Stages of Life Coaches

March 02, 2008

Podcast Interview with Thomas Armstrong on The Radio Mom Show

The_radio_mom_show Last month I did an interview with Kemi Ingram, the host of The Radio Mom Show, a widely syndicated podcast on the internet.  The interview covers both my work on multiple intelligences (my books In Their Own Way, 7 Kinds of Smart, Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom etc.), and my latest book The Human Odyssey.  To listen to the complete interview, click here. 

January 14, 2008

Read Excerpt of The Human Odyssey in Spirituality & Health magazine (Now On Newstands)

Spirituality_and_health_2The January/February 2008 edition of Spirituality & Health magazine has excerpted Chapter 1 from Thomas Armstrong's new book The Human Odyssey: Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life.  The title of Chapter 1 is:  Prebirth:  The Undiscovered Continent.  In this chapter, the reader goes on a "you-are-there" wild ride from conception down the fallopian tubes to implantation in the uterus and then to successive stages of growth as a fetus until birth.  Here is the first paragraph from the chapter:  "According to a beautiful legend from the Jewish tradition, the fetus in the womb has a light that shines above his head that sees from one end of the universe to the other.  This light encompasses the unborn's own deep past and his ultimate destiny.  Just before birth, however, the angel Lailah comes to the unborn babe and lightly strikes her finger on his upper lip. This act extinguishes the light and causes the child to take birth in total forgetfulness of all he has known during his prebirth existence.  The purpose of life is to recover this light.  It's said that this is why we bear a little crease in our upper lip called the philtrum:  This is the mark of the angel." 

To read the rest of the article, get the January/February 2008 issue of Spirituality & Health:

To subscribe to Spirituality & Health magazine

To see a list of newstands that carry Spirituality & Health magazine

To request promotional copies for conferences, events, spas, or practitioners' offices.

December 26, 2007

Science & Spirit Reviews The Human Odyssey

Science_spiritThe September-October 2007 issue of Science & Spirit magazine reviewed The Human Odyssey: Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. and the book Why Good Things Happen to Good People: The Exciting New Research that Proves the Link Between Doing Good and Living a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by Stephen Post, Ph.D. and Jill Neimark, in an article entitled:  "Life in Steps and Stages:  Why Doing Good Means Doing Well."  The author of the review, Rachel Adams, notes that:  "Although Why Good Things marshals plenty of data, it is surely outdone by another book on positive human development, Armstrong's Human Odyssey . . . The genius of this book is to take us on an odyssey from birth to death.  The story is 'a kind of travelogue to your past, present, and future life, Armstrong says."  Science & Spirit is an independent magazine that "explores life's complexities by encouraging a robust, reflective, integrated conversation about how science affects the human spirit."

December 07, 2007

Basil & Spice Features Interview with Thomas Armstrong, Author of The Human Odyssey

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Kelly Jad'on, whose blog "Basil & Spice" focuses on "Author & Books Views on a Healthy Life," conducted an interview with me that appeared in her blog yesterday, December 6, 2007 (it has also been syndicated and appears in BlogCritics Magazine).  See her blog for reviews of books and interviews with authors on a host of wellness topics including diet, self-healing, spirituality, nutrition, fitness, and aging.  The full interview appears below:

Interview With Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.--Author of The Human Odyssey

Posted on Dec 7, 2007 by Kelly Jad'on.
The author of 13 books, Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., has spent his life writing and speaking about human development, with a particular focus on children. He has appeared on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, CNN, and has presented more than 800 keynotes, workshops, and seminars in 42 states and 16 countries.

Dr. Armstrong, until the publication of The Human Odyssey, most of your writing seemed to focus on children and issues which affect their education. True? If so, why the departure?

In the early 1980s I began teaching courses in both adult and child development, and received a doctorate degree in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 1987, where I began working on the idea of creating a psycho-spiritual book on human development. Then I was sidelined by my writings in education. About ten years ago, I came up with the focus of this book, and have been working on it pretty steadily since then.

My writing in education has been motivated by the fact that there is so little understanding among parents and educators about what children really need in order to learn. The No Child Left Behind Act and the general climate of education these days are pretty dismal. Childhood is disappearing as we push adult responsibilities earlier and earlier. For example, play and recess are being taken away, and corporate models of thinking are being institutionalized in classrooms. Kindergarten has become a worksheet wasteland in order to get kids ready for college. Childhood is being bulldozed by what I've called in one of my books (The Best Schools) "the academic achievement discourse."

Is there any stopping it? That is, the disappearance of childhood?

I don’t know. Childhood is a manifestation of the spirit. Spirit is being hacked away in other arenas of society too, through political and military influences, for example.

Yes, I do have hope, I’m an optimist. But I also have a realistic understanding that massive forces are being unleashed against the spiritual side of life these days.

Frances Wickes, a Jungian analyst from the 1940s, illuminates this dynamic in her book The Inner World of Choice. She shared a dream (it may have been her own as a young child) about a fragile flower facing a massive behemoth. The flower prevails and is able to survive against this catastrophic image. I believe that this is the situation we have today. Fragile truth will ultimately win out.

My blog addresses the image of the behemoth in posts such as the recent high rates of suicide in girls, boys beginning to develop eating disorders , infants being terribly abused — these are the warning signs of a disintegrating culture. But it also addresses the strength of the fragile flower by highlighting proactive organizations, programs, and resources that are available to help individuals at each of the twelve stages of life (prebirth, birth, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, midlife, mature adulthood, late adulthood, and death and dying).

Back up a moment. What were you like as a child?

I was playful and serious at the same time. My father was a physician, but because he had a nervous breakdown and lay around the house for seventeen years, I became an anxious child. He would blow up suddenly without warning. It was like being in a minefield, and I had to be vigilant all the time. Avoiding my father's rage took a lot of work on the reptilian level. Our house was destroyed by an F5 tornado around same time my father had the breakdown, so there were a lot of terrifying moments. But growing up in Fargo, North Dakota, an uncomplicated place to live, was otherwise rather normal for me. I played baseball, had a coin collection, liked to ride my bike, had good friends. I was not a particularly spiritual child, but can remember things like being able to leave my body in a floating state while going to sleep, and producing eidetic imagery (inner images that were as clear as outer perceptions). And, I was always wondering about the ultimate questions of life. My mom even told me not to think about these things so much.

What aspects of your childhood carried through into your field of research today?

I had an aunt who went into education. She became director of the Amsterdam International School, and helped to transform it into a building based on Waldorf (Rudolf Steiner) architecture. I think I was was inspired by her unconsciously. I also had good teachers who recognized my own individuality and reached out to me. That made a difference. I had a voracious love of learning, and enjoyed regular art and music periods. I’m just now rediscovering my art side — painting and doing collages. I drew a lot as a child, then switched and became very verbal. I think my hidden art life is one reason I got so passionate in my writing (e.g., In Their Own Way, The Myth of the A.D.D. Child) about kids labeled learning disabled (LD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are very artistic but are not having their creative side acknowledged or developed.

Do you have children?

No. I'm working on a novel right now to address the irony of spending so much of my professional life focused on children, yet not having children myself. It's called Childless. My wife is a psychotherapist who works with children and adults in sandplay therapy. So we're both working with kids -- just not having them ourselves. This may sound like rationalizing, but I think there's a certain detachment that people have who don't have children, that they can use in helping to better the lives of all kids. I think of my own teachers in elementary school, many of whom didn't have kids, and yet who helped me (and others) quite a bit.

In The Human Odyssey, you discuss "Adapters" and "Rememberers," using the industrialist Leland Stanford and the poet Emily Dickinson as examples. How are the "Adapter" and the "Rememberer" keys to living life?

"Adapters" are concerned with fitting into the world that is, with all of its demands for conformity, ambition, and street smarts. "Rememberers" are always thinking of what is possible -- they're concerned with what it means to exist, to realize one's potential, to explore the depths of one's being. The fact is, we need to have both of these qualities in order to live a full life. A parent has an obligation to help her children "adapt" to the world's demands, but she must also help her child "remember" who she really is (her gifts, her essence). Some parents focus all the attention on the adapting, and their kids lose their souls. Other parents go the other way, and try to protect their child from the real world, and this also creates an unbalanced personality. In The Human Odyssey, I talk a lot about Odysseus in Homer's epic poem, and how he had both the "adapter "and the "rememberer" in him. That's part of what made him such an archetypal personality.

You're critical of much early childhood education these days. What's the biggest problem?

During early childhood kids shouldn’t have formal lessons in reading, math, or any other subject. This is a time of life when brains are plastic and being dynamically wired to the world; if they are exposed to abstract letters and one-dimensional computer screens, that's what the brain will be wired to. What they need is to be exposed to rich multi-sensory environments.

What should children be doing?

They need to play. During early childhood, play is what nature designed kids to do. Some researchers think that the neocortex actually evolved from play. Materials for play should be simple — puppets, blocks, simple toys, dress up clothes. And they should span the multiple intelligences — artistic, musical, nature-oriented, science exploration, physical play, etc. Books are okay to have in a play environment, but let the children decide what to do with them. It’s their choice. Other good examples involve manipulatives — sink and float, sandboxes, or just allowing them to mess around. These should be open-ended experiences. That’s the essence. They also need the time — not being shuttled from place to place, and they need a safe space in which to play.

Dr. Armstrong, which stage of life are you in? Are you comfortable with it?

At 57 years old, I’m in what I've called in The Human Odyssey, "mature adulthood" (forgive me if that sounds a little self-serving!). Mature adulthood roughly spans ages 50 to 80. For many it is a whole new stage of life because advancements in modern medicine have extended the life span by two or three decades. Some people at this age may feel as if they’re winding it up (based on messages they received from previous generations) but then realize they’ve got 20 or 30 more years to fill. This stage can be a wonderful second childhood, an opportunity to experience the energy and vitality of a child, and the knowledge and experience of an adult. By this age, most of us are no longer looking for a mate, or raising a child, or beginning a career (ages 20-50). I was a latebloomer and didn't find my marriage partner or career until my late thirties. So now that these are going along pretty well, I can focus on more on developing other potentialities that didn't get a chance to develop during my early adulthood, like my art and novel-writing. The ages from 50-80 can be a time to explore oneself (more "remembering" and less "adapting") and be generative by mentoring, grandparenting, teaching, and/or volunteering. One has greater life experience at this stage and greater opportunity to give back to the community.  For those with poverty or health issues, mature adulthood may be a time of more suffering. It is also a time of life when the body begins to break down. It’s not a completely rosy picture. I’m noticing that my friends and I are beginning to talk about health issues just like our elders did.

Our culture says about aging: “Look young physically,” whereas it should be emphasizing “Be young spiritually.” I question people wanting to mess around with their faces and bodies surgically doing face lifts and tummy tucks. It seems to me that they're almost saying: “I want you to think that I’m young, but I’m really not. I’m a liar.” For men it’s more of a virility issue. One of the messages of my book is: "Let's face it. You’re going to get old. Get used to it. Live a balanced life. Nurture your body, mind, and soul." The irony is that during youth people abuse their bodies because there’s no immediate feedback, but they’re laying the seeds for physical problems in their 50s, 60s and 70s. If my book helps even one person in young adulthood take better care of him or herself so that they have a better second half of life than they would have otherwise, then I will be very happy indeed.

The Human Odyssey adds a substantial amount of new information about the Twelve Stages of Life.

In The Human Odyssey, I’ve extended the conversation about human development to include prebirth, birth, death, and the afterlife. It seemed necessary to me that I discuss what many cultures around the world have thought about the stages of life. That's why I added an extra chapter (beyond the twelve stages of life) on the afterlife. Mentioning the afterlife shouldn’t be seen as something flaky or New Age, but rather as something "cross-cultural." Going back to earliest recorded history, cultures have always had maps of the afterlife (for example, the Egyptians built much of their culture around their image of the afterlife). We ought not leave these out of a book on human development. The life cycle is a huge thing to try to get one’s arms around. The more perspectives we can provide, the better we’ll be able to understand this incredible adventure.

I'm very excited about the filmography I've created at the end of the book — 130 movie listings with annotations organized by stage of life. I’ve always been profoundly moved by certain movies. I’ve noticed that the best of them usually deal with the human life span in some way (for example, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane takes us from his childhood to his death in old age). Many of the great films focus on a specific stage of life, like adolescence. Some examples include: Romeo and Juliet , Rebel without A Cause, and Westside Story (which totally blew me away as an eleven year old). I'd like to see people read a chapter from The Human Odyssey, watch a movie on that stage, and then talk about it among friends and/or family.

How should I relate to The Human Odyssey?

I wrote The Human Odyssey because I wanted people to see the big picture of our journey through life, and I wanted them to begin to care about the stages of life in a proactive way. Each person has all twelve stages of life within them -- some of them have been wounded by negative past experiences and need healing. We all know people who are in the different stages of life -- they also need care and support from us -- the infant son that needs human touch, the nephew who is having trouble learning at school, the friend at midlife who just got downsized at work. Our community is represented by all twelve stages -- and we need to care for the individuals in it who are at each stage -- our abused elders, our adolescents at risk, our toddlers who need to be protected from dangerous toys. I hope that people will read the book and then be moved to take positive actions that can transform human lives at each stage of development.

November 15, 2007

BasilandSpice.com Features The Human Odyssey

Basilheaderorange3The blog Basil & Spice (Author and Book Views on a Healthy Life) featured The Human Odyssey Nov. 4, 2007  in an article entitled "Where Will You Die?"  In the piece, the author Kelly Jad'on focuses on the death and dying chapter of the book, where I review the history of dying in America, the chances of dying at home or in a hospital in the 21st century, and the importance of the hospice movement in facilitating the dying process.  The piece was picked up online by Reuters and the Dayton Journal News.  She also includes, on the same page, an article I wrote on The Myth of ADD and an interview with me.

August 15, 2007

Joelle Delbourgo Associates Inc. Features The Human Odyssey

Joelle_delbourgoThis month, my fabulous literary agent, Joelle Delbourgo, is featuring The Human Odyssey on her agency website.  Ms. Delbourgo was formerly Senior Vice-President, Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher of HarperCollins, Adult Trade Division, and also had various editorial and executive posts at Ballantine Books, a division of Random House (see her bio).  Her other authors include Pulitzer-Prize winning Wall Street Journal writer Geeta Anand; novelists Pamela Duncan, Bob Mitchell and Roy Hoffman; and internationally bestselling philosopher, Lou Marinoff (see list of agency's recent sales).  Authors interested in submitting projects to her should read her submission guidelines.

August 07, 2007

One Spirit Book Club Features The Human Odyssey

Onespiritlogo_sm_2 This summer, the One Spirit Book Club, which is part of the Book-of-the-Month-Club organization, has named The Human Odyssey its Featured Selection (along with Sandra Ingerman's How to Heal Toxic Thoughts).  One Spirit includes a wide selection of new titles covering health and wellness, self-help and psychology, religion, spirituality, inspiration, and more.  To find out more about joining this book club, go to their website.

July 15, 2007

Radio Satellite Tour

Satellite_radio_siriusThis week, I will be interviewed by several radio stations around the country about my new book The Human Odyssey:  Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life.  Some of these interviews will be live (time given below as Pacific Daylight Time), and others will be taped for later broadcast.  Here is the schedule of radio stations/networks:

Monday, July 16, 2007

Taped 10 min.  - WLW-AM Cincinnati with Scott Fitzgerald

Taped 30 min.  - KVON AM, San Francisco, CA - Morning Edition with Jeff Schectman

8:00 - 8:30 AM - WBIX-AM, Boston, MA, The Frankie Boyer Show - (nationally syndicated - CRN)

9:05 - 9:20 AM - Lifestyle Talk Radio with Frankie Boyer (nationally syndicated)

Taped (20 min.) - Sirius Satellite Network -Catholic Channel with Fr. Paul Keenan (author of Stages of the Soul)

2:00 - 2:20 PM - Lifestyle Talk Radio Network, The Michael Dresser Show (nationally syndicated)

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Taped (10 min.) - KYW-AM, Philadelphia, PA Morning Report with Don Lancer

Taped (10 min.) - WHAM-AM, Rochester, NY, The Morning Show with Beth and Chet

6:30 - 7:00 AM  -  Sirius Satellite Network - Catholic Channel - Gus Lloyd Show (nationally syndicated)

Taped - 50 min. - WCBM-AM, Baltimore, MD - Weekends with Maggie Pascal

Taped - 15 min. - WSKY-FM, Gainesville, FL, Newscast Feature with Doug Clifford

1:10 - 1:25 PM   - WJBC-AM, Bloomington, IL, The Steve Fast Show

2:00 - 2:30 PM   - KOLE-AM, Beaumont, TX, Fox Forum with Dan Gresham

I hope that you're able to tune in to one or more of these broadcasts!

July 01, 2007

Today is the Official Publication Date of The Human Odyssey!

The_human_odysseyAfter 15 years of working on this project, today marks the day when The Human Odyssey is officially born!  I can remember so many times over the years when I thought this book would never be finished.  But I had help from many people and wanted to mark this official pub date of The Human Odyssey to thank all of the people I could think of, living and dead, whose influence played a role, either directly or indirectly, in getting this book into print:

Abraham Maslow

Alex Lencicki

Alice Miller

Allan Chinen

Amy Henderson

Andrew Sears

Arthur Hastings

Ashley Montagu

Barbara Findeisen

Barbara Turner

Bina Chadhuri

Bonnie Wilkins

Bryan Wittine

Frank Barr

Carl Jung

(cont'd below)

Continue reading "Today is the Official Publication Date of The Human Odyssey!" »

June 29, 2007

Critical Review of The Human Odyssey: The Author Responds

Libraryjournal The first book review of The Human Odyssey came out last month in the May, 15, 2007 issue of Library Journal.  This periodical was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey (the inventor of the Dewey decimal system), and is used by librarians (especially public librarians) to make decisions about which books to order for their libraries.  Here is the review in its entirety:

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Armstrong, Thomas. The Human Odyssey: Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life. Sterling. May 2007. c.352p. index. ISBN 978-1-4027-3996-5. $24.95. PSYCH.   "Armstrong, who has written a number of books on holistic education (e.g., The Myth of the A.D.D. Child), now takes on the entire life span, claiming to be the first psychologist to do so. This may be true, considering that he views prebirth and postdeath as distinct stages (the basic 12 are birth, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, midlife, mature adulthood, late adulthood, and death and dying). Within each stage, the information is fairly standard, with a heavy overlay of Eastern religion. This shouldn't be too surprising owing to the author's statement that "the major premise of the book is that there are two fundamental forces operating upon us as we journey through life: the biological and the spiritual." While that may or may not be true, it certainly isn't psychology as a scientific discipline. George Valliant's books (Adaptation to Life; Aging Well) remain the most solid and interesting work on the adult life cycle, though Armstrong's book will likely find an enthusiastic audience among New Agers. Recommended only for large public libraries serving that demographic."—Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, WA 

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I am less than pleased with this review.  Let me count the ways.  First, Ms. Hughes says that in The Human Odyssey "postdeath" is considered a distinct stage.  It is not.  A chapter on afterlife issues was added after the twelve stages to explore a wide range of alternatives from traditional rational explanations (e.g. "there's nothing but our atoms floating around") and philosophical interpretations (e.g. Nietzsche's theory of the eternal return), to accounts from various religious and indigenous traditions around the world.  Second, Ms. Hughes proceeds to list "the basic 12" and instead gives only 11 stages, omitting prebirth, which is a legitimate stage of life.  Third, Ms. Hughes says that "within each stage, the information is fairly standard with a heavy overlay of Eastern religion."  What exactly does "fairly standard" mean?  The Human Odyssey does not provide a standard textbook account of human development.  Far from it.  It explores the 12 stages of life using accounts from anthropology, world literature, psychiatry, neuroscience, sociology, world mythology, the arts, and much more.  And about the "heavy overlay of Eastern religion."  The Human Odyssey integrates into the above fields, additional sources from all the world's major religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism etc.) as well as the beliefs of indigenous cultures.  There seems to be a negative tone to her phrase "a heavy overlay of Eastern religion," as if it were a big heavy Oriental rug that was being thrown over some "standard" linoleum flooring.  Does Ms. Hughes have a problem with a book on human development that includes both eastern and western religions as well as western science?  Would she have preferred it if I had stuck to one religion, say, Christianity?  I wondered whether this might not have been the case, since she noted at the end of her review: "Armstrong's book will likely find an enthusiastic audience among New Agers. Recommended only for large public libraries serving that demographic."  New Agers?  Hmmmmmm. Isn't that sometimes used as a term of disparagement by evangelical Christians who use it to describe people who don't believe what they believe?  Here are some of the people and sources I've quoted or cited in The Human Odyssey:  the Bible (numerous references), Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Salvador Dali, Erik Erikson, T.S. Eliot, Margaret Mead, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Isaac Newton, Toni Morrison, Frederick Douglass, Dorothy Parker, Martin Buber, Billy Graham, Orson Welles, Benjamin Franklin, Edvard Grieg, Annie Dillard, Dante, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Edison, Studs Terkel, and Octavio Paz.  Quite a bunch of New Agers, indeed!  Finally, I'd like to say something about her reference to my premise in the book that two forces act upon us as we move through the stages of life:  the biological and spiritual.  She comments: "...While that may or may not be true, it certainly isn't psychology as a scientific discipline. George Valliant's books (Adaptation to Life; Aging Well) remain the most solid and interesting work on the adult life cycle."  Ms. Hughes equates psychology with "science" and implies that it has nothing to do with religious or spiritual issues. Never mind that the founder of American psychology, William James, wrote a book called Varieties of Religious Experience, or that the American Psychological Association (of which I'm a member), has a Division dedicated to "the Psychology of Religion," and publishes a book entitled: A Spiritual Strategy for Counseling and Psychology.  Ms. Hughes recommends George Vailliant's books.  I do too.  I cite Aging Well several times in my chapter on "mature adulthood."  Vaillant directed a study that has been following Harvard men since 1937; truly one of the most valuable contributions to adult development in the history of psychiatry.  Perhaps the real difficulty is that Ms. Hughes wants my book to be a standard psychology work.  It is not.  I believe that you simply can't get your hands around something as vast and incomprehensible as the human life cycle, without using all the tools at your disposal.  For me that included traditional "scientific" psychology, but also transpersonal and humanistic psychology and psychiatry, the study of world cultures, the autobiographies of great people, studies in other social sciences (anthropology and sociology), references to the great sacred texts of world religions, recent brain studies, poetry, myths, history, philosophy, and more.  The psychologist Howard Gardner has been a major intellectual influence in my life (he blurbs the book).  In his book Frames of Mind, he applies an interdisciplinary approach to how people think, using tools from anthropology, developmental psychology, brain science, the study of symbol systems, paeleontology, zoology, education, and more.  Perhaps Ms. Hughes has a problem with books that are interdisciplinary, that seek to synthesize material from a wide range of fields.  It's just a shame that she is in the role of a gatekeeper to the country's public library system, telling them what they should and shouldn't stock on their bookshelves.

Note:  With credit to the Library Journal, I've been able to include this post as a "comment" to their online May 15, 2007 edition.

June 25, 2007

The Human Odyssey: Errata

OopsBecause of a "perfect storm" of communication errors between my publisher and myself, there are a number of errors in the correspondence between the superscript numbers in the text and the notes at the end of The Human Odyssey (pp. 295-343).  This has occurred only in the first printing of The Human Odyssey.  The errors will be rectified in the second, and subsequent, printings.  To assist those who have copies of the first printing, I have included below a list of correct correspondences between the text numbers and the notes.  Each number listed below (e.g. Note 17 etc.), refers to the text numbers (not the end note numbers). After each numbered note there is, in quotations, the first few words of the corresponding note at the end of the book.  So, for example, Note 11 in the text of Chapter Two  - Birth: Through the Tunnel refers to the end note on page 300 that begins:  "Robbie David-Floyd, "Hospital Birth Routines as Rituals:  Society's Messages to American Women...."  Occasionally, a number is missing from the text that should refer to a note at the end of the book.  In such a case, I have indicated where the number in the text should have gone (I do not actually assign it a specific number) and to which note it should have referred to in the back of the book (e.g. "Quote on page 97 ending "...why not eighty or eight hundred?" - "Edward Robinson,....p. 115."). To avoid confusion, I have not referred at all to the numbers at the end of the book.   To determine whether you have a copy from the first printing of The Human Odyssey, turn to the copyright page (the reverse side of the title page), and look at the numbers below the phrase: "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available."  If you have a copy from the first printing it will look like this:  10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1.   If you have the second printing (unaffected by the errors) it should look like this:  10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2 .  And so forth.  The number to the far right, then, refers to the specific printing edition of the book.  Please accept my apologies for these errors.  If you need further assistance, feel free to add a comment to this post, or email me at:  thomas@thomasarmstrong.com.  The errata follows, below:  (click to see the entire list).

Continue reading "The Human Odyssey: Errata" »

June 22, 2007

The Human Odyssey: Table of Contents

Toc_eFor people who are interested in my new book The Human Odyssey:  Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life, I'm including below the Table of Contents so you can get a sense of what this book is about:

The Human Odyssey:  Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life

Introduction:  Starting Your Incredible Odyssey

Chapter 1 -  Prebirth:  The Undiscovered Continent

Chapter 2 -  Birth:  Through the Tunnel

Chapter 3 -  Infancy:  Legends of the Fall

Chapter 4 -  Early Childhood:  The Magical Mystery Years

Chapter 5 -  Middle Childhood:  Entering the Civilized World

Chapter 6 -  Late Childhood:  Becoming Part of the Crowd

Chapter 7 -  Adolescence:  Entering the Twilight Zone

Chapter 8 -  Early Adulthood:  Building an Independent Life

Chapter 9 -  Midlife:  Moving Through Muddy Waters

Chapter 10- Mature Adulthood:  Scaling the Peaks

Chapter 11- Late Adulthood:  Approaching the Horizon

Chapter 12- Death and Dying:  Crossing the Bridge

Chapter 13- Beyond Death:  Travel to Other Lands

Conclusion:  Planting Your Oar in the Sand

Appendix A - Films to Illuminate the Times of Your Life

Appendix B - Books to Help Throughout the Life Span

Appendix C - Organizations That Support Human Development

Notes

Permissions

Index

About the Author

  • Thomas_armstrong_photo_cropped
    Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. is the author of thirteen books including In Their Own Way, 7 Kinds of Smart, Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius, Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, The Myth of the A.D.D. Child, and The Radiant Child. His books have been translated into 21 languages including Spanish, Hebrew, Chinese, Danish, and Russian. He has taught at several San Francisco Bay Area graduate schools including the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and the California Institute of Integral Studies. He has written for Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, Parenting (where he was a regularly featured columnist), The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, and many other journals and periodicals. He has appeared on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, CNN, the BBC, and The Voice of America. Articles featuring his work have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Investor's Business Daily, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and hundreds of other magazines and newspapers. He has given over 800 keynotes, workshops, and lectures in 42 states and 16 countries. His clients have included Sesame Street, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Republic of Singapore, Hasbro Toys, and the European Council of International Schools. He is currently working on a novel about the disappearance of childhood. For more information about his work, go to www.thomasarmstrong.com.

What Others Have Said About This Book

  • "Impressive…many people will find attractive your dual focus on the scientific and soul/spiritual dimensions.”
    Howard Gardner, Ph.D. The John H. and Elizabeth A. Hobbs Professor in Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, author of Frames of Mind
  • “The Human Odyssey is superb, magnificent, astonishing, unique, engrossing, eminently readable, informative, enjoyable, entertaining, profound.”
    Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg and Magical Child
  • “Armstrong synthesizes an enormous amount of material from many fields and wisdom traditions to create a book that is fresh, provocative, and important. His holistic approach presents us with the largest possible map as we navigate across our own lives. Bravo, captain.”
    Mary Pipher, Ph.D., author of Reviving Ophelia and Writing to Change the World
  • "This is truly a major contribution - brilliant, beguiling, and as broad in concept as it is deep."
    Jean Houston, Ph.D., author The Possible Human and The Hero and the Goddess: The Odyssey as Mystery and Initiation
  • “If you are looking for encouragement, understanding, and strength, this is your book.”
    Larry Dossey, M.D., Author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things, and Healing Words
  • “An extraordinary book; an intellectual feast.”
    Stanislav Grof, M.D., author of Realms of the Human Unconscious and When the Impossible Happens
  • “Armstrong shows the way to a truly integrated understanding of the complexities of the human life cycle.”
    Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author of Maps of Consciousness, co-founder of The Green Earth Foundation
  • “I loved the tone, the pacing, the sense of audience, and especially the richness of the associations . . . It’s a book that one would like to keep around—-a guidebook even.”
    John Kotre Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan-Dearborn, co-author of Seasons of Life: The Dramatic Journey from Birth to Death (book and PSB television series)
  • “Extraordinary . . . I hope that it is read by many people.”
    Laura Huxley, widow of Aldous Huxley; founder of Children: Our Ultimate Investment; author of This Timeless Moment, and The Child of Your Dreams
  • “An integral approach to human development, from birth to death, that provides practical information for all who see spirit interpenetrating all of life.”
    Michael Murphy, co-founder of the Esalen Institute; author of The Future of the Body, The Life We Are Given, and God and the Evolving Universe
  • “The Human Odyssey provides readers with a fresh approach to developmental psychology. Dr. Armstrong has included a spiritual dimension of human growth that is lacking from most accounts but which is essential for a complete understanding of the human condition. It is a splendid, brilliant work.”
    Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., former president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology; author Personal Mythology: The Psychology of Your Evolving Self and co-editor, The Psychological Impact of War Trauma on Civilians: An International Perspective
  • “ . . . absolutely remarkable . . . The Human Odyssey is written with lively scholarship and contains great depth and breadth, a wide range of fascinating materials, and many useful resources. . . it’s a kind of ‘everything book’.”
    George Leonard, described by Newsweek as “the granddaddy of the consciousness movement”; author of The Transformation, The Ultimate Athlete, and Mastery
  • “ . . . a wonderful and encyclopedic summary of human development.“
    Allan B. Chinen, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco; author of Once Upon a Mid-Life: Classic Stories and Mythic Tales to Illuminate the Middle Years and In the Ever After: Fairy Tales and the Second Half of Life
  • “I loved this book. What a vast terrain it covers! I enjoyed the way it wove into each developmental stage a rich array of materials from Greek myths, Martin Buber, psychology, rituals, spirituality, and so many wonderful stories. As people read this book, they will be much more aware of the different stages of life and how they impact all of us personally and collectively.”
    Barbara Findeisen, President, The Association for Pre- & Perinatal Psychology and Health; creator of the documentary film, The Journey to Be Born, featured on Oprah
  • “I very much enjoyed The Human Odyssey. Your breadth of sources is remarkable, and you have put them all together in a smooth and integrative way. I think it will be informative for people, and also inspiring for them to make their stages of life more meaningful . . . Overall, this is an impressive tour de force.”
    Arthur Hastings, Ph.D., Professor and Director, William James Center for Consciousness Studies, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology; Past President, Association of Transpersonal Psychology
  • “Thomas Armstrong is an original thinker whose perceptions broaden our understanding of children, education and society. In The Human Odyssey, Armstrong provides a comprehensive framework for human development with characteristic depth and optimism.”
    Peggy O'Mara, Editor and Publisher of Mothering Magazine
  • “A beautiful compilation of world wisdom. Well written and inspiring.”
    James Fadiman, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, Author, The Other Side of Haight
  • “Thomas Armstrong has written a brilliant, caring and beautiful book on the human lifecycle. Such an all-inclusive book is rare and adds a sense of the wholeness of life, into and beyond death, in the mere reading of it.”
    Stuart Sovatsky, PhD, author of Words From the Soul, Your Perfect Lips and Eros, Consciousness and Kundalini, and Co-President of the Association of Transpersonal Psychology.
  • “The Human Odyssey is just that: a tour de force by one of the leading experts in whole person development. I've never before seen such a comprehensive and readable work on the many stages that we humans go through on our journey through this life.”
    John W. Travis, M.D., founder of the first wellness center in the United States in 1975; co-author, Wellness Workbook; co-founder, Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children.
  • “I’m awestruck! This looks like the most important book of the century.”
    Jan Hunt, author, The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart; member of the board of directors of the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

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