The road less travelled and beyond : spiritual growth in an age of anxiety

The founder of the Foundation for Community Encouragement shares his insights into life, drawing on his counseling experience to lead readers to the spiritual simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity and explaining how to cope with the fears, shortcomings, and foibles of life. 200,000 first printing. Introduction 11 Introduction Editor's Preface 15 PART I: CRUSADE AGAINST SIMPLISM 1: Thinking 23 The Point of Having a Brain • Simplism and Society • What's in Fashion Isn't Necessarily Fashionable • Assumptions, Stereotypes, and Labeling • Common Criminal Thinking • Thinking Too Little Is Your Problem • Thinking Too Much Is Somebody Else's Problem • The Good, the Bad, and the In-between • Thinking and Listening • Freedom and Thinking • Time and Efficiency • Paradox and Thinking with Integrity 2: Consciousness 63 The Mystery of Consciousness • Revisiting Our Frontal Lobes • Lessons from Genesis 3 • Good and Evil • Evil, Sin, and Other Distinctions • The Shadow • Consciousness and Competence • The Consciousness of Death • Traveling with God 3: Learning and Growth 95 The Role of the Soul • Passive Learning • Growth and Will • Out of Narcissism • Narcissism Versus Self-love • Narcissism, Death, and the Learning of Dying • Unlearning and Flexibility • Learning as Adventure • Values and Learning Choices • Learning from Role Models • Group Learning PART II: WRESTLING WITH THE COMPLEXITY OF EVERYDAY LIFE 4: Personal Life Choices 139 The Path of Smart Selfishness Versus the Path of Stupid Selfishness • Choices of Responsibility • Choices of Submission • Choices of Vocation • The Choice of Gratitude • The Choice to Die Gracefully • The Choice of Emptiness 5: Organizational Life Choices 167 Civility • Systems • Ethics • Interdependence and Collaboration • Accountability and Structure • Boundaries and Vulnerability • Power • Culture • Dysfunction Versus Civility 6: Choices About Society 203 The Paradox of Good and Evil • The Paradox of Human Nature • The Paradox of Entitlement • The Paradox of Responsibility • The Paradoxes of Time and Money • A Personal Case Study PART III: THE OTHER SIDE OF COMPLEXITY 7: The "Science" of God 241 Science and God • Spirituality and Religion • Stages of Spiritual Growth • Psychospiritual and Historical Baggage • Integration and Integrity • Grace and Serendipity • Revelation • The Ego and the Soul • Kenosis • Prayer and Faith • Process Theology • Glory • Cocreation 8: The "Poetry" of God 287 Acknowledgments 307 Notes 309 About this P2P Edition Peck's Views On Being A Separate Courageous Individual. 1. Thinking -- 2. Consciousness -- 3. Learning And Growth -- 4. Personal Life Choices -- 5. Organizational Life Choices -- 6. Choices About Society -- 7. The Science Of God -- 8. The Poetry Of God. M. Scott Peck. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [309]-314). The author states that the journey to serenity and peace can only be made with increasing self-awareness of how to live rich, fulfilling lives in a world fraught with stress and anxiety. This is the third volume of the "Road Less Travelled" trilogy. IN IRELAND, THE MIDDLE EAST, SOMALIA, Sri Lanka, and countless other war-torn areas around the world, prejudice, religious intolerance, greed, and fear have erupted into violence that has taken the lives of millions.