Halfway Up the Mountain

This book is extremely helpful for those have been hurt within a spiritual community or for those who are currently involved in one. It is a must for anyone who is being put into a teaching position; i.e. all the growing spiritual movements especially in California. This book has an amazing section on transference with students. It is a more psychologically sophisticated book in my opinion not meant for idealists who are still new and wide eyed on the path, nor for intellectuals with control issues such as the above reviewers who would never think to humble themselves to work with a teacher within a spiritual community. Much can be gained by working with a teacher but it is always a risk. One that has been worth it for me fortunately. However, as a therapist I have worked also with many people who have been damaged within spiritual work. This is an excellent book for that kind of work. The Book will make the paranoid more paranoid, make the average seeker cautious, and the devotee upset that someone would try to humanize their teacher. It can also help to heal those who have had their trust misused by teachers and learn to trust again but being more cautious. It is a difficult subject to deal with and I think the author has done the best that can be done. If you like this one you'll also enjoy Jack Kornfield's after the ecstasy the laundry.

This was the book I needed. It's helped me re-write in view of spiritual reality and turn my own disillusionment into something calmer, and send me back to some more genuine motivations. There are some problems with the book. Nik Scott is right that the book is messy and swollen with quotes from others (although that is also part of it's value). It's true that worrying so much about enlightenment is beside the point - which is what the book says in fact, but it still never frees itself from the lingering hint of judgementalism implied. As others have alluded to, this book has an incredible depth. Half of it could stand on it's own as a perceptive survey of different spiritual experiences. I have the feeling I'm talking to someone who has been around awhile, very wise - and cynical, but in a useful way.

If you're a person craving for spiritual experiences and looking for the hand of God in your life, you will not enjoy the head blow your ego with get from this book. Even better than John of the Cross does, it will point out within yourself what Thomas Merton called: "the birds of appetite", which is the ego circling and searching for spiritual experiences so that it may prove its false existence to God. This is book shows in great detail how spiritual people, even humble and well-meaning spiritual people, fall to the conscious and subconscious tricks of the ego. The tricks are many and this book seems to hit them all.A big plus of this book is that it quotes from teachers in all the major spiritual traditions of the past 3000 years. But my "birds of appetite" don't enjoy this, because the book demonstrates that all major religions present a very similar purpose of spiritual practice, which is the removal of the ego. This book, like no other except Scriptures or other public relevation, is merciless in turning over stones in your ego mind, so you can see how false and hollow your spiritual life really is.A previous reviewer complained that this book was too dark. My view on is: the darker and more hopeless you feel after reading this book, the more your ego has been unmasked.If you don't have a very qualified spiritual mentor, or even if you do, this book could supply your need for spiritual direction. And if you are serious about your spirituality, you need to buy this book.

There are A LOT of spiritual books on the market, and even more New Age books, but in many ways they are all the same. Halfway Up the Mountain goes straight to the core of the REAL challenges that REAL people who are dead-serious about the spiritual path will face. You only learn these things by complete immersion in the spiritual path...or by being fortunate enough to find a rare book like this one!

If you have spiritual aspirations (or pretentions!) this book will smoke out the inner work you have yet to do! At the same time, it provides a revealing glimpse into the hearts and spirits of some hearteningly honest and modest spiritual teachers worthy of our attention. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to advance spiritually -- and particularly for those who want to (or watch out!) are already teaching!