Lawrence LeShan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawrence Leshan (b. 1920) is a psychologist, educator and the author of the best-selling How to Meditate (1974), one of the first practical guides to meditation. He has authored or co-authored approximately 75 articles in the professional literature and thirteen books on a diverse range of topics including psychotherapy, war, cancer treatment, and mysticism. He has also written science fiction under the pseudonym Edward Grendon.
Leshan holds a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Chicago and has taught at Pace College, Roosevelt University, and the New School for Social Research. He worked as a clinical and research psychologist for more than 50 years, including six years as a psychologist in the U.S. Army.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Leshan conducted extensive research in the controversial field of parapsychology. In books The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist and Alternate Realities, Leshan investigated similarities between quantum mechanics and mystical thought. In World of the Paranormal: The Next Frontier, Leshan advanced these ideas further, claiming that psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition can be explained using quantum theory. While shared by many in the New Age movement, Leshan's ideas have been criticized by skeptics as "quantum pseudo-mysticism."
In the 1980s, Leshan's focus shifted to the psychotherapy of cancer support, a field in which he is considered a pioneer. LeShan lives in New York City.
LeShan was married to the late Eda LeShan, who was also a writer.
[edit] Select Bibliography
- Beyond Technique: Psychotherapy for the 21st Century
- The Dilemma of Psychology: A Psychologist Looks at His Troubled Profession
- Cancer As a Turning Point: A Handbook for People with Cancer, Their Families, and Health Professionals
- You Can Fight For Your Life: Emotional Factors in the Treatment of Cancer
- The Psychology of War: Comprehending Its Mystique and Its Madness
- How to Meditate: A Guide to Self-Discovery
- The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist: Toward a General Theory of the Paranormal
- World of the Paranormal: The Next Frontier
- Alternate Realities: The Search for the Full Human Being
