The original The Road Less Travelledspent more than ten years on the bestseller lists and is one of the biggest-selling self-help books of all time. In this wonderfully wise and accessible sequel M. Scott Peck delves more deeply into the issues that confront and challenge all of us in the modern world: blame and forgiveness; sexuality and spirituality; death and the meaning of life; families and relationships; accepting responsibility and growing up.
Writing throughout with insight and sensitivity, he draws on his own extensive experience -- both professional and personal -- to challenge false assumptions, suggest a way forward and demonstrate that personal change is always possible, no matter how difficult and complex the journey.
Now featuring a new introduction by Dr. With sales of more than seven million copies in the United States and Canada, and translations into more than twenty-three languages, it has made publishing history, with more than ten years on the New York Times bestseller list. Written in a voice that is timeless in its message of understanding, The Road Less Traveled continues to help us explore the very nature of loving relationships and leads us toward a new serenity and fullness of life.
Peck never bullies his readers, but rather guides them gently through the hard and often painful process of change toward a higher level of self-understanding. Explores love, relationships, and spiritual growth, covering blame and forgiveness, the New Age movement, death and the meaning of life, and other topics.
Compatible with any devices. Holidays will never be the same again when you choose The Road Less Travelled. The Road Less Travelled is a guide to the world's unspoilt sights and experiences. Presenting 1, fresh and fascinating alternatives to hundreds of well-known tourist destinations and sights.
Forward by Bill Bryson. The culmination of a lifetime of counselling, lecturing and writing, M. Scott Peck's major work leads us to a deeper awareness of how to live rich, fulfilling lives in a world fraught with stress, worry and anxiety. Writing with a depth of understanding that comes with the seasoned perspective of age, Dr Peck continues the journey of spiritual growth that began with The Road Less Travelled, one of the most influential personal development books of modern times.
To the famous opening line of that book - 'Life is difficult' he now adds 'Life is complex'. But the greatest challenge, he reminds us, is to learn to deal with life's conflicts, problems and paradoxes to find the true simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity. The journey to serenity and inner peace, Dr Peck writes, can only be made with increasing self-awareness and social awareness. There are no easy answers for complex problems.
The work of learning and spiritual growth is hard. And yet he shows us that there is a way to think with integrity, to know the difference between good and evil, to overcome narcissism, to love and be loved, to live with paradox, to accept the consequences of our actions all through life, and to come to terms with dying and death.
The Road less Traveled to Sanity is art imitating life. A two book series of an extraordinary tale inspired by true events in the author's life. A young Black boy from a poor family who was caught in the grips of deleterious forces in society, and became a criminal; spending over half his life behind bars.
While incarcerated for the third time for armed robbery, he came to witness the September 11, attack of the Islamic Taliban on American soil. During a pivotal few months in the middle of the First World War all sides-Germany, Britain, and America-believed the war could be concluded. Peace at the end of would have saved millions of lives and changed the course of history utterly.
Two years into the most terrible conflict the world had ever known, the warring powers faced a crisis. There were no good military options. Having observed the deleterious effect of this belie This book starts out extremely engaging and helpful in nature - worthy of four or five stars. Having observed the deleterious effect of this belief among the Mormon population I find Peck's thesis professionally reckless regardless of the popularity of his message.
View 2 comments. This book is second only to the bible to me. It teaches you what love is. What love is not. Why old fashioned values like honesty, hard work, discipline and integrity are important.
Every person should read it. This book should be required reading in high school or college. View all 4 comments. The author endeared me early on to his obvious skill, professionalism and empathy with his patients. The first part was fairly entertaining, with the right amount of insight and entertainment from Peck's own therapy sessions.
I could identify with the people and situations and could pause at times for self reflection. There was a challenge to personal change as Peck built his case for seeking maturity and using therapy to achieve that end. Peck is strongest as a therapist.
His insight is keen, an The author endeared me early on to his obvious skill, professionalism and empathy with his patients. But he's also rather ambitious. The middle section attempted to tie a loose story into a cohesive thesis on what Peck personally believed ought to happen in life. It went from being passive-objective to prescriptive-subjective. Eventually he was stretching into subjects somewhat beyond his grasp. His forays into philosophy, theology and neuroscience didn't lend much credibility to his arguments.
The final part of the book was clumsy, contradictory and seemed somewhat outdated. He dragged psychology out of science and into mysticism. Which is fine if you're a fan of Oprah and Chopra. I'm not. My journey down the Road Less Travelled started out on a sunny day with a compass and small, promising path. It ended with me being dragged down a dark alley-way by a man with a white stick. Apr 17, Julia rated it it was amazing. I cherish this book and give praise to Scott Peck for writing this masterpiece, a wealth of knowledge and wisdom.
The first time I read it I was in my early 30's. It changed my life, encouraged me to live authentically and with courage. Peck teaches and encourages this process. I have followed up with Peck's subsequent books in the last few years. I recomend this to any adult searching for a better life but p I cherish this book and give praise to Scott Peck for writing this masterpiece, a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. I recomend this to any adult searching for a better life but particularly if your raising a family.
I thought it would be wise, inspirational, mind-blowing It's interesting in places, but otherwise it just seems The title is pretty misleading, because this seemed more about how everyone is messed up?
Like, what road are you referring to exactly and who is travelling it? I am confused. The subtitle suggests this is THE 'classic work on relationships, spiritual growth and life's meaning', but I disagree. I have read better. This book spends pages discussing the nature of love and how it is the core of everything we do. I mostly agree with that sentiment but I was bored after the first pages of it. It's just repetitive and it's more information you just observe rather than do anything with.
Essentially, it talks about how our relationships in childhood predominantly with our parents can set us up for all kinds of psychological disorders.
Which is fascinating to a degree but it's not like we can go back and re-do our childhoods. The only way to fix these issues is therapy, apparently. I'm not anti-therapy at all, but the message got a bit wearying after a while. So then I skipped from pg straight to the 'Growth and Religion' section which was, again, interesting, but not exactly anything life-altering.
It talks about how everyone has religion, even if your religion is having no religion. I was interested in the relationship between religion and science, but this was more interested in case studies and showing that god exists even when he doesn't. So I found myself skimming again. By the time I'd skimmed my way to the section titled, 'Grace', I was done.
Nothing about this book is mind-blowing. It's interesting in places, sure, but it's not just the inspirational book I had hoped it would be. The psychology does interest me so I may return to it, but when I was expecting more this just ended up being a disappointing chore to read. Jan 10, Jennie rated it it was ok Recommended to Jennie by: my mom.
Shelves: philosophy-religion. I read this book to make my mom happy. Her church book group was reading it, and she got all stoked about it after reading the first section. It was a fairly bland combination of basic common sense self-discipline is good, laziness is bad , pseudo-spiritual psychobabble your unconscious mind is God!
Overall, I was unimpressed, but I wasn't begging the Lord for the 6 hours of my life back, either. I never even I read this book to make my mom happy. I never even asked my mom what she thought of the book after the first part. I suppose that would be a good thing to do. I love my mom. View all 7 comments. Sep 02, Thom Dunn rated it liked it Shelves: psychotherapy , a-own-softcover , advisehowtoinspire , psychology.
And what we all need is a discipline instilled in our childhood by a love which teaches us to face our problems instead of ducking them in procrastination, denial, and the like. Sounds fine, but there seems to this reader to be something missing Life will be beautiful if only we get ourselves under control and work hard, etcetera, etcetera It feels to me as if all wonder has been replaced by a kind of Victorian stoicism, a Protestant ethic of duty and responsibility This is maturity, getting rid of the misery first before your play But what of the math geek who loves homework?
The great arc of Peck's undertaking, what he calls more than once "the only way to live" seems after a while to devolve into the same shoulder-to-the-wheel Volga boatman's creed delivered in kind language that all our teachers back in the Eisenhower 50's kept hammering us with. What about dreams, Mr. What of the libido? It may be the screwball Celt in me that fears coming to the end of my life with all my homework done but with, Starry Night, say, unpainted. Nov 10, Chelsea rated it it was ok.
Initially, I was intrigued and really enjoyed this book. Then I got to the Grace section. It all went downhill from there, and quickly. It seems very jumbled as to the actual point of this book until the Grace section where Peck goes wacko with the God talk. Even for a Christian or person of faith, I would imagine that his ideas are far out there. As an atheist, I was dumbfounded by the abrupt bullshit and disappointed that a book with such potential came to a screeching halt. I have never not f Initially, I was intrigued and really enjoyed this book.
I have never not finished a book, but I couldn't force myself to read the last 30 pages. This book went from great to absolutely terrible in about 2. Until the utter nonsense came along, I would have given this book stars. I would give the last section negative stars if I could. Talk about a roller coaster ending in disaster.
Nov 07, Nilanjana Haldar rated it it was amazing. This do-or-die attitude of hers had served to strip us off the small excusal ways of being most of us are wont to endorse at the drop of a hat.
In a matter of days of working with her, our entire way of being had altered from a problem-oriented mindset into a solution-oriented mindset. If things went out of our hands, we clamoured like crazy to flip past options available to us, selecting whichever best dissolved the issue away. If none worked, we improvised. Foreword over This as stated above is the same attitude the author, M.
Scott Peck urges us to make use of when dealing with life. He says, Life is a series of problems. Do we want to moan about them or solve them? Do we want to teach our children to solve them?
First, on the flaws of authoritarian parenting Gosh! It is so so flawed! How deluded such homes are! Raising broken individuals and releasing them into the world, adding to the depression bank of the world! Hence, if authoritarian language or a demeaning tone of voice is used while speaking to the child, how would that serve to foster him with the feeling of goodness he would need for maturity to come about?
A child is a spirit if you will, and given the time and contemplation, I reckon every parent is bound to come to recognise monumental responsibility that one naturally begins to adhere to in understanding who it is she or he has conceived. The problem is so many never grant themselves that moment of contemplation ever!
For only when you expand yourself can you include another as a part of your own self. Think about it——there really is no other way to be when expansion happens! What good it would have done them to have read a book like this first! It is a committed, thoughtful decision. Never losing sight of the value that exists in the life of another automatically makes one prioritise the importance of good behaviour no matter what the situation at hand demands.
I feel very proud having read this book! The more one reads this book, the more one recognises that what really is love is, is disciplined. Every creative pursuit must serve to stretch one into the higher echelons of who they are.
It ought to be a stepping stone for that. View all 8 comments. I started this book 2 months ago, which is a long time according to my standards, however, I don't regret it one bit.
The road less travelled is about spiritual growth, and how very few of us actually venture and take the leap of faith in that direction. The first chapter defines discipline as "a system of techniques of dealing constructively with the pain of problem-solving -instead of avoiding that pain- in such a way that all of life's problems can be solved".
It attributes our lack of discip I started this book 2 months ago, which is a long time according to my standards, however, I don't regret it one bit. It attributes our lack of discipline to inadequate parenting and the lack of the feeling valued by our parents.
Then it explains 4 methods to solve this issue, which are: delaying gratification, assuming responsibilty, dedication to reality, and balancing.
With some insight on neurosis, character disorders, when to withhold truth, the healthiness of depression and how it signals that a major change should be made in our maps. The 2nd chapter "love" reveals that falling in love is not real love, and that eventually people fall out of love.
That is because real love is an action, a commitment to the spiritual growth of oneself and of others. It also explains that dependency, cathexis and self-sacrifice are all mistaken for genuine love, which should be disciplined and promoting of separateness and independence.
The 3rd chapter starts by stating that everyone has a religion; "everyone has some understanding -some world view, no matter how limited or primitive or inaccurate". It also narrates 3 different cases that demonstrate how people can grow into religion or out of it. The 4th chapter is about grace. It explains that serendipity is the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for, and that grace is "the powerful force originating outside of human consciousness which nurtures the spiritual growth of human beings".
While I find myself unable to believe in grace or that the aim of spiritual growth is to become one with God, I was glad to learn of the force of entropy represented in our laziness "which is the lack of love", and that evil is real; "there really are people, and institutions made up of people, who respond with hatred in the presence of goodness and would destroy the good insofar as it is in their power to do so.
They do this not with conscious malice but blindly, lacking awareness of their own evil-indeed, seeking to avoid any such awareness". This part was particulary terrifying; because that's what I believe in.
It ends by encouraging us to be open to grace, to welcome it whenever it comes, to prepare ourselves by becoming disciplined, wholly loving individuals, but to not actively seek it. For this awareness will facilitate their journey in at least three ways: it will help them to take advantage of grace along the way; it will give them a surer sense of direction; and it will provide encouragement.
However, as I take further steps along this road, I am sure that I will find an answer that satisfies me. All in all, this book has changed my life in some subtle ways, it taught me that most of the time we don't "really" listen, and that in order to do so we must make a commitment and give our full attention even if what is being said bored the hell out of us.
Caring is just that. It also taught me to take full responsibilty of whatever happens to me, not to blame society or family or fate, and that to express anger one should think and reflect upon the best way to do that, not to head on blindly in the heat of the moment; because our emotions are our slaves, not the other way around It also taught me that we're all lazy to some degree, we don't want to live a life in constant thinking and reflection, yet this is the only way to grow.
We all choose the easy way out, refusing to take responsibilty or to change our opinions and behaviours, yet this leads to a conflict between the conscious mind and the unconscious "who realizes that change must happen".
It also taught me that life is full of pain, and that trying to avoid that pain is never successful. It is only by facing it head on, by listening to our unconscious minds and adjusting our maps of reality and by actively extending ourselves to help nurture others, and consequently ourselves, do we take steps on the road less travelled, the road to spiritual growth.
Looking forward to reading other M. Scott Peck books! I read the Road Less Travelled because several Internet sites rated it the most read self-help book ever.
As a therapist and fan of self-help books I felt like I needed to get right on it. I'm glad I did. Peck has wisdom and depth to spare on the topics of psychotherapy and human fulfillment. He offers a fundamental jumping-off point to anyone hoping to improve their life, whether through therapy or introspection.
So you need to read it! That being said, there are some cautions. Peck can by turn I read the Road Less Travelled because several Internet sites rated it the most read self-help book ever. Peck can by turns be loving then judgmental toward therapy patients. His language choice and lack of sympathy at times made me cringe. He puts forth questionable opinions on boundaries as well, over-estimating in my opinion the degree of importance and control the therapist exercises in the patient's progress.
He uses that importance to justify breaking well-established standards of professionalism and ethics in the counseling field. Finally, the last section, which addresses his spiritual beliefs, meanders. There are valuable nuggets to be mined, but they're buried within some bizarre musings. As he reflects on God and grace, Peck seems to forget he's writing to a general audience and instead expounds on his philosophies In a form more suited to autobiography than therapeutic enlightenment.
At the end of the day, I'm aware I'm standing on the shoulders of a giant. Peck wrote this book in the '70s. Therapy has evolved quite a bit since then. Professionals brave enough to put forth their theories and thoughts are to be commended -- they push us forward. And Peck, whatever his imperfections, clearly comes from a place of courage and love serving not only as teacher but example for us all. I have owned this book since I believe or so, but consider this a book, everyone should have on their life travel.
Feb 26, Dustin rated it did not like it. This book wasn't absolutely terrible, but it was terrible. It has nothing to do with a Road Less Traveled and there is virtually no unifying theme to it whatsoever. If you can get through the author's self-congratulation of himself and all psychoanalysts you can actually find some very good points in the first few sections. But as the book progresses it gets worse and worse. The finial section is absolutely horrible. It's about God and some shit about Jesus.
I couldn't bare to read it all the w This book wasn't absolutely terrible, but it was terrible. I couldn't bare to read it all the way through. Apr 20, Kressel Housman rated it really liked it Shelves: psychology , non-fiction , parenting. This book was recommended by one of my seminary teachers whose specialty was mitzvos bein adam l'chavero , i.
It was the only non-Jewish self-help book she respected, and considering her own expertise, I think that's quite a compliment. As the subtitle states, this is a book about the union of psychology and spirituality, or more specifically, how psychotherapy and spirituality are so close, they are almost one and the same. Having been This book was recommended by one of my seminary teachers whose specialty was mitzvos bein adam l'chavero , i.
Having been through a fair amount of therapy myself, I long ago came to the same conclusion: therapy, when done right, is the practical application of the self-improvement ideas of religion. As a matter of fact, this book was my Shabbos reading, far more appropriate than any fiction or politics I'd otherwise choose. Having said that, I must warn my Jewish friends that the author writes from a Christian standpoint.
Some of the ideas can be translated into Jewish terms, particularly the concept of "grace," which we Jews see as "Divine Providence. The quotes from the Christian Bible - and there weren't that many - I just skipped over. Actually, the author doesn't get too into Christianity until the second half of the book. The first two sections, called "Discipline" and "Love," are pretty much free of this, and I found them absolutely riveting. I'd read something like, "Listening is an act of love" and then find myself trying to listen better to my kids, which is what any self-help book should do to its reader.
I found myself looking forward to reading more so that I could apply more ideas. To put it in Jewish terms, this book is an "avodah.
We are not commanded to become G-d, which is impossible, but to emulate His ways. I don't know if the author would consider that a "cop-out" on my part, but that's the Jewish point of view. G-d is much greater than we are. It's not an avoidance of responsibility to say so. So overall, I thought it was an excellent book, one that I learned from and one that encouraged me. And I consider it a bit of "grace," read: hashgacha that I read the publisher's afterword at the end.
Community involvement is something I've been thinking about quite often lately, so now I've been shown a new step toward that goal. May Hashem help that I use His guidance toward real growth. Jan 29, Chris Shank rated it really liked it. I periodically stop in at thrift stores—hoping to salvage some prophetic oracle from the ravages of being sandwiched and left to die a slow death between the James Pattersons and Julie Garwoods of the bargain aisles—and there this book can be found in droves.
The title, extrapolated from a poem by the great poet Robert Frost, coerced me on multiple occasions to pick it up and flip through it. From the outset of reading, I was mildly interested. Soon I became intensely interested.
After this prelude to the meaning of confusion and pain, he pulls back further to the beginning of our psychological development—birth.
As a psychoanalyst, following most closely to the traditions of Jung and Freud, he maintains that a much of our malfunctions as adults stem from how we were raised by our parents. A parent who has never learned to discipline their own lives will not know how to affirm or discipline their children in healthy ways.
Parenting involves knowing how to suffer with your child to help them learn to overcome their challenges, but without this ability to endure and hold out for the higher good, a parent will remain self-focused and unable to create an environment of stability and trust for a child to feel they are safe, and therefore, valuable.
He believes firmly in the unique human ability to override past conditioning and forge new paths. Having established that we have a choice to delay gratification and suffer for the things we value and that will bring joy to our lives, he segways into the goal—and ultimately the deepest impetus—of self-discipline: love. Love, in the mind of Dr. Peck, is the goal of all nature. Here Peck provides what I have found to be the most compelling and cogent explanation of physical-emotional infatuation that I have ever heard or read.
This inevitably leads to disillusionment as one or both parties realize that they did not extend their world in love, but only squeezed into the already crowded space of another lonely soul. Next time you see a parent that refuses to acknowledge the autonomy of their child, refusing to accept that the child may grow up and not need them anymore, try to imagine the parent as a giant leach sucking the life and will out of the child, leaving only a limp, bloodless shell of a thing that will never develop strong legs to run from the giant bloodsucker with its razor-toothed mouth to their throat.
Peck believes that for a person to truly benefit from another person, they must both develop firm boundaries or they are both liable to be harmful for each other. An identity must be established before it can be transcended. He urges his readers not to fool themselves into thinking that anything ought to be done exclusively for another person. Some things we must do because they put us right with ourselves, with others, and with God.
The right thing is as much for us as it is for another. The first pages or so were the best. The rest I found to be somewhat speculative and even a bit rash in spots. I believe he is correct in his view that science is first founded on a belief of some sort, an implicit value system, and the denigration of religion by science is often not only as bigoted as any religious belief, but also backwards. Religion and science are mostly concerned with subject and object respectively, and there should be a healthy respect one for the other.
He attempted to wax philosophical, and though I think he did all right and many may find his conclusions enlightening, I found it to stray too far off topic. It is true that his original thoughts in psychoanalysis are indebted to the linking of his philosophy of life to psychology, and his bravery in owning up to personal values in scientific pursuits is a huge leap beyond his peers, but I was more interested in the application of his beliefs in psychoanalysis, rather than a full review of his personal values and faith.
So, the end felt anti-climactic and wound down. But there are other things too that I would warn people of before they read it. But in spite of all this, I still consider him to be eminently respectful of the tension between science and religion, and that is a tonic to find in his field of typically aggressive anti-religion and a reductionist view of humanity and a purpose to our existence. View 1 comment.
As other readers have pointed out, this book started really well but later became dated hogwash and pseudo-spiritual psychobabble. He mixes psychoanalysis many references to Carl Jung , mysticism, philosophy and religion. I personally found the first section, on discipli As other readers have pointed out, this book started really well but later became dated hogwash and pseudo-spiritual psychobabble. I personally found the first section, on discipline, excellent; section two, on love, was OK, I started to lose interest on section 3, on growth and religion, by section 4, when he mentioned the paranormal ,such as telepathy, I was ready to throw the book against the wall.
There were interesting points early on, and some sections that I found useful, but this is not a book that I would recommend. It is not really my personal problem. The only way that we can be certain that our map of reality is valid is to expose it to the criticism and challenge of other map-makers. The reason people lie is to avoid the pain of challenge and its consequences. When you require another individual for your survival, you are a parasite on that individual.
There is no choice, no freedom involved in your relationship. It is a matter of necessity rather than love. Love is the free exercise of choice. Two people love each other only when they are quite capable of living without each other but choose to live with each other. If we want to be heard we must speak in a language the listener can understand and on a level at which the listener is capable of operating.
If we are to love we must extend ourselves to adjust our communication to the capacities of our beloved.
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