Tuesday, November 24, 2009

More About Stones

I enjoyed Scott Peck's The Road Less Travelled, though I found his People of the Lie lacked true insight and was a tad ridiculous in places, e.g. including a woman patient who resisted his treatment in his examples of 'evil.' Bad case of projection there, methinks. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that he shares my obsession with megaliths! I've made two serious pilgrimages to megalithic sites along with close friend and Jungian psychotherapist, Dr N. We visited numerous here in Ireland one year and then headed off to the Orkney Islands and the Outer Hebrides for another search several years later. The latter trip brought us, like Dr Peck and his wife, to the incredible and mysterious Callanish Stones, an important element in my new adult work. What I like about Scott's book is his recognition of and apparent reconciliation with his shadow. He does not present himself as a hero, but shows himself with all his warts. Interesting to see that the physician cannot heal himself. He appears to have serious addiction issues around alcohol, cigarettes and sex. I rather like this about him. Most psychotherapists, New Age healers and anyone else writing non-fiction personal growth and self-improvement books present themselves as paragons, living the kind of ideal happy lives they are attempting to sell. Not our Dr Peck. He is quite human.

1 comment:

Kelly Thompson said...

Ms. Melling, Can you give more insight into your new book? I am about to travel (in May) to take the same route as Findabhair and Gwen in Hunter's moon, so I would like to visit some of the Megaliths you talk about here. Which are the best to see?