sdogood reviewed The Trance of Scarcity by Victoria Castle
Review of 'The Trance of Scarcity' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The main point of the book is that the experience of abundance in life depends on your psychological outlook. Castle explores the way in which personal narrative, generosity, and openness, among other concepts, influences either a sense of abundance or its opposite, scarcity and constriction. This is a wonderful perspective that psychologically complements the emerging literature of voluntary simplicity. The book would be improved by connecting the message to previous work in this area, such as Thoreau's Walden and the literature of Zen Buddhism. Seligman's work in learning optimism is mentioned only in passing, but as a research base for this line of thinking it deserves more coverage and integration. But overall this is an important book that represents an important alternative to materialism and consumerism.
