What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America

Thank you for the prompt delivery of this book in excellent condition. I read this book when it was published but had loaned my copy to someone who has not returned it. This was a good read the first time, I am eager to enjoy it again. I learned about the work of Dr. Betty Edwards when I read this book and later took her course, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

Essentially each chapter of the book finds the author observing the practice of another guru. He gets into the backstory of each guru's life, and also manages a few random examples of others who found virtue in each form of help. In each case, the author seems to go "whole hog" for the approach and rave about the success he perceives it has had. Typically, his introduction revolves around his particular neuroses: back pain, anger, malcontentedness and woeful tennis. Without getting into details about himself, he then provides a more extensive history of the practice.Of course there's no controlled experiments in existence to support the helpfulness claimed by gurus - and the author adds no scientific process here in this book. "What Really Matters" is just one man profiling gurus and looking for a solution to his own vaguely described problems. It is frustrating that after observing and generally supporting each approach for pages and pages, he'll then choose to dismiss it with a few offhand comments at the end of the chapter: for example, the brain-wave chapter seems to find him relishing this dubious treatment throughout, until he casually mentions that the clinic wound up closed and the practice essentially discontinued. Given it's current status, it seems that reading the history of this practice wasn't even necessary.In contrast to other reviewers, I found the final chapter to lack any focused conclusion. It even seems like Mr. Schwartz continued in the same vein after all of this research: flipping through the very same therapies with essentially the same problems he had before, albeit with an added sense that no one cure will eliminate them permanently.Given that this was published over 15 years ago, some of this material is quite dated. It is too scientifically lacking to be a great resource, and too vague to be a first hand personal account. Frankly it is well written - perhaps it would have been better off as one or the other in total, rather than a weak pass at each.

This is the best book That I have read concerning finding meaning in life. Tony has not only written an excellent book about his journey to answer life's questions but has introduced me to several other wonderful authors and teachers. I like his no nonsense approach. This guy is no navel gazer but at the same time he genuinely makes an effort to find alternative and novel ways to look deeply at life. Through his journey he finds merit in many philosophies. I particularly like his "bottom line" at the end of the book. It really is simple after all.

Well written, excellent review of human potential movement people & philosophy from someone who reached a professional pinnacle and looked beyond.

This was a gift so can only go by their reaction it proved to be interesting and helpful will recommend it to others

A wonderful writer about interesting people during an exceptional time

I bet that if I met Tony Schwartz I would really like him. He comes across in this deeply personal book, as a decent, heartfelt and loving person. The book is the story of his five-year quest at the start of the 1990s to find wisdom and insight in the "new age" movement in America. Though at times a bit solipsistic, Schwartz generally does an entertaining job of conveying the ups and downs of the various experiences he goes through on this quest.The first three chapters of the book introduce us to some of the key figures in creating what has become the "new age" movement in America. The first chapter introduces us to Ram Dass, who was part of the original LSD experimentation with Timothy Leary. The next chapter tells the story of Michael Murphy and the founding of Esalen, and the third chapter covers Elmer Green and the biofeedback movement. For me this section was a wonderful introduction to how these institutions and practices got started in America in the Sixties (ignoring, of course, the historical connections back to American transcendentalism and the like).The middle section of the book covers some of the powerful tools that were developed and refined as part of the "new age" approach. Chapter Four covers Betty Edwards and her tools to improve "seeing" and so drawing; Chapter Five reviews the insights about how the mind effects and interacts with our health; Chapter Six details tools that have been developed to help people achieve peak performance; and Chapter Seven explores the use of "new age" tools in exploring the meaning of our dreams. These chapters capture well the some of the clear gains from the "new age" movement - a set of practical tools that people now use to live healthier and more complete lives.The final section discusses several thinkers who have tried to develop more integrative views of human nature. Schwartz reviews the thinking of Jack Kronfield, Joseph Goldstein, Ken Wilber, Helen Palmer and Hameed Ali. Schwartz finds much to appreciate in each of these thinkers, but at this point, for this reader, it becomes clear that Schwartz has started to partake in much "covering over" of the negatives associated with the "new age" approaches.For one thing Schwartz has decided to only write about his experiences with those who he felt were truly enlightened and decent people. As for the many potentially detrimental components of this movement, Schwartz spends only one sentence: "I have spent much of my time detouring around New Age popularizers, self-promoting hucksters, and charismatic demagogues posing as enlightened teachers." While I respect Schwartz desire to focus on the positive, the result is clearly not an objective review of the movement. Another question that runs through the book is whether psychotherapy may not be a more powerful and reliable tool for addressing individual needs. Only at the end, does Schwartz reveal that this was a critical tool in his growth.To highlight only the best of the "new age" experiences and to minimize the potential benefits of psychotherapy, as Schwartz has done, is to create a Pollyanna view of the "new age" world that ignores much of the damage and difficulty that should be part of the full picture.

I have always been fascinated by the passion and commitment people feel toward such unbeliveably diverse philosophies. Whenever I met someone who meditated, was a Buddist or Hari Krishna, i would pick their brain until finally they would get tired of talking about it! Whenever I had time to surf around the web, I would read about religions and cults. Finally a friend gave me a copy of "What Reallly Matters" and I couldn't put it down. It was a treasure trove for me of the different ways of thinking that I had been so hungry to learn about. Tony Schwartz writing style made it all the more interesting.