I had been searching for a road map for years, and spent great amounts of time on dead-end pursuits.
Tons of dead-end/lame BS conversion systems are out there...I knew that I needed more info to ferret-out the legit from the BS. Also, I wasn't interested in painting over my rust; I was willing to do the psychological Kamikaze full-tilt boogie.
So where was I to find a "who's who", a "what's what" on the matter of personal liberation pathwork?
Just happened to awaken and saw the last 10 min.'s of an TV interview @ 3:50 a.m. back in '95...finally, someone was speaking my language. I couldn't go back to sleep - couldn't wait for sunrise.
Bought his book that morning, sat in the parking lot scanning and reading it for several hours, recognized many of the names of the most prominent "seekers" and systems, past and present...eventually I found what I was searching for and never looked back.
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What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America
by Tony Schwartz
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553374923/102-6996300-0944944?v=glance&n=283155
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Schwartz: "I have spent much of my time detouring around New Age popularizers, self-promoting hucksters, and charismatic demagogues posing as enlightened teachers."
Reviewer: "In short this book is a good start for anyone perturbed with the classic question of what really matters in life because it has in it all traditions, conventional or contemporary/scientific, that one needs to know. And they are all written with a touching dedication and journalistic skepticism. This book changed my life in the most significant way.
Thanks, Tony."