The Inner Palace
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This web site is to give information on the book by Mitchell D. Ginsberg, The Inner Palace: Mirrors of Psychospirituality in Divine and Sacred Wisdom-Traditions. This book discusses the experiential processes (the phenomenology) and the core psychological issues of spiritual traditions — with a focus on the processes of psychospiritual transformation.
I would at this time like to announce the Fifth Edition of the book
(2008) :
The covers are the same as for the second (2003), third (2004), and fourth edition (2006), while the contents differ in numerous places, with a more complete index. The book's contents differ from edition to edition in more significant ways. The Inner Palace is sold as a two-volume set.
In this fifth edition, the book's first volume (lxxiv + 318 pp.) contains the introductory sections and the 20 chapters of the text; its second volume (475 pp.) contains the notes to the book, the bibliography, and a comprehensive index. The earlier editions' volumes were slightly shorter: the fourth edition had lxxiv + 318 pp., and 471 pp., the third edition had lxxiv + 318 pp., and 462 pp., the second edition had lxiii + 318 pp., and 446 pp., and the first edition had lxx + 318 pp., and 428 pp., respectively. In pdf page-counting, the fifth edition consists of 400 and 484 pdf pages, while there were 400 and 480 pdf pages, respectively, in the fourth edition; 400 and 472 pdf pages, in the third edition; and 400 and 456 pdf pages in the second edition. The first edition consisted of 396 and 436 pdf pages.
The book's two volumes
— together, lxxiv + 793 pp. (in this fifth edition) —
form an integrated whole.
Literary (non-virtual) Hypertext: This use of two volumes will allow convenient reading of text along with the relevant notes, with the two volumes opened to corresponding passages. This dual screen (to use a computer system metaphor) is a linking of two complementary presentations of the issues being discussed, and in this way, the book stands on the two solid legs of text and further considerations in the notes section (my apologies to those who hate shifting images in mid-stream or in mid-sentence, anyway). These Notes include not only sources (for quotations given), but also provide explanations of some of the points being made in the text, giving a fuller and more well-rounded appreciation of the topics being considered. In some chapters, the discussion in the notes is quite central to getting a sense of the power of the issues in question, and of their application to the phenomenological (experiential) dimension of these teachings. The index will allow easier locating of passages relevant to any given topic, tradition, or teacher, in both the text and the complementary notes.
Those interested in The Far Shore (1980, 1996, 2001, with an updated edition to be published in 2009) and The Inner Palace (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008) may find more on these (including some selections) at the Books index listing these, while those interested in tantra may find more at the Tantra index.
And, at
sites
(for The Inner Palace in particular): For an overview of the book, see
Blue Dolphin Publishing: The Inner Palace. For reviews of the book, see Sketch and Reviews of The Inner Palace by Mitchell Ginsberg. For the publisher's presentation and full listings, see the Home Page of Blue Dolphin Publishing. For this fifth edition, a separate folder is available: The Inner Palace, fifth edition.
The ISBN (International Standard Book Number — book identification numbers)
for each set is ISBN 1-57733-137-0 (hardcover set) and ISBN 1-57733-136-2 (paperback set).
The Inner Palace is an investigation into the experiential basis of those transformative moments in the lives of some very particular individuals, to determine what their experiences were that inspired them not only to a new way of being in the world, but also to bother expressing themselves and attempting to share their visions with other people. In this way, the work is a phenomenological investigation into psycho-spiritual experience and transformation, as taught by various of the world's great spiritual traditions and the traditions that followed them.
The Inner Palace investigates Wisdom Traditions from around the world and the sacred realities they reveal. These include teachings with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Taoist roots. Its discussions are grounded in primary sources from these traditions, with support from some 1500 books. These rich teachings are presented gradually, in a conversational tone, invoking a sense of intimacy and personal warmth, and gently encouraging inner reflection. The Inner Palace takes us into the underlying experiences that sages of these traditions have invited us to contemplate. There are valuable tools here for describing spiritual paths and mystical experiences, placing them in the context of a more inclusive vision that reflects some of the highest aspirations and heart-felt insights of mankind. A work interweaving philosophy, the phenomenology of religion, the history of ideas, the psychology of spirituality, and transpersonal psychotherapy, it is a treasury of resources for teachers and students and for scholars and spiritual seekers alike.
For various brief comments and opinions about the book, see
Reviews of The Inner Palace. Also interesting might be the Table of Contents, either as an HTML file or in pdf formatting.
For comparing costs for these (or other) texts — please be sure to notice which edition of any title is being quoted !! —, here are some sites
(arranged alphabetically) that I have found useful, at which you can do a search for title or author:
AddAll dot com,
Alibris dot com,
Amazon dot com,
Barnes & Noble dot com,
Buy dot com,
FetchBook dot info,
Overstock dot com.
If you order any books through these sites, please confirm both on ordering and upon receiving the books that you have been sent the edition you were interested in. I know from experience that some of these sources for books are quite helpful in exchanging incorrectly filled orders. (This is no guarantee of civility, of course, so: caveat emptor, as they say.)
Please come back soon and visit my Home Page and linked pages, as I will updating and adding to them as time permits.
Links to selections from The Far Shore
Sketch and Reviews of the book The Far Shore
The flower
We want not to see
Spiritual Development
More to be added.... visit when inspired.
email:
jinavamsa@yahoo.com
C 2008
