Tag: Art and Existentialism


Madness and beauty in the heart of darkness

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Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death.       –R. D. Laing I begin this writing shortly after learning of the unexpected death of John Forbes Nash, Jr. and his wife, Alicia. John Nash was a Nobel… Read more »

Help for Nepal

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With modern technology and communication systems, we are bombarded 24/7 with images of tragedies and disasters. Some people I know refuse to watch the news because “real time” footage of natural disasters, wars, and people struggling to survive is too much to “take in.” They believe it is harmful to their immune system. With instant… Read more »

Empathy will save the world

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Dostoevsky said that “beauty will save the world,” and I agree with him, although personally my declaration is “empathy will save the world,” for there is nothing more beautiful than true empathy. Empathy is the most powerful force for interpersonal healing and growth within our human existence. It is stronger than the many forces (fear,… Read more »

Imagery and symbolism in the therapeutic process

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Symbols and imagery educed from the subconscious can be interpreted within the therapeutic process. Existential, humanistic, and phenomenological approaches focus on conceptual, emotional and verbal realities, while transpersonal approaches focus on spiritual longings and experiences as keys to self-actualization. The humanistic movement arose in the early 1960’s out of dissatisfactions with the natural science conception… Read more »

Letter to my father on his 90th birthday

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Dad, I would like to say a few words on this occasion of your 90th birthday. Tolstoy begins his great novel Anna Karenina with this famous opening line: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” A couple of sentences you could spend a lifetime pondering without quite figuring… Read more »

Seeking a friend for the end of the world: A review

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Just in case you value such things, spoiler alert. Although what I have to say shouldn’t actually come as much of a surprise. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is an end-of-the-world movie in which the world actually ends. There are actually a number of complicated love stories in this romantic comedy… Read more »

So you believe you are humanistic? Review of ‘Bloodstains’ by Jeff Mudgett

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Imagine facing the most challenging client on earth. It could be a rapist, murderer, or both in one. What about a serial killer? Do you think you could still uphold the humanistic-existential values, knowing the serial killer is a pathological liar, manipulative, and a sociopath who cruelly inflicted torture on his victims as subjects for… Read more »