Rating: 
Summary: Guidebook for the spiritual journey
Review: Since this book is autobiographical, I find that it's easier to grasp the every-day truth of the statements than in his other books. I can see more easily how they might apply to my life.I say this book is like a guidebook to the spiritual journey because it feels like a travelogue. Imagine the spiritual Journey is like a trip to New York. You've always wanted to visit New York, perhaps live there, but until that day you can only dream. This book would then read like "When I first arrived in New York I didn't understand the subway system, the maps were confusing and I always got lost, but as I travelled more, I grew accustomed to them, the different colored lines on the map began to make sense. I eventually learned how to get from my home in Park Slope to Greenwich Village, the Empire State Building, and Central Park...." Then one day when you visit New York you'll feel okay if you don't understand the subway system. It validates your experience. Well, this book validates my experience. I haven't done much meditating, nor have I ever been to a therapist. I do, however, notice my thoughts from time to time, my state of mind, my emotional state, and I consider them, I try to examine them somewhat objectively, and I notice their impact on my life. What this book does (as did After the Ecstasy the Laundry by Jack Kornfield) is make a spiritual life something that happens every day, not something that happens high in the mountains, or locked away in a retreat. Now when I have certain thoughts, or notice certain thoughts and states of mind, I have a sense of normality. A sense that this is the proper path, and that I am progressing. A sense that I can achieve a state of Going On Being without locking myself away in a Monestary for several years. That I can reclaim a sense of connectedness and support in my every day life. More than the previous two books, I felt the subject matter was accessable. His story is almost a parable, the parable of his own life if you will. This isn't a straight narrative however, and as in his other books he sprinkles his search with academic research, zen stories, the stories of his patients, and this time, his mentors, who include Ram Dass and Jack Kornfield. The more the spiritual journey is made human to me, the more I realize I am a spiritual person. This book does a lot to humanize the spiritual path, make the concept of enlightenment accessible. While no biography is a substitute for a life, and no guidebook is a substitute for visiting a city, reading books of this nature can go a long way towards understanding, and making your experience real. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the spiritual journey, psychology, meditation, eastern philsophy, and life. ...
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