Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery [Paperback]

Marsha Sinetar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1986

An organizational psychologist looks at the stories of ordinary people who choose a solitary lifestyle to find wholeness and self actualization.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fascinating and often inspiring book. -- Milwaukee Journal

Marsha Sinetar has written an inspiring and insightful book about the quest for personal fulfillment. -- East/West

Most valuable is the simple detailing of what's necessary to live a life of joy and meaning. -- Michael Toms, New Dimensions Radio

This is a hidden gem of a book, quietly sitting on a bookshelf somewhere waiting to be found. -- Body, Mind & Spirit

Product Details

• Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Press (July 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809127733
• ISBN-13: 978-0809127733
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunate Title, Life-changing Content, September 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery (Paperback)

Dr. Sinetar begins with her best foot forward in this book: "My bias is this: ordinary people can and do become whole." A quote from another source comes to mind here as well: "Mystics aren't special kinds of people, all people are special kinds of mystics." Here, Sinetar deals with two of these people, the "mystic-type" and the "monk-type." These terms need some unpacking, and she does it beautifully.

I cannot say enough about this insightful and unique book. I am one who discovered this volume after beginning the "pulling away/entering into" process, and found support, comfort, and rationale for both what I was doing and what was happening to me between its covers.

The five stars are personal; not everyone can use the information in this book, for not everyone is called to these particular paths (though all are called to some path). Still, it does away with the elitism often found in spiritual books that says contemplation and intentional living is for the "special," the "chosen." As we know, all are "chosen" in this sense, and thus all are invited to a more intimate and personal relationship with the divine, with God. This book describes two of those "kinds" of people, those who simplify their lives externally so that the internal life can be made free and clean and whole, and those who enter ever more deeply into the heart of contemplation and mysticism (a much overused word these days) to encounter God as God self-reveals. Neither of these paths are chosen by everyone (and vice-versa), but those who do feel that tug should pick up this book, out of solidarity if nothing else.

The title seems a bit fluffy, though, and I have found myself simultaneously recommending the book and apologizing for the title. I suppose that's what I am doing now, too. Buy it, read it, pass it on (mine will be the one with the cover worn off from use...)

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Normalizing the self-actualizing process., October 19, 1998

By 

G. Thiessen ([e-mail]) (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery (Paperback)

In this fine book, Sinetar normalizes the experience of becoming psychologically whole. It asserts that Abraham Maslow's idea of self-actualization, the state of psychological wholeness or completeness, is our species' most natural state. That the process of integrating inner truth with lived experience is not the domain of the chosen few as conventional psychology has suggested. It is more ordinary than that.

Sinetar conducted a nationwide survey of adults who have pulled away physically and/or perceptually from conventional life, to live their lives guided by the rhythmns of their inner wisdom. Two primary groups of self-actualizing adults were uncovered from this research. The social-transcendent, or monk type - those responding to an inner call to birth into their most authentic self. And the self-transcendent, or mystic type - those merging their personal psychology with their life's journey, to find their way back to the 'Absolute Reality' from which they believe they've come.

In this eloquent, original work, Sinetar not only adds light to the field of spiritual psychology, but does so poignantly, through the words and experiences of those individuals whose lives have been documented for this book. These highlighted human journeys light the way for fellow travellers. They demonstrate that the humble and humbling task of living life guided from within is not only a path worth travelling, but the only truly satisfying one there is.

In 'Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics', Sinetar skillfully and knowledgeably sheds light on a too often neglected dimension of the human experience, that of the self-actualizing adult - the monk and mystic in us all. This book will satisfy a reader's desire for a depth and breadth of understanding of this everyday human experience.

Registered Clinical Counsellor, Certified Yoga Teacher

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Elephant in the Living Room, August 31, 2001

By 

Barbara R. Saunders "Writer" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics: Lifestyles for Self-Discovery (Paperback)

I love Martha Sinetar's unpacking (as another reviewer put it) of the terms "monk" and "mystic," and her body of work about self-actualizing people is unmatched.

What has always troubled me about her writing is this: She suggests that self-actualization requires a certain amount of self-direction, and she describes people who have carved out self-governed lives so that they can pursue their development. She profiles (in relative depth) self-employed people (carpenters, artists) and people who pursue religious vocations.

Sporadically, she very briefly introduces the notion that this kind of contemplative/right livelihood path is also available to people working as corporate managers and executives -- the people who happen to be her consulting clients. She never really explains how this plays out.

So, does she have any insight into the way a more "engaged" monk or mystic might live? Or, does she simply hope to hide a belief or observation that self-actualization requires "dropping out" to a certain extent.

I'm exploring the issue myself, and I sense that she ducks the question.