Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection

The 20th anniversary edition of the best-selling guide to self-reflection. A unique blend of the spiritual and psychological to help you examine your life, renew your relationships, and reshape your future. Drawing on Eastern spiritual and psychological traditions, Naikan is an effective method of self-reflection for cultivating self-awareness, gratitude, empathy, and a path for moving forward in our lives. Naikan began as a spiritual practice in the Buddhist tradition and is now recognized by psychologists as an effective tool for helping people navigate the path of personal relationships, addictions, and other mental health challenges. This edition commemorates the 20th anniversary of this influential work’s first publication. Author Gregg Krech, now after 30+ years of teaching Naikan, shares the depth of his experience with essays, parables, poems, quotations, and recommended reflection exercises, and includes new material on relationships, a 7-day practice program, and an updated appendix for counseling professionals. The unique structure of Naikan illuminates truths that we may otherwise overlook and that can have a dramatic impact on our understanding of life, our relationships, and our daily experience of being alive. More than a philosophy, Naikan is a deep and transformative practice that can open us up to a different understanding of how we have lived and where to go from here.