Like finding a new song I listen to 100 times in a row, I sometimes find a writer whose expression, dedication to clarity, and way of thinking align so much with my way of viewing the world that it changes my life. Sometimes for years, I think about the world privately in a certain way, only to discover that others have not only thought that way, but really fleshed it out into a science and developed it, helping me understand myself in the process. Kegan is such an author. This book was a painful read at times - not due to the actual book, but due to the fact I saw myself in so many of the struggles of meaning-making trying to push itself to the next level. But given this framework to understand myself - ability to generalize my own struggles down to a struggle of meaning-making - has truly helped me relax and to see some of my weaknesses instead as areas of development, and therefore see them less as personal flaws.
I would describe this as almost a "spiritual" book. Except while most spiritual and new-age self help books out there work on the "transcending" of the structure, this book helps one to understand that structure that one is attempting to transcend with traditional spiritual work. And I think that understanding this aspect of ourselves as just as important as detaching from it, as the structure plays a large role in our lives whether we strongly identify with it or not, and simply dis-identifying it does not necessarily help it move along, become better at handling tasks, or develop greater complexity.
And oftentimes that makes the difference. Truly a great book, by a great author and thinker!
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account
