The Passionate Mind Revisited: Expanding Personal and Social Awareness
"In this timely, brilliant, and originaltour de force, Kramer and Alstad, two of  the seminal thinkers of our time, have given us a remarkable gift: a hopeful, unsentimental  analysis of both how we got here and where hope for a viable future lies. If you  read one book this year, let it beThe Passionate Mind Revisited. It will broaden  your individual and social awareness and change your life."—Jeffrey B. Rubin, PhD,  author ofPsychotherapy and Buddhism"Don't go to the movies. Put down your magazine.  Shut off your computer. Read this book. It will show you what isreally happeningnow. Being able to understand how the world is changing and what that means to you  and your children is the real news of today. Accessible and profound. Read it and  weep—or clap with joy. This truly is our future and, more importantly, our choice."—Jeremy Tarcher, founder of Tarcher Books"The Passionate Mind Revisitedis a fearlessly  rational engagement with subjects we all too often accept as beyond rational thought—emotion,  spirituality, relationships, and life in a time of conflicting realities and an endangered  planet. It's a fine and important book, and deserves to be widely read."—Walter  Truett Anderson, author ofAll Connected Now: Life in the First Global Civilization"WhetherThe Passionate Mind Revisitedis for you depends on your interest in philosophy,  human behavior, epistemology, and personal development. This ambitious, broad-ranging  book is by necessity abstract, but for philosophers, Diana Alstad and Joel Kramer  are miraculously clear and lead the reader by meticulous steps to some surprising  conclusions."—Diane Johnson, author ofLe Divorce"Nobody does a more masterful  job of folding back the fabric of our individual, cultural, and human attachments  and revealing hidden denials, hypocrisies, and paradoxes than Diana Alstad and Joel  Kramer. They are among the very few who can open hidden doors to rooms in your house  you never knew were there—to both delight and disturb. This book will change the  way you look at things—perhaps everything. Are you courageous enough to risk that?  Reading this book is a glimpse into what the human mind is capable of perceiving  and the mindset of the evolved human mind in the next millennia."—Kevin W. Kelley,  author ofThe Home Planet"In 1974The Passionate Mindtook me on a journey into  my deepest self; it made me dance in the dark. Now, inThe Passionate Mind Revisited,the entire worlds—the cosmos in which that self resides—is explored. The investment  many children of the ‘60s and ‘70s made in freeing ourselves is now turned toward  a globe in need of freedom from hunger, poverty, and violence.The Passionate Mind  Revisitedis a critical tool for social, political, and ethical transformation."—Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for Choice"A welcome infusion  of clarity, brilliance, and inspiration that will very likely blow your mind. This  profound book is a philosophical, intellectual, and spiritual Rosetta Stone—not a  glib compilation of simplistic answers but a critical frame of reference that challenges  the way we think about the nature of thinking itself.The Passionate Mind Revisitedis essential reading for anyone trying to get their bearings amid confusing and contradictory  claims and ideas that have long been promoted about the meaning of self-awareness  and social consciousness. If you intend to delve into any other discussion of the  powerful social, religious, psychological, ecological, and ethical changes confronting  current and future generations,read this book firstor you may miss the crucial  context that will help you make sense of it all."—Keith Harary, PhD, executive director  of the Institute for Advanced Psychology and author ofWho Do You Think You Are?"The phrase ‘looking inward’ has become anathema to many social reformers who put  their emphasis upon external action. In turn, this ‘knee-jerk’ activism has been  criticized by those who advocate inner development. Diana Alstad and Joel Kramer  believe that both approaches can occur concurrently and provide a framework for this  process in this brilliant book. If the twenty-first century is not be the last gasp  of humanity’s time on Earth, the ideas and practices articulated by these two innovators  will deserve credit."—Stanley Krippner, PhD, professor of psychology, Saybrook Graduate  School and coauthor ofHaunted by Combat: Understanding PTSD in War Veterans"A  breakthrough in spiritual realism, pioneering in its confrontation of life’s perennial  tough judgment calls, and courageous in its intolerance of the cryptoscientific pseudo-spiritual  gloss, this book will meet you where you really live."—Jeremy Sherman, PhD, MPP,  executive director of the Berkeley Consortium on Emergent Dynamics"The Passionate  Mind Revisitedhas afforded me deeper, clearer, more pragmatic approaches to my work  and to the future of humanity and life on Earth. My worldview and experience of the  spiritual dimensions of life are both more groundedandmore expansive from the exposure  to their thinking and exploration of their ideas. Much awaits you in exploring your  own passionate mind! And the Earth needs our passion and clarity more than ever."—Rio de la Vista, former editor ofWindstar,conservationist"In times of transition  and not knowing, visionary artists dance with the possibilities that they sense emerging  for us. Diana Alstad and Joel Kramer have seen a magnificent potential for humanity  and have written down their insights in an inspiring and practical way. I recommend  their book as medicine for all who are curious about what might lie beyond the present  confusion and challenges."—Marion Weber, founder of the Arts and Healing Network"Nothing today is more critical than making sense of our times and what they ask  of us. Diana Alstad and Joel Kramer bring important insight and integrity to this  difficult task. Spiritual and scientific sacred cows get equally unsparing treatment.The Passionate Mind Revisitedmakes a valuable contribution at both a personal and  a societal level."—Charles M. Johnston, MD, author ofThe Creative Imperative"Diana  Alstad and Joel Kramer are exciting critical thinkers for our times, who, as passionate  individuals, offer us provocative insights to investigate and navigate our own terrain  in ransitional times.The Passionate Mind Revisitedis a classic reinvented for this  dynamic historic moment."—Ganga White, author ofYoga Beyond Belief"Kramer and  Alstad argue with clarity and passion that the simplistic "be here now" mindset sweeping  contemporary pop psychology tragically fails to account for how the past and the  future are always part of how we construct any "now" and any "here." I found myself  cheering at their insistence that negating the future in the name of spiritual enlightenment  amounts to an amputation of our intrinsic capacity to take future consequences into  account—a task of vital importance at this crucial stage in our evolutionary adventure."—Keith Thompson, author ofLeaving the Left"It is clear thatThe Passionate Mind  Revisitedis a seminal book for our time. One of the core beliefs held by nation-states  and most individuals is that "more is better." What a wonderful gift we have been  given to challenge our unexplored assumptions to help us shift to a world that can  fulfill us all."—Wilford Welch, author ofThe Tactics of Hope"The Passionate Mind  Revisitedis a promising re-visioning of age-old philosophical dilemmas in a contemporary  setting with important social and political implications. The authors are poignantly  aware of the effects that Eastern thought and practice have had on spiritually inclined  individuals in America over the past half-century, and they challenge head-on many  assumptions flowing from their own and others’ earlier teachings. Their systematic  demonstration leads to the stirring conclusion that a spiritually aware, caring life  has to be lived future-oriented and in time-not in some timeless realm. By illuminating  the roles of thought and diversity in a life of spiritual awareness, the authors’  book would re-orient and rejuvenate spiritual work, bringing it back into the world  of time to become more effective and socially relevant."—James Millikan, PhD, former  professor of philosophy at Yale and University of Florida"In this book, Diana Alstad  and Joel Kramer have combined more than thirty years of writing, experience, and  thinking to construct for the reader a unique lens with which we might examine our  worldviews, ideologies, beliefs, fears, and hang-ups. We see more clearly the consequences  of our collective failure to free ourselves from the spiritual and intellectual compulsions  that have led us to the brink of planetary doom. The coauthors urge all of us, if  we are truly serious about planetary survival, to continue the struggle to engage  collectively in the evolution of our consciousness. I commend them for this book,  a superb achievement."—Charles H. Jones, professor emeritus of law, Rutgers University  School of Law"The Passionate Mind Revisitedis an excellent resource for expanding  personal and social awareness. Diana Alstad and Joel Kramer integrate many cross-cultural  and interdisciplinary ideas to illustrate how we can continue to grow, create, and  expand during times of uncertainty and open to possibilities not considered before."—Angeles Arrien, PhD, author of award-winningSigns of Life“[The Passionate Mind Revisited] r...