Dante's Path: Vulnerability and the Spiritual Journey

by Bonney Gulino Schaub, Richard Schaub

Dante's Path guides you along the steps of the classic Western spiritual journey. Oprah's "O Magazine" called the first edition (2003) of Dante's Path "divine therapy," and letters came in from clergy, counselors, nurses, executives, teachers, soldiers, and seekers of many backgrounds telling how Dante's Path helped them to increase their conscious contact with their innate spiritual nature. This new second edition is filled with specific steps, methods, detailed explanations and images so that you can go on the classic spiritual journey for yourself. First described by the Florentine mystical poet Dante in 1307 in the masterpiece "The Divine Comedy," this path has been studied for centuries by people around the globe. The most famous part of "The Divine Comedy" is the Inferno (the worst aspect of human nature), but Dante's true intention was to teach about the practices of freeing ourselves from suffering (purgatory) and experiencing illuminations and higher consciousness (paradise). Six hundred years later, the visionary Florentine psychiatrist, Roberto Assagioli, MD, integrated Dante's insights into a school of self development, psychosynthesis, so that people could make these important discoveries for themselves. Looking for a psychology that respected spirituality, the authors studied Assagioli, which led to their own immersion into Dante and the city of Florence itself. The authors call the discoveries along Dante's Path "transpersonal" (meaning "beyond the personality") and advocate that each person without exception can develop their natural transpersonal intelligence. They have gone on to teach Assagioli's work and transpersonal intelligence internationally for over 35 years and now train health professionals to be transpersonal teachers for their patients, clients, and students. Dante's Path is for any seeker who wants a realistic, pragmatic approach to increasing peace and wisdom in their daily life.

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2003

Reviews

[Tom LA · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books about Dante that I’ve ever read. The authors treat Dante as if his faith was “surpassed” and in need of a modern interpretation of his ancient and medieval framework (where “medieval” is used by the authors with a negative connotation. Oh, the crass arrogance of posterity!). This couldn’t be farther from the truth. If one understands christian doctrine, there is extremely little in the Comedy that is surpassed. Maybe a meager 2%. The rest is still fully relevant today, maybe even more, whether you are christian or not.

For example, this book says that it’s “surpassed” to think of pride as only bad and humility as only good. In line with the teachings of an Italian jungian psychiatrist, whom the authors idolize, worship and keep quoting, the book wants to correct this “ancient” statement with “there is good and bad everywhere”.

A bit like in the song “Ebony and Ivory”!

I’m sorry to say it, because the authors’ passion is evident, but this book is missing the entire point of the Divine Comedy.

Dante is catholic in his bone marrow. His poem has the power to rekindle the fire of faith in the attentive reader’s heart. His poem is about the action of Christ on the world, and our possibility to be saved through our free will (which he located at the literal center of his work, Pur. 16).

Do not try to repackage profound truths only because they are old. You risk coming up with wishy-washy versions of the truth like they did in this book.

Psychoanalysis and new age spirituality have very little to do with the Divine Comedy.

But more importantly, everything that REALLY matters about the human being has already been said many centuries ago. Just make the effort to go and find it. Don’t look for it in these “modern” books because it will inevitably be diluted and slanted — in this specific case, the slant is anti-christian.

[Fabiano Parmesan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scritto da due psicoterapeuti amanti di Dante
Ricco di esercizi pratici da svolgere, aiuta il lettore a trasformarsi e realizzarsi spiritualmente.
. L'inferno è un fardello che ci portiamo ineluttabilmente dentro. Dobbiamo imparare a gestirlo. La divina commedia come metafora esistenziale ci insegna a leggere e percorrere e strade della vita

[Paola Marotta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sinceramente non mi è proprio piaciuto, da classicista e appassionata dei classici della letteratura italiana in particolare della Divina Commedia trovo che ne parli in maniera quasi superficiale, troppo modernizzata la figura di Dante, l’unica cosa che ho trovato corretta e veritiera è il titolo.

[Michele]

Church book club. Can't remember how well I liked it. Lead to good discussion.