The Road Less Travelled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth
– A Book By Dr. M. Scott Peck
Do you ever feel our western culture has a problem with the concept of time? Life demands more from us whilst filling it with speed, anxiety and work. Recently I’ve been studying physicists and philosophers to solve the riddle of time 🙂
I came up with the idea of picking a book each month to give you as much help as possible. We can even continue interacting on my Facebook page. You can suggest the book of the month as well. For the first month, I have chosen a classic book in my field: The Road Less Travelled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by Dr. M. Scott Peck. It was Peck’s first book published in 1978, translated in 20 languages and sold millions of copies around the world.
Short Notes On The Author: Dr. Morgan Scott Peck
Scott Peck was an American psychiatrist who lived between 1936 and 2005. People wanted to send him to a psychiatric hospital at the age of 15 for having difficulties at the prestigious residential school he attended. Later, after attending a new school he went on to university, qualified as a doctor and psychiatrist, after which, he served in the army including a posting to Japan before later starting a private practice.
Notes and Quotes From The Book
The book outlines qualities you need and many of the steps you can take to become fulfilled.
Following Buddha’s perspective, Peck also believes that life is never meant to be easy. We are faced with problems all the time in the form of dilemmas, decisions that require taking risks, such as conflicting requirements that are placed upon us. Most people try to avoid these painful processes, at their peril, rather than confront and resolve them.
It is better to accept that life involves suffering and get on with it. Be sure there are rewards: These are emotional, psychological and spiritual health.
When you believe the aim of life is greater self-understanding and spiritual growth there are rewards. There may be spiritual, emotional, psychological or even material benefits.
Peck says: “It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. ”
Discipline: A Basic Tool Set To Solve Life’s Problems
Facing our problems is the only way to bring us meaning and grow spiritually. Avoiding this, is what causes our mental health to fail. Peck offers discipline techniques as a way of working systematically through life’s sufferings.
Give yourself a point between 1 and 5, 5 being ‘I use it all the time’, 1 ‘I don’t use much’ for each of these skills:
1) Choose to do first the activities you don’t enjoy before the pleasurable ones. Do some work before having fun. But, make sure you manage your time so you can have some fun every day. This involves controlling your impulses and protects you against addiction.
2) Some people take too much responsibility for everything that goes wrong in their lives. Others refuse to take full responsibility for their behaviour and decisions, blaming fate for their suffering. The skill is to take just the right amount of responsibility for the situation.
Peck says: “The difficulty we have in accepting responsibility for our behaviour lies in the desire to avoid the pain of the consequences of that behaviour.”
3) How easily can you update your worldview with new experiences and information? Each of us has the potential to be brave and listen to others when being personally challenged and also be able to self-reflect.
4) How well do you balance? Balancing is about disciplining the discipline. It is you developing an, ever more, flexible attitude to life. You need to follow these tools in a way that enhances your life rather than use them to take the joy out of it.
Neurotic and Legitimate Suffering
The challenges we come up against in life at first hand are what Peck refers as the ‘legitimate suffering’. When we fail to face our share of suffering and try to avoid we end up suffering even more which he calls as the ‘neurotic suffering’.
I hope you will never indulge in neurotic suffering. Choose to use the tools of discipline Scott Peck offers to deal with your legitimate suffering and, as a result, you may reap the benefits of spiritual, emotional, psychologial and material prosperity.
Scott Peck’s Other Books
Here is a list of his later books for even more information:
People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil ,
Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Towards Spiritual Growth
The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety
The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace
A World Waiting to Be Born: Civility Rediscovered
A Bed by the Window: A Novel Of Mystery And Redemption
In Heaven as on Earth: A Vision of the Afterlife
Would You Like To Discuss This Article With Me FREE online?
Next week on the 19th of September 2016 I have reserved some time to host a webinar. This book of the month will be our starting point. I will be sharing some tips about life and the art of living and also answering your questions live:) The registration for the online course ‘Self Confidence in 7 Steps’ will also be opening up with extra surprise bonuses. I will be sharing the link for connecting to the webinar on my facebook page. I hope to speak to you on Monday next week at 9.30pm.
Until then cheerio!