Living in Process: Basic Truths for Living the Path of the Soul [Paperback]

Anne Wilson Schaef (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1999

"Life is a process. We are a process. The universe is a process," notes renowned writer and lecturer Anne Wilson Schaef. In Living in Process, Schaef offers us a bold, new way of engaging in life--by shifting our obsession with "product" to a mindful participation in "process." Schaef teaches us an action philosophy that will reconnect us with our deep, long-forgotten spirituality--filling our souls and setting our spirits free.

What is process? It is the way of doing, not what is done. It is living life in three dimensions, from the inside, instead of trying to control it from the outside. It is a living, moving, evolving energy. It is deeper than thought, more concrete than concept, more fluid than facts.

Drawing on inspiring real-life stories, the experiences of professionals worldwide who have participated in her Living in Process training, and her close association with native peoples from around the globe, Schaef shares her evolutionary model for maintaining our balance in the midst of life's seismic upheavals. With her inimitable wit and charm, she guides us to a larger spirituality and a rediscovery of our personal power. For Living in Process is a moment-by-moment revealing of, and reveling in, our life as mystery--and an honoring of its challenges, truths, and joys.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What is process? It is the way of doing, not what is being done, according to Anne Wilson Schaef. It is the tone of voice, not what is being said; the act of parenting, not the 21-year-old child product. In a world that emphasizes results, control, and material rewards, Schaef's process-oriented approach is a soothing antidote. "We are not static," she writes in her opening chapter. "The planet is not static. Life is not static. Life is unfolding.... We can participate, that is all. We cannot predict or control."

Chapter by chapter Schaef breaks down the daily situations that beg for attention to process, including "The Family," (which features intelligent essays on the various styles of parenting, such as "Benevolent Dictator" and "The Little King/Queen Approach") and "Relationships," (which includes helpful essays on "Intimacy" and "Making Love"). Occasionally Schaef meanders, especially in the beginning of the book, where she delves into the deep spiritual healing work involved in becoming process-conscious. However, her overriding voice is authoritative and intelligent, bringing in indigenous religions, spiritual leaders, and even poets to explain the how-tos and implications of process thinking. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In what may be considered a postmodern approach, the author of the bestselling Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much articulates a way of spiritual growth and development that is a recasting of ancient wisdom for modern people. Emphasizing awareness of internal experience over the striving for any external result or gaining any predetermined parcel of knowledge, and emphasizing our connection to a Creator that, Schaef says, is itself a process, she sounds radical in the way that resembles the wisdom of native peoples. Rejecting all the toxic baubles and obsessions of our addictive "technocratic, materialistic, mechanistic" culture, Schaef (who has learned in recent years that her biological father was Native American) draws together basic hallmarks of a life lived in process. Honesty, self-responsibility and an overarching desire to live one's life as a spiritual path: these unpretentious yet uncompromising values, one suspects, would win the approval of the old Koori man whom she quotes as once saying to her, "You know what's the matter with you people? You work. Work is your main problem." Despite real-life stories that show that Schaef's insights flow from an evolving work, her descriptions of what she calls "deep process" are so vague that readers may leave her book more frustrated than enlightened
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wellspring/Ballantine (October 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345435672
• ISBN-13: 978-0345435675
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's where it's at - Holistic Bible, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Living in Process : Basic Truths for Living the Path of the Soul (Hardcover)

I loved this book. I've been a fan of Anne Wilson Shaef since "Women's Reality". What a remarkable mind - and spirit. Her views of living in process parallel some of Zen teachings of being in the "now" - or fully present in the moment. The examples and quotes from other people feel as if you can hear the diversity of the individuals - and the respect for that diversity. The sense of allowing others to be in their own process while "being true to yourself" as Jesus, Buddah, and many other spiritual leaders have professed is honored in a practical way, while not ignoring the reponsibility of owning one's garbage - "not puking up your process" on other's (she loves that statement and has used it in other books - I enjoy it too - so graffic - and makes the point>) As of all her books - you should get a marker and "own" this one. I highly recommend it. It reads smoothly and easily. Mental, Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical areas of your soul will be moved - as they should with a powerful Holistic healing book. It's "where it's at" today - and she is there before us again. May be seen as the "bible" of process. I'm right behind you Ann - keep on - keeping on

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Practical!!! If you understand her premise, October 8, 2004

By 

Jose I. Martinez "A reader" (Vienna, West Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Living in Process: Basic Truths for Living the Path of the Soul (Paperback)

This book had improved my life. It had not changed the way other books had but this book does not try to do it all, but her premise is extremetly powerful. Yes, life is not static and that idea has very powerful consequences, and then you realize that it always was true and all she is saying is something that had always beein that way but now you see explicitly. The realization that Life is not static will bring your life to new heights. It did to me. I am more loving, less stressfull, more happy and feel a whole lot better after that simple realization. It is dificult at the begining but once you accept the difficult idea that life is not static then you become free!!! Great book. Not a one stop all, but a great and powerful simple idea. That simple idea has had very practical applications in my life.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new way of seeing, February 16, 2002

By 

alexxcz "alexxcz" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Living in Process: Basic Truths for Living the Path of the Soul (Paperback)

Living in Process is a deep jewelry box of ideas. Slowly, you must sort thru the anecdotes and stories to find glittering meaning. I found some other reviews of the book amusing, "where are the exercises?" other readers demand. This is a gentle book that invites you to change your world. Change your viewpoint. Open your mind. It invites you to change your entire view on how you live your life, not a chance to scurry through a set of exercises or mantras. I adored it. "You are what you read" I've heard. If you are a seeker on a path of enlightenment, I recommend this book as a companion.