Healing Civilization
Bringing Personal Transformation into the Societal Realm
through Education and the Integration
of the Intra-Psychic Family
By Claudio Naranjo, MD
HEALING CIVILIZATION
BRINGING PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION INTO THE SOCIETAL REALM
through education and the integration of the intra-psychic family
CLAUDIO NARANJO, MD
foreword by Jean Houston
Gandhi was once asked: “What do you think of Western Civilization?”
He replied: “I think it is a very good idea.”
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In this ground-breaking book,
the noted Chilean psychiatrist and consciousness pioneer Dr. Claudio Naranjo applies over 30 years of transformational work with individuals and groups to the societal realm,
giving us the inspiration and intra-psychic tools to heal the world from the inside out.
because healing civilization
is an inside job.
(But where do we begin?
And how do we know this approach actually works?)
Because the solution
lies in us.
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TRANSFORM YOURSELF,
TRANSFORM THE WORLD
Read the book now.
Print book: $19.95 USD
E-book: $7.99 USD
A BOLD NEW VISION
for PERSONAL and SOCIETAL TRANSFORMATION
What if our most pressing global problems —
environmental destruction,
violence,
inequality,
social division
spiritual emptiness . . .
— all stem from a common source?
With the precise insight of a spiritual physician, the author — one of our most revered leaders in the field of consciousness — identifies the symptoms of our collective illness that threaten the very fabric of our civilization.
This book offers profound insights into both our collective and individual healing. Dr. Naranjo gives us more than the alarming symptoms. He also provides a diagnosis — and a cure.
Bringing about societal mental health through balance among the “three loves” to overcome the inner dissociation between thinking (the head), feeling (the heart), and doing (the instincts in the belly).
the problem:
Our world is coming apart at the seams.
Environmental destruction. Rampant inequality. Political corruption. Spiritual emptiness.
We're told these are separate issues requiring separate solutions. But what if they all stem from a single underlying cause?
In this revolutionary book, visionary psychiatrist Dr. Claudio Naranjo exposes the hidden root of our global crisis — a psychological imbalance thousands of years in the making that has warped both our individual psyches and our collective society.
"An explorer of the outer reaches of inner space, Naranjo's depth soundings of the wells of history and civilization resound with the echo of one who hears the pathology while seeking the song of the new mythos of who we are, where we have been, and what we yet can be. In Healing Civilization, Claudio Naranjo gives us back our once-and-future birthright…. In such seeing, there is the coincidence of opposites, the cessation of contendings, the seeing of all forms in one form, and yes, the resolution and bringing of new light to the long dark night of civilization.”
—Dr. Jean Houston, author, The Possible Human; A Passion for the Possible; A Mythic Life. Program Director, United Nations, International Institute for Social Artistry
“This is a grand theory of Civilization with capital c, denounced as a pathological carrier of patriarchy, with inspiration from a matriarchal past 6,000 years ago or so and promise of a more balanced future. Naranjo works very creatively with the universal Father-Man/Mother-Woman/Son-Daughter-Child triangle and three loves: the agape of the mother, the eros of the child, and father-male love of ideals-ideas. The last one has led to a catastrophic, pathogenic imbalance, with care and love removed.
“The therapy is to restore mental health: balance among the three loves, to overcome the inner dissociation between thinking, feeling, and doing. This focus on a common factor is a very important factor in the deep culture of civilizations, and a fine way of building the major correlation in violence studies—with gender—into peace studies. Thank you, Claudio!”
— Johan Galtung, Professor of Peace Studies, Director of Transcend, Recipient of the 1987 Right Livelihood Award (the “Alternative Nobel Prize”)
"Claudio Naranjo is at the forefront of those working to transform the world. For anyone wanting to make a difference for the better, Healing Civilization is a must-read!” — Michael Toms, New Dimensions Radio
THE DIAGNOSIS and ROOT CAUSE:
"tHE GREAT PROBLEM OF CIVILIZATION
IS NONE OTHER THAN CIVILIZATION ITSELF!”
Not civilization as it could be, but civilization as we've created it: patriarchal, dominating, and fundamentally out of balance.
The root of the problem is patriarchy — a condition that is deeper, wider, and closer to home than we realize. For patriarchy thrives not only in the outer world, but also within the workings of our own conditioned minds. A virus masquerading as ourselves, it is killing life on the planet — and within us.
This isn't just about male dominance over females. It's about the dominance of one aspect of our full humanity over the others — a mindset that values competition over cooperation, aggression over empathy, and exploitation over cultivation. This mindset has created a fractured inner landscape that manifests as our fractured outer world — a psychological imbalance that has dominated civilization for thousands of years.
THE REMEDY:
Heal yourself to heal civilization.
Dr. Naranjo's solution is both profound and practical. The remedy is simply this: that we recognize and integrate the severe imbalance present in our own “intra-psychic Family.” This inner “family” shows up as the three centers in each of us: the head, the heart, and the instincts (belly center):
The Father = the Head: Intellect, reason, principles. Our capacity for reason, discernment, and principled action. (Form of love: philia)
The Mother = the Heart: Empathy, compassion, relationship. Our capacity for empathy, nurturing, and relationship. (Form of love: agape)
The Child = the Belly: Instinct, spontaneity, pleasure. Our capacity for spontaneity, joy, and authentic self-expression. (Form of love: eros)
As we each integrate our three centers (or "three brains"), we will bring our “intra-psychic family” into balance, and transform society from its current highly imbalanced state toward a more harmonious future of true civilization.
THE PROGNOSIS:
Despite our current critical condition (which actually goes back about 6,000 years), there is reason for genuine hope — not from wishful thinking, but from the concrete evidence shown by the transformation of personal consciousness that the author helped make possible throughout his renowned career. His enduring legacy offers us both challenge and inspiration at humanity's most crucial juncture.
Because healing civilization is an inside job,
and the future of civilization lies in our own hands.
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Listen to an audio excerpt
from Chapter 5 of Healing Civilization.
Naomi Rose, who edited and published the book, introduces this chapter by saying:
“Dr. Naranjo is a brilliant thinker, and quite eloquent, although he is not a native English speaker. As we bring the three centers of what he calls the ‘intra-psychic family’ within our being into integration, we become aligned, we change, our presence in our own lives becomes strong and real, and our presence in the world — no matter what activity we may or may not do — changes the world from the inside out. If you care about making the world a better place, this is a wonderful way to begin.
“Chapter 5 begins with an opening quote from Willis Harmon: ‘Throughout history, the really fundamental changes in societies have come about not through the dictates of government and the results of battles, but through vast numbers of people changing their minds, sometimes only a little bit.’”
To hear this excerpt from the book and see what it means for your mind, click below:
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Transform Yourself, Transform the World
Read the book now.
Print: $19.95 USD
E-Book: $7.99 USD
About the Author
Dr. Claudio Naranjo was a renowned Chilean psychiatrist, writer, teacher, and internationally sought-after public speaker.
A pioneer in integrating psychotherapy and spiritual traditions — including introducing the Enneagram of Personality to the West —
he dedicated his life to helping others in their quest for transformation and to influencing educational reform on a worldwide scale.
Claudio Naranjo, MD
Naranjo's extraordinary background includes:
Pioneer in psychedelic therapy and consciousness research
Successor to Fritz Perls at Esalen Institute
Developer of the Psychology of Enneatypes
Founder of the SAT Institute for personal transformation
In his latter years, Dr. Naranjo dedicated his life to aiding others in their quest for transformation and seeking to influence the public and the authorities with the idea that only a radical transformation of education can change the catastrophic course of history.
Healing Civilization is not just another critique of modern society.
It's a profound journey into what makes us human
and how we can reclaim our full humanity.
More Acclaim for Healing Civilization:
"A courageous call by an innovative scholar and successful practitioner in nurturing human potential. This book builds on Claudio Naranjo's earlier works analyzing how human societies suppress individual creativity and potential through their child-rearing and educational practices. Dr. Naranjo points to the pervasive patriarchal structures and mindsets inherited from our distant past — but not inherent in humans. . . . I welcome the debate that will be engendered by Healing Civilization, as it may help us devise paths toward development and fostering fully-alive, compassionate, empathetic human beings who can evolve toward Planetary Citizenship."
— Hazel Henderson, author, Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy; Planetary Citizenship: Your Values, Beliefs and Actions Can Shape a Sustainable World
“Dr. Naranjo’s analysis is brilliant, enlightening, and easy to catch. His integral vision of ‘three-brained beings’ (thinking, feeling, and doing) offers a profound vision for education in our time.”
— Prof. Dr. Heinrich Dauber, Former Head, Center for Teacher Education, University of Kassel, Germany
“The great critics of modernity and patriarchy, from Toynbee to Adorno or Foucault, have seldom been able to offer a realistic vision of civilizational alternatives. Claudio Naranjo´s historical anthropology does exactly that. Putting forward the idea that the patriarchal society evolved as a pathological response of humans, as a result of very traumatic conditions in the past, that is no longer functional, Naranjo proposes a socio-therapy of ‘the patriarchal mind.’ This could only come through an alternative education for the personal and social evolution of humans by balancing and transforming them as ‘three brained beings,’ starting with the education of the educators themselves. Naranjo’s ‘culturatry’ is a significant contribution towards a science of civilizational healing – and towards a ‘politics of civilization’ envisioned by the French philosopher Edgar Morin.”
— Wilfried Graf, Co-Director, Institute for Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding, Vienna, Austria
"This book is for a broad-minded audience that is seeking answers for our present crises. I doubt Mr. Naranjo would claim he has all the answers, however I am sure that he has the hope that some of the questions he is asking will point us in a healthier direction."
—Trevor Neal
“No one who takes Education to heart should miss this work by one who echoes Dewey’s conviction that ‘if our education is to have meaning for our lives, it should undergo a complete transformation,’ and ends his book by stating that ‘our future is a race between the transformation of Education and catastrophe.’”
— Pedro Carlos García Arango, Former Vice-President, Council of Rectors of Private Universities
“Once again, Claudio Naranjo brings his unique blend of tradition and freshness to bear on the problems and the possibilities of the modern world. His call for an education of love is not only an inspiring ideal, but it finds its practical reality in his now famous SAT curriculum. This inspiring book shows that the transformative education of teachers is the fundamental key to a more humane world. Teachers must not only know love, but be loving. They cannot simply talk about peace, but they must do so peacefully.”
— John J. Hanagan, Ph.D. Professor of Comparative Philosophy and Religion, Kansai Gaidai University, Osaka, Japan
READY TO HELP HEAL CIVILIZATION
by Reading (& Integrating) the Book?
Healing society to bring about a true civilization starts with a personal healing journey.
Read Dr. Naranjo’s book HEALING CIVILIZATION and reflect on its wisdom for your own life.
You then will naturally be a presence and force to help heal the world from the inside out.
Print book: $19.95 USD
E-book: $7.99 USD
Browse the complete
"Books to Bring You Home to Yourself" collection
HEALING CIVILIZATION is part of the Rose Press series, “Healing the World from the Inside Out.”
You’ll also find helpful writing resources, writing meditations, and curated healing resources (think flower essences for writers) to support your creative journey. See the “Hidden Treasures” just below.