An Ordinary Ecstasy

A new collection of stories by the award-winning author of An Elegant Young Man and Intimate Antipathies. The seven stories that make up An Ordinary Ecstasy explore the lives of people whose days are awash with enigma, wonder, and epiphany: a musician who rides the winding railway up into the mountains at dusk, the lost retiree who walks the streets of his suburb at dawn, the new lovers who take to their balcony to watch surfers make their incisions in the surging waves. There are middle-aged men in need of connection, journalists who dream of wild fancies while smiling and nodding through the drudgery of interviews, young couples whose losses are raw, and pass the time in ten-pin bowling. Carman’s new collection is founded on a principle observed by the novelist Joseph Conrad: ‘There is not a place of splendour or a dark corner of the earth that does not deserve, if only in passing, a glance of wonder.’ In stories of desire, grief, and exaltation, the collection reflects, as its title suggests, on life at its most ordinarily ecstatic — life, in other words, such as it is. Praise for Luke Carman: ‘Carman’s writing is characterised by verbal inventiveness, sitting somewhere between swagger and sincerity…street poetry for contemporary Australia.’ — Sydney Morning Herald ‘Brings a vast suburban emptiness to brilliant life.’ — The Australian

Humanistic Psychology ranges far and wide into education, management, gender issues and many other fields. Ordinary Ecstasy, first published in 1976, is widely regarded as one of the most important books on the subject. Although this new edition still contains much of the original material, it has been completely rethought in the light of postmodern ideas, with more emphasis on the paradoxes within humanistic psychology, and takes into account changes in many different areas, with a greatly extended bibliography. Ordinary Ecstasy is written not only for students and professionals involved in humanistic psychology - anyone who works with people in any way will find it valuable and interesting.

Humanistic Psychology ranges far and wide into education, management, gender issues and many other fields. Ordinary Ecstasy, first published in 1976, is widely regarded as one of the most important books on the subject. Although this new edition still contains much of the original material, it has been completely rethought in the light of postmodern ideas, with more emphasis on the paradoxes within humanistic psychology, and takes into account changes in many different areas, with a greatly extended bibliography. Ordinary Ecstasy is written not only for students and professionals involved in humanistic psychology - anyone who works with people in any way will find it valuable and interesting.

Humanistic Psychology ranges far and wide into education, management, gender issues and many other fields. Ordinary Ecstasy, first published in 1976, is widely regarded as one of the most important books on the subject. Although this new edition still contains much of the original material, it has been completely rethought in the light of postmodern ideas, with more emphasis on the paradoxes within humanistic psychology, and takes into account changes in many different areas, with a greatly extended bibliography. Ordinary Ecstasy is written not only for students and professionals involved in humanistic psychology - anyone who works with people in any way will find it valuable and interesting.

Ram Das Baba, as his devotees call him, is the son of a devout Brahmin family. He spends a lifetime seeking spiritual knowledge and his journey is filled with illuminating visions, severe tribulations, and an unwavering faith. His destiny as a highly evolved Sadhu is fulfilled through ordeals of monastic bliss, tantric awakening, madness, and transexuality. But as his life nears its end he meets a young man who belongs to a very different India and a profound relationship develops.

This book about ecstacy users' lives is based on one of the biggest government-funded projects ever undertaken and gives voice to the chemical generation for the first time. In the UK, where the study was conducted, over fifty per cent of young people use drugs, a quarter of them regularly. The people in this book are ordinary, decent, family-loving people, with normal lives, normal problems and normal aspirations. Through their own words we hear how they first started using ecstasy, how they use it in different ways, why clubbing and raving are so important, how good sex is on ecstasy, how they chill out, how they come down, what problems they encountered and why they quit. This path-breaking book ends by trying to answer the questions on the lips of every member of the chemical generation: what are the long-term effects of ecstasy? Because we can't answer them, the authors claim, we are failing in our duty to our children: telling them not to take ecstasy is alienating and pointless.