in his last bookHauntings: dispelling the ghosts that rule our lives, Dr. James Hollis reminds us that our past is not really beyond us. Our family influences, life-altering traumas, and individual wounds follow us to the grave.
There are powerful stories shared in ghosts. Many important psychological topics such as guilt and shame, hang-ups, and projections are also discussed.
On ghosts Dr. Hollis writes about how our family histories, whether good or bad or a mix, create permanent complex charges within us. If we remain unaware or oblivious to the power these known or untold stories have over us, we are more likely to make poor decisions in our lives. Worse still, we will live a life of despair, hopelessness or meaninglessness.
Dr. Hollis’s books are consistently an invitation to explore our unconscious nature and motivations. On ghosts shares some deeply moving and personal stories from his own history. It also explores the darkest parts of our ego that, if we don’t reclaim its shadows, will torture us even somatically until we learn to recognize and surrender our neurotic, inflated, or narcissistic selves. He offers that when we consciously examine these behaviors, we are more likely to take responsibility and manage the behaviors accordingly so as not to harm ourselves or others. He writes that these wounds can take on a generational issue of enormous agony. Dr. Hollis reiterates that while it’s beautiful to be “nice,” it’s much better to be “real.” For our wounds to heal, they must first be recognized.
This authentically written book encourages psychological courage and inspires us not to remain prisoners or victims of what “happened to us.” This beautiful book recognizes that none of us can avoid the betrayals, hurts, pain and loss and grief that these circumstances warrant. But how we deal with these experiences is key to our recovery from the pain of life and becoming mindful. That is a message of hope for any of us who experience trauma, neglect, bullying, poverty, addictions, or loss.
Dr. Hollis writes that we are stronger than we think. He believes that we can have sovereignty over our lives through the decisions we make consciously and carefully. He wants us to live a more considerate life and ask ourselves the most important questions: Who am I? Because I am here? Who are my people? How am I different from others? Deeply spiritual questions from a deeply insightful teacher.
