On the verge of a new millennium, in an age of unprecedented affluence, personal freedom and scientific power, millions of usyoung and not so youngfind ourselves emotionally and morally adrift. Even as our mastery of the material world reaches new heights almost daily, mastery of the inner worldof our own actions, emotions, and deepest hopesoften tragically eludes our grasp. As families come apart, adults become bitter and emotionally detached. Children fall prey to a "culture" of sex and drugs, cynical materialism, and self-destructive nihilism. It increasingly seems that, in the piercing words of Jesus, we have "gained the whole world, and lost our own souls."
In A Return to Innocence, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Jeffrey M. Schwartza Jewish student of both Buddhist meditation and Christian philosophycombines 3,000 years of wisdom with cutting edge brain and behavioral research to guide us in recovering our souls, our safety, our integrity and our capacity to love. After a 35-year experiment in unbridled self-gratification that has left a burden of tremendous suffering in its wake, at last we are ready to understand that innocencein its original meaning of "not harming"is actually the highest and most difficult of human achievements. The lost art of self-command that empowers us not to harm ourselves or one another is the core teaching of humanity's greatest spiritual masters, including Moses, Jesus, and Buddha. If we value our children, our culture, even our very freedom, we must return to true innocence as our source of inner lightness, clarity and spiritual power. A practical path to this wellspring of inner purity was mapped out 2,500 years ago by Gotama Buddhain Dr. Schwartz's view the greatest psychologist who ever livedwhose still-fresh insights into human nature can serve as a bridge joining the wisdom of the Bible to the discoveries of 21st century science.
A deeply felt, thought-provoking exchange of letters between "spiritual coach" Dr. Schwartz and sixteen-year-old Patrick Buckley, the son of a single mother, frames this fascinating, powerful code for living that shows how the best in each of us can thrive. Spiritual and philosophical ideas become hands-on tools for dealing with real-life dilemmas as Dr. Schwartz addresses Patrick's urgent questions about morality, responsibility, and freedom of choice.
This book offers an empowering combination of hope, inspiration, accurate information about the biology of human nature, as well as desperately-needed guidance for keeping that nature on a life-affirming path. To everyoneyoung and oldA Return to Innocence offers dynamic, concrete solutions for the pain in our hearts, the fear in our streets, and the cynicism that has corroded our ideals. It speaks directly to our longing for a decent, meaningful, and fulfilling life.
The traditional values that made civilization possible were thought to be outrageously radical and daring when they were first introduced by revolutionaries like Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed. . . . Yet those codes of behavior became "traditional"that is, they got handed down from generation to generationfor one simple reason: they work. And they work because they're based on a highly sophisticated and deeply wise understanding of human nature.
We often hear the phrase "Knowledge is power"but nowhere is it truer than when it comes to knowledge of ourselves.
Are we humans primarily driven, or "drivers"? Are we blameless puppets of our genes, our hormones, our childhoods, or do we have the power, and so the responsibility, to choose what we will do?
In our day and age, everyone wants to be, or at least appear to be, streetwise, experienced, cool, and cynical. What people don't realize is that the source of the word "innocent" is a place of great power. It comes from the Latin words for "not" and "to harm." True innocence is the highest of human accomplishments. Not doing harm requires the utmost in awareness, effort, and courage.
The state of the world begins right herein the state of your mind.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Obvious advice, borring, full of it, etc...:

I can't believe this got good reviews. If you want some obvious advice from a guy who loves to dish it out. This guy is so fake and full of it. Maybe if he would tone it down a little I would have gone for it, but I don't buy it.

The Road to Becoming a Mature Adult:

Return to Innocence is a thought provoking guide to the physical and emotional development of older teens. This is an ideal gift for a sixteenth birthday. Written as correspondence between a young man and distant mentor, young women can also benefit, learning about themselves as well as about young men. Rather than preaching rules of behavior, Schwartz provides enlightening and inspiring perspectives on the wonderous abilities for young adults to develop a strong inner self control over impulsive behaviors;... more info

A classic reference for our society's cries for help:

A RETURN TO INNOCENCE, written as letters exchanged between Dr. Schwartz and his young sixteen-year-old friend Patrick Buckley, is a cogent message to adults and youth of our present society, urging us all to rediscover and re-embrace the customs and traditions of moral values which we have so long abandoned or shrugged off as no longer necessary for our existence.
Infused with information from today's scientific research on the chemical changes the brain can undergo, the book also details, using... more info

Fabulous:

I'm not an extremely educated person, but I have always had some level of understanding in why people behave the way they do. This book seemed to help confirm my feelings. Being based on both science, and spirituality, I believe that this book portrays a truth, that people should try to understand rather than ignore, and hopefully try to Return to Innocence which is good for everyone.

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