Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Abraham Maslow

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Abraham Maslow: We owe a great debt of gratitude to the pioneering work of psychologist Abraham Maslow, founder of the school of Humanistic Psychology. His...

Abraham Maslow

We owe a great debt of gratitude to the pioneering work of psychologist Abraham Maslow, founder of the school of Humanistic Psychology. His research set the tone for a new and positive direction in the field of psychology.

Maslow was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and was the oldest of 7 children. After high school he attended City College of New York but dropped out after a year because he hated the curriculum there. In 1927 he began studies at Cornell University but left after one semester because of poor grades. He went back to City College, completed his studies there, and then went on to the University of Wisconsin in 1935 where he got his degree in psychology. He went to graduate school at Columbia University where he met the man who would deeply influence him and the future creation of his theories of human nature, Alfred Adler.

In graduate school Maslow began to question how the field of psychology came to its conclusions about the human mind and mental illness. Therefore, in contrast to conventional psychology which solely studied the mentally ill and created theories of mental illness and pathology based upon that research, Maslow studied mentally healthy people who were generally happy, creative, and involved with life. Maslow said that if the field of psychology only studied and classified mental illnesses, we would continue to have a ‘sick psychology’. In order for the field of psychology to truly progress and to understand the full dynamics of the mind and human nature, psychology must also study creative, fulfilled, and well-adjusted people; those that Maslow referred to as peak achievers.

Maslow’s research boldly looked at how people develop feelings of safety, security, love, friendship, intimacy, accomplishment, and fulfillment. For those who lived life more in this transcendent realm of consciousness, peak experiences were the most important and most precious things in their lives. He found that peak achievers noticed the beauty and sacredness in everyday life more frequently, felt a deep connection with a Higher power, felt a reverence for the fragility of human nature, experienced more unconditional love and fewer judgments for themselves and others, and were a powerful source for manifesting harmony and good will. These attributes created the foundation for the human potential movement he inspired in the late 50’s and 60’s.

In 1986, organizational psychologist Marsha Sinetar wrote a fascinating book based upon the work of Maslow titled, Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics. Sinetar interviewed hundreds of people and came to the conclusion that ordinary people, people like you and me, can and do live in ways that express their highest and most cherished values, values that are the most prized universally and collectively throughout history.

Abraham Maslow was a trail blazer who taught us that we have an innate potential for greatness. One of his best books, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, created a much needed consciousness and balance within the field of psychology and was the inspiration for the transpersonal/spiritual psychology movement in the early 70’s. 

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Finding Your Passion

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Finding Your Passion: When you study the history and evolution of psychotherapy and counseling, the first phase of the investigation begins with the pioneering w...

Finding Your Passion

When you study the history and evolution of psychotherapy and counseling, the first phase of the investigation begins with the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud. Freud was born in Vienna in May of 1856. He was trained as a physician and surgeon, but quickly discovered his passion for working with people’s mental illnesses. The Viennese Medical Society was very critical of his new research and did not support his theories of the relationship between early childhood turmoil and trauma with resulting physical symptomatology.  

Freud continued to work closely with three European physicians who had a profound impact upon the burgeoning fields of hypnosis and psychology: Jean Charcot, Hippolyte Bernheim, and Joseph Breuer. As a result of his association with them, Freud specialized in clinical hypnosis as his primary therapeutic model for the first 5 years of his professional career.

In the 1890’s, Freud read a book that totally changed his life. It was titled: The Art of Becoming a Successful Writer. The author suggested that if a person really was serious about becoming a successful writer he/she needed to freely let their imagination run wild and to draw their ideas for writing from the imagery produced. Freud creatively found a way to apply the ideas from this book to his work with his patients and he called it free association. In 1900, Freud’s seminal book, The Interpretation of Dreams, was published and he became a specialist in analytical psychology and dream interpretation.

Another significant book also published in 1900 was the The Wizard of Oz penned by L. Frank Baum. Like Freud, Baum was born in May of 1856 and he let the stirrings of his imagination create the archetypal characters on the yellow brick road that we have come to love.

I mention these two men because they were both creative geniuses and the books they wrote inspired and continue to inspire millions of people around the world.  Just as Freud is synonymous with the field of psychology, L. Frank Baum is synonymous as the writer of the great American fairytale. His enchanting Wizard of Oz is regarded as the favorite family film of all time. No matter what we think about Freud’s theories or Baum’s fantasy tale, their legacy lives on because of the passion they put into their work and their accomplishments.

Passion is an astonishing force to harness. Look at the passion of Mother Teresa who once said that she would continue to do her work with the poorest of the poor until she took her last breath. We look at the lives of passionate people, not to be humbled by what they did, but to be inspired and encouraged to arouse our own enthusiasm and passion.

Never lose sight of what arouses your passion. You might discover your passion for writing, painting or sculpture. Your passion may be directed into a particular sport or activity. Perhaps your chosen career continues to ignite your excitement and zeal. Maybe music, dancing, cooking, exercise, or volunteering for an important cause you deeply believe in continues to challenge and enchant you. No matter what it is, find your passion in life and life will continue to reward you with amazing surprises.

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Lessons from the Wizard of Oz

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: Lessons from the Wizard of Oz: In the opening scenes of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sees the grayness of the Kansas prairie all around her.  She knows how hard her uncle an...

Lessons from the Wizard of Oz

In the opening scenes of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sees the grayness of the Kansas prairie all around her.  She knows how hard her uncle and aunt work to keep the farm prosperous and she also notices that they never laugh.  The hard life on the farm has sapped all the joy out of them. Dorothy hopes for a better life for herself and her little dog. She looks up towards the sky and sings her classic song, Somewhere over the Rainbow. A few minutes later, the storm arrives and Dorothy is sucked up into the force of the cyclone and transported from the known to the unknown.

Within minutes, Dorothy’s little house lands amidst colorful trees and dazzling plants like she had never seen before. But no matter how beautiful and enchanting the Land of Oz is, Dorothy wants to go back home. Like a wonderful and encouraging parent, Glinda the Good Witch, tells Dorothy that the Wizard of Oz will help her to get back home. She gives Dorothy a protective kiss on the forehead and tells her that no harm will come to a person who has been kissed by the Good Witch of the North.

Her belief that the Wizard is going to help her get back home is the driving force that propels Dorothy’s entire journey. Nothing dissuades her from this vision. Her first wish has come true, she is now somewhere over the rainbow and has her loving companion Toto at her side. But now she has a second wish; to see the Wizard of Oz.

When Dorothy wakes up after the cyclone has passed, her world is turned upside down. When awful or unexpected things happen in life, oftentimes we just want to go back home to the way things were before. It is basic to human nature to hold onto the things that are familiar; to embrace the known. But, sometimes life has its own agenda and causes things to happen that are beyond our control: the accident, the divorce, the illness, the economic downturn. Sometimes the things and people we have always counted on are no longer there. During these very challenging times we are left with the resources that no one can take away from us: our mind, imagination, heart, faith, dreams, hope, and perseverance.

Dorothy begins her amazing journey to Oz with the deep faith that her wish will be granted. All of the people she meets along the way assist her as she assists them. The journey to Oz is a collaborative adventure; people helping people to attain what they have always wanted most. And in this children’s classic story, the things that the characters wanted most were to maintain hope, to rekindle love and loving, to develop a compassionate and non-judgmental mind, to rediscover courage, and to keep the imagination alive. 

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: His Brother's Obituary

Land of Oz Workshops Blog: His Brother's Obituary: Alfred Nobel was a very successful chemist, inventor, and engineer who mixed substances together in a way that had never been mixed togethe...