Most people, including mental-health professionals, are unaware of how strongly we know ourselves and identify with ourselves through a condition of non-being known as inner passivity. This mental and emotional identity is a widespread psychological condition that’s … [Read more...] about Don’t Let Inner Passivity Undermine Democracy
Consciousness
Connecting With Our Best Self
Our emotional wellbeing is usually related to the degree to which we’re connected to (or disconnected from) our best self. We can support and enhance our personal mental health by seeing our emotional and behavioral problems in the light of connection and … [Read more...] about Connecting With Our Best Self
The Appeal of Alternative Facts
Protectors of democracy, look deeper into the unconscious mind if you want to eliminate the alternative facts now contaminating public discourse. We need to uncover and understand the inner conflict that makes our psyche a breeding ground for perversions of truth, as well … [Read more...] about The Appeal of Alternative Facts
Fundamentalism and the Psyche
Religion and psychoanalysis make a volatile mix. Like bleach and ammonia, the combination can leave people gasping in irritation. I’m not interested in activating a burning sensation. I only want to apply some salve to blistering boils of unreason. Are we strong enough … [Read more...] about Fundamentalism and the Psyche
The Invisible Wall of Psychological Resistance
As the client of a depth psychologist back in the mid-1980’s, I acquired a copy of The Basic Neurosis by Edmund Bergler. My therapist told me the book was important, and I was determined to read it. I did so for five or six pages and then, inexplicably, put it aside. Over the … [Read more...] about The Invisible Wall of Psychological Resistance