The Alchemy of Addiction

Carl Jung, the Enneagram, and Contemplative Wisdom Traditions

Stephen J. Costello

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• Topic: Psychology
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040091388
• Subtopic: Jungian Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Within this important book, Stephen J. Costello draws on Eastern philosophy, Western psychology, and wisdom traditions to offer an interpretation and answer to the multidimensional problem of addiction.

The nature of pleasure, pain, and attachment are discussed, together with stress as a key source of our suffering. Justifying and grounding the work is C. G. Jung's central insight that the solution to our disordered desires lies in cultivating a spiritual approach to life. As such, a detailed exploration of the Twelve Steps of recovery is elucidated from the threefold perspective of the philosophy of Advaita, the Enneagram system, and the Christian contemplations of Richard Rohr, John Main, and Thomas Keating, as well as St Ignatius of Loyola. The work concludes with a brief look at Platonic ethics, especially the virtue of temperance, St Benedict's spirituality of humility, and the law of dharma as a blueprint for purposeful non-addicted living.

This book will appeal to a wide variety of readers such as mental health professionals in the counselling and psychotherapy professions, as well as students of depth psychology and philosophy.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Endorsement Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Aspects of Addiction
• Chapter 2 Signs of Stress
• Chapter 3 Spiritual Symbols
• Chapter 4 Carl Jung and Alcoholics Anonymous
• Chapter 5 The Philosophy of Advaita
• Chapter 6 The Twelve Steps of Recovery
• Chapter 7 The Hero’s Journey
• Chapter 8 Methods of Meditation
• Chapter 9 Enneagram Applications
• Chapter 10 An Ignatian Interlude
• Chapter 11 Platonic Ethics, St. Benedict, and the Law of Dharma
• Postscript
• Bibliography
• Index