Customer Reviews

The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I enjoyed this book! I am very interested in change- why some are willing to and some resist it. Peck's views on change were insightful. I totally agree with him concerning the issue of simplistic thinking, too. I have struggled with organized religion-couldn't take the confines of it and truly knew that I could think for myself and didn't need a doctrine of an organization to guide me- I can connect directly to God. His views on the Stages of Spiritual Growth helped me. Although I had read about this topic in other books-his "way of putting it" finally helped me sort it all out. I did find he refered to his other books too frequently and it was distracting. I finally just skimmed (fast forwarded) to the parts more interesting to me. I would reccommend this book to those further along the "road less traveled".

Initially I found the book a little slow and less exiting than "The Road Less Travelled" and this disappointed me at first. However it gets better and more confronting. I struggled to keep up my reading pace due to the implications of what the writer touched on. Its not easy to be a 'conscious thinker' as Peck puts it and this brought home the difficulties that I have experienced in my own life. Every person has their own way to avoid being true to themselves.

I think that "The Road Less Travelled" is a great book to read if you've just started on the journey to mental/spiritual health. "The Road Less Travelled and Beyond" is helpful for those who have taken up the challenge of personal growth for some time and are ready for more challenges.

The first 2/3 of the book was reasonably good but the section on religion was woeful and inconsistent. Peck tells us he believes most of the orthodox beliefs of Christianity, yet embraces process theology which actually goes against many orthodox beliefs. He also admits he has never read through many of the books of the Bible. All this from a man who in his books constantly pushes the concepts of careful questioning and investigation.

As one would expect from Scott Peck, I found this to be a very encouraging book. Peck continues to write on suffering, and it's being the key to growth. Most people avoid suffering for their whole lives, avoid growth, avoid looking at themselves. I do that too. This book encourage me to rethink aspects of my life, and consider ways I could pursue anew a path of suffering which leads to growth.

I particularly enjoyed his treatisies on listening. I've read some of his thoughts on this before, but I needed to be reminded. About what it means to listen. About how to listen better. About how often I am thinking about what I am going to say next, and the impact I am having, and my interaction, rather than fully and completely engaging myself with the other, putting myself within the other, to bless the person I am communicating with. And so I've been trying to do that these last few days. And it's still hard work.

Much of this book is written as the final hurrah of a life of contemplation. His stories of his time with his wife are particularly beneficial, as Peck shares about what he has learned from his wife, and what they have learned together, as they have pursued a path of active growth together.

A downside though to this approach of putting in a lifetime of thoughts into a final book is that many times, it seems that Peck is simply referencing every book, quite overtly, that he's ever written. At times, it feels like he's trying to get the reader to buy more of his books. A better editor to discourage him from this approach would have been helpful.

I left this book wanting to follow Peck's suggestions. To remember that life does not conform to myself, and release any expectation that it should. To release the expectation that I can do all things for myself. I appreciated Peck's corrective from The Road Less Traveled, where he gave great support for independence. Here, Peck reminds people of a higher road of interdependence- which means a lot harder work of giving up one's "right" to do things for oneself. It's all about a process of death- for we begin dying the moment we're born. And every giving up is a form of death.

This guy gets it in life but his books are hard to read. You have to endure much to retrieve the good stuff in this one. I did and its worth it but tough read. He has the 'piece' when it comes to understanding human nature and people in general. Case studies are good but sometimes overdone. In the end - if you endure and are interested in knowing more about yourself and others - it is worth it.

Peck's attack on simplistic thinking in this book is refreshing. There are subtle hints that we are innately lazy, which coincides with Mark Twain's more light-hearted view of mankind (and my own). There are also subtle (i.e. not stated) references to the theory of Yin-Yang in this book... although he doesn't come right out and say it, a good portion of this book is about balance. I don't like the constant references to his other works, but self promotion is a minor flaw. A few passages in this book are so insightful that they should be required reading for young adults... and all of us old dogs, too!

What I would like to speak to is the idea that we are God and that we do his work. I have had to learn so much about who I am and where I have come from, since I read Scott Peck's books. My family live the effect of the People of the Lie. Reality was that my family at one point in reality faced assimilation. Throught a miracle of Serendipity my father and I reversed that process. When I look back I realize that if it wasn't for my fathers memories we all would have lost the true story of where we came from, We were the first Canadian's, the Metis, our people and culture are distint. With the Canadian Goverment recent enclusion of the term Metis to the Canadian Constition. I once again have the hope that my country Canada will grow to be a loving nation.

It's a summary but also a mild extension of Peck's previous works (although I have only read two others). I very much like his notion of 'paradox' being central to life and the system of which we are part. His words on the reality of death I found confronting but very sensible and challenging, and felt that this was an important part of the book for me. I found other parts of the book fairly self-indulgent, for example his constant references to his marriage and the mistakes he had made, his descriptions of his foundation (FCE) having to learn about business and the realities of retrenchment etc, and also his poetry. It takes effort to read this book. I would not recommend it to any of my friends, but am glad I pushed on and finished it myself.

Messers Scott and Peck have done it again. They deliver in their easy style, home truths that broach the profound. With this third 'Road", they are becoming the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby of the Spiritual circuit! I love their style and content. It comes close to my all-time favourite - "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. Both Patton and Peck have the ability to appear relaxed while illuminating difficult and profound themes that would test lesser authors. If you read the two previous books, you won't be dissapointed by this either. Keep it coming.

Much as I admire Peck's earlier books, I simply must warn others that this tape is a trip down a different road entirely. It is largely autobiographical, but not interesting. Frankly, I haven't been able to make myself listen to the second half of it. If this is the key to "Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety," then I think I'll just stick with listening to traffic reports during my commute.