Brilliant Emotions: Great Agony, Great Promise - True Stories from a Buddhist Psychotherapist

Brilliant Emotions is a useful and practical guide for readers at this most difficult time in civilized society. Every day one can see how negative emotions are at the root of domestic violence, sexual misconduct, and jealousy at home and in the workplace. This book empowers readers to look into themselves for answers bringing forth the brilliant sanity that is their birthright.

There are many Buddhist books describing the poisonous quality of our emotions, the harm they cause to others and ourselves, but it is rare to read a book that also regards those emotions as gateways to wisdom. Rarer still is a book that illustrates exactly how that transformation can take place step by step in today's complex world.

Similarly, there are many books on contemplative psychotherapy, but few that ground that wisdom in colorful human living examples of people who have gone through a process of healing. This result is not found by analyzing past or even current events, but rather by relating directly and compassionately with the energy of emotions as they are experienced in both the mind and the body. In this way, right within our confusion the brilliance and intelligence within each of us can be found.

Brilliant Emotions presents a new approach to working with challenging emotions, particularly:

• Anxiety
• Fixation
• Anger
• Ignorance
• Jealousy
• Arrogance
• Inadequacy

The method of working with these emotions comes from the Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist skillful means called the Four Karmas. Applying these four steps-touch into, explore, befriend, liberate-has proven to be an effective and gentle method for ordinary people to discover their innate sanity without any Buddhist or meditation background required.

The narratives here illustrate this process, showing readers how to transform negative emotions into awakefulness and wisdom. These illustrative stories are drawn from the lived experiences in Cashman's clinical practice, as clients describe their engagement with the four-step method in their everyday lives creating breakthroughs and renewal in their relationships and their abilities to act responsibly.

The text describes how to begin the journey of discovering a deep experience of a particular emotion within oneself, the courage to explore that emotional energy in mind and body, the ability to even welcome it, and finally the transformation of that emotional energy into wisdom. This is progression of opening is at the heart, which students learn in the Buddhist Psychology and Contemplative Psychotherapy Master's program at Naropa University. Brilliant Emotions demonstrates a successful clinical application of the teachings initiated long ago by Tibetan Buddhist master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

Advance Praise:

"A lovely and accessible book with much to offer both health professionals and general readers. It is no small undertaking to translate the Four Karmas of Tibetan Buddhism tantra into a practical and simple "Four-Step Practice" for working with difficult emotions, but Cashman has done it brilliantly."

-Karen Wegela, PhD author of What Really Helps, The Courage to Be Present, and Contemplative Psychotherapy Essentials

"Paul Cashman has given us wonderfully practical ways to work with Trungpa Rinpoche's teachings. I was especially moved by his compassionate voice showing us all how to trust our inherent wisdom."

-David Richo, PhD, author of You Are Not What You Think

"A much-needed contribution to our understanding of emotions and how to work with them. . . Cashman skillfully guides readers in the process of making a relation- ship with the energies of the heart. "

-Susan Chapman, MA, author of The Five Keys to Mindful Communication