Guru

by Sheldon B. Kopp

I have spent a very significant portion of my adult life immersed in that tough and tender dialogue known as psychotherapy, first as a patient and then as a therapist (and at times as a patient once more). Again and again I have felt that at last I really knew what I was doing. And again and again I have returned to the feeling that I don't know what the hell it is all about.... At first it seemed very strange to me that the readings that helped me the most to trust what went on in my work as a psychotherapist were tales of Wizards and Shamans, of Hasidic Rabbis, Desert Monks and Zen Masters. Not the materials of science and reason, but the stuff of poetry and myth instructed me best. So it was that I chose to write this book of metaphors. --- excerpts from book's Preface

Genres: Psychology

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Sheldon Bernard Kopp (29 March 1929 – 29 March 1999) was a psychotherapist and author, based in Washington, D.C. He was born in New York City, and received his PhD from the New School for Social Research. In addition to his private practice, he served as a Psychotherapy Supervisor for the Pastoral Counselling and Consultation Centres in Washington. He died of cardiac arrhythmia and pneumonia. He is also popular for his quotes. One of them is, "All of the significant battles are waged within the self."

Reviews

[Esteban Rosado Méndez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and brief history of how all societies have had spiritual leaders that rely on metaphors to guide people in their community through their journeys. This focuses more on the symbolic side of analysis, away from the material or historical point of view.

[Tyrone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good analogies used, the themes were interesting, and overall it was a great refresh on common psychology therapies and methodologies, using history and the arts as a framework for exploration.

[BenSgll · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 indeed

[Giulio]

Guru. Metafore di uno psicoterapeuta Astrolabio Ubaldini
non presente nel catalogo Goodreads

[Maxime Daher · Rating 1 out of 5]

God, for such an interesting subject, what an annoyingly awful character to write the book! I have nothing personal against authors of non-fiction inserting their own personality into their writing - unless it is such a narrow-minded, bigotted, uneducated personality like Kopp's, which ruins the otherwise-not-so-great-anyway book through and through. If you want the same knowledge and information sans the moronic distractions which Kopp forces upon you like some proud trademark, check out "Great Religious Leaders" by [an author whose name I shall insert here as soon as I get it:]; there you have a human being writing about Gurus, and not, like Kopp, a religious imbecile with a not-so-well-hidden agenda trying to show you how the "Gurus" that he had chosen to disrespect have had such great opportunities at making this world a better place - if only they stuck to the God that Kopp worships and didn't deviate (!).

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I was hoping for more from this book. I am a big Sheldon Kopp fan, but this seemed like a desperate assemblage of information from a dying man...I hate to put it that way as that's what this book is, but nothing wrapped together very neatly and it seems like a spiral notebook more than a book that should be sold in stores. Lots of decent information within it's pages, but the message doesn't have much in terms of an over-arching theme in my opinion, outside of Kopp's own confusion.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have looked into this book a bit more before choosing to read it. It was not like Kopp’s other books that I have enjoyed so much, more a research paper. It was a bit basic.