Part I THE BASICS

Chapter 1 Spiritual Concepts 13
   Different Schools of Buddhism 13
   Suffering 15
   Self and No-Self 16
   Awakening 18
   Ontology and Materialism 20
   Spiritual Bypassing 21

Chapter 2 Internal Family Systems 23
   The Self 24
   Communicating with Parts 24
   Locating Parts 26
   The Process of Healing 27
   Different Approaches to IFS 28

Chapter 3 Trauma 30
   Types of Trauma 30
   Denial and Minimizing 31
   Trauma as a Societal Phenomenon 32
   Attachment 33
   Dissociation 35
   Boundaries 36

Chapter 4 Spirituality, Parts and Self 38
   Spirituality and Exiled Parts 39
   Compassion Mimics 41
   Self-Compassion and Self-Love 42
   Awakening and Parts 43

Part II WALKING THE PATH

Chapter 5 Meditation 45
   Recommendations vs. Practice 46
   Different Types of Meditation 47

Chapter 6 Metta or Loving-Kindness Meditation 51
   How to Practice Metta 52
   Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation 53
   Troubleshooting Metta 54
   Multi-Player Metta 55

Chapter 7 Jhānas 56
   The Eight Jhānas (and More) 56
   Disagreements About the Jhānas 57
   Concentration vs. Insight Aspects 58
   Benefits and Downsides of the Jhānas 59

Chapter 8 Nonduality 60
   The Inside and Outside of Enlightenment 60
   Experiential Perspectives 61
   Pointing-Outs 62
   Self-Inquiry 63
   Wholeness Process 64
   Other Nondual Practices 64

Chapter 9 The Progress of Insight 66
   Arising and Passing Away 67
   The Dark Night 68
   Equanimity 69
   Cessation 69
   The Four Paths 70
   Implications of the Progress of Insight 71

Chapter 10 Energy and the Chakras 72
   Mapping the Energy Body 72
   The Seven Chakras 73
   Working with Energy 74

Chapter 11 Side Effects of Spiritual Practice 76
   Kundalini Symptoms 77
   “Energy Stuff” 78
   Rumination, Dissociation and Psychosis 79
   Dark Sides of Intended Effects 80
   Peak Experiences 81
   How to Reduce Harm 81

Part III THE HEALING JOURNEY

Chapter 12 Pathways to Healing 84
   Physiology and Healing 84
   The Autonomic Nervous System 86
   Memory Reconsolidation 87
   Felt Sense 88
   Psychedelics and Other Substances 89

Chapter 13 Psychotherapy 91
   Different Types of Therapy 92
   Buddhism, Spirituality and Psychotherapy 93
   The Role of Self-Therapy 94
   Coherence Therapy 95
   EMDR 95

Chapter 14 Hypnosis 96
   Uses of Hypnosis 97
   Hypnosis in Practice 98
   The Legacy of Milton Erickson 99

Chapter 15 Somatic Trauma Work 101
   Interacting with Parts Somatically 102
   Healing with Narratives 103
   Working with Movement, Touch and Energy 104
   A Sample Somatic Session 105

Chapter 16 Bodywork 107
   Alexander Technique 108
   The Feldenkrais Method 109

Chapter 17 Imaginal Practice 111
   Shamanic Traditions 112
   Freeform Journeying 113
   Shared Imaginal Practice 114

Chapter 18 Art as a Gateway 116
   Poetry 117
   Music 118
   Dance 119
   Theater and Improv 120

Part IV PRACTICING IN THE WORLD

Chapter 19 Friends, Lovers and Teachers 122
   Spiritual Friendships 122
   Tor-Mentors 124
   Intimate Relationships 125
   Teachers and Gurus 126

Chapter 20 Shared Practices and Guiding Others 128
   Witnessing and Listening 129
   Lovely, Messy, Peer Work 130
   Qualifications for Guiding and Teaching 131

Chapter 21 The Dark Side of the Sangha 133
   Obsession with Healing 134
   Hierarchy and Control 135
   Dark Triad Behaviors 136
   Oppression or Radical Inclusivity 137
   Ableism and Disabled Dharma 138
   Maintaining a Community as an Act of Love 140

Mandala, or Things That Happen on My Videocalls 142

About the Author 144
Bibliography 145
References 148

Note that the page numbers for this table of contents refer to the PDF version which has an A4 page size. In a more traditional format for print books, the book would measure about 350 pages.