The inspiration for this book came from a question that popped into my head about 30 years ago and nagged me to the point of realizing it was the central issue in my life. The question was "How come my best stuff gets me into the most trouble?" It took me about 25 years to find a complete and satisfactory answer. What I found is the reason all independent thinkers, artists, innovators, "Cultural Creatives", "Indigo Children" or whatever you prefer to call them, are treated so badly. But there's even more to it. 

Thousands of people are researching, talking and writing about "the transformation", as Duane Elgin describes it, from a paradigm "that is causing ecological calamity" to a "reflective/living systems paradigm". "Meaning - The Secret of Being Alive"  is unique even in this company because it describes both paradigms at their most essential level. It discloses their founding principles, which transcend all the specific forms - movements, social institutions and so forth - in which those principles manifest themselves. It is the core reference piece for understanding "the transformation".

The paradigm predominant today is the "normative" view of life and reality. It seeks to enforce conformity to established norms - in any organization, religion, social institution or society. It values form and process above all else. It isolates and separates. It's the source of lifeless, mechanistic existence.  

The emerging paradigm or worldview is the "integrative". It values purpose and meaning above all else. It unifies people both with themselves and with each other instead of causing separation and isolation. It is open and adaptive - fully human, fully alive in the present. 

This book has been called "seminal", "profound, yet simple" and " a new and long overdue philosophy of systems and personal meaning [by] a bonafide corporate survivor and wise elder". This book is for every person nagged by the question "How come my  best stuff gets me into the most trouble?" and for anyone seeking to understand the essence of "the transformation".

 Check out Reader Reviews. You can read the book's Introduction and first three chapters, which provide the foundation for understanding normative and integrative systems.