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Michael Eigen is a psychoanalyst living in New York. His book is a rich mixture of theory based in Bion and Winnicott; his own personal experience; Buddhist and Judaic tradition and beautifully delineated case histories. He studies the problems and inspirations that can arise for those whose natural approach to clinical work combines spirituality with psychotherapy. Eigen's evident debt to Jung is acknowledged in the final chapter, when in an interview with Anthony Molino he discusses influences on his work. As a young man he read Jung before he read Freud.
The provocative title at once raises questions: what does ‘mystic’ mean for Eigen? How can there be discussion, exchange of thought, understanding of mystical experience? He begins by acknowledging the psychoanalytic position: ‘Psychoanalysis, unlike mysticism, does not claim direct contact with reality’ (p. 15). Exploration of mysticism, this ‘madness that makes life worthwhile’ (p. 14) was curtailed because Freud's idea of mysticism diminished it to ‘oceanic feeling’ and this deterred his followers from mapping its rocky shoals. He elaborates the theme of mysticism at several levels, interwoven through the book. From the autobiographical perspective, he describes two episodes that have profoundly influenced his life (p. 41; p. 168). Eigen celebrates the colour, intensity and range of human emotionality accessible to those who can open up to it.
Religious experience is another level. Eigen illustrates the power of religious practice to contain extreme experiences, describing how his father lingered unconscious on his deathbed until his Rabbi returned, then peacefully died on hearing him chant the priestly blessing. He goes on to consider the inhuman emotional demands of a love of God that is fully lived (in a manner reminiscent of Jung's ‘Answer to Job’), discussing Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. He talks of the mysticism of observing one's own changing states (for example, in meditation) and th