Scott Nearing

I first heard of Scott Nearing when I read a book called Loving and Leaving the Good Life, written by his wife Helen. It was a very good book and I recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to live the "normal" life.

I can't find the notes I took when I read the book several years ago at a backpackers hostel called Hostel in the Forest but here is something I wrote on another webpage when I was reviweing a book on emotional healing. The book mentioned this guy Krishnamurti who seems to be a big fake. Here is part of what I wrote in that review...

I read something in 1996 about Krishnamurti which caused me to feel very skeptical of him. It was ina book called Loving and Leaving the Good Life which is about activist Scott Nearing, written by his wife after he died. In telliing the story of her own life before she met her husband she tells of her relationship with Krishnamurti... (Here is more)

Anyhow here are two links about Scott Nearing and the center which tries to model things he believed in.

http://goodlife.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Nearing

I also wrote more about Scott, Helen and the center in my journal for Oct 3, 2006

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I read something in 1996 about Krishnamurti which caused me to feel very skeptical of him. It was in a book called Loving and Leaving the Good Life which is about activist Scott Nearing, written by his wife after he died. In telling the story of her own life before she met her husband she tells of her relationship with Krishnamurti. She gives a very critical description of Krishnamurti, based on her own personal experience with him. She was involved romantically with him when she was young. Later when he became even more famous he treated her badly and she saw how arrogant, insensitive and hypocritical he was. She did not seem bitter about the experience, or seem to want to hurt him in a vengeful way. Instead, she seemed to feel obligated to let others know the true personality of Krishnamurti. I found her writing to be very credible.

I have remembered it often as I reflect on my own life, and it helps me avoid following the same path as Krishamurti. I don't expect that I will have the same problems he had though, because I don't make the same claims about my writing and ideas as he made about his. Nor do I try to appeal to people who are seeking "spiritual" guides and remedies for their pain. I do not even use the word "spiritual" in my writing unless I am referring to the way others use it. I find it a dangerous word in the sense that it is too often used to emotionally manipulate people with serious unmet emotional needs. I believe it is more helpful to look at ourselves as animals with biological and psychological/emotional needs than to see ourselves as spiritual beings. The concept of spiritual beings opens up the door to too much mysticism and to too many unscientific claims and beliefs, in my opinion. It also leads to too much abuse of power by those who claim to be "spiritual" guides, but are very emotionally needy themselves. Another concern I have with spirituality is the almost infinite variations of (often conflicting) definitions of spiritual and religious beliefs, most of which can never be proven or disproven scientifically. I believe science and a purely scientifically-based belief system is the best hope for the unity among humanity which is so clearly needed.