The Essence of Living: Reaching Beyond Global Insanity

Bolen purports to have a plan that will guide people to the essence of life. Drawing from his own catharsis, Bolen explains that most human actions are motivated by fear--fear of doing the wrong thing, fear of breaking the rules, fear of being hurt--rather than any positive motivator. Bolen attributes this motivation to the ego: as human beings, our "suffering comes from attachment to the ego. Our ego prevents us from trusting ourselves, trusting others, from trusting nature. Our lack of trust prevents us from experiencing our true desires." Bolen's goal is for people to recognize inner tranquility; this, in turn, would increase global harmony, for differences would no longer be a defining factor in social definitions. Of interest to self-help fans, but much of Bolen's writing lacks the charisma of some authors on this topic. With his wife, Bolen is the founder of Shared Knowledge, a company dedicated to aiding others in search of personal awareness and empowerment. Denise Perry Donavin