Favorite Authors

The following is a list of authors that have greatly inspired me.  I share them with you along with a short explanation of why I like them.

  • Richard Bach
    • Johnathan Livingston Seagull
    • Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.  Delacorte Press:
    • The Bridge Across Forever:  A Love Story.
    • One: A Novel.  New York, NY:  Silver Arrow Books, 1988.
      Johnathan Livingston Seagull was recommended to me by a friend. "It's about you, Jay" she said.  It was the first book I picked up for pleasure, and it changed my life.  Richard Bach's story of Jonathan gave me permission to be myself and live the life I choose.  I proceeded to read many of the rest of his books and I fell in love with reading.
  • Scott Peck
    • The Road Less Travelled: A New Psychology of Love Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth.  New York:   Simon & Schuster, 1973.
    • The People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil.  New York:  Simon & Schuster, 1983.
    • The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace.  New York:  Simon & Schuster, 1987.
      I received The Road Less Travelled as a gift.  I put off reading it for several months.  At the time, psychology did not hold an interest for me.  I finally picked it up and began reading parts of it.  I was surprised.  Peck was my first introduction to humanistic psychology.  I came to view psychology in quite a different light.  I regard Peck's work as professional loving.  "Love" being defined by Peck as, "The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's or another's spiritual growth."
  • Erich Fromm
    • The Art of Loving.  New York:  Harper & Row, 1956.
    • Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics.  New York:  Fawcett Books, 1947.
    • To Have or to Be.
      I was introduced to Fromm's work by reading Peck.  I decided to investigate further.  Fromm, through his professional career working with people provides many insights into the understanding of humanity.  It was by reading Fromm's work (although he admits he knows nothing about it) that I first became intrigued by consciousness and began to question what it is.
  • R. Buckminster Fuller
    • Operation Manuel for Spaceship Earth.  New York:  Pocket Books, 1970.
    • Critical Path.  New York: St. Martins Press, 1981.
      Fuller was a revolutionary thinker.  He was willing to break out of every mold and recreate a reality that is by far more practical than anything the human race has yet created.  His numerous inventions include the geodesic dome, the most practical and efficient way to enclose space.  Fuller wrote about the selfish ways of humanity and the threat that has toward the survival of our species.
  • Steven Hawking
    • A Brief History of Time.  New York:  Bantam Books, 1988.
      I was interested in physics and cosmetology for some time before picking up Hawking's book.  Hawking explains all of this in a very clear and easy-to-understand manner.  It was through this book that I began to notice the mystical elements to the discoveries in modern physics.
  • Fritjof Capra
    • The Tao of Physics
    • The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture
    • Uncommon Wisdom.  New York:  Bantam Books, 1988.
      Capra takes the discoveries of modern physics and compares them to the teachings of the mystics.  He also takes these discoveries and gives them a practical application toward the healing of humanity.
  • Julian Jaynes
    • The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.   Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976.
      Jaynes' view on consciousness is highly controversial.  I don't think what he explains is in fact the origin of consciousness, but rather, the origin of the imagination.  Regardless, his book introduced me to many fascinating insights about the human mind
  • Gregory Bateson
    • Steps to an ecology of mind: A revolutionary approach to man's understanding of himself.  New York: Chandler, 1972.
      What can I say except Bateson was one of the most brilliant minds of the century.  He excelled in many disciplines and integrated them in such a way that provides some profound insights into the nature of humanity.

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