The Spiritual Path: Benefits and Pitfalls with Dan Millman and Ronald L Boyer

Circle For Original Thinking

With the advent of the nuclear age, Western science reached the pinnacle of invention, but lacked a critical understanding of its underlying wisdom or purpose. Carl Jung framed the problem as “modern man in search of a soul.” When the Western mind turned outward, searching for what was missing, it first turned to the East. A trickle of Eastern gurus soon became a flood, and by the late 1960s, all sorts of gurus, roshis, rinpoches, and other teachers were promising some form of mastery of life - if only one followed their path. Many Americans embarked upon this quest for spirituality, mostly in California, and later across the nation. Our guests, Dan Millman and Ron Boyer, were at the forefront of the California movement. They not only embraced Eastern wisdom; they took an active part in remaking Western psychology–at the time mired in psychoanalysis and behaviorism–into a humanistic “third force” of psychology that expanded the discipline to include religion, spirituality, and self-actualization. Along the way, they discovered not only the benefits, but also the pitfalls, of embarking on a spiritual path. This is their story.

Dan Millman, a former world trampoline champion, Stanford University gymnastics coach, martial arts instructor, and Oberlin college professor, has authored 18 books published in 29 languages. Way of the Peaceful Warrior – after initially modest sales, was republished by New World Library, became a mega-best seller, and was adapted to film in 2006. Dan has traveled widely, teaching in over thirty countries. His most current book is Peaceful Heart, Warrior Spirit, which is the true story of his spiritual quest. To learn more about his books, events, online courses, and life-purpose calculator, visit www.PeacefulWarrior.com

Ronald L Boyer, MA, DDIv, a Jungian depth psychologist, protégé and colleague of Dr. Stanley Krippner, helped Stan create the original curriculum model for the Humanistic Psychology Institute (now Saybrook University) back in the early 70s, and went on the become the director of the Sonoma Institute, the first accredited graduate training program in the nation for psychotherapists trained in the humanistic-transpersonal framework. An award-winning poet, author, and screenwriter, Ron is also the director of the Krippner Center for Indigenous Studies and currently a doctoral student in Cultural and Historical Studies of Religion at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley.