Time and the Soul: Where Has All the Meaningful Time Gone -- And Can We Get It Back?

In Time and the Soul, Needleman collects wisdom over the centuries with the lore of many traditions. The desert story of Kirzai may linger in your soul beyond the time you give to read it.

Time and the Soul is more than a book, it is a deep meditation experience. Dr. Needleman is a wise, authentic guide calling us back to our lost Self and suggesting practical ways to remember who we really are. I keep this book close by and when my spiritual quest feels a bit dry, I return here and find my inspiration renewed. This is the book I most often share with family and friends who are fellow seekers. Today I am ordering five more copies.

Time and the Soul is not just a book, it is a deep meditation experience. Dr. Needleman is a wise, authentic guide calling us back to our lost Self, and suggesting practical ways to remember who we really are. I keep this book close by and when my spiritual quest feels a bit dry, I return here and find my inspiration renewed. This is the book I most often share with friends and family who are fellow seekers. Today, I am ordering five more copies.

This is very far from being a conventional time management book. It is much better than that. You will not find 'seven steps to taking control of your time' or anything like that. Jacob Needleman is a highly regarded philosopher and this is a serious work of philosophy, with strong overtones of Taoist or Zen approaches. Like those, it is a practical guide, but not the sort of easy guide that is most commonly found in the management literature. It is based on the distinction between the Ego and the Self and argues that our crisis of business and stress is closely related to neglect of the search for the Self. The author's practical advice is built around developing a habit of mind that gives honour to reflection and a degree of detachment. There is, of course, much more in this short book than that. There are times when one wonders whether the narrative is leading anywhere, followed by flashes of recognition. It is well worth considering if you are open to philosophical and sometimes counter-intuitive guidance. Certainly, it helps to show that the approach to 'time management' of relentlessly increasing your efficiency at filling your day with more things is inevitably counter-productive, and it offers a difficult but practical alternative route to a sane outlook and a sane life.

If you try to understand this book with your head, you will be torn into a million pieces. It is amazingly difficult to explain what this book is about... you should just know that if you read it, at some point something very strange happens to you... this something is very disturbing, but it is also very sweet. Take a chance and read it!