AWAKENING IN TIME

Small is a former addictions therapist now practicing ``transpersonal psychology,'' a New Age psychotherapeutic approach that combines a cornucopia of ideas and techniques. Here, with all due respect to the codependency and addiction theorists, she asserts that they have not gone far enough: They have labeled the problem, she says, but failed to offer a way to get beyond it, thereby instilling a sense of helplessness, shame, and defensiveness in some of their adherents. Small's aim is to outline a program of self-realization, beginning with the idea that codependency—giving away one's power to a person, an addictive substance, an organization, whatever—is not a shameful feeling but an impulse, however misguided, to ascend to a higher reality, an important first step in learning how to live and love authentically. Using the ancient theory of seven chakras, or energy centers, ascending the spine and influencing spiritual and psychological development, she explores the characteristics of each chakra, its developmental stage, its potentials for growth, its imbalanced codependent manifestations. Small offers a four-point plan for spiritually healthy living, composed of meditation, inner work (exploration of issues holding one back), study, and service (finding one's place in the world). Guided imagery exercises offer the reader the way to practice what Small calls ``heartwork,'' rather than simply processing these ideas through the mind. Many will find Small's contribution to the literature of ``new paradigm'' psychology compassionate, provocative, practicable, and refreshingly unpretentious.