Customer Reviews

No Boundary

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Ken Wilber has provided a synthesis of virtually all psychological theories and spiritual perspectives in this short introduction to his spectrum of consciousness. Consciousness, in this context, refers to our personal sense of identify, our personal answer to the question,"Who am I?" Wilber makes much of the fact that our first answer to this question is largely a matter of identifying that which is "not me." The distinction between "me" and "not me" is the fundamental human error, for in making it we deny our oneness with all reality. Hence the title indicates that to grow in consciousness is to eliminate these artificial boundaries. The first half of the book explains this in detail.

Fortunately, our denial of oneness with reality results in dissatisfaction with life that becomes the primary motivation to resolve four basic false dichotomies: (1) persona versus shadow; (2) ego versus body; (3) centaur versus environment; and (4) transpersonal identity versus unity consciousness. At each stage, the harmony in identity that follows elimination of the boundary becomes a new identity defined by new boundaries. Persona and shadow become ego. Ego and body become centaur. Centaur and environment become a transpersonal, but non-universal, identity. Only in unity consciousness, or oneness with all reality, do we eliminate boundaries and find peace.

Chapters are devoted to all four dichotomies. In each Wilber discusses the nature of the boundary conflict and therapeutic approaches sympathetic to its resolution. Interestingly, he understands the conflicts in various therapeutic approaches to be differences in dichotomy rather than truth. Some therapies work for one stage; others for another; all have value at times. Often he discusses the spiritual/religious impact of the dichotomies and their resolution. In each chapter he provides a narrative discussion of related materials by other authors for further study.

Everyone will not find Wilber totally convincing. Jungians will be disappointed in Wilber's simplistic resolution of the persona/shadow boundary. Christians will be uncomfortable with the strong Hindu emphasis in unity consciousness. Behaviorists will note their total absence in the discussion. Those predisposed to resist Wilber's synthesis should take note that it is not fair to reject Wilber without providing a equally sensitive and compelling synthesis of the myriad therapies, theories of personality and spiritualities that have lasting value worldwide.

This book is a primer, but one that awakened a desire in me to read more comprehensively and thoroughly. The analytical approach of experimental psychology is unlikely to answer the deepest questions of humanity. Wilber's spectrum provides a working model that may.

Ken Wilbur is one of the most intelligent and cohesive thinkers I have ever read. He unites many branches of philosophy and psychology in this book. He provides understanding why so many truths contradict each other. Ponder this: (paraphrased from the text)Unity consciousness, or no-boundary consciousness, by definition has no boundary. As such, you could say that there is no boundary which seperates us from It in this moment. Logic tells us that this must be true. The only thing which prevents us from experiencing No-Boundary Awareness right now, is our resistance to it. The book is not exactly "light" reading, but if you are willing to put on your thinking cap, it is certainly fascinating

This is my first introduction to Wilber's writings. I had been referred to him by several people, including a well known spiritual guru in the UK who said that Mr. Wilber was likely to be recognised as the greatest philosopher of our times and that he is reputed to read several hundred books as background to his works. I had in fact been referred to the Theory of Everything but had been given this book as a present.
Wilber's writing style is clear and simple, although it is true that he does repeat ideas. The latter appears more to be a way of making sure that his audience follows his ideas which, although clear, could sometimes appear to be based on complex notions to the uninitiated or "lay" reader.
In essence, he lays out a framework, one of the first clear attempts I have seen to do this, that positions most if not all religious, spritual, and philosophical attempts at explaining conciousness. What does this mean? He asks the familiar question of what is the meaning of life: of "I". He then goes to show that in the contradictions that emerge in the different answers is actually a set of differences that can be explained by the level of conciousness at which the question is being addressed.
He is extremely well read and uses examples from almost all of the religions, from pschology and psychoanalysis, as well as from philosophy, to develop his ideas. One unfortunately wishes that this was not a book of a hundred or so pages but rather a book of several thousand as one senses that he could go on with his discussions to far deeper levels. In fact, he suggests at the end of the many chapters further reading (worth the price of the book in itself).
For someone interested in spiritualty, buddhism, mysticism, and pschology this book is a must. First because he is a great philosopher, second because he writes very well, and third because he gives one a holistic view that many other writers do not.
Having read his book I feel far more comfortable wading through the rest of my reading as things seem to have a far greater clarity of perspective.

I have read many of Ken Wilber's books and this is one of the better ones. The spotlight reviews do a very good job of pointing out the shortcoming and strengths as well as summarizing Ken's general ideas. I won't repeat what they have said here, but will add my own thoughts.

This book has a different tone and structure than many of Mr. Wilber's other books. There is less repitition and somehow he seems to be more accessible and lyrical in his descriptions and metaphors. If you read later Wilber, you will find it lacks some of the feeling tone of this earlier work.

In this book, Ken talks about boundaries and how they are often mental constructs. For example, the boundary that defines me could be taken arbitrarily as my skin. However, I might say I have a body, rather than that I am a body. This implies perhaps that I am a mind that is associated with a body and that I'm moving the line between self and other to the head. In a similar fashion, it is possible that a may have a transpersonal experience in which case my boundary moves out beyond my skin. The idea is much like the arbitrary division between a tree's roots, limbs and branches. These divisions don't necessarily exist as distinct boundaries on the tree, but arise from the analytical nature of thought.

In general, the book looks at a synthesis of Western and Eastern psychological and spiritual approaches to growth. It challenges tacit assumptions on both sides and tries to get the reader to take a broader perspective on reality while honoring what is good in each particular tradition. It is an extremely thought-provoking work and includes a lot of good scholarship. I find it to be highly complimentary to Wilber's later work and often more eloquent.

If you are looking for the best, most comprehensive and readable introduction to Wilber's work, I recommend A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYTHING. If you are interested in a good developmental psychology book from Wilber's point of view, then the ATMAN PROJECT will not disappoint. It covers development from birth to enlightenment and it quite fascinating. If you own these three books you will have a good overview of Wilber's most important ideas without a lot of overlap. If you are interested primarily in his latest thinking, then INTEGRAL SPIRITUALITY may also be a good choice.

Perhaps one of the best books on the market trying to understand the relationship between Eastern Religious and Philosophical traditions and the development of Western Psychology. Ken Wilber develops an interesting and perhaps complete picture of the paradigms which these two world try to deal with. The book also helps to explain why the East never really developed psychology and why the West almost lost it's mystic heritage. "No Boundary" synthesised much of what I thought that I understood, but could never explain.

I see others found this to be a quick read. I didn't. It's not that it is hard to read, for me it's that it gets so quickly, logically and undeniably to the meat of what it's all about and the whole spritual thing that understanding each new piece of the puzzle, is in itself so life changing that I can only assimilate the revalations so fast. For me, who has spent a lifetime denying the connectedness of everything and generating boundaries, this is like discovering that there is a god and that is really simple, not requiring the acceptance of - I thought - the bizzare dogma of many of the organized groups of believers, the illogical mumbo-jumbo nature of which kept me fighting this acceptance for so many years. Pretty cool, pretty life changing, very logical and easy to understand....Finally.

As a pastoral counseling student, spiritual seeker and yoga meditation instructor I have long sought to integrate my knowledge and experience in some way that made rational sense. This book does it. The writing is clear and lucid and the premise is simple but extremely revolutionary in its approach. This book puts both counseling theory and spirituality into a larger perspective. It accepts each major theory and shows how it fits into a larger scheme of the expansion of awareness and becoming a whole person. There are only a few books I have read that I bothered to re-read again. As soon as I finished this book I started re-reading it again. The insights are absolutely amazing! Fifty years from now historians will point to this book as one of the foundation stones of the intergration of psychology and spirituality.

I found this a pretty easy read, and very good, although a little repetitive. As far as writing style goes, he needs to find different ways to quote people (think, "paraphrase"). I understand the need for repetition though; his thesis is really very unnerving and hard to fathom if one is not familiar with these concepts, although personally I find it irrefutable. When we truly realize that we are inseparable from each other, we will finally stop hurting ourself. If you want a no-nonsense, rational, plain-speaking and clear explanation of the highest goal of much of Eastern and some of Western philosophies & religions, do not hesitate to read this book!

I first read No Boundary 10 tears ago and have bought around 10 copies for friends.It was here that I began to see that boundaries really don't exist but we draw them, and once we do, we have drawn a conflict line, guaranteed. And once we understand unity consciousness, that we are all one, it becomes progressively harder to attack another person or group-might just as well talk into the mirror. Wilber provides a true revelation as to what it's all about. It's a great introduction to his thinking, and as a second read you might want to follow up with the very moving Grace and Grit. In my opinion, Ken Wilber is the most brilliant writer alive today, in any field, and his integral vision is both deep and profound.

Ken Wilber has written many books but I think this is my favorite. It is certainly one of the best books to help us understand the dual nature of consciousness. It also does a fine job in organizing various theoretical viewpoints into one general framework. The other book that integrates these things using a more practical approach is Toru Sato's "The Ever-transcending Spirit". It is an excellent book as well! It applies these ideas about consciousness to interpersonal experiences and concrete aspects of development. Both books are really fantastic!