Reddit reviews Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion

Reflections on the Art of Living - A Joseph Campbell Companion

This is one of the most affirming books I have ever read. Campbell's main idea is "Follow your bliss."

I don’t have the exact book with me but I think it was this one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0060926171/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_0060926171

He's pretty amazing. I enjoyed this: http://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Art-Living-Campbell-Companion/dp/0060926171

It's an edited compilation of some of his writings, but I found it to be rewarding and not as dry as some of his more academic writings.

I'd recommend that you start reading this book: Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion. It will open your eyes to spirituality. I think it will provide a good context for someone who has been brought up in any belief system to understand spirituality.

Yeah, the honesty is really hard, and for me still causes pain, though I don't run away from it anymore. I take that as the part of just being. And with that I work on keeping my serenity the most (I'm one who doesn't like the strivation to always be happy - I think that's putting out an expectation that hard to fulfill and will lead to disappointment - though I've found I have more happy moments now than when drinking).

Good for posting - just talking with others who've been in similar situations is great. I went to an AA meeting the other night where it was just me and four others and instead of formal shares we just talked casually and it was GREAT.

I listened to some of the Joe and Charlie podcasts. I would like to listen to them again and more than I did originally. It's been awhile but I remember liking them.

Most of the reading that helped me were books that also helped me realize my own spirituality. In terms of fiction, Hesse's 'Demian' was a great one (though may have some triggers), and Castaneda's 'Tales of Power' (possibly the same with triggers).

Otherwise, Emmet Fox's 'The Sermon on the Mount' is just great. It's the precursor to AA's big book - sort of the collegiate form of the big book. Especially with it, I leave some of it behind, but there is some powerful shit in there.

I'm also a fan of Joseph Campbell and much of his stuff helped me with realizing a more solid foundation of my personal spirituality, but I read 'The Joseph Campbell Companion' when in rehab for the second time and there were a lot of little writings that cut through to me. There's a lot of fluff as well, but one passage was so powerful I took it to a counselor who then brought it to the community. I just went and got it and it's on p38, and then I looked and found someone transcribed it! (gotta love the interwebs)

Lastly for now - yeah, I realized for multiple years that I had a problem. My oldest is turning 11 next week and the first very feeble attempt at stopping was when she was born. Looking back I can see clearly how I had a problem with alcohol my whole life, going back to when I was 16 and stealing liquor from the grocery store where I worked and drinking it in my car on my break! Geez, what a different life I could've had if I had just realized shit back then. But I can't, and so don't go there except to say that now I have more choice in what I make of my life, more clarity in experiencing life. Whatever time I have left and whatever I do with it, I will be present in it to the best of my ability.

I AM THAT

Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion

Ursula LeGuin's translation of the Tao Te Ching

Pharmako Series by Dale Pendell

Breaking Open the Head

Zhou Yi - the Book of Changes - this is by far, the most lucid version I have found; profoundly useful and amazing reflections and a true companion along the way.

When was new to atheism, I found the works if Joseph Campbell to be very valuable.

In his popular works, he essentially deconstructs and compares the great world religions, and shows that in many cases, the underlying messages of them are similar, and point to some truths about the human experience that can be appreciated without having to turn to spirituality or the supernatural.

His seminal work is The Hero of a Thousand Faces and it's probably the best place to start.

I also really enjoyed Reflextions on the Art of Living which is a collection of short pieces.

Much of Campbell's work is generally no longer considered academically sound, but it's still a fantastic read.