Living an Examined Life: Wisdom for the Second Half of the Journey

This book was super helpful and relevant for me, and where I feel at. Major life shifts have happened in the past few years, the death of the life I thought I’d have and who I thought I’d be. What now? This book was full of little nuggets that made me ponder, think, and provided encouragement. I read it slowly over a few weeks, as it was so full of good quotes to absorb.I definitely recommend it.

Hollis has a drawn on Jung’s ideas, filtered through his own personal and professional experiences as a psychiatrist, to provide a road map for thinking about the challenges of living a meaningful life. Easy to read (more so than some of his other books) and challenging and provocative in such a useful and supportive way.

Living An Examined Life is compelling. I have read every book written by James Hollis, Ph.D., and they all satisfy the spirit but this one was extraordinary. Here are just some of the places that engaged me all week and continue to do so:In Chapter 4 Dr. Hollis writes “When the path we are on is right for our souls, the energy is there.” Are there any truer words? I think not and my body agrees.I felt excited to read and remember that we all have an ongoing opportunity to shout down our fears especially when they are attached to old complexes. I felt encouraged to understand more deeply how grace transforms when one least expects it and how the soul never fails to point us in the right direction to live our “own” lives and not another person's idea of what that means. I also heard his gentle warning of the consequences to our soul when we ignore, deny or dismiss its bidding.The chapters - in this 21 step plan to attend to the unfinished business in our lives - transition effortlessly. This break between chapters allows the reader to pause, close the book, and ponder the healing message each step offers. (Early on in this life-giving book, the author recommends we read only one chapter each day.) That was initially difficult for me because I wanted to keep on going but I followed his suggestion and it made for a rich reflection.I was particularly touched in Chapter 18 where Dr. Hollis shares his personal thoughts on honoring the difference between job, duty, and calling. Here he expressed his own gratitude to all the people in his life who do jobs that each of us benefits from daily. In this chapter he also mentioned a bit about his own journey and the difficult paths of those others he loved and who didn’t have as many opportunities as he.James Hollis is a brilliant man yet his kindness, his humor, and his humanity are ever present in his books as well as in his lectures. He is a man for all seasons and this latest book, Living An Examined Life, will help a multitude; it has already helped me and my soul thanks him for doing so.

Lots of ah ha moments !

This book is unbelievably helpful. The messages are searingly pertinent, especially so for those who seriously wish to confront their responsibility to listen to their soul and honestly engage their spirit in the search, not for answers, but meaning. Hollis has provided an extraordinary path for honest thinking, reflection and awareness that leads you to many insights, but most importantly to the realisation that every day is an opportunity to “live” your life, to gracefully understand your faults and yet not be handcuffed by your past or your imagined limitations; rather to be guided by your inner truth and inspired to keep working gently and ceaselessly on yourself. A wonderful work of wisdom.