Description
Book SynopsisThere is a lot of talk about the new paradigm or model of thinking needed for the 21st Century. But what actually is problematic about our current ones? When we look deeply into the underlying structures of our thinking for the past 6,000 years we see one all pervasive form; images of pyramids, of ladders, of vertical power relations frozen in time. This book explores the idea that the paradigm shift needed is essentially about the change from rigid vertical and hierarchical thinking to equalizing rhythmic thinking and being. Equalizing Rhythms are a kind of lay person's 'theory of everything'. This theory can be applied to almost anything from world politics to personal spiritual journeys. It can be seen as a philosophical frame work relevant to a wide range of situations from the bedroom to the office.The book shows us how to tune in to these rhythms in any given moment of time. We learn how to develop our deepest intuition to aid this process. But it also shows us how to work out with reason where equalizing is needed. It also describes ways in which people all over the world are already living in the flow of equalizing rhythms, from the green movement to rave culture.
Trade ReviewFor many years, Jocelyn Chaplin has worked at the cutting edge of therapy, politics and conscious living. In this book, she pulls together all the marvellous ideas and intuitions we have been hearing and experiencing at conferences and workshops. About the serpent as a metaphor for living, the crucial importance of rhythm and dance which are reclaimed for politics by this book, the fundamental linkages of people and nature, the underlying drumbeat of rituals that come alive in the presence of a skilled interpreter such as Chaplin, the placing of these apparently otherworldly matters in a profoundly committed social perspective, and lashings of humour and graceful self-mockery. The book is appropriately presented as something that any reader can benefit from, with sensitive self-study exercises placed at the end of each chapter. In addition, the numerous stories of therapy and the lightly-worn scholarship mean this is a text that academics, therapists, activists and anyone involved with the future of humanity should read, allowing themselves to become inspired by what Chaplin means when she writes of deep equality.Andrew Samuels, Professor of Analytical Psychology, University of Sussex
