Book Review

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

One Taste
The Journals of Ken Wilber
Ken Wilber
Shambhala 09/00 Paperback $16.95
ISBN: 1-57062-547-6

All those who are intrigued with Ken Wilber's writings on integral practice are sure to find this volume organized around his journals to be a mind-expanding experience. Huston Smith has said of him: "Wilber is laying the foundations for a genuine East/West integration." Here you will find excerpts from seminars given in association with the Naropa Institute, accounts of the writing and publishing of The Marriage of Sense and Soul, some correspondence, and the author's commentary on pop culture, including films and music.

At one point Wilber notes: " 'Spirituality' means so many things to so many people that it's hard to focus efforts and rally others to the cause." He makes the distinction between transformative spirituality (which involves dismantling the self/ego) and translative spirituality (which emphasizes how the self can think differently about the world). Wilber believes that only one percent (or several million people) in America are involved in what he calls "authentic spirituality" — one that is rooted in rigorous practice. As a Buddhist, the author talks about his own regimen. He concludes: "Unless spirituality can pass through the gate of science, then of liberalism, it will never be a significant force in the modern world."

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by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat