11 January 2009
Marlon Brando
12/01/09 02:18 PM Filed in: Teleological Psychology
Marlon Brando is dead and gone – famous and fortunate in public, sad and forlorn in private. After learning that his son had murdered his daughter’s boyfriend he said, “The messenger of misery visited my home today.” From what we read in the press, the very reclusive Marlon Brando was an unhappy man – depressed, angry and lonely. He lived life in a self-destructive fashion – self absorbed and self-centered.
The “messenger of misery” is one of the many problems of life that we all face. How well we deal with this messenger and the other obstacles that come along in our lives is an indicator of our inner strength, our mental health. We can learn a lesson about life from Marlon Brando and from all the others who follow the path of selfishness and self-destruction. In many ways they are no different than the rest of us. All of us -- the self-actualized, the self-destructive, and the wayward vacillating pilgrims -- are searching for a sense of completion, perfection, and fulfillment. This journey is one of learning to avoid the side roads, the pitfalls and the hidden traps that will confront us; of having the courage to face the unavoidable difficulties of life; and of developing the vision to see and to change our current distorted and damaging ways of striving for success and security.
But how can we truly know ourselves? What are the side paths in life that lead to a sense of incompleteness and result in the negative emotions of excessive sadness, anger, guilt, jealousy, or worry? How can we avoid them? How can we meet the many tasks of life with courage, wisdom and generosity? Hopefully, the journey you are now on is one that leads to self-discovery, positive change, and a clearer vision of the meaning of both the joy and suffering in your life.
The “messenger of misery” is one of the many problems of life that we all face. How well we deal with this messenger and the other obstacles that come along in our lives is an indicator of our inner strength, our mental health. We can learn a lesson about life from Marlon Brando and from all the others who follow the path of selfishness and self-destruction. In many ways they are no different than the rest of us. All of us -- the self-actualized, the self-destructive, and the wayward vacillating pilgrims -- are searching for a sense of completion, perfection, and fulfillment. This journey is one of learning to avoid the side roads, the pitfalls and the hidden traps that will confront us; of having the courage to face the unavoidable difficulties of life; and of developing the vision to see and to change our current distorted and damaging ways of striving for success and security.
But how can we truly know ourselves? What are the side paths in life that lead to a sense of incompleteness and result in the negative emotions of excessive sadness, anger, guilt, jealousy, or worry? How can we avoid them? How can we meet the many tasks of life with courage, wisdom and generosity? Hopefully, the journey you are now on is one that leads to self-discovery, positive change, and a clearer vision of the meaning of both the joy and suffering in your life.
Striving for Perfection
12/01/09 01:54 PM Filed in: Teleological Psychology
Adlerian Psychology – from “The Education of Children”
The fundamental fact in human development is the dynamic and purposive striving of the psyche. The ever present goal (unconscious) is to strive for greatness, perfection, and superiority.
The construction of our personality, its particular style and goal, is not built on objective reality but on the subjective view we take of the facts of life.
Style of life – line of action or pattern of behavior
This striving presupposes another important psychological fact – the feeling of inferiority. We attempt to dissipate this feeling of inferiority by bettering the situation. In other words we compensate (i.e., lessen this feeling). When we make psychological compensations, we open up the possibility of making mistakes.
There are three classes of children who manifest very clearly the development of compensatory traits: those who have weak or imperfect organs (a particularly Adlerian theme), those who have been treated with severity and no affection, and those who receive too much attention and pampering.
The sense of inferiority and striving for superiority are two phases of the fundamental fact in human life and are inseparable. In children we find inordinate ambition and an exaggerated sense of inferiority acting like a poison in the soul.
The important thing to look for is the degree of social feeling the individual manifests. Social feeling is the crucial and deciding factor in human development. Social feeling is the barometer of an individual’s normalcy.
The fundamental fact in human development is the dynamic and purposive striving of the psyche. The ever present goal (unconscious) is to strive for greatness, perfection, and superiority.
The construction of our personality, its particular style and goal, is not built on objective reality but on the subjective view we take of the facts of life.
Style of life – line of action or pattern of behavior
This striving presupposes another important psychological fact – the feeling of inferiority. We attempt to dissipate this feeling of inferiority by bettering the situation. In other words we compensate (i.e., lessen this feeling). When we make psychological compensations, we open up the possibility of making mistakes.
There are three classes of children who manifest very clearly the development of compensatory traits: those who have weak or imperfect organs (a particularly Adlerian theme), those who have been treated with severity and no affection, and those who receive too much attention and pampering.
The sense of inferiority and striving for superiority are two phases of the fundamental fact in human life and are inseparable. In children we find inordinate ambition and an exaggerated sense of inferiority acting like a poison in the soul.
The important thing to look for is the degree of social feeling the individual manifests. Social feeling is the crucial and deciding factor in human development. Social feeling is the barometer of an individual’s normalcy.