Mark Epstein is a practicing psychiatrist in New York city. He is also an experienced meditator who advocates for the value of meditation in psychotherapy. Likely due to his background with Buddhism he has had his share of Buddhist patients\/clients and this perhaps peaked his interest in the nature of one\u2019s relationship to desire (his Buddhist patients were struggling to \u2018rise above\u2019 their wants and desires). The Buddha\u2019s four noble truths seek to elucidate understanding of the nature of suffering. The first truth is often translated as \u2018life is suffering\u2019, with the root of suffering often seen as resting with our relationship to our desires. Negate desire–end suffering. Epstein\u2019s delves a bit deeper into Buddhist thought and explains that the Buddha likely meant that the human experience of \u2018pervasive dissatisfaction\u2019 in relation to desire is what causes suffering. According to Epstein, Freud called this the \u2018unbridgeable gap\u2019 between our desires and satisfaction. From this premise Epstein advocates \u2018opening to desire\u2019 as a key to deepening intimacy and understanding of one\u2019s self and in our intimate relationships. He includes bits from his interactions with his patients. It\u2019s a good read. Other books by Epstein are Thoughts without a Thinker<\/i>, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart<\/i>, and Going on Being<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mark Epstein is a practicing psychiatrist in New York city. He is also an experienced meditator who advocates for the value of meditation in psychotherapy. Likely due to his background with Buddhism he has had his share of Buddhist patients\/clients and this perhaps peaked his interest in the nature of one\u2019s relationship to desire (his … <\/p>\n