The psychologist Anders Ericsson passed away on June 17th at the age of 73. This passing of a legend in the field has deeply emotionally affected a lot of people in the field (for instance, see these beautiful obituaries by David Epstein and Nick Byrd). I had prior drafts of this obituary, but decided to […]

I consider myself a deeply spiritual person. I also consider myself an intellectual. Sometimes the two sides of myself don’t understand each other. And as much as my intellectual side can reason itself into believing it is right, my spiritual side sometimes just feels right. I’ve lately been using my intellectual side to think through […]

[This post was co-authored with L. Ari Kopolow, a former student and friend of Maslow, Director of Potomac Grove Psychiatry, and Author of the upcoming book Walking with Maslow] June 8, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of one of the most humanitarian thinkers the world has ever known. With the COVID Pandemic […]

Far from being some free-floating cloud around our heads, sensory consciousness is profoundly embedded in biology, anatomy, physiology, and above all, in adaptive functions that serve us in every waking second of life. This is not some philosophical speculation. It is now supported by numerous findings published in peer-reviewed journals that are easily found in […]

The need for connection– to form and maintain at least a minimal number of positive, stable, intimate relationships– is a fundamental need that affects our whole being, permeating our entire suite of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. While voluntary solitude can be great fodder for creativity, and being alone doesn’t necessarily indicate loneliness, what happens when people are forced into […]

“To learn how to listen to the delicate vibrations of my soul, to be incorruptibly true to myself and fair to others, to find in this way the right measure of my own worth.” — Karen Horney’s New Year’s Eve resolution in 1904 at the age of 18 (from Adolescent Diaries of Karen Horney) We all want inner […]

“The irony of [the human condition] is that the deepest need is to be free of the anxiety of death and annihilation; but it is life itself which awakens it, and so we must shrink from being fully alive.” —Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death  “We can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that […]

“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.” —Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning Kintsugi is a centuries-old Japanese art of fixing cracked pottery. Rather than hide the cracks, the technique involves rejoining the broken pieces with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. When put back together, the whole […]

“Perhaps human nature has been sold short….”—Abraham Maslow Toward the end of his life, the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow was developing new insights into self-actualization – and envisioning an even higher motivation, which he called transcendence. He referred to his theory as “Theory Z“.* To Maslow, “transcenders” are regularly motivated by values and experiences that go beyond […]

Wow, a lot has changed in the world in just the past few weeks. I hope you are staying safe and healthy, and able to find moments of joy and connection during these extremely uncertain times. While safety is crucial, let’s not neglect our higher possibilities. These times are difficult, but ultimately it’s times like these that lead to unexpected growth, creativity, and meaning. […]