During the break between Spring Semester and Summer B, while I wasn’t teaching for the first time in years, I read the book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” It’s actually a strange story how I came to read it.
Most of my readers know I rarely read fiction. But this book was a long time in coming. I have been into Zen, to various degrees, for more than 20 years. When I was relative neonate to Zen, having only read one or two books, people would always ask “Have you read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?” I would always answer “no” of course. Then the next time …

I took my 16 year old out for his birthday (his actual birthday was a while ago, but with our schedules it was tough to schedule a full night alone with him before now). After dinner and some shopping, we discussed seeing a movie. He wanted to see “Get Him to the Greek.” I had read some pretty poor reviews, but had no problem seeing it. The reviews indicated the movie tried to do too much. They felt it aspired to be a comedy in the “Hangover” style but also tried to squeeze in weightier issues like a substance abuse problem and parent issues.
I had recently read another …

I initially picked up this book because the back cover presented it as a theory that explained how we create God and spiritual realms to combat our fear of death. As an existential therapist I found this intriguing. In this regard the book did not disappoint.
The book begins with a brief summary of evolution (what argument that did not denounce the existence of a supreme being would be complete without some sort of recognition of evolution?) I found this short (in relation to the amount of years it took for it to occur) history an adequate review, but a bit lengthy. I suppose I assume that any person willing …

I recently watched the critically acclaimed movie “Up in the Air.” When it was over and I had time to ruminate about it, I wondered what the point of the movie was. What was the author trying to say about human existence? If you haven’t seen it and plan to, you want to stop reading now. I hope you’ll return following your viewing of it. In this article I will discuss what I found to be the meaning of it film and some of the pivotal moments I believe support my interpretation.
A little while into the movie, George Clooney’s character (Ryan …

Most who have taken a psychology theories class in college have heard of therapist Irvin Yalom. He is one of the leading writers on Existential Therapy. His book “The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy” is owned (because it is required reading) by every therapist I know with a graduate degree. Not only is Yalom the master therapist that I most respect but he’s become one of my favorite authors, and more so after reading his fictional novel, The Schopenhauer Cure.
The Schopenhauer Cure centers on a therapist that finds out …

This is both a review of Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search For Meaning” and a response to some of its ideas. First, the book is definitely worth reading. For those unfamiliar with Viktor Frankl, he was an Eastern European Jewish psychiatrist who was placed in a concentration camp during World War I. He suffered all the indignities of anyone in a concentration camp, short of being killed. And he used the experience to provide evidence for his method of therapy, “Logotherapy,” a form of existential …

As many of my readers know, I recently became a fan of “The Eels.” And, as most of my regular readers know, I am an existential therapist and someone who tries to promote understanding of how the idea of death can make life more vital. Imagine my happiness when a cd I ordered combined the two.

When introduced to The Eels I pointed out some of their existential themes, and discussed their song “Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)” on my blog. I looked into buying some of …

One of my regular readers suggested I add a recommended reading list. This seemed like a very good idea to me, although I often reference books in my articles. This forum provides casual readers of mine the opportunity to read deeper into some of the material I’ve referenced, or simply  find out what some of my influences are. I’m going to begin with listing and describing some of my favorite books. This section will be devoted to these recommended reading and reviews of other and future books I have read.

The book I have recommended the most in the last year is “Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death” by Irvin Yalom. This book uses Existential theory (by one of the most recent …

This weekend I saw “Sunshine Cleaning.” Do not worry, I wont give anything away. But, as a recommendation, I say wait for the video. Although it was made by the same folks that made “Little Miss Sunshine” it is just not as funny.
This isn’t to say it isn’t a good movie; it is pretty good, especially with interpretation. But I see no reason to rush out and see it in the theater. It will be out on video soon enough.

In this blog I’d like to discuss the movie in a general way, and its relation to therapy.
The movie is about death. If you haven’t read the synopsis, it’s about two sisters with a difficult relationship who start up …

I’d like to return to the discussion of students cheating, or as I’m now referring to it: dishonesty. I saw “I Love You Man” this weekend. One of the characters is described as “refreshingly honest.” First, the movie is hilarious, and I highly recommend it. Second, I believe we need more people in the world that are honest. Much of the hilarity of the movie was about the honesty, and viewers thinking “what the hell is he doing being honest like that?”
I’m concerned that many have come to believe that dishonesty is a much better path to getting what you want than just being honest and allowing things to unfold in their own way.

In my blog I reference …