The Inner Palace speaks to the richness of human experience, and it expresses itself in a passion for sharing and teaching, both in the many authors that Mitchell quotes and in his own impressive performance. He offers us a wealth of material filled with divine light-giving, the sacred clothed in words, concepts as metaphors of holiness, "Unspeakable Source of Awe." The book is mercifully undogmatic, despite its theme which has often become the most "dogmatic" of subjects. Robert C. Solomon, Ph.D., Quincy Lee Centennial Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin. Author of Spirituality for the Skeptic.

The Inner Palace has been written with love and scholarly knowledge, a rare combination these days. It is true that the gates to our own inner palace are as innumerable as there are people. Love and knowledge can, however, be counted as its main keys. A fascinating book! Mohammed Siraj, Member of the Gudri Shahi Sufi Order and Moderator of the Chishtiyya Sufi on-line Discussion Group.

Ginsberg leads his reader on a rich and engaging tour through the treasure troves of Buddhist literature, as seen through a mind that has also benefited from Kabbalistic writings, Sufi and Christian mystical treatises and poetry, Taoist literature, and Western philosophy and psychotherapy. Richard P. Hayes, Prof. of Buddhist Studies, McGill University, Montreal. Author of Dignaga on the Interpretation of Signs and Land of No Buddha.

A wonderful book, a precious gift to those interested in the spiritual teachings and practices of humankind - to academics and scholars, to seekers of inner peace and profound religious insights. A multi-dimensional vision of mystical experiences, psychospiritual practices, philosophical systems, and poetical images from the cultures of Far Eastern Chan/Zen and Buddhism, Vedanta, Kabbalah, Christian, and Sufi teachings. An Indra's net of gems offering inter-reflections of the inner palace of the soul of humankind, of our innermost being. Evgeny A. Torchinov, Head of the Dept. of Oriental Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, St. Petersburg State Univ., Russia. Author of Religions of the World and Daoism.

The Inner Palace, most fitting successor to William James' classic work, Varieties of Religious Experience is, like Varieties, a phenomenology: Faithful to the objective contours of the religious scriptures and wisdom literatures which it draws upon, as a study it focuses on the personal experience of the follower of each such tradition. The scope of this book is breathtaking, its depth of insight into each tradition awesome, and its link to contemporary literature on consciousness impressive and gratifying. Like Varieties, it is sure to become a foundational work for scholars and students in many disciplines - religion, philosophy, psychology, and the history of culture. Maurice Friedman, Professor of Religious Studies, San Diego State Univ. Author of A Heart of Wisdom: Religion and Human Wholeness and Encounter on the Narrow Ridge: A Life of Martin Buber.

Because I am convinced that the profanely secular bias of our modern technocratic world has been a factor in our collective problems, I think that it is important that the voice of the wise of all lands be heard and that, rising above sectarianism, we listen to their chorus. Nobody can educate us so well in what the spiritual traditions have in common as one who, beyond extensive learning, has traveled far and wide, and Mitchell Ginsberg, a learned scholar and a seasoned seeker, has created for us out of exquisitely chosen gems a trans-systemic mystic mosaic of rare value. Claudio Naranjo, M.D., Psychiatrist, Prof. of Psychology (U. of Cal., Santa Cruz) and Comparative Religion (Cal. Institute of Integral Studies); pioneer in the Human Potential Movement; founder of SAT (an integrative psycho-spiritual school); now devoted to working with educators in Europe, Latin America, & Australia toward a post-patriarchal education. Author of 12 books, the most recent of which are The Enneagram of Society, The Way of Silence and the Talking Cure, and Songs of Enlightenment.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Robert C. Solomon, Ph.D.
Overture (First Taste)
Introduction
Scholarly Prelude (Preface)
About the Author
Coda (To the Reader)
Encore (for the Fifth Edition)

I: Spiritual Gates and Paths
II: Gnostics, Mystics, Accountants, and Surfers
III: What is the Mind?
IV: Higher Consciousness
V: Ego Consciousness, Enlightenment Consciousness
VI: Yearning, Confusion, and the Fulcrum of Consciousness
VII: This Matter of Self-Importance
VIII: The Taste of the Divine
IX: How to Take the First Steps
X: Mood, Thought, and Beyond
XI: Mundane Madness, Crazy Wisdom
XII: The Gradual and the Sudden
XIII: Right Saintly Thinking
XIV: Thought Qualities
XV: No Mind for Stillpoint Wisdom
XVI: No Mind with Thoughts
XVII: The Space of Emptiness
XVIII: Sacred Emptiness
XIX: The Tao
XX: Polysociative Vision

VOLUME 2:
Variations and Modulations (Endnotes)
Scores and Parts (Bibliography)
Themes and Melodies (Index)

Excerpt

This work is an investigation into various teachings from around the world known as Wisdom Traditions, teachings which attempt to describe and to explain to us what it is that is divine, sacred, or holy. These include the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Taoist traditions (just to list some of these in alphabetical order). It is meant as a contribution to the appreciation of variations and transformations that appear in these traditions and of the overlapping of issues that are typically of concern to them.

In particular, it is an investigation into the phenomenological basis - the basis in experience - of these various traditions. It considers in various lights or perspectives, that is, the relationship between these spiritual teachings and experience (the "psychological"). We might thus identify this relationship as the realm of the psychospiritual. These features are pointed to in the book's subtitle: Mirrors of Psychospirituality in Divine and Sacred Wisdom-Traditions.

To explore these teachings, The Inner Palace approaches them with a respect for primary ("source" or "root") texts and for the interpretation of these in a way that is relevant to personal experience. To do this, it makes use of an extensive sampling of original teachings in a variety of languages (always given in English, and where possible and relevant, in the original languages).

We may notice that there are a number of issues which keep recurring in spiritual discussions and which can be approached and appreciated from a variety of perspectives and orientations. These include questions about the nature of the divine or holy dimensions of reality, as mentioned just above.

The various answers given to these questions lead to our curiosity about (1) the relation of these dimensions to human beings, about (2) the related experiences that have inspired great teachers and that might similarly inspire us, and about (3) the shifts in consciousness and in an appreciation of Reality that these wisdom teachings are attempting to illuminate for us.

We also find in these teachings a pervasive interest in the nature of our thinking, our beliefs, and our ethical and moral standards, and in the roles these might play in our shifting to an expansive, clear and calm, caring and vibrant consciousness. This sort of shift might be described as one of personal psychospiritual transformation.

This work seeks to see through the various frameworks and the many metaphors used to attempt to capture these visions, these insights - ultimately to see what these teachings are pointing us to in possible experience, in possible appreciation of the world, in order to clarify how we might integrate these teachings into our own lives (and to experience what has been called a METAPHYSICAL or trans-framework consciousness).

For those who have some familiarity with one spiritual practice or another, this work can serve to give a perspective on the experience of carrying out that practice, to place into a more inclusive context its orientation as well as its processes and basic shifts through time (its evolution or serendipity), and to highlight various important issues that typically arise on the spiritual path. From this perspective, this book looks specifically at common, core issues addressed on spiritual paths, and demonstrates their similar and often complementary foundations. This work will thus be of special interest to individuals who would like to apply the teachings of these wisdom traditions - teachings held by humanity to be expressing some of the highest aspirations and insights that have ever been articulated - in their own personal path.

In addition, as a work interweaving philosophy, psychology, theory of religion, phenomenology, the history of ideas, the psychology of spirituality, spiritually-oriented psychotherapy, and theoretical transpersonal psychology, it will also be of interest to those with special interests in these various domains.

Although there have been a large number of books investigating the history of ideas within one or another wisdom tradition, this work looks widely at what various wisdom traditions have proposed concerning certain central, recurrent spiritual issues. In this way, this work is not attempting to give a presentation of the history of any religious tradition or school in its (possibly-step-by-step) development. It is thus not a text in the history of religion. Nor is it attempting to adjudicate between various textual traditions and their individual metaphors, not attempting to argue for the truth of one set of doctrines or dogmas over against any other. In this way, this is also not a text in what might be called doctrinal apologetics.

Blue Dolphin Publishing, 2008