Allan B. Chinen, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry (voluntary), University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is the author of In the Ever After, Once Upon a Midlife, Waking the World and Beyond the Hero, as well as a co-editor of The Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology.

Part 1: Timeless Storytelling and Contemporary Wisdom 1. Our Plight Today: "The Fisherman and the Djinn," Part I. Storytelling and Modes of Comprehension: "The Fisherman and the Djinn," Part II. Why Comprehension Modes Are Cross-Cultural: "When You Really Listen to a Story" 5. Ancient Modes and Modern Doctors: a Joke Part 2: Comprehension Modes in Operation 6. Comprehension Operations: "The Turtle Tower" 7. The Development of Comprehension Modes: "The Navajo Story of Emergence" 8. Structures of Creation and Comprehension: "Ta'aroa Creates the World," and "The Big Bang" Part 3: Comprehension, Truth, and Transformation 10. Comprehension and Contemporary Disputes: "The Wolverine Grudge" 11. Truth and Transformation: "Orpheus' Descent into the Underworld" 12. Monotheism and Monolithic Truth: "Moses Part I." 13. Disciplined Truth: "The Muses" Part 4: 14. Judging Shoes and Facts: "The Elves and the Shoemaker 15. Faith, Fact and Feat: "A Lost Shoe of Gold" 16. Virtual Understanding and Empathy: "The Rich Man's Dreams" "The Princess Liar" 18.Principles and Problem-Solving: "Penguin Island" 19. Creative Problem-Solving: "Crossing the River" " 21. Transcendence and the Mythic Mode: "Moses Part II" 23. Absolute Truth: "Procrustes" 24. Summary: Truth, Transformation and Re-Forging: "How Nanapush Brought the Peace Pipe to the People" 25. Epilogue: The Practice of Chivalry and Comprehension Today: King Arthur's Roundtable