From the Brink

'Paul Ashton's work on the Void is a first and profound effort to make conscious the void, emptiness, or nothing, that precedes all conscious image and form as their originary source. His approach is Jungian but in it he relates the experience of the void to mystical experience and to dimensions of the psyche to which Jung points in his appreciation of apophatic mystics, but which he never formally elaborates in his corpus. Ashton's work points to a dimension of psyche which precedes the archetypal into which the ego dies in cyclical and never ending processes of bringing its wealth to conscious birth as the foundational task of historical humanity, individual and collective.' - John Dourley, Jungian Analyst, Author and Theologian, Ottawa, Canada 'Paul Ashton's exploration of the human experience of the Nothing is a courageous undertaking. The Brink of the Void is encountered not only in response to primitive terror or severe trauma, but also as an almost inevitable aspect of the refining fire of the Individuation process. Ashton is informed about this experience by a broad canvas drawn from mythology, literature, art, music, religion, spirituality and film. He has found words and images for that mute state of existential abandonment. His clinical experience and wisdom are apparent.' - Joy Jobson, Jungian Analyst and Clinical Social Worker, Cape Town 'It is very good, and an interesting topic that is not often written about. .... [the] scope of the book is very broad. He [Paul Ashton] exemplifies the best Jungian thought that is both clinically grounded and also has a mythological and imaginal sensibility.'- Spring Journal and Books, New Orleans