In recent months, in my own reading and clinical practice, I have been exploring Eastern and Western approaches to fate, destiny and the impact of trauma on selfhood and psychological capacity. Buddhist psychology and a range of psychoanalytic perspectives conceptualize somewhat overlapping yet somewhat incongruous frameworks for how, and under what conditions, ordinary and extraordinary forms of trauma may be metabolized psychically and spiritually. What is determined, or, rather, pre-determined in the trajectory of one's life, and the moral correlates of what unfolds, are important components of this emerging dialogue on trauma.
Below are four presentations on these issues that I hope you will enjoy:
(1)
In this YouTube video, Mark Epstein offers a compelling talk at the University of Chicago on how historical and contemporary notions of trauma are characterized by the Buddhist and psychoanalytic visions.
(2) Rotating around the theme of disappointment, Robert Unger offers a personal account of his own exploration of one point of comparison between psychoanalysis and Buddhism.
(3) In this audio/podcast, Miles Neale explores how Karma influences self, identity, and meaning-making.
(4) A psychoanalytic thinker approaches the notion of Karma.
