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The Passionate Life: Stages of Loving
Draws on psychology, philosophy, mythology, and personal experience to explain the five stages in becoming a lover--child, rebel, adult, outlaw, and mature lover--and provide guidance in achieving awareness, maturity, and genuine passion
274 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
About the author
Sam Keen
69 books148 followersSam Keen was an American author, professor, and philosopher who is best known for his exploration of questions regarding love, life, wonder, religion, and being a male in contemporary society. He co-produced Faces of the Enemy, an award-winning PBS documentary; was the subject of a Bill Moyers' television special in the early 1990s; and for 20 years served as a contributing editor at Psychology Today magazine. He was also featured in the 2003 documentary Flight from Death.
Keen completed his undergraduate studies at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and later completed graduate degrees at Harvard University and Princeton University.
Keen was married to Patricia de Jong, who was a former senior minister of First Congregational Church of Berkeley, United Church of Christ, in Berkeley, California.
Keen completed his undergraduate studies at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and later completed graduate degrees at Harvard University and Princeton University.
Keen was married to Patricia de Jong, who was a former senior minister of First Congregational Church of Berkeley, United Church of Christ, in Berkeley, California.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 6, 2019
This was my inaugural Sam Keen read. It will be the first of many. Without any exaggeration, this book showed me my new purpose, what to do with my time in this oddly inert post-transcendent state.
Keen's prose drips saccharine with effortless poetry and nourishes the linguist with etymological winks and nudges throughout.
If you're feeling like a metaphysical rogue, an outlaw, apply this text to your ajna immediately.
Keen's prose drips saccharine with effortless poetry and nourishes the linguist with etymological winks and nudges throughout.
If you're feeling like a metaphysical rogue, an outlaw, apply this text to your ajna immediately.
February 7, 2019
Map and some quotes:
P27 book outlines
“We age in order to become lovers.” P30
“The path that leads..from the adult to the outlaw, consists of learning to distinguish between false desire and true desire, or superficial desire and profound desire, or obsessive desire and free passion, or addiction and the hunger for Being-becoming-itself, or illusory needs and real needs.”P138
Reading Sam Keen, I realize that I am too, an addict of a few things. He teaches me to use my witness self to “begin the adventure of falling in love with the multiplicity of the self and the world.” P140
“Confession and repentance aren’t feeling sorry for peccadillos, but seeing how we have been captive inside the machine of personality, a prisoner of ideologies, an automaton manipulated by defense mechanisms”
“ We can never begin anything new without forgiveness.” P150
This book gives useful heuristics to understand maturity and to identify addiction in its most general sense. After reading it, I had the best sleep in a long while.
P27 book outlines
“We age in order to become lovers.” P30
“The path that leads..from the adult to the outlaw, consists of learning to distinguish between false desire and true desire, or superficial desire and profound desire, or obsessive desire and free passion, or addiction and the hunger for Being-becoming-itself, or illusory needs and real needs.”P138
Reading Sam Keen, I realize that I am too, an addict of a few things. He teaches me to use my witness self to “begin the adventure of falling in love with the multiplicity of the self and the world.” P140
“Confession and repentance aren’t feeling sorry for peccadillos, but seeing how we have been captive inside the machine of personality, a prisoner of ideologies, an automaton manipulated by defense mechanisms”
“ We can never begin anything new without forgiveness.” P150
This book gives useful heuristics to understand maturity and to identify addiction in its most general sense. After reading it, I had the best sleep in a long while.
June 4, 2021
I just finished this book and I will probably come back to edit this review after digesting the entirely new concepts and ideas.
This reading experience has been full of Aha moments! I m so grateful I came across this book.
This book tells you that you're not naive nor crazy to aspire to a more loving and compassionate world, and to secretly reject the "pragmatic" "reasonable" and the "adult" tyrannical viewpoint. The over-competitive, power hungry world we live in today is alienating us and making us miserable. It is the proof of a love denied Human.
We can choose to be compassionate, open and hopeful. It is risky and foolish yes. But the promise is that our suffering will be voluntary, not of a neurotic origin anymore.
This reading experience has been full of Aha moments! I m so grateful I came across this book.
This book tells you that you're not naive nor crazy to aspire to a more loving and compassionate world, and to secretly reject the "pragmatic" "reasonable" and the "adult" tyrannical viewpoint. The over-competitive, power hungry world we live in today is alienating us and making us miserable. It is the proof of a love denied Human.
We can choose to be compassionate, open and hopeful. It is risky and foolish yes. But the promise is that our suffering will be voluntary, not of a neurotic origin anymore.
March 12, 2010
This deals with the way we select what to filter in or out of our awareness all the time, and the effect that has on our lives, as well as our concomitant effect on others. Those of us who are happy didn't get that for free, or by accident.
January 8, 2010
anything by mr. keen is good.
March 11, 2015
ok. Sort of a workbook format.
July 15, 2012
Blew my mind. completely.
And I thought I was going to read a book about sex. :D But like in '2001 space odyssey' I found out: "Oh my god it's full of stars". ;)
Amazing!
And I thought I was going to read a book about sex. :D But like in '2001 space odyssey' I found out: "Oh my god it's full of stars". ;)
Amazing!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews