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The Choice Is Always Ours: The Classic Anthology on the Spiritual Way
Reprint of the Harpercollins 1989 edition.
First published over fifty years ago, this beautiful, wise, and searching book--an exemplary guide to spiritual development--features several hundred carefully chosen selections from such writers as William Blake, Carl Jung, Paul Tillich, Lao Tzu, Henry Miller, T.S. Eliot, Nikos Kazantzakis, D.H. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, Bertrand Russell, Rollo May, and many others.
493 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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February 22, 2017Infinity within
‘There is one great and universal wish of mankind expressed in all religions, in all art and philosophy, and in all human life;’ says Hinkel ‘ wish to pass beyond himself as he now is.’ Since I have read first quote, this book captivated me until the end of 552 pages. It is a spiritual anthology based on religious, philosophical, and psychological texts to search and fight, less so to submit. Two desires like motors fuel our existence: desire to exist and desire to change. The former one is stagnant and orient towards self-preservation, while the second one fundamentally opposes the first one, ‘we should not try to be like Olympic gods, above time, but in time, above change in everlasting youth, and emptiness.’ (Kunkel) Changes are inevitable, but it is human greed to preserve things as they are: “Thus one of the most noticeable facts about those obsessed with greed for possessions, whether material goods or cherished ideas, is their desire , that things shall remain as they are not only that their possession shall remain in their own hands, but also that the possessions themselves shall not change.”(Watts). The core theme is to be brave and to push changes within oneself, and the choise to do so is always ours.
An incredible guide for those who would like to make sense from inner self. It is not a book about peace, and it leaves reader with many questions at the end.
‘There is one great and universal wish of mankind expressed in all religions, in all art and philosophy, and in all human life;’ says Hinkel ‘ wish to pass beyond himself as he now is.’ Since I have read first quote, this book captivated me until the end of 552 pages. It is a spiritual anthology based on religious, philosophical, and psychological texts to search and fight, less so to submit. Two desires like motors fuel our existence: desire to exist and desire to change. The former one is stagnant and orient towards self-preservation, while the second one fundamentally opposes the first one, ‘we should not try to be like Olympic gods, above time, but in time, above change in everlasting youth, and emptiness.’ (Kunkel) Changes are inevitable, but it is human greed to preserve things as they are: “Thus one of the most noticeable facts about those obsessed with greed for possessions, whether material goods or cherished ideas, is their desire , that things shall remain as they are not only that their possession shall remain in their own hands, but also that the possessions themselves shall not change.”(Watts). The core theme is to be brave and to push changes within oneself, and the choise to do so is always ours.
An incredible guide for those who would like to make sense from inner self. It is not a book about peace, and it leaves reader with many questions at the end.
November 28, 2012
Given this book as a teenager in high school, it was my constant companion, nourishing my intellectual growth and giving words to my spiritual inclinations.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews