Page 17 - March April 2015

Book Review
Living Deeply
By Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, Ph.D., Cassandra Vieten, Ph.D., and Tina Amorak Ph.D
2007 New Harbinger Publications
Buddha said, “There is a way you can be saved from suffering, but that way is that you must understand yourself and you must understand your reality.” This requires a transformation of our consciousness.
By transforming our consciousness we participate in the transformation of the world. Thus, transforming our consciousness is the most important work we can do.
The authors of Living Deeply bring us the good news: “Opportunities to transform your life in ways both large and small are available to you in every moment of every day – there are an infinite number of doorways into living deeply.”
They also bring us the possibly daunting news: “Living deeply may require nothing
less than a complete transformation of the way you view the world and your place
in it.” Their decades of research has led the authors of Living Deeply to understand
that “dramatic and lasting change for the better springs from radically shifting your
perspective of who you are . . . This essential change, the one from which all other changes spring, is a change in your world view and in what is possible.”
But how do we achieve this radical transformation? Others have done it. What is their process? How did they come to make this big shift in their perspective, transforming their lives in ways that allow them to contribute, through their talents and with their authentic nature, to the wellbeing of their communities, whether local or worldwide.
Through conversations with a wide variety of explorers of this terrain, the authors of Living Deeply have created a map of this transformative Terrain. They explore the mystery of consciousness with a Christian monk, a Lakota elder, a rabbi, and a Zen Buddhist roshi. They find common elements of transformation in the experiences of a Himalayan Yoga swami, a transpersonal psychologist, a seasoned oncologist, and a Methodist minister.
But this book is not just about the journey of religious leaders and holders of PH. D.s. In Living Deeply, the authors
discover that an evangelical Christian, a businessman, a reluctant soldier, a Jewish mother and an agnostic musician walk surprisingly similar paths to a devout Sufi, a skilled athlete, and a dedicated physician. The authors share these “overlapping cartographies” in the hope that readers will recognize some of the terrain and begin to more consciously create their own path to transformation.
Living Deeply is based on a ten year long research program at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), and it builds on 35 years of consciousness research at IONS. “Noetic” refers to the type of knowledge that comes to us directly through our subjective experience and inner authority. Applying a scientific approach to noetic phenomena has allowed IONS to delve deeply into the nature of human consciousness and its vast potentials.
As we look to solve our most pressing world problems, to transform our planet, we must look to our own transformation, first. This, of course, is a journey rather then a goal one can quickly complete and then move on. But others have pointed the way. We can look to their experience and wisdom to perhaps find, if not a more direct path, at least a less winding route! Easily accessible, clear and concise, Living Deeply is a valuable tool, a map, if you will, to guide us on this journey.
May/June 2015
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