Claudio Naranjo

Claudio Benjamín Naranjo Cohen (1932 - 2019) was a Chilean psychiatrist who is considered a pioneer in integrating psychotherapy and the spiritual traditions. He authored several books about therapy and personality.

Character and Neurosis: An Integrative View. Gateways/IDHHB Inc.. 1994. ISBN 0-89556-066-6. 

• Not only have ancient and hallowed traditions enjoined us to know ourselves but, we may say, the self-therapizing impulse (and more generally speaking the impulse to optimize one's consciousness) is a natural, healthy, and wise response to life difficulties.
  • p. 270

• Just as, in Christian language, it is said that the acknowledgment of sin can be the gateway for contrition, purification, and eventual salvation, we may say in more contemporary terms that anyone who fully acknowledges psychological enslavement to neurotic needs will feel a desire for liberation animated by the intuition of a spiritual freedom. In other words, he will intimately aspire or pray to be free from the passionate realm, so as to breathe loftier air.
  • p. 271

• After nearly 20 years of experimentation, I have come to the conviction that the most suitable background for self-study proper is that of vipassana, with particular emphasis on the mindfulness of sensations and emotions, while the practice of samatha, with its emphasis on tranquillity, is the most appropriate for the second stage of the work-where the focus is on behavior and development of the virtues.
  • p. 276