After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield

Spiritual books generally fall into two categories: those that are primarily philosophical in nature, and those that are more story-telling. After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield is a very unusual mix of the two. It's mostly story-telling, but he isn't telling his story, or recounting the life of a Saint. Instead, the book is organized into philosophical ideas, but each one is supported by lots of stories. The stories come from Christians and Jews, men and women, Buddhists and Hindus. Most of the sources are currently living. Kornfield "hangs" with the spiritual crowd, and as a result, he has a lot of stories to share from spiritual teachers of all traditions.

Along the way, he gives you a lot of insight into the spiritual path. It isn't always a pretty picture. The title comes from an experience that is apparantly common to many advanced spiritual seekers: they have the ecstatic, blissful experience that they thought they were always searching for, lasting for hours or days or weeks, and then they experience a traumatic come-down into the real world. It can be disheartening to anyone who thought "Once I finally reach that big experience, all my troubles will be over," and Kornfield does nothing to soften the blow.

On the other hand, it is certainly not a negative or discouraging book. It reads like a guidebook to the path that I want to walk, written after talking to many people who have walked a lot farther than I have. As much as anything, the message I took away was that normal people—not superhuman, not free of troubles or hang-ups—in short, people like me—can live a profound, committed spiritual life, and can see results from it. That's a message many of us need to hear.


After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield Spiritual books generally fall into two categories: those that are primarily philosophical in nature, and those that are more story-telling. After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield is a very unusual mix of the two. It's mostly story-telling, but he isn't telling his story, or recounting the life of a Saint. Instead, the book is organized into philosophical ideas, but each one is supported by lots of stories. The stories come from Christians and Jews, men and women, Buddhists and Hindus. Most of the sources are currently living. Kornfield "hangs" with the spiritual crowd, and as a result, he has a lot of stories to share from spiritual teachers of all traditions. Along the way, he gives you a lot of insight into the spiritual path. It isn't always a pretty picture. The title comes from an experience that is apparantly common to many advanced spiritual seekers: they have the ecstatic, blissful experience that they thought they were always searching for, lasting for hours or days or weeks, and then they experience a traumatic come-down into the real world. It can be disheartening to anyone who thought "Once I finally reach that big experience, all my troubles will be over," and Kornfield does nothing to soften the blow. On the other hand, it is certainly not a negative or discouraging book. It reads like a guidebook to the path that I want to walk, written after talking to many people who have walked a lot farther than I have. As much as anything, the message I took away was that normal people—not superhuman, not free of troubles or hang-ups—in short, people like me—can live a profound, committed spiritual life, and can see results from it. That's a message many of us need to hear.
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