Facing The Dragon

Structured around a series of lectures presented at the Jung Institute of Chicago in a program entitled "Jungian Psychology and Human Spirituality: Liberation from Tribalism in Religious Life," this book-length essay attacks the related problems of human evil, spiritual narcissism, secularism and ritual, and grandiosity. Robert Moore dares to insist that we stop ignoring these issues and provides clear-sighted guidance for where to start and what to expect. Along the way, he pulls together many important threads from recent findings in theology, spirituality, and psychology and brings us to a point where we can conceive of embarking on a corrective course. Traditional doctrinal and historical interpretation both rely heavily on rational analysis. But from the disciples at Emmaus to the beginnings of the present century, it has been the impact of scripture upon the human heart that has changed human lives. In recent decades, this impact has been strengthened by advances in linguistic and literary theory, by such disparate influences as feminism, structuralism, Jungianism, deconstructionism, the analysis of archaic imagery and myth, the recovery of Gnostic texts, and finally an openness to pluralism, whether ethnic, geographic, religious, or interpretive. All of these factors are treated here with a brevity and comprehensiveness which convincingly show that the reader of scripture has a creative and not merely passive role. "If you would understand the deepest roots of terrorism, greed, and religious fanaticism, read Facing the Dragon. But be forewarned: you may find some offshoots in your own garden."-June Singer, Jungian analyst, author of Boundaries of the Soul Robert Moore, Phd was an internationally recognized psychotherapist and consultant in private practice in Chicago. He was considered one of the leading therapists specializing in psychotherapy with men because of his discovery of the Archetypal Dynamics of the Masculine Self (King, Warrior, Magician, Lover). He served as Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Spirituality at the Graduate Center of the Chicago Theological Seminary, and has served as a Training Analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He is Co-founder of the Chicago Center for Integrative Psychotherapy.

The author shares the story of his methamphetamine addiction, suicide attempt, brief experiences of heaven and hell, and the extensive facial reconstruction that has been a part of his new life.

“Paced like a thriller, with comparable doses of international intrigue and conflict, Chris Fenton’s bracingly candid business memoir Feeding the Dragon takes readers deep behind the scenes of Hollywood’s shaky foothold in China. Dealing at the highest levels with Chinese government officials and major American brands like Disney, Marvel, and the NBA, the former Olive Garden waiter-turned-entertainment-industry-power-broker disarmed and defied authorities on both sides of the superpower divide to make billions—and history. Thanks to a brisk, page-turning storytelling style and an evenhanded, insider-level perspective decades in the making, Feeding the Dragon manages to be both timeless and timely. Captivating details on Robert Downey Jr., LeBron James, Kurt Cobain, Michael Phelps, and Marvel Universe creative mastermind Kevin Feige (among others) will enthrall average fans and aspiring moguls alike. But the beating narrative heart remains Fenton’s down-to-earth recounting of a headline-making journey. Ultimately, the intrepid exec builds a compelling case for the power of “cultural diplomacy”: mutually-beneficial, soft power-sharing exchanges as a better way forward than the hardliner battle lines being drawn across Beijing, Washington, and Los Angeles. Teeming with urgent insights about unlikely alliances and dangerous misperceptions, Feeding the Dragon is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of the US-China relationship and the bottom-line realities of show business and professional sports today. Even better, it’s a supremely entertaining ride for anyone who simply loves a great story…. Chris often told me about projects and plans off-the-record that I wouldn’t have reported on anyway, because they all seemed wildly improbable. Every single one came true. And now they’re all down on the page.” —Jamie Bryan, Fast Company contributor

Ming and her family harvest rice at the base of a tall mountain. And if her family could sell the extra rice at market on the other side of the mountain, they could live comfortably. But her father says the dragon on the mountain steals the rice. Ming decides to try on her own to get past the bully dragon. So she packs up her ox and heads to the market. When the dragon tries to stop her, Ming outwits the bully in a clever way and makes it safely to market and back home with the money, proving that a boastful bully is no match for a smart girl.

“Jimmy Hatch is a personal hero of mine.” —Anderson Cooper “Irresistible. . . . A wounded SEAL’s shame becomes a salvation.” —J. Ford Huffman, Military Times James Hatch is a former special ops Navy SEAL senior chief, master naval parachutist, and expert military dog trainer and handler. On his fateful final mission in Afghanistan, his SEAL team was sent to recover Bowe Bergdahl—the soldier who deserted his post and fell into the hands of Al-Qaida and the Taliban. The mission went south, and Hatch was left with a shattered femur from an AK-47 round and the SEAL dog who fought alongside him was dead. As a result of his horrific leg wound, his twenty-four-year military career came to an end—and with it the only life he’d ever known. In Touching the Dragon, we witness his long road to recovery. Getting well physically required eighteen surgeries, twelve months of recovery, and learning to walk again. But getting well mentally would prove to be much tougher, as he fought through the depths of despair, alcoholism, and the pull to end his own life. What emerges is a different kind of hero’s journey, one in which Hatch shows the courage it takes to confess, confront, and overcome his own brokenness. Through the love of family, friends, and his military dogs, Hatch learned remarkable tools and found his purpose, and now he wants to share this wisdom with the rest of us because we all have wounds.

Set in the 1960s, Judy Fong Bates’s much-talked-about debut novel is the story of a young girl, the daughter of a small Ontario town’s solitary Chinese family, whose life is changed over the course of one summer when she learns the burden of secrets. Through Su-Jen’s eyes, the hard life behind the scenes at the Dragon Café unfolds. As Su-Jen’s father works continually for a better future, her mother, a beautiful but embittered woman, settles uneasily into their new life. Su-Jen feels the weight of her mother’s unhappiness as Su-Jen’s life takes her outside the restaurant and far from the customs of the traditional past. When Su-Jen’s half-brother arrives, smouldering under the responsibilities he must bear as the dutiful Chinese son, he forms an alliance with Su-Jen’s mother, one that will have devastating consequences. Written in spare, intimate prose, Midnight at the Dragon Café is a vivid portrait of a childhood divided by two cultures and touched by unfulfilled longings and unspoken secrets.

“Riding the Dragon gives the reader the chance to look for the lessons that are often hidden in our sorrows.”—Goodreads reviewer Twenty years and 70,000 copies after it was first released, Riding the Dragon—by popular author, speaker, and psychologist Robert J. Wicks—continues to help thousands each year to confront the “dragons” of stress, discouragement, burnout, and unexpected change that everyone struggles with in their daily lives. Instead of pretending these difficulties don’t exist or trying to remove them entirely, Wicks offers ten lessons to help us face them, overcome them, and grow from them. These simple yet profound lessons draw on the wisdom of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions as well as Wicks’s experience as a psychologist, and include pairing clarity with kindness, seeking perspective daily, and building a barrier of simplicity. Riding the Dragon is a concise, compassionate, and knowledgeable guide for anyone experiencing or supporting someone facing personal or professional challenges. This twentieth anniversary edition features a new preface from the author, highlighting how Riding the Dragon is, perhaps now more than ever, an indispensable spiritual and psychological companion for all of us who are yearning for our lives to be transformed.

A child gains courage after facing a scary dragon in a dream.