In the Company of Sages: The Journey of the Spiritual Seeker

The author recounts his relationships with several great yogis and provocative teachers, beginning at age 16, and experiences practicing hatha yoga and meditation for over four decades. The book explores how to approach a teacher for initiation and the importance of gauging your inner response and feeling of trust and resonance with the teacher. Special attention is paid to discussion of separating from a spiritual teacher and how to resolve the emotional conflicts that can arise at this stage. The author explains how the teacher-student relationship affects the student's state of consciousness over time, and how the relationship gradually matures so that we become independent and are able to naturally unfold our own potentials and capacities. Examining practices in Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist Yoga, Sufism, and Jewish and Christian mysticism, Bogart considers how yoga and meditation rouse spiritual states and realizations. He affirms that a direct path to self-liberation is still attainable through initiation and instruction in the company of sages.

"Clarifying, balanced, highly readable, and above all helpful. This is the best book available on spiritual apprenticeship and the psychological issues involved.”
—Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., author of Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga


“Bogart’s book is a clear and detailed map of the processof self-unfoldment under the guidance of a guru or spiritual guide—including its difficulties, dangers, joys, and ultimate value. Highly recommended.”
—John White, author of What Is Enlightenment?


“Bogart brings an integrated psychospiritual perspective to his description of the guru-disciple relationship. I welcome this book and will recommend it frequently to clients and students of my own.”
—Bryan Wittine, LMFT, Ph.D., teaching and supervising analyst, C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco


“Full of wisdom and insights, this book is an essential guide for students and teachers at all levels of their spiritual journeys. Highly recommended.”
—Sandy See, Meditation Teacher, Ashtanga Yoga Studio, Norman, Oklahoma


“This is an excellent practical guide for anyone seeking a spiritual teacher and for those who are teachers. Bogart’s openness and forthright storytelling may benefit parents or loved ones who are concerned about friends and family members who invest themselves in spiritual practice. I highly recommend this book. Well-researched and documented, readable, and personal, it lights the way for those navigating the journey of transformation.”
—Laurel Clark, author, Intuitive Dreaming


“Valuable, even essential, words of wisdom to open the eyes and minds of those who have a spiritual teacher in their past, present, or future.”
—Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior ISBN:9781620553848