****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Some human beings see their lives as a spiritual journey. All traditional cultures provide these people with scriptures, heroes, institutions, and communities which function as aids to and signposts on such a path. However, we inhabitants of the rich, Western democracies often lack these ancient supports (Jung). Spiritual trekkers in our society often go it alone. They may have only a few books or classes or practices to sustain and inspire and, often, they get stuck (as any more mundane traveler might).This book is a collection of around thirty thought experiments designed to assist stuck seekers. The author, Stephen Ladd, is NOT a purveyor of truth or wisdom. Nor is he promoting some shiny new program or promising an original recipe. The solution to stuckness is to just join him as he ponders some remarks and passages of Rumi or Lao Tzu or revisits some old Zen stories (he also quotes more recent sages: Wittgenstein & Tyler Durden). He writes a bit about his own spiritual journey, which this reader found fascinating. Happily, these wide-ranging thought experiments are not a hodgepodge. They are structured -- presented in short chapters and best read chronologically and slowly (perhaps a chapter a day).Ladd's prose style is whatever the opposite of solemn might be -- perhaps 'jaunty' describes it best. True, some readers may feel that he is overfond of metaphors. Others will delight in his irreverent tone and witty observations. Still others, perhaps those who read a large number of publications branded SPIRITUALITY / SELF HELP, may wonder how this joker got into that deck.Enjoy.
