Mixing Minds: The Power of Relationship in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism

"We cannot find ourselves, or be ourselves, alone."In the contrasting healing traditions of Buddhism and psychoanalysis, there is a shared belief in the ameliorative impact of interpersonal relationship between designated healers and those seeking wellness. It is for this reason that both traditions, despite widely divergent methodologies, privilege the process of revealing one's inner life to a primary healer. In this book Pilar Jennings examines how these intimate relationships between Buddhist teachers and their students, and psychoanalysts and their patients, evolve and differ, with emphasis on the methods and goals they consciously and unconsciously utilize. Through this comparative examination, Mixing Minds seeks to encourage a growing interest in and respect for healing modalities that are unique to each tradition and healing couple.Through the psychoanalytic theories of Freud, Winnicott, Bion, Kohut, and Horney, alongside the Buddhist sutras and the growing body of literature by Buddhist psychoanalysts, Jennings examines how contemporary Western students steeped in both Eastern and Western traditions may experience relationship to their Buddhist teachers. The reader is asked to consider how such students may bring culturally specific psychological content to their Buddhist teachers. The exploration delves into the experiences of the increasing number of Western Buddhists who wish to examine their spiritual lives and relationships to Buddhist mentors in their psychoanalytic treatment. Mixing Minds analyzes and explains the boundaries of each tradition, so that practitioners and healers may consciously pursue their wish for healing with increased sensitivity to the limitations of any given healing system and relationship. It calls for an augmented curiosity for the methods through which healing transpires in the contrasting yet mutually informing worlds of psyche and spirit.As a psychoanalyst and long-term practitioner of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, Pilar Jennings utilizes a subjective method to explore her own relationship to a Buddhist teacher in contrast to her relationship with her own analytic patients and analytic process. Mixing Minds invites readers into these intimate relationships as a means of exploring how they facilitate the healing people seek in either tradition. At times humorous, but with careful attention to the theoretical foundations in both traditions, this work provides an accessible way to envision Eastern and Western notions of happiness and wellness through personal examples and professional experiences.Mixing Minds explores the interpersonal relationships between psychoanalysts and their patients, and Buddhist teachers and their students. Through the author's own personal journey in both traditions, she sheds light on how these contrasting approaches to wellness affect our most intimate personal connections. These dynamic relationships provide us with keen insight into the emotional ups and downs of our lives—from fear and anxiety to love, compassion, and equanimity. Mixing Minds delves into the most deeply rooted healing relationships of our lives and shows us how they are the key to the mental and emotional well-being.