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Anders Ericsson: A Personal Obituary of a Legend

July 15, 2020 in Blog

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 […]

What Does God Feel Like?

June 21, 2020 in Blog

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 […]

Honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Death of the Humanistic Psychologist Abraham Maslow

June 10, 2020 in Blog

[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 […]

On Consciousness: Science and Subjectivity: A Q&A with Bernard Baars

May 28, 2020 in Blog

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 […]

Forced Social Isolation Causes Neural Craving Similar to Hunger

May 20, 2020 in Blog

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 […]

Finding Inner Harmony

May 18, 2020 in Blog

“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 […]

Embracing the Ultimate Unknown

May 9, 2020 in Blog

“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 […]

Post-Traumatic Growth: Finding Meaning and Creativity in Adversity

April 21, 2020 in Blog

“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 […]

What Humans Could Be

April 15, 2020 in Blog

“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 […]

Transcend has arrived!

April 7, 2020 in Blog

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. […]