: The Reluctant Warrior, May 2009	p. 223
The Warrior in Retreat	p. 240
The Icarus Project and the Future of Mad Pride	p. 250
Prophets of Madness or Messiahs among Us?
The Messianic or Postmodern Paradigm?	p. 262
The Relationship of Mad Pride to Messianic Transformation	p. 268
Interview with Dr. Ed Whitney: Finding Oneself at the Age of Forty-five; Messianic Visions	p. 275
Awakenings in History and Social Activism
Cultural Revitalization Movements	p. 304
Interview with Paul Levy: "They May Say I'm a Dreamer"	p. 325
Revitalization and the Messianic-Redemptive Vision of Sri Aurobindo	p. 362
Whither Mad Pride?	p. 381
Epilogue
Beating the System	p. 392
Appendix
Extracts from Sri Aurobindo's Savitri	p. 397
Notes	p. 404
Bibliography	p. 418
Index	p. 426
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.