Frodos Quest: Living the Myth in the Lord of the Rings

The three planned movies of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings introduced millions of new fans to the great epic fantasy that has enthralled reader since the first book was published in 1955. But is it more than just a fantasy? Tolkien said his work had no deeper meaing, but Robert Ellwood finds much insight concerning the spiritual path. Retelling key parts of the story to orient us, he interprets it in terms of core themes of the ancient wisdom tradition, including the development of higher consciousness, death and rebirth, and the triumph of good over evil. As Peter Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings movie, state at the Academy Awards, "Frodo is Everyman." Ellwood agrees that like Frodo, we each experience times of change and challenge that propels us on our own quest, which is finally the adventure of exploring inner realities and growing spiritually. The characters in The Lord of the Rings can be seen as archetypes for the people we meet along the way. Do you have a Gandalf ( a spiritual guide) or a Sam (a friend/partner) in your life already? If not, you may soon encounter them! Ellwood adds fanciful line drawings, meditations, and exercises to help us see our lives as a great journey full of mission instead of just dreary routine. "Ultimately," he says, "the Quest gives opportunity for doing deeds that can change one's own existence, and the world, for the better, if one has the courage!

160 pages

About the author:

Robert Ellwood was born in Normal, Illinois, in 1933. He was educated at the University of Colorado, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, and the University of Chicago Divinity School. He received his Ph.D. in the history of religion at Chicago in 1967. Dr. Ellwood has served as a Episcopal priest and a chaplain in the U.S. Navy, and is also a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church, a small demonination using traditional Catholic styles of worship while presenting an esoteric interpretation of Christianity. An eminent Theosophist, Ellwood is the author of over twenty books, ranging from textbooks in religious studies including Many People, Many Faiths, a popular world religion testbook, to books on the recent history of religion, The Fifties Spiritual Marketplace, The Sixties Spiritual Awakening, and Island of Dawn, to inspirational books written written from a Theosophical perspective: Finding the Quiet Mind; The Pilgrim Self; Theosophy; The Cross and the Grail. in 1988 hes was a Fulbright Scholar in New Zealand. During the 1998-1999 school year,he served as the Goodwin-Philpott Eminent Scholar in Religion at Auburn University in Alabama. In 2001 he was the Sewedenborg Lecturer at Urbana University, Ohio. He lives in Ojai, California, with his wife Gracia Fay, a writer and teacher.