Your Symphony of Selves, James Fadiman
Your Symphony of Selves, James Fadiman
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Your Symphony of Selves
Discover and Understand More of Who We Are

Author: James Fadiman, Jordan Gruber

Narrator: Andy Rick

Unabridged: 14 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/04/2020

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Why you are a different you at different times and how that’s both normal and healthy

• Reveals that each of us is made up of multiple selves, any of which can come to the forefront in different situations

• Offers examples of healthy multiple selves from psychology, neuroscience, pop culture, literature, and ancient cultures and traditions

• Explores how to harmonize our selves and learn to access whichever one is best for a given situation

Offering groundbreaking insight into the dynamic nature of personality, James Fadiman and Jordan Gruber show that each of us is comprised of distinct, autonomous, and inherently valuable “selves.” They also show that honoring each of these selves is a key to improved ways of living, loving, and working.

Explaining that it is normal to have multiple selves, the authors offer insights into why we all are inconsistent at times, allowing us to become more accepting of the different parts of who we and other people are. They explore, through extensive reviews, how the concept of healthy multiple selves has been supported in science, popular culture, spirituality, philosophy, art, literature, and ancient traditions and cite well-known people, including David Bowie and Beyoncé, who describe accessing another self at a pivotal point in their lives to resolve a pressing challenge.

Instead of seeing the existence of many selves as a flaw or pathology, the authors reveal that the healthiest people, mentally and emotionally, are those that have naturally learned to appreciate and work in harmony with their own symphony of selves. They identify “the Single Self Assumption” as the prime reason why the benefits of having multiple selves has been ignored. This assumption holds that we each are or ought to be a single consistent self, yet we all recognize, in reality, that we are different in different situations.

Offering a pragmatic approach, the authors show how you can prepare for situations by shifting to the appropriate self, rather than being “switched” or “triggered” into a sub-optimal part of who you are. They also show how recognizing your selves provides increased access to skills, talent, and creativity; enhanced energy; and improved healing and pain management. Appreciating your diverse selves will give you more empathy toward yourself and others. By harmonizing your symphony of selves, you can learn to be “in the right mind at the right time” more often.

About James Fadiman

James Fadiman, Ph.D., did his undergraduate work at Harvard and his graduate work at Stanford, doing research with the Harvard Group, the West Coast Research Group in Menlo Park, and Ken Kesey. A former president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and a professor of psychology, he teaches at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, which he helped found in 1975. An international conference presenter, workshop leader, management consultant, and author of several books and textbooks, he lives in Menlo Park, California, with his filmmaker wife, Dorothy.

About Jordan Gruber

Jordan Gruber, J.D., writer, collaborative writer, ghost writer, and editor, has forged and sculpted authoritative volumes in forensic law, financial services, and self-development. A graduate of Binghamton University and the University of Virginia School of Law, he founded the Enlightenment.com website and is now a leading advocate of rebound exercise through the SuperBound Project. He lives in Menlo Park, California, with his wife and family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mike

I like the thesis of this book, and hearing the author speak on podcasts has been informative, but the book is badly written. It's extremely repetitive, makes it very difficult to find the one useful tidbit of information amongst the 500 quotes from different people all saying the same things in sli......more

Goodreads review by Cynthia

Mastering Multiplicity for Optimal Living--A Fresh take on an Old Idea Your Symphony of Selves illuminates one of the biggest unspoken and unquestioned assumptions implicit in western human society: each and every one of us consists of a steady, unified, single self. We might occasionally notice wit......more

The main thesis is presented once...and then repeated endlessly in slight variations throughout the book. Still, the ideas and tools presented, even if diluted and covered by fluff, are worth digging for. In short- the book would be great if it was limited to ish fifty pages and written with the mor......more

Goodreads review by Rose

It was, quite simply, a notable concept with poor execution. The order of the book didn’t make sense (outlining the benefits of a concept they haven’t properly explained and and THEN citing examples and explaining it? But why?), and it became boring very quickly. My favorite parts of the book were t......more

Goodreads review by Michael

After hearing James Fadiman interviewed by Sam Harris on his podcast, I knew I had to read this book. Fadiman reviews the history of multiplicity and parts work from Charcot through Freud and Jung to Assagioli, Perls and Ross to contemporary modalities where parts are worked with such as Internal Fa......more


Quotes

“Kudos to the authors for their diligent research, original thinking, and courageous pioneering that changes the foundational assumptions of modern psychology to more closely resemble who we truly are.”

“Rigorous, engaging, and pleasurable to read. I’m ecstatic about their ennobling upgrade in the understanding of what it means to be human.”

“This wonderful book urges us to look at ourselves and our lives in an entirely new way. We are not a single self, the authors teach us, but rather we contain multiple selves, each valuable in its own way. This lovely book will help you understand and embrace who you are and who you could be.”

“This masterful, comprehensive exploration of the diversity within us is both fascinating and useful. With grace and erudition, the authors explore the nooks and crannies of our minds--and in the variety of ‘selves’ they find there is, paradoxically, a profound and healing sense of wholeness and freedom.”

“This book exquisitely explores the age-old and yet seemingly new theme that we are made up of different ‘moving parts.’ Talking to yourself is not just reserved for eccentric people on subways but an inner psychodrama that can lead us toward a more integrated, ‘together,’ symphonic self. Now I can, and will, tell clients: ‘Read this book, and then come back and talk to me!’”

“This insightful book creates a landscape of perspective with profound implications for understanding the psychology of human beings. A must-read for every person interested in self-discovery.”

“A profound, brilliant, and convincing account of the many entities that make up each of us. I hope it will have the success and influence it deserves.”

“Based on what I’ve read in this book, I now more clearly recognize some of my own selves: my scientist self, my personal growth self, my spiritual self, my ‘Am I kind of crazy sometimes?’ self . . .and all of them are getting valuable ideas and practices to become more harmonious. My thanks to Fadiman and Gruber for this remarkable book!”

“A tour de force on the multiple manifestations--scientifically, artistically, religiously, and culturally--of the multiple persons and personalities each one of us inhabits. No matter how skeptical your point of view before you read this book, it will make you think, and you will take it seriously.”

“Astoundingly, my various persona all seem to agree that Fadiman and Gruber have unpacked this complex topic in ways that are factual, insightful, and extremely useful--a must-read for most, if not all, of your selves.”