At no point in her life did my mother ever ask me about my work, nor, to my knowledge, did she ever read any of my three books. But in her final hours, something changed. It was the height of the pandemic and I was teaching an online course at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Sitting next…
The existential psychologist Rollo May published a ton of books while he was alive. I’ve read two: My Quest for Beauty and The Courage to Create. Rollo May helped develop and popularize existential psychology—a branch of therapy that explores universal aspects of human existence, including concepts like death, freedom, responsibility, and meaning. It’s a psychology…
The word aesthetics comes from the Greek word “aisthenesthai” which is the “ability to perceive.” I’ve always had a strong desire to explore teaching and learning as deep, rich, and aesthetic processes. Beautiful, life-giving, and creative rather than dry, boring, and joyless. Both teaching and learning require courage, an open heart, and the willingness to…
There’s a reason bank buildings are square. There’s a reason that when we need rest we go to a large body of water… or the desert. There’s a reason web designers use lots of white space. (Space allows readers’ eyes — and brains! — to stay calm so they can absorb the material.) There’s a…
Physicist Arthur Zajonc suggests that our culture urgently needs the cognitive capacities of artists. But what exactly are those capacities, and why are they so vital to us now? Perhaps these capacities begin with an artist’s willingness to dwell in uncertainty. Where others seek clarity and definitive answers, the artist embraces confusion, allowing it to…
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