tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post8031762482555409183..comments2023-12-30T17:31:11.883+00:00Comments on The Solitary Walker: Two Lives Of DickensThe Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-57319235977208513072011-12-14T18:07:53.402+00:002011-12-14T18:07:53.402+00:00Isn't it interesting how these things go? The ...Isn't it interesting how these things go? <i>The Power of Now</i> was the first book that <i>almost</i> literally jumped off the shelf when I began searching beneath the surface of religion. It was an excellent start, and I imagine it is also an excellent sort of culmination at your point in the journey.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-61030941662256705282011-12-14T14:27:42.739+00:002011-12-14T14:27:42.739+00:00Thanks, George and Ruth. I'm reading Tolle'...Thanks, George and Ruth. I'm reading Tolle's 'The Power Of Now' for the first time and finding it a revelation. Well, not so much of a revelation, more of a confirmation. It brings together lots of strands from Jung and Krishnamurti via all sorts of Zen Buddhist writers to Kabat-Zinn and many others. I like Tolle's interpretation of the life, deeds and sayings of Jesus very much.The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-22893944451289293322011-12-14T10:22:56.981+00:002011-12-14T10:22:56.981+00:00I heartily agree, Robert. This is an intriguing fo...I heartily agree, Robert. This is an intriguing focus, regarding Dickens, and on Tolle's book, which has been very helpful to me. I'd say my spiritual journey has been, more than anything else, a series of practices to disable those ego-characters. Working on one now, in fact.<br /><br />I just finished <i>Chimes</i> and will read the next two Christmas tales in the days ahead. My boss, the Chair of the English department, who urged me to read them, said that the public were clamoring for more Christmas tales after he published <i>A Christmas Carol</i> to wild success. He stressed out in July to get a new one started!Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-32003351890772576472011-12-12T23:57:46.955+00:002011-12-12T23:57:46.955+00:00Very interesting material on Dickens, and I agree ...Very interesting material on Dickens, and I agree with you entirely that, to some extent, we all have split or multifaceted personalities—fragments that are always seeking integration. This reminds me of Jung's discussion of one's shadow and the need to embrace it. I also think, as you suggest, that Eckhart Tolle's writing explores this issue, though using different terms than Jung. I suspect that old Dicken's bad self was the part that identified with his ego, while the good self was the authentic, unconditioned self which was capable of standing outside of the ego and witnessing the bad self.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03959953035812596907noreply@blogger.com