I stumbled on this book when it was reviewed in the Religion section of the Houston Chronicle. Like Alan Morinis I am a secular person. Once I bought the book I couldn't put it down. Then I reread it and started to study it. I learned to do some of the exercises. I use The exercise with the elastic band whenever I am stuck in a line anywhere. It calms me down. (You'll have to get the book to learn it.)
I find this book to be an excellent introduction to Mussar. It is almost painless but it does require effort and concentration.

It's not often that one comes across a nonfiction book as smooth reading as "Climbing Jacob's Ladder." Alan Morinis has produced what might be called a spiritual autobiography, with a specific purpose, explained in the title as, "One Man's Discovery of a Jewish Spiritual Tradition." Underlying all is a searing honesty that is positively inspiring.
The tradition in question is Mussar, which has its roots in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. This so decimated Mussar practitioners that Mussar did not gain prominence in the study of Judaism as a whole. So, for Alan Morinis, after much research, it was a "find". His description of it is so impelling that it is hard to put aside. As an autobiography, the character of the author as a secular Jew comes through very clearly in all its ramifications during his journey towards spiritual fulfilment.
Also central to the book's treatment of Mussar is the character of the person who ultimately became Morinis' teacher. Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, living in New York to where the author travelled several times from Vancouver for study. Rabbi Perr, though orthodox himself teaches without imposing orthodoxy on the learner as the writer might have expected, since he found the subject grounded in orthodoxy.
However, Mussar is not only for studying, but for practising: its basic principles emanating from the soul of every practitioner, different as they are from every other practitioner.
I found the book positively exciting because of the honesty of expression about the author's feelings at every stage of the journey. The writing is imbued with a very human quality that draws the reader into the author's soul, which is the whole point of the exercise of Mussar: to develop the soul toward spiritual perfection as far as possible.
We are all different from each other with regard to the elements of our characters. Mussar calls these elements, "soul-traits". "We don't have a soul. We are a soul". Through the discipline of Mussar we are helped to improve these various soul-traits: for example, by working on our anger, impatience, etc. until we become more holy. Rabbi Perr side-steps a definition of holiness, saying that, "you'll know about holiness just from the experience."
There's a lot more to the book than can be described here, such as what the Mussar exercises consist of. Suffice it to say that the end result of the book is a beautiful document, the essence of it being the "soul-perspective", leading to the possibility of all who read it to face life with equanimity.
A. Naomi Katz

This is a wonderful book wrtten with courage, sensitivity and clarity.
The theme is a story of getting lost on life's journey and on finding a way back- no easy task in our North American culture of "materialism and self-centeredness".
Alan Morinis generously shares his "journey" which took him to the little known ancient Jewish spiritual practice called Musar.
At first through his reading and studying of obscure texts and eventually with the guidance of a wise and compassionate teacher, the author rediscovers his "true nature".
The book overflows with wisdom and ancient truths and the practices and techniques of Musar are clearly laid out at the end of each chapter.
Morinis wrestles with the question of whether one has to be a practicing Orthodox Jew to follow the path of Musar and concludes that one doesn't. In fact, I think that the path of Musar is open to all who genuinely thirst after truth and wisdom.
The author generously shares his "journey" and his discoveries in a way that enables the reader to begin an ancient practice that can be life transforming.

This collection of essays brings together works by a variety of well-known scholars in the field of the geography of religion and pilgrimage studies. The book has three notable strengths. First, it combines theoretical or analytical discussions of pilgrimage as a generic phenomenon with detailed case studies of particular pilgrimage processes. Second, it provides a well-developed comparative perspective by considering pilgrimage traditions in a variety of world religions. Christianity, Islam and Hinduism receive the most detailed coverage, but Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism also receive significant attention. The book's third strength is that it demonstrates how the perspectives of geography as an academic disciplines (perspectives which at least in the United States are often poorly understood) can yield unique and genuine insights into an important dimension of religious culture. This work should prove to be a fascinating read to anyone interested in world religions, comparative religion, the geography of religion, or the social ramifications of religious belief.